Renew You Challenge

Let’s start this week off right!

Weekly challenge (I mean opportunity!) to help set you off on the right foot and in the right direction for bringing health to your week. You could even add it to your calendar.  Join us! 

The new MyPlate icon that represents the new U.S. Dietary Guidelines is a step in the right direction as far as food recommending goes, but it still falls short of what I call—and what many people call—healthy eating.

A recent study has found that Americans only achieve at least 70 percent of the guideline recommendations seven days each year. So if Americans are not even able to meet these guidelines, how difficult will it be to make even greater improvements in diet? Clearly, something has got to change.

A recent editorial in the New England Journal of Medicine criticizes the new MyPlate Guidelines, saying that the food industry greatly influenced the new recommendations. The editorial, which came from two Harvard public health professors, questioned the allowance for up to half of grains to come from refined grains. Refined grains are a big part of why over two-thirds of this country is overweight or obese, and why so many people have diabetes and heart disease. Refined grains should be eliminated completely, in my opinion.

Other recommendations were not made as clearly as they could have in the new MyPlate recommendations. The editorial stated, “A clearer message would have been that Americans must reduce consumption of red meat, cheese, butter, and sugar, but that message would have offended powerful industries.”

This week, when planning your meals, fill your plate with plenty of vegetables, lean proteins, and healthy fats. Snack on fruits like berries. Consume whole grains, as well, but don’t make them the focus of your meals. And get the sugar out of your diet—it really doesn’t belong there.

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A recent report has confirmed that two people in Louisiana have died of a rare brain infection caused by an amoeba found in tap water used in a neti pot. The amoeba, Naegleria fowleri, can be found in freshwater, including tap water. The amoeba infection is rare—only 32 infections were reported from 2001 to 2010, but it can be fatal.

The infection typically occurs when people go swimming or diving in lakes and rivers, but the infection can be acquired when contaminated water from other sources enters the nose, as when the head is submerged, or with the use of a neti pot.

Use of the neti pot can be a helpful practice for people experiencing allergies, a cold, or to help stave off sinus infections, but it is very important that filtered or distilled water is used—not tap water. Also, proper cleaning of the neti pot (they can be washed in the dishwasher), and complete drying between each use is crucial.

Not to be an alarmist, as these infections are rare, but I know a lot of people use neti pots, and for good reason, so I want to help spread the word. Be sure you are using them appropriately.

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The hygiene hypothesis states that a lack of exposure to microorganisms—both beneficial and potentially harmful—during early childhood increases susceptibility to development of allergic diseases by creating an imbalance in immune system development. Brenda has blogged on the topic before, and I’ve blogged about immune balance.

A recent study published in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology has found that gut diversity in infancy helps protect against the development of allergies.¹ The study involved 40 children: 20 with atopic eczema, and 20 children with no health conditions. Stool samples were collected from each child at one month and twelve months of age, and the DNA of bacteria present in the infants’ guts was identified. The diversity of gut microflora at one month of age was significantly greater in the healthy children than in those children who later developed allergies.

The researchers suggested that in the absence of stimuli from a diverse array of microbes, the immune system may overreact against harmless antigens in the environment, such as food. I have blogged on the topic of food sensitivities, as well, highlighting the importance of maintaining immune balance with a good balance of gut bacteria.

So how do infants acquire gut bacterial diversity? First, by vaginal delivery, through which they are inoculated with protective bacteria from their mother (which works best if mom is on a plant-based diet, eating prebiotic foods, and taking probiotics throughout the pregnancy); second, by breastfeeding, which delivers yet more beneficial bacteria and prebiotics to feed the beneficial bacteria establishing in the baby’s gut; three, without the use of unnecessary antibiotics, which decrease gut bacterial diversity; and four, with a healthy diet consumed by the mother. When any of these factors cannot be optimized, probiotics formulated for infants can help build the beneficial bacteria in the gut.

References

1.  T.R. Abrahamsson, et al., “Low diversity of the gut microbiota in infants with atopic eczema.” J Allergy Clin Immunol. 2011 Dec 6. [Epub ahead of print].

Leonard Smith, M.D.

Dr. Leonard Smith is a prominent Board-Certified, general, gastrointestinal and vascular surgeon who had a successful private practice for 25 years. In addition to his active surgery practice, he also incorporated lifestyle, diet, supplementation, exercise, detoxification, and stress management into many of the therapies he would prescribe. Many of his patients with cancer, cardiovascular disease, and other serious illnesses did so well under his treatment regimes that he began to devote most of his career to foundational health care and preventive medicine.

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An article I read in the WSJ this morning, re-started me thinking about the insanity of the pharmaceutical companies (Happy New Year, tongue-in-cheek). Apparently, there is a new product named Deplin (made by Pamlab) that is simply L-methylfolate, the active form of the B-vitamin folate. L-methylfolate is one component in the complex chemical pathways that produce the neurotransmitters critical to regulating mood.

It seems that in some people through genetic variation, L-methylfolate production is reduced, which “may” raise their risk of depression. Please note, in addition to genetics, production can be reduced by aging, illness, POOR NUTRITION, excess alcohol consumption and some medications.

This is all excellent information, in my opinion, as scientists and doctors delve deeper into the psycho-neuro-endocrine aspects of mood and behavior. In my new book, The Road to Perfect Health, Rick Sponaugle, M.D., Director of Florida Detox and Wellness Institute, clearly explains how a leaky gut can affect the ability of the body to convert tryptophan into 5-HTP, 80% of which is done in the intestinal lining! 5-HTP is then transformed to serotonin, one of the relaxing neurotransmitters and a primary target in antidepressive medication. Dr. Sponaugle has charted success with his patient base through increasing their intake of high quality 5-HTP (another medical food) which has improved mood and overall function as he helps them learn to heal their guts. The goal – eventually they will be able to increase their serotonin production, from their digested foods. And more and more he’s recognizing the pivotal place an individual’s healthy diet holds in this extraordinarily complex scenario.

Deplin (L-methylfolate) may well prove to be another “food” that helps complete this puzzle. Pamlab officials say Deplin is more efficient to take than folate, similar to the tryptophan scenario explained above, as no conversion need take place. Deplin seems to help patients whose depression didn’t respond to antidepressants initially, or did for while only to have their depression return. At this point, the clinical evidence is limited, although there are positive reports of antidepressant medications seeming to work better coupled with Deplin. There is an upcoming clinical trial on Deplin alone as a possible helpful component in treating depression.

The part I find upsetting is that L-methylfolate, technically categorized as a “medical food” (not a pharmaceutical drug) is being sold for as much as $98 for a one month supply – AND the manufacturer is trying to win FDA approval for Deplin as a prescription drug! As one form of a B-vitamin is swooped up as a pharmaceutical, we Americans are that much closer to losing the right to choose our supplements without a doctor’s prescription!

Depression is such a complex issue. I’ve mentioned often that Omega 3s are effective in enhancing mood. And yes, there are pharmaceutical Omegas now too! Eeeek! At every turn, valuable research information seems to be cornered by big business designed to regulate us away from its value and availability. Are all our “foods” soon to be available only with prescription? After all, food IS the best medicine!

I (gratefully) return to my primary focus (which today is still available) – bring the good stuff in (through your diet), properly eliminate what’s been used (through your gut), and more recently/sadly, make it a habit to detoxify the myriad manmade poisons that are now overwhelming our daily lives (without many of us even realizing). Whether we’ve been clinically diagnosed with depression, or simply navigating our stress-filled lives as best as we can, it seems to me that the most sensible approach is as a lifestyle, an awareness, an entire program.

Ending on an up-note – thank you Dr. Duckworth, medical director of the National Alliance on Mental Health for urging patients to try therapies unrelated to addicting type pharmaceutical drugs. He ends with “remember there is no silver bullet”. Ain’t that the truth?!

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Atrazine is the most widely used herbicide in the United States. Over 75 million pounds of it are applied to corn and other crops, many in the Midwest. Atrazine is the most common pesticide contaminant found in groundwater, surface water, and rain in the United States. A recent study has found that women living in areas where atrazine water contamination is found are more likely to experience menstrual irregularities than women living in regions where there is no contamination.

I have blogged on the adverse hormonal effects of atrazine before. It has been found to turn male frogs into females, even at low concentrations. In 2009 atrazine was also linked to low birth weight in Indiana newborns, and menstrual irregularities have been found in women exposed to atrazine through agricultural work.

In this new study, women from two different cities in Illinois were compared with women from two different cities in Vermont. Illinois has the highest rates of atrazine water contamination, though the levels found in the study were still under limits set by the Environmental Protection Agency. The women in the Illinois cities were almost five times more likely to report irregular periods than the Vermont women, and more than six times more likely to go more time between periods.

Emily Barrett, a reproductive health scientist at the University of Rochester in New York stated, “These types of changes to hormone concentration and ovarian function could potentially lead to problems with fertility.” The study did not look at fertility, but hopefully more studies will address this.

Atrazine is sprayed on 75 percent of corn, as well as other crops. Corn is used in so many foods, and is used to make so many different ingredients in foods. This week, start reading your food labels to discover how widespread corn is. Then, take measures to replace the largest sources of non-organic corn with organic corn in your diet. It’s worth it. We’ve got to reduce our chemical exposure. Eating organic, when possible, is a big way to do that.

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