Category Archives: Questions & Answers

Questions & Answers

Timing Your Fish Oil: What’s The Best Time Of Day For Omega-3 Fatty Acids?

When is the best time to take fish oil?

Well, the best time to have taken fish oils is yesterday. But if you’re starting today, it’s really up to you whether you take them morning, noon, or night. The bottom line is that it’s important to be taking them in the first place.

Many people don’t take omega-3 fatty acids even though it’s one of the most remarkable supplements available. If you’re not taking omega-3 supplements, I highly recommend starting a two to three-month trial. Take just one 1,000 mg capsule with a meal and don’t start any other new supplements at the same time. Now, observe what happens. I think you’re going to be quite surprised.

My other suggestion is that you take it at different times of the day during the trial. You can take it with breakfast for several weeks, then with lunch for several weeks, with your evening meals, and finally at bedtime.

Now, many people who take it with the evening meal or before bedtime tell me that they get better sleep, and they feel better overall. ustomize your omega-3 routine to what works best for you.

Further readings:

If you notice some changes from taking omega-3, it won’t hurt for you to go up to two capsules per day of a thousand milligrams, especially during the colder months.

If you’re going to include omega-3s in your supplement routine, Make sure that you get a good quality product. I prefer cod liver oil because the liver contains the highest amount of the fat-soluble vitamins (A, D, E, and K) in the fish, A, D, E, and K.

I predict that after taking an omega-3 supplement for several weeks, you will notice that your skin and hair starts looking better. It often will also improve your mood and your cognition. I also like that fish oil helps keep the blood thin and prevents strokes, heart attacks, and blood clots. That’s one of the reasons it’s good for people who take long haul flights. Omega-3 fatty acids help keep your cholesterol level balanced and also have anti-inflammatory actions. Overall, it’s a fantastic supplement to take.

The best time to take fish oil is any time of day, as long as it is with food. Keep the capsules in the refrigerator if you want to stop fish burps. Cold omega-3 fatty acids are less likely to cause that side effect.

Sources:

Questions & Answers

The Best Gut-Healthy Fats

What is the best fat for digestive health?

Is it butter? Is it coconut oil? Well, drum roll please …it’s extra virgin olive oil.
Extra virgin oil has a much higher polyphenol content than other fats. Polyphenols are antioxidants. I consider foods that contain polyphenols to be “A” grade foods.

Just make sure you get real extra virgin olive oil. There is a huge market in counterfeit extra virgin olive oil because it is in such high demand. There is so much poor quality olive oil on the market, it’s unbelievable.

I live in a small town that has a village press that will crush olives on the spot to make olive oil. Why would you want to use corn oil or canola oil when you could use something like that? Poor quality fats can have a very detrimental impact on your stomach.

Further readings:

High-quality lard can also be good for digestion, but olive oil stands out in the crowd. Based on the studies I’ve read from Spain and Greece, olive oil has a very interesting effect on the gut microbiota. In a 2018 Spanish study, the researchers looked at the effects of oils on the gut of rats and mice. Olive oil was significantly better for gut flora than butter. Butter is no longer considered a bad fat, but it still doesn’t have the positive effect on gut flora that olive oil demonstrates.

Olive oil may contribute to the long lifespans in the Mediterranean region. People in those countries consume a ridiculous amount of olive oil – something in the area of 13 liters per year compared to 1 liter per year in the US.

Olive is like wine. There are many different flavors to consider. Some are peppery, and others are sweeter. I’ve got about ten different olive oils in my kitchen. Try several out and find the ones that suit you best.

Sources:

Questions & Answers

Five Natural Remedies For Improving Your Digestion

Certain herbs have a lot to offer the digestive system.

When you are taking a herbal medication, I don’t suggesting you take a mix of ten to fifteen herbs. My favorite herbal teacher said to me, “It’s best to understand the essence of the herb, or the signature of the herb.” You’ll only do that by taking that herb on its own for a while to get a feel for it and understand it’s impact on your health.

Here are five herbs that can be of benefit to the digestive system:

1. Dandelion (taraxacum officinale). Dandelion has leaves with a jagged edge and one big yellow flower. This plant is fantastic for liver cleansing. It’s a cholagogue, meaning that it helps clean the liver out the stimulates the flow of bile. This herb is good for a sluggish bowel and for people who are mild drinkers. Thankfully, this plant won’t leave you feeling queasy. This plant is a mild enough remedy that it’s a good starting point if you have a very sick liver. Second-year dandelion roots can be used to make a coffee-like beverage. The roots can also be steamed like carrots. Dandelion leaves are high in vitamins K and C. Just make sure you don’t eat dandelion leaves that have been sprayed with chemicals. The leaves of dandelion have a diuretic effect, which can be beneficial if you have high blood pressure.

2. Ginger (zingiberaceae officinale). Ginger is fantastic when it comes to the gut, particularly the stomach. It can help with conditions like dyspepsia, nausea, Helicobacter pylori, motion sickness, and morning sickness. I’ve seen ginger used with success for abdominal spasms, bloating, gas, and incarcerated flatulence. Ginger is a stimulant that is also very good for the circulation. You can use ginger to soothe bad bruising if the skin’s not broken. Ginger is also a sialogogue, meaning it triggers the production of saliva and helps with dry mouth. It’s also a calminitive, meaning that it calms the gut. Ginger is warming and helps to loosen things up in the gut. It helps you sweat, but I’ve also seen it help reduce a fever.

Further readings:

3. Clove artichoke (Cynara scolymus): Clove artichoke is beautiful to eat and very good for liver function. It stimulates bile flow and cleanses the liver. Clove artichoke is one of my favorite herbs to use for a sluggish bowel. It’s also been used for gallstones, biliary disease, liver impairment, and chronic constipation. Traditionally it was used for jaundice in young people. By stimulating bile, colonic function is improved, which reduces the risk of bacterial and yeast problems in the gut.

4. Slippery elm bark (Ulmus fulva): Slippery elms are quite a tall tree, and it’s the pink inner bark that’s of interest. Slippery elm bark is the best demulcent herb for internal and external use. Demulcent means it’s soothing. Slippery elm soothes the elementary mucosas throughout the entire digestive tract. This herb is particularly good for infants up to about two or three years of age. I recommend slippery elm for ulcers and other conditions that trigger burning in the gut. It’s also good for bowel problems, whether that’s diarrhea, constipation, or irritable bowel syndrome. I’d also use it for GERD and Helicobacter. If you’re going to take slippery elm, make sure you get some with a pinky color but not overly red. The more pink the color, the higher the quality. A good test is to get a good pinch of the stuff and put it in water. Within a few minutes, it should turn into a jelly-like substance. That’s a good slippery elm powder. Externally, it’s nice to put on burns and cuts and abrasions. Slippery elm is also a fantastic prebiotic, particularly for bifidobacterium.

5. St. Mary’s thistle (Silybum marianum): This is probably one of the best liver herbs available. It’s hepato- restorative, it’s hepato-protective, and it’s a mild cholagogue. St. Mary’s thistle is one of the best herbs you can use for three to six weeks to facilitate a good detoxification. It’s an excellent treatment to use if you have a history of using a lot of pharmaceutical drugs like acetaminophen, ibuprofen, and other NSAIDs. A garlic and St. Mary’s thistle combination is particularly suitable for detoxifying the liver from the effects of drugs.

Sources:

Questions & Answers

What Does Soap Do To Your Microbiome?

Have you ever thought about how your gut could be affected by the chemicals in dishwashing liquid?

Why not shift to a more natural kind of a product? May common dishwashing liquids use chemicals like surfactants which break down the grease and grime.

Some of these soaps also consider chemicals like triclosan. Triclosan is an antibacterial substance that used in hand soaps, dishwashing liquids, and chemical cleaning products.

I read an interesting study from 2000 that showed triclosan is associated with methicillin resistant staphylococcus aureus, a bacterial problem found in hospitals.

Further readings:

I recommend being very careful about using products with triclosan because it may disrupt your microbiome.

Another study demonstrated that children whose parents/caregivers hand-washed dishes had fewer allergies than children whose parents used the dishwashing machine.

I think the take-home message from this study is to use natural soaps without harsh chemicals when washing your dishes. The goal is to preserve your beneficial bacteria.

Sources:

Questions & Answers

Diet And Cholesterol: What You Need To Know

During my thirty-plus years of working in healthcare, one of the biggest things that always annoyed me was how people said that eggs and butter were bad for your health, but margarine was good for you. These statements stem from the misconceptions about cholesterol that are still out there.

A fascinating man that I had the privilege of getting to know for a while was Dr. Ross Walker, an Australian integrative cardiologist. He was involved in heart surgeries but then began to also work on the prevention end of heart disease. I attended an interesting seminar he gave called The Big Fat Lie that discussed cholesterol in depth.

I was already familiar with much of what Dr. Walker said because I had been reading about it for years. But it’s important for people to know that in many cases, cholesterol doesn’t make people sick and fat or cause them to die of heart disease. Over 50% of people who die of heart disease don’t have elevated cholesterol, meaning that something else is at work.

Some people have high cholesterol due to genetics. In most people, the liver is responsible for making about 80% of the body’s cholesterol, with the remaining coming in through the diet. In other words, your cholesterol levels don’t just reflect what you eat; they also reflect processing by the liver.

Further readings:

Your body needs cholesterol as it is the starting point for all steroid hormone production. Every one of the trillions of cells in your body has a surrounding membrane that includes fat. Your body, and your brain, in particular, need fat.

Saturated and manmade fats like trans fats are unhealthy. When you eat those kinds of foods, particularly if you’re also living a high-stress lifestyle and drinking alcohol, the risk of heart disease goes up.

Foods that won’t increase your cholesterol include home cooking with butter, olive oil, vegetables, fruit, and lean meats.

Cholesterol can be categorized into low-density lipoprotein (LDL), high-density lipoprotein (HDL), and triglycerides, which are a component of cholesterol. LDL is supposed to be bad and HDL good. High levels of LDL indicate that too much fat is being transported from the gut and liver and placed in different parts of the body, including small arteries. Once in the blood vessel, the immune system attacks the cholesterol creating an unstable plaque, which can then break off and cause a stroke or a heart attack. In other words, be careful about high LDL.

HDL, on the other hand, takes components back to the liver for processing. It’s a helpful form of cholesterol. Triglycerides levels have more to do with sugar and medications than dietary fat.

If you consistently make good dietary choices, you’re going a long way towards preventing heart disease. Healthy fats include sesame seed oil, olive oil, cold-pressed fish oils, and plant-based oils. Macadamian oil and avocado oil can reduce inflammation due to their antioxidant content.

If you avoid unhealthy foods and choose healthy options, it’s going to go a long way towards keeping heart disease at bay, particularly if you’ve got genetics on your side.

Sources: