Holistic Nutrition Bytes » h pylori http://www.maryvancenc.com Tips, tidbits, and treats from a holistic nutritionist for a healthier world. Tue, 31 Aug 2010 03:26:01 +0000 en hourly 1 Inflammation http://www.maryvancenc.com/2009/02/inflammation/ http://www.maryvancenc.com/2009/02/inflammation/#comments Wed, 18 Feb 2009 03:40:48 +0000 admin http://www.maryvancenc.com/?p=681 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.

]]> http://www.maryvancenc.com/2009/02/inflammation/feed/ 1 Why Antacids are NOT the Solution for Reflux http://www.maryvancenc.com/2009/01/why-antacids-are-not-the-solution-for-reflux/ http://www.maryvancenc.com/2009/01/why-antacids-are-not-the-solution-for-reflux/#comments Thu, 08 Jan 2009 05:38:59 +0000 admin http://www.maryvancenc.com/?p=567 Do you experience frequent heartburn/reflux? Indigestion? Maybe you take over the counter antacid relief, or your doctor prescribed you Nexium (the purple pill!) or Prilosec. After all, it makes sense: if you have stomach acid burning your esophagus, you need an antacid to neutralize it for pain relief, right?
i don't feel so good.

i don't feel so good.


Actually, this is not always the case. Conventional medicine has a knack for treating the symptoms without uncovering the underlying cause of what causes the reflux. In cases of chronic heartburn, it’s actually LOW stomach acid, not too much stomach acid, believe it or not.

Your stomach acid should be around a PH of 2, incredibly acidic, so that it can break down food into a liquid (chyme) that travels to the small intestine and then the large intestine, where nutrients are absorbed and waste travels onward and outward to be excreted. If your stomach acid is at a higher PH, more alkaline, food cannot be properly broken down, and any pathogens, bacteria, or anything else that might be possibly contaminating your food won’t be killed. When food is not properly broken down, it sits in the stomach and ferments/putrefies, giving off gases and causing a burning sensation in the stomach and/or throat. This is reflux. It also travels out the other end, causing gas and bloating.

If you have chronic heartburn, GERD, or ulcers, chances are very good that you have h pylori, a nasty bacteria that causes ulcers, gastritis, and systemic inflammation that can lead to cancer and heart disease. The 2005 Nobel Prize in medicine was awarded to 2 scientists for “the bacterium Helicobacter pylori and its role in gastritis and peptic ulcer disease.”

Antacids make the heartburn worse because they lower stomach acid further, making it easier for h pylori to thrive and making it harder for you to digest food. That’s why reflux worsens over time. No purple pill will kill h pylori – it will only exacerbate it over time.

Low stomach acid is a common problem and worsens with age. If you see undigested food in your poop, or if you belch or fart a lot, you likely have low stomach acid and are not absorbing necessary nutrients from your food. Also, low stomach acid makes it easier to get h pylori and other bugs in the first place. H pylori can also be transmitted through undercooked chicken, meat, or even by kissing.

Of course, reflux can also result from consuming foods to which you’re allergic, spicy foods, whatever. But if you are experiencing it regularly, time to figure out the cause. H Pylori and other bugs can be tested for via stool test. Then you can do a mastic gum cleanse for 60 days. Mastic kills the h pylori. It’s often used with bismuth to soothe, and DGL licorice to heal. Once the h pylori is gone, your stomach and gut can heal – both will be inflamed as a result of the infection. You can take digestive enzymes to help digestion and to increase stomach acid. Follow up the program with a good course of probiotics to recolonize the gut.

Don’t live your life covering up symptoms of a very uncomfortable problem. Why take a pill for the rest of your life when you can get rid of the problem itself?

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