Dietary Enigmas
asking questions about our diet
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Archive of "immune system" Category
Dietary Myths and Fat
For all of you out there who are interested in a fascinating read and a whole new perspective on diet I recommend Weston A. Price’s Nutrition and Physical Degeneration. I would say that the sister-book to this would be Sally Fallon’s Nourishing Traditions (which i adore).
I for one am not a fan of the blood type diet, so much. And anyone who has read these books or at least one of them would know why. After reading dozens of nutrition and health books Weston Price is by far the one who has hit it on the nose, he truly unlocked what it is we are missing.SO Here we Go - Truth or Fiction
1.All traditional diets contain some form of animal protein-even the “vegetarian” ones ate insects.
2.All traditional cultures consumed a portion of their animal protein raw
3.Seeds ,grains, and nuts were soaked, sprouted, fermented or naturally leavened to neutralize naturally occurring anti=nutrients such as enzyme inhibitors, tannins, and phytic acid.( this is part of the reason so many people can’t digest these..they are poorly prepared)
4.TOTAL fat content of all traditional diets varied from 30% to 80% or calories but only 4% of those calories came from polyunsaturates that naturally occur in grain, legumes, nuts, fish, and vegetables. The balance of fat was nearly always in the form of saturated and monounsaturates.
5.Traditional diets contained nearly equal amounts of omega 6 and 3
6.ALL traditional diets contained some salt
7. All traditional cultures made use of animal bones usually in the form of gelatin rich bone broths.
8. The diets of healthy nonindustralized people contained at least TEN times the amount of FAT soluble vitamins found in animal fat.
Trehalose - the safe sugar alternative
Red Wine Good - Red Wine Bad!!!
OK where do we go from here - it sounds like the so common complaint from people these days who say ‘first they tell me it’s good for me - then someone else says its bad for me’.
What do we believe - who is telling the truth. Quite simply they both are, but truth is a very subjective thing. There is no absolute truth anymore - just truth as an individual sees it. So what is my take - cut out the hype and get to the bottom of the real issue. What specifically is the good thing in wine that helps my health - cut out the alcohol and go for the compound that helps. In this case something called an antioxidant from the skin of a grape. Its called Resveratrol, the best form of which is extracted from Grape skin, and believe it or not several companies who produce food supplements have antioxidant supplements that already have it incorporated.
Lack of Exercise is a Disease!!!
The word exercise often sends a chill down people’s spines. It conjures up unpleasant childhood memories of P.E. at school, humiliating experiences trying to follow complicated dance steps dressed in luminous spandex at an aerobics class, or having to lie on a weight training bench dripping with sweat from Neanderthal bodybuilder who has finished grunting his way through a “warm-up” set of bicep curls.By definition exercise means exertion, and many of us perceive exercising as another chore we have to accomplish in our already time-crunched days. We create so many stories around exercise – “I don’t have the time right now”, “No pain, no gain”, “I don’t have the energy to workout”, “It’s boring”, “The gym is too far away”, “I don’t need to exercise, I am in great shape…for my age” – it is not surprising that the majority of the American population do not exercise regularly and are overweight. So it is time to get our story (around exercising) straight!
Lack of exercise is a disease in its own right. Human beings need to be active to stay healthy and enjoy a high quality of life. The good news: exercise simply means any movement that challenges you, as long as it is done regularly. It does not have to take long (10-minute bouts are worthwhile) or require special equipment or clothing (walking and carrying shopping bags can work) and it should not be painful (discomfort is enough). In addition, variety is a key ingredient for continued long-term progress (so it does not become boring or repetitive). Finally, exercise (with proper nutrition) is a potent regenerator of energy and one of the best facilitators of emotional/mental recovery. Any challenging movement, even a 10-minute brisk walk or a 30-minute resistance workout, can transform your energy and your day.
Tip:
Face the truth about your exercise routine (or lack of exercise). Write your old story around it and then re-write a new story. Ensure that your new story is embedded in truth, linked to a core value, and written in a style that inspires you to act upon it.
Diabetes - How Medication Works
OK - let me come clean. I’m not an advocate of the use of pharmaceutical drugs as a first choice. We are over medicated and over reliant upon them but we can’t talk about diabetes without some discussion of these important drugs.
MEDICATION
When diet and exercise do not help maintain normal or near-normal blood glucose levels, your doctor may prescribe medication. Some of the most common types are listed below. They are taken by mouth.
- Oral sulfonylureas (like glimepiride, glyburide, and tolazamide) trigger the pancreas to make more insulin.
- Biguanides (Metformin) tell the liver to decrease its production of glucose, which increases glucose levels in the blood stream.
- Alpha-glucosidase inhibitors (such as acarbose) decrease the absorption of carbohydrates from the digestive tract, thereby lowering the after-meal glucose levels. These are also know n as carbohyrate blockers and long term use will invariably damage your health.
- Thiazolidinediones (such as rosiglitazone) help insulin work better at the cell site. In essence, they increase the cell’s sensitivity (responsiveness) to insulin.
- Meglitinides (including repaglinide and nateglinide) trigger the pancreas to make more insulin in response to how much glucose is in the blood.
If you continue to have poor blood glucose control despite lifestyle changes and taking medicines by mouth, your doctor will prescribe insulin. Insulin may also be prescribed if you have had a bad reaction to other medicines. Insulin must be injected under the skin using a syringe and cannot be taken by mouth.
Insulin preparations differ in how fast they start to work and how long they work. Your healthcare provider will determine the appropriate type of insulin to use and will tell you what time of day to use it.
More than one type may be mixed together in an injection to achieve the best control of blood glucose. Usually injections are needed one to four times a day. Your doctor or diabetes educator will show you how to give yourself an injection.
FOOT CARE
People with diabetes are prone to foot problems. Diabetes can cause damage to nerves, which means you may not feel an injury to the foot until a large sore or infection develops. Diabetes can also damage blood vessels, which makes it harder for the body to fight infection.
To prevent injury to the feet, a person with diabetes should adopt a daily routine of checking and caring for the feet as follows:
- Check your feet every day, and report sores or changes and signs of infection.
- Wash feet every day with lukewarm water and mild soap, and dry them thoroughly.
- Soften dry skin with lotion or petroleum jelly.
- Protect feet with comfortable, well-fitting shoes.
- Exercise daily to promote good circulation.
- See a podiatrist for foot problems, or to have corns or calluses removed.
- Remove shoes and socks during a visit to the health care provider to remind them to examine your feet.
- Stop smoking because it worsens blood flow to the feet.
CONTINUING CARE
A person with diabetes should have a visit with a diabetes care provider every 3 months. A complete examination includes:
- Glycosylated hemoglobin (
HbA1c ) is a 3-month average of your blood glucose level. This test measures how much glucose has been sticking to red blood cells and other cells. A high HbA1c is an indicator of risk for long-term complications. Currently, the - Blood pressure check
- Foot and skin examination
Ophthalmoscopy examination- Neurological examination
The following evaluations should be done at least once a year:
- Random microalbumin (urine test for protein)
BUN and serum creatinine- Serum cholesterol, HDL, and triglycerides
ECG - Dilated retinal exam
Support Groups
For additional information, see
diabetes resources .Expectations (prognosis)
The risk of long-term complications from diabetes can be reduced. If you control your blood glucose and blood pressure, you can reduce your risk of death, stroke, heart failure, and other complications. Reduction of HbA1c by even 1% can decrease your risk for complications by 25%.
Complications
Emergency complications include
diabetic coma .Long-term complications include:
Diabetic retinopathy (eye disease)Diabetic nephropathy (kidney disease)Diabetic neuropathy (nerve damage)- Peripheral vascular disease (damage to blood vessels/circulation)
- High cholesterol, high blood pressure,
atherosclerosis , andcoronary artery disease
Calling Your Health Care Provider
Call your health care provider immediately if you have:
Trembling Weakness Drowsiness - Headache
Confusion Dizziness Double vision Lack of coordination
These symptoms can rapidly progress to emergency conditions (such as
convulsions ,unconsciousness , or hypoglycemic coma).Prevention
Everyone over 45 should have blood glucose checked at least every 3 years. Regular testing of random blood glucose should begin at a younger age and be performed more often if you are at particular risk for diabetes.
Maintain a healthy body weight and keep an active lifestyle to help prevent the onset of type 2 diabetes. Please call me or visit our website at www.sugars4life.com and very shortly i will have an audio condensing the last 9 years of experience in this area into language that everyone can understand.
Reduce Stress - or Suffer
I didn’t sleep too well last night. I was worrying about something that keeps nagging at me - what is not important but it’s effect is. Stress, in any form, emotional, physical, infection, invariably affects the way we function. So what does stress affect:
- our immune systems - if we live stressed lives then we will invariably pick up more infections and possibly more serious conditions.
- our hormonal or endocrine systems - when we are stressed we don’t sleep well, we don’t burn fat off - we tend to store it. I remember a guy we were working with who was losing weight really well and then one day he came to me an asked why has the weight stopped coming off. A few quick questions looking for stress identified that his marriage was struggling - major stress - hormonal system shut down the fat burn and that was it. Over time reduce the stress if you want to lose weight.
When you are under stress your adrenal gland works overtime and you seem to have superhuman abilities. However, when you remove the stress you tend to collapse. If you get home from work and sit down and fall asleep - its a good indicator that your stress levels are too high and that you would do well to reduce them - or suffer the longer term consequences of heart disease, diabetes and many other associated diseases.
If you want helpful independent advice with no strings just go to www.healthymentors.com or e mail paul@sugars4life.com
Here we look at 10 top tips for reducing stress at work:
1: Learn to manage your time more effectively
We waste a lot of time doing unimportant tasks so prioritise your day and do the important jobs first.
The unimportant ones can wait, and often they will disappear completely leaving you time to do other things.
Also do not put off the unpleasant tasks. Every time we think about them we cause ourselves stress. Give an unpleasant task a high priority and do it first.
2: Adopt a healthy lifestyle
If we eat a healthy diet, exercise regularly and ensure we get adequate rest our body is better able to cope with stress should it occur.
3: Know your limitations and do not take on too much
We cause ourselves a great deal of stress because we like people to like us and do not want to let people down.
We then end up doing more than we should. Learn to be assertive and how to say no without upsetting or offending people.
4: Find out what causes you stress
Take time to discover what is worrying you and try to change your behaviour to reduce it.
5: Avoid unnecessary conflict
Don’t be too argumentative. Is it really worth the stress? Look for win - win situations.
Look for a solution to a dispute where both parties can achieve a positive outcome.
6: Accept the things you cannot change
Changing a difficult situation is not always possible. If this proves to be the case recognise and accept things as they are.
7: Take time out to relax and recharge your batteries
You will perform much better after a break and easily make up the time you used relaxing.
8: Find time to meet friends.
Friends: Can ease work troublesFriends help us see things in a different way. The activities we engage in with friends usually help us relax and we will often have a good laugh. It boosts the immune system which is often depleted during stress.
If you do become stressed engage in some form of physical activity. It works off the biochemical and physical changes that occur within your body due to stress.
Relaxation helps your body return to its normal healthy state. Good relaxation techniques include breathing exercises, massage and a variety of complimentary therapies.
9: Try to see things differently
If something is bothering you try to see it differently. Talk over your problem with somebody before it gets out of proportion.
Often, talking to somebody else will help you see things from a different and less stressful perspective.
10: Avoid alcohol, nicotine and caffeine as coping mechanisms
Long term, these faulty coping mechanisms will just add to the problem.
For example, caffeine is a stimulant and our body reacts to this with the stress response.
Allergy Epidemic!!! - why
When i heard this report on the morning news i couldn’t help but ask: Why are we facing an allergy epidemic?
- Is it that our young mums and mums to be aren’t getting the nutrition they need before and after conception?
- could it be that the food we are producing is so heavily polluted with chemicals that it is masking the correct functioning of the immune system?
- could it be that our immune systems are so confused by stress, chemicals and lack of proper nutrition that the essential communication mechanisms no longer work correctly and odd things happen?
- Could it be that our immune systems are coming under such pressure that they simply don’t work as well as they used to?
- could it be that our immune systems are being hoodwinked by the presence of environmental toxins that confuse the identification mechanisms that are so central to correct immune system function?
I suspect that it is all of the above and much more. Please click here to listen to a 3 minute audio of what might be at play here and some ideas about what we might do about it.
Allergy epidemic gets ‘poor care’
Allergies have trebled in 20 years
Poor care and confusing advice is being used to deal with an allergy epidemic in the UK, experts have said. The House of Lords science and technology committee warned there were not enough specialist services and that food labelling was inadequate.
The cross-party group of peers said the UK was lagging behind western Europe.
It also called for advice to pregnant women and young children not to eat peanuts to be withdrawn. The government said the findings would be considered.
It comes after the Commons health committee criticised the lack of services in 2004.
Allergy centres
The number of people suffering allergic reactions has trebled in the last 20 years with a third of the population estimated to suffer at some point in their lives.
The government must now take steps to deal with that problem 
Baroness Finlay
Science and technology committee
Each year over 6,000 people in England are admitted to hospital - a quarter of these with anaphylaxis which is a severe and potentially life-threatening reaction involving breathing difficulties.
Allergic reactions are caused by substances in the environment known as allergens, of which the most common are pollen from trees and grasses, house dust mites, wasps, bees and food such as milk and eggs.
Cases of asthma and skin disorders can also be allergy related.
The Lords report called for specialist allergy centres to be set up in each region similar to the models operating in Denmark and Germany.
At the moment there are over 90 clinics, but only six are led by allergy consultants that can treat and diagnose the full range of conditions.
The report said GPs and other health professionals had poor knowledge of allergies and recommended allergy training becomes a more important component of medical training.
Abstaining
The committee also heard evidence that abstaining from eating peanuts in pregnancy and in the early years may be increasing the risk of allergies developing and as a result called for a change to government guidance.
The peers said food warnings - which commonly involve the catch-all term “may contain nuts” - need to be clearer with details of the specific amounts of allergen contained within the product.
The report also called for better training for school staff to deal with allergies.
PEANUT ADVICE
The government currently advises pregnant women and young children not to eat peanuts because of the risk of allergic reactions
But the House of Lords committee said this should be withdrawn after hearing evidence from experts that abstaining may increase the risk of developing an allergy
The Department of Health says the guidance is based on expert advice, but it will look at it after hearing form a Food Standards Agency allergen review
Committee chairman Baroness Finlay said: “We have a severe shortage of expert medical provision to deal with allergies.
“The government must now take steps to deal with that problem.”
Jules Payne from the British Allergy Foundation agreed with the findings
She said: “The problem is clearly at epidemic levels, which the House of Lords report has recognised.
“It also recognises that there’s an appalling lack of allergy services within the NHS in the UK.
“Now at the moment we’ve got people who wait for months, if not years, for a referral to see an allergy specialist, so that really does need addressing.”
Muriel Simmons, of the Allergy UK support group, welcomed the report, saying allergy services needed improving.
But she added: “Similar recommendations were made in 2004, but there has been nothing in the last three years to suggest that the government is taking serious steps to ease the burden of allergy sufferers.”
A Royal College of Physicians spokeswoman said: “A post-code lottery prevails.”
The government said it was waiting to hear from a Food Standards Agency review before issuing updated guidance about eating peanuts.
But Health Minister Ann Keen added the government would be considering the other recommendations of the report.
She said allergy care had “firm foundations” with more than 90 allergy clinics operating in England and more money was being made available to increase specialist allergy training posts to build on that.
- Oral sulfonylureas (like glimepiride, glyburide, and tolazamide) trigger the pancreas to make more insulin.