Boost your Bacteria

We generally think of bacteria as something to be avoided, however, we have more bacteria living in our guts that we have cells in our body.  The right bacteria aid in digestion, modulate the immune system and protect against overgrowth of pathogenic bacteria and yeasts.  Bacteria make up approximately 80% of the dry weight of stool from a healthy gut, so having plenty encourages intestinal motility and increased stool volume.  When the healthy gut bacteria are reduced as a result of antibiotic use the potential for overgrowth of pathogenic bacteria increases. 

Several approaches are helpful in repopulating and maintaining healthy gut flora.  One way is to take probiotic supplements.  You can find these in health food stores.  The probiotics kept in the refrigerated section are usually the best.  A much cheaper option is to eat fermented foods like sauerkraut (raw, unpasteurized), kimchi, fermented vegetables, sour pickles, yogurt with live cultures, kefir (either milk or water kefir),  and kombucha (fermented tea, If you're interested in this let me know, I have starter cultures).  These are all easy and much cheaper to make yourself than if you buy them in the store.  So, this weeks challenge is to ferment something yourself.  Nourished kitchen provides several additional ideas for fermented foods.

 Most ferments take about a week, so next week's challenge is to actually eat a bit of your experiment every day. 

One additional note:  alcoholic ferments (beer & wine) don't count here.  These items tend to promote yeast overgrowth instead of beneficial gut flora.

Learn to Chill

This week we'll address another non-diet related issue.  Stress.  On top of the normal day to day crises, the holiday's are upon us and with it the added stress of dealing with family, not being with family, gift buying and the accompanying financial strain, and ridiculous quantities of junk food.  Stress is unavoidable.  What is critical is that you develop some strategies for dealing with it.  Chris Kresser provides several tips for dealing with stress in this article entitled "Manage Your Stress".  There isn't anything I can add to improve upon the info Chris covers, but here are some highlights from his article for reducing/mitigating stress:
-Learn to say no to unnecessary demands on your time/energy
-Limit your exposure to the news
-Give up pointless arguments
-Reframe the situation
-Learn to accept "good enough"
-Accept what you can't change
-Be grateful
-Manage your time

For the stress you can't avoid, practice some kind of stress management.  This could include going for a quiet, easy walk, yoga, tai chi, contemplative prayer or meditation.  This is the challenge for this week.  Pick one of these stress management activities (there are additional resources on meditation in the linked article) and spend 5 minutes on it every day this week.

Go to Bed

This week's challenge is to get more sleep.  Chris Kresser, an incredible integrative medicine doctor near San Francisco, wrote an excellent summary on the importance of sleep in his blog post "Get More Sleep".   I won't even try to improve on his recommendations, but I do want to emphasize a couple of points.
     1.  You can't be health if you don't sleep enough.
     2.  Sleep in a dark (pitch black room)
     3.  Go to bed earlier
So this week we'll shoot for at least 7 and preferably 8 - 9 hours of sleep every night.  Your body will thank you.

Get the sugar out.

Hopefully you all had a great Thanksgiving. It's hard to beat a holiday devoted to eating. It also makes for a pretty good opportunity to discuss one of the biggest diet killers there is...Relapse. It's easy when faced with holidays, birthdays, anniversaries, reunions, etc to fall off the wagon and overindulge in all the foods that we know aren't health promoting. Don't allow the nutritional indiscretions you may have committed over the Thanksgiving holiday to derail your quest for improved health. Even if you totally went off the rails last Thursday it's not the end of the world. This is a new week and we have a new challenge, but first let's recap the last two weeks. In week one we got rid of wheat.  In week two we replaced processed seed oils with natural fats like butter or coconut oil. This week we're going to take on sugar. 

For some folks, this will be nearly as difficult as eliminating wheat.  Sugar is everywhere in the standard American diet. It's added to almost all processed foods. Soda is loaded  with it.  Just about anything that's advertised as "low fat" will contain added sugar. It's one of the key ingredients used in place of fat to make processed food palatable.  In addition to sugar explicitly identified on the label of packaged foods we need to realize it comes in other forms as well.  Dietary starches are simply long chains of sugar molecules.  When we eat starch, amylase, an enzyme found in saliva begins to break that starch into its constituent sugars.  This process continues as the food travels through the stomach and small intestine until it's absorbed into the bloodstream as sugar.  The speed at which this breakdown occurs is what determines a food's glycemic index.  The faster a starch gets absorbed the higher the glycemic index. 

So why is sugar so damaging? Because of the hormonal response it elicits. When we eat sugar or starch it's quickly absorbed into the bloodstream through the lining of the small intestine. To deal with this elevated blood sugar the pancreas secretes the hormone insulin. Insulin is a storage hormone. It's the key that opens the door on your cell walls allowing them to take up sugar so it can be burned for energy. It also signals the liver to start pulling sugar out of the blood and start packaging it into glycogen, a storable form of sugar, and triglycerides. Glycogen and triglycerides are released back into the bloodstream for storage in the muscles where it can be accessed relatively quickly to fuel activities like bootcamp.  The problems start when sugar/starch intake are chronically high.  A continuous stream of dietary sugar/starch keeps blood sugar elevated and your pancreas pumping out insulin to bring those blood sugar levels down.  This storage signal prevents you from ever accessing stored body fat for energy.  Using your fat stores to fuel your daily activities is key to improving body composition and that’s why this week’s challenge is to eliminate added sugar entirely and limit starch consumption to the window 30-120 minutes after your workout.  Replace these calories with extra veggies, dense protein (beef, chicken, fish, eggs) and some of those healthy fats we discussed last week.

Overhaul Your Fat

Hopefully everyone is still on the wagon after last week.  For most of you eliminating wheat will be by far the toughest challenge.  This week we'll tackle something much easier.  Fat.  This is my favorite macronutrient.  Contrary to what you've probably been told most of your life, fat isn't the enemy to improved body composition.  In fact, fats are absolutely essential to good health.  60% - 70% of your brain is made up of fat.  Fat is part of the membrane of every cell in your body.  It provides a steady source of fuel which your mitochondria, the powerhouse of the cell, can use to generate energy.  It also enables your body to absorb the fat soluble vitamins in your vegetables (particularly vitamins A and K).  If you're choking down plain steamed veggies without fat you're not getting all the nutrients you should.  Best of all, fat makes things taste good. 

So this week we're going to pay particular attention to fat consumption.  Not to keep track of how much we eat, but rather the quality of the fat we're consuming.  First, lets talk about the good fats.

Butter -- My personal favorite.  Get the best butter you can find.  Good butter is from cows fed grass/hay and nothing else.    Locally, a good source is Kerri Gold Irish butter.   I know Trader Joe's in Palmdale carries it.  I've also seen it in Von's, Albertson's, and I think Ralph's.  Butter is mostly saturated fat.  This is key because saturated fat doesn't oxidize easily so you can cook at fairly high temperatures without damaging the fats.  Damaged/oxidized fats are really bad.  More on that later.  Ghee or clarified butter is actually better than butter, but it's usually pretty expensive and not as easy to find.  Plus, it's easy to make yourself from good quality butter.  Just melt a couple sticks in and the butter will separate into three layers.  The top is the butter oil/fat (skim and scummy looking solids off the top). This is what you want to keep so pour it into a class container and put it in the fridge.  The rest is water and milk protein.  Throw these out.  One advantage of ghee is that with the milk proteins removed, many people who are sensitive to dairy can still consume it.  It doesn't contain lactose, casein or whey.  If you know you have an autoimmune condition, I would advise always clarifying your butter.  This is also a good time to talk about cream.  Full fat cream is basically unchurned butter with higher water content.  If you want to use cream, unpasteurized raw cream is best, but pretty expensive.

Coconut Oil -- This fat is another all star.  Coconut oil contains medium chain triglycerides (MCTs), another saturated fat.   MCT have the unique quality of not requiring lipase for digestion.  If you have been dutifully following our government's recommendations to avoid fat then the MCTs in coconut oil will be the easiest for your body to convert to energy.

Animal fat -- Think lard and tallow.  These are great fats as well.  They are primarily saturated and therefore very stable.  Source is key here.  If you get grass fed, organic meat then don't worry about trimming off the fat or spending the extra money on extra lean ground beef.  Grass fed meat is usually more expensive and if that puts it beyond your reach financially, that's ok.  Purchase leaner cuts or trim the fat off of industrially raised meat and then add butter or coconut after cooking so it isn't too dry.  The toxins from pesticides used in growing corn and soy to feed industrially produced meat along with antibiotics necessary to keep cows alive on a grain based diet get stored in these animal's fat.  That's why it's a good idea to avoid fat from industrially produced meat.

Olive Oil -- This source of fat is best when used for salad dressings and making mayonnaise.  Cold pressed olive oil stored in opaque containers and kept away from extreme heat is health promoting.  Unfortunately, that's not how most of the olive oil available in stores in this country is produced.  Olive Oil contains mono and polyunsaturated fat.  These fats oxidize easily when exposed to light and/or heat.  It's best not to cook with olive oil for this reason.

Onto the bad fats.  The following are primarily polyunsaturated and are therefore easily oxidized.  Oxidized fats damage artery walls and stress the bodies ability to produce anti-oxidants to deal with them.  Furthermore, these oils require extensive chemical processing including the use of bleach, deoderizers and solvents (sounds yummy huh!).  furthermore, the ratio of omega-6 to omega-3 fatty acids is far too high. In general its safe to think of omega-6 fats as inflamatory and omega-3 fats and anti-inflamatory.  In reality, both types of fats are essential for humans, its the ratio that matters.  Traditional hunter-gatherer societies consume omega-6 to omega-3 fats in a ratio of 1:1 to 4:1.  The standard American diet ranges from 10 to 20:1.  The list of fats to avoid follows:

Corn Oil
Canola Oil
Safflower Oil
Soybean Oil
Peanut Oil
Any fully or partially hydrogenated oils

So for this week focus on replacing bad fats with good fats.  Include some butter or coconut oil with your veggies.  Don't be afraid of the fat in your meat.  Even consider substituting some extra fat in place of some carbohydrates.  You'll stabilize blood sugar levels and stay satiated much longer.

Holiday Damage Control Bootcamp Challenge 1

Welcome to week one of the Holiday Damage Control Bootcamp.  Each week we will post a nutritional challenge to accompany your workouts.  The challenges are intended to build on each other and over the course of 6 weeks develop habits that promote health.  In addition to establishing specific challenges I'll try to provide justification for why each challenge promotes health.  I encourage you to post questions, share your strategies for successes, and discuss difficulties in the comments.  Keep in mind that all recommendations you see in this blog are general in nature and are not intended to diagnose or treat disease.

Week 1 Challenge:  Eliminate Wheat

This will probably be the most difficult of the weekly challenges.  It also has the greatest potential to improve your health.  Wheat is in almost all packaged processed foods.  If you don't believe me go to the grocery store, walk down any of the food aisles in the interior of the store, grab a box and read the ingredients.  Assuming you aren't in the "gluten free" section I can almost guarantee you will find wheat in one form or another.

Why: Wheat contains the protein gluten.  It's what makes bread light and fluffy.  It's also what drives celiac sufferers to sprint for the bathroom when they eat it.  In addition to celiac disease, according to Profesor Loren Cordain, PhD, gluten has been implicated as a contributing factor in a number of other illnesses and autoimmune conditions including:  acid reflux, alopecia, anemia, canker sores, asthma, ataxias, ADD, Autism, autoimmune thyroid disease, dementia, depression and anxiety, eating disorders, epilepsy, Graves disease, Hashimoto's Thyroiditis, infertility, IBS, liver disease, migraines, psoriasis, rheumatoid arthritis, Sjogren's syndrome, systemic lupus erythematosus, type 1 diabetes, and vitiligo.  Additionally, wheat is relatively  calorie dense and nutrient poor [1].  In a 2005 paper published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition by Prof. Cordain he compared seven food groups for their content of the thirteen nutrients most lacking in the U.S. Diet.  He ranked 100 calorie portions of vegetables, seafoods, lean meats, fruits, whole grains, whole milk and nuts/seeds for their content of B vitamins, phosphorus, folate, vitamin C, iron, magnesium, calcium and zinc.  In the sum rank scores whole grains fell behind vegetables, seafoods, lean meats and fruits [1].

Strategies for Success:  Wheat and wheat containing products make up a substantial portion of most American's daily calorie intake.  Unless you're eating significantly more calories than you need in a day, you need to replace these somehow.  I don't recommend running out and replacing all your wheat items with "gluten free" versions of those same foods.  Instead increase your consumption of vegetables.  Leafy green, non-starchy veggies are great for obtaining vitamins and minerals and making you feel full, but they aren't very calorie dense.  If you need to replace alot of calorie from wheat add ample butter (real butter, not margarine.  I like Kerrygold Irish Butter.  You can find it at Trader Joes) to your veggies and/or incorporate starchy veggies like potatoes, sweet potatoes and winter squash.

References:
1.  Cordain, Loren PhD., The Paleo Answer. pp 107-113, 119-121.

Gluten Free?

Gluten-free diet: What's allowed, what's not

By Mayo Clinic staff

Definition

A gluten-free diet is a diet that excludes the protein gluten. Gluten is found in grains such as wheat, barley, rye and triticale (a cross between wheat and rye).
A gluten-free diet is used to treat celiac disease. Gluten causes inflammation in the small intestines of people with celiac disease. Eating a gluten-free diet helps people with celiac disease control their signs and symptoms and prevent complications.
Initially, following a gluten-free diet may be frustrating. But with time, patience and creativity, you'll find there are many foods that you already eat that are gluten-free and you will find substitutes for gluten-containing foods that you can enjoy.

Purpose

The gluten-free diet is a treatment for celiac disease.

Diet details

Switching to a gluten-free diet is a big change and, like anything new, it takes some getting used to. You may initially feel deprived by the diet's restrictions. However, try to stay positive and focus on all the foods you can eat. You may also be pleasantly surprised to realize how many gluten-free products, such as bread and pasta, are now available. Many specialty grocery stores sell gluten-free foods. If you can't find them in your area, check with a celiac support group or go online.
If you're just starting with a gluten-free diet, it's a good idea to consult a dietitian who can answer your questions and offer advice about how to avoid gluten while still eating a healthy, balanced diet.
Allowed foodsMany healthy and delicious foods are naturally gluten-free:

• Beans, seeds, nuts in their natural, unprocessed form
• Fresh eggs
• Fresh meats, fish and poultry (not breaded, batter-coated or marinated)
• Fruits and vegetables
• Most dairy products

It's important to make sure that they are not processed or mixed with gluten-containing grains, additives or preservatives. Many grains and starches can be part of a gluten-free diet:

• Amaranth
• Arrowroot
• Buckwheat
• Corn and cornmeal
• Flax
• Gluten-free flours (rice, soy, corn, potato, bean)
• Hominy (corn)
• Millet
• Quinoa
• Rice
• Sorghum
• Soy
• Tapioca
• Teff

Always avoidAvoid all food and drinks containing:

• Barley (malt, malt flavoring and malt vinegar are usually made from barley)
• Rye
• Triticale (a cross between wheat and rye)
• Wheat

Avoiding wheat can be challenging because wheat products go by numerous names. Consider the many types of wheat flour on supermarket shelves — bromated, enriched, phosphated, plain and self-rising. Here are other wheat products to avoid:

• Bulgur
• Durum flour
• Farina
• Graham flour
• Kamut
• Semolina
• Spelt

Avoid unless labeled 'gluten-free'In general, avoid the following foods unless they're labeled as gluten-free or made with corn, rice, soy or other gluten-free grain:

• Beer
• Breads
• Cakes and pies
• Candies
• Cereals
• Cookies and crackers
• Croutons
• French fries
• Gravies
• Imitation meat or seafood
• Matzo
• Pastas
• Processed luncheon meats
• Salad dressings
• Sauces, including soy sauce
• Seasoned rice mixes
• Seasoned snack foods, such as potato and tortilla chips
• Self-basting poultry
• Soups and soup bases
• Vegetables in sauce

Certain grains, such as oats, can be contaminated with wheat during growing and processing stages of production. For this reason, doctors and dietitians generally recommend avoiding oats unless they are specifically labeled gluten-free.
You should also be alert for other products that you eat or that could come in contact with your mouth that may contain gluten. These include:

• Food additives, such as malt flavoring, modified food starch and others
• Medications and vitamins that use gluten as a binding agent
• Play dough

Watch for cross-contaminationCross-contamination occurs when gluten-free foods come into contact with foods that contain gluten. It can happen during the manufacturing process, for example, if the same equipment is used to make a variety of products. Some food labels include a "may contain" statement if this is the case. But be aware that this type of statement is voluntary. You still need to check the actual ingredient list. If you're not sure whether a food contains gluten, don't buy it or check with the manufacturer first to ask what it contains.
Cross-contamination can also occur at home if foods are prepared on common surfaces or with utensils that weren't thoroughly cleaned after being used to prepare gluten-containing foods. Using a common toaster for gluten-free bread and regular bread is a major source of contamination, for example. Consider what steps you need to take to prevent cross-contamination at home, school or work.

Results

People with celiac disease who eat a gluten-free diet experience fewer symptoms and complications of the disease. People with celiac disease must eat a strictly gluten-free diet and must remain on the diet for the remainder of their lives.
In some severe cases, a gluten-free diet alone can't stop the symptoms and complications of celiac disease. In these cases, doctors might prescribe medications to suppress the immune system.

Risks

Not getting enough vitaminsPeople who follow a gluten-free diet may have low levels of certain vitamins and nutrients in their diets. Many grains are enriched with vitamins. Avoiding grains with a gluten-free diet may mean eating fewer of these enriched products. Ask your dietitian to review your diet to see that you're getting enough of these key nutrients:

• Iron
• Calcium
• Fiber
• Thiamin
• Riboflavin
• Niacin
• Folate

Not sticking to the gluten-free dietIf you accidentally eat a product that contains gluten, you may experience abdominal pain and diarrhea. Some people experience no signs or symptoms after eating gluten, but this doesn't mean it's not damaging their small intestines. Even trace amounts of gluten in your diet may be damaging, whether or not they cause signs or symptoms.