This idea seems self evident once heard. But I have only heard it from one source, Dr. Doug Graham of FoodNSport.com at one of his many excellent retreats.
Here's the deal...the anatomical systems of the body are:
1) the cardiovascular system
2) the digestive system
3) the endocrine system
4) the muscular system
5) the nervous system
6) the renal system
7) the reproductive system
8) the respiratory system
9) the immune system?
Each of the first eight is a specific biomechanical system:
-cardiovascular: heart,arteries,veins,capillaries
-digestive: mouth,stomach,intestines
-endocrine: hormone glands
-muscular: muscles
-nervous: nerve network
-renal: kidneys filter blood to produce urine
-reproductive: genitalia,uterus
-respiratory: lungs
Of course much more could be said about each of them, but the point is they are comprised of specific organs and biomechanical constructions of tissue relevant to the functions of that particular system.
So where are those specific organs and tissues located in the immune system? Is it the microbiome? Well maybe, we know how important it is to immune function. But it is not comprised of physiologic tissues...it is, as we know, bacteria, viruses, and parasites. We also know when the balance of friendly to unfriendly of these innumerable critters gets out of whack our health collapses and all kinds of problems follow. But none of these little guys is us, they are not our tissue. It's not a biomechanical system of the body.
A more appropriate name for immune function is, well, just that, immune function. If immune function is good, you're good, if not, not so good.
I'm not sure why immune function was tacked onto the anatomical systems, which were first established in the 16th century: "Andreas Vesalius founded modern anatomy with the publication of De Humanis Corporis Fabrica (On the Structure of the Human Body) in June 1543". https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK458/
Perhaps physiologists and biologists didn't know where else to put it, but recognized it's significance. Immune function is exceedingly complex, and we can't say we really understand it very well yet. The significance of the microbiome was recognized very recently in relative terms. On the other hand I think it was Hippocrates who first said "all disease begins in the gut". Definition of science - if it can't be measured it doesn't exist.
Mind you I am not anti-science, not at all, I just recognize it's limits.
What we do know for sure is immune function draws on all of the anatomical systems of the body. And again, we can be reasonably sure we don't understand it all that well yet. If we did we probably would not have exponential epidemics in cancer, autism, Alzheimer's, all of the many autoimmune disorders, etc, etc.
But we are making progress...we actually do understand how to reverse and cure all the cardiovascular diseases for example, but these modalities have not filtered into medical practice yet. And we know why, right? It doesn't involve drugs! In fact it requires patients to suspend use of drugs.
And that is a pill too large for the healthcare system to swallow at this point.
So if critters that were formally only thought of as pathogenic are now known to be crucial to our health, what other things might we find that are unidentified parts of immune function? How 'bout this one:
Sunlight disinfects the blood.
UV penetrates the epidermis and dermis and reaches the hypodermis where we find - blood vessels. And UV is well known to kill viruses and bacteria: http://sunlightinstitute.org/sunlight-disinfectant/
Why don't we know this? Well, again, the health care (disease management) industry can't make a dime on it. They are too busy promoting the idea that sunlight causes cancer. And, sure, we know too much sunlight is destructive (one should minimized getting "burned" by the sun). But what is the cumulative effect of all this advice to avoid the sun? More cancer?
Very possibly.
Thursday, January 30, 2020
Sunday, January 26, 2020
If you suffer with constipation try these suggestions
1) Don't eat between meals! It overworks the digestive system.
2) Wait till you poop before eating again. This is pretty normal if one is eating only two meals a day and digestion is working well. This gives your digestive system a bit of a rest between jobs, a good thing. If constipation is stubborn you may have to be more stubborn than the constipation! Drink only water until you finally poop, then eat again. It may take awhile, that's OK.
3) But you don't have to eat at that point, ideally one should only eat when they are hungry. We do "emotional eating" a lot of the time. It's a big part of the overall problem with general levels of health today. When you eat for better digestion it doesn't take long to feel the difference between emotional and true hunger eating. THAT is a very good point to arrive at.
3) But you don't have to eat at that point, ideally one should only eat when they are hungry. We do "emotional eating" a lot of the time. It's a big part of the overall problem with general levels of health today. When you eat for better digestion it doesn't take long to feel the difference between emotional and true hunger eating. THAT is a very good point to arrive at.
4) The first stage of digestion is mouth, teeth, saliva. With a bite of any given food type, how long does it take you to thoroughly masticate (turn into something resembling a liquid) and swallow. That is your first clue as to how big a job you are throwing into your digestive system.
5) Eat more of the foods that are easy to digest that are also nutrient dense (vitamins and minerals on a per calorie basis). Fruit is easiest, vegetables are next, meat is hardest.
6) Eat simpler meals. Foods of one type are digested better than a mix of foods.
On that last point, we have very similar digestive physiology as other higher primates. They don't have the convenience of grocery stores! They eat only one specific food at one meal. Mono meals are actually the best idea for better digestion. Or meals with only 2-3 same group components, for example, first meal of the day, a fresh fruit "salad" of one papaya with one banana and a half cup blueberries, or 3 mangos with one banana and a half cup blueberries. Or...whatever is fresh and good and available. Of course ripe tasty fruit is a must. If you suffer with constipation do more of that. Bonus: it's delicious too!
7) Always stay hydrated. How much water you will have to consume to achieve that will vary by the water content in the foods you eat. Juicy fruits of course have the highest water content, meats the lowest. And raw foods are highest, cooked foods the lowest.
The good news is eating for better digestion also dramatically improves or reverses other conditions that are a result of impacted digestive process, such as diverticulitis, ulcerative colitis, irritable bowel syndrome, and Crohn's disease.
And listen! When your doctor says "there is no cure for that" what he or she really means is there is no FDA approved medication they can prescribe that cures that condition. When your doc then says "but I can prescribe medications that manage that condition, which you will unfortunately have for the rest of your life" you are in the office of a doc that is either willfully blind (big pharma influence) or ignorant to the remarkable healing effects of diet/lifestyle modifications. But if your doc instead says "but there are diet/lifestyle modifications that are remarkably effective in reversing that problem, and I can help you with that" count your lucky stars, you are in the office of a physician that practices some form of whole foods plant based nutrition.
Some forms of this approach are more effective than others, for a quick exposure to the most effective of them I recommend a well known book by a former surgeon from the Cleveland Clinic, Dr. Esselstyn's "Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease", short and to the point, an eye opening easy fast read.
https://www.amazon.com/Prevent-Reverse-Heart-Disease-Nutrition-Based/dp/1583333002
The good news is eating for better digestion also dramatically improves or reverses other conditions that are a result of impacted digestive process, such as diverticulitis, ulcerative colitis, irritable bowel syndrome, and Crohn's disease.
And listen! When your doctor says "there is no cure for that" what he or she really means is there is no FDA approved medication they can prescribe that cures that condition. When your doc then says "but I can prescribe medications that manage that condition, which you will unfortunately have for the rest of your life" you are in the office of a doc that is either willfully blind (big pharma influence) or ignorant to the remarkable healing effects of diet/lifestyle modifications. But if your doc instead says "but there are diet/lifestyle modifications that are remarkably effective in reversing that problem, and I can help you with that" count your lucky stars, you are in the office of a physician that practices some form of whole foods plant based nutrition.
Some forms of this approach are more effective than others, for a quick exposure to the most effective of them I recommend a well known book by a former surgeon from the Cleveland Clinic, Dr. Esselstyn's "Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease", short and to the point, an eye opening easy fast read.
https://www.amazon.com/Prevent-Reverse-Heart-Disease-Nutrition-Based/dp/1583333002
Forget the Fads: This Is the Only Diet Tip You Need
The article below is from a free subscription I get called Dr. Eifrig's Health & Wealth Bulletin. I'm blogging this because the "diet tip" he offers (intermittent fasting) is arguably the single most powerful thing one can do for their health, regardless of any specific type of diet type. It's also easy to understand, and once you get into the swing of it is also easy to do.
Dr. Eifrig writes investment letters, but also writes a free letter about health, which you can read more about and sign up for a subscription here if you wish:
https://healthandwealthbulletin.com/about/
https://healthandwealthbulletin.com/about/
I will add one thing, if you have an exercise routine that burns a significant amount of calories it's important to replenish calories soon after, studies have shown that's the "window of opportunity" for the maximum benefit from the exercise itself and the nutrition consumed afterward. If you can, eat within an hour, or two max.
I prefer fresh fruit for that first post workout meal for a few reasons:
1) it replenishes energy stores more quickly and efficiently than other foods
2) it is "nutrient dense" (high in vitamins and minerals on a per calorie basis)
3) consuming a significant portion of your daily plant food intake "fresh, whole and raw" is a significant key to health.
4) fruits are one of the more delicious forms of plant foods, which makes that first meal of the day a "reward" for exercise, which will make you want to do it again!
1) it replenishes energy stores more quickly and efficiently than other foods
2) it is "nutrient dense" (high in vitamins and minerals on a per calorie basis)
3) consuming a significant portion of your daily plant food intake "fresh, whole and raw" is a significant key to health.
4) fruits are one of the more delicious forms of plant foods, which makes that first meal of the day a "reward" for exercise, which will make you want to do it again!
5) fruit burns fewer calories (in digestion) per calories consumed because it digests so quickly and easily
Fruit is also most efficiently utilized on an empty stomach, another reason to eat fruit after an intermittent fasting workout.
Fruit is getting a bad rap these days, which is marketing disinformation designed to push us toward getting our necessary calories from animal product sources rather than plant sources.
Michael Pollan, one of the more respected and prolific writers on food and nutrition says this, "eat food, not too much, mostly plants". If you do want to eat mostly plants, and you want the transition to go easy and be sustainable, eat fruit.
Fruit is also most efficiently utilized on an empty stomach, another reason to eat fruit after an intermittent fasting workout.
Fruit is getting a bad rap these days, which is marketing disinformation designed to push us toward getting our necessary calories from animal product sources rather than plant sources.
Michael Pollan, one of the more respected and prolific writers on food and nutrition says this, "eat food, not too much, mostly plants". If you do want to eat mostly plants, and you want the transition to go easy and be sustainable, eat fruit.
And here is this months letter from Dr. Eifrig:
Millions of us are struggling with diets, exercise routines, and extreme money-saving measures…
That’s because so many of us make New Year’s resolutions. But most of us will give up next week and all but about 8% of us will quit by February.
So, chances are, you’re surrounded by media about the latest and greatest diets. Losing weight is one of the most popular resolutions, usually around the same as saving money.
There’s one media outlet we trust for this kind of dietary data: U.S. News & World Report. It just released its annual review of the best and worst diets.
One of our favorites, the Mediterranean diet, topped the list again this year. This is a diet that emphasizes fruits, vegetables, fish, lean meats, whole grains, and olive oil. It has been linked to everything from preventing cognitive decline to protecting our gut bacteria.
The shocker on the list this year: the uber-popular “keto” diet is one of the absolute worst diets.
Ketogenic diets are typically high-fat, low-carbohydrate diets. Here’s the basic idea behind it…
Normally, our bodies break down carbs to make glucose, which we use for energy. When we don’t eat carbs, our bodies will break down fat. When fat breaks down during a process called ketosis, it creates an acid called a ketone.
The ketones act as energy units that feed your body. They travel through your bloodstream to muscles. This is actually how you maintain energy when you fast. And “keto” diets are meant to jump-start this process.
Here’s the thing… ketogenic diets work, and they do help people lose weight. But they’re extremely difficult to maintain over a long period of time. One study out of the Rowett Research Institute in Scotland found that obese men following a ketogenic diet for four weeks lost almost 14 pounds. But subsequent studies saw high dropout rates later on, as the diet was difficult to follow for long.
Longtime readers know I’m not a fan of unsustainable fad diets. And it’s essential for people to understand the risks and rewards.
So, if you still want to try a diet – especially if you really want to test out a keto diet – I’ve got a much simpler, safer way to do that.
The secret to is to simply eat nothing.
I’ve written several times about the benefits of fasting. Fasting helps you lose weight in the long term as well as control insulin levels, improve insulin sensitivity, and protect your heart. We know that it lowers diabetes risk and helps with chemotherapy.
It’s the only “diet” plan that makes sense. And exciting new research in the last two years points to maximizing the benefits of fasting by focusing on a time interval instead of switching full days.
In other words, restricting eating to a short period of time (such as eight or 10 hours) does more to lower blood sugar levels, increase insulin sensitivity, and lower blood pressure in the long term than avoiding eating over a full day.
In fact, a new article published in the New England Journal of Medicine at the end of 2019 showed that shortening eating time to just six to eight hours flips a metabolic switch. You switch carbohydrate-fueled energy for ketone-based.
Remember, ketones are acids that form when your body breaks down fat for energy instead of carbohydrates. Flipping that switch to turn on ketone-burning metabolism leads to improved stress tolerance, longer lifespans, and a lower risk of cancer and diabetes.
It turns out that eating in a shorter time frame (than food marketers want) has a lot to do with our body’s natural cycles. Our metabolism syncs up better with our natural circadian rhythm. By only consuming calories during certain parts (perhaps the digestion or activity peaks) of our rhythm’s cycle, we can more effectively break foods down.
Try eating from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. or 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Or push it to six hours and eat between 11 a.m. and 5 p.m. And no snacking in the interim. The best part of this type of fasting is that you can either reduce how many calories you consume, or you can keep it the same. You can adjust as needed depending on how you feel and if you want to lose weight.
Make fasting part of your routine this year and you’ll see better results than you would on an extreme diet. For most of us, it’s a good, sensible way to not just lose weight, but to improve your health overall. Just use caution and speak to your doctor if you have diabetes, particularly if you take insulin injections.
Millions of us are struggling with diets, exercise routines, and extreme money-saving measures…
That’s because so many of us make New Year’s resolutions. But most of us will give up next week and all but about 8% of us will quit by February.
So, chances are, you’re surrounded by media about the latest and greatest diets. Losing weight is one of the most popular resolutions, usually around the same as saving money.
There’s one media outlet we trust for this kind of dietary data: U.S. News & World Report. It just released its annual review of the best and worst diets.
One of our favorites, the Mediterranean diet, topped the list again this year. This is a diet that emphasizes fruits, vegetables, fish, lean meats, whole grains, and olive oil. It has been linked to everything from preventing cognitive decline to protecting our gut bacteria.
The shocker on the list this year: the uber-popular “keto” diet is one of the absolute worst diets.
Ketogenic diets are typically high-fat, low-carbohydrate diets. Here’s the basic idea behind it…
Normally, our bodies break down carbs to make glucose, which we use for energy. When we don’t eat carbs, our bodies will break down fat. When fat breaks down during a process called ketosis, it creates an acid called a ketone.
The ketones act as energy units that feed your body. They travel through your bloodstream to muscles. This is actually how you maintain energy when you fast. And “keto” diets are meant to jump-start this process.
Here’s the thing… ketogenic diets work, and they do help people lose weight. But they’re extremely difficult to maintain over a long period of time. One study out of the Rowett Research Institute in Scotland found that obese men following a ketogenic diet for four weeks lost almost 14 pounds. But subsequent studies saw high dropout rates later on, as the diet was difficult to follow for long.
Longtime readers know I’m not a fan of unsustainable fad diets. And it’s essential for people to understand the risks and rewards.
So, if you still want to try a diet – especially if you really want to test out a keto diet – I’ve got a much simpler, safer way to do that.
The secret to is to simply eat nothing.
I’ve written several times about the benefits of fasting. Fasting helps you lose weight in the long term as well as control insulin levels, improve insulin sensitivity, and protect your heart. We know that it lowers diabetes risk and helps with chemotherapy.
It’s the only “diet” plan that makes sense. And exciting new research in the last two years points to maximizing the benefits of fasting by focusing on a time interval instead of switching full days.
In other words, restricting eating to a short period of time (such as eight or 10 hours) does more to lower blood sugar levels, increase insulin sensitivity, and lower blood pressure in the long term than avoiding eating over a full day.
In fact, a new article published in the New England Journal of Medicine at the end of 2019 showed that shortening eating time to just six to eight hours flips a metabolic switch. You switch carbohydrate-fueled energy for ketone-based.
Remember, ketones are acids that form when your body breaks down fat for energy instead of carbohydrates. Flipping that switch to turn on ketone-burning metabolism leads to improved stress tolerance, longer lifespans, and a lower risk of cancer and diabetes.
It turns out that eating in a shorter time frame (than food marketers want) has a lot to do with our body’s natural cycles. Our metabolism syncs up better with our natural circadian rhythm. By only consuming calories during certain parts (perhaps the digestion or activity peaks) of our rhythm’s cycle, we can more effectively break foods down.
Try eating from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. or 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Or push it to six hours and eat between 11 a.m. and 5 p.m. And no snacking in the interim. The best part of this type of fasting is that you can either reduce how many calories you consume, or you can keep it the same. You can adjust as needed depending on how you feel and if you want to lose weight.
Make fasting part of your routine this year and you’ll see better results than you would on an extreme diet. For most of us, it’s a good, sensible way to not just lose weight, but to improve your health overall. Just use caution and speak to your doctor if you have diabetes, particularly if you take insulin injections.
Thursday, January 2, 2020
Jordan Peterson - "I really hope there's something wrong with me"
Have you run across Jordan Peterson yet? He's a clinical psychologist and professor of psychology turned philosopher who is rocking the boat recently by fighting the recent tide of anti-free speech sentiment coming from the radical left. When legislation was passed in Canada recently compelling a particular use of speech, he took a stand and caught all kinds of flack for being anti-gay and transphobic. Well if you listen carefully to what he says on this topic it's quite clear he is neither, but we love our sound bytes these days.
He in fact is making the (potentially very important) overarching point that radical left ideology (Stalin, Mao Zedong) was the cause of more deaths by genocide in the 20th century than were caused by the radical right (Hitler).
But no, he is not on the radical right either. He is firmly in the camp that used to be called "classic liberal".
He also has a lot to say about psychology (how bout that:), which the title of this post refers to in a brief youtube where he unpacks the paradox "I really hope there's something wrong with me".
He in fact is making the (potentially very important) overarching point that radical left ideology (Stalin, Mao Zedong) was the cause of more deaths by genocide in the 20th century than were caused by the radical right (Hitler).
But no, he is not on the radical right either. He is firmly in the camp that used to be called "classic liberal".
He also has a lot to say about psychology (how bout that:), which the title of this post refers to in a brief youtube where he unpacks the paradox "I really hope there's something wrong with me".
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)