IF I TELL YOU TO AVOID REFINED CARBS, WILL YOU HEAR ME? While this may come as news to some, the association of hearing loss as well as tinnitus (ringing in the ears) with prediabetes is very well established. This particular study just reinforces what we’ve already known. Bottom line is that prediabetes is very, very bad for the nervous system. Prediabetes fundamentally ruins the way cells generate energy in the form of ATP from glucose. So, cells that require boatloads of energy like brain cells, are going to develop problems. It is likely that subtle changes in hearing may be the first real sign that there is a problem with the brain cells getting enough energy. The “low hanging fruit” of damage caused by prediabetes, if you will. Keep in mind that this process of prediabetes is meanwhile destroying every other single cell in your body. Generally NOT good.
Mediterranean Diet
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.
Add Nuts To Your Diet and Improve your Lifestyle
Top Chiropractor Mesa, AZ
ADD THIS SIMPLE FOOD TO YOUR DIET TO STAVE OFF DIABETES… Keep in mind that, to ward of diabetes, there is no one or two things you have to do for success. It will likely require a multitude of changes. And these are NOT optional. The progression to diabetes and the diabetic state is one of the most devastating physiological states that humans can hang out in. And the percentage of the population that is on their way is very, very high. Well over half. And, for gosh’s sake, IT IS NOT GENETIC!!! Ugh!! Can’t tell yo how many times I hear that. The reason anyone promotes your genes as the problem is because this absolves you of responsibility and all you have to do is take this pill or that. But I digress (and rant…). This study finds that the addition of healthier fats found in walnuts and flaxseed can be used to augment the other lifestyle changes that you need to make. Pretty simple start, huh? Read More…
Lyon Diet Heart Study – (05-03-01)
Lyon Diet Heart Study
This is a wonderful article outlining very nicely what a Mediterranean diet consist of. I am a big, big fan of the Mediterranean diet and feel that, for most patients, it is probably one of the healthiest on the planet. In previous studies it has been compared to the ADA and AHA diets and pretty much puts them to shame; and yet these organizations continue to recommend their outdated, ineffective programs.
Circulation — Kris-Etherton et al. 103 (13): 1823
Veggies–One Meal or Spread Out? How to Get the Best Benefit
Hopefully no one reading this is going to argue the benefits of increasing fruit and vegetable intake. But beyond this, is there any way to maximize, or at least make it simpler, to get the most from your diet? The answer is yes.
8-10 servings per day are the current recommendations, and yet few of you actually are anywhere near that goal. It’s really not that hard if you make it a part of your lifestyle. Real peanut butter toast on whole grain bread with bananas on top for breakfast? Knock off two servings as you enjoy. Amy’s vegetarian lasagna for lunch? Chalk up another 2-3. But that leaves maybe 5 servings to meet at dinner. You can’t just jam the bulk of your veggies into single meal, can you?
Before we get to the answer to this question, there are a few things that you should know first. Many protective phytonutrients in foods are fat soluble. That means that they require our fat-digestion system to be up and running; bile from the gallbladder, pancreatic lipase and, to a lessor extent, digestive lipases in saliva. When we have a meal that has fat in it, we will better absorb fat soluble phytonutrients as well as fat soluble vitamins (A, D, E and K). Anyone who has had his or her gallbladder removed or is on any type of acid-suppressing drug like Nexium or Prilosec may not release sufficient amounts of pancreatic lipase for healthy fat digestion.
This is one of the reasons why we believe that the Mediterranean diet has such strong benefits on health. The combination of lycopene (the fat soluble red pigment in tomatoes) and olive oil, both common in the Mediterranean diet, will help increase the absorption of the lycopene, thus providing more protection than with either alone.
This also means that those of you who dove head first into the “fat free lifestyle” of the 90’s, using high fructose loaded salad dressings, were not likely getting the full health benefits of the components of the salad like the carotenoids in the bell peppers and the lycopene in the tomatoes.
Back to this particular study. Researchers looked at how the consumption of vegetables, whether in a single meal or spread out, would affect the absorption of the carotenoids (vividly colored protective compounds). Here are the details:
- Participants ate raw salad vegetables and 8 g canola oil over a two meal period in three meal patterns.
- The first pattern was 100% of vegetables and oil in the first meal and 0% in the second.
- 75% in the first meal and 25% in the second.
- 50% in the first meal and 50% in the second.
- Additional protein-rich “chef’s salad” ingredients were distributed equally between meals.
One would think that spreading out the intake of the vegetables throughout the day would give the best results. That’s exactly what the researchers thought going in. But, contrary to this belief, the absorption of the carotenoids from the meal was greatest when >75% of the vegetables were consumed at a single meal.
Wow! Who would’ve thought this would’ve been the findings? I know I would not have. However, if you consider that the digestive “effort” to absorb these fats will be greater with larger intakes, this begins to make sense.
Overall, the take home message is that you can feel good about loading up most of your vegetable intake during a single meal, provided that you take your time to eat the meal in a peaceful setting as well as combining the food with healthy oils (preferably olive oil) to get the best benefits.
Experimental study of Mediterranean diet for rheumatoid arthritis – (02-24-03)
Experimental study of Mediterranean diet for rheumatoid arthritis
Ditto. Ann Rheum Dis — Abstracts: Sköldstam et al. 62 (3): 208
Resveratrol Enhances Differentiation Induced by Butyrate – (07-08-02)
Resveratrol Enhances Differentiation Induced by Butyrate
This study on colon cancer cells shows an additive effect of resveratrol (found in red wine and peanuts) and butyrate (a short chain fatty acid formed by bacteria acting on soluble fiber in the gut). With studies like this, we start to see why certain traditional diets have the health -promoting effects they have. The Mediterranean diet has already show to be beneficial via increased absorption of lycopene (fat soluble carotenoid) with olive oil intake. This research study mechanism would find lower rates of colon cancer in patients combining wine intake with whole grains.
Nutrition.org — Abstracts: Wolter and Stein 132 (7): 2082
Can Healthy Fats Stop Cancer? 7 Facts to Know
When the USDA came out with the Food Guide Pyramid in 1992, smart physicians and researchers predicted increases in heart disease, diabetes and cancer.
Guess what we saw?
Increases in heart disease, diabetes and cancer. But why? Those of you old enough to remember the Pyramid will recall that fats and oils were at the top of the pyramid with the instructions to “use sparingly.” Grains, with no guidance on whole grains versus refined, made up the base of the pyramid at 6-11 servings per day.
The problem is that fats and oils, the healthy ones, are an integral part of a healthy lifestyle. But the Pyramid drove fats into the category of “fattening” in the eyes of the American public. To this day, many people think that foods high in fat will make them fat. This is just not true.
Now that I’ve gotten this out of the way, we need to move on to the meat of today’s article.
There have been some clear associations between healthy fats found in wild caught fish, nuts and olive oil and lowered rates of certain types of cancer as well as an adjunct to mainstream cancer treatment. Some examples include:
- Using omega 3 fatty acids to improve cancer outcomes.
- Olive oil use lowers colorectal cancer risk.
- EPA kills off pancreatic cancer in the lab.
- Healthy fats protect skin cells from skin cancer.
There are many more, but I think you get the idea.
This particular article is a review of the anti-cancer properties of omega-3 fatty acids. Here’s what the authors point out:
- Epoxydocosapentaenoic acids (EDPs) are compounds made from the omega-3 DHA.
- EDPs block the compound VEGF (vascular endothelial growth factor). VEGF stimulates the growth of new blood vessels that is so important for tumor growth.
- EDFs block another compound called fibroblast growth factor 2 that also makes new blood vessels.
- EDFs block endothelial cell migration–another process needed to form new blood vessels.
- EDFs block the enzyme protease, which is needed for cancer cells to metastasize.
- In special cellular studies, EDPs have been shown to cut primary tumor growth and metastasis by up to 70%
- Interestingly, compounds derived from the omega-6 arachidonic acid increase angiogenesis and tumor progression.
The bottom line is that an increased intake of omega-3 fatty acids and monounsaturated fats combined with a decrease in animal-based saturated fats and omega-6 fatty acids is clearly have a role to play when it comes to cancer in our bodies.
Good sources of omega-3 fatty acids include:
- wild caught fish
- grass fed meats (NOT grain finished) and wild game
- nuts and seeds (flaxseed, chia, almonds, walnuts, pecans, etc…)
- veg-a-fed eggs
Good sources of monounsaturated fats include:
- olive oil (extra virgin, cold pressed is best)
- avacados
- olives
Foods high in omega-6 and animal saturated fats to avoid:
- vegetable oils (corn, soybean, peanut, cottonseed, etc…)
- commercially grown meats
- dairy products
If your fridge is a little short on items on the first 2 lists above and loaded with the third list, it’s time for a purge. Your future risk of cancer depends on it.