Does This Chemical Make Me Look Fat?! More on Obesogens...

Photo courtesy of www.freedigitalphotos.net

Obesogens are chemicals that can inappropriately alter fat storage and change metabolic set-points. This disrupts energy balance and modifies your appetite to promote fat accumulation. Chemicals in your environment can certainly have an impact on your health and often your weight. Some of these exposures may occur before you’re born but there is still a lot that you can control! Exposure to obesogens don't necessary doom you to become overweight, but it's all the more reason  to consider ways to avoid exposure and regularly use neutraceuticals and whole foods to aid our body's natural detox mechanisms through our liver, kidneys and bowel.

Here's some easy ways to do a quick check of your home a to determine where your greatest exposures may be coming from.

Here's 12 simple changes that will significantly reduce your risks:

1. Eat organic foods, especially the "dirty dozen" Researchers have found that it takes just five days of eating organic to rid the body of virtually all pesticide residues.
2. Rather than eating conventional or farm-raised fish, which are often heavily contaminated with PCBs and mercury, supplement with a high-quality purified krill oil, or eat fish that is wild-caught and tested for purity.  My personal favorite is Wild Alaskan salmon.
3. Avoid any flexible plastics whenever possible, especially in children's toys.
4. Stop drinking out of plastic water bottles to avoid BPA.  Buy a reusable stainless steel or glass one instead.
5. Use a good quality reverse osmosis or carbon filter in your home.
6. Avoid using plastics with food or beverages
7. Choose glass jars instead of storing your food in plastic containers.  Especially don't make the mistake of freezing or microwaving in plastic.
8. Use natural toiletries and personal care items, cleaning supplies, laundry detergents and other household products.  Start by cleaning up your make-up and body lotion... a good rule of thumb is if you wouldn't put in in your mouth, don't put it on your skin.
9. Replace your non-stick pots & pans with ceramic or glass cookware
10. Replace your vinyl shower curtain with one made of fabric or install a glass shower door 
11. Get rid of your indoor plug-in air fresheners, candles and fabric softners.  These seemingly pleasants scents are often toxic chemicals and contribute to poor indoor air quality and may even cause breathing problems, such as asthma.
12. Look for natural, chemical-free clothing, furniture, flooring, paint and other building supplies to use in your home

Could These Seven Foods Be Causing Your Weight Gain?!

Food Allergy "Fat"
"Fat" that comes with food sensitivities is a characterized by bloating and fluid retention that many people experience when they ingest these top seven food allergens.  Eating foods that interfere with our body’s chemistry causes tissue swelling, abdominal bloating or even facial puffiness that may have the appearance of real fat. In fact, it’s not unusual for a person to look ten to fifteen pounds heavier due to these nasty reactions.

The foods that people react to most commonly are also the most prevalent in the Standard American Diet (SAD, for short)  They are dairy, wheat, corn, sugar, soy, eggs and peanuts.  Many patients assume they aren’t “allergic” to these foods because they don’t experience the immediate histamine reaction we associate with an allergy, like hives, throat swelling or vomiting.  Another complicating factor is that these type of reactions often cause delayed symptoms, meaning that you may not feel badly for 12-36 hours. This makes such sensitivities extremely difficult to identify, particularly if your sensitivity is to a food that you eat on a daily basis. If you are constantly consuming wheat or dairy, for example, and having a low-grade reaction, you may not recognize this as your body’s distress signals. Instead you might assume they are totally unrelated chronic problems, like a eczema, migraines, fatigue, joint pain, or heartburn.

Virtually any food can cause these reactions — even “healthy” foods like citrus or bell peppers. Typically an individual will develop sensitivities to the foods he or she eats most often. Unfortunately the top seven - dairy, wheat, corn, sugar, soy, eggs, and peanuts - are the basis for most processed foods so most Americans are frequently exposed to them.   If we eat such foods on a daily basis, we may experience a near-constant state of reaction — including bloating and fluid retention. More serious, it may cause inflammation to the lining of the gut, upset your metabolism, create nutritional deficiencies, and blood sugar imbalances.  This can lead to food cravings, low energy, depression and even PMS!

When you eat reactive foods, they enter your bloodstream incompletely digested... as bigger particles that your body doesn’t recognize as food. This not only causes indigestion and gas within the gut, but may trigger release of cytokines and chemicals like adrenaline and histamine that set off an inflammatory response. As fluids rush into afflicted cells and are held in your tissues, swelling and abdominal bloating occur. Due to the fluctuation in endophrins that occurs in this "flight or flight response, you may find that you crave the foods your are most sensitive to.  The only real way to heal the gut is to eliminate these food triggers from your diet.

Elimination Diet to the Rescue!

One of the best ways to determine if you are having food reactions is an elimination diet.  Plan for a minimum of 3 weeks off all of the most common seven food allergens:  dairy, wheat, corn, sugar, soy, eggs and peanuts.  You will not be cured by that time, but you can determine which of these seven you are reacting to by adding them back into your diet one-by-one and seeing which one(s) you have a reaction to.

Another way to find the food culprits is to have your physician test you for IgG food sensitivities.  The elimination diet is the "gold standard" to determine what foods you are sensitive to but some patients prefer to have the data on paper before they start.  I use laboratories like, Genova Diagnostics, Metametrix, and US Biotek for this type of testing. 

Be aware that avoiding staple ingredients like wheat, dairy and corn syrup may require you to limit restaurant and packaged foods and to prepare most of your meals yourself.  I also recommend drinking plenty of water and getting regular exercise. Exercise will stimulate your metabolism and boost your energy level. It will also help flush excess fluids, burn calories and suppress your appetite, allowing you to experience even faster results.  Finding you have hidden food sensitivities may require you to adjust your eating, but when the inches start coming off and you feel better than you have in ages it will be worth all the effort!

The Gut Immune System Connection - An Animated Video

The gut mucosa connects with the largest population of immune cells in the body!  Is it any wonder that in functional medicine we assess your gut function as one of the initial steps in cases of allergies, asthma, autoimmune disease, eczema, crohn's disease, ulcerative colitis, IBS, celiac disease, arthritis and more?  

It’s often the first point of exposure to pathogens.   Many microbes use it as a entry point into the rest of the body. The gut immune system therefore needs to be ready to respond to pathogens but at the same time it is constantly exposed to harmless environmental antigens, food particles and commensal microflora which need to be tolerated. Misdirected immune responses to harmless antigens are the underlying cause of food allergies and debilitating conditions such as inflammatory bowel disease. This animation introduces the key cells and molecular players involved in gut immune connection and disease.



By checking your gut's microbial environment and taking a functional medicine approach to health and wellness, we can actually modulate some of the underlying immune dysregulation and eliminate your symptoms!

Nature Immunology homepage: http://www.nature.com/ni/index.html

Paleo Ginger Chicken Noodle Soup (It's grain-free, sugar-free, dairy-free, gluten-free!)

Here's a delicious way to beat the cold when you are in the mood for a great comfort food.  This version is completely grain-free, healthy, paleo-safe, husband-approved and absolutely delicious!

Dr. Jill's  Paleo Ginger Chicken Noodle Soup

2 chicken breasts baked and cut into chunks (may use whole chicken for more minerals and moisture)
6-8 cups of spring water
2 TBSP organic olive oil 
1-2 gloves of chopped garlic or 1 tsp of freeze dried garlic
1/2 cup of chopped organic white onion
1/2 cup chopped Italian parsley
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
2 tsp fresh chives chopped
2 sprig fresh Basil leaves chopped
1 tsp fresh thyme
1 tsp finely chopped fresh ginger root
1/4 lime juice squeezed
2-3 tsp REAL salt with minerals (I used the garlic variety)
3-4 colored organic carrots sliced
1/2 cup chopped organic yellow & red bell peppers
For the "noodles"  I use Taylor Organic broccoli slaw  - Add 2 cups

Simmer on low heat for 60-90 minutes or until veggies soft and flavors blended...
Enjoy!

A Quick Start Guide To Paleo Diet...

You may have heard the recent buzz about Paleo Diet... so what's all the fuss about?

There are far reaching health benefits to eating more like our grandparents would have eaten...   That means real food, not the packaged processed stuff that has become norm in the Standard American Diet, or SAD for short.

The Paleo Diet may be beneficial in reducing your risk of chronic diseases such as diabetes, obesity, heart disease and many autoimmune and inflammatory conditions.   I frequently use the principles of the paleo diet to help patients re-learn how to eat healthy, maintain ideal weight, and feel fabulous!

You shouldn't be surprised to find a lack of packaged foods on the Paleo Diet menu. There were no convenience stores or super-sized grocery chains in the Stone Age.   And if you're one of the 31% of Americans who eats more packaged foods than fresh foods in your daily diet, it could be an adjustment.  What is amazing, however, are the profound benefits to your health that come from these changes.  If you suffer obesity, heart disease, high cholesterol, central weight gain, or autoimmune disease, like Hashimoto's thyroiditis, Crohn's disease, rheumatoid arthritis, or multiple sclerosis, you greatly benefit from eliminated all processed grains & sugar from your diet.  Plus you will not be eating two of the most common food allergens: gluten and dairy.  If you suffer from a leaky gut or gastrointestinal dysbiosis, the Paleo Diet will naturally restore the healthy microbial balance since there are no refined sugars or grains to feed the abnormal bacteria or yeast.

The Paleo Diet is basically this:  No sugar, No flours, No processed foods, No grains, no legumes (lectins), no dairy.  What you CAN eat is lean, clean (organic) unprocessed meats (chicken, fish, turkey, beef, bison, elk, lamb, etc), all fruits and veggies in moderation.  And coconut, nuts & seeds are to be eaten freely in unprocessed state.  If you need to make something special, almond or coconut "flour" can be used.

CORE PALEO DIET:

• Meat - GRASS-FED, not grain-fed. Grain causes the same problem in animals as they do in humans.  (bison, elk, buffalo are WONDERFUL red meats to incorporate)
• Fowl - Chicken, duck, hen, turkey…things with wings that (try to) fly.
• Fish - Wild caught fish (mercury and other toxins, like PCBs may be an issue in farmed fish)
• Eggs - Look for Omega-3 enriched eggs raised without hormones or antibiotics from free-range chickens
• Vegetables - As long as they’re not deep-fried, eat as many as you want.
• Oils - Olive oil, coconut oil, avocado oil – think natural.  No soybeans oil or processed oils.
• Fruits - Have natural sugar, and can be higher in calories, so limit if you’re trying to lose weight.
• Nuts - High in calories, so they’re good for a snack, but don’t eat bags and bags of them.
• Tubers - Sweet potatoes and yams.  Higher in calories and carbs, so these are good for right after a workout to replenish your glycogen levels

What's not allowed when following the Paloe diet?

• Grains (including popular cereal grains such as barley, corn, oats, rice, rye and wheat)
• Beans or legumes
• Dairy products
• Refined salt
• Refined sugars or artificial sweetners
• Refined fats
• Canned or processed meats
• Soda and fruit juices
• All chemicals, additives, artificial flavorings, MSG, yeast.

Perhaps the most important thing about Paleo is it encourages you to get back to whole delicious real food!  It will allow you to feel better, lose weight easily and maintain muscle at any age.  I challenge you to give it a try for yourself for 30 days and see if it doesn't change your life!


More Resources for Paleo Diet:

http://paleophysiciansnetwork.com
http://www.marksdailyapple.com
http://www.westonaprice.org/

Influenza Blues? Seven Tips to Prevent Infection...

Cold and flu season are in full swing.  I frequently get asked if I recommend the flu vaccine.  My answer is simple...  a healthy immune system is the best defense against colds and flu.  If you have an immune deficiency or other serious illness it may be appropriate.  However, for the rest of us, strengthening your innate immunity is the key!  Besides, who willingly has formaldehyde, aluminum, MSG, or thimerosal injected into the body, anyway?

Seven Tips for Preventing and Treating Viral Infections:

1. Basic Immune Nutrients - Make sure you are getting adequate immune supporting vitamins.  I recommend Vitamin D3, Vitamin C, Zinc, Omega-3 Fish Oil and high potency probiotics as some of the basics
2. Hydration & Sleep - Often overlooked but essential!  Drink plenty of fluids and avoid sticky and sweet soda or fruit juice.  Get 7-8 hours of sleep per night.  It is no coincidence that we often get a cold or the flu after activities like the holidays or travel, when we return to high stress and fail to get adequate sleep.
3. Homeopathic Medicines - One of my very favorite homeopathic flu remedies is Boiron Oscillococcinum.  I am never without this helpful cure!  It comes in adult or kid friendly versions.  Take 1 vial weekly for prevention of flu. My husband & I do this all through the winter months or when flying.  Upon the first sign of sore throat, fever or myalgias, take one vial up to 3X daily for acute illness.  It's safe at any age and has been shown to limit the severity and duration of the flu symptoms.  For best results, take at the very beginning of symptoms.  Some of my other favorites by Boiron are ColdCalm for cold symptoms and Sinusalia for sinus symptoms.
4. Elderberry - Elderberry syrup (such as Sambucol) is a great alternative to anti-viral medication.  Take one tablespooon 4X daily for up to 3 days when symptoms begin.  One study suggested that using a standardized elderberry extract, Sambucol, could shorten the duration of flu by about 3 days.
5. Avoid sugar - Perhaps the most important thing you can do to boost your immune strength is get rid of the sweets!  Avoid all sugar and highly processed foods.  Even small amounts of sugar can significantly impair the immune system, making one more susceptible to a flu infection.  One classic study showed that sugar decreased neutrophil activity (your cells that fight infection) for hours after sugar ingestion.
6. Functional Foods - Many foods are helpful to boost immunity.  Drink organic green tea, eat garlic raw or cooked, use fresh oregano and thyme to spice your foods, and enjoy fresh ginger in cooking or smoothies or make a cup of honey ginger tea.  Cruciferous veggies and certain mushrooms are also loaded with immune boosting properties.  Both garlic and onions contain compounds that rev up the activity of immune-system cells called natural killer cells and T-helper cells.
7. And don't forget to wash your hands... a simple but effective way to wash away the viruses that cause cold and flu.  Use plain soap and water (NOT the anti-bacterial soaps which contain the toxin, Triclosan)  Make your own hand sanitizer with the following simple recipe.
• Fill 4oz glass spray bottle with sterile water
• Add 1 tsp aloe vera gel
• Add 5 drops each of the following essential oils:  cinnamon, clove, rosemary, eucalyptus
• Mix 10 drops of lemon or wild orange essential oil
• Shake gently and use 2-3 sprays on your hands as needed.

Take to heart these simple tips and you should be WELL on your way to a healthy, happy, virus-fighting immune system this flu season!

Healthy Gut = Healthy You!

There is a microbial zoo living inside you, literally trillions of microscopic organisms―more than 10,000 different kinds of them―all co-existing with each other and you.

In fact they outnumber you ten to one and ninety percent of the genetic material, (DNA and RNA) in your body is not yours, it belongs to the bacteria that is located mostly in your gut, but some also live on your skin and even in your nose.

Exactly what those different life forms do has been the subject of some exciting research in recent years, and while a few of these organisms can sometimes wreak havoc with your system, the majority of these little "bugs" are good, helping you digest your food, stay protected from infections, and even keeping your immune system properly regulated to fend off autoimmune diseases like asthma, allergies, and diabetes.

The community of microbes living on and in your body is unique to you – like your fingerprints – and is now being regarded as a key contributor to your overall health.

More and more, science is finding that teeny tiny creatures living in your gut are there for a definite purpose. Known as your microbiome, about 100 trillion of these cells populate your body, particularly your intestines and other parts of your digestive system.

Although some of these bacteria can make you sick, the majority are good, and they work together as to aid your digestive system and keep you well. Beneficial bacteria, better known as probiotics, along with a host of other microorganisms, are so crucial to your health that researchers have compared them to "a newly recognized organ." We now know that your microflora influence your:

• Immune system function
• Brain development, mental health, and memory
• Obesity
• Genetic expression 
• Risk of diseases, including autoimmune disease, cancer, diabetes, and autism

According to the featured article in Time Magazine:

"Our surprisingly complex internal ecology has been a hot topic in medicine lately. Initiatives such as the Human Microbiome Project, an extension of the Human Genome Project, have been working tirelessly to probe potential links between the human microbiota and human health, and to construct strategies for manipulating the bacteria so that they work with us rather than against us.

...They've been linked to a range of nasty conditions, including obesity, arthritis, and high cholesterol. Now, two newer areas of research are pushing the field even further, looking at the possible gut bug link to a pair of very different conditions: autism and irritable bowel disease."

Most people, including many physicians, do not realize that 80 percent of your immune system is located in your digestive tract, making a healthy gut a major focal point in your efforts to achieve optimal health. In fact, the root of many health problems is related to an imbalance of intestinal bacteria.  

The beneficial bacteria in your gut has actually been found to help prevent allergies by training your immune system to distinguish between pathogens and non-harmful antigens and respond appropriately – and this may be one reason why they also appear so beneficial in conditions like allergies, asthma, and eczema

 Like it or not, the bugs in your gut have a lot to say about your health!  This is why I frequently test patients gut function for common complaints such as fatigue, migraines, mood disorders, depression, anxiety or insomnia, ecezma, allergies, asthma, autism, and even trouble with concentration & memory.  Getting the gut bugs back into proper balance is critical to your overall health and especially the health of your immune system.  The simplest way to jump start your overall health is pay attention to the gut...  Eliminate sugar and refined flours from your diet and add a high dose probiotic to you regimen.  You'll be well on your way to a happy and helpful intestinal "zoo"!

http://www.health.harvard.edu/healthbeat/the-gut-brain-connection
http://www.mercola.com/
http://www.metametrix.com/test-menu/profiles/gastrointestinal-function/dna-stool-analysis-gi-effects
https://wsunews.wsu.edu/pages/publications.asp?Action=Detail&PublicationID=32253&TypeID=1