Tag Archives: gut flora

Questions & Answers

What You Need To Know About Medium-Chain Triglycerides (MCTs)

Medium-chain fatty acids are derived from natural substances. Caprylic acid and capric acid are the two main MCTs and are found in coconut fat.

MCTs are easily absorbed by the body because these types of fats don’t require bile for digestion. I believe MCTs get absorbed straight into the portal vein, where it is shunted to the liver for processing. For that reason, MCTs don’t seem to cause the same weight gain as other fats that go through typical digestive processes.

You also need a lot less MCT or coconut oil to achieve satiety compared to fats like olive oil.
A meta-analysis that included 13 different studies found that regular ingestion of MCTs was associated with a ½ pound weight loss and a small decrease in waist circumference.

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MCTs can help you lose a small amount of weight. Still, they are not the be-all and end-all. You shouldn’t take MCT supplements and expect to transform your body.

If you’re serious about weight loss, I suggest focusing on increasing your protein intake while reducing your caloric consumption. Avoid crappy food and exercise more.

Still, having a small amount of MCTs in your diet has some value. MCTs are antifungal and can help control yeast levels in your gut.

My preference is to consume whole coconut rather than a fractionated product made from coconut oil. However, it’s your decision. You may prefer to take the supplement.

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Questions & Answers

What You Need To Know About Arsenic And The Gut Flora

I read a fascinating study about the impact of arsenic on the microbiome. Professor Anne Hoen did the study out of her lab at Dartmouth.

Dr. Hoen studied the effects of small amounts of arsenic on the microbiome of rats. She discovered that arsenic had a dramatic impact on how the bacteria in the gut functioned. From there, Dr. Hoen decided to do a study of the effects of arsenic on the infant microbiome.

This study was conducted in New Hampshire, a state known to have a significant amount of arsenic in the ground and groundwater. The arsenic is naturally occurring, but it enters private wells. Of course, people who drink this water, including pregnant and nursing women, are exposed to the arsenic.

What they discovered is that when babies are exposed to arsenic, their microbiome is disrupted. Arsenic kills some of the gut bacteria in the infant gut.

Further readings:

My recommendation is to get a good quality water filter, whether you live in New Hampshire or not. The water filter will remove chemicals like chlorine, fluoride, heavy metals, PCBs, dioxins, and other toxic compounds.

The take-home message from this study is to have your water assessed if you live in an area with naturally occurring arsenic.

If the lab analysis of your water shows significant level of heavy metals, have a hair analysis done as well.

I once had a client who was not improving over time. A sample of the hair on his head showed very little. When we requested an analysis of a pubic hair sample, we found elevated mercury and copper levels.

Copper and other metals like mercury, arsenic, cadmium, and lead are attracted to a particular protein on the cell surface. Copper has a very high affinity for that particular receptor. If we see an elevated copper, we have a high index of suspicion that the patient’s got a heavy metal problem. We can then consider doing a provocation test to see if the patient is going to dump a large chunk of metal. Essentially, we’ve found a potential cause for poor health.

Cutting to the chase, don’t let your children drink water if it’s contaminated. Get the water checked if you’ve got a well. If there are health problems in the family, get some hair analysis to rule out possible heavy metal contamination.

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Questions & Answers

Is The Carnivore Diet The Key To Losing Weight?

Does the carnivore diet work for weight loss?

You can find a lot of good information on this topic by reading Chris Kresser online. He provides excellent, balanced information about several diets, including keto, paleo, and carnivore diets.

A carnivore diet is built around beef, lamb, pork, chicken, fish, and eggs. In some cases, dairy is also included to a limited extent.

I heard from several viewers on my YouTube channel that the carnivore diet is the way to go. I’m sure that it can be helpful in the short-term, but I think a long-term carnivore can lead to problems.

If we go way back, there are no groups of people who lived solely on meat. That type of eating pattern didn’t exist. It’s a fallacy to think the carnivore diet the the “natural” human diet. That is simply not true. Chris Kresser writes exceptionally well about that.

Further readings:

For example, the Canadia Inuit would go to great lengths looking for lichen, berries, and other foods they could use to supplement the seal meat they ate. Most tribes have always foraged for carbohydrates to eat in addition to meat.

It’s a myth that our ancestors lived by roasting huge steaks over open fires.

If you look at what a carnivore diet does to your gut over the long term, the colon will lose out a bit. Meat is almost always exclusively digested higher up in the GI tract. As a result, there is not much residue left in the stool. It’s also a very low fiber diet.

It’s been shown that within 48 hours of starting a carnivore diet, the gut microbiome starts to change. I don’t like that at all.

For those people who promote the carnivore diet, I’d like them to show me someone who has been eating like that for forty years. I’d want to know what their gut looks like. What is their blood pressure like? How are their liver and kidneys doing? How has their heart managed all that animal fat?

I’ve been following the Mediterranean diet for forty plus years, and my heart and circulation are in fantastic shape.

I believe meat is an important part of the diet, but it should be consumed in small amounts. I think the carnivore diet can cause problems with vitamin and minerals levels over the long-term. I would worry about calcium, magnesium, and manganese, to give a few examples.

With my vegan patients, many will add some dairy or lean meats back into their diet after five years or thereabouts. Their B12 levels had become so low that they were starting to feel sick.
I think that the carnivore diet would also be hard to tolerate for more than five to seven years. I couldn’t stomach eating meat for breakfast for the rest of my life.

The carnivore diet may be an effective way to lose weight in the short-term, but I think the keto diet is a better option. If you wanted to do the carnivore diet for a short period, then you could slowly add some vegetables and fruit when you reach your weight-loss objective. But, for overall health, an all-meat diet is not the way to go.

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Questions & Answers

Skinny Genes: What You Need To Know

Do skinny genes really exist, or are they a myth?

I think skinny genes exist, and so do scientists.

There have been many studies on the genetics of weight conducted over the years.

If we go back decades, there was a professor at Arizona State University who was studying genetics using Drosophila (fruit flies). This scientist found that some fruit flies were fat and some were quite lean. The fat fruit flies had a significant advantage because their extra weight could carry them through tough times. The same can be said for polar bears – they need a lot of fat to survive difficult circumstances. However, that’s not what humans living in New York City or L.A. need.

The gene that resulted in bigger fruit flies was named “adipose.” This gene has been studied in mice and rats as well. It turns out if the activity of the adipose gene is upregulated, mice live longer and burn fat faster.

Further readings:

In another study of close to 100,000 people, it was discovered that about 1/2000 people have a variation on chromosome 16. There is a small patch of information on this chromosome that isn’t present in the other 1999/2000 people.

This extra genetic code resulted in a lower than average appetite. These people ended up very lean and sometimes underweight to the point of concern.

You probably know a lady or a guy that can eat whatever they want, and they just don’t put on weight. That could be part of this chromosomal aberration that we’re talking about here.

In some people, it’s dangerous because no matter what they eat, they can’t gain any weight. It’s just as awful being in that situation as it is being 300 or 400 pounds.

In my opinion, genetics also influences personality. In turn, the personality will also naturally drive up or down the endocrine system. Hypothalamic, pituitary, and thyroid activity could all be a bit higher or a bit lower depending on genetics. The hormonal activity can then influence weight.

Remember, it’s not just about genetics. Your weight also reflects the food you eat, how much you move, and your lifestyle.

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Questions & Answers

The Effect Of Cooking Method On Gut Flora

Is it better to eat cooked or raw food?

We already know that the microbiome is influenced a lot by the type of foods you eat. Studies about how raw versus cooked meals affect gut flora have been less abundant. That’s why I was particularly interested in a study conducted by Harvard University and the University of San Francisco.

In this study, rodents were fed raw meat and cooked meat as well as raw and cooked sweet potato. They found no discernible difference between how raw and cooked meat affects gut bacteria. However, they found a significant difference between the impact of raw sweet potato and cooked sweet potato.

The researchers propose that the raw sweet potato was digested at a slightly different region of the digestive tract than the cooked version. It was also noted that certain raw vegetables, including sweet potato, contain compounds that are harmful to gut microbes. In other words, it’s in our best interest to cook certain foods.

In my opinion, tubers should always be cooked. If you look at indigenous people, they always scrubbed and cooked tubers, potatoes, and cassava.

Further readings:

In my experience, once you cook sweet potato, it’s exceptionally good for the large intestine. People who eat sweet potatoes regularly tend to be much healthier than people who don’t eat any.

I like raw meat. I like the texture and taste. I’ve done that now all my life. If you look around the world, many populations and many cultures have eaten a combination of raw and cooked foods for many years.

In my opinion, there is no doubt that partially cooked food is often better than food that is cooked right through. I like to keep a bit of snap in my stir-fried vegetables, for example. Partially cooked food still allows your gastric acid and enzymes to digest your meal efficiently but without destroying valuable phytochemicals.

So, am I a fan of raw food? Yes, I am. Am I a fan of cooked food? Yes, I am. I’m a fan of all sorts of foods, as long as it’s healthy food prepared in the right way. Some foods are simply not meant to be cooked. For example, I would never cook alfalfa sprouts.

And remember, your gut flora doesn’t just reflect how you cook your food. It also reflects your lifestyle and habits.

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