Tag Archives: candida

Questions & Answers

The Connection Between Skin Health And Gut Health

I’ve always believe that if you get the gut in order, you’re going to get a person’s skin in better shape. Now finally, science is validating this.

A very interesting study was it was conducted by the Louis Pasteur Institute in Paris and the Bernard Institute in Leon. The researchers took a cohort of mice and genetically modified their DNA, so they no longer had the MAVS gene. The MAVS gene codes for an antiviral protein.

The mice without the MAVS gene experienced an alteration to their microbiota as the MAV antiviral protein no longer protected them. As a result, their skin was more vulnerable, and they developed eczema.

In this study, removing the MAV gene was also associated with a leaky gut. As the microbiota changed and viruses better able to attack, the small intestine became much more permeable. Remember, that a leaky gut allows food proteins to leak through the intestinal wall and affect the spleen and the lymph.

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Next, the researchers took the gut flora from the mice lacking MAV and put it into the normal mice. The normal mice went on to develop severe eczema and significant allergies.

The authors of the study concluded that when the gut flora is disturbed, reactions can occur throughout the body – not just in the gut. Hence, the emergence of eczema in these mice.

Another study was conducted at Otago University in New Zealand. In this case, the researchers were focused on infants. When infants received probiotics, their eczema cleared up much more rapidly than when any other treatment was used.

I’m well known in my industry for successfully treating challenging skin conditions. I’ve always started from the premise that you need to alter the diet, feed the beneficial bacteria, and get the gut in excellent health to conquer skin problems. I’ve been talking about this for 20 years.
Unfortunately, many people with eczema end up being prescribed steroid creams or pills. I think the focus should be on getting the diet in line with the needs of the beneficial bacteria in the gut. Then, the body’s health will take care of itself.

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Questions & Answers

What You Need To Know About The Mediterranean Diet

It’s worth knowing about the Mediterranean diet.

When I talk about the Mediterranean diet, I’m referring to a diet rife with olive oil, almonds, pistachios, walnuts, beans, and other legumes, fruits, olives, lots of fish, small amounts of dairy, and even smaller amounts of meat. The Mediterranean diet isn’t low fat – it includes olive oil and fatty fish.

Dr. Ailsa Welch is a nutrition expert from Norwich Medical University. She conducted a study that spanned 17 years and included 23,232 men and women, ages 40 to 77. Dr. Welch and her team found that eating a Mediterranean diet significantly reduced the risk of stroke. Women did the best with a 17% protective effect versus a 6% protective effect for men. The 17% reduction in stroke for women applied whether the woman was taking hormone replacement therapy or not.

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The Mediterranean diet includes foods like sardines, figs, and olives. I believe that people in the Mediterranean also tend to be more relaxed, more social, and eat much slower than the typical American. There is also more daily physical activity in the Mediterranean populations.

I read another intriguing study that said that big food companies are taking over where “big” tobacco left off. Most of us are aware that tobacco was promoted to the masses in the ‘50s and ‘60s – not unlike how fast food is promoted today.

The older generation remembers a time when they made their own chicken dishes and pizza. The younger generation is growing up with Kentucky Fried Chicken and Domino’s Pizza instead.

I have personally been following the Mediterranean diet for years. I use lots of olive oil, fish (including salmon, which isn’t really Mediterranean but still very healthy), avocados, nuts, seeds, and legumes. In my opinion, a low meat, high fish diet with lots of vegetables and fresh fruit is one of the best diets to follow.

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Questions & Answers

Does Calorie Counting Encourage Weight Loss?

I read an interesting study out of the States that looked at calorie counts on restaurant menus.
The obesity problem in the U.S. is out of control. In the last fifty years, the prevalence of obesity has tripled. It’s estimated that obesity cost $147 billion per year in the U.S. alone.

In this randomized field study, three researchers looked at the behavior of 5,500 diners at two restaurants. The control group was allowed to order off the menu in a restaurant that provided no caloric information. The other group of study participants ordered at a restaurant that included calorie counts on their menu board. It turned out that knowing the calorie count results in people ordering meals that were 45 to 50 calories lighter.

People often don’t know the calorie count of what they are eating. Despite everything, despite all of these crazy exercises, super pills, Botox, liposuction, and the like, the world is still getting fatter and fatter.

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Instead of big tobacco promoting cigarettes, iwe have big food promoting high-calorie foods. As a result, government agencies are saying to these food chains, “Hang on a minute, you guys, you need to put calorie information up there to show consumers what they’re eating.” And then, of course, the fast-food chains come back saying, “We can’t do that. If we do that, we’re going to lose profits.”

Profits, my foot. What about the $147 billion in care? That’s the cost of looking after diabetes, cancer, heart disease, stroke, and other health conditions associated with junk food and obesity.

Any time you eat fewer calories is a step in the right direction. Every calorie less you eat is less extra fat, protein, and sugar that your body doesn’t need. We live in an ocean of food today, and yet many people are still malnourished. That’s the crazy part.

Don’t forget the best exercise you can do is to push the plate away. Don’t laugh. I’ve seen it work many times.

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Questions & Answers

How To Motivate People To Lose Weight

Obesity is a very big problem in Western countries, particularly the United States. The cost of obesity is nearly $150 billion a year in the U.S.

There is an expert in the field, Dr. Mitesh Patel, who has looked at the types of incentives that help motivate people to lose weight. He even looked at whether financial incentives like tickets for a small lottery win would help people commit to losing weight. Dr. Patel is a behavioural expert and helps businesses improve their employees’ health.

We know that healthy people are more productive in the workplace. Companies are always looking for ways to motivate their employees to develop healthy habits.

If you give a person the chance of winning a $5 lottery every few days and make it a one in four or five chance, it doesn’t improve motivation to any great degree. If you increase the pot to $400 to $500 dollars but the chances of winning are less, there still isn’t much of a difference.

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However, people placed into random lotteries are more likely to hit the goal of 7000 steps per day. In fact, the number of people hitting that threshold went from 26% to 38% in response to a change in the lottery incentive.

It’s sad that people need bribes, incentives, and buddies to push themselves into a fitness program. I feel so sorry that there are so many people trapped in big bodies who don’t feel they have the power to do anything about it.

I’ve helped a lot of obese people come down to an average size. Unfortunately, many of them regained the weight. Some of them didn’t and were able to sustain the weight loss.

I think upbringing influences your body weight. Friends and social circles also impact your weight. If your friends and family tend to be active and eat healthily, you’ll be more prone to do that yourself. It’s hard to be slim when your family has a legacy of watching hours of television while eating pizza and drinking pop.

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Questions & Answers

The Downsides To Sugar Consumption

Sugar used to be a very, very expensive commodity. Hundreds of years ago, buying sugar was like buying gold dust.

Things changed over time, with a particularly big shake-up occurring in the late 1950s. Around that time, the ability to manufacture corn-syrup and extract fructose and glucose from sugar developed.

Many researchers also point out the obesity crisis is literally in line with the production of high-fructose corn syrup.In the United States, obesity is out of control. 70% of the population now are overweight or obese.

Cargill is the biggest manufacturer of high-fructose corn syrup. This type of sugar is added to a vast range of foods, from cereal to soda, and from protein bars to salad dressings.

50 to 70% of all foods now available in supermarkets contain high fructose corn syrup. When fructose goes to the liver, it is split up, and one component contributes to triglyceride production. As a result, the risk of stroke and cardiovascular problems can go up.

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Multiple studies show that soft drinks made with high-fructose corn syrup are linked to obesity. One meta-analysis I read concluded that there’s overwhelming proof that people who drink one to two soda drinks per day will pile on the weight over time. High-fructose corn syrup also increases the risk of diabetes, stroke, heart disease, and goodness knows what else.

If you get used to having sugar in your diet at a young age, it gets harder and harder to break the habit. Of course, it’s crucial to differentiate between industrial sugar like corny syrup and the natural sugar found in fruit. Sometimes people get so sugar phobic that it can trigger an eating disorder, as they avoid anything with even a naturally occurring sugar content.

Remember, there is a big difference between high-fructose corn syrup and something growing on a tree that happens to contain fructose.

Big companies will continue to push profit over health and encourage the intake of lots of sugar. Keep your eye on your health and eat accordingly. I genuinely believe that high-fructose corn syrup will one day be seen as unfit for human consumption.

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