Let’s talk about hunger and bacteria. I’ve read so many studies now on this topic, and it’s so exciting to see that many bacteria are involved in stimulating appetite or decreasing appetite.
Research using DNA sequencing of bacteria has begun to reveal the connection between the microbiome, appetite, and satiety (or lack thereof).
Common bacteria like Escherichia coli (E. coli) can produce proteins that increase or decrease appetite.
I’ve always maintained that the human gut is a lot like a garden. If you disrupt the balance in the garden, problems will surface.
I keep my whole garden as an ecosystem. When people visit my garden, they’re astounded at all the insects. I’m creating an ecologically balanced system.
Balance is just as essential in the human gut. When we achieve gut health, you won’t have the gas, bloating, or problems with appetite and satiety. Next thing you know, you will have lost ten pounds without much effort. It’s because you are living according to the laws of nature.
When you work with Mother Nature, she’ll take care of you. If you flaunt those laws and pump chemicals and antibiotics into your body, you’re going to run into problems.
Modern science needs to take a long, hard look at nature. It’s hard to ignore the importance of protecting your body’s beneficial bacteria when you take in the lessons from a garden.
Just three days in the hospital can change the bacteria in your gut.
People who end up in the intensive care unit (ICU) can have a massive shift in the gut microbiota within 72 hours. Hundreds of species of bugs can be wiped out in a snap, and it can take months to years to recover.
I have clients who were on antibiotics for years. It’s hard to see the destruction of beneficial bacteria that goes on day after day.
Dr. Mark Pallen, a British microbial genomics researcher at the Quadram Institute, lead the research on the impact of an ICU admission on gut flora. I suspected that there would be an impact of hospitalization, but I was taken back at the scale of the change to the flora.
To assess the impact of intensive care treatment on the gut microbiome, the team tracked 24 people admitted to a hospital in Birmingham, UK, for trauma, heart attacks, cancer, and other emergencies. The tracking was done over 10 months and included people ages 25 to 85. Many of the patients were unconscious or sedated.
After getting permission from family members, the research team looked at stool samples. They conducted DNA sequencing on the samples and found that over 75% of the patients experienced a significant reduction in microbial diversity during their ICU stay.
The most significant changes to the microbiome were associated with IV use.
The gut is normally an ecosystem in its own right. The gut is the foundation, the root, of our health. This part of the body determines overall health. Science has allowed us to understand just how important the human microbiota is to well-being.
Unfortunately, the conventional medical system has contributed to a great deal of destruction of the gut ecosystem. Is it any wonder why people end up sicker coming out of the hospital than when they went in the first place?
That’s why I’m so healthy. I don’t go to the hospital. Try and keep out of these places if you can, okay?
If you get pumped full of IV antibiotics, you may suffer it for years.
Another researcher, Joost Wiersinga from the Academic Medical Center in Amsterdam, has this to say, “Medics should do more to minimize the disruption to gut bacteria.”
I agree 100%.
Why are people in Asia slimmer on average than people in the USA?
I spent a lot of time in India. I did postgraduate training as a homeopath way back. The interesting thing was, the obese people I noticed were usually wealthy people. I could not believe the disparity I saw between the rick and the poor.
We see some of the same differences in the Western world. It’s incredible the difference in size between people in Texas or Louisianna and people in Tokyo.
However, more recently, we are starting to see an increase in obesity in Japan. This increase can be explained by the influx of junk food coming into Japan.
When I was a young guy a long time ago, the average life expectancy of the Japanese male was 77.9 years of age, which is the highest on earth. It’s not hard to see why. Rice, fish, seaweed, and vegetables are the cornerstones of the Japanese diet. When you eat like this, you end up lean and mean.
Traditionally in South Korea and Japan, people ate lots of seafood and rice and fresh and pickled vegetables. They didn’t have the burger joints and the home-delivered pizza.
In Asian culture, it is also more polite to have smaller portion sizes. Eating was more of a ritual than something you do while sitting in front of your computer.
I noticed the same in India. I saw people walk vast distances and eat small amounts of food. Some families I saw were just living basically on lentils and rice with a few tomatoes and onions thrown in, and that was about it.
What I’ve learned from my Asian experience is that the healthiest people usually have the smallest portion sizes and the highest quality food.
We don’t see that in the United States. We don’t see people with small portion sizes. Every time I eat in L.A., they put enough food on my plate to feed me and my wife and my child. There’s enough for three or four people there. So I usually am amazed at the mountains of food. Quantity, too much. Quality, not good.
When you add high stress to the low quality and overabundance of food in the U.S., you’re going to get massive problems with obesity.
You don’t need to be overweight if you live in the U.S. I’ve met many very slim people in the States as well. Often these people are more knowledgeable about health and make better dietary and lifestyle choices.
You can also choose to eat and live like someone in Asia, even if you’re living in the U.S.
I make a variety of salad dressing that smell great, look great, and taste amazing.
Some of my favorite ingredients for salad dressing are Bragg’s apple cider vinegar, various olive oils, balsamic oil, and spices. I don’t recommend using white vinegar in salad dressing. Save that type of vinegar for cleaning.
I have about ten different olive oils in my pantry. Some are stronger and have a real “bite.” Others are more floral or citrusy. I even have some that are quite bland. Olive oil is wonderful and anti-inflammatory for the gut.
When it comes to spices, I use raw turmeric grated or shaved. Turmeric and ginger are from the same family of plants, and both are anti-inflammatory. I particularly like ginger if I’m making an Asian-fusion salad dressing.
Garlic goes into every salad dressing I make. I chope up one or two cloves very finely and throw them into the mix.
A classic salad dressing I make is a combination of lemon juice, olive oil, Celtic sea salt, freshly ground pepper, and then a herb or two.
If you have a significant Candida problem, I strongly recommend that you grow oregano, marjoram, thyme, basil, and rosemary. All of those are key, gut-healthy herbs.
I grow a very strong, spicy oregano as well as a normal one. The spicy one is very powerful because it contains several healthy compounds that have a strong cleansing effect on the gut.
If you go to your local plant nursery, you can usually find pungent oregano to grow. You can even steep a handful of this oregano in a small jar of olive oil. Leave it there for about six or eight weeks, squeeze it out. What you’ve done is leech the active oregano metabolites into the oil. It’s an extraction process, and it gives the oil a delicious flavor. You can do that with any herb, but oregano oil is particularly tasty.
Other great salad dressings are yogurt-based. You can also make an aioli with ample garlic. Sometimes I add sauerkraut juice to my salad dressing. Another one of my favorite recipes is some kind of sprout mixed up with a bit of lime juice, salt, and pepper, a drizzle of olive oil, again, on top of that. Very simple. Keep it simple.
I usually never store salad dressings. I make them fresh on the spot, put them in the salad. Whatever’s leftover, I throw away. I never keep salad dressing for the next day. Everything has to be fresh.
It’s not hard to make a salad dressing, and it gives your salad a lot of zing and flavor. When something tastes great and looks great, you’re going to want to have it again and again and again.
I’ve had clients ask me, “Why am I always hungry?”
I think it’s important to be able to get through the day without being hungry 24/7.
There are a lot of factors that influence appetite. Hormones like leptin and ghrelin play a role as does the composition of your diet.
One of the key factors I see in my overweight clients is that they don’t eat enough protein. I’m not suggesting you have steak three times a day. I’m recommending getting good quality protein in your diet regularly. The protein can come from meat, legumes, eggs, nuts, seed, fish, amongst other options.
Because it breaks down slower than carbohydrates, eating protein throughout the day can make a big difference to your appetite and cravings.
Next, watch out for eating too many refined carbohydrates. These types of foods can play havoc with your blood sugar, leaving you with a ravenous appetite at times. In contrast, having a small piece of meat with a bit of fat on it will keep your blood sugars stable as it slowly digests.
I don’t eat any refined carbohydrates. I stick with vegetables, fruit, meats, Brazil nuts, almonds, and other gut healthy foods. My energy remains steady throughout the day.
By sticking with better foods, you’re at much less risk of getting overweight or developing diabetes and heart disease.
Keeping track of your sleep is important to appetite control.
People who don’t get enough restorative sleep will have hormonal dysregulation. Sleep deprivation increases the levels of cortisol, the stress hormone. And cortisol is notorious for increasing appetite and cravings for high-sugar, high-fat, and high-salt food.
Normal weight people with normal cortisol levels don’t generally have any problem getting enough sleep.
If you regularly wake up through the night, your leptin and ghrelin levels can be impacted. Ghrelin is the appetite-stimulating hormone, and leptin is the satiety hormone. If you’re not sleeping enough, your leptin levels can drop, and your ghrelin levels can increase.
Another reason people feel chronically hungry is that they aren’t eating enough fat. The medium-chain triglycerides found in coconut products will provide a very nice, slow burn. Including a small amount of healthy fats in your diet, such as sesame oil or olive oil, with help keep your appetite in check.
Not drinking enough water can sometimes leave you feeling hungry. Keep well hydrated at all times. People who drink water instead of immediately reaching for a snack can reduce their calorie load by 600 calories or more per day.
Make sure you’re getting enough fiber in your diet.
Not enough fiber. Many people are scared of fiber because they think it increases candida or dysbiosis—bad move.
It is essential to have an ample supply of plant-based fibers in your diet. By cooking your vegetables very lightly, you’ll ensure the nutrients, fiber, and flavor stays intact.
The sensation of fullness is going to last much longer if you have protein and vegetables for supper than if you have a couple of pieces of bread.
Lastly, don’t forget about distractions. People spend far too much time on their screens, snacking away mindlessly.
You need to concentrate on your food. You need to relax while you are eating.
Lastly, make sure you manage the stress in your life. Stress plays havoc with the hormones that regulate your appetite. Try deep breathing or mindfulness if you have a lot of stress in your life. You want to stimulate your parasympathetic nervous system – the “rest and digest” system.
If you act on all these points, your weight will start to move in the right direction. Small steps today can pay off big time in the future.