Holistic Nutrition Bytes--San Francisco Nutrition Consultation » dysbiosis

Do You Have Hidden Food Sensitivities?

admin — Fri, 01 Oct 2010 18:23:20 +0000

Should you be concerned if you don’t even know? Ignorance is bliss, right? Wrong. Would you believe that food sensitivities can cause or worsen health issues such as irritable bowel syndrome, acne, seasonal allergies, or even hormonal disorders? This is one of the major issues I help people confront in my private nutrition practice. Read on.

When you think food allergy, you probably think of eating something that suddenly causes your throat to close up, sending you to the hospital. This is a true type of food allergy called an IgE response and is classified as a hypersensitive severe immune reaction that may affect the respiratory tract or circulatory system. These food allergies are very serious, and you probably know which foods to avoid if this is you. Most common are nuts and shellfish in this case.

There is another type of food allergy that is more insidious and may take up to 72 hours to surface. This is a delayed food allergy & is technically a food sensitivity, an IgG response, which refers to the IgG antibody, the largest circulating antibody in your system. What happens in this situation is that the IgG antibody marks certain food particles as antigens, and when you eat these foods (take wheat, for example), the body mounts an immune response and attack in response. Anytime you eat wheat, you experience allergic reactions such as bloating, hay fever symptoms, rash, headache, etc. These sensitivities can be passed from mother to child or can develop over time.

Let’s say you have an inborn dairy sensitivity and you don’t know it. The more you consume dairy, the more inflamed your digestive tract gets. Your digestive tract is very permeable, and holes can actually develop, and food particles can leak through. They are released into your bloodstream, where they are marked as foreign invaders and attacked.

food particles leaking through the gut lining

So, every time you eat that food, your body mounts an immune attack, and you experience symptoms. This is one reason why you may develop food sensitivities to foods you eat on a regular basis (more chance they will leak through the gut) and a reason why you should rotate foods in and out of your diet and strive for variety. Don’t eat the same things every day. There is also a connection between food sensitivities & food addictions and cravings–you are often addicted to the foods you are sensitive to because along with the immune response that is launched when you eat said food, your body releases endorphins as a response to the damage taking place. So you literally get a high from eating that food. If you get a pleasurable or drugged feeling from eating certain foods, or you crave them, you could have a sensitivity to those foods.

Common food sensitivity issues include gas, bloating, hay fever/runny nose/sinus issues, skin issues, joint pain, fatigue, brain fog, insomnia, rheumatoid arthritis, headache, IBS, Chron’s, heartburn, diarrhea, constipation. Every time you eat a food you’re sensitive to, it creates inflammation in your digestive tract, making you more susceptible to yeast & bacteria overgrowth and parasites, which cause sugar cravings, weight gain, and system-wide problems like hormonal imbalance.

To prevent developing food sensitivities: chew slowly & thoroughly. Practice a rotation diet: don’t eat the same things every day. Variety is key! Keep your digestive tract in top shape by taking probiotics to foster good bacteria in the gut. Too much bad bacteria causes leaky gut. You can develop food sensitivities over time from dysbiosis in the gut (bad bacteria overgrowth) by eating too much sugar, antibiotic use, too much alcohol or poor diet. The digestive tract gets inflamed from the dysbiosis and food particles can leak through. It can be a vicious cycle: poor diet –>dysbiosis–> leaky gut–> food sensitivities–> further digestive tract inflammation –> worse leaky gut –> more food sensitivities. The good news is that leaky gut can heal & food sensitivities can go away if you remove the food for 6 months or more.

I offer food sensitivity testing in my practice–it’s a simple take home test kit. You can also do a self test: remove any food you suspect from the diet for 14 days. Add it back in on day 15 and eat as much as you want of that food, then see if you experience any symptoms. The most common food sensitivities are eggs, milk, wheat/gluten, soy, citrus, shellfish, nuts, and sometimes beef. Do you have food sensitivities? If so, how have you worked your diet around it?

Lose Those Last 5-10 Pounds

admin — Sun, 27 Sep 2009 15:56:28 +0000

Losing weight is hard. But look at all your options! Jenny Craig, Weight Watchers, Slim Fast, countless ephedrine-fueled diet pills, The Special K diet (replace 2 meals with special K cereal. Of course you’ll lose weight–you’re only consuming about 1200 calories daily). The main thing these diets have in common is that they do not address the underlying reason behind the weight gain or inability to shed weight. And they do not change your habits; they merely offer a magic pill or 3 highly refined meals delivered to your door (what happens when you go off the meals, in most cases? You can guess).

The math is pretty easy: you’ll lose weight if you eat less and exercise more, taking in fewer calories than you are burning. But the physiology isn’t always that easy. You may find it difficult to lose weight if you are overly stressed and have high cortisol, low thyroid hormone, bad bacteria overgrowth in your gut, or too many toxins stored in the body from your environment, lifestyle, or food supply. Or you may hit a plateau, meaning you can’t lose those 5-10 pounds. Here are a few tips.

1. Sorry, but you have to exercise. With that said, change up your routine so that your body doesn’t get used to your exercise pattern. Always integrate strength training into your routine for 2-3 days a week–it boosts metabolism and increases bone density. Interval training is very effective. Instead of running 5 miles, try sprinting for 1 minute and jogging for 2 in intervals. Do this only for 30 minutes, and your performance will increase dramatically over jogging at the same pace for an hour. Plus, long term jogging is extremely hard on the joints.

2. Reduce stress. If you have high or low cortisol due to chronic stress, you will have low thyroid hormone, so no matter what you’re doing, you won’t lose weight. Take time each day for meditation/deep breathing/yoga/whatever relaxes you. Consider adaptogenic herbs to boost adrenal hormone levels, which will normalize thyroid. Try a combo of ashwaganda, rhodiola, licorice root, schizandra berry. Also try tyrosine to boost thyroid levels naturally.

3. Correct dysbiosis. Dysbiosis is a fancy way of saying your gut is off balance. We have billions of bacteria living in our intestinal tract: some good, some bad. When the bad overtake the good due to poor diet, antibiotic or birth control use, or too much sugar, it wreaks havoc on your body chemistry and can prevent weight loss. Take a high quality full spectrum probiotic, do an herbal digestive cleanse, and eat more probiotic food: cultured vegetables and krauts, miso, kefir, rejuvelac, kombucha.

4. Remove gluten, dairy, soy for 8 weeks. These are the most common allergenic foods, and if you consume foods to which you are sensitive/allergic, it affects everything from hormone balance to gut ecology (see above), sabotaging weight loss efforts. If you’re really feeling adventurous, cut out refined sugar for this period too. You’ll be amazed by how much your energy will increase. Your cells need glucose to function, but too much is stored as fat.

5. Try a 2-3 week liver cleanse. Your body stores toxins in your fat cells to protect your organs (smart!), and when these toxins build up, you cannot shed weight because your body knows when the weight comes off, the toxins will recirculate in the blood stream, and you’ll feel crappy. If you’re very toxic, you’ll feel somewhat crappy on a liver cleanse, but this means it’s working! Eliminate gluten, dairy, soy, alcohol, coffee, and sugar for 2-3 weeks. Eat seasonal, organic whole foods and lots of leafy greens. Ask me about our detox workshops, or click the workshops tab above for more.

Good luck and stay motivated! Don’t weigh yourself every day–only once a week.

Herb of the Week: Oregano Leaf

admin — Tue, 26 May 2009 16:21:20 +0000

Plants are medicine! From herbs and spices and roots come powerful plant compounds and constituents that have the power to heal and balance when used correctly. In my practice, I use herbs to relieve stress, balance hormones, improve digestion, and fight parasites and bacterial overgrowth.

Oregano is one of my very favorite therapeutic herbs. It is anti-inflammatory and has high antioxidant power. The ancient Greeks used it as a compress for sore muscles and the Chinese used it for its ability to calm digestive maladies. I use it primarily as an oil of oregano tincture (the oil has been extracted from the plant and is stronger) which contains the extracted oregano in a carrier oil such as olive or almond oil. You can use a dropper to place about 4-5 drops in water (it can be irritating to use directly on the tongue), or you can take the oil in capsule form. Its key healing compound is carvacrol, so always choose oil of oregano extracts that have at least 70 percent standardized carvacrol.

Now to the good stuff: look at all its benefits! Oil of Oregano has anti-fungal, anti-parasitic, and anti-bacteria properties. It can be used for the following:
* Kills bacteria, parasites, and organisms that contribute to digestive problems
* Strengthens the immune system
* Can be used topically for skin infections (athletes foot or nail fungus, for example)
* Improves respiratory health
* Relieves gas and bloating
* Relieves diarrhea
* Can be used when traveling to prevent food poisoning

Many practitioners use oil of oregano to strengthen immune health during cold/flu season and to help with respiratory problems such as cough or bronchitis or even allergies. I use is as part of my anti-candida and anti-parasite protocols. With its anti-microbial powers, oregano oil is a natural for knocking out yeast or parasite infections. For a candida protocol, use it with caprylic acid or as part of an herbal compound with berberine and pau d’arco. For parasites, use it with artemesia, black walnut hulls, and/or cloves. You can find tinctures or herbals supplements for both on the market. I recommend taking an herbal compound product and using it alongside the oregano oil for about 8 weeks. Take both 3 times daily, and use about 4-6 drops of the oregano oil per use. Follow up with probiotics to restore gut health and correct dysbiosis.

My favorite use is for acute gas and bloating. It works almost immediately. If you’ve eaten something that’s causing gas or uncomfortable bloating, use 4 or 5 drops in liquid for near-instant relief. Repeat as necessary. It’s quite remarkable. If you are experiencing digestive symptoms regularly, you may have bacterial overgrowth, dysbiosis, or parasites, so it’s a good idea to undergo digestive testing to assess. I offer a simple take-home digestive assessment in my practice.

Oregano oil can also be used topically for skin infections. Place a few drops directly on affected area 3 times daily. It may also help toothaches or insect bites, and while I don’t have experience using it for that, it wouldn’t hurt to try! Oregano oil is side-effect free (aside from a slight burning that may occur if taken undiluted – it’s very strong), so don’t be shy to give it a go before reaching for over the counter drugs or meds.

Q&A: Digestive Disturbance

admin — Thu, 07 May 2009 05:36:07 +0000

Q: I experience frequent and uncomfortable bloating and gas, usually in the afternoons/evenings. What is causing this, and how can I relieve it?

A: There are a number of factors that may contribute to gas and digestive upset. Physiologically speaking, the source of excess gas is usually intestinal bacteria. Your gut is home to billions of bacteria, some beneficial, some not. This bacteria produce gas, sometimes excessively, as they digest food. Certain foods may trigger more intestinal gas: dairy, certain sugars, hard-to-digest foods such as corn or wheat, and some vegetables, such as the crucifers (broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower). In addition, low stomach acid can cause gas and bloating because food is not properly digested.

Food allergies are another source of gas and bloating. The most common food allergens are soy, dairy, eggs, shellfish, nuts, citrus, and wheat. Consuming these foods if you are sensitive or allergic to them may cause bloating or gas. Consider having a healthcare practitioner test you for food allergies. The ALCAT test is the most accurate, and it requires a blood draw, but there are finger prick tests available that you can complete in your own home. You can also perform your own food allergy elimination diet.

As I mentioned earlier, gut bacteria play a big role in digestion and possible production of excess gas. Your good gut bacteria and bad gut bacteria should exist symbiotically, but if the bad outweigh the good (dysbiosis) as a result of poor diet or antibiotic use, symptoms such as candida, gas, or bloating may result. Try a probiotic supplement, eat a whole foods diet and include plenty of fermented foods, and eliminate refined sugar and alcohol. Parasites or bacterial infections can contribute to dysbiosis, gas, and bloating, so consider a parasite test or cleanse.

To summarize: determine your food allergies, test for parasites, correct dysbiosis, and reduce sugar and refined foods in favor of a whole foods diet. Consider a digestive enzyme supplement to help your digestive tract break down foods. Choose one with HCl to normalize your stomach acid – low stomach acid is very common and worsens with age. Try ginger tea or bitters before and after meals to aid digestion. Fennel, mint, and wormwood (artemesia) work well too.

To correct gas and bloating immediately, the most effective aid is oil of oregano. Choose the oil-based tincture with a carvacrol concentration of at least 70 percent. Oil of oregano deserves its own post (hmmm, note to self). It’s a remarkable herb and a powerful digestive aid and can quell bloating and stop gas almost immediately: dispense 4-5 drops on the tongue and follow with a shot of water. It’s strong! Repeat as needed.

A long answer to a short question! Good luck.

Allergies and Digestion?

admin — Wed, 08 Apr 2009 04:07:13 +0000

Researchers have reported that consumption of probiotics can alter the immune system response to common causes of allergies. “These data show that probiotic supplements modulate immune responses…and may have the potential to alleviate the severity of symptoms,” Claudio Nicoletti and colleagues at Britain’s Institute of Food Research wrote in a report about the study.

There is suggestion that probiotics help prevent the development of allergies. The small study found that probiotics changed the immune system’s response to grass pollen, a common cause of allergies, and balanced antibodies in a way that might alleviate allergies in those suffering with the condition. “The probiotic strain we tested changed the way the body’s immune cells respond to grass pollen,” said Kamal Ivory, a researcher who worked on the study.

This is not surprising, because nearly 80 percent of your immune system is in your gut. Probiotic bacteria are micro-organisms living in the gut. They must exist in the proper ratio to the “bad” or potentially pathogenic bacteria that also live in the intestinal tract, or dysbiosis can result, causing digestive problems and symptoms. Probiotics also make certain vitamins needed by the body including folic acid, vitamin B6, niacin and vitamin K. Probiotic supplements can be used to restore the ecosystem of the gut after a dose of antibiotics, or to help stablize gut flora. Aside from supplements, you can get probiotics from fermented foods like cultured vegetables and yogurt or drinks like kefir, rejuvelac, or kombucha.

We have several pounds of bacteria in our intestinal tract, and they play a key role in digestion and immune system function. When your gut ecology is out of balance, bad bacteria may overtake the good and lead to illness, weakened immunity, or susceptibility to allergies – food, environment, or seasonal.

You may have unbalanced gut ecology if you experience gas and bloating regularly (more than once a week), have alternating constipation and diarrhea, frequent “indigestion,” or (for women) chronic yeast infections/vaginitis. Get more probiotics in your diet by increasing your consumption of cultured vegetables (krauts) or fermented dairy, or try a full spectrum supplement that contains acidophilus, bifidus, and lactobacillus.

Inflammation

admin — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 03:40:48 +0000

We hear a lot about inflammation. Internally, it can be linked to accelerated aging, heart disease, cancer, irritable bowel and chron’s disease, and arthritis. So what is inflammation?

Think about what happens when you cut your finger. It swells and turns red as your body sends white blood cells to the injury site to prevent foreign invaders from causing infection. The swelling caused by this reaction is inflammation, and it is good, in this instance. But this same low-grade inflammation can occur inside your body, making you susceptible to pain and disease.

A main cause of inflammation is low-grade intestinal infection caused by parasites, yeast overgrowth (candida), fungus, or pathogenic bacteria. Your immune system is constantly fighting these infections, and similar to the reaction you get when you cut your finger, the attack it mounts on these foreign invaders causes inflammation in the gastro-intestinal tract. The bacteria H pylori is a perfect example: this insidious bacteria always causes inflammation in the gut and can lead to heart burn (inflammation in the esophagus) and ulcers. Systemic inflammation is always implicated in cardiovascular disease, and h pylori has been linked to heart disease.

Eating foods to which you are allergic (most often gluten or dairy) can exacerbate this intestinal inflammation and worsen infections or even cause them, because inflammation damages the gut lining, making it more permeable so that viruses and bacteria and parasites have an easier way in.

Another cause of inflammation is stress, of course. Stress causes high cortisol, and high cortisol leads to inflammation. Correcting cortisol lessens the body’s inflammatory response, so its ability to handle inflammation improves. Cortisol is your body’s natural anti-inflammatory hormone, but when stress raises cortisol, it actually causes inflammation. Chronic stress and digestive problems lead to inflammation, causing high cortisol, which causes an inability to burn body fat, and weight gain leads to more inflammation. A vicious cycle!

Other sources of inflammation include toxicity from your food, water, or environment. Pollution, chemicals from cosmetics, use of alcohol or drugs (legal and otherwise), and the Standard American Diet of caffeine, sugar (a HUGE contributor to inflammation), and refined foods all contribute to inflammation.

So, how do you know if you have it? Symptoms include the following:
-high blood pressure
-high cholesterol
-weight gain
-heartburn (acid reflux)
-inflamed skin conditions like eczema or acne
-chronic pain and arthritis
-diagnosis with Irritable Bowel Syndrome, colitis, Chron’s disease, or gastritis
-yeast infections or candidiasis
-diabetes

What should you do about it?

First off, clean up your diet. Cut out gluten, soy, and dairy, and consider food allergy testing to determine which foods are causing your gut to be inflamed. Eat dark leafy greens like kale, collards, spinach, and chard–high in anti-inflammatory omega-3 fatty acids–and eat other omega-3 rich foods like salmon, walnuts, and grass fed beef. Cut out sugar, booze, and caffeine. Consider a fish oil supplement to boost your omega-3 levels.

Clean up your gut with a good digestive cleanse. Consider parasite testing, then choose the proper herbs or meds to kill whatever uninvited inhabitants are lurking. Correct dysbiosis (overgrowth of bad bacteria) with probiotics and probiotic-rich foods like cultured veggies and kefir. Choose a probiotic with S. boulardi.

Finally, reduce stress and test your adrenal hormones to correct high cortisol. You can bring high cortisol levels down with bio-identical hormones, but you need to test first. Get plenty of sleep and don’t over-exercise! Meditate or do some deep breathing.