Posts Tagged dairy products

… Water contamination

Sodium benzonate and leukemia

Refluxing bile

Parkinson’s disease

Dairy products – casein protein

Tetanus

Raw foods and sensitivities

Sunblocks

Protein …

Statistics
Aging
Blood pressure
Prediabetes
Glycation
Advanced Glycation End Products (AGE)
A1C test

Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease, also known as GERD, is one of our society’s most common health complaints with one in ten Americans having daily episodes of heartburn.  Researchers estimate that GERD is experienced by 25%-35% of the population, which makes Proton Pump Inhibitors, a popular medication used to treat GERD, the third best-selling class of drug in the United States.

There is mounting evidence that drug treatment for GERD does not come without potentially serious risk. Such studies suggest that these drugs increase the risk of osteoporosis, depression, serious digestive tract infection, flu, irritable bowel disease and nutrient deficiencies such as vitamin B12 as well as important minerals. Although research has demonstrated these potential consequences, it does not take a multi-million dollar study to be able to reason that medications that interfere with acid secretion in the stomach will also interrupt nutrient absorption while making it easier for harmful organisms such as C. difficile to grow and cause havoc in our digestive tracts.

GERD occurs when the digestive juices back up into the esophagus, which results in an irritation to the fragile lining of the esophagus. The chronic irritation to the esophagus potentially results in a pre-cancerous condition called Barrett’s esophagus and then, left unchecked, to esophageal cancer. This process of progression sounds horrible and, drug companies would have you believe, imminent if left untreated.  Research, however, does not support this seemingly rational and unquestionable connection. In fact, a recent review of the data suggests that the connection between GERD and Barrett’s esophagus is so weak that the reviewing scientists felt that the widespread practice of screening patients with GERD, using endoscopy, was not warranted. Other researchers found that patients who were suffering with nighttime symptoms, as well as obese patients, were at a higher likelihood of having GERD progress to Barrett’s and ultimately to cancer. These patients may be the ones who require endoscopy as a screening tool.

What causes GERD?

A common characteristic of GERD is what is known as a relaxed lower esophageal sphincter (LES Valve). This sphincter acts as a door between the esophagus and the stomach. In a healthy person, the door slams tightly shut after food enters the stomach; however, in someone with GERD, this door may not shut snuggly, which can lead to reflux of stomach contents and ultimately irritation of the esophagus. The better question is, “what causes this doorway to remain slightly ajar?”  There are number of reasons for this:

1. Portion size – People who eat large quantities of food can cause the stomach to expand well beyond the normal stretched size. Regular exposure to this degree of stretch can cause a deformity in the doorframe so that a gap remains, even when the door is shut. Portion size of food can have an immediate and a more long-term effect. If you eat a large meal right now, the stretching of the stomach can immediately cause symptoms; long-term exposure to such large portion sizes can result in a deformity in the doorframe even when the stomach is empty. Both of these situations can be remedied by eating smaller quantities.
2. Mint – Mint has a relaxing effect on the esophageal sphincter, you may want to avoid using mint candies and gum if you suffer with GERD.
3. Deep fried food – These foods slow the movement of food from the stomach to the intestines, this increases the likelihood of contents moving into the esophagus.
4. Late night eating – This increases the likelihood that food will be in the stomach while your body is in a horizontal position.
5. Medications – There are many medications that can cause problems with GERD: Calcium channel blockers, beta blockers (metoprolol, Toprol XL, etc.), NSAIDs (Ibuprophen, Naproxen, Advil, Aleve) , aspirin, nitrates, anti-depressant medications, bisphophonates (Fosamax, Actonel, Boniva, etc.) and progesterone.
6. Excess weight, especially central obesity.
7. Food allergies and sensitivities. Although this is an underappreciated cause of reflux disease, it is important to note and it may be worthwhile to look for offending foods and precede with eliminating these foods from the diet.  These food sensitivities can be worsened by acid suppression through the use of medications like Nexium, Prevacid, Tums, etc.
8. Stress is a major cause of GERD. When you are stressed, the digestive tract does not function properly. This can result in a poorly functioning LES valve and more reflux.
9. Other factors – There are other factors that have been linked to GERD such as: Smoking, spicy food, citrus, tomato products, caffeine, alcohol and chocolate.

Isn’t GERD Caused by Too Much Acid in the Stomach?

Although there is a condition, called Zollinger-Ellison Syndrome, where the stomach produces excess acid, this condition is quite rare. In fact, many doctors have discovered that 9 out of 10 people, who suffer with reflux, actually do not produce enough acid to trigger the closure of the LES valve. In addition, when stomach juices do not reach a particular acid level, the food contents sit stagnant and the food begins to putrefy and rot. As the food sits, it ferments and causes excess gas to form. This bubbling action can further worsen reflux by pushing the contents of the stomach into the esophagus.

So what do we do about it?

1. Have a careful assessment of medications and request your doctor remove or alter any medication listed above that may be linked to reflux. Please note, most doctors and pharmacists do not know about the link between these medications and reflux.
2. Learn about and implement a food elimination diet to try and pinpoint certain food triggers. Wheat, gluten and dairy are common culprits.
3. Replace acid in the stomach. It is a little known fact that a lack of acid in the stomach may be responsible for the reflux. This goes contrary to the conventional belief about what causes GERD; excess acid and poor sphincter tone. See our article about Betaine HCl Therapy for GERD. Taking an enzyme along with the Betaine HCl could result in further improvements.
4. Take an Enzyme – Plant enzymes work throughout the entire digestive tract to break down the food that we consume. Through the use of enzymes, we can decrease the time it takes to move the contents of the stomach from the stomach to the intestines. A potent enzyme that we commonly recommend is OrthoDigestzyme V. What makes these enzymes so powerful is the fact that they work through a broad range of acid levels. If the pH within your digestive tract is off, these enzymes will still work. This will often improve transit times and decrease gas and bloating.
5. DGL Ultra – This is a chewable form of licorice that helps to coat, soothe and stimulate healing in the esophagus and stomach. Chew 1 tablet before each meal and at bedtime.
6. Acid Assist – For symptomatic relief and/or in serious cases of GERD, Acid Assist is a chewable tablet that forms buffered foam on top of the stomach acid. This allows normal digestion to occur beneath the foam while preventing acid from jumping into the esophagus. This is to be used as needed to control symptoms while you are working to rebalance the body.

There are trillions of biochemical reactions going on in your body every second of your life. Some reactions are tearing and some are repairing, in order for you to remain healthy the net total of reactions must equate to more repairing than tearing. Do you follow me thus far?

I once saw a funny tee shirt that reads “Eat well, exercise daily…die anyway.” Admittedly, this statement is a true statement, in the end something always gets us. The part that is left out of this witty testament, however, is what happens in between birth and death.

There is a story of a widow who was bringing her great-grandchild to visit her husband’s grave. When they arrive at the site she says to her great grandchild, “what do you think is the most important piece of information on the grave stone?” The child says, ” well his birth year, because if he were never born then we would not be here today.” She smiles and says, “no, try again.” He thinks for a second and says, “the date of his death then, because that is the day that we all remember him?” She replies, “no, but they are all good answers,” she continues, “the most important information on his grave stone is the little dash in between his birth year and the year of his death because it is how we live that matters!” There is great wisdom in that statement and that wisdom applies to our health. We cannot control our birthday, nor can we control the fact that one day we will leave this life, but we do have control over how long we stay and how we feel while we are here!

So let’s talk a bit about aging…

There are many theories about what causes us to age, some believe it is free radicals, some believe it is predetermined in our genetics, some believe it is the toxins and others believe it is stress. The truth of the matter is aging is likely a normal process that is controlled by all of the above mentioned factors and then many others that we have not yet described.

Researchers have not discovered a way to stop aging but they have discovered ways of slowing the process and in many situations reversing some of the ravages of premature aging. As with any situation, the first thing to do whenever we find ourselves in a ditch is to stop digging! Today’s article, is dedicated to one of the most important ways that we dig our hole deeper and thus speed the process by which we age. In addition, when we control this process we can actually see reversal of many of the signs of aging! So let’s get started with our discussion on a process called GLYCATION!

Glycation occurs when the body’s proteins react with sugar forming a substance in the body called Advanced Glycation End Products, AGEs for short. While glycation is a normal process of everyday metabolism, the rate of glycation and thus aging is significantly increased by the Standard American Diet (SAD) and lifestyle. We will talk more about this later. For now let’s continue with our discussion about what glycation is and why it is so devastating to health…

To help you visualize the process of glycation, imagine a fresh hamburger patty. When the patty is uncooked the patty is soft, pink and malleable, however, if we cook it, the patty turns brown and becomes harder and less shapeable. That browning effect comes from the proteins reacting with the sugars in the meat in a process similar to what happens in the body. That’s right, the meat gets “glycated” by the cooking process. In the body, glycation causes tissues to become harder, thicker and less pliable. This process results in:

1. Cataracts – The lens becomes cloudy and thicker until vision is impeded. This process is similar to the process of cooking an egg white. It starts out clear, but becomes white and cloudy after the proteins in the egg become glycated by the cooking process.
2. Hardening of the arteries
3. Wrinkles and loss of skin suppleness
4. Kidney damage and failure
5. Loss of muscle flexibility
6. Nerve damage

You can see how widespread and potent the aging effects of glycation can be to the tissues of the body. Because proteins make up a large percentage of the body’s structures, there is no tissue or organ that is safe from the process of glycation.

Glycation occurs more aggressively in diabetics and that is what makes this disease such a devastating condition. In fact, Lancet, a well respected, peer-reviewed journal, estimates that diabetes ages the average heart by 40 years. The majority of this problem is directly related to the glycation process. So what do we do about it?

Preventing and How to Reverse Glycation

Advanced Glycation End Products occur from many different reactions in the body. To achieve the most dramatic decrease in the glycation stress of the body we will want to implement a multifactor approach. With that said, we start with the most powerful way to decrease the formation of these powerful aging agents.

In chemistry, one way to decrease the number of chemical reactions that occur in a test tube is to simply add less of one of the chemicals. In the situation of glycation, the more sugar that is available, the more likely glycation is to occur. Simply decreasing the amount of sugar in the blood will decrease the amount of glycation that can occur, no other change in lifestyle will have such a dramatic effect on glycation.

For those of you who are saying, “but I don’t eat a lot of sweets!” you are not safe either if your diet is filled with carbohydrates like bread, pasta and cereals. In the body, these carbohydrates are digested and absorbed as sugar. So the first step is always, limit the amount of sugar AND carbohydrates in the diet (especially refined carbohydrates).

The second step to controlling glycation is to enhance the body’s ability to process and utilize sugar so that it doesn’t hang around and wreak havoc in the blood. This means EXERCISE! The more you exercise, the more sugar your body is able to burn away and the less sugar that is available to lead to glycation.

Now that we have talked about the bread and butter of controlling glycation we can talk about things that we can do to reverse glycation that has occurred before it causes permanent changes. Scientists have found that a number of nutritional components in the diet play a very important role in controlling glycation and even reversing it! These compounds include:

1. Carnosine, a combination of two amino acids beta-alanine and histidine. Research has found carnosine to be a potent inhibitor of glycation. In test tube studies, carnosine has been able to reverse aging damage to cells resulting in more youthful and efficient function. In one human study, 15 healthy subjects were given histidine and carnosine. The researchers found that these compounds protected the LDL (bad cholesterol) from glycation and oxidation. In order to achieve a significant blood level, it is recommended that 1,000-1500 mg of carnosine be used in a supplement program.
2. Benfotiamine is a fat soluble form of thiamine. Aside from benfotiamine’s anti-glycation effect it also appears to protect enzymes, heal damaged nerves and decrease inflammation which is triggered by elevated blood sugar. 150 mg once or twice daily.
3. Beta-alanine is an amino acid which is the precursor to carnosine. While carnosine appears to work on the fast forming glycation compounds, beta-alanine acts on slower forming glycating products. Recent studies suggest that beta-alanine significantly increases carnosine production in the muscles. Recommended dose is 1,000 mg twice daily.

Glycation is, no doubt, one of the most powerful promoters of the aging process and although we may not be able to stop it entirely; using diet, exercise and cutting-edge supplements we can significantly inhibit it and even reverse some of the damage caused by already existing Advanced Glycation End Products.

If you have metabolic syndrome or diabetes then you will want to take an aggressive stance on fighting these harmful compounds. Although the science of these supplements is in the early stages of discovery, I feel that there is sufficient scientific evidence to warrant their use. I feel that we can expect to see a decrease in complications associated with diabetes and possible a slowing of the aging process in otherwise healthy people. I look forward to confirming this hypothesis as more research comes to light.

The items described in this article have been combined into one formula called Mitochondrial Optimizer by Life Extensions.

Examples discussed in the column over the past years include the fact that we are the only animal that drinks the milk of a different animal and drinks milk after we’ve been weaned. This has resulted in numerous health issues that may be hard to directly link to the consumption of milk, but nonetheless are health condition that improve with the avoidance of dairy products.

We are the only animal that artificially extends daylight hours, through the use of electricity and light bulbs, which has a clear effect upon the way our bodies use sugar and store fat. To our body, it is always August (the time of the longest exposure to sunlight) and our bodies are programmed to crave carbohydrates and store fat to prepare for the coming “winter” with less food available and colder temperatures to endure. The spread of affordable electricity coincides with the spread of diabetes, heart disease and obesity in this country.

The topic for this column has to do with a different way that we alter nature’s plan… and the short-term and long-term negative effects of not respecting “the way things were meant to be.”

A ruminant is an animal that is designed to eat certain kinds of foods and digest those foods in a certain way. Ruminants, examples of which are cows and sheep, eat grass. Eat may not be the proper term… they actually eat it, then eat it again, and still again, in a very specific manner that allows for the proper digestion and the ability to create protein from a food source that has very little protein to begin with. Ruminants have stomachs that are vastly different from ours… in fact some people interpret a cow to have 4 stomachs (which technically is not the case, each chamber has a specific name and function).

A cow has a particular relationship with the grass that it eats and the environment that it lives in… a relationship that works perfectly for the animal, the grass, and the ecosystem around them. By grazing a pasture, the cow maintains the integrity of the field by weeding out saplings before they are able to grow into trees that would disrupt the grassland, by planting grass seeds through the digging of their hooves and by fertilizing the grasses as it goes along. The grass provides the perfect food for the cow to grow and reproduce.

If this is the way that nature intended for a particular animal and the environment to interact, in perfect harmony, then why has the cattle industry grown in a way that completely disrupts this process and relationship? That is the question of the day… and the answer is easy… it always comes down to money! But the less obvious concern is the negative ramifications to our health and the health of the world around us as a result of interference with the delicate balance of a complex system.

So… I ask you… what is the true cost of beef?

The fact is that a cow in nature, left to its own devices, would only eat grass. The only grains that it would consume would be very small amounts of grass seeds. But, the beef that we eat is known as “corn-fed” beef, unless you are buying pasture-fed beef, which is more expensive and less available (and don’t be fooled into thinking that “organic” beef is not corn-fed, because it very well might be… just organic corn).

One reason that the beef industry has resorted to using corn as the mainstay in the cattle’s diet is because it is the cheapest, most plentiful, most compact and most portable option available. It allows for the feeding of the highest number of animals on the smallest plot of land.

But maybe the bigger reason for corn feeding is the corns’ ability (along with protein supplements and hormones) to get the cattle to slaughter weight in the shortest amount of time. You see… time is of the essence when you are talking about delivering a commodity that is in big demand. In the early 1900s a typical steer would take 4 to 5 years to get to an acceptable size and weight for “harvesting.” In the 1950s, the time frame was more like 2 to 3 years.

Today, the high-tech business of cattle growing turns a calf into a 1250-pound steer, ready for the butcher, in only 14 to 16 months. Boy… talk about fast food!

This all came about because of the widespread use of petrochemical fertilizers and the surplus of corn that resulted after World War II. Believe it or not, because of corn surpluses and federal subsidies, the price of corn is actually 50 cents per bushel less than the cost of growing it! What a bargain! Did you know that it takes 1.2 gallons of oil to make the chemicals used as fertilizers to produce each bushel of corn?

The problem, though, is that the cow was not designed to eat and digest grains like corn. Corn-fed cattle certainly do grow fatter faster, but the negative consequences to the health of the cow are numerous and far-reaching… requiring all sorts of “remedies” that further negatively affect the health of those who end up eating the cow… namely… US!

Here is the way it works… the corn causes a marked change in the pH of the gut of the cow… it makes it much more acidic. This causes a significant change in the kind of bacteria that lives in the gut of the cow and in the function of the cow’s immune system. This, in turn, creates the need for the constant use of antibiotics in the cattle-feed. The antibiotics further degrade the proper bacterial balance inside the cow and work to create resistant bacteria that like to live in an acidic environment.

In normal circumstances, when eating grass, the gut pH of a cow is practically neutral… and the bacteria that live there and play a vital role with digestion thrive in that environment. Those bacteria would have a hard time living in an acidic environment… the stomach, say, of a different animal that may be more acidic… like that of a human. But these new bugs that are created and strengthened through the above-described process actually prefer the acidic environment of parts of the human gastro-intestinal tract and can wreck havoc on our health. An example would be the recently described E.Coli 0157 strain, which can be responsible for killing a human with a minimal exposure.

The “feedlot life” of the commercial cattle is much like the life of a major European city of the 1400s… tremendously crowded conditions, constant new arrivals from all over the country, extremely poor sanitation (cattle literally wade a foot deep in their waste)… and the predictable result of unbelievably poor health.

Cattle are also almost universally given estrogen implants to help increase weight and fat in quick fashion. The incentive for the producer is hard to ignore. The implants cost about $1.50 each and the hormones are responsible for a 40 to 50 pound increase at time of slaughter, which translates into at least $25 more dollars for the steer… sometimes that is the only margin that the producers actually make.

Of course, there are the trace amounts of the hormones that show up in the finished product (steaks, burgers, etc) to be concerned about… but what about those of us who avoid the beef? Increased synthetic growth hormones have shown up in feedlot waste, which get into the ground water. Scientists have started to discover fish showing abnormal sex characteristics in waters that are downstream from feedlots.

Is it just a coincidence that conditions like breast cancer, falling sperm counts and premature maturation in girls are more common since these cattle raising practices have been in use?

The entire story above aside, the most insidious result of modern cattle producing practices is that the quality of fats in the cow changes markedly, and that’s why eating beef is unhealthy. Madison Avenue has so successfully marketed us about beef that we actually think that “corn-fed” beef is preferred. And, I guess, from a certain viewpoint, it is… feeding cattle corn certainly does help develop “well-marbled” flesh, which the UDSA grading system actually rewards.

But, the fats are the saturated fats, Omega-6, that promote inflammation and ill-health… things like cancer and heart disease. In actuality, the negative health issues associated with eating beef may really be from eating corn-fed beef. Cattle that eat the way nature intended produce the proper ratio of Omega 3 to Omega 6 fats that help to prevent ill health instead of promote it.

In essence, we have converted the cow from an efficient, solar-powered protein-producing machine into another machine that requires fossil fuels to run… just what we need in today’s world!

So… what is the true cost of beef? Let’s figure it out… 25 pounds of corn a day… that’s 284 gallons of oil per steer… add the cost of the antibiotics used… and the considerably higher cost of the results of the antibiotic use including food poisoning from rogue bacteria… the cost of cancer and heart disease treatments… sounds a little more expensive than the $1.29/pound special at the local super market!

There have been countless news stories recently decrying the fact that Obesity has become so prevalent in our society today. Government officials and agencies have declared a “war on obesity” with the advent of all sorts of programs aimed towards both adults and children. These programs are educational and/or physical activity related in nature. Finally, the powers that be are willing to admit that having a percent body fat that is too high is likely the real cause of many of the chronic diseases that we suffer from today, including heart disease, high blood pressure and diabetes.

I find it interesting, and not really at all surprising, that it is this very same government of ours that is truly responsible for the obesity epidemic of today.

One of the ways that our “Uncle Sam” (or the local equivalents that seem to govern our lives) is contributing to our expanding waistlines is obvious… when I was a grade-schooler we had Physical Education every single day. It wasn’t an option; it was required. Today, P.E. only happens every other day in many elementary school systems, and a child can actually graduate high school without having to have any physical activity for years.

The other way, the more pervasive and deleterious way, is much more subtle… and yet it is the crux of the real problem. If you come to comprehend this connection you will then have the information needed to make the changes necessary to really improve your health.

This story really begins back during the Nixon administration. Remember when the price of beef went out of control? At that time, a policy was changed in a way that, little did we know, would eventually lead to our ever expanding girths. At that time, our government changed the way that it supported the slumping corn farming industry.

It does not take an accounting degree or a masters in economics to understand this concept. If you grow a crop that no one really wants (or too many people are already growing), meaning that you can’t get paid enough for growing it, then you will have to switch to growing something that someone does really want, or you will end up starving. That is, unless, you find a government that is willing to support your efforts in the form of a guarantee to buy whatever you grow.

Now really think about this… let’s say we have a farmer that grows corn. Let’s say he has 1000 acres to his farm, but he only plants corn on half of that land because that is all that corn that he can manage to sell. Now enter an entity to say to our farmer, “I will guarantee that you will get $2 per bushel of corn. If you can only get $1.50 per bushel on the open market, I’ll make up the difference. Or, if no one wants to buy your corn, I’ll buy it from you.”

The first thing that the farmer is going to do is plant the other 500 acres with more corn. A guarantee is a guarantee… and this is exactly what happened. The result was that we had more corn than ever… again, this was corn that no one really wanted. All of a sudden, a crop was available to buy that actually cost less than it cost to grow it, thanks to government subsidies. When that situation occurs, people become very inventive, finding unique uses for the suddenly cheap commodity.

One of those uses became feeding that corn to livestock. All at once a rancher could get his cattle ready for market quicker by feeding them more corn… and he could do this without increasing his costs.

Another of the uses for this suddenly cheap commodity was to make High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS) out of it. In fact, because of government subsidies, HFCS became a cheaper, more easily transported sweetener than even simple sugar.

Of course, anytime the word cheaper comes into the economic picture, it gets the attention of the bean counters at all of the companies. The food industry responded with a great “hurrah” at the news and instantly started substituting HFCS for sugar in many foods. But the economics went further than just the cost of the raw material. The soda industry learned that HFCS goes into liquids much easier than table sugar does… so not only was it a cheaper material, but their work became easier, meaning less labor costs. Today, HFCS is the only caloric sweetener used in the soda industry. It is also a common sweetener is fruit juices, canned fruits, baked goods, dairy products cookies, gun, jams and jellies.

And, the benefits went even further than that. The food industry people quickly surmised that having High Fructose Corn Syrup on their labels somehow seemed different that having sugar there. Apparently, John Q Public did not pick up on the fact that HFCS was actually sugar in a different form. Label readers were sort of fooled into using foods that they didn’t realize had sugar in it.

So what’s the big deal, really? Sugar is sugar, right? Table sugar or fructose… they are all the same, right? Wrong! And this is the key. The body responds to fructose differently than sucrose in many ways.

First of all, the presence of fructose does not cause the release of insulin from the pancreas like table sugar does. This means that any fructose in the bloodstream that does not get used for energy right away will be stored as fat. Secondly, fructose does not cause the formation or release of certain substances and hormones that tell the body that it has eaten and turns off hunger. In other words, when you consume a cookie sweetened with HFCS instead of sugar, your brain never gets the message that you have eaten something. That, in turn, makes it more likely that you will continue to eat, even though you shouldn’t still be hungry.

Furthermore, in the liver, fructose is converted into the chemical backbone of triglycerides more efficiently than table sugar. Elevated triglycerides have clearly been linked to an increased risk of heart disease, diabetes and high blood pressure. HFCS has also recently been implicated in altering magnesium balance in the body, which can lead to heart disease, high blood pressure, and may be related to osteoporosis.

Combine these last 2 facts together… a sugar that leads directly to fat with never getting the signal to stop eating… and you end up with exactly what you would expect, an Obese Society.

So what is the solution to this problem? Exercise is a part of the answer… giving your body the means to burn the HFCS right away is important. But the best answer, of course, is to avoid the HFCS in the first place.

But that is much more easily said than done. I challenge you to start reading labels and see just how prevalent corn syrup and high fructose corn syrup have become in our diets. And I promise you; it shows up in foods that you wouldn’t necessarily expect it to… like different canned soups and stews, marinades, even seasoned croutons.

We live in a society that has told us that fat is bad and should be avoided. Regular readers of this column know how wrong that message is. Unfortunately, many people still eat a “low-fat” diet. But because we want our foods to taste good, low-fat often translates into high sugar… we just don’t realize it because the sugar comes in the form of High Fructose Corn Syrup. Furthermore, HFCS is sweeter than sugar is, and as our taste for “sweet” gets over-stimulated, we require more of it to feel like we are eating something sweet.

We have become HFCS junkies… and believe me, the food industry loves that fact and ultimately, our own government is the cause, regardless of how much you hear them tell us to trim those waistlines!

Even “health foods” can be harmful to the body if you have developed food allergies to them. There are different types of food allergies, from serious reactions to the more common reactions that go undiagnosed.

Here is a question that we probably never think to ask ourselves… Is it possible that the foods that we eat (even supposedly healthy foods) are the cause of our chronic illnesses?

Migraine Headaches, Irritable Bowel Syndrome, Asthma, Depression, Fibromyalgia & Chronic Fatigue, Panic Attacks, Eczema, Chronic Allergies, Arthritis, Sleep Disorders including sleep apnea and snoring all may have a common cause… hidden food sensitivities. Attention Deficit Disorder, Chronic Ear Infections and even Autism in our children have also been linked to foods that they may be sensitive to.

All of us are familiar with overt food allergies… this is the kind of allergy where the food is consumed and within minutes or hours a reaction occurs, which can range from hives all the way to anaphylactic shock. This is known as a Type 1 food allergy, which involves the IgE antibody, and is very easy to self-diagnose… you eat the food and you have a reaction.

The IgE antibodies attach themselves to “mast cells” which, when activated by the offending food, release histamine and other chemical mediators producing classic allergic reactions such as hives, wheezing, swelling, stomach cramps, diarrhea, or more rarely, anaphylaxis. These cells are located in the linings of the digestive tract, urinary tract, skin, and airways, and surround small blood vessels.

Less well known and much harder to self diagnose are the Type 3 food allergies. A different antibody causes these reactions… IgG. The mechanism by which IgG antibodies evoke their allergic reactions is through the formation of immune complexes of antibody attached to food particles. The complexes circulate through the body via the bloodstream, rather than being attached solely to mast cells; they may affect any tissue, organ or system of the body.

Whereas the Type 1 allergies only occur in 2-3% of the population and are obvious when they happen, the Type 3 allergies may occur in up to 95% of us, and may not show up for 2 to3 days, sometimes up to a week, later. This is why they are known as “delayed-onset” allergies or sensitivities.

There are two main difficulties encountered when figuring out what is really going on with the foods that we eat and which ones we are reacting to negatively. First, because there is not an immediate response, it is difficult to pinpoint which food caused the problem… was it the broccoli that you ate 3 days ago or the bread you’ve had every day for the past week or the sesame oil that was used to prepare the stir-fried chicken and vegetables from the carry-out the other night?

The second complicating factor is that the actual reaction that you have may be in a form that you do not normally associate with an allergy. You know those cluster headaches you’ve had since you were a teenager? Or that irritable bowel issue that seems to crop up at the weirdest times? Or that low-level depression that your doctor keeps telling you is just a Prozac deficiency? Or that skin condition that prescription creams don’t seem to work for anymore? The list goes on and on… and the reason goes back to a keen understanding of the complex nature of how the body works… it all happens because these IgG antibodies can attach themselves to any tissue or organ that you have… and then disrupt normal functioning!

A disturbing fact is that most of us are reacting to anywhere from 3 to 10 different foods in this manner, sometimes up to 20 foods. And they are often foods that we think of as being healthy for us… milk, wheat, vegetables, fruits, nuts. Foods implicated in type 3 allergies are frequently favorite foods commonly eaten in large amounts.

It is important to note that a food intolerance, for example lactose intolerance due to insufficient lactase enzyme to digest milk sugar, is not a food allergy; however, intolerant individuals often suffer from allergy to cow’s milk. Casein, a milk protein, is one of the most common allergens in the Standard American Diet (SAD). Soy protein is also high on the list of common offenders, making soy products a poor substitute for dairy, unless testing has deemed it a “safe” nonallergen.

Other common food allergens include gluten (from wheat and other grains), yeast, corn and eggs. Chemical food additives, preservatives, and food colorings can also contribute to the problems of food allergy.

You may ask why it is that we come up with these allergies in the first place. I believe the answer is found by closely examining our dietary habits today compared to those of the vast majority of our history. Throughout history, we have eaten foods that were grown locally, picked fresh, and did not contain additives, preservatives, colorings, flavorings, etc. Furthermore, we ate the foods that were available to us according to our climate and the particular time of year.

Today, we eat what is known as a “monotonous” diet, even though we may not really be aware of this fact. Monotonous means repeating the same foods over and over again; not necessarily boring. There are many foods that we eat that appear and taste different, even though the base ingredients are the same… thus is the magic of modern food technologies. Many of the prepared foods that we eat use the same ingredients as flavorings. Furthermore, our diets today contain a large percentage of grains, compared to ancient cave man diets, which had no cereal grains.

Of course, none of us eat enough fresh fruits and vegetables, and you can usually count on two hands the variety that we do eat. In other words, our repertoire of foods becomes less and less varied as time goes on. The constant, repeated exposure to the same food is the reason the body creates a mechanism to make you change your habits… the creation of the IgG antibodies is your bodies attempt to make you pay attention and make a change in your diet.

Unfortunately, in today’s medical climate, we respond to the health problems we have by prescribing pills instead of making substantive changes in our lifestyles, including changing what we eat. In fact, we are so far removed from that process now that we don’t even realize what is occurring.

So how do we find out which foods may be the ones to avoid? Skin testing, by the scratch test, as well as certain IgE blood tests identify type-1 food allergies only, but not type 3. Delayed type food allergies require an ELISA blood test that detects IgG antibodies to the problem foods.

Once the hidden food allergies have been identified, then the hard work begins… these foods need to be avoided! When tested, food allergies get reported in two levels… foods to avoid and foods to rotate.

The foods to rotate are ones that have registered a minor allergy and should be eaten no more often than every 3 days. Foods to avoid need to be avoided for up to 6 months, then reintroduced one at a time to test for continued reactivity. Retesting is sometimes warranted. Occasionally, there are foods that need to be avoided for longer periods of time.

Sometimes avoiding these foods may produce cravings and withdrawal or increased suffering instead of relief. There are often times strong emotional ties to certain foods, and the breaking of these cycles can be a trying experience. Eventually the withdrawal symptoms will subside and then you start feeling better. If cravings occur, they will usually only last a few days!

At the same time, care should be taken not to eat a monotonous diet consisting of “safe” foods, or new allergies may develop to these foods.

There are a whole host of nutritional and herbal supplements that may be helpful in dealing with these hidden food allergies and your body’s response to these food. They include:

Digestive Enzymes – a plant based digestive enzyme will help your digestive tract be more efficient at breaking down foods into their smallest parts.

Methyl Sulfonyl Methane (MSM) – this is a naturally occurring form of sulfur that helps to calm your body’s over-reaction to inhaled or ingested allergens.

Essential Fatty Acids – these “healthy” fats are anti-inflammatory in nature and help with overall gut and immune system function.

Quercetin – this bioflavanoid works to stabilize mast cells, thus it is known as the natural anti-histamine.

Probiotics – these “good bacteria” play a vital role in the normal functioning of the gut and help with digestion and assimilation of food. They also play an important role in proper elimination and immune function.

Glutamine – this amino acid is basically “fuel” for the gut cells to help them reproduce and function properly.

A Multi Vitamin – including Vitamins A, B-6 & C and Minerals like Magnesium & Zinc, which all play important roles in proper gut function and repair.

All of these supplements help to eliminate the food allergy, improve gut health, remove toxins from the body, fight inflammation, and improve immune system function.

So, as it turns out, there are many foods that you may think are healthy that actually are at the root of many of your chronic health conditions. Chances are that the foods you are reacting too are ones that you eat on a regular basis (maybe even have cravings for) and you likely have no idea that they are cause for concern.

Care to try an experiment? Determine which food is the most common in your diet and them completely eliminate it for 3 weeks. I’m willing to bet you start to feel better… and that may come in the form of better energy, better sleep, better mood, or the beginnings of control with your blood sugar, blood pressure or even a little weight loss.

I’d like to help liberate you from the pain and stiffness associated with arthritis.

I know that your doctor has probably told you that all they can do is prescribe nasty anti-inflammatories and wait until the day that the pain is so severe that you can’t take it any more…then they’ll sell you on surgery.

If you’re like me, you can’t imagine a future full of pain, stiffness, and surgeries that limits your ability to enjoy life. If you already have a lot of pain, I’ll bet it is difficult to enjoy everyday things like parties, family events, and cookouts because your attention is always divided between what is going on and the achy, throbbing pain of arthritis.

If you have relied on Tylenol and anti-inflammatories like Advil, Motrin, Aleve, ibuprofen, and aspirin to get by, well I have a message for you…

You can do better! You can feel better! You can decrease your pain, inflammation, and possibly even slow down the degeneration of your joints and you can do it all without medications!

The Four-Step Approach to Treating Arthritis

There are four steps to managing arthritis through a natural approach, they are:

Step 1: Decrease inflammation
Step 2: Lubricate the joint
Step 3: Provide the building blocks
Step 4: Stimulate repair

Let’s take each step and dive deeper…

Step 1: Decrease Inflammation

If you find yourself in a hole, the first thing to do is, STOP DIGGING! Most people see inflammation as a nuisance; however, it is much more than that.  Inflammation actually promotes the erosion of the cartilage within the joint, which can worsen the arthritis over time.

Anti-inflammatory drugs can decrease the pain and stiffness associated with arthritis, However, they also can increase the production of an enzyme called lipooxygenase, which can irritate and damage the joint further.

Nature has provided many natural compounds with anti-inflammatory activity that can rival the prescription drugs without causing the same risk of side effects. Spices such as turmeric, ginger, rosemary and herbs such as holy basil, skullcap, and green tea can all act as potent anti-inflammatories.

To help control inflammation, I recommend a formula called Zyflamend by New Chapter. This formula provides a blend of herbal and spice extracts that work through multiple mechanisms to result in a balanced anti-inflammatory benefit. This formula has proven itself to be one of the most powerful herbal anti-inflammatory formulas on the market. The recommended dose is 2 capsules twice daily.

Aside from providing relief from much of the pain and stiffness associated with arthritis, the mechanisms by which this formula works may help to protect the joint from erosion.

Step 2: Lubricate the Joint

Now that we have the inflammation under control, the next step is to lubricate the joint to decrease the friction.

Within your joint, the cartilage is constantly being broken down and rebuilt. Arthritis happens when the joint gets broken down faster than the cells can rebuild the damaged area.

The lubricating material called hyaluronic acid has the same purpose of oil in your car. It keeps the pistons sliding across each other by decreasing the friction that would occur without the oil. When a car has an oil leak, the damage can be devastating. Likewise, if your joints don’t remain well oiled, you can develop stiffness, inflammation, and ultimately arthritis.

Besides the lubricating effect of hyaluronic acid, it also helps to carry nutrients to the cartilage. Because cartilage does not have a blood supply, it relies on the diffusion of nutrients from the lubricating fluid in the joint.

Over the last decade, nutrition scientists have been able to develop a hyaluronic acid supplement that is easily absorbed in the digestive tract. This has allowed for effective supplementation of this vital material.
The second step in building an effective natural arthritis program is to lubricate the joint by taking hyaluronic acid in supplement form.

The recommended dose is 100 mg once per day.

In addition, it is important to remain well hydrated. When you become even mildly dehydrated, your joints can dry up, which can lead to friction and joint degeneration.

Step 3: Provide the Building Blocks

Now that we have tackled inflammation and lubrication, we now need to provide the joint with the material it needs to repair damage and protect the cartilage itself. This is achieved by providing two compounds called: glucosamine and chondroitin. These two compounds have been used successfully for years to protect and repair the joint while improving the pain and stiffness associated with arthritis.

Glucosamine and chondroitin literally act like wood and nails to the cartilage. The body absorbs these compounds and transports them throughout the body with preference being given to the joints. Once the glucosamine and chondroitin arrive in the joints, the cartilage repair cells get to work rebuilding and rejuvenating the cartilage.

The recommended dose is 1500 mg of glucosamine along with 1200 mg of chondroitin per day. If you are overweight, you may want to increase the dose to 2000 mg of glucosamine sulfate along with 1600 mg of chondroitin sulfate.

Step 4: Stimulate the Repair

Now that you have decreased inflammation, lubricated the joint, and provided the building blocks, you need to tell the body that you need stronger joints. You achieve this by moving and exercising.

Most people with arthritis is afraid to exercise because the are afraid that they will worsen the arthritis. Unfortunately, by remaining immobile and sedentary you are literally stimulating the arthritis to get worse.

Exercise does three things:

1.    It brings lubrication to the joint. Have you ever notice that the arthritis pain is worse upon waking and gets a little better as the day goes on? This probably occurs because the movement promotes lubrication.
2.    Exercise, especially resistance training, stimulates the cartilage building cells to get to work. Research has shown that lifting weight causes these cells to activate and strengthen the cartilage.
3.    Exercise protects the joint by building a muscle girdle. The bones of a joint are surrounded by muscle, and muscle helps to stabilize the joint. By keeping the joint stabile you protect it from extra movement that can result in unwanted friction. As a muscle weakens, the joint begins to move in strange ways that can damage the cartilage and worsen the arthritis.

As you can see, arthritis can be improved significantly when you put the right steps into action. First control inflammation, next lubricate the joint, then provide the building blocks, and finally stimulate repair.

What Next?

To make it easy for you to get the most effective products for your arthritis program, we have put together all of the products that we use with our clients and patients here in our clinic. We call it the “Get Out of Pain Kit”. It includes:

1 Bottle of Zyflamend 120 Softgels (1 month supply)
1 Bottle of Hyaluronic Acid 60 Capsules (1 month supply)
1 Bottle of Glucosamine/Chondroitin (1 month supply)

If you order this kit, you get all three products for $67, which will save you $35.89 compared to the retail price.

Carpal tunnel syndrome
AGE – advanced glycation end product
Hand pain
Rheumatoid arthritis
Gout
General health
Statin drugs

In conventional medicine, everything is compartmentalized. For example, when you walk into a cardiologist’s office, they have a tendency to view you as a heart with legs. They do not see a connection between the health of your heart and the inflammation in your joints or anywhere else in the body.

In holistic medicine, everything is viewed as connected, which means that every symptom has a message from the entire body. To a holistic practitioner, the joint inflammation may also indicate inflammation in the arteries of the heart. This is just one example of the interconnectivity of the body.

So, what message does body odor send? More importantly, how do we fix it naturally?

First, offensive body odor is not something to be ignored or brushed off as nothing more than personal hygiene neglect. One interesting hypothesis in natural medicine is that the skin is a backup detoxification organ, which is called into action when the liver and kidneys are overwhelmed. Another hypothesis may explain why offensive body odor is such a hush-hush topic in society and why you simply can’t ignore it…

People who have offensive body odor often suffer with chronic illness. It is possible that body odor is an evolutionary defense against spreading disease. Let me explain…

When an individual in the tribe is sick or riddled with disease, the evolutionary processes would want to contain the damage in both a long-term and short-term way…

For the short term, by producing body odor, the rest of the tribe will know that you are sick, which would result in a temporary social quarantine. In other words, people will avoid you. When you are no longer sick, the body odor will dissipate and people will want to be near you again.

For the long term, if you are chronically sick and thus have sustained body odor, nature will prevent you from mating and spreading your sickly genetics. In other words, the opposite sex will avoid you and you could be ousted from the tribe.

My point is, body odor is far more serious than a social roadblock. It speaks to the health of the body in a general sense.

So, what can we do about body odor?

2.      Replace good bacteria. When certain foodstuff is not fully digested, specific organisms will ferment the material into toxic substances, which can be absorbed into the blood and emitted through the skin. Good bacteria, such as those found in iFlora by Sedona Labs, will help to balance the ecology of the gut.

3.      Try cranberry concentrate. One case report, published in the Journal of Orthomolecular Medicine, found that one glass of cranberry juice per day resulted in the elimination of body odor in one individual. Make sure you choose a cranberry concentrate, such as the Cranberry Concentrate by Genesis Today, rather than a high-sugar cranberry cocktail. (Call 888-7944325 for more information on this product).

4.      Try zinc. In one study, zinc was shown to help control body odor. Try Opti-Zinc 20 mg once per day.

5.      Drink water. Water hydrates the skin and prevents pores from clogging with bacteria.

Whenever you have a symptom, such as offensive body odor, always assume that there is a particular reason for the symptom and try to get to that underlying cause. Body odor is so easily dismissed as a superficial problem. Hopefully, I have convinced you that it likely has far deeper roots within your overall health.