Ten Simple Rules to Healthy Grocery Shopping Habits!

Are you boggled by the confusing array of suggestions for a healthy diet?  Are you overwhelmed when shopping for your family and trying to feed them good food?  Well, here are ten simple rules when eating that may simplify your life!  Eating REAL, fresh food, will treat and even reverse many chronic illnesses.  Just take note and follow these simple steps to a healthy YOU!

1. Ideally eat only food without labels in your kitchen or foods that don’t come in a box, a package, or a can. There are labeled foods that are great, like sardines, artichoke hearts, or roasted red peppers, but you have to be very smart in reading the labels. TWO THINGS TO LOOK FOR:
   Where is the primary ingredient on the list? If the real food is at the end of the list and the sugar or salt is at the beginning, beware. The most abundant ingredient is listed first and the others are listed in descending order by weight.
2. If a food has a label it should have fewer than five ingredients.  Beware of food with health claims on the label. They are usually bad for you – think ”sports beverages.”  I recently saw a bag of deep-fried potato chips with the health claims “gluten-free, organic, no artificial ingredients, no sugar” and with fewer than 5 ingredients listed.  Sounds great, right?  But remember, cola is 100 percent fat-free and that doesn’t make it a health food.
3. If sugar (by any name, including organic cane juice, honey, agave, maple syrup, cane syrup, or molasses) is on the label, throw it out. There may be up to 33 teaspoons of sugar in the average bottle of ketchup. Same goes for white rice and white flour, which act just like sugar in the body. 
4. Throw out any food with high-fructose corn syrup on the label. It is a super sweet liquid sugar that takes no energy for the body to process. Some high-fructose corn syrup also contains mercury as a by-product of the manufacturing process. Many liquid calories, such as sodas, juices, and “sports” drinks, contain this metabolic poison. It always signals low quality or processed food.
5. Throw out any food with the word hydrogenated on the label. This is an indicator of trans fats, vegetable oils converted through a chemical process into margarine or shortening. They are good for keeping cookies on the shelf for long periods of time without going stale, but these fats have been proven to cause heart disease, diabetes, and cancer. New York City and most European counties have banned trans fats, and you should, too.
6. Throw out any highly refined cooking oils such as corn, soy, etc. Avoid toxic fats and fried foods.
7. Throw out any food with ingredients you can’t recognize, pronounce, or that are in Latin.
8. Throw out any foods with preservatives, additives, coloring or dyes, “natural flavorings,” or flavor enhancers such as MSG (monosodium glutamate).
9. Throw out food with artificial sweeteners of all kinds  (aspartame, Splenda, sucralose, and sugar alcohols—any word that ends with “ol” like xylitol, sorbitol). They make you hungrier, slow your metabolism, give you gas, and make you store belly fat.
10. If it came from the earth or a farmer’s field, not a food chemist’s lab, it’s safe to eat. As Michael Pollan says, if it was grown on a plant, not made in a plant, then you can keep it in your kitchen. If it is something your great grandmother wouldn’t recognize as food, throw it out (like a “lunchable” or go-gurt”).  Stay away from “food-like substances.”

References

Part II - Diagnosis and Treatment of Leaky Gut...

So now you've read all about leaky gut and may be wondering if you have it...

Food allergies, toxins, sugar, antibiotics, parasites and stress can wreak havoc with your gastrointestinal system, upsetting the balance in your intestine as well as allowing harmful substances
to enter the system. Gas, bloating, diarrhea, constipation or abdominal discomfort may be the first clue that something is wrong with the digestive tract, but did you know allergies
or even lack of energy and fatigue can often be traced to digestive problems as well?

Normally the gastrointestinal epithelium provides a semi-permeable barrier with allows nutrients to be absorbed while preventing larger molecules from crossing into the bloodstream.   When this lining becomes inflamed or damaged, then the barrier becomes "leaky".  The fallout results in larger, undigested food molecules and other “bad stuff” (yeast, toxins, and all other forms of waste) that your body normally doesn’t allow through, to flow freely into your bloodstream.

Common causes of increased intestinal hyperpermeability or "leaky gut":

1. Medications (NSAIDS) like ibuprofen and motrin
2. Microbial overgrowth or infection
3. Parasite infection
4. Fungal overgrowth (Candida)
5. Ingestion of allergenic foods
6. Maldigestion/malabsorption (pancreatic insufficieny or low HCl)
7. Radiation therapy or chemotherapy
8. Stress
9. Aging
10. IgA deficiency
11. Chronic alcohol intake
12. Excessive or strenuous exercise
13. Inflammatory bowel disease - Crohn's or Ulcerative colitis

The small and large intestines contains numerous dietary and bacterial products with toxic properties. These include v bacteria, bacterial cell wall particles, peptides, and bacterial antigens capable of inducing antibodies which may cross-react with human tissues.... when these antibodies react, they may form systemic immune complexes which can circulate and deposit in tissues far away from the gut.

Abnormalities of the gut lining barrier lead to increased uptake of inflammatory molecules and pathogenic bacteria. With inflammation & injury to the gut lininng, mucosal absorption of normally-excluded substances increases dramatically.  Intestinal inflammation enhances the uptake and distribution of potentially injurious bacteria and proteins .

"Leaky Gut" is seen in disorders such as:

• Inflammatory bowel disease (Crohn's & Colitis)
• Inflammatory joint disease
• Food allergy
• Celiac disease
• Rheumatoid arthritis 
• Ankylosing spondylitis
• Reiter’s syndrome
• Eczema & psoriasis
• Bipolar, depression and schizophrenia
• Allergies and asthma
• Autoimmune thyroiditis
• Multiple sclerosis
• Autoimmune liver & gallbladder disease

So how do we test for "Leaky Gut"?

Small molecules (glucose or mannitol) readily penetrate cells and passively diffuse through them. Larger molecules such as lactulose are  normally are normally not able to diffuse through the cell.  If the tight junctions between the cells are functioning properly, they will prevent the lactulose from leaking through.  The  Intestinal Permeability Test directly measures the ability these two sugar molecules—mannitol and lactulose—to permeate the intestinal mucosa.

Mannitol is readily absorbed and serves as a marker of transcellular uptake.   Lactulose is only slightly absorbed and serves as a marker for mucosal integrity (ability of those "tight junctions" to keep out the bad stuff)  The test is a 6 hour urine test that compares ratios of the two substances.

For more info:
Genova Diagnostics Intestinal Permeability Assessment
You will need to contact your functional medicine physician in order to order the test.


Now for some treatment options for this leaky gut!

Nutritional Support

1. Glutamine, an amino acid, has been shown to reverse intestinal mucosal damage from various insults. Glutamine is the principle fuel used by the upper intestinal tract to repair and heal.
2. Agents that stimulate protective mucus secretion may also help with the healing.  Some common ones I use are marshmallow root extract and deglycyrrhizinated licorice (DGL) extract.  
3. Probiotics are essential!  Lactobacillus casei, bifidobacter species, and saccromyces boulardii, a beneficial type of yeast are all important to restore gut health.
4. Fish oil can be very helpful in the treatment of intestinal inflammation by decreasing inflammatory prostaglandins.  EPA and DHA should be used in the range of 2-4gm daily
5. Quercetin functions as a natural mast cell stabilizer and decrease release of histmine which contributes to inflammation & injury.  To be effective, quercetin should be used in powder form and taken 3-6gm daily.
6. Vitamins A and D are critical to supporting secretory IgA function and restoring the mucosal immune system.  Ask your doctor for specific doses...

To Decrease Toxic Load:

1. Eliminate all known foods that you are sensitive to.  This can be determined through a comprehensive elimination diet or IgG/IgE food tests on the blood.
2. Avoid alcohol, NSAIDS (ibuprofen, motrin, alleve), and minimize other OTC medications.
3. Bentonite clay, a colloidal aluminum silicate, is a well-known intestinal adsorbent
   which absorbs numerous toxins, endotoxins and bacteria.  Its value in permeability alterations may result from lowering the toxin load in the lumen, thus facilitating repair.
4. HCI and digestive enzymes such as plant enzymes, pepsin and pancreatin might help to lessen the antigenic load or toxic molecules being presented on the intestinal lining.

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Leaky Gut - The Syndrome Linked to Many Autoimmune Diseases...

"Leaky Gut" Syndrome

Hyperpermeability or "leaky gut" syndrome is the name given to a very common disorder in which the cells lining the intestines become "leaky" due to inflammation. The abnormally large spaces present between the cells of the gut wall allow the entry of toxic material into the bloodstream that would normally be eliminated.

The gut becomes leaky in the sense that bacteria, fungi, parasites, undigested protein, fat and toxic waste normally not absorbed into the bloodstream in the healthy state, pass through a damaged, hyperpermeable gut membrane. This can be verified by special gut permeability urine tests or microscopic examination of the lining of the intestinal wall.

Common Causes of Leaky Gut

• Infections - fungal overgrowth, parasitic infections
• Drugs like
• NSAIDS, chemotherapeutic agents
• Crohn's disease or Ulcerative Colitis
• Celiac disease
• Chronic alcoholism
• Strenuous exercise
• Food allergies

Leaky Gut and the Connection to Autoimmune Disease

Leaky gut syndrome is almost always associated with autoimmune disease. In fact, reversing symptoms of autoimmune disease depends on healing the lining of the gastrointestinal tract. Any other treatment is just symptom suppression. An autoimmune disease is defined as one in which the immune system makes antibodies against its own tissues. Diseases in this category include lupus, alopecia areata, rheumatoid arthritis, polymyalgia rheumatica, multiple sclerosis, fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue syndrome, Sjogren’s syndrome (dry eyes & dry mouth), vitiligo, thyroiditis, vasculitis, Crohn’s disease, ulcerative colitis, urticaria (hives), type 1 diabetes and Raynaud’s syndrome. Fortunately doctors are beginning to realize the essential role that the gut plays in these disease. Understanding the leaky gut phenomenon helps us see why allergies and autoimmune diseases develop and how to design therapies to restore intestinal integrity and reverse leaky gut.

Inflammation is a key trigger for leaky gut

Inflammation causes the spaces between the cells of the gut wall to become larger than usua. Then protein molecules are absorbed before they have a chance to be completely broken down. The immune system starts making antibodies against these larger molecules because it recognizes them as foreign, invading substances. Antibodies are made against these proteins derived from previously harmless foods. The immune system becomes hyperstimulated and over-reactive to substances that are not necessarily supposed to be dangerous.

Human tissues have proteins & antigens very similar to those on foods, bacteria, parasites, candida or fungi. The antibodies created by the leaky gut phenomenon against these antigens can get into various tissues and trigger an inflammatory reaction in that tissue when the corresponding food is consumed or the microbe is encountered. Autoantibodies are thus created and inflammation becomes chronic. If this inflammation occurs in a joint, autoimmune arthritis (rheumatoid arthritis) develops. If it occurs in the brain, myalgic encephalomyelitis (chronic fatigue syndrome) may be the result. If it occurs in the blood vessels, vasculitis (inflammation of the blood vessels) is the resulting autoimmune problem... and so on.

If the antibodies end up attacking the lining of the gut itself, the result may be colitis or Crohn’s disease. If it occurs in the lungs, asthma is triggered on a delayed basis every time the individual consumes the food which triggered the production of the antibodies in the first place. It is easy to see that practically any organ or body tissue can become affected by food allergies created by the leaky gut. Because the foods can trigger delayed reactions, it can often be very hard to pinpoint the triggering entity.

 
Leaky gut may cause increase risk of infection and sensitivity to environmental chemicals

This ongoing inflammation also damages the protective coating of antibodies normally present in a healthy gut called IgA. Since IgA helps us ward off infections we become less resistant to viruses, bacteria, parasites and candida. These microbes are then able to invade the bloodstream and colonize almost any body tissue or organ. In the clinic we often find patients with leaky gut or autoimmune disease also have microbial infections ongoing in the gut.

Not only can leaky gut create food allergies as the proteins we consume are activating antibodies, but the microbes in the gut can cross over into the blood stream creating a toxic burden that overwhelms the liver's ability to detoxify. Often in severe cases of leaky gut, patients will develop sensitivities to perfume, cigarette smoke or other environmental chemicals. Common complaints are also "brain fog", confusion, poor focus/concentration, or memory loss.

Leaky gut also causes malabsorption and nutritional deficiencies

Finally, leaky gut may contribute to a long list of mineral deficiencies because of the ongoing inflammation and damage to carrier proteins. The most common are iron deficiency, vitamin B12 deficiency, magnesium deficiency which can lead to fatigue, neuropathies or muscle pain. Zinc deficiency due to malabsorption can result in hair loss or baldness as occurs in alopecia areata. Copper deficiency can occur in an identical way leading to high blood cholesterol levels and osteoarthritis. Further, bone problems develop as a result of the malabsorption of calcium, boron, silicon and manganese.

Part II - Diagnosis and Treatment of Leaky Gut...

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Yummy Gluten-free, Grain-free Breakfast Bars!

GLUTEN-FREE, GRAIN-FREE BREAKFAST BARS

• 1 ¼ cup blanched almond flour
• ¼ teaspoon celtic sea salt
• ¼ teaspoon baking soda
• ¼ cup grapeseed oil
• 1/8 cup pure molasses 
• 1/8 cup of pure organic maple syrup
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• ½ cup unsweetened shredded coconut
• ¼ cup pumpkin seeds
• ¼ cup sunflower seeds
• ¼ cup almond slivers
• ¼ cup of crushed pecans
• ¼ cup of crushed walnuts
• ¼ cup of chia seeds
• ¼ cup raisins or dried cranberries

1. In a small bowl, combine almond flour, salt and baking soda
2. In a large bowl, combine grapeseed oil, molasses, maple syrup, & vanilla
3. Stir dry ingredients into wet
4. Mix in coconut, seeds, nuts, chia & dried fruit
5. Grease an 8x8 inch glass or ceramic baking dish with grapeseed oil
6. Press the dough into the baking dish, wetting your hands with water to help pat the dough down evenly
7. Bake at 350° for 20-25 minutes
8. Serve!  If bars seem to crumble easily, you can add slightly more oil & molasses.  I just cool and keep bars in the fridge and they stay together just fine.

Makes 12-16 bars

Modified recipe from Elena's Pantry ....http://www.elanaspantry.com/

Reviews and comparisons of Almond Milk.... the best and the worst!

photo courtesy of www.freedigitalphotos.net

Are you looking for a dairy-free, soy-free alternative to milk?  Almond and coconut milks are delicious and healthy alternatives.  If you own a juicer, it is quite simple to make your own... however, if you want to try commercially available brands, I've tried them all and researched ingredients for you!

Here's my take on the best and the worst of commercially available almond milk...

• Blue Diamond Almond Breeze unsweetened vanilla- my favorite! Fantastic with lattes, creamy, delicious and smooth,  Does not contain gellan gum or xanthan gum both of which may cause reactions in hypersensitive patients.  From company email: Blue Diamond only uses the highest quality food grade *carrageenan – not degraded carrageenan.
• So Delicious Almond Milk - also very tasty and great for lattes.  Contains carrageenan and locust bean gum but no reactions.  One of the few certified gluten-free, dairy-free!  And they do make "Plus" versions with extra protein (5gm per serving) from added rice protein - haven't tried this yet.
• Whole Foods 365 Organic Almond Milk - Very bad news!  Do not try this if you are gluten-sensitive! Contains **xanthan gum- which I reacted to with trouble breathing & rash.  
• Silk Pure Almond Milk - tastes great, no carrageenan but contains gellan gum and locust bean gum.  Gellan gum is polysaccaride produced by pseudamonas and since often people with sensitive immune systems, (like me!) react to lipopolysaccarides, proceed with caution!  The upside is the make the small individual containers which are great for travel...
• Pacific Organic Unsweetened Almond milk - This one you will find in the aisles with the, non-refrigerated dairy alternatives.   One of the few certified organic brands.  Contains "rice starch" which is not great for paleo or those sensitive to starches, also contains  carageenan (seems to be a pattern here :) but certified gluen-free, dairy-free.  However, it tastes terrible in lattes...very acidic and not creamy at all.  Also curdles and separates when heated. They do make travel sizes....

*Carageenan is a natural polysaccharide (carbohydrate) extracted from red seaweed. It is referred to as a seaweed gelatin much like agar agar. It is a vegetarian/vegan alternative to gelatin.  There are two types of carrageenan, undegraded (food-grade) and degraded (hydrolyzed with acid).  New studies are being done on the safety of Carrageenan, which is in question.

**Xanthan gum may be derived from a variety of source products that are themselves common allergens, such as corn, wheat, dairy, or soy. As such, persons with known sensitivities or allergies to food products are advised to avoid foods including generic xanthan gum or first determine the source for the xanthan gum before consuming the food.  Specifically, an allergic response may be triggered in people sensitive to the growth medium, usually corn, soy, or wheat. For example, residual wheat gluten has been detected on xanthan gum made using wheat. This may trigger a response in people highly sensitive to gluten. 

Celiac Disease and it's link to your genes and gut microbes...

Celiac disease is an autoimmune disorder triggered by gluten, a protein in wheat, barley, rye and spelt. Currently, the only treatment available is the adoption of a lifelong gluten free diet, which is made particularly challenging due to the prevalence of wheat in western diets. It is an excellent example of environmental challenge meeting gene susceptibility, and is a unique example of how exclusion of an environmental trigger can resolve the symptoms.

“Celiac disease has become much more common in the last 50 years, and we don’t know why,” said Dr Joseph Murray of Mayo Clinic “…Obviously human genes haven’t changed, but something has changed in our environment to make this disease more common....”

 

Celiac disease is an inflammatory disorder with autoimmune features characterized by destruction of the intestinal epithelium and remodelling of the intestinal mucosa following the ingestion of dietary gluten. The human gut is home to trillions of commensal organisms, and we are just beginning to understand how these microorganisms interact with, and influence, the host immune system. This may also include the late onset development of Celiac Disease or gluten intolerance.

Key Ideas:

• Celiac disease (CD) is an autoimmune disorder triggered by ingestion of gluten, a major protein in wheat, rye, barley and often oats.
• Research into the root causes indicates that the disorder develops when a person exposed to gluten also has a genetic susceptibility to CD and an unusually permeable intestinal wall.
• Essentially the same trio—an environmental trigger, a genetic susceptibility and a “leaky gut”—seems to underlie other autoimmune disorders as well. This finding raises the possibility that new treatments for CD may also ameliorate other conditions.
• CD is an immune mediated pathology that may be managed not simply through exclusion of the antigen – gluten, but also through the improvement of digestion, reduction of gut permeability, support or mucosal IgA (the gut's immune system)

"If people with celiac disease are born with a genetic susceptibility to it. ... why do some individuals show no evidence of the disorder until late in life?  We are finding there is a link to the "bug" population in the gut.  These bugs collectively known as the microbiome, may differ from person to person and from one population to another, even varying in the same individual as life progresses. They can also influence which genes in their hosts are active at any given time. Hence, a person whose immune system has managed to tolerate gluten for many years might suddenly lose tolerance if the microbiome changes in a way that causes formerly quiet susceptibility genes to become active"

CD and gluten intolerance represent distinct situations in which local tissue damage in the gut may manifest a wide range of illnesses elsewhere, supporting the notion that many illnesses have an origination in the GI tract

Why Is Gluten So Tough To Handle?

There are two unique features to gluten that may partly  explain its ability to trigger an immune response.

1. They have a high content of proline in the gluten proteins, that are hard to break down using our natural proteases in the gut lumen.
2. The gluten fragments are good substrates for the enzyme TransGlutamase (TG2) converting glutamine residues to glutamate. This increases the ability of the gluten peptides to bind to the genetically inherited molecules HLA-DQ2 or HLA-DQ8.

References

1. Fasano A. Surprise from celiac disease. Scientific American August 2009.
2.  Shan,L Et al. Structural Basis for Gluten Intolerance in Celiac Sprue. Science 297, 2275-2279. 2002

3. Arentz-Hansen H, Körner R, Molberg O, Quarsten H, Vader W, Kooy YM, Lundin KE, Koning F, Roepstorff P, Sollid LM, McAdam SN.The intestinal T cell response to alpha-gliadin in adult celiac disease is focused on a single deamidated glutamine targeted by tissue transglutaminase.J Exp Med. 2000 Feb 21;191(4):603-12.
4. Round JL, Mazmanian SK., The gut microbiota shapes intestinal immune responses during health and disease. Nat Rev Immunol. 2009 May;9(5):313-23
5. http://www.nleducation.co.uk

Simple 4 Week Plan to Eliminate Attention Deficit Disorder Symptoms

Photo courtesy of www.freedigitalhphotos.net

ADHD may be linked to genetics, but an unhealthy diet will exaggerate symptoms, even in individuals not predisposed. Simply eliminating foods that cause symptoms can be helpful but adding key nutrients back into your diet will have an even greater impact. Individuals with ADHD may be sensitive to sugar, processed foods and artificial food dyes. Have you ever noticed how ability to focus worsens two hours after consuming an energy drink with a bright color or a candy bar? Blood sugar rises rapidly then crashes, stimulating adrenaline, jitteriness and can then result in inattentiveness and drowsiness. Imbalanced nutrients, artificial coloring and excessive carbohydrates dominate the American diet. Access to cheap, processed, unhealthy food has helped escalate the incidence of ADHD and multiple chronic conditions including heart disease, diabetes and perhaps even cancer.

How a child or adult to have normal behavior if he or she is eating refined grains, sugars, processed foods loaded with chemicals and genetically engineered ingredients, and juices and sodas instead of pure water?  It is virtually impossible to have a healthy functioning brain when the proper building blocks to develop or maintain a healthy brain are not being given...

It may take a commitment to change your eating habits or the habits of your child. It requires a different mindset. Start to recognize the “non-food” items you’re putting into your body. Then take note of when you are fueling your body with healthy foods. Many people find that replenishing nutrients helps to reduce cravings for unhealthy foods. So start the change process by focusing on adding more natural foods– rather than restricting your diet.  It will be easier to get motivated to make the change.

Below is a suggested approach to begin the tune-up. It’s meant to be done in stages. Establishing a new routine takes practice and requires repetition. Be patient, focus on one week at a time and give yourself credit for each successful week.

WEEK 1

1. Switch to non-aluminum natural deoderant
2. NO DAIRY PRODUCTS, especially cow's milk. This is the single most important restriction.
   Substitute Almond milk, Rice milk
3. Drink a full glass of water with lunch and dinner.
4. Make sure you get adequate protein for breakfast (Organic eggs are a great source)
5. Make a whey or rice-pea protein shake for snack
6. Start key nutrients - a B complex with methyl-folate and methylcobalamin

WEEK 2

1. Switch to natural non-fluoridated toothpaste
2. Add magnesium, zinc, fish oil and vitamin D
3. Avoid all foods with high fructose corn syrup or sugar added
4. Limit refined grains and foods made with processed flour of any kind
5. Spend more time in nature. Researchers have found that exposing ADHD children to nature is an affordable, healthy way of controlling symptoms.

WEEK 3

1. Use only glass containers in microwave, no plastic
2. Clear your house of dangerous chemicals - use basic vinegar & lemon juice for natural cleaning and non-toxic laundry detergent
3. Try to get organic fruits and veggies into your diet regularly - 6-9 servings every day (no juice!)
   When you are really hungry eat a raw vegetable first. Take your time and enjoy the crunch!
4. Avoid additives, such as food dyes & colorings and especially the preservative sodium benzoate -- found in many soft drinks, fruit juices and salad dressings.  It was shown to cause some children to become hyperactive and destructible.

WEEK 4

1. Reduce consumption of beverages in aluminum and plastic containers
2. Eliminate soda and fruit juice from the diet
3. Avoid trans fats.  But freely use olive oil (low heat or dressing) and grape seed oil/coconut oils (higher heat cooking/baking)
4. Drink more water, particularly filtered water - at least 1/2 your body weight in ounces.
5. Try to eat fish at least once weekly and be sure to choose lower mercury options