Although probiotics are a huge benefit to your digestive health, what about all the information we hear about fiber? Today we have the media marketing fiber products as grains and bran that purport to scrub the colon. The market is saturated with dis-solvable fiber powders and bulking agents. With all this information on TV the radio and in magazines it leaves us with questions such as, What is fiber and how can we get more of it?

Dietary fiber is a necessity for healthy digestion. It can be found in fruits, veggies, seeds and grains. Although the media advertises that grains and bran is all we need to receive adequate amounts of fiber for, this approach won’t support a healthy colon. What many people fail to realize is that there are many different types of fiber.

As we talked about in an earlier blog, the digestive tract is full of different kinda of bacteria and yeasts, some life supporting (pro biotic) while others are not so friendly. We also talked about how we can boost the levels of the beneficial bacteria in our diet by eating more fermented foods such as Kefir, yogurt, sauerkraut, kim-chee, miso and pickles. While these foods and probiotic supplements can help us improve digestive health by increasing the numbers of good guys, there are also things that have a negative impact on these beneficial bacterial colonies. One of the most important to be aware of are antibiotics.

You are now one tip closer to a healthier gut! Be sure to check back for our next digestive tip when we will be talking about how stress affects your digestive system.

Probiotics

Although the digestive tract is full of all sorts of bacteria and yeasts, some of them are considered “good” and some are not. This is a bit of an oversimplification because the biome, which is the collection of all microorganisms, has evolved to work together as a team. Even the dreaded Candida Albicans has a purpose in your gut; it is a potent scavenger of heavy metals and helps eliminate these toxins from the body. However, the balance must be such that the Probiotic (which means Pro-life) bacteria should outnumber the so-called “bad” bacteria and fungi in a roughly 80/ 20 ratio. Although everyone, including the western medical community, seems to suddenly be talking about Probiotics, the knowledge of beneficial bacteria and the need to promote a healthy ratio is not a new concept. Traditional cultures from across the world have included fermented foods as a daily dietary supplement as far back as the beginning of recorded human history. Foods such as yogurt, sauerkraut, kim chee, miso, kefir, and pickles of all types were traditionally fermented items teeming with beneficial microbes. If people of ancient times understood the need to regularly supplement the digestive system with beneficial bacteria, how much more important is it today with our chlorinated water and abundant toxins in our food? Regular supplementation can be done with a store bought probiotic pill, which is often necessary to boost values quickly. But regularly supplementing the large and small intestines with friendly bacteria from fermented foods is a natural and inexpensive way to get these good bugs into your daily diet. Be sure to check back next week for another Digestive Health tip.

The Small Intestine & Pancreas

Last week we talked about today’s increasing problem of producing an inadequate amount of hydrochloric acid. The effects of this deficiency are not only seen in the stomach but also in the next step in the digestive process, the small intestine and pancreas. From the stomach, the partially digested food, called chyme, continues on to the first part of the small intestine, called the duodenum. This is where most of the nutrients from food are absorbed into the bloodstream. But before assimilation can occur the food must be broken down int even smaller parts. This process is facilitated by digestive enzymes produced in the pancreas. These enzymes, help disassemble larger food molecules into smaller parts that can cross the intestinal wall and enter the bloodstream.

Although poor ole’ genetics often gets blamed for these conditions, the fact is that they are rarely caused by inherited genes but are mostly caused by lifestyle choices (which may in fact cause genetic changes!). Digestive enzymes can be a good short term fix for IBS but if you need to take them on a regular basis this could indicate that an underlying issue needs to be investigated. For most people this means taking an honest look at the food you are eating an making some changes. This doesn’t necessarily mean going ON a diet, but rather adjusting the amount or types of foods you eat most.

Tune in next week when we talk about the benefits of probiotics.

The Stomach

Last week we discussed the importance of paying attention to what we put in our mouths, how our saliva has special enzymes that start the digestive process by breaking down our food while we chew, and how cold drinks can cool our digestive fire. This week we look at the next step in the digestive pathway – the stomach.

Stomach acid is extremely important to your health for several reasons. First, the breakdown and digestion of food. Many people think that stomach acid is only needed to digest protein. This is partially true because protein is digested by pepsin, which requires hydrochloric acid for its production; no hydrochloric acid, no pepsin. However, hydrochloric acid plays its primary role in the digestion of plant foods. Plant cells all have a tough cellulose membrane that must be broken down before you have access to the nutrients inside. Hydrochloric acid breaks down this woody fiber enabling digestion of fruits, vegetables, and grains. One frequently overlooked fact, stomach acid is extremely important in the sanitization of all the germ laden food we put in our mouths; all foods have bacteria on them, especially raw foods.

Without adequate stomach acid pathogenic bacteria can easily enter the small intestine and wreak havoc on your health.

I realize that all this information flies in the face of everything you have heard about stomach acid. But think about it this way: If too much acid were the cause of GERD then teenagers would have the highest rate of GERD, not older folks. Unfortunately, as we get older our stomach acid production typically declines….just like everything else. If you have GERD it is more likely that your problem lies in a malfunctioning valve at the top of your stomach. This problem can generally be caused by certain dietary habits that you are unaware of and is relatively easy to remedy with the proper advice and supplementation. Many people find that a tablespoon or two of organic unfiltered apple cider just before meals helps the problem. For others, hydrochloric acid (HCL) supplements such as Betaine HCL are expensive and effective. If these are not effective then you might need a more comprehensive program, not just an acid blocking drug.

To continue to better your over all health, check back next week for another Digestive health tip.

Last week we introduced the idea of better health through promoting a healthy digestive tract. In both early Western and Chinese medicine the GI track has been a large focus of treatment. Although most people don’t think about their gut until the situation is way beyond “normal”, low level chronic conditions like indigestion or constipation all point to the possibility of a more serious condition down the road.

After reading last weeks post, we now know that digestion doesn’t just happen in the stomach. Although the digestive juices in the stomach play an important roll your mouth is where it all begins. Which brings us to tip number one:

In the busi-ness of modern day society, we are all looking for that “quick fix” or “Miracle Pill”, if you will, not realizing the long term effect it has on our GI tract. But if you want to optimize your digestion, being mindful of what you put in your mouth is the first step toward creating better overall health.1. Digestion begins in the mouth so chew slowly and thoroughly. Enzymes are vital for digestion. The saliva that’s created as you chew contains enzymes that are catalysts for chemically converting foods to nutrients. By thoroughly mixing salivary enzymes with food you start the digestive process before the food ever even gets in your stomach. Consequently, it is important to restrict the amount of fluid consumed at meals so that the enzyme solution is maintained at an optimal strength. Further, in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) as well as Ayurveda, the digestive power is compromised by drinking cold drinks with meals. If you are going to drink anything at all it is best to have sips of warm water or tea.

Stay tuned for tip #2, coming next week…

The longer I practice the more I see just how important the digestive system is to ensuring optimal health. Even in chronic pain syndromes the condition of the digestive system is important because it plays a significant role in the ability of the body to heal. The GI tract has long been emphasized as a focus of concern in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM). It even was a primary focus in early Western Medicine. In most chronic health conditions physicians of old aided by the old saying: “First treat the gut”.

The subject of what we should be eating is a complicated one. From the TCM perspective, food is medicine and should be prescribed accordingly. In other words, your constitutional and/or current health condition should dictate what you eat. It is true that there some fundamental principles that all humans would do best to adhere to, which, by the way, don’t include eating all sorts of processed meals, snack foods, and sugary beverages. But it is not appropriate to dictate one single diet for all humans just as it would not be appropriate to prescribe the same pharmaceutical drug to each individual; yes, even aspirin.

However, there are some principles of eating that will enhance the digestive health of most everyone and that is what I would like to focus on here. In the TCM tradition much attention is given to preserving the stomach Qi (pronounced: chee). This word represents the functioning of the stomach and entire digestive system. In this sense it might be equated to the word “metabolism”. In the Ayurvedic system of medicine, the traditional medicine of India, this same concept is called “agni”, the “digestive fire”, which is somehow more visceral (pardon the pun) and seems to get the idea across better. It is important to understand that these terms imply that digestion involves the whole GI tract and that digestion doesn’t just happen in the stomach. Digestion begins in the mouth, followed by the mixing of food with digestive juices in the stomach. The process continues with the passage of partially broken-down food into the small intestines where further breakdown and absorption into the blood stream occurs. This stage requires enzymes from the pancreas, which can easily get worn out from too many sugar/carbohydrate foods in the diet (think: diabetes type II). The large intestine contains the majority of the friendly gut bacteria that further help digestion and produce chemicals that support the immune system throughout the body. This is one of the critical areas where too much of the wrong kind of food can contribute to a compromised immune system.

The last stage of the digestive tract is proper elimination, without which we poison the body. And although this is considered the end of the line in western biomedical concepts, the traditional systems take the digestive process one step further. They include the transportation of nutrients all the way to the end user, the cells of your body, which are estimated at around 100 trillion! And just like with any long distance travel it is not enough to just pack your bags and get in the car. You have to also take the journey, which can be delayed or impeded at numerous points along the way. So even though your food might be broken down properly and get into the blood stream, it still needs to get in the cells. In the traditional medicine systems, impaired assimilation is also impaired digestion. But by practicing habits that increase the digestive fire we can increase the chances that food not only gets broken down but also gets transported to all the tissues and cells of the body we want to nourish.

As you can see, digestive health is important part of your body’s over all health and plays a significant role in the healing process. The more you understand about your digestive health the better choices you will make. We’ve really just scratched the surface here so in order to help you optimize your digestive health we’ll be posting weekly tips to help you make better choices.

Acupuncture significantly reduced pain levels and reduced radiculopathy experienced as a prickling sensation in the hands and feet. The acupuncture patients had less pain upon sitting, standing and carrying loads of 10kg or greater. The researchers concluded, “Acupuncture was highly accepted and had positive effects in patients with chronic low back pain. These results show that acupuncture can be an effective, well-tolerated therapy with no major adverse events.”

This research is supported by that of investigators in Calgary (Alberta, Canada). In this study, the researchers discovered that acupuncture is effective for the treatment of lower back pain and is also cost-effective. Patients receiving acupuncture for the treatment of lower back pain required approximately 50% less visits to an M.D. than patients who did not received acupuncture. The investigators discovered, in the course of the study, that patients receiving acupuncture spent 37% less on total medical services. Patients not receiving acupuncture had only a 1% drop in medical expenses for the treatment of lower back pain. The researchers concluded that utilizing acupuncture for the treatment of lower back pain reduces overall healthcare spending.

The emergence of new research demonstrating acupuncture’s beneficial effects for the treatment of pain extends to many body parts and conditions. Research published in Clinical Rheumatology finds acupuncture effective for the treatment of fibromyalgia (FMS). The researchers note that acupuncture provides “beneficial effects” for the treatment of fibromyalgia. Another study from the University of Maryland School of Medicine (Baltimore) concludes that “real acupuncture is more effective than sham acupuncture for improving symptoms of patients with FMS.” Another study published by the Mayo Clinic College of Medicine (Rochester, Minnesota) concludes, “We found that acupuncture significantly improved symptoms of fibromyalgia. Symptomatic improvement was not restricted to pain relief and was most significant for fatigue and anxiety.”

Combination therapies have also shown that acupuncture provides significant relief. Researchers concluded that, “Electro-acupuncture coupled with conventional treatments provided a success rate of 80% in chronic planar fasciitis which was more effective than conventional treatments alone.” This type of finding is consistent with the newer integrative medicine model wherein standard rehabilitation care is provided and then augmented with acupuncture therapy. The results demonstrate a synergistic effect and the combination produces significantly better patient outcomes.

References:

Weiß, Johannes, Sabine Quante, Fuping Xue, Rainer Muche, and Monika Reuss-Borst. “Effectiveness and Acceptance of Acupuncture in Patients with Chronic Low Back Pain: Results of a Prospective, Randomized, Controlled Trial.” The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine (2013).

Deutsche Zeitschrift für Akupunktur. Volume 55, Issue 3, 2012, Pages 25–26. Reduced health resource use after acupuncture for low-back pain. S Moritza, MF Liub, B Rickhia, b, c, TJ Xua, P Paccagnana, H Quand.

An overview of systematic reviews of complementary and alternative medicine for fibromyalgia. Rohini Terry, Rachel Perry and Edzard Ernst. Clinical Rheumatology?Volume 31, Number 1 (2012), 55-66, DOI: 10.1007/s10067-011-1783-5.

Berman BM, Ezzo J, Hadhazy V, Swyers JP. Complementary Medicine Program, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore 21207, USA. The Journal of Family Practice [1999, 48(3):213-218].

Mayo Clin Proc. 2006 Jun;81(6):749-57. Improvement in fibromyalgia symptoms with acupuncture: results of a randomized controlled trial. Martin DP, Sletten CD, Williams BA, Berger IH. Department of Anesthesiology, Mayo Clinic College of Medicine, Rochester, Minnesota.

The American Journal of Chinese Medicine, An International Journal of Comparative Medicine East and West. Efficacy of Electro-Acupuncture in Chronic Plantar Fasciitis: A Randomized Controlled Trial. Wipoo Kumnerddee and Nitsara Pattapong. Volume 40, Issue 06, 2012.

Shi Ping Zhang, Tsui-Pik Yip, and Qiu-Shi Li. Acupuncture Treatment for Plantar Fasciitis

Many people come to our office with serious health conditions wondering how they ended up in this position. After all, they are trying to do all the right things and eating a “healthy diet”. While I generally take issue with what we have been told constitutes a healthy diet, that is a matter for another day. What I want to discuss today is one of the most overlooked, under studied, and under appreciated health influencing factors, specifically, the chemicals we put on us rather than in us. Toxic chemicals in our environment don’t just come from chemical spills or chemicals in our water supply or food. We can also be exposed to them from all sorts of other products that come in contact with our skin. For those of us who don’t work in an industrial setting, cosmetics, lotions, shampoo, hair coloring, etc. are frequent avenues of exposure to potentially harmful chemicals. And although many people are becoming more attentive to the ingredients in personal care products, I frequently find that the products used to wash and dry their clothes haven’t been considered, particularly fabric softeners and dryer sheets. By the smell of many of my patients clothing I can tell that, even amongst a population dedicated to a more “natural” way of healing, there is still a lack of awareness about the dangers of these products. Most of these contain known carcinogens and neuro toxins known to cause cancer and/or cause neurological damage. And once in your clothing these chemicals easily transfer to your skin and end up in your blood. Increased rates of cancer have been noted for a while now but there is a startling rise in the number of patients presenting with with neurological conditions that were found infrequently in the past, including Alzheimer’s. Could these be due to the neurotoxins we have surrounded ourselves with? Unfortunately we are already being exposed to these chemicals through pathways like our drinking and bathing water and are thus hard to completely avoid. But by making better decisions about the chemicals we put in our clothes, and thus on our bodies, we can limit our exposure. I wrote about this some time ago in my blog but check out this link to a Scientific American article that also discusses the issue and gives some alternatives to these dangerous products.

There are now a lot of studies showing that Vitamin D influences a wide variety of body functions and dysfunctions, including cancer. But there’s not a lot of talk about why people have a deficit of Vitamin D. Nor is there much discussion about whether this is a recent phenomenon or was present in our near or distant ancestors. One of the popular explanations for why we don’t have enough Vitamin D is an idea that people aren’t getting a lot of sun exposure anymore. But did our ancestors really ever get that much sun exposure? Sunbathing is, in historic terms, a relatively new activity that is limited to those with leisure time to indulge in it and only possible for a few months out of the year. And even in places like Florida, California, and Hawaii where sunbathing is more common studies show there is still rampant Vitamin D deficiency. Our farming ancestors might have gotten more sun that us office types do but they also went to great lengths to stay covered up while outside in the hot Sun. And if you’ve ever worn a planter’s hat you know you don’t get a lot of sun on your face while wearing one. What about people who largely lived in rain forests? Or people who lived in the desert and stayed covered up all the time? How about people who live in northerly latitudes? These people especially didn’t get much Sun exposure in the winter. Were these people deficient in Vitamin D?

That’s a question we will probably never have an answer for. However, when you look at the recent rapid rise in health problems that can be associated with Vitamin D deficiency it would be logical to conclude that these problems have escalated simultaneously with a rapid decline in Vitamin D levels. This would suggest that our ancestors had more Vitamin D in the past than we do today. So where did our ancestors get their Vitamin D? It certainly was not from pills or a pharmacy, and most likely not from regular Sun exposure.

Much of the Vitamin D in supplements comes from lanolin. Lanolin, which you may have heard about as a skin moisturizer, is an oily substance that naturally occurs on lamb’s wool and is collected when processing wool for fabric. When sunlight shines on pasture grazing sheep, lanolin is converted to Vitamin D and stored in its fat. Similarly, Vitamin D is also found in the fats of other free-ranging animals including beef, fowl, and fish. Although commercial eggs have very low Vitamin D levels, two eggs from pasture raised chickens can supply the RDA of Vitamin D. Similarly, commercial grade beef doesn’t have much Vitamin D, but organically raised, grass fed beef has much higher levels. Unlike milk from factory dairies, milk from pastured, grass fed cows, as well as the cheese made from it, also has a high Vitamin D profile. Did you ever stop to wonder why commercial milk is advertised as being supplemented with Vitamin D? Why did they put it in milk and not some other product? The answer is that the manufacturers are replacing the Vitamin D that either isn’t in the milk due to the way the cow was fed, or, was destroyed in high temperature pasteurization and homogenization.

So where did our ancestors got most of their Vitamin D? Most likely they got it from their food, and mostly from animals that ran around wild or in pastures and ate grass, bugs and other things that are their natural food sources. Why are our levels of Vitamin D so low in modern society? Modern factory farms are primarily the culprit. This argument is true not only for Vitamin D but also for other nutrients we find ourselves deficient in. When we think of Omega 3 oils we tend to think of fish. But did you know free-ranging grass fed beef has a very high Omega 3 profile? More on all that some other time but if you want to support or regain your health, start looking for locally grown meat, eggs, and dairy that don’t come from factory farms.