IT’S THE QUALITY, STUPID… Of the uncountable diets that are out there, none that I am aware of balance the quality of the food to the calorie. Some, like Weight Watchers, look only at the calorie. Others, like Atkins, look only at the macronutrients. There is no doubt that our bodies do much better with a low calorie, high phytonutrient diet for long term health. This means that your 1200 calories / day comes from broccoli and not a Big Mac Value meal. This particular study further supports this, finding that a high quality diet alters our hunger in a positive way. We all need to look at every morsel that crosses our lips as having phytonutrient value or not. If it does NOT have value, we should not be eating it. Then we take into account calorie content…so while dark chocolate is loaded with polyphenols, it is higher in calories so keep it to a minimum. Tea and espresso, on the other hand, are virtually calorie free, and can be taken in more liberally. This is exactly how we structure our weight loss program here at the clinic. Read More…
Food Allergy
The Western Diet – Mesa AZ Neck Pain Chiropractor
THE WESTERN DIET KILLS US YET AGAIN…Inflammatory bowel disease is when your body attacks its own gut. Ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s are the biggies. Not only are these diseases bad enough all on their own, but these conditions are associated with much higher rates of colorectal cancer. This particular study implicates the Western Diet (high in processed foods, animal saturated fats, artificial stuff, low in fruits and veggies, healthy oils, phytonutrients) in this progression from IBD to cancer. Adding more doom to the picture, it seems that the rates of IBD are going up in our children. This is likely a result of messing with the immune system too early with wanton use of antibiotics and vaccination (both of which skew the immune system towards autoimmunity). This makes it even more important to avoid antibiotics in children except in the most dire of circumstances, view each immunization with a magnifying glass and make sure they grow up knowing what fruits and veggies and olive oil look like and have no idea that you’re supposed to eat that brilliantly colored food looking product that comes in a box or plastic wrap.
Mesa AZ Chiropractor Gives Warning About Consuming Food Coloring
Avoid Artificial Food Colors – ARE YOU SURE YOU WANT TO GIVE THAT BRILLIANTLY COLORED, CARCINOGENIC JUNK FOOD TO YOUR CHILD? Many are not aware that the coal tar dyes (you know, the ones with the label like FD&C #7…and why exactly are #1-6 no longer used??) are suspected carcinogens. I remember asking a patient to bring in her prescription prenatal vitamins for me to look at. Opening the bottle, I knew instantly that the color of the tablets was not of Mother Nature. I’m sure if I shut the lights off they would’ve glowed. I proceeded to ask the patient whether she actually cared what color her prenatal vitamins were. Of course, the answer was “no.” So why had her OB written a prescription for a vitamin (supposed to help) that had suspected cancer causing agents in them? Is this a time to be playing with “maybe” the dyes don’t cause cancer? And what about just about every other food we market to kids? Do you realize most pickles (except Bubbies, which are, arguably, the best pickles on the planet) have food coloring in them? Just how much do you have to process a cucumber to take the green out? Read labels. Always, always avoid artificial food colorings. Period. And for goodness’ sake–please keep them out of reach of children! Read More…
Mesa AZ Chiropractor Explains Why Fat Isn’t a Bad Thing
Fat Isn’t a Bad Thing
BUT I THOUGHT “FAT” WAS FATTENING?? Man did the 90’s screw us all up. That darn food pyramid was one of the worst things to happen to our health after the Value Meal. Because of this decade, we began to associate “fat” with fattening. This is just not true, and we are having a hard time undoing the deep seated belief that fat is bad. Certainly there are good and bad fats, but so long as we stick to the good ones, everything will be just dandy. The problem we are now seeing is that there is so much research out there supporting the benefits of omega-3 fatty acids in multiple chronic diseases. Doesn’t really sound like a problem, until we realize that many of these conditions would not even exist if we ate more foods that contain these fats in the first place! That means wild caught fish (NO FARM RAISED), wild game, omega-3 eggs, flax seed, nuts, chia, salvia. Increasing our intake of these fats while eliminating / reducing intake of omega-6 fats like cottonseed (BAD!!), corn, soybean, safflower and sunflower oils is always a good thing. Read More…
Bacterium Linked to Crohn’s Disease to Be Removed From Milk in UK – (11-02-00)
Bacterium Linked to Crohn’s Disease to Be Removed From Milk in UK
My gosh…how much more evidence do we need???? Cow’s milk is NOT good for us. Loaded with hormones and antibiotics, a very common allergen, may actually contribute to fractures instead of protect, linked to Type I diabetes in children, and now this? When are we going to wake up??
(article) British health experts are to look at ways to eliminate a bacterium in milk that has been linked to Crohn’s disease from entering the human food chain, the Food Standards Agency (FSA) said o Monday. As reported by Reuters Health, some scientists have warned that Mycobacterium paratuberculosis is widespread in the environment, survives pasteurisation, and is likely to be implicated in causing the bowel disorder. In a news release last week, the FSA confirmed that the bacterium can survive normal and even prolonged pasteurisation. Preliminary survey results had found it to be present in 1.9% of raw milk samples and 2.1% of pasteurised milk samples in the UK. The agency said independent experts on the Advisory Committee on the Microbiological Safety of Food had now examined the evidence that M. paratuberculosis might trigger Crohn’s disease. Although there was no proof, they were concerned that there might be a link.
Organ-Specific Autoantibodies and Celiac Disease Patients – (10-16-00)
Organ-Specific Autoantibodies and Celiac Disease Patients
This is yet another example of how important it is to determine food allergies and avoid those foods we’re allergic to. Wheat is high on the list of common allergies, along with corn and milk. This article also brings to light the systemic affects of food allergies; effects are not always what a person would normally think of. No hives, no stomach upset. In this study, children allergic to gluten (a protein found in wheat) had evidence of autoimmunity to cells in the thyroid and pancreas. Would this not lead to strong evidence for every patient with suspected hypothyroidism to have a trial of wheat elimination?
J Pediatr 2000;137:263-265 Patients with celiac disease have high levels of diabetes- and thyroid-related autoantibodies that “disappear” when the patients are placed on a gluten-free diet. The finding confirms the high prevalence of organ-specific autoantibodies in patients with celiac disease, and supports the theory that these antibodies are gluten-dependent, Dr. Alessandro Ventura, of the Universita di Trieste, Italy, and colleagues say in the August issue of the Journal of Pediatrics. The investigators tested 90 children with celiac disease for serum antibodies to islet cells, glutamic acid decarboxylase, insulin, and thyroperoxidase. The overall prevalence of diabetes- and thyroid-related autoantibodies was 11.1% and 14.4%, respectively.
Very Delayed Reactions in Cow’s Milk-Intolerant Children – (08-14-00)
Very Delayed Reactions in Cow’s Milk-Intolerant Children
Until we get away from the idea of getting an immediate allergic skin reaction as evidence of food allergy, we will never come to fully appreciate how prevalent and important food allergies really are. This study noted effects TWO WEEKS after exposure.
Allergy 2000;55:574-579 In the initial challenge, no children showed very delayed reactions (i.e., by more than 72 hours) to cow’s milk, the results indicate. However, there were three cases of very delayed reactions at the year 1 “cure challenge,” six cases after 2 years, and eight cases after 3 years. Among the ten patients with very delayed reactions, the investigators note, the mean time between the initiation of the challenge and the onset of any clinical symptom was 13.3 days. All symptoms disappeared after reinstitution of a cow’s milk-free diet.
Ear infections and allergy – (06-26-00)
Ear infections and allergy
The relationship between ear infections and food allergy is a very important one, and should be evaluated in EVERY child with ear infections.
Allergy 55 (5), 435-441 The inflammatory response by eosinophils, neutrophils, and mast cells in the middle ear was distinctly different between atopic and nonatopic patients (P<0.001). This study provides evidence that eosinophils and mast cells, both essential to a Th–2 driven immune response, are present in the majority of ears with chronic OME, and supports the hypothesis that middle–ear mucosa, like that of the rest of the upper respiratory tract, is capable of an allergic response.