Nutrition

Boosting Your Gut Health with 7 Foods

Posted in: Nutrition | May 31, 2019

Prebiotics – Eat More!

Prebiotics provide a good food source for certain populations of healthy gut bacteria, such as bifidobacteria, which, in turn, prevent intestinal inflammation. Studies have shown that prebiotics can be particularly beneficial for obese people, as they reduce insulin and cholesterol levels, while lowering the risk of heart disease and diabetes. Prebiotics can be bought as supplements, but they are also contained within foods including asparagus, leeks, bananas, garlic and jerusalem artichoke.

Fibre & Wholegrains – A diet rich in high-fibre foods such as apples, artichokes, blueberries, chickpeas, lentils, pease and beans can limit the growth of harmful bacteria and stimulate bifidobacteria, lactobacilli and another healthy species called Bacteroidetes.
Fermented Products – Fermented foods such as kimchi, kefir, kombucha, natural yoghurts and fermented soya bean milk have been shown to promote the abundance of healthy gut bacteria and reduce the levels of enterobacteriaceae, a family of bacteria linked to a number of chronic diseases. Natural yoghurt enriched with bifidobacteria has also been found to alleviate lactose intolerance in children and adults, while yoghurts enhanced with lactobacilli have had some beneficial results in patients with inflammatory bowel disease. Avoid flavoured yoghurts, which tend to contain high levels of sugar.
Polyphenols – Polyphenols are found in foods including almonds, blueberries and broccoli as well as in green tea, cocoa and red wine. The types of polyphenols found in cocoa are linked to changes in the microbiome that reduce inflammation and triglyceride levels.

Avoid Artificial Aweeteners

Commonly found in food as replacements for sugar….Artificial sweeteners such as aspartame has been found to alter gut bacteria in human and animal studies. These changes appear to result in elevated blood sugar levels and increased susceptibility to metabolic disease.

Read More

Probiotics – 7 Tips for the Best Choice

Posted in: Nutrition, Tips | February 28, 2019

Choosing a probiotic can be alot like choosing an insurance company. The sheer quantity to choose from alone often makes the process extremely difficult. Here are 4 positive elements to look for in a great probiotic…and 3 characteristics to avoid. They can be the difference between a life enhancing supplement and another cheap disappointment.

Characteristics to Include:

Number of CFUs – CFUs (Colony Forming Units) are how probiotics are measured. The quantity of CFUs alone has a significant impact on the product’s effectiveness and your resulting satisfaction. Minimum target: 40-50 billion of CFUs per serving.
Strain Diversity – here again, quantity is critical. Target: 8-12 strains is good and diverse quantity to offer real benefit to your digestive and immune health. Many inferior products only contain 1-2 strains. Don’t waste your time and money.
Substrains – shown next to strains on the product label…substrains indicate that a particular probiotic strain has been clinically studied and proven effective (e.g. L. Acidophilus La-14TM)
Prebiotics – a fiber-based component like NutraFlora® Fiber…prebiotics nourish the good bacteria in the gut so it thrives and increases effectiveness in general

Things to Avoid:

Refrigerated Probiotics – refrigeration is required for some probiotics because they often contain strains that aren’t stable and tend to be ineffective. Refrigerated probiotics often lose their potency during shipping from manufacturer to consumer. Best bet…probiotics formulated to withstand room temperature.
Chemicals or Irritants – Look for a probiotic that is Gluten, Soy and Dairy Free, and does not contain preservatives or fillers.
Amazon Reviews – Up to 65% of Amazon reviews are written by paid individuals, and some of them might not have tried the product. Balance your research with real research.

Manuka Honey

Posted in: Nutrition, Tips | June 30, 2018

Manuka Honey is a darker than most types of honey you may be accustomed to…and it’s specifically collected from bees that have been feasting on the Manuka tree, found primarily in New Zealand and southeast Australia.

Key Points:

Lab tests have shown Manuka honey to be a powerful inhibitor of bacteria that develop on medical devices such as catheters, of which 100 million are sold worldwide every year
Up to 90 percent of urinary tract infections (UTIs) are caused by Escherichia coli (E. coli) bacteria, but other infections also leave patients open to life-threatening health problems
Manuka honey has proven to be powerful against E. coli, even when diluted to 3.3 percent. Unlike other “therapeutic” compounds doctors may prescribe, bacteria have not yet developed a resistance to Manuka honey

Many people already familiar with Manuka honey know that notorious for being a remedy for inflammation and bacterial infections.

A new study at the University of Southampton in the U.K. recently reported that the honey from Down Under may be useful for decreasing the risk of infections and helping to prevent pathogenic bacterial colonies known as biofilm from developing on catheters and other medical devices.

Indwelling medical devices harbor biofilms which have been shown to cause infections and act as reservoirs for pathogens. Urinary catheters are often in place for considerable periods of time and are susceptible to both encrustation and biofilm formation…Strategies for minimizing biofilm occurrence underpin an active research area in biomedicine. Manuka honey has, (among other things), well-established antibacterial properties.”1 ~ The Journal of Pathology

The study entailed placing Manuka honey with bacterial cultures including Escherichia coli (E. coli), the cause of up to 90 percent of urinary tract infections (UTIs),2 and Proteus mirabilis, bacteria that under certain conditions can escape from the intestine and cause a urinary tract infection,3 to observe the honey’s effect on biofilm development. Medical News Today reported:

After 72 hours, the team found the highest dilution of honey — 16.7 percent — had reduced the stickiness of bacteria by 77 percent, and all other dilutions had reduced stickiness by at least 70 percent by that point.

Scientists still want to conduct further testing, however, before they advise using honey on catheters in real hospital settings, but as a Time article noted:

Antibiotic resistance is a major problem worldwide. Bacteria can naturally become resistant to drugs used to treat it, and widespread use of antibiotics through the years in medicine and agriculture have contributed to the problem. 5

They say that doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result is the definition of insanity, yet doctors keep applying and prescribing the same ineffective methods and drugs to and for their patients with UTIs and other health problems, often making their diseases, pain and suffering worse. And all the time, honey was right under their noses.

MultiVitamins – The Straight Skinny

Posted in: Nutrition | April 30, 2018

Everyone wants to be and stay healthy…yet many are concerned that our meals do not provide enough nutrition. So why do we periodically hear medical professionals that said you know what supplements you’re just wasting your money you just turning your pee yellow? Why do we seem to go back and forth on on whether or not those are beneficial in terms of mainstream acceptance? Dr. Peter Glidden counters recent arguments that vitamins and supplements are nothing but a waste of money. Dr. Glidden explains the science and research behind the benefits and says those saying otherwise are using bad science. iHealthTube.com

Multivitamins Explained: Supplementing Can Help You Reach Optimal Health – NaturalNews

Why do we need multivitamins?

Let’s face it, due to the nutritionally depleted foods available to us, the fatty foods that we eat “on the go”, along with everyday stress, toxins in the environment, and foods offered at most grocery stores, our bodies lack the vitamins and minerals we require. Many people eat food that is “dead food”, food that does not offer any nutritional value whatsoever. Our bodies are literally starved of proper nutrients. Even when we obtain our food from natural sources, depletion of nutrients in the soil has made it increasingly difficult to get enough amounts of nutrients from our food. Therefore, we all need to supplement in addition to our daily food intake. Read More

Dr. Mercola Discusses the Guidelines in Choosing a Good Multivitamin – Mercola

I believe you should get most of your nutrition from the food you eat. Some people call this controversial…I call it common sense. However modern-day agriculture practices which rely heavily on the introduction of artificial fertilizers makes this virtually impossible.

The Best Supplement Brands: A Comprehensive Guide & Review – OrganicNewsRoom

PROPER NUTRITION CAN BE HARD to manage in today’s world of sub-par food options, especially if you live on-the-go. Fortunately, you can often time make up the difference by proper nutritional supplementation with vitamins and other natural compounds such as Calcium, Magnesium, or Fish Oil. It is important to purchase products from the best supplement brands which are trusted by doctors and healthcare professionals to provide the purest, most high-quality supplements available.

Now, with…a much better perspective on why it is important to purchase quality supplements; here is the list of the best supplement brands—with the pros and cons of each one. Do keep in mind that any of these brands are almost certain to be much better than any product you’ll find in stores—even your local health food store—and are often only available for purchase online, or through a licensed healthcare practitioner. You’ll be able to find a wide array of supplements made by these manufacturers ranging from some of the best protein powders on the market to very obscure and hard-to-find products that offer very specific nutritional support. Read More

Why Most Multivitamins End Up in the Toilet and How to Really Solve a Vitamin and Mineral Deficiency – NaturalNews

The problem with most multivitamins

First of all, let’s deal with the lion’s share of multivitamins being sold on the shelves, which are synthetic versions that contain a laundry list of isolated vitamins and minerals. These multivitamins may look good on paper, but inside your body, nothing can be further from the truth.
The first issue is that the body can’t properly absorb what it doesn’t recognize. Putting a multitude of laboratory isolated vitamins and minerals together with artificial colors, flavors, high glycemic sugars, and GMOs, is NOT a recipe for increasing your health. Synthetic nutrients that are not found in nature are largely unrecognizable and therefore have poor assimilation, which means that most of the formula ends up passing through your system in the form of urine. Read More

Apple Cider Vinegar Health Benefits

Posted in: Nutrition | February 28, 2018

What if you could significantly improve your health with a cheap, one-minute morning ritual? The only flipside…you’ll probably end up making some funny, puckered-up faces as a result. Are you game?

The Pucker Powered Morning Elixir:

Apple cider vinegar has long been touted by nutritionists, doctors and health experts worldwide for many years. Why? Because it benefits the human body in wide variety of ways. Whether it’s enriching and beautifying your hair…or searching for a new healthy way of attacking lingering allergies…or even promoting a healthier digestive system, apple cider vinegar benefits overall human health naturally and cost effectively.

Since apple cider vinegar is fairly acidic and sour in taste, here are two recommendations:

It should NOT be ingested undiluted by swigging it straight from the bottle.
Instead…mix two teaspoons with a cup of water and drink with a straw. Straw? …it prevent the apple cider vinegar’s acid from wearing away at your tooth enamel. Make sure to place the straw’s end far back on your tongue to prevent contact with your bottom teeth.

How Apple Cider Vinegar Boosts Your Health:

Huge amounts of evidence of apple cider vinegar’s amazing health benefits continually manifest. This pungent, orange-hued liquid is rife with amino acids along with antiseptic, acetic and lactic acid. In layman’s terms, apple cider vinegar will destroy harmful yeasts and bacteria in your gut. Additional benefits of apple cider vinegar consumption include the following:

Improved blood pressure regulation
Detoxification of the body
Halitosis (bad breath) reduction
Improved skin appearance
Even out blood sugar levels
Better heart health
Produces healthy bacteria
Increases energy
A slowing of the aging process
Balances pH level
Elimination or significant mitigation of candida overgrowth
Prevents overeating

By stimulating healthy bacteria production in the digestive track while spiking energy and balancing one’s pH level…Apple cider vinegar promotes a more balanced pH level that makes you more capable of combating sickness. It also tends to clean out the lymphatic system and break apart mucus buildup, according to several studies. The benefit? …your body is better capable of retaining water and warding off swelling as well as congestion. It is also important to note that the presence of acetic acid in apple cider vinegar ameliorates the release of iron from food during the digestive process. This increase in iron absorption allows the body to make better use of oxygen, which consequently causes more energy to be consumed and ultimately results in weight loss.

Why Morning Apple Cider Vinegar So Important?:

It suppresses appetite…combats cravings and prevents over-eating. It’s all about the acetic acid and pectin fiber…almost like magic!