New England Health Advisory

By Andrew Palmer

Did you know your gut is teeming with bacteria?

Nature designed it that way. A lot of those bacteria are doing good things for you, like digesting your food and preventing infection.

In my family we call them “good bugs” and they’re a big part of our family diet. And to keep them happy, we try to eat plenty of fiber, organic fruits and vegetables, as well as organic yogurt, kefir and additional probiotic supplements.

To learn how probiotics can help restore balance in your digestive system, please read this letter from our contributor Dr. Al Sears.

Yours for health and wellness,

Andrew Palmer
Publisher
New England Health Advisory

P.S. If you’re having trouble with digestion or you’re interested in boosting your immune system, you’ll want to read this letter. Click here to view it now!

By Inger Pols

This is part five of a series on the supplements I think every adult should take. Previous issues focused on whole-food based multivitamins, ubiquinol, fiber and omega 3. You can read them by clicking here.

The final supplement on the list is vitamin D, which is made in our bodies through sun exposure. But today, we simply don’t get enough direct exposure to sunshine, without sunscreen, to make the vitamin D we need.

Vitamin D helps with bone health by facilitating calcium absorption. It also plays an important role in many other healthy body functions. Vitamin D has been shown to improve immune health and heart health, protect against cancer, autoimmune diseases, depression and a host of other conditions.

Vitamin D deficiency is a major cause for concern as it affects multiple systems in our bodies. Vitamin D deficiency is far more pervasive than previously believed, with research now indicating virtually all adults and children have lower than optimal vitamin D levels.

The only way to know how much vitamin D you need on a daily basis is to get your levels tested a couple of months after you begin to supplement. You want to see levels of 125-200 nmol/L, or nanomoles per liter. (Sometimes test results are reported in nanograms per milliliter or ng/ml. It’s the same test, just a different measurement: Like miles per hour versus feet per second. If your test results are in ng/ml, you will want to see at least 50 ng/ml for optimal vitamin D function.)

Estimates now suggest that 5,000 International Units, or IU, of vitamin D a day or 35 IU per pound for kids or heavier people is appropriate. But some of us need more: I was recently listening to a renowned brain expert say that as a physician, he was shocked when he found out after vitamin D testing that his body required 10,000 IU a day to function at its optimal level since he lives in southern California and is exposed to sunshine all year.

My whole food multivitamin contains 5,000 IU of vitamin D3 and I get plenty of daily summer sunshine, so I don’t take a supplement in summer. But most multivitamins have shockingly low levels of vitamin D3. So even if you are taking a good whole-food multivitamin, you’ll most likely need to add some D3, unless you get time outside without sunscreen every day. And even though my multivitamin provides a good baseline, I still find that I need to supplement with an additional 1,000-2,000 IUs of vitamin D3 during the long New England winters. Unless you are in a warm weather climate, you probably will too.

If you haven’t read my full article on vitamin D, you should check it out. Before we leave the topic of supplements, I want briefly mention three other supplements that did not make my top five list that you may want to consider: collagen, probiotics and DIM.

Collagen

If you read my article on bone health, you know how important collagen is to avoiding bone fractures. You can and should get your collagen from eating good collagen-rich foods like dark green leafy vegetables. But if you find—like many—that you may not be eating enough collagen and you are not taking a good whole-food multivitamin, you may want to consider collagen supplementation.

As I shared in an earlier article, in order to maintain my weight and to prevent blood sugar issues, I try to eat small amounts of protein, healthy fats (omegas 3s) and fiber at every meal or snack. If I am ever in a situation where I am not consuming protein, I will take a collagen supplement (and a fiber or omega 3 supplement if needed) for balance. While not nearly as good as eating the right foods, in a pinch, it’s better than taking in carbohydrates (sugar) without any having protein to balance it out since carbs ingested without a protein counterbalance are stored as fat in the body.

Probiotics/Digestive Enzymes

We’ve all heard of antibiotics: They kill off or inhibit the growth of bacteria. But antibiotics also kill off the healthy bacteria in our digestive tract and inhibit our ability to digest food and to absorb nutrients. Probiotics contain the beneficial flora that your digestive system needs and digestive enzymes that work in your stomach to help break down foods. Both can be damaged by illness, poor diet and antibiotics, so if you have experienced any of those and have not taken a course of probiotics and enzymes afterward, your digestive system is likely not operating at top capacity.

Probiotics and digestive enzymes are also a must if you have digestive concerns such as cramps, constipation, diarrhea, gas or bloating or Irritable Bowel Syndrome. If you struggle with allergies or asthma, food sensitivities such as sugar or gluten, yeast infections or urinary tract infections, rosacea, acne or skin conditions, headaches or migraines, chronic bad breath (halitosis), PMS or hormonal imbalance, or achy joints, you should consider probiotic supplementation.

Depending on how long and how strong your course of antibiotics was, or how severe your digestive concerns are and what your diet is like (if it is very acidic), you may want to stay on probiotics for a while to ensure balance is restored and maintained. At a minimum, you’ll want to take probiotics and digestive enzymes while taking antibiotics and for several weeks afterward. A two to three month supplementation cycle is great for restoring balance and digestive health after any significant stress to your digestive system. Eating yogurt can help, but your body most likely needs more help than yogurt alone can provide.

Even if you haven’t had antibiotics lately or faced a digestive health concern, your system could still be imbalanced from a concern long ago. Probiotics can help restore balance if you have a heavily acidic diet that promotes yeast and causes other imbalances in your digestive pathway. I recommend a month (or two) of probiotic and digestive enzyme supplementation every year to help ensure your digestive system has everything it needs to maximize the nutrient absorption of the food you are eating.

There are many different probiotic strains and each works differently in the body, so you may need to experiment with more than one brand to find the right one. If you are facing a specific issue, research your condition to find the best strains. The right probiotic should make a difference within the first week or two. If you don’t see improvement after two weeks, try another brand with different strains of bacteria. If you are just looking to restore balance annually with no specific concerns, choose a highly rated probiotic that has bifidobacteria and lactobacillus acidophilus in the billions.

DIM or Diindolylmethane

Diindolylmethane, or DIM, promotes healthy hormonal balance through beneficial estrogen metabolism. DIM is a naturally occurring phytonutrient found in cruciferous vegetables (like broccoli, cabbage or collards), which we know are good for us, but do not eat nearly enough of. DIM can balance estrogen by blocking “bad” estrogen and promoting good or beneficial estrogen in our bodies.

For women, healthy estrogen metabolism prevents breast, cervical and uterine cancers; for men, it is required for prostate health. (Men, you have estrogen in your bodies and are exposed to it in foods and the environment as well, so it’s just as important for you!) We are going to be talking more about DIM and prostrate health in Friday’s issue.

Not everyone needs DIM, so it didn’t make my top five list. But if you’re concerned about hormonal balance, fibers, tumors or reproductive cancers or prostate health, DIM is a supplement you should consider taking daily. (I found it quiets my hot flashes.) Generally speaking, unless cancer runs in your family, you are perimenopausal and/or you are already struggling with reproductive issues like fibroids or hysterectomy, it’s something you can wait to take until you’re in your 50s.

Research has shown that most DIM supplements cannot be absorbed; they require microencapsulation. Only one company, BioResponse, has a patented microencapsulation with extended release naoparticles, ensuring predictable absorption. This company is the only brand being used in all the published clinical trials, including those sponsored by the National Cancer Institute, so it’s the one I take and recommend.

To your health!

Inger Pols
Editor of New England Health Advisory

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By Andrew Palmer

The first personal cooking utensil I purchased was a wok.

I was in college and I saw it in a mom and pop grocery store in San Francisco’s Chinatown.  I figured I should start eating better and put some of the wonderful vegetables at the market into my diet. How hard could it be?

I had read that a wok’s rounded shape and long sloping sides provided an extended cooking surface, which could be heated to very high temperatures. What more could a college kid, who only knew how to put the kitchen stove burner on high, want.

The wok is most commonly associated with the technique of stir-frying, but did you know a wok can be used to deep-fry, braise, roast, steam and simmer?

Let me tell you, I had a blast.

I ate better, experimented with all kinds of new foods, and developed some cooking habits that I still use to this day. One of those is cooking with lots of ginger.

Its tangy freshness, light spiciness and mellow sweetness complement a range of dishes, from sweet to savory. Ginger can be sliced into planks or matchsticks, chopped, grated, puréed or minced, depending what you plan to do with it.

And it’s not just delicious; it’s good for you too!

Ginger has been used as a natural remedy for many ailments for centuries. It’s “nature’s multi-tool.”

Grandma’s “pumpkin pie spice” promotes normal levels of both LDL (“bad”) cholesterol and triglycerides.i It’s a delicious way to improve heart health and get these unhealthy fats down to manageable levels.

Taking a little ginger every day can give your heart a real antioxidant boost. That’s because ginger contains 12 antioxidant compounds more powerful than vitamin E.ii That’s right … 12!

Plus, studies show that ginger promotes proper inflammatory response.iii

Some of ginger’s other benefits are well established. For example, it can help calm queasiness.

Didn’t your mom give you some ginger ale when you felt nauseous?

Mine did.  I always thought it was an old wives-tale until my wife was pregnant with our first child and the doctor prescribed ginger teas (and ginger candies in her purse) for morning sickness.

Ginger can get your digestion moving, too. When researchers tested it with a group of healthy volunteers, their stomach contractions increased … and food moved through more quickly.iv

Heart health … stomach upset … ginger is amazing.

With all it does, you can see why I call ginger “nature’s multi-tool.” But what if you’re not a foodie?

What if you don’t have time to slice, chop and grate into your meals?

Don’t let that stop you from getting the health benefits of ginger. There’s an easier way and it’s called Ginger Rescue.

Each 1/2-teaspoon serving provides the equivalent of 6,000 mg of dried ginger-in an easy-to-use liquid form. And because it’s been sweetened with just a touch of natural honey, it tastes great, too.

I’ve always believed in the traditional herbal approach. It just makes sense. And with Ginger Rescue, it’s easier, too.

Click here to try it out for yourself …

Yours for health and wellness,

Andrew Palmer
Publisher
New England Health Advisory

P.S. With so many benefits, ginger is the one spice that should be in everyone’s diet. And there’s simply no easier way to enjoy all of ginger’s benefits than with Ginger Rescue.

There’s no risk to you. If you’re not completely satisfied with the results within the first 60 days, simply return the bottle (even the empty bottle) to us for a complete, no questions asked refund. Click here!

—

*These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.

i Alizadeh-Navaei R, et al. “Investigation of the effect of ginger on the lipid levels. A double blind controlled clinical trial.” Saudi Med J. 2008 Sep;29(9):1280-4.

ii Kikuzaki H and Nakatani N. “Antioxidant Effects of Some Ginger Constituents.” Journal of Food Science. Volume 58 Issue 6, Pages 1407 – 1410. Published Online: 26 Aug 2006.

iii Dugasani S, et al. “Comparative antioxidant . . .effects of [6]-gingerol, [8]-gingerol, [10]-gingerol and [6]-shogaol.” J Ethnopharmacol. 2010 Feb 3;127(2):515-20. Epub 2009 Oct 13.

iv Wu KL, et al. “Effects of ginger on gastric emptying and motility in healthy humans.” Eur J Gastroenterol Hepatol. 2008 May;20(5):436-40.

You sit down to a fine meal. A couple hours later you develop heartburn, and you reach for an antacid. One doesn’t work. So you take another. You’re bloated, gassy, and miserable. Nothing helps, so you try to go to sleep. Then at 3 a.m., you wake up with the worst burning pain you can imagine.

Clearly, antacids are not the answer.

Here’s some good news… sometimes heartburn and other digestive problems are solved by digestive enzymes.

Digestive enzymes speed up your digestion so food moves quickly through the stomach to avoid indigestion. When you don’t have enough digestive enzymes, food stays in your stomach, and acid pushes up through the esophagus and burns. That’s why they call it acid reflux.

You get enzymes two ways. Your body makes them, and they’re in the food you eat.

Your pancreas and other organs make about 22 digestive enzymes. Each one has a specific role in the digestion of protein, carbohydrate, sugar, and fat. For example:

• Protease digests protein.
• Amylase digests carbohydrates.
• Lipase digests fat.
• Cellulase digests fiber.

When we’re born, we have more than we need. But once we’re in our 20s, our ability to produce enzymes drops off about 13% every 10 years.₁ This means you need to find another way to get them if you want to maintain good digestion.

Lucky for us, you can also get enzymes from food. Raw foods contain millions of enzymes. Plant enzymes strengthen your digestion by taking the place of those you lose as you age.

Nature is designed to give you all the enzymes you need, simply by eating food. Our ancestors ate meat within minutes of hunting, and it was rarely cooked. Vegetables, fruits, nuts, and berries were plucked from the trees and ground and devoured on the spot. Food was so chock full of enzymes that ancient man more than likely never suffered from heartburn.

Unfortunately today, we rarely pull an apple from the tree and munch on it. Instead, food is commercially farmed on enzyme-depleted soils. Then we process, cook, and microwave food, which destroys enzymes even more.

To help your digestion, try to increase the amount of enzymes every chance you get:

1. Eat a variety of raw fruits and vegetables every day. If an organic farmer’s market is available, visit it once a week so your food is as fresh as possible.
2. Make sure you don’t overcook foods, and eat raw vegetables and fruits with each meal.
3. Try to eliminate freezing and reheating. Make just enough for the meal.

If you’re not able to get enough fresh, raw food with nature’s enzymes into your diet, the next best option is to get some digestive help from supplements. They’re available at your local vitamin store. Make sure you ask for “plant enzymes.” They’re well worth it.

For most people, I recommend looking for a supplement that contains protease for protein, amylase for carbohydrates, and lipase for fats. If you have a problem with dairy, you may also want to add lactase. You should take any enzyme supplement with a meal.

To Your Good Health,

Al Sears, M.D., Contributor to New England Health Advisory

Bibliography

1. M., Kanbak, G., Sunal, E. “Antioxidant enzyme activities and malondialdehyde levels related to aging.” Clinica Chimica Acta. 2001; 305(1-2):75-80.