An interesting study published in the journal Obesity points out that eating more soluble fiber, like that from apples and beans, and moderate exercise will selectively decrease belly fat.¹ The authors don’t seem to know why it is selective to belly fat, and not subcutaneous fat (fat just under the skin). I think one reason would be that the intake of high amounts of soluble fiber promotes growth of beneficial bacteria that produce short chain fatty acids, both of which may control some of the inflammation in the gut. Chronic inflammation causes marked increase in insulin resistance, and therefore, storage of more belly fat. Controlling this inflammation is key, and as we see, can be done by consuming soluble fiber.

Here are some recently discovered points that support the above concepts:

• Eating a high fat and sugar diet decreases the number of beneficial bifidobacteria and increases the number of potentially pathogenic gram negative bacterial species in the gut.
• As these potentially pathogenic bacteria die they release cell wall lipopolysaccharides (LPS) which happen to also be better absorbed through the gut lining when eating a high-fat, high-sugar, low-fiber diet on a regular basis. The LPS molecules easily pass through the epithelial gut lining and hit the gut immune system where they activate white blood cells including neutrophils, monocytes, and macrophages that all then release inflammatory cytokines: TNF alpha, IL-6 and IL-1 beta. These inflammatory cytokines can trigger inflammation in the small blood vessels throughout the body but probably start with the blood vessels in the intestines, causing endothelial dysfunction. This has been proven by measuring a significant decrease in blood vessel wall flexibility within minutes to hours after eating a high-fat, high-sugar meal.²  
• Conversely, supplementing with bifidobacteria and eating a plant-based, high-fiber diet seems to decrease translocation of LPS through the gut epithelial lining and may help prevent the negative effects of high-fat diet induced metabolic diseases.³
• The vascular inflammation in and around the intestinal tract, which is 20 or more feet in length, can stimulate stem cells adjacent to the blood vessel walls (known as stem cell pericytes) to develop into fat cells or adipocytes which accumulate wherever there are blood vessels in the abdomen—that’s almost everywhere!
• The inflammatory fire continues as the abdominal fat, or visceral fat (some people call it VAT) continues to produce more inflammatory cytokines (IL- 6, TNF alpha, etc.) that flow into other blood vessels, stimulating more stem cell conversion into fat cells or adipocytes.
• It is interesting that both vitamin D and stem cells are stored at high levels in abdominal fat. Perhaps the vitamin D is trying to cool down the inflammation and the stem cells are there to respond according to the body’s information: either make fat or something else.  

It makes sense that exercise  was found helpful for reducing abdominal fat. Exercise has many benefits. For one, it produces more adiponectin to help reverse the situation. Adiponectin is an anti-inflammatory hormone made in fat that both decreases inflammation in fat and travels to the pancreas to help sensitize and balance the release of insulin which can help reverse metabolic imbalances.

So it is pretty simple—eat your plant-based, high-fiber diet, supplement with probiotics (including good amounts of bifidobacteria), and exercise moderately on a regular basis.  Then be patient. The accumulation of abdominal fat, along with all the problems caused by this fat, including heart attacks and cancer, is reversible.

1.  Hairston KG, et al., “Lifestyle Factors and 5-Year Abdominal Fat Accumulation in a Minority Cohort: The IRAS Family Study.” Obesity (Silver Spring). 2011 Jun 16. doi: 10.1038/oby.2011.171. [Epub ahead of print]

2.  Plotnik GD, et al., “Effect of antioxidant vitamins on the transient impairment of endothelium-dependent brachial artery vasoactivity following a single high-fat meal.” JAMA. 1997 Nov 26;278(20):1682-6.

3.  Cani PD, et al., “Selective increases of bifidobacteria in gut microflora improve high-fat-diet-induced diabetes in mice through a mechanism associated with endotoxaemia.”

Diabetologia. 2007 Nov;50(11):2374-83.

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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Here’s your new 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. 

As most of you who read my blog know, diet has a huge influence on our health. I always recommend a high fiber diet that includes plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables, whole grains, healthy fats and lean proteins. The more plant-based the better. 

A new systematic review of diet risk factors for the development of IBD—inflammatory bowel disease, of which Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis are the most common—has similar recommendations. The review looked at 19 different diet studies in IBD patients involving 6,609 people. The results of this huge review found that high intakes of total fat, polyunsaturated fat, omega-6 fatty acids and meat were all associated with an increased risk of Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis.

When looking at protective diet factors, high fiber and fruit intakes were associated with decreased risk of developing Crohn’s disease and high vegetable intake was associated with decreased risk of ulcerative colitis.

Now, let’s look at the big picture here, because many people get caught up in the details and take each study word for word—and with all the new studies coming out, that could make you crazy. What is this review saying? It’s saying that eating a healthy diet—high fiber, high fruit and vegetable, low in inflammatory omega-6 fats, not too much fat, low meat—can help protect against inflammatory bowel disease.

This same diet is protective of many chronic diseases, in one way or another. One reason it is so great for the intestinal tract is that it is an anti-inflammatory diet. It helps to quell gut inflammation, which is at the core of intestinal disease, as well as much of the body’s illness.

So, this week, if you know someone dealing with intestinal issues, pass this along to them. Or take them to lunch at that new healthy restaurant down the street and order a nice big salad. You’ll both benefit from it. Make this a lifestyle, people. It’s worth it!

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We hear about toxins all around us—in the air, in the water, in the food, in our homes—but what about toxicity that comes from within? Think about your digestion. When you eat a big cheeseburger and fries with a milkshake, or a number of other foods found in the Standard American Diet (SAD), digestion slows. Tick. Tock. You may not actually pass that food out of your system for days.

What happens during all that time? Well, the bun breaks down into sugar almost immediately, causing a blood sugar spike followed by an energy crash. The protein portion from the wheat found in bread may not break down completely, possibly triggering a reaction in your gut known as gluten sensitivity, which you may or may not feel. The fries also break down into sugar, and fat—a lot of fat. Also released from the fries is acrylamide, a compound thought to be carcinogenic, formed when starches are fried at high heat. If you don’t produce enough of the digestive enzyme lactase, the milk sugar lactose in the milkshake will not break down, resulting in gas and bloating when bacteria ferment the lactose in your gut. Now for the meat, which breaks down slowly and possibly incompletely depending on your system. Meat cooked at high temperatures contains the cancer-causing heterocyclic amines. Further, when meat is broken down by gut bacteria, more toxic compounds are formed.

As all of these harmful toxins are released in the gut some of them get absorbed into the bloodstream. First stop? The liver. Metabolically, the liver works harder than any other organ in the body. That’s a good thing because it has a lot of toxins to process. In today’s world more toxins than ever are processed in the liver. Often, not all toxins can be detoxified, so some are stored in the liver, in fat cells, or are released back into the bloodstream. Those toxins that are able to be processed by the liver are sent with bile to the gallbladder and then released into the small intestine to be excreted with a bowel movement.

If your intestinal transit is slow, however, with food sitting in the intestines for long periods of time, these toxins can be reabsorbed back into the bloodstream to the liver once again (a process known as enterohepatic circulation). It’s a vicious cycle, and highlights the importance of regular bowel elimination. Do you experience 2-3 bowel movements daily? Or even one daily? You need to be eliminating either 2-3 times daily, or once daily in large quantity. This is the first step to reducing toxicity.

Consuming a high fiber diet (at least 35 grams daily) or taking a fiber supplement if you can’t get it all from food, supporting gut microbial balance with probiotics, lubricating the bowel with anti-inflammatory omega-3 oils and increasing food digestion with digestive enzymes can help to achieve digestive regularity. For some people who are very constipated, an herbal laxative formula can help jumpstart elimination.

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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Many of you have probably heard about the over-the-counter weight loss drug Alli.  It is a less potent version of orlistat, which is a pharmaceutical drug used for weight loss.  The way that it works is that it binds to a fat enzyme in the digestive tract, so that about one quarter of fat from the diet is not digested.  It just passes through the digestive tract.

Leaving fat undigested in the intestines can lead to a host of digestive problems.  In fact, side effects of Alli include oily and loose stools, fecal incontinence, frequent or urgent bowel movements or flatulence.  What this does to the balance of microflora in the digestive tract is not healthy.  Fat is not meant to pass through undigested.

That is only the beginning.  Recently, the FDA began an investigation of the hepatotoxicity of Alli.  Apparently, Alli (and its pharmaceutical counterpart) may cause liver damage.  So not only does it wreak havoc in the intestines, but it may be getting absorbed and moving into the liver, causing further damage there.

Sure, the idea of taking a pill and eating all the fat we want is certainly attractive.  But the big picture cannot be overlooked here, folks.  Weight management is a commitment.  It is a lifestyle change.  It is not a pill.  And it certainly should not be risky.

If you are tired of yo-yo dieting and taking diet pills that produce more side effects than weight loss, why not make a change?  The Fiber35 Diet was designed to be an easy way for people to lose weight based on the amount of fiber that they eat every day.  Check out the Fiber35diet website (www.fiber35diet.com) for more info on this great plan.

And if you’re looking to jump start your diet, Diet Start Cleanse can help you on your way.  It is a two-part non-stimulant cleanse designed to help boost fat metabolism, while also providing a colon cleanse to support healthy bowel function.

So take charge of your weight loss and choose a plan that makes sense, without all the risks!

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A recent study conducted at the VA Medical Center in Houston analyzed more than 900 employees to determine the “onset, frequency and severity” of GERD (gastroesophageal reflux disease) symptoms, including heartburn. The goal of the study was to find out if those symptoms were affected by diet, and whether or not a change in diet may help relieve suffering and prevent the recurrence of the disease. Results indicated that eating high amounts of dietary fat was associated with a greater risk of heartburn (indigestion) and GERD, but that a diet high in fiber was directly related to a reduced risk of heartburn and GERD.

Read more detailed information of the study by visiting: http://gut.bmj.com/cgi/content/full/54/1/11#BIBL

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