Category Archives: Questions & Answers

Questions & Answers

Is Apple Cider Vinegar a Weight Loss Aid?

Apple cider vinegar is an incredible compound that has been around for centuries.

I read an article about a Dr. Shmerling from Harvard who said he was surprised to see the apple cider vinegar diet as one of the hottest trends on Google in 2017. He was even more surprised when he looked into apple cider vinegar and its health benefits. Dr. Shmerling went on to quote a 2009 study involving 175 obese people. The study participants lost between two to four pounds by drinking two tablespoons of apple cider vinegar each day for twelve weeks. Triglyceride levels also went down during this study.

Apple cider vinegar also has a beneficial effect on the human microbiome. I think science will someday realize that apple cider vinegar is one of the best medicines for the GI tract. I would put a good quality apple cider vinegar in the same category as yogurt. Their benefits are somewhat similar.

The exciting thing about the acetic acid in apple cider vinegar is that it has a profoundly positive impact on the upper GI tract. For many people over sixty, one to tablespoons a day can reduce heartburn and improve protein digestion.

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So far, conventional, evidence-based Western medicine hasn’t clicked on to apple cider vinegar. I think that is at least in part because western medicine has been too busy given people proton pump inhibitors.

Apple cider vinegar helps to balance gut function and inhibit harmful bacteria. Just remember, I’m not referring to the white, highly processed vinegar you can buy at the supermarket. That vinegar is the result of industrial processing. It’s probably suitable for cleaning the bathroom but not for drinking.

In contrast, apple cider vinegar is naturally fermented. It’s been linked to weight loss, as I mentioned. It’s associated with improving skin, hair, and nails, as well as reducing gas.

If you have weight and digestive issues, I recommend a trial of one tablespoon of apple vinegar per day, just before a meal. Over time you may be able to step it up to one tablespoon twice a day.

Apple cider vinegar is not made by big pharmaceutical companies. That could be one reason that it’s not heavily promoted. It’s also cheap and readily available.

Give it a try and judge for yourself.

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Questions & Answers

Treating SIBO With Colloidal Silver: What You Need To Know

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=942y7DyPnlE

Have you heard of colloidal silver?

Hopefully, you haven’t been scared off by Google. There is a guy called Blue Man who developed argyria, blue skin, by drinking homemade colloidal silver in very high concentrations.That is not what I’m recommending! You’re not going to be drinking a gallon of homemade high concentration colloidal silver every day to treat SIBO.

There are many different brands of colloidal silver available. You can get anywhere from five to twenty parts per millions. Usually, ten to fifteen parts per million is more than adequate. Firstly, no matter what gut condition you’re treating, do not take colloidal silver on a long-term basis. Period.

Colloidal silver should only be used in short bursts, not for months at a time.

Secondly, I highly recommend that you don’t take colloidal silver until you have a sensitivity report that confirms it will be effective against the pathogens in your gut. A stool test is better than a breath test for that purpose.

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Some will argue that a stool test doesn’t give you a measure of small intestinal bacteria. There’s merit to that statement as the stool test focuses on the contents of the colon. Still, in my experience, I’ve had far better outcomes using a comprehensive stool analysis to guide my SIBO treatment than when I used breath tests.

Colloidal silver often comes up high on susceptibility panels from my SIBO clients. I usually use the silver for between three to six weeks, and then I’ll give the patient a break for fourteen days. Then, we might do another three to six weeks of colloidal silver treatment. However, colloidal silver is not the primary agent I use for SIBO. I think antimicrobials like standardize garlic, standardized oregano, and grapefruit seed extract work even better than colloidal silver for SIBO.

In my experience, 10 to 15 ppm of colloidal silver is more than enough. I particularly love the colloidal silver from Silver Biotics, a company out of Utah.

Colloidal silver can be used orally. I know some people who brush their gums with a toothbrush dipped in a dilute colloidal silver. Colloidal silver is good for the oral cavity and the entire GI tract. It also has some value when treating Helicobacter pylori. For H. pylori, you can take 30 mills twice a day on an empty stomach. I’d also combine it with aloe vera when treating H. pylori.

Again, let me reiterate, don’t take colloidal silver for any longer than three to six weeks at a time. Stop for at least fourteen days between courses. You don’t want to get any complications from using too much colloidal silver.

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Questions & Answers

Mental Health And Gut Health: The Foods You Need To Eat

Some foods offer particular benefits both for psychological well-being and gut health.

1. Complex carbohydrates: One of my concerns with paleo and keto diets is that people have taken too many carbs out of their diet. Fruit, many vegetables, starchy foods, legumes, and grains are stripped out of the fiber in favor of too much animal fat. Your body needs complex carbohydrates for emotional and gut health. When people skimp on dietary carbs, they become grumpy and have a higher incidence of mood disorders. Keep in mind that I’m talking about healthy carbs. The truth is that arbs like candy, ice cream, high-fructose corn syrup, and sugar can actually increase obesity and ramp up depression. It’s foods like whole grains, nuts, seeds, starchy and green leafy vegetables, and many different fruits that contain healthy carbs, fibers, and resistant starches that will improve gut function and psychological well-being.

2. Brightly colored foods with high levels of antioxidants are also good for your brain and your gut. Antioxidants help manage the oxidative stress that occurs in the body. If you want good levels of dopamine and serotonin, antioxidants will help protect those neurotransmitters. There’s a lot to be said for including brightly colored foods in your diet such as blueberries, raspberries, strawberries, aubergines, tomatoes, bell peppers, and zucchinis.

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3. Omega-3 fatty acids are excellent for the brain and the GI tract. You can find Omega-3s in oily fish like salmon, walnuts, and chia seeds. Omega-3 fatty acids are a critical addition to our diet because your body can’t make them on its own. I’ve read many research papers that have demonstrated that Omega-3 fatty acids improve both mood and cognitive function.

4. B vitamins such as B6, B12, and folic acid are essential for your mental health. There’s a clear link between depression and low levels of B vitamins. B5 is a vitamin that is particularly important for keeping energy levels high.

5. Probiotics offer your brain and bowel ample benefits. You can take supplements, but other sources of probiotics include fermented and cultured foods. It’s helpful to have sufficient prebiotics in your diet to make the most of the probiotics. For example, vegetables from the brassica family, such as broccoli and cauliflower, are a great source of prebiotics. So are plants from the allium family such as onions and chives.

6. Trace elements such as iodine, molybdenum, manganese, zinc, and copper are all critical for proper brain and digestive function. Look for foods that are organic and locally grown as these tend to contain higher levels of minerals. Good sources of minerals include pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, sesame seeds, Brazil nuts, almonds, walnuts, and sardines.

If you ensure your diet includes these six categories of food, your mind and body will thank you!

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Questions & Answers

High Protein Diets And Weight Loss: What You Should Know

Let’s talk about high-protein diets and weight loss.

There are several mechanisms by which protein actually allows you to maintain a good weight and even lose weight. That’s why so many people were excited about paleo and keto diets. These diets tend to help people feel better and burn off extra fat.

There are several reasons why protein helps people lose weight.

1. Protein helps reduce cravings for sugary, high-fat, high-calorie foods. Protein tends to generate satiety via hormonal and other mechanisms. There’s no doubt that people who eat a high-protein diet feel fuller, look better, and weigh less. When you eat protein, your satiety goes up, and your appetite goes down.

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2. Protein has something called a thermic effect, which is greater than for carbs and fats. The thermic effect is the energy the body uses to metabolize or burn food. For protein, the thermic effect is 20 to 30%, if not higher. This means that the body increases its metabolic rate when digesting protein. Carbs have a much lower thermic effect, which makes it easier to gain weight from eating starchy food than from eating high-protein food. The same is true for high-fat foods.

3. A high protein diet ramps up the production of certain hormones and reduces the production of others. Ghrelin, the hunger hormone, is suppressed with high protein intake. Cholecystokinin, a pancreatic hormone, increases in response to protein-intake and also helps reduce appetite. Carbohydrates don’t cause the same hormonal response.

Remember, that even though protein is vital for weight loss, you also need carbohydrates and fiber in your diet. A high-protein diet doesn’t feed the beneficial gut bacteria the way carbs such as resistant starches do.

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Questions & Answers

Managing Cravings While On A Diet

How can you reduce cravings while you’re on a diet?

There are a number of ways to keep your diet on track.

1. Work out a plan beforehand: Make sure you know where you’re headed and what you want to achieve on a diet? Is it a lifelong commitment or a temporary change in habits? I think it’s a great idea to make a commitment to healthy food and activity with a goal six to twelve months in the future.

2. Clean up your pantry: Get rid of the food in your house that’s a temptation. That means junk food, crappy food, and the food that you can’t stop eating no matter how full you are.

3. Make a list of the healthy, tasty foods you’re going to eat on your diet: You need to go shopping and stock your kitchen with food that will help achieve your health goals. If you do have a snack attack, you want to be able to grab a piece of fruit or a small serving of nuts rather than a sleeve of cookies. One of my favorite healthy snacks is a small package of seaweed. Seaweed is a great way to get valuable minerals into your diet.

4. Make sure you eat enough protein: Eating protein is a key factor in reducing cravings. You need to eat protein with most meals. You could opt for chicken, fish, legumes, nuts, hard-boiled eggs, and seeds, to name just a few options.

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5. Chose satisfying snacks: A common snack for me it will be an avocado because I’ve got two avocado trees. One good size avocado can allay hunger for a few hours.

6. Eat at regular times: Skipping or irregular meals can contribute to getting overly hungry and trigger cravings. If you want to reduce cravings, I think eating a breakfast that includes protein makes good sense.

7. Drink several glasses of water between meals: Drinking water in combination with a high fiber diet will leave you feeling full for extended periods. A couple of small pieces of cooked sweet potato and a glass of water will leave you feeling as if you’ve had a two-pound steak. You won’t be hungry for a long time.

8. Catch the cravings early: When you start thinking about the pantry or refrigerator, chose a different activity. It could be a walk with the dog or a stroll on your own. If you distract yourself from a craving, often it goes away within five or ten minutes.

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