Do You eat Red Meat? You Better take This, Then.

You'll have to forgive me for the, "I told you so," following information.  For two decades, I have been telling patents that it isn't the fat and cholesterol in our diets that are the primary cause for cardiovascular disease.  Finally, researchers are just now getting around to officially (meaning, if it's not published in  "their" kind of journals, it isn't worth considering) acknowledging that fact.

(I need to digress, just a moment.  I would ask that those who only eat egg beaters because of the cholesterol, please take special note of this blog.  Whole organic eggs are a fabulous source of protein and essential fats as well as vitamins.  Cholesterol is NOT the problem in cardiovascular disease...oxidized cholesterol is the problem as well as the bad cholesterol that is circulating in the blood in response to emotional/mental stress.  I have written many articles about this subject, but wanted to include a reminder, here, about that.)

Researchers from the Cleveland Clinic have come to the conclusion that it's not the fat and cholesterol in red meat and pork that is shown to have a direct causal relationship to cardiovascular disease...it's a chemical, called carnitine, produced by bacteria in the intestines, that is the culprit.  Simply put, eating red meat causes  "unnamed" bacteria to build up in the intestines.  Those, then, produce carnitine which, in turn, results in the liver converting it into TMAO.  It's the TMAO which appears to cause the inflammation and damage to the heart and its vasculature....i.e. cardiovascular disease.
Interestingly enough, vegans who ate the red meat did NOT produce any of this carnitine.  Why?  Because their gut did not contain any of the bacteria which produces the chemical.  One must conclude that these bacteria are not normally occurring in the intestine.

One has to conclude that red meat is really not something that the body handles at all well.  If foreign bacteria are being produced by eating meat, then, just like an invasive non-native species can destroy native vegetation in our environment, foreign bacteria appear capable of  over-running normally occurring intestinal bacteria (flora) and producing damaging chemicals in response to the presence of "foreign" foods.

The medical researchers concluded that taking antibiotics could destroy the offending bacteria.  I would like to point out that taking these results in the destruction of the good bacteria contained within the intestines, too...resulting in some pretty significant unintended consequences.  My suggestion is that if you or your loved ones insist upon eating red meat, please, please take a full spectrum probiotic on a daily basis. You all know that I recommend only a whole food, organic probiotic.

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Depression and Inflammation

I read the following written by a naturopathic doctor:

"The most exciting research in depression now is finding that the immune system is central to nervous system function. And until the inflammatory process that is disrupting neurotransmission is stemmed, depressive patients are swimming against a strong tide. Unfortunately, clinical approaches to depression rarely consider this critical component."

For those of you who read my series on "stress," you'll be able to understand just how and why this is true.  What's so interesting to me is that many of us alternative healthcare providers have known about this vital link between the immune system (mitigated by the adrenals) and the nervous system for quite some time. The adrenals are compromised under stress and systemic inflammation occurs because naturally-occurring steroid hormone production  is compromised. The resulting inflammatory process interferes with neurotransmitter production, a necessity for normal brain function.  This is why many people find little help for their depression from anti-depressive medication; the emphasis is centered upon treating the symptoms and not the cause.

Perhaps, this information may be of interest to any of those you know who are struggling with depression.

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What kind of Vitamins Should I Buy?

One of our patients asked me this question, today.  I do have a more in-depth answer on my website, but I thought I'd post part of my answer to her on my blog.

As far as nutrient absorption goes, I look to whether the body is utilizing, not absorbing, a nutrient to determine the parameters of necessity.  We all can and do absorb heavy metals like mercury or lead, for instance.  The determining factor as to whether or not we can utilize a nutrient is the health of our gut,  as the majority of nutrients are absorbed by the small intestines.  If there is an inflammatory process present in any portion of the gut, we not only cannot absorb and utilize nutrients, we will be prone to allergies and gut diseases as a result.

My first approach with patients who are interested in taking supplements, is to give them a complete pro-biotic to restore the health of the entire gut--both small and large intestines.  There are 14 naturally occurring bacteria within the gut and products like yogurt or commercially made pro-biotics are insufficient to meet the needs of reestablishing the normal intestinal flora.  Unless that is done, no amount of supplements, of any kind, will be able to be utilized by the body.  That is why we only carry Innate products; they are whole food, organic, contain all the phytonutrients specific to those supplements and are completely utilized by the body, including their pro-biotics.

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We're Running out of Clean Water

Most of us take it for granted that when we turn on the tap, we'll have all the clean water we need.  We also know that many people in other countries aren't so fortunate.  But, did you know that by the year 2050, two-thirds of the world's population will lack clean, or potable, water?

Part of the problem is overpopulation, especially in poorer nations.  An even larger part of the problem is what we eat.  Surprised?  Here are some eye-opening statistics:

Worldwide, 70% of the potable water is used for agriculture.  Breaking down what that actually means for our everyday life, the livestock industry in the US is the largest consumer of fresh water. Not only does livestock consume most of the water, it also leads to the compaction of the soil, the degradation of river and stream banks and the clearing of forests/woods for expanded grazing.

We also have to look at how much water is needed to raise the animals and feed and to process the animals for consumption.  Research shows that 2400 liters of water go into the production of ONE hamburger.  1200 liters are needed to make a cheese pizza.  Yet, only 25 liters are needed to produce a potato and 300 liters are needed to produce a tomato pizza.  It takes 5,300 liters of fresh water for every dollar's worth of grain fed to cattle.  One cup of coffee requires 55 gallons of water.

We can see that if we all were to become vegans, the water consumption in our country would be slashed, considerably.  But, let's face it, that's not going to happen.  People love beef and love their burgers.  If we were simply to switch from grain/corn fed beef (cows are allergic to corn, by the way...that's why they produce methane gas) and buy grass-fed beef, there would be virtually no ground water needed to feed that cow.  We'd also virtually eliminate agriculturally produced methane.  If we could cut down on the amount of animal protein, we'd also decrease the impact on potable water.  Would it be possible to replace one or two animal-based meals a week?  Children love spaghetti...how about making it vegetarian?  I have a recipe on my website.  Eating organic foods also helps decrease the amount of water pollution created by the application of synthetic pesticides and herbicides by the conventionally-grown agricultural industry.

There are so many little changes that we as individuals could make that, taken together, could make a tremendous difference for the world our children and grandchildren will inherit.  Let's just do it!

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To drink or Not to drink Soda?

I thought those of you who drink soda or have loved ones who do, whether diet or regular, might be interested in the following facts and statistics.  Soda causes:

1.  A 140%  increase in the deposition of fatty deposits in the liver (aka cirrhosis)
2.  A 30% increase of fat deposited around organs (the most dangerous type of fat=white fat)
3.  A 170-240% increase in skeletal muscle fat
4.  Bromide poisoning from a chemical in vegetable oil, named BVO, that is present in soda...why this oil is in soda, I do not know.  Bromide causes nerve inflammation that has led to skin rashes and memory loss.
5.  Breast and other cancers as the result of a chemical film that lines the cans...called, BPA.  This chemical mimics the effects of D.E.S.  (diethlystilbesterol), a chemical that was banned in the US many years ago.  It used to be injected into meat and caused lactation in girls as young as 9 months of age.  I believe we exported this chemical to unsuspecting or uncaring foreign nations.

Of course, most of these effects are seen after a period of time, but we have had patients come to us who drank 6, 1 liter bottles a week.  They were worried about the effects of caffeine, probably the least of their problems in light of this latest research.

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More about our Memory and "Senior Moments"

In addition to our understanding that short term memory is connected to our reaching delta sleep and to  healthy-functioning adrenal glands (see my previous blogs about these topics), there is another component of memory that neuro-science has identified--"intentional memory."  Let me explain.

I was listening to a neuro-scientist from Harvard speaking about short term memory.  He and his fellow neurologists were studying about short term memory loss and what we like to call, "senior moments."  I'm certain most of us have experienced walking into a room to get "something," and standing, looking around, and not being able to remember what we wanted or even why we walked into the room, in the first place.  Many chalk this up to the brain simply aging.  It appears that this is not necessarily the case.
Try to remember back when this happened to you.  How many other things were going through your mind, at the time?  Was anything else occurring?  The point being that, frequently, we aren't really "present" when we think about doing something that, a few seconds later, we can't even remember.

What has happened is that we truly didn't register what we intended to get or do, with our brain.  Distractions, of any sort, will cause the brain to not be able to identify and process the activity.  In effect, our intention never made it to our brain.  Therefore, we didn't "forget" what we wanted because it was never processed, in the first place.

We now know that "multi-tasking" doesn't work...even if we think it does.  Our brain is constructed in such a way that it truly processes only one task at a time.  We are not fully present when texting, talking on the phone, actively listening to a radio program, trying to discipline the children or trying to read a map,  while driving.  So, the next time you think about getting something in another room, stop, for just a moment, and intentionally say to yourself what it is that you need to get.  When you take off those glasses or keys, take a split second to tell yourself what you are doing and where you are putting those items.  I think you'll see a difference.  You may be able to decrease or even eliminate those, "senior moments," from your life.

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Stress, Part 4: Mitigating the Effects

Since the majority of us fall under the, "not-horribly-stressed-all-the-time," aka, Sympathetic hyper-stimulation Syndrome category, there are things that we can do to help our bodies cope with the stresses of everyday life.  Here are some tips that we give our patients who are interested in living a calmer and healthier life.

1.  You have to develop and stick to a routine.
     Routine is something we all need, whether adults or children.  I know this sounds simple; it's the implementation that can be difficult.  Routine helps maintain the circadian rhythm in our body.  If, for example, you get up at 7 o'clock each work morning and, then, go to bed late and get up late on the weekends, you have disrupted your circadian rhythm.  This will affect every system in your body and is a major contributing factor to sleep problems.

2.  Make sure your family has at least one meal a day, together, in a peaceful atmosphere.
     Studies have shown the importance of family meal time.  It's not only a time to eat a healthy meal, it's also a time in which everyone can connect.

3.  Eat with intention
     This means that you don't eat while distracted:  in front of the TV, on the run, while driving or at your office desk.  It takes the brain 20 minutes from the time you begin to eat until it registers that you are eating.  Eat slowly, enjoy your food (and, maybe the company) and savor what you eat.  Believe it or not, studies show that you'll eat less if you eat with intention.

4.  Do not eat inflammatory foods
     Like it or not, all fast foods are inflammatory, period.  They are high in bad fats, salt and sugar (remember, simple carbs like bread, french fries and pizza crust are pure sugar).  Too much animal protein, especially red meat, is inflammatory.  Imbalanced acid/base eating is the most inflammatory problem we see.  Caffeine, sugar, gluten, dairy, sodas, peanuts and pork all can cause systemic toxicity.

If you implement and follow these four steps, you will be well on your way to a less stressful life and, even more importantly, when you are faced with stressful situations, you just may find that you're better equipped to handle them.  There are also some basic supplements that I recommend that will help your body to heal from the past effects of stress and help maintain your homeostasis.  Anyone interested is welcome to contact me.  I'm here to help.
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Stress, Part 3: What do we do about it?

After reading parts one and two, I hope that you feel as though you have a pretty good understanding  about the cause and affect of stress.  I'm writing this series because we see so many patients who have sympathetic hyper-stimulation syndrome as the underlying cause of  many of their symptoms...pain, repetitive injury, lack of energy, digestive problems, sleep disturbances, cold extremities, thinning hair, headaches and so on.

 So, what can be done about an endocrine gland that is exhausted to the point of no longer being capable of functioning, normally?  There is no formula, unfortunately, that can be applied to everyone.  Because each of us and our life experiences are different, the approach to successfully treating this problem demands an approach that is unique and individualized to the person.  We have two choices; treat the symptoms of this syndrome or treat the cause;  it really is that simple of a decision.  It's the therapy that isn't so simple.  The most important step is to identify the source of the prolonged stress.  So many times, people are unable to do this, on their own, because they are so deeply trapped by the symptoms that they cannot clearly see the cause.  Once identified, the hard work begins.  Treatment typically involves stress-reducing therapy, both at the office and at home, and vital supplementation that will support and heal the primary dysfunctional areas.

I cannot emphasize enough how important it is to identify and properly treat this condition.  Taking medication for the symptoms will not, in any way, re-balance the body or affect the stress producing hormones being released by the hypothalamus and pituitary.  The results of many scientific studies show that prolonged stress damages our bodies and can, materially, affect life expectancy.  Look at how many people are dying of heart attacks in their 40's or how many women are being diagnosed with breast cancer in their 30's.  No, prolonged stress is nothing to be ignored.  We are under attack in this country...not from without, but from within.  We have the power to change; we need only make that choice.

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Stress, Part 2: Why it's killing us

Before I tell you about the physiology of stress, I need to tell you a little about the neurology of how the body works.  We have many different nerve functions in our body...nerves for movement, processing information, sensing our surroundings and so on...most of us know little about the most important component of our nervous system: the autonomic.  Simply put, the autonomic nervous system is the boss of every organ and system via hormonal information.  It is comprised of two parts: the sympathetic and the parasympathetic.  In a balanced individual, these two parts exist in harmony, neither working harder than the other. What the sympathetic system excites, the parasympathetic calms.  However, we all know that most of us live in an unbalanced world. And, thus, our story begins.

Physical stress and emotional stress affect the body completely differently.  If you overwork your body, physically, your musculo-skeletal system is affected.  If you overwork your body, emotionally, your sympathetic nervous system is affected.  We all know the feeling that we get after someone or something scares us...fear, shakiness, tightening in the stomach, that sense of urgency to run away...it's known as the, "fright/flight syndrome."  The sympathetic nervous system has "kicked in" and, via hormonal information, communicates with parts of the brain (hypothalamus and pituitary gland) to tell the adrenal gland to release epinephrine (aka adrenaline).  So, our pupils widen, blood is sent to our extremities (to run away), our digestive system is shut down, our heart rate increases dramatically as does our breathing...all preparing us to get away from the danger.  Interestingly enough, the exact same hormones that are released in response to immediate danger are released in response to prolonged emotional/mental stress.  If we are under prolonged stress, our sympathetic nervous system is constantly "turned on." Why is this very, very bad for us?

The adrenal glands not only release epinephrine, but also release other hormones...DHEA, steroid hormones, testosterone in women, aldosterone, cortisol and produce T-cell lymphocytes (necessary for our immune system).  No gland can be continuously simulated;  it would, "burn out."  So, in response to a constant stimulation by stress producing hormones, the number of receptor sites for the adrenals to accept information from the hypothalamus decreases, causing adrenal "down regulation" or dysfunction.

Remember my blog of a few days ago in which I reported that 22% of women and 16% of men said that they were under constant stress, daily?  Now, look at yesterday's blog that contains a list of symptoms connected with constant stress...not looking too good for us, as a nation, is it?  If there is just one thought that I can leave you with, it's that we cannot afford to ignore the stress we feel...it is damaging us....perhaps, killing us.

Tomorrow, part 3...what do we need to do?
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All About Stress: Part 1

I thought it a good idea to talk about both the affects of stress and the physiology of stress in order to explain its impact on our daily lives.  I think that, sometimes, we get the idea that if we ignore it, it'll just go away, or, it won't do any real harm.  And, since most of us define health as the absence of symptoms/diagnosed disease, we just don't really understand the impact that the consequences of living with stress has upon us.  Today, I'll talk about the symptoms that stress can inflict and, tomorrow, I'll talk about why and how this happens.  Then, we will talk about what needs to happen in order to live a truly healthy life.

Here are the most significant consequences of prolonged emotional/mental stress:

1.  Sleep disturbances
2.  Inflammation anywhere in the body
3.  Weakness and dizziness, especially when standing from a seated or recumbent position (aka Orthostatic hypotension)
4.  Waking fatigued in the morning
5.  Poorly tolerating additional stress
6.  Frequent illness or infections
7.  Generalized, non-specific muscle and/or joint pain (sound like Fibromyalgia?)
8.  Problems with recent memory retrieval
9.  Low-functioning thyroid (most doctors treat the thyroid when that gland is not the primary problem)
10.  Depression, not from other causes

This is quite an extensive list and, I believe, these symptoms of stress may surprise some of you.  As you can see, if left untreated, these symptoms can and will significantly impact the quality of our lives.  More importantly, there is the potential to impact the quantity, too.
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