Thursday, February 23, 2012

You can detect your own food sensitivities.



Healthy by Nature radio show this week: Our topic will be Could It Be B12?: An Epidemic of Misdiagnoses which is also the title of a book by our guest, Sally Pacholok, RN. Sally has gathered some powerful information about the signs of B12 deficiency and how routine testing misleads us. (I suspect I’ll be taking notes.) Call with questions during the show at 1-800-281-8255. Click here to find podcasts, show archives and ways to listen nationwide.

SIGNS OF FOOD SENSITIVITY

There are many ways we can experience negative reactions to foods.

Food intolerances such “lactose intolerance” are common. That is when someone lacks the enzymes to digest the sugar in milk and experiences various kinds of digestive distress.

True food allergies are when our immune systems perceive something like peanuts, strawberries or shellfish as a serious threat and creates symptoms that you can’t possibly miss, such as difficulty breathing or instantly breaking out in hives head to toe. You are likely born with those allergies.

Acquired food sensitivities are usually the result of “leaky gut”. Sensitivities can affect various systems but often are delayed so that we don’t make the connection or they are so subtle that we overlook them. If the reaction is in the nervous system, we might feel tired or moody or get a headache the next day. Who knows, maybe the particular food you are eating when you bite your cheek or start to choke is one that caused the nerves to send an incorrect message to a muscle. When the circulatory system is affected, capillaries might dilate making ears turn red or the face flush. Or, your heart rate might increase and that is something you can measure. In the 1950's Dr. Arthur Coca discovered and publicized the connection. Basically, you establish a base line pulse before you eat. At little while after a meal you check your pulse again. If it has jumped let’s say from 65 beats a minute to 85, that is a sign you are reacting to something in that meal. You may have to eat the meal’s components separately at a later time to identify the exact ingredient that caused the reaction and it can turn out to be quite specific. For example, I react to white sugar from sugarcane, but not white sugar from beets. There are no false positives. If every time you eat a certain food your pulse jumps, you know that you have a problem. However, the converse is not true because there are false negatives. By that I mean even without an increase in your pulse you may be reacting to a food but just with another sign. By Friday there should be a link on this page to more complete instructions.

Here is where the smart phone comes in. There are a couple of free apps that use the camera light to measure your pulse. (Hmm, what will they think of next? I reckon the phone is too bulky to use for doing a colonoscopy…) To get such an app, go to your phone's app store and search for “heart rate”. (Sometimes I wonder how “smart” my phone is when its autocorrect substitutes something lewd, insulting or just plain wacky for the text I've typed.)

Delayed sensitivity. The best way to catch one of these is with paper and pencil—a food diary. Patterns will become apparent over time.

Overcoming food sensitivities is possible. It requires avoiding the offending food for a while and fixing a “leaky gut”. That’s a condition where the cells lining the gut aren’t properly doing what we need them to—absorb nutrients and keep bad stuff from being absorbed. The lining of the small intestine is kind of like a shag rug with tiny projections (villi ) that promote absorption. If the beneficial intestinal bacteria are insufficient, bad bacteria and yeasts can flatten those villi and loosen the junctions between cells allowing bad bugs and fragments of food to get into circulation where they annoy the immune system. Probiotics are an important part of the solution. Another nutrient I mention in my book on digestion is Zinc Carnosine. Studies show that this special form of the mineral helps heal damage to the gastro-intestinal tract. Because it seems to work mainly in the gut, I don’t consider it as a zinc nutritional supplement. One of our sponsors, Doctor’s Best, makes it as a supplement. One of our other sponsors sells it. LINK.

Thursday, February 16, 2012

Yogurt, olive oil and lipstick....No, not a yucky recipe.

Healthy by Nature radio show this week: I know the show is G-rated, but we are going to talk about sex. I’ll ask Hugh Woodward about this interesting article in The Atlantic. Another guest, Dr. Cass Ingram is always interesting. He is the author of a number of books, including Natural Cures for Diabetes: Reverse Diabetes Quickly through the Power of Natural Cures. We’ll talk about that and the role of fungus in long term diseases. Click here to find podcasts, show archives and ways to listen nationwide. Call with questions at 1-800-281-8255.
YOGURT
Rick, a listener, sent in this question: “I heard years ago that sugar destroys the acidolphilus bacteria in yogurt & in the intestine generally. I'd heard that because of this the only way to buy one of the flavored yogurts is to get the fruit on the bottom variety. The TRUTH?” First, for those of you who may be new to all this, I must mention that our good health depends on trillions of beneficial bacteria (also known as probiotics or friendly flora) in our gut. We are host to hundreds of strains or families, each with a different benefit. You might be surprised to know we actually have 3-4 pounds of them. My article, You cannot live without bacteria!, tells about all the important jobs they do, what kills them off and how to keep them happy. Other cultures consume a variety of fermented foods that help support their intestinal critters. But, because the US is so germ-phobic, we pasteurize everything and kill all bacteria. Yogurt is one cultured food we do have available. It provides only one or two strains that do some good while they are there but, do not necessarily colonize. (That is why people take probiotic supplements, like Dr. Ohhira’s, a product that helps all our natural strains thrive.) Yogurt is tart because it converts the sugar in milk, lactose, into lactic acid. I think added sugar must not kill them directly since yogurt brands with fruit and sugar mixed in still claim to deliver live bacteria. However, sugar is inflammatory and feeds yeasts in the intestines that in turn cause us a lot of grief. One disputed study seemed to show that the artificial sweetener, Splenda®, was harmful to probiotics. I think the best choice is add your own fresh fruit to unsweetened Greek style yogurt.
LIPSTICK
You may have heard on the news that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) found that most lipstick brands contain varying levels of lead, a toxin. The FDA (quite intolerant of lead in supplements) says that lipstick isn’t a problem because it goes on top of your skin. (Why would the agency invest so much in testing if it isn’t any concern?) We should remember that: (1) a great deal of what goes on your skin is absorbed and (2) most lipstick is swallowed—unless you kiss it off, in which case it becomes a problem for the kissee. It is estimated that lipstick wearers eat up to 5 feet of it in a lifetime. This link takes you to the result of the testing so you can select a brand with the least lead. LINK
OLIVE OIL
Olive oil is back in the news and not in a good way (e.g. this article in The New Yorker ). Tons of studies show the benefits of real, honest-to-goodness, extra virgin olive oil. Olives contain beneficial monounsaturated fats and antioxidants and are credited with being one reason that the Mediterranean diet seems so healthful. The advantages carry over into the oil from the first pressing of the olives—i.e. Extra Virgin oil. However, much of what is bottled and sold has had the goodies processed away in creating a nearly flavorless refined olive oil. Worse yet, many brands are actually adulterated blends that have cut the olive with cheap vegetable oils with possibly opposite effects. It is said that more “Italian extra virgin olive oil” is sold in the US than Italy even produces! This site gives information about choosing an olive oil. LINK. Your best bet might be a California estate bottled olive oil. Look for one with a bitter, pungent flavor and plan to pay $20 - $30 for a 500 ml bottle. Be careful with it in the kitchen because olive oil breaks down under heat. Or better yet, use unrefined Australian macadamia nut oil. It is heat stable, contains antioxidants, is even richer in monounsaturated fats, and has a versatile buttery flavor. With MacNut Oil you know what you are getting because it all comes from one plant in Australia. I buy mine from this small friendly family business.

Thursday, February 9, 2012

Stink Pee



Healthy by Nature radio show this week: Constantine Kotsanis, MD will be in the studio to talk about innovative approaches to cancer treatment. Annie Brandt will join us by phone from Austin, TX. She is a 10-year cancer survivor and Executive Director of the Best Answer for Cancer Foundation. We’ll take listener calls at on 1-800-281-8255. Click here to find podcasts, show archives and ways to listen nationwide.

Veggie Surprise

For lunch today I had salmon and fresh asparagus. I marveled at how much better asparagus tastes raw or just lightly steamed. I used to hate asparagus. Now I realize that was probably because, as a child, I had only eaten it canned or cooked until mushy and the flavor was really strong. Since I am crazy busy this week I thought, “Hey, I’ll just do an easy newsletter on asparagus and maybe throw in a reminder about the benefit of raw foods.” After a quick search of my files and the PubMed database, I realized the assignment wasn’t so simple after all.

Basics: Asparagus is a low-calorie, high-fiber, gourmet green veggie. It is also a good source of a number of nutrients, especially vitamin C and potassium. (Potassium helps balance the sodium in our diet.) Asparagus has historically been valued as an herb with healing, cleansing and diuretic properties. Here are some recent studies:

Cholesterol. In this animal study, asparagus significantly lowered LDL cholesterol without lowering HDL. It also protected blood fats from oxidizing which is what makes them dangerous. LINK

Diabetes. An asparagus extract used in this animal study seemed remarkably effective at controlling blood sugar by improving insulin secretion. It also increased blood levels of antioxidants. LINK

Immune function. This laboratory study using blood that contained leukemia cells, found that an extract of asparagus improved immune function by increasing natural killer cells. LINK

Hangover. Asparagus apparently helps the liver process alcohol. The leaves are even better than the sprouts.LINKand more...

RUMORS: Periodically a viral email comes by touting asparagus as a cancer cure. I usually check Snopes.com about email scares and wild claims. They aren’t always right on health matters, but they do seem to have the Asparagus for Cancer idea about right. LINK. Given the study above on immune function, there may actually be a pony in this barn. Other researchers are looking at the connection. LINK. At least it can’t hurt to eat asparagus.

Stink Pee”…I learned that colloquial term from my southern husband, Bill (no, you smarty pants editors, I don’t also have a northern husband). Asparagus contains volatile compounds that produce a strong odor in the urine. It is a subject of some debate whether everyone produces it and/or if everyone can smell it. There is no question about it at our house and Bill will not eat asparagus and would prefer I didn’t. How to cook it. Asparagus is good when cut up bite sized and added raw to salads, wraps or even finely chopped in tuna salad. (Raw foods still have their own enzymes and thereby spare the ones our body would have to make.) I like my asparagus steamed but still quite crunchy with most of the benefit of raw. I do it like this: Boil water in a pan containing a steamer basket. Wash the stalks and discard the tough ends. Cut into pieces that fit in the steamer basket. Place stems in the basket and turn off the heat. Let it steam for just a minute or two. What could be easier? Serve with a squeeze of lemon or if you want to get fancy, hollandaise sauce.
 
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