Diet Soda can Kill You, or just Make You Fat!

According to a recent study published in the American Journal of Cardiology, those who are drinking diet soda on a daily basis are 48% more likely to DIE from a stroke or heart attack.  Diet soda also increases the risk for Kidney disease.

If that weren't enough, artificial sweeteners cause us to crave and consume more sugar, which is directly linked to weight gain and diabetes.

"Healthy waters" are not a good substitution for diet soda, either.  They also contain artificial sweeteners, which we know destroy our very important gut bacteria.

You don't drink or eat anything containing artificial sweeteners, so you're safe, right?  Wrong.  If your source of drinking water is from a municipality, you're ingesting artificial sweeteners because they are impossible to remove from the waste water system!  The only defense against this is to continuously replenish your good gut bugs...something that takes a dietary overhaul to accomplish.

Please refer to my earlier blogs, written between April 5 and May 26, 2017, to see how to change your diet.

Dr. Esther
www.fixdhealthcare.com

Alzheimer's & Exercise

According to a recent meta-study involving the analysis of more than 150 studies, researchers have concluded beyond a doubt that older people who exercise regularly have a significantly lower risk of developing the progressive brain disorder than those who are inactive.

Kathleen Martin Ginis, the lead author of the study, reports: "After evaluating all the research available, our panel agrees that physical activity is a practical, economical and accessible intervention for both the prevention and management of Alzheimer's disease and other dementias."

Unfortunately, many older Americans aren't heeding the advice of the importance of regular exercise.  The number of people dying from this disease has soared 55% over the past 15 years, according to a new report issued by the CDC. Alzheimer's disease is now claiming almost 94,000 lives each year and the numbers are only increasing.  It currently affects 5.5 million Americans.  The CDC projects by 2050, some 13.8 million people age 65 and older will be diagnosed with this debilitating disorder.

Proper diet and exercise have been shown to be very effective in both the preventative and management of this disease.  One of the problems I continue to see is people's idea of a good diet.  When it comes to brain health, most people have little idea of what foods are truly nourishing.

Dr. Esther
http://www.fixdhealthcare.com

One Little Drink Won't Hurt, Right?

Wrong, according to scientists at the American Institute for Cancer Research and the World Cancer Research Fund.  They found evidence that as little as one small alcoholic drink a day could SIGNIFICANTLY increase a woman's risk for breast cancer.

Data from 119 previous studies, involving 12 million women and 260,00 cases of breast cancer, were analyzed.  The findings involved both pre- and post-menopausal women. 

Pre-menopausal women who drink an average of 10 grams of alcohol a day--equal to a small glass of wine (3-4 ounces) or an 8 ounce beer-- have a 5% greater risk for breast cancer.

Post-menopausal women's risk increases to 9%.  

These figures don't even take into account women who are at greater genetic or environmental risk for developing breast cancer.

Alcohol can trigger DNA mutations and raise estrogen levels, two factors that have been linked to an increased risk for developing cancer.

The study sees no "safe" level of alcohol consumption in terms of developing breast cancer. The lead author of the study, Anne McTiernan, says, "If a woman is drinking, it would be better if she kept it to a lower amount."

Dr. Esther
www.fixdhealthcare.com

Warning: New Disease from Tick Bites

A rare (so far) and new disease has been affecting people who live or vacation in wooded areas. It's a transmitted virus called, "Powassan."

The problem is two-fold.  It's a virus and it is directly and immediately transferred to humans by a tick bite in a matter of minutes. It is highly dangerous as it is potentially fatal and can cause permanent brain damage.

The symptoms present as fever, headache, vomiting, weakness, confusion, seizures and memory loss.  The cases prove fatal in 10-15% of the cases.  The most susceptible are the immunosuppressed or those who have previously contracted tick-borne illnesses such as West Nile, Dengue and Lyme disease.

The problem with this disease is that, like all viruses, it can mutate into even more significant diseases. Please, be careful when traveling in wooded areas as ticks can hide in both grasses and trees.

Dr. Esther
www.fixdhealthcare.com

Drink These to get rid of Belly Bloat

This drink will cause you to shed a bit of belly fat each night while you sleep!

Ingredients:

1 cucumber

1 small bunch of parsley

1 tsp of freshly grated ginger

½ of a lemon

1/3 cup of water

Put all the ingredients into a blender, blend until liquefied, and then, drink up.

During the day, drinking a glass of water with 1-3 tsp of apple cider vinegar will help your digestion and optimization of blood sugar levels. Additionally, it’s full of probiotics and will help the gut re-populate it’s good bacteria.

Remember, don’t drink more than one tablespoon a day, as too much of a good thing is still, too much!

Dr. Esther 

The above recipe is courtesy of James Ward, author of the book: "The Cruise Control Diet." 

www.fixdhealthcare.com

A Vegetable that Flattens the Belly

Good bacteria love fiber. However, all fiber is not created equal. Gut microbes prefer a specific type of bacteria called, “fructans.” These particular microbes are found in white onions, raw white onions. There is hope. Another great tasting vegetable offers a much higher concentration of fructans than onions without the bad breath...it’s The Jerusalem Artichoke! Just one contains 47 grams of fructans.

Remember,  I wrote about another onion family member that is also good for feeding the good bacteria in a previous blog...Eat This in Your Salad for Fat Loss.

Dr. Esther

www.fixdhealthcare.com

Eating This Fat will Help decrease gut Fat

Fish Oils. A recent study published in the journal, Lipid Technology, indicates that fish fats help your healthy gut bacteria to multiply, crowding out the bad bacteria that cause weight gain.

Eating fish high in fat and low in mercury, like smoked mackerel or wild caught salmon, to promote a healthy gut environment.

If eating fish isn't appealing to you, please buy a high quality, mercury-free fish oil and take at least two a day.  I recommend Standard Process cod liver oil.

Dr. Esther

www.fixdhealthcare.com

What to Eat if You’re Craving a Snack before Dinner

A Granny Smith apple. It’s a great source of fiber, has a low GI and is a superfood for good gut bacteria. You will have fewer cravings, better digestion, less bloating and a flatter stomach if you snack with these.

Just please make certain that the apple is organic as you need to eat the skin...that's where all the good bugs live.  If you eat the skin of a conventionally grown apple (or any fruit), you will be eating pesticide residue.  That kills the good bugs on the apple skin and in your gut.

Dr. Esther 

www.fixdhealthcare.com 

Eat This in Your Salad for Fat Loss

We hear a lot about the importance of probiotics for the gut, but there is something else equally important, prebiotic fiber. Prebiotic fiber is a super-food for your good gut bacteria. Without it, your gut won’t be able to sustain good bacteria growth.

The vegetable that takes fat loss to a new level is: raw leeks. These taste like onions, but are sweeter. If you don’t like the taste of onion, try just a little to see how you like them and then you can increase the amount, gradually.

Adding prebiotic fiber plus probiotic foods (fermented) to the diet will, over time, make a huge difference not only in fat loss, but in your energy levels and your mood.

Eating organic leeks, raw vegies (red, green leaf or spring lettuces, carrots, tomatoes, cucumbers, cruciferous vegies) and fermented foods gives you a synbiotics diet...a combination of pre- and probiotics. The foods our bodies really want and need for true balance, well-being and health.

You can read more about the importance of a balanced synbiotics diet in the book or pdf. : The Cruise Control Diet by James Wood.

Dr. Esther

www.fixdhealthcare.com

Eating to Increase the "B" Gut Bacteria

In my last post, we discussed the differences in good (B) vs. bad (F)  bacteria.  This is what you need to do to ensure the growth of the good bugs in your gut and its continuing health.

Stop eating simple carbohydrates
Stop drinking all soda
Stop using artificial sweeteners
Stop eating conventionally grown food
Stop using anti-bacterial products and/or medications...unless you're truly ill with a diagnosed bacterial infection

Start eating organically or locally grown food
Start eating freshly fermented foods (no canned or pasteurized)
Start eating pre-biotic foods
Start eating foods high in probiotics

Dr. Esther

"Just Eat Less and Exercise and You’ll Lose Weight"

How often have the “experts” preached that to those  who have been yo-yo dieting their whole lives? People say that and people end up feeling as though they’re losers or just don’t have enough will-power, or worse, have been convinced that they’re simply addicted to food.

Well, guess what? None of the above is an absolute. Those physicians who have bothered to take the time to read their own research will never say those things to you. Instead, they’ll tell you the truth:

You can diet and count calories (or, points) till the cows come home, but if you’re missing one thing, you’ll never be able to lose your belly fat, let alone sustain any fat loss. Why? Because you have to generate the right kind of bacteria in your gut in order to lose fat and keep it off.

When you eat, the bacteria in your colon digests the food. There are, literally hundreds of different kinds of gut bacteria, but for ease of understanding, we’ll divide them into two major categories: Bacteriodetes and Firmicutes. I’ll desginate them B and F.

If you have excessive amounts of F in your gut, no matter how many calories you cut from your diet, you’re going to gain weight over time. F bacteria thrive on simple carbohydrates, you know, all the sugary stuff that most of us eat all the time. Including, pasta, rice, grains, white sugar, white flour, dried fruits and fruit juices as well as soda and so forth. The F bacteria turn those calories into fat that ends up in the buttocks, hips, thighs and abdomen. The B bacteria don’t absorb the simple carbs and pass them out of the body, unused.

The solution is to stop focusing on calories and focus on growing the B bacteria and ridding the body of the excessive F. 

If you want to know how to do that, successfully, you might want to read my next blog.

Dr. Esther 

Blueberries...a Wonderful Source of..

Microbes!

Yes, blueberries are not only high in anti-oxidants, they are a

terrific source of good bacteria. We know that research has proven that the right germs/bacteria/microbes/probiotics in the correct amount can help take us from fat, sick and bloated to lean, fit and healthy.

It’s best to eat organically grown blueberries (and, all fruit and veggies, actually) because they’re safe to eat lightly rinsed. Conventionally grown produce unfortunately carries pesticides and herbicides that can’t be totally eliminated by washing. And, when you try washing away the chemicals, you also wash away the good bacteria. Lightly rinsing organic fruit ensures the naturally-occurring probiotics remain without the worry of ingesting any harmful chemical residue.

If you’re looking for a healthy, tasty treat that can help eliminate unwanted body fat, look no farther. Don’t be afraid to eat them by the handful...anti-oxidant, probiotic and fiber all in one fruit, what could be better? 

Dr. Esther 

A Question From a Reader About Fascia

I had a question about a product called the, "Fascia Blaster."  The reader said that she wasn't aware that, "...fascia was even a thing."  Since fascia is one of the  most important methods of nerve information transmission in the body, I thought it was important to talk about.

This particular device is advertised to get rid of cellulite, trigger points, muscle aches and help to realign the vertebrae.  I can tell you that devices claiming to do these have been around for decades. If they worked....well, you finish the sentence.

However, fascia is extremely important.  It is the tissue that surrounds all our muscles that gives them shape, helps their function and is the method of nerve information transmission from the lower motor neurons...the nerves that serve our musculoskeletal system.  It is highly sensitive to hormonal imbalances, muscular trauma and inflammation.

You've heard of fibromyalgia and fasciaitis.  Those conditions occur when imbalances in the body (especially inflammation of the gut) send incorrect signals to the muscles.  We can tell when someone has an inflammatory diet because the fascia surrounding the thighs become inflamed and painful.  If not addressed, this condition continues to affect the fascia of other muscles.  Thus, fibromyalgia becomes chronic.  If you have this condition and expect medication to fix the problem, I'm afraid you might not be satisfied with the result.

The function of your fascia is a direct result of the health of your microbiota.  Please read my blog postings of the past few weeks to understand this relationship.

Dr. Esther

Do You Suffer With Heartburn? Be Careful!

Many people deal with heartburn, occasionally. It’s considered no big deal and they reach for the antacid. If advertising is any indication, those drugs are used by millions and counting. The problem is, it is a very big deal.

Heartburn is caused by the bacterium, H. pylori, as well as insufficient hydrochloric acid content in the stomach, not excessive acid as the ads indicate. Antacids kill the good bacteria, allowing for H. pylori overgrowth. The result? Bad bug overgrowth= fat deposits around our middle. Lowered stomach acid (higher pH) prohibits our body from utilizing calcium which eventually leads to osteoporosis and osteopenia. So, you get fatter with each passing year and you end up with brittle bones.

A 2-year randomized trial study was conducted in which the subjects were divided into two groups. One was given lifestyle advice to treat their heartburn and the other was given antacids. The result? 70% of the antacids group gained an average of 8 pounds. The other group’s weight remained the same.

Imagine. Gaining all that weight just from taking antacids! It’s difficult enough to maintain, let alone lose, weight as one ages without having a medication sabotage all your efforts.

Heartburn is painful and may eventually lead to erosion of the esophagus or worse, cancer. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if there were a safe and effective treatment for heartburn? There is. And, it centers around a change in diet and an effective probiotic. You’ve tried changing your diet and it hasn’t helped? I am fairly certain you haven’t tried the particular diet I’m talking about, nor the probiotic I recommend.

Dr. Esther

You Can Eat Pasta if You do This....

Research shows that:

Cooked and cooled pasta and potatoes, either eaten cold or re-heated, forms resistant starch. This type of starch results in a 50% decrease in carbohydrate and calorie content because the body doesn’t digest and assimilate this type of starch. Additionally, this resistant starch is a food source for good gut microbes and decreases yeast and toxin formation in the gut.

Even if you eat GF pasta, it will hold up just fine with the cooking and cooling and then reheating cycle.

Just remember, if you're eating white potatoes or pasta, you still need to be careful not to eat too much...it's still simple carbohydrates!

Dr. Esther

The Vitamin Deficiency that Prevents Fat Loss

Fat loss is not an easy path. When you lose weight, you want it to be fat and not muscle. Unfortunately, in the USA, a simple vitamin deficiency results in our not being able to lose fat, effectively.

What is the vitamin? Vitamin D. About 75% of our population lacks sufficient levels of this vitamin. Optimal levels are from 55-70 ng/ml. A simple blood test is all it takes.

Researchers studied people who were put on a calorie-restricted diet. The ones that had greater blood levels of D lost more weight than the control group. For every 1ng/ml blood level increase, an extra half pound was lost. If your levels are only 10ng/ml lower than optimal levels, all things being equal, you’d lose 5 fewer pounds.

Sunshine is a natural source of D. However, for those living in the colder climates, it is impossible to get sufficient amounts. Also, at least 70% of the body has to be exposed to 20 minutes of sunshine a day in order to produce enough D. So, what’s the answer?

1. Eat protein high in D (not the fortified kind as the body doesn’t recognize it), such as salmon, mackerel and sardines.

2. Eat more eggs. Eggs are the perfect food. DO NOT eat Egg Beaters!

3. Eat porchini mushrooms.

4. Get some sun everyday, if you can.

5. Get a whole food, purified Vitamin D supplement. Don’t bother with the pharmaceutical brands or cheap brands, your body won’t assimilate them the way they can the whole food variety. Cod liver oil from Standard Process is my recommendation.

Dr. Esther

This Over-Prescribed Medication can Make you Fat....and, Much WORSE!

According to a recent medical study, antibiotics have now been linked to weight gain and even diabetes. According to findings published in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology, just two doses of antibiotics increases your risk of developing diabetes by 23%! And if you have had 5 or more courses, your risk increases by 53%.

The very worst part of this is that the researchers found this association between antibiotics and diabetes up to 15 years before the diagnosis!  Perhaps, this may be a contributing factor to the explosion Type 2 diabetes in children.

Why the association between antibiotics and fat? Because antibiotics destroy your microbiome-- the trillions of bacteria (microbes) living primarily in your large intestine. These bacteria are responsible for everything from your immune system (70% of the immune system is regulated by our good bacteria), brain function (mood) to your metabolism and weight.

We have a mixture of good and bad bacteria in our gut. The optimal ratio is thought to be 80:20 good to bad. The good bacteria help to keep you trim and healthy while the bad make you fat and sick.

The end result of our good bacteria being wiped out by medications is bloating, gas, constipation, diarrhea, muscle pain, join pain, anxiety, depression and, of course, weight gain.

So, all you would need to do is to eat yogurt, right? Wrong! All products are devoid of active good bacteria. But, what if the label says there are bacteria in the yogurt? Sorry, any of the good microbes that make it through the heating process die off within a very short time.

 And, studies show that only about 4.5% of microbes in probiotic capsules are still viable by the time they get to the consumer. Let’s add to this the pasteurized sensitivity that your gut has towards toxins that we are exposed to everyday, such as chlorine, fluoride and artificial sweeteners in the water system. 

Yes, all those years of people using artificial sweeteners have now flooded our water systems. Why? Because the body cannot process these chemicals, so the toxins pass directly into our waste water system and they cannot be removed by any process available, today.

Sounds pretty bad, doesn't it?  There have to be reasons why our population is getting sicker and sicker...this bacterial kill-off by our, "better living through chemical medications," looks to be one of them.

Dr. Esther

Bad News for Artificial Sweetener Users...They'll Make you Fat

What if you were counting on certain foods to aid your fat loss and they were actually making you fat? Would you stop eating them?

According to numerous studies, the latest one recently published in the Journal of Applied Physiology, Nutrition and Metabolism, people who eat foods containing aspartame had higher blood sugar values than those who eat regular white sugar!

Higher blood sugar= increased insulin release from the pancreas= more fat depositing in the belly!!

These artificial sweeteners are added to all types of foods, including those labeled as “health foods.” They are like kryptonite for healthy bacteria in the gut. They, literally, wipe out all the good kinds, allowing the overgrowth of bad bacteria...the kind that make us fat and keep us that way. These artificial sweeteners also cause us to crave more fat-producing foods, i.e. simple carbohydrates.

My advice, forget ALL artificial sweeteners and, if you must have something sweet, eat the real thing...sugar, but make it coconut sugar. Of course, coconut sugar is a wonderful sweetener with a glycemic index of only 35. It has been shown to have no significant impact on blood sugar values and can be used, in moderation, by diabetics.

Be sure to read the labels of any pre-packaged foods you buy...they are usually loaded with salt, bad sugars and artificial sweeteners to make up for the reduced fat content. The good fats are our friends. Artificial sweeteners are our enemies.

Dr. Esther

How to Replenish Our Good Gut Bugs

1. Avoid eating all artificial sweeteners, including anything which contains chemicals ending in “lol.”

All artificial sweeteners destroy good bacteria.  So, if you are trying to lose weight by substituting the fake sugar (sorry, no pun intended) for real sugar, it simply will not work.

2. Feed your good gut bacteria. Certain foods will increase the good microbe population. They include all organically grown green and yellow vegetables. Chemical fertilizers destroy good bacteria. So, eating conventionally grown fruits and vegetables will actually cause bad bug overgrowth and increase intestinal inflammation. Eating high fiber foods will increase the microbe population.

Bad bacteria in our intestines, once they run out of food, will feast on the intestines, causing inflammation, which is the basis of all sickness and imbalances within the body.

3. Control your blood sugar by cutting out (or severely limiting) all simple sugars...any white foods, processed foods, sugary drinks (all forms of soda), most grains and corn. If you wish to use sugar, please substitute coconut sugar for refined white and brown sugar.  Your body will show its appreciation by not increasing insulin release from the pancreas, thus keeping blood sugar levels steady.

Dr. Esther

How to Start Losing the Fat

The first step in getting rid of unwanted fat is to stop the bad bugs from growing in the gut and encourage the growth of the good ones.  The ideal ratio is 80/20, good to bad.  Listed below are some generalized instructions.  I'll add specifics, later.

 How do you ensure the good microbes are growing in your gut?

A. Eat foods high in fiber. Fiber is fertilizer to the gut. There are certain foods that are better sources of fiber than others. Some sources will cause weight gain!

B. Eat more resistant starch. It’s starch you cannot digest, thus it has zero calories, but is food for good microbes.

C. Eat food that will increase the population of your native bacteria OR take a full-spectrum probiotic that contains other phytochemicals that offer specific protection to the growth of the microbes. Otherwise, you’re just throwing your money away as research shows only about 4% of the live bacteria survive in capsules before making it to your gut.

3. Avoid the Toxins that kill the Good Gut Flora.

Unfortunately, there are plenty of toxins that kill our good microbes. Here is a list of the worst offenders:

Pesticides

Antibiotics

Chlorine

Fluoride

Antacids

Artificial Sweeteners

As you can see, it is almost impossible to avoid the above, altogether. But here are a few ideas that will help you minimize your exposure.

A. Buy food from your local farmer’s market or farm stand to decrease the exposure to pesticides, herbicides (especially if you can buy from an organic farmer) and antibiotics. Remember, conventionally raised beef, pork and some poultry are all injected with antibiotics. If you’re not sure where to find one, go to www.localharvest.org to find a farm near you.

B. If you need to take an antibiotic, you must repopulate your intestinal flora with a full-spectrum probiotic, remembering that they are not all of equal value.

C. If you experience heartburn, antacids may help, temporarily, but as result of decreased stomach acid, yeast and bad bacteria are able to populate your gut.

D. Minimize your exposure to fluoride and chlorine by filtering your water. I don’t recommend bottled water because you cannot be certain what’s in that water.

E. Avoid eating and drinking any liquids or foods containing ANY artificial sweeteners. If you check the labels of packaged foods, you might be shocked at how much of these sweeteners are used...including in breads, crackers, canned tomatoes and nut butters, let alone breakfast cereals, soda and any “diet” foods. DON’T eat these, period.

Dr. Esther