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September 24th, 2014 at 6:29 pm

Image: StaticEHarmony.com

Major BAD eating habits to avoid now.

 

Eating habits may eclipse even diet in terms of wrecking havoc on your digestive system which will then impact your entire health.

Skipping breakfast 

 

Many people decide to skip breakfast for two reasons, one they falsely believe it leads to overeating, or because they are simply not hungry in the morning.
Having a healthy breakfast energizes you in the morning and helps you to make healthy eating choices throughout the day. It boosts your metabolism and enables you to burn more calories. Also, consuming breakfast in the morning reduces the chances of overeating during the day and especially at night.  From a digestive health perspective eating breakfast is helpful because it helps reduce the binge eating that occurs in the evening among non-breakfast-eaters. That binge eating sets up a constellation of events that overtax the digestive system leading to problems like reflux, fatty liver and gallbladder sludge.  Many people mistakenly believe that getting hungrier on days when they eat breakfast is an undesirable thing.  In fact, it is a very desirable thing in that it demonstrates that food is being digested and assimilated properly  causing the desirable increase in metabolic activity.

 

According to recent studies amongst 14,000 Americans 54% of the adults would like to eat breakfast but only 34% eat it regularly.  After a period of fasting, the body needs nourishment and the GI tract is most readily able to process digest and absorb foods between 7 and 9 AM each day.  When queried, most people describe their lifestyles as too busy to eat properly…How crazy is that???

Binge eating:

                               

Following the current trend in America of skipping breakfast and often skipping lunch or eating a very small lunch, it should be no surprise that there is an epidemic of binge eating at night and after work.  Unfortunately, after almost 24 hours of fasting and waiting until the digestive system is at its lowest ebb, digestion, absorption, and assimilation are seriously compromised.  This pattern will lead to diarrhea, constipation, dyspepsia, belching, burping abdominal pain and other signs of organ distress.  Organ distress will longterm,  lead to organ disease.  This pattern will also lead to weight gain due to unprocessed food stagnating in the body.  It is key to try to not eat past 7PM if unable to do this eat lightly at night.

 

Eating Too Fast/failure to chew


Only DOGS digest foods in their stomach without chewing.  When you eat too quickly and neglect to chew you are setting the stage for severe digestive problems either now or down the road. As an expert in the areas of gut bacteriology I will tell you that I have no natural remedy to counter poor eating habits.  IBS, Reflux, Colitis etc while having multiple causes will all respond well to proper eating habits.  All digestive peristalsis is enervated by chewing.  If food is gulped down this process is inhibited and food does not move properly through the digestive tract.  It helps to become conscious of chewing each bite at least 10-20 times.  Also, do not eat and drink at the same time.  This enables digestive juices to not be diluted and forces you to chew better.

 

Eating unmindfully

 

Eating while watching television, playing a video game, or while working, increases the chances that you will not digest your food properly. This is because your digestive energy is then not available to digest your food with.  This will result in poor digestion and absorption of nutrients.   Take the time to eat under relaxed, appropriate conditions.

 

Emotional eating

Sometimes, people turn to food when they feel angry, sad, or anxious.  This is not a good idea.  Digestion is hampered by eating when emotions are negative. It is usually better to avoid eating then to eat under stressful conditions.

How Children Develop Unhealthy Eating Habits?

Poor eating habits of parents leads to poor eating habits for your children.  Everyone in your family will be happier and healthier if meal times are planned, healthy events.

 

 

Hope you are able to implement these habits for better health.  Visit the DIGESTION aisle of our store and our Natural Health Library for many other tips on digestive health!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Best of Health!

 

Visit our Natural Product Pharmacy for the best prices and FREE SHIPPING on hundreds of natural products from professional brands like: Metagenics, Douglas Laboratories, Pure Encapsulations, Integrative Therapeutics, Thorne Research, and Carlson Labs!

 

Taryn DeCicco, ND, LAc, LDN

Naturopath

Acupuncturist

Clinical Nutritionist

Professional Vitamins and Supplements

Chinese Herbs

Natural Skin Products

Arlington Heights, IL

www.apple-a-day-clinic.com

 

We specialize in Acne, Skin, and Digestive disorders!  Please contact us for a free consultation!  I do work long distance.  Thank you from the bottom of our cart!  We truly appreciate your product purchases, visits, and referrals!  They enable us to give people the help they need and continue our valuable work.

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9971
September 10th, 2014 at 6:13 pm

Image courtesy of realsimple.com

 

Recent studies suggest that making a few easy changes to your diet--eating more of some foods, less of others--may bolster your defenses against some malignancies.   I have been inundated with questions regarding this topic lately so we have preempted our scheduled articles which will resume next Wednesday.

 

Eat More: Beans Among 3,409 men and women studied at M. D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, those who ate the most beans, rich in plant estrogens, were 46% less likely to get lung cancer.

 

Yellow, orange, and dark green leafy veggies People who had more than five daily servings of these vegetables in their diet had half the pancreatic cancer risk of those who ate two or fewer, in a University of California, San Francisco, study of 2,227 men and women. Suspected protectors: fiber, folate, and vitamins E and C.

 

Eat Less: Grilled meat Two carcinogens--heterocyclic amines and benzopyrene--form in meat under high temps. In a University of Minnesota study of 867 adults, those who consumed the highest amount of these chemicals (based on how often they ate grilled meat) had up to 2.4 times the risk of pancreatic cancer as those who ate the least.

 

Watch your weight. Obesity may explain the 0.5% yearly rise in breast cancer cases in women older than age 49, reports the American Cancer Society. Postmenopausal women usually have less circulating estrogen, which should lower their cancer risk. But because fat cells release estrogen, overweight women over 50 may lose their advantage.

 

For cancer fighting and prevention here is what is helpful:

 

Approximately 70% of your food should be plant based with no more than one third from animal sources.  Vary colors of organic fruits and vegetables especially good are dark green, red and orange vegetables.

 

Folate a B-Vitamin, may protect against certain cancers.  Foods especially high in folate are asparagus and eggs.  Our TriB and Folixor are excellent supplement sources of the vitamin.

 

Lycopene from tomatoes are excellent fighters of the prostate and breast cancers. Processed tomato products such as tomato paste are excellent sources of the nutrient.

 

Green tea is controversial to some but most research has revealed it as a potent cancer fighter.  See our Green Tea Suppository by Zetpil

 

Proper fluid, (water) intake is essential to both cancer fighting and prevention.

 

Phytochemicals in beans show slowed cancer growth across many different types of cancer.

 

Cruciferous vegetables which include broccoli,  cauliflower, cabbage, brussel sprouts, kale and supplements such as: DIM-PRO 100 by Pure Encapsulations are very potent for hormonal cancers in both treatment and prevention.

 

 

 

Ellagic Acid in berries such as strawberries and raspberries deactivate cancer causing substances and slow the growth of cancer cells. Also the potent antioxidant activity in blueberries may have potent cancer fighting powers.

 

Sugars and heavily fried grilled or foods cooked at high temps as well as alcohol intake greatly increases risk of the disorder.

 

Sneak in the good stuff. Get more cancer-fighting produce into your diet: Add berries to green salads, use cauliflower in mashed potatoes, stir beans into soups, and snip fresh spinach into pasta dishes.

 

 

Best of Health!

 

Visit our Natural Product Pharmacy for best prices and FREE SHIPPING on hundreds of natural products from professional brands like: Metagenics, Douglas Laboratories, Pure Encapsulations, Integrative Therapeutics, Thorne Research, and Carlson Labs!

 

Taryn DeCicco, ND, LAc, LDN

Naturopath

Acupuncturist

Clinical Nutritionist

Professional Vitamins and Supplements

Chinese Herbs

Natural Skin Products

Arlington Heights, IL

www.apple-a-day-clinic.com

 

We specialize in Acne, Skin, and Digestive disorders!  Please contact us for a free consultation!  I do work long distance.  Thank you from the bottom of our cart!  We truly appreciate your product purchases, visits, and referrals!  They enable us to give people the help they need and continue our valuable work.

Views:
10325
September 3rd, 2014 at 8:08 pm

image courtesy of visionherbs.tumblr.com

 

Today's article is of interest to many since according to GI doctors at least one in ten people experience heartburn symptoms at least once per week.  Many have actual GERD where the condition is chronic and the patient is prescribed daily medication.  Acid reflux can be triggered by many conditions: chronic digestive problems elsewhere in the digestive tract, or disharmony, STRESS, poor eating habits, many medications, and even foods.

Acid problems ensue when the acid in the stomach flows backwards into the esophagus, patients can experience pain, burning, sour or bitter tastes in their mouths, even coughing and vomiting.

As a naturopathic digestive specialist I encounter this problem daily and help many patients.  Here are some pointers to help you:

It is important to identify the actual physical cause.  This may be difficult to do for yourself so if you are unable to help yourself in a short while, consider working with a Naturopathic  doc  or Clinical Nutritionist.

 

Bacterial Imbalance:

 

I have found time and time again that bacterial overgrowths cause many digestive symptoms.  Acid reflux can appear in isolation or be present with several other symptoms.  It is important to test for this, and work with a knowledgeable practitioner long term to restore balance to the entire digestive tract including the liver and gallbladder.  Chronic intestinal imbalances place stresses on every other digestive organ.

 

Stress:

 

Extreme or long term stress can set the stage for this and many other digestive imbalances.  Of course, then digestive imbalances are stressful in and of themselves. Solutions for unmitigated stress are: Acupuncture which can rapidly rebalance you and restore health, and/or other stress reducing practices such as spiritual guidance, yoga, meditation, exercise, gardening, music, and whatever restores your calm state.  Stress cannot unfortunately be avoided but one can learn or receive rebalancing if serious.

 

Poor Eating/Lifestyle Habits:

 

This is such a humungous topic in itself that I will devote an entire article to it this month. For now this is what is important to the stomach.  Avoidance of extreme temperature foods especially heating foods, overcooking, charring, etc.  The stomach prefers moist foods and dislikes dry foods.  Check you diet and see if your foods are too dry.  An example would be crackers.  The stomach also dislikes extremes in heating spices.  Cayenne, garlic, ginger, onions and cardamom as well as nutmeg and cinnamon are extremely heating spices and may prove too much for some people.  Foods such as chocolate and red meat as well as mint are “hot” and may antagonize the stomach!

 

People know that overeating and especially overeating bad foods may trigger reflux, but few know that not eating enough trigger reflux as well.  Chronic dieting or undereating will definitely antagonize the stomach.  Find a moderate style in terms of eating and try to maintain regular meal times, and try to avoid late night eating especially after 7PM when stomach energy is at a low ebb.

 

Natural Remedies for Reflux:

 

One tablespoon of Apple Cider vinegar in water can help resolve reflux for some if they are low in stomach acid. This is counter intuitive but helpful for many since too low acid levels can provoke the exact same symptoms as high levels.

 

Slippery Elm tea can be helpful for soothing occasional reflux, one product is Throat Coat by Traditional Medicinals. 

 

Small amounts of Aloe Vera juice can also be cooling and healing but do not overdo as it can cause other problems long term as will the above recommendations.

 

Lastly DGL chewed between meals can help to soothe gastric tissue.  We have two great DGLs in our store, DGL Licorice by Rx Vitamins and Rhizinate 3X DGL.  Also check out Acid Block by Rx Vitamins!


You can also visit our store for this and many other fine remedies in our Natural Pharmacy. Still, I do believe that proper digestion is fundamentally important and would encourage you to seek out a qualified ND specialist to help you improve your digestive health.

 

Best of Health!

 

Visit our Natural Product Pharmacy for top prices and FREE SHIPPING on hundreds of natural products from professional brands like: Metagenics, Douglas Laboratories, Pure Encapsulations, Integrative Therapeutics, Thorne Research, and Carlson Labs!

 

Taryn DeCicco, ND, LAc, LDN

Naturopath

Acupuncturist

Clinical Nutritionist

Professional Vitamins and Supplements

Chinese Herbs

Natural Skin Products

Arlington Heights, IL

www.apple-a-day-clinic.com

 

We specialize in Acne, Skin, and Digestive disorders!  Please contact us for a free consultation!  I do work long distance.  Thank you from the bottom of our cart!  We truly appreciate your product purchases, visits, and referrals!  They enable us to give people the help they need and continue our valuable work.

Views:
10617
August 21st, 2014 at 4:47 pm

Image: Courtesy UrbanHouseCallMagazine.com



This just in!  Bacterial Dysbiosis of the intestine some of you know it as SIBO, may  the underlying cause of heart disease.  Most of us involved with naturopathic medicine have known for years that platelet aggregation, the clumping of red blood cells, elevated lipid levels, IE cholesterol, and CRP's etc are simply markers of bodily inflammation they do not indicate the cause but simply let us know that inflammation is present and to what degree.

 
Another recent study has confirmed the presence of bacterial pathogens in arterial plaque.  This study is the first to pinpoint biofilms or the presence of living organisms on the arterial wall itself.
 
A previous study identified Pseudomonas Aeroginosa as a common bacteria colonizing many diseased arterial samples.
 
I receive reports with Pseudomonas present in the microbiology analysis stool culture of many GI clients.
 
It brings me great joy to know that I am not only restoring someone's GI health but perhaps saving them from heart disease in the future as well. 
 
A vast majority of research clearly associates periodontal disease and inflammatory bowel disease with an increased risk of coronary artery disease.
 
Many of us have suspected for years that inflammation of the vessels caused by bacterial infiltration is an unknown underlying cause of heart disease.  This research will hopefully lead the way to more exploration.
 
Best of Health!   


Source: Crossmark Journal,  Bernard Lanter et al:
Bacteria  present in carotid arterial plaques are found as biofilm deposits which may contribute to risk of plaque rupture: May/June 2014
  

 

Visit our Natural Product Pharmacy for top prices and FREE SHIPPING on hundreds of natural products from professional brands like: Metagenics, Douglas Laboratories, Pure Encapsulations, Integrative Therapeutics, Thorne Research, and Carlson Labs!

 

Taryn DeCicco, ND, LAc, LDN

Naturopath

Acupuncturist

Clinical Nutritionist

Professional Vitamins and Supplements

Chinese Herbs

Natural Skin Products

Arlington Heights, IL

www.apple-a-day-clinic.com

 

We specialize in Acne, Skin, and Digestive disorders!  Please contact us for a free consultation!  I do work long distance.  Thank you from the bottom of our cart!  We truly appreciate your product purchases, visits, and referrals!  They enable us to give people the help they need and continue our valuable work.

Views:
9705
August 13th, 2014 at 7:16 pm

 

 

Almost everyone knows stress has some very negative ramifications on health especially cardiovascular health!  Fortunately: there is awesome news based on some recent research!

 

A preponderance of scientific evidence suggests that consuming dark chocolate confers therapeutic health effects, most notably on cardiovascular parameters.   Swiss researchers reveal that dark chocolate (125 mg of epicatechin) may reduce elevations in stress hormones, when consumed prior to a stressful event.  The team enrolled 65 healthy men, ages 20 to 50 years, who received either 50 g of dark chocolate, or placebo, two hours before a stress test.  While stress markers increased among both groups, the dark chocolate group showed blunted responses for cortisol and epinephrine.  Observing that: “flavonoid-rich dark chocolate intake buffers endocrine stress reactivity,” the study authors conclude that dark chocolate may exert “inhibitory peripheral effects … on the biosynthesis and secretion of cortisol and catecholamines.

Source:

Wirtz PH, von Kanel R, Meister RE, Arpagaus A, Treichler S, Kuebler U, Huber S, Ehlert U.  “Dark Chocolate Intake Buffers Stress Reactivity in Humans.”  J Am Coll Cardiol. 2014 Jun 3;63(21):2297-9.

This is very important news for chocolate lovers everywhere as the take away is that as little as 50 gms of dark chocolate prior to a stressful event may reduce the elevation of stress chemicals in the blood. This translates to a couple of ounces of good quality dark chocolate.  It is unknown if these findings would apply to chronic stress.

 

 

 

Best of Health!

 

Visit our Natural Product Pharmacy for top prices and FREE SHIPPING on hundreds of natural products from professional brands like: Metagenics, Douglas Laboratories, Pure Encapsulations, Integrative Therapeutics, Thorne Research, and Carlson Labs!

 

Taryn DeCicco, ND, LAc, LDN

Naturopath

Acupuncturist

Clinical Nutritionist

Professional Vitamins and Supplements

Chinese Herbs

Natural Skin Products

Arlington Heights, IL

www.apple-a-day-clinic.com

 

We specialize in Acne, Skin, and Digestive disorders!  Please contact us for a free consultation!  I do work long distance.  Thank you from the bottom of our cart!  We truly appreciate your product purchases, visits, and referrals!  They enable us to give people the help they need and continue our valuable work.

Views:
9200
August 7th, 2014 at 6:04 pm

Photo: Courtesy OasisDiscussions.ca

 

About 90% of Cervical Dysplasia have been linked to HPV infection.  Dr Tori Hudson, Naturopathic Physician, Clinician, and Author of the Women's Encyclopedia of Natural Medicine has researched and published most of the natural protocols for reversing this disorder.  I am currently formulating a supplement protocol based on her research and clinical experience as well as my own.  They will be available on this website within the next 30 days and will eliminate the difficulty,(and expense) for patients having to piece together various products, and taking multiple pills each day.  We will cover those protocols in a forthcoming article next month when the products are available.
 
Today, we will cover a very important breakthrough in the HPV/Cervical Dysplasia battle: Green Tea:
 
According to Dr. Hudson: Green Tea in suppository form is an important ally in this disorder. On Dr Hudson's Blog she states:
 
 
"Perhaps the most encouraging of the studies was an investigation of the clinical efficacy of green tea extracts delivered vaginally and/or orally in patients with HPV infected cervical lesions. Fifty-one patients with cervical lesions ranging from chronic cervicitis, mild dysplasia, moderate dysplasia and severe dysplasia were divided into four groups as compared with 39 controls. A green tea polyphenol vaginal product was applied locally twice a week to 27 patients. 20 of the 27 patients using the vaginal green tea product showed a response. An oral 200 mg EGCG capsule was taken orally every day for eight to 12 weeks in six patients and three out of the six showed a response. Group three consisted of eight patients using the vaginal product and the oral capsule. Six of eight showed a response. Group 4 consisted of 10 patients using a higher dose EGCG capsule (amount not stated). Six out of the 10 patients with this higher dose EGCG oral capsule only, showed a response. Overall, 35 of 51 (69%) response rate was noted for the green tea products compared with a 10% response rate in the untreated controls. The mechanisms involved appear to be apoptosis, cell cycle arrest, modification of gene expression and anti-tumor effects, specifically, inhibition of cell proliferation. These results demonstrate green tea extracts in the form of a vaginal delivery and an oral capsule are effective strategies for treating cervical lesions."
 
 
It is important that clients wishing to use these, do so with their health providers approval.  It is also extremely important that the client follow up regularly for pap smears etc.  We have a variety of professional products for sale for this disorder. There are also other educational articles I've written as a resource for you right here: a post about one woman's recovery from HPV, and two others: Second: another post about healing HPV naturally and third: another post about healing HPV naturally!
 
 
 
 
The almost 70% response rate of the Green Tea Suppository users is very important information and we are happy to share this good news with you.
 
I look forward to bringing you additional help in the next month.
 

 

 

 

Best of Health!

 

Visit our Natural Product Pharmacy for top prices and FREE SHIPPING on hundreds of natural products from professional brands like: Metagenics, Douglas Laboratories, Pure Encapsulations, Integrative Therapeutics, Thorne Research, and Carlson Labs!

 

Taryn DeCicco, ND, LAc, LDN

Naturopath

Acupuncturist

Clinical Nutritionist

Professional Vitamins and Supplements

Chinese Herbs

Natural Skin Products

Arlington Heights, IL

www.apple-a-day-clinic.com

 

We specialize in Acne, Skin, and Digestive disorders!  Please contact us for a free consultation!  I do work long distance.  Thank you from the bottom of our cart!  We truly appreciate your product purchases, visits, and referrals!  They enable us to give people the help they need and continue our valuable work.

Views:
16248
July 23rd, 2014 at 5:48 pm

Image Courtesy: MNN.com

 

Waaaay back in 1997 while still a graduate student, I learned firsthand about treating autistic children by treating a good friend's year old son. I administered nutrients that were serotonin precursors and he responded fabulously.  He became way less violent, and began speaking.  Amazing response, and I have helped many psychiatric clients with nutrition and herbs and most importantly getting their body ecology corrected.

 

Here's some great news for people struggling with these issues!

 

Beneficial bacteria in  the gut are known to fight pathogens, manufacture B and K vitamins and even act as anti-cancer agents. New research appearing in the journal Cell strengthens the recent scientific understanding that the microbes that live in your gut may affect what goes on in your brain. It is also the first to show that a specific probiotics are capable of reversing autism-like behaviors. 

Researchers have for some time suggested  links between the gut--brain axis and neuro-psychiatric disorders such as autism, depression, and eating disorders. The gut contains microorganisms that share a structural similarity with the neuropeptides involved in regulating behavior, mood, and emotion- According to Karen Foster at World Health News this is a phenomenon known as molecular mimicry. Here, the body can't tell the difference between the structure of these mimics and its own cells, so antibodies could end up attacking both, potentially altering the physiology of the gut--brain axis. 

Beneficial Bacteria offset other intestinal bacteria that produce putrefactive and carcinogenic toxins. If harmful bacteria dominate the intestines, essential vitamins and enzymes are not produced and the level of harmful substances rises leading to degnerative disorders like: cancer, liver and kidney disease, hypertension, arteriosclerosis and Auto Immune disorders. Harmful bacteria can proliferate under many different circumstances including peristalsis disorders, surgical operations of the stomach or small intestine, liver or kidney diseases, pernicious anemia, cancer, radiation or antibiotic therapies, chemotherapy, immune disorders, emotional stress, poor diets and aging. 

A Correlation Between Autism-Like Symptoms and Gut Bacteria 

“The broader potential of this research is obviously an analogous beneficial bacteria that could treat subsets of individuals with autism spectrum disorder,” wrote the commentary authors of the study in Cell, who also included CU-Boulder Research Associate Dorota Porazinska and doctoral student Sophie Weiss. 

The study not causally link microorganisms to autism, but rather emphasizes a correlation between specific bacteria and ongoing symptoms and methods of addressing a possible reversal in those symptoms. 

The study underscores the importance of the work being undertaken by the newly formed Autism Microbiome Consortium, which includes Knight as well as commentary co-authors Jack Gilbert of the University of Chicago and Rosa Krajmalnik-Brown of Arizona State University. The interdisciplinary consortium--which taps experts in a range of disciplines from psychology to epidemiology--is investigating the autism-gut microbiome link. 

For the new Cell study, led by Elaine Hsiao of the California Institute of Technology, the researchers used a technique called maternal immune activation in pregnant mice to induce autism-like behavior and neurology in their offspring. The researchers found that the gut microbial community of the offspring differed markedly compared with a control group of mice. When the mice with autism-like symptoms were fed Bacteriodes fragilis, a microbe known to bolster the immune system, the aberrant behaviors were reduced. 

It's common knowledge that a mother's milk can help beef up a baby's immune system. New research indicates that the protective effects of gut bacteria can be transferred from mother to baby during breastfeeding. Work published in Environmental Microbiology shows that important gut bacteria travels from mother to child through breast milk to colonize a child's own gut, helping his or her immune system to mature. 

Scientific evidence is mounting that the trillions of microbes that call the human body home can influence our gut-linked health, but more recently, researchers are discovering that gut microbes also may affect neurology--possibly impacting a person's cognition, emotions and mental health, said Knight, also a Howard Hughes Medical Institute Early Career Scientist and an investigator at CU-Boulder's BioFrontiers Institute. 

"Research has shown that children with ASD commonly have GI [gastrointestinal] symptoms," said Christine Pennesi, medical student at Penn State College of Medicine. "Notably, a greater proportion of our study population reported GI and allergy symptoms than what is seen in the general pediatric population. Some experts have suggested that gluten- and casein-derived peptides cause an immune response in children with ASD, and others have proposed that the peptides could trigger GI symptoms and behavioral problems." 

The Autism Microbiome Consortium hopes to broaden this understanding by further studying the microbial community of autistic people, who tend to suffer from more gastrointestinal problems than the general public. 

People with autism spectrum disorder who would like to have their gut microbes sequenced can do so now through the American Gut Project, a crowdfunded research effort led by Knight. 

Why Probiotics RULE:

The following are the most well documented benefits of taking probiotics regularly: 
- Defend against antibiotic resistant bacterial strains, attack new types of pathogens (supergerms) and infections in immuno-compromised people requiring treatment (i.e. resist opportunistic infections like candidiasis) 
- Manufacture B vitamins (biotin, B3, B5, B6, folic acid, B12) and vitamin K 
- Secrete lactase, an enzyme required to break down lactose in milk 
- Act as anti-cancer factors (especially for bladder and bowel) by inhibiting bacteria that convert nitrates into nitrites 
- Inhibit bacteria that secrete carcinogens 
- Function as natural antibiotics against unfriendly bacteria, viruses and yeast like Candida albicans 
- Enhance bowel function and elimination; prevent constipation 
- Reverse diarrheal conditions (Crohn's disease, AIDS, Traveller's Diarrhea) 
- Reduce or eliminate bloating, gas, straining and abdominal pain due to any cause 
- Prevent skin problems, especially acne and other skin infections. (FYI - most chronic acne conditions in adults are often improved or eliminated by a good bowel flora balance). 
- Protect against the adverse effects of radiation and pollutants 
- Reduce blood levels of cholesterol and triglycerides 
- Fight stress and food cravings and thereby prevent or reverse obesity 
- Help eliminate bad breath due to bad bacteria in the mouth
- Optimize sex hormone levels, enhance fertility and prevent osteoporosis 
- Produce lactic acid, improve the digestibility of foods 
- Oppose putrefactive bacteria like bacteroides associated with a meat-rich diet 
- Treat eczema, psoriasis, ulcerative colitis, Crohn's Disease, irritable bowel syndrome, all cancers, gastritis, duodenitis, diverticulitis, food allergies, lactose intolerance, environmental allergies, urinary tract infections, vaginitis, other chronic infections (TB, AIDS, Herpes, venereal diseases) and autoimmune diseases (e.g. rheumatoid arthritis, polymyalgia rheumatica, ankylosing spondylitis, psoriasis, lupus, alopecia areata, scleroderma, thyroiditis, etc.) 

Probiotic Sources 

Cultured dairy products like yogurt, acidophilus milk, buttermilk, sour cream, cottage cheese and kefir are the best known food sources of friendly bacteria. Equally effective probiotic food sources include cultured/fermented vegetables (cabbage, turnips, eggplant, cucumbers, onions, squash, and carrots). Other, lesser known or used food sources of probiotics are sauerkraut and sourdough breads.  It is unknown if dietary sources actually implant in the intestine.  Furthermore, in cases of bacterial overgrowths, it is necessary to work with someone like myself to test and treat toxic intestinal bacterias.  I do recommend several excellent probiotics in my store.   FREE shipping and top prices
Also, many of you know that I am a freak about proper digestion and health.  Visit our digestive

 

 

Best of Health!

 

Visit our Natural Product Pharmacy for top prices and FREE SHIPPING on hundreds of natural products from professional brands like: Metagenics, Douglas Laboratories, Pure Encapsulations, Integrative Therapeutics, Thorne Research, and Carlson Labs!

 

Taryn DeCicco, ND, LAc, LDN

Naturopath

Acupuncturist

Clinical Nutritionist

Professional Vitamins and Supplements

Chinese Herbs

Natural Skin Products

Arlington Heights, IL

www.apple-a-day-clinic.com

 

We specialize in Acne, Skin, and Digestive disorders!  Please contact us for a free consultation!  I do work long distance.  Thank you from the bottom of our cart!  We truly appreciate your product purchases, visits, and referrals!  They enable us to give people the help they need and continue our valuable work.

Views:
9963
July 16th, 2014 at 5:42 pm

This common antibacterial compound recently found to cause a dread disease!  Image courtesy: Bath and Body Works

 

 

Call me crazy, but I get concerned when I see how fad crazed US culture is when it comes to just about anything but especially diet and health.  I was therefore concerned and only half joking when I mentioned on FB last year I wonder what is doing to turn out to be deadly about the hand sanitizer I see everywhere on every desk on earth?  Well my friends that day has come...

Turns out a commonly added antibacterial and antifungal agent to numerous consumer products, including soaps, detergents, toys, and surgical cleaning treatments, triclosan is an endocrine disrupting chemical – capable of causing adverse changes in hormones in those exposed.    Korean researchers conducted tests on human breast cancer cells and in special immunodeficient mice with tissue grafts, with the researchers finding that triclosan interfered with genes involved with breast cancer cell growth, resulting in more cancer cells. Mice that were exposed to triclosan had larger and denser breast cancer tumors than the control group.  The study authors warn that: “these results suggest that [triclosan] may promote breast cancer progression, via an [estrogen receptor]-mediated signaling cascade.”

I think it is also important to point out that often research findings that point to breast cancer are usually also relevant to prostate cancer in men though that correlation was not studied here. Stay tuned!

If you are concerned about this substance in your products visit the environmental working group website for information on product safety. http://www.ewg.org

Our skincare products are almost 100% organic and contain no toxins.  Visit our aisle here.

 Ki-Hoan Nam, Hyoung-Chin Kim, Kyung-Chul Choi.  “Progression of Breast Cancer Cells Was Enhanced by Endocrine-Disrupting Chemicals, Triclosan and Octylphenol, via an Estrogen Receptor-Dependent Signaling Pathway in Cellular and Mouse Xenograft Models.”  Chem. Res. Toxicol., 2014, 27 (5), pp 834–842.

Interested in breast cancer prevention? Visit our Women's Health aisle!

Best of Health!

 

 

Best of Health!

 

Visit our Natural Product Pharmacy for top prices and FREE SHIPPING on hundreds of natural products from professional brands like: Metagenics, Douglas Laboratories, Pure Encapsulations, Integrative Therapeutics, Thorne Research, and Carlson Labs!

 

Taryn DeCicco, ND, LAc, LDN

Naturopath

Acupuncturist

Clinical Nutritionist

Professional Vitamins and Supplements

Chinese Herbs

Natural Skin Products

Arlington Heights, IL

www.apple-a-day-clinic.com

 

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July 10th, 2014 at 6:05 pm

Image: courtesy Farmstarliving.com

 

Prebiotics are compounds that help to promote “good bacteria” (probiotics) in the gastrointestinal tract, with which a wide variety of beneficial health effects are associated. More about that a bit later in this forum.  Zhibin Liu, from Fuzhou University (China), and colleagues enrolled 48 healthy men and women, ages 18 to 22 years, in a study in which the participants either: received 56 grams of roasted almonds added daily to their diet; added 10 grams of almond skins daily to their diet; or consumed 8 grams per day of fructooligosaccharides (control group).

  After six weeks, the data revealed that the almonds and almond skins significantly increased Bifidobacterium spp. and Lactobacillus spp. populations. Among the almond skin group, the enhanced levels of “good bacteria” were sustained for two weeks after the intervention period concluded.  Among the roasted almonds group, the beneficial changes were not seen until week six.  Study authors conclude that: “Our observations suggest that almond and almond skin ingestion may lead to an improvement in the intestinal microbiota profile and a modification of the intestinal bacterial activities, which would induce the promotion of health beneficial factors and the inhibition of harmful factors. Thus we believe that almonds and almond skins possess potential prebiotic properties.”

Prebiotics are one of the newest fields of nutritional research and offer promising benefits for your heart, your immunity and more. Prebiotics stimulate the growth of healthy microflora that populate your large intestine. When these healthy microflora (beneficial bacteria) are allowed to flourish, they help keep you healthy and strong.

Due to many stressors inherent in the American Culture today, microbial balance is often way out of harmony setting the tone for many chronic illnesses such as gastrointestinal illness, autoimmune disease, skin disease and many more. The importance of this in human health is why I have chosen digestion as my naturopathic medical specialty.

ALSO, if parents lack a healthy inner ecosystem, they will pass this on to their children, setting the stage for a whole generation with lowered immunity. I will discuss this further in an upcoming article!

Prebiotics Versus Probiotics

In a healthy body, one's inner ecology contains enough good bacteria (microflora or probiotics) to outnumber the bad and help manage them. Probiotics may be THE buzzword in the health and wellness industry, but you may also need to consume plenty of prebiotics, to ensure you have enough probiotics populating your gut.

Prebiotics are derived from insoluble fiber and fructooligosaccharides or FOS (carbohydrate molecules made up of a relatively small number of simple sugars).

In the human  body, prebiotics are thought to nourish the microflora (probiotics) and encourage them to work more efficiently, keeping you healthy and strong. The symbiotic effect from fermented foods and drinks means that not only do they help populate your intestines with beneficial bacteria, they also help improve the survival, implantation and growth of newly added microflora strains.

Known Prebiotics

Inulin - Inulin is found in 36,000 plants such as:

§                         Herbs - chicory root, burdock root and dandelion root

§                         Fruits - such as apples, bananas

§                         Sweet vegetables - such as onions, garlic, asparagus, leeks and Jerusalem artichokes

§                         Raw apple cider vinegar

§                         Fructooligosaccharides (FOS), a subgroup of inulin, is also a prebiotic and is often added to dairy foods and baked goods. It improves the taste and stimulates the growth of the beneficial bacteria, bifidobacteria.

Dairy products - studies are starting to show that lactose may be considered a prebiotic.

§                         Chronic Illness and Digestion

Because prebiotics act in your intestines, they have a profound effect on the pathogens and bad bacteria in your body that can cause disease. Prebiotics are being used to treat Irritable Bowel Syndrome and Crohn's Disease, and may also prove useful for treating cancer, osteoporosis and diabetes.

§                         Fermented Foods & Drinks - The Body Ecology program has a large array of fermented foods and drinks that you can choose from to get the synbiotic effect of prebiotics and probioticsIn the later stages (after about 3 months or when you conquer candida and your inner ecosystem is re-established), add kefir and fermented soyfoods (like natto, miso and wheat-free tamari).

§                         Sour Fruit sour fruits: lemons, limes, unsweetened black currants and unsweetened cranberries.

§                         Gluten-Free Grains - While grains like wheat act as prebiotics, they also feed yeast. (amaranth, quinoa, millet and buckwheat) are gluten-free alternatives that act as prebiotics AND don't feed pathogens

§                         Sweet Vegetables - Vegetables are 80% of a healthy diet so you should eat plenty of asparagus, leeks, onions, garlic, Jerusalem artichokes and other sweet vegetables to feed healthy microflora without feeding pathogenic bacteria, fungi and yeast.

§                         Of course, it is also possible to supplement see my suggestions right here: greensfirst, Primal Defense: FREE Shipping. PLUS 10-20% OFF TOP Professional brands! Visit my digestive aisle for other great suggestions. If you need a natural digestive specialist, please contact us anytime for an appointment! Also see this article on digestive health or query my natural health library.

 

 

Best of Health!

 

Visit our Natural Product Pharmacy for top prices and FREE SHIPPING on hundreds of natural products from professional brands like: Metagenics, Douglas Laboratories, Pure Encapsulations, Integrative Therapeutics, Thorne Research, and Carlson Labs!

 

Taryn DeCicco, ND, LAc, LDN

Naturopath

Acupuncturist

Clinical Nutritionist

Professional Vitamins and Supplements

Chinese Herbs

Natural Skin Products

Arlington Heights, IL

www.apple-a-day-clinic.com

 

We specialize in Acne, Skin, and Digestive disorders!  Please contact us for a free consultation!  I do work long distance.  Thank you from the bottom of our cart!  We truly appreciate your product purchases, visits, and referrals!  They enable us to give people the help they need and continue our valuable work.

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11020
July 2nd, 2014 at 6:44 pm

 

 

 

 

 

TOP NEWS! Osteoarthritis is the most common joint disease among Americans, where the natural cushioning between joints –  cartilage tissue  – wears away.  Because symptom management IE drugs are often ineffective and joint replacement is invasive surgery, many osteoarthritis suffers seek out natural approaches to offer relief.

Great News! Grapes are rich in anti-inflammatory polyphenols, compounds shown to reduce inflammation.  Shanil Juma, from Texas Woman's University (Texas, USA), and colleagues conducted a sixteen week clinical study, in which 72 men and women with knee osteoarthritis were assigned to either consume grapes in the form of a whole grape freeze-dried powder, or a placebo powder.  The data revealed that both men and women consuming the grape-supplemented diet had a significant decrease in  pain related to activity and an overall decrease in total knee symptoms – notably, improved joint flexibility and overall mobility. This beneficial effect was more pronounced in females.

 In addition: age-related differences were observed: there was a 70% increase in very hard activity for those under 64 years of age consuming the grape powder, while those receiving the placebo reported a significant decrease in very hard activity.  Attributing these observed benefits to the polyphenols found in grapes, the lead investigator comments that: "These findings provide promising data that links grape consumption to two very important outcomes for those living with knee osteoarthritis: reduced pain and improvements in joint flexibility.”

My caveat:  eating enough grapes to replicate study findings would be problematic for people that have blood sugar problems or have digestive problems due to their high sugar content. For these people I would recommend our grapeseed extract to obtain these benefits.  We also have many other articles and other supplement recommendations right here! You can als search our Blog and Library on arthritis for many of my recommendations!

Please visit my events page for July to see our upcoming forums, or better still, subscribe to receive these articles directly to your mailbox.

 

For other remedies, Please visit our store! 

 

Best of Health!

 

Visit our Natural Product Pharmacy for top prices and FREE SHIPPING on hundreds of natural products from professional brands like: Metagenics, Douglas Laboratories, Pure Encapsulations, Integrative Therapeutics, Thorne Research, and Carlson Labs!

 

Taryn DeCicco, ND, LAc, LDN

Naturopath

Acupuncturist

Clinical Nutritionist

Professional Vitamins and Supplements

Chinese Herbs

Natural Skin Products

Arlington Heights, IL

www.apple-a-day-clinic.com

 

We specialize in Acne, Skin, and Digestive disorders!  Please contact us for a free consultation!  I do work long distance.  Thank you from the bottom of our cart!  We truly appreciate your product purchases, visits, and referrals!  They enable us to give people the help they need and continue our valuable work.

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9520