Apple cider vinegar for knee swelling and more uses by Dr Mercola

Vinegar is said to have been discovered around 5000 BC, when unattended grape juice turned into wine and then vinegar. Originally used as a food preservative, vinegar’s medicinal uses soon came to light.

Hippocrates used vinegar to manage wounds, while medical practitioners in the 1700s used it to treat everything from poison ivy and croup to stomach aches. Vinegar was even used to treat diabetes.¹

Vinegar, which means “sour wine” in French, can be made from virtually any carbohydrate that can be fermented, including grapes, dates, coconut, potatoes, beets, and, of course, apples.

Traditionally, vinegar is made through a long, slow fermentation process, leaving it rich in bioactive components like acetic acid, gallic acid, catechin, epicatechin, caffeic acid, and more, giving it potent antioxidant, antimicrobial, and many other beneficial properties.

As reported in Medscape General Medicine:²

“The slow methods are generally used for the production of the traditional wine vinegars, and the culture of acetic acid bacteria grows on the surface of the liquid and fermentation proceeds slowly over the course of weeks or months.

The longer fermentation period allows for the accumulation of a non-toxic slime composed of yeast and acetic acid bacteria, known as the mother of vinegar.”

“Mother” of vinegar, a cobweb-like amino acid-based substance found in unprocessed, unfiltered vinegar, indicates your vinegar is of the best quality. Most manufacturers pasteurize and filter their vinegar to prevent the mother from forming, but the “murky” kind is best, especially if you’re planning to consume it.

Vinegar is not only useful for cooking, it’s useful for health purposes, cleaning, garden care, hygiene, and much more. In fact, a jug of vinegar is easily one of the most economical and versatile remedies around. I recommend keeping it in your home at all times…

Health Uses for Apple Cider Vinegar

There are no official guidelines concerning taking vinegar internally. Some people take one to two teaspoons a day, mixed in a glass of water, before meals or in the morning, and report benefits from doing so. The risk of taking small amounts of vinegar is low, and research suggests it may have some real health benefits.

Diabetes

Vinegar is said to be anti-glycemic and has a beneficial effect on blood sugar levels. It’s thought that the acetic acid in vinegar may lower blood sugar by preventing the complete digestion of complex carbohydrates, which is accomplished either by accelerating gastric emptying or increasing the uptake of glucose by bodily tissues.³

One theory is that vinegar might inactivate some of the digestive enzymes that break down carbohydrates into sugar, thus slowing the conversion of complex carbohydrate into sugar from a meal into your bloodstream.

This gives your body more time to pull sugar out of your blood, preventing your sugar levels from spiking. Quite a bit of research supports the use of vinegar as a diabetic treatment as well.

One study found that vinegar treatment improved insulin sensitivity in 19 percent of individuals with type 2diabetes and 34 percent of those with pre-diabetes.⁴

Yet another study found taking two tablespoons of apple cider vinegar before bed lowered blood sugar levels in people with type 2 diabetes by up to 6 percent by the morning.⁵

Heart Health

Vinegar supports heart health in multiple ways. As explained in the Journal of Food Science:⁶

“Polyphenols such as chlorogenic acid, which is present in high levels in apple cider vinegar, could inhibit oxidation of LDLs and improve health by preventing cardiovascular diseases.”

One study showed that vinegar could lower cholesterol in laboratory rats,⁷ while another study on rats found their blood pressure could be lowered by the acetic acid in vinegar.⁸

Vinegar has also been found to decrease triglyceride levels and VLDL levels (the damaging form of cholesterol) in animal studies.⁹

Weight Loss

Vinegar may help you lose weight, as it appears to have an anti-obesity effect by increasing satiety and reducing the total amount of food consumed.

For instance, when volunteers consumed a small amount of vinegar along with a high-carb meal (a bagel and juice) they consumed less food for the remainder of the day. The reduction equated to about 200 to 275 calories a day – an amount that would result in a monthly weight loss of up to 1.5 pounds.¹⁰

In addition, separate research found taking vinegar along with bread not only lowered glucose and insulin responses, but also increased levels of satiety. The rating of satiety was directly related to the acetic acid level in the vinegar.¹¹

Sinus Congestion

Apple cider vinegar helps to break up and reduce mucous in your body, helping to clear your sinuses. It also has antibacterial properties, making it useful for infections.

Sore Throat

The antibacterial properties in apple cider vinegar may be useful for sore throats as well. Gargle with a mixture of about one-third cup of apple cider vinegar mixed with warm water as needed.

Digestion and Acid Reflux

Acid reflux typically results from having too little acid in your stomach. You can easily improve the acid content of your stomach by taking one tablespoon of raw unfiltered apple cider vinegar in a large glass of water daily. The pectin in apple cider vinegar may also help to soothe intestinal spasms.

Skin Irritations

Apple cider vinegar works for a variety of skin ailments, from bug bites to poison ivy to sunburn. You can either apply it directly to the irritated area or try soaking in a bath with about one cup of vinegar added.

Warts

Topical application of apple cider vinegar may help remove warts, likely because of the high levels of acetic acid it contains.¹² You can try soaking a cotton ball in vinegar and applying it to the wart, covered, overnight.

Energy Boost

Apple cider vinegar contains potassium and enzymes to help banish fatigue. Plus, its amino acids may help prevent the buildup of lactic acid in your body, further preventing fatigue.¹³

Apple Cider Vinegar Around Your Home

Generally, you can use distilled white vinegar for household use and the cider vinegars, made from fermenting fruits such as apples, for consumption. However, if you prefer you can use apple cider vinegar around your home as well.

Natural Cleaning

Vinegar is one of the best natural cleaning agents there is, and this is largely due to its antimicrobial properties. When added to food, the organic acids in vinegar (especially the acetic acid) pass into cell membranes to kill bacteria. Foods fermented with vinegar have a natural arsenal of antimicrobial organic acids, including acetic, lactic, ascorbic, citric, malic, propionic, succinic, and tartaric acids. One study found acetic acid to be lethal to even E. coli O157:H7, while other research has shown substances such as acetic acid, lemon juice, or a combination of lemon juice and vinegar to be effective against salmonella.¹⁴

Weed Killer

Vinegar is very effective to control weeds in your garden. Howard Garrett, also known as The Dirt Doctor, shared his recipe for vinegar-based herbicide (this spray will injure any plant it touches, so use it only on those you want to remove):

Herbicide Formula

1 gallon of 10 percent (100 grain) vinegar

Add 1 ounce orange oil or d-limonene

Add 1 tablespoon molasses (optional – some say it doesn’t help)

1 teaspoon liquid soap or other surfactant (such as Bio Wash)

Do not add water

Neutralize Odors

Apple cider vinegar in a bowl will help to neutralize odors in your home.

Fruit and Veggie Wash

Vinegar is one of the best natural agents for removing certain pesticides and bacteria from your fresh produce. Try a solution of 10 percent vinegar to 90 percent water as a bath to briefly soak produce. Just place your veggies or fruit in the solution, swish them around, and rinse thoroughly (don’t use this process on fragile fruits like berries since they could be damaged in the process or soak up too much vinegar through their porous skins).

Hygiene and Beauty

You might even want to keep some apple cider vinegar in your bathroom cabinet…

Hair Rinse

Apple cider vinegar helps remove product build-up and balance your scalp’s pH level. Try a weekly rinse of one-third cup of vinegar mixed with four cups of water. For dandruff, try spraying your scalp with equal parts vinegar and water (mixed), wrapping a towel around your head, and leaving it to sit for an hour. Then, wash out and repeat up to twice a week.¹⁵

Facial Toner

Diluted apple cider vinegar on a cotton ball makes a simple facial toner and cleanser to help prevent breakouts. It might even help bruises to fade faster.

Deodorant

Apple cider vinegar helps kill odor-causing bacteria, so dab a bit under your arms for a natural deodorant.

Oral Health

Gargling with diluted apple cider vinegar can help to eliminate bad breath and whiten teeth. Keep in mind, however, that apple cider vinegar is highly acidic. The main ingredient is acetic acid, which is quite harsh, so you should always dilute it with water before swallowing. Pure, straight apple cider vinegar could damage your tooth enamel or the tissues of your mouth and throat. (There is, in fact, one reported incident of long-term esophageal damage to a woman who got an apple cider vinegar supplement capsule stuck in her throat.)

Foot Odor

Wiping your feet down with apple cider vinegar can help to eliminate odor-causing bacteria and smells from your feet.

How to Use Apple Cider Vinegar in Your Cooking

There are many creative ways to use apple cider in cooking. Try it in homemade marinades and sauces, soups, or even smoothies. You can even add it to baked goods (it will add extra lift) and, of course, use it in salad dressing (try it mixed with olive oil, garlic, and mustard, for instance).¹⁶ Vinegar is good on fish as well and serves as a great tenderizing marinade for meat, giving it a good bit of zing. And it’s tasty drizzled over cooked greens or as a base for a cucumber salad. You can also try your hand at pickled vegetables using vinegar.

Vinegar is also a vital addition to homemade bone broth. When it comes to making broth, the vinegar helps leech all those valuable minerals from the bones into the stockpot water, which is ultimately what you’ll be eating. The goal is to extract as many minerals as possible out of the bones into the broth water. Bragg’s raw apple cider vinegar is a good choice, as it’s unfiltered and unpasteurized. If you’re consuming vinegar for therapeutic reasons but don’t enjoy the flavor, you can alternatively consume other fermented foods to get the beneficial acids. This will then also help to recolonize your gut with beneficial bacteria. However, vinegar is easier and certainly safe to use, so you can certainly include it in your diet if you enjoy it.

Choose Your Vinegar Wisely: Avoid Distilled Vinegar

Distilled white vinegar is excellent for cleaning and laundry, but for health purposes you’ll want to avoid the perfectly clear, “sparkling clean” varieties you commonly see on grocery store shelves. Instead, you want organic, unfiltered, unprocessed vinegar, which is murky. As mentioned, that murkiness is caused by a cobweb-like substance called the “mother,” and it is indicative of a high-quality product. Finally, if you are considering taking apple cider vinegar medicinally, long-term excessive use could conceivably cause low potassium levels and can adversely affect your bone density – so moderation is important.

In addition, apple cider vinegar could theoretically interact with diuretics, laxatives, and medicines for diabetes and heart disease. If you are under the care of a physician and you want to try a course of apple cider vinegar, talk to your physician first to make sure it won’t interfere with any of the medications you are currently taking.

Advanced Added Bonus for Even MORE Benefits

You can consider using fermented vegetables. Like vinegar, it is a mild acid but instead of acetic acid like vinegar, it has lactic acid. In addition to being useful for many of the items above, properly fermented vegetables will provide you with two major benefits, they will help to replenish and improve your gut microbiome, and if a high vitamin K2 starter culture is used they will also provide you with useful doses of vitamin K2, which is every bit as important asvitamin D and works synergistically with vitamin D.

Rheumatoid Arthritis and drugs by Dr Mercola

Safest Anti-Inflammatories to Use for Pain

Clearly the safest prescription drugs to use for pain are the non-acetylated salicylates such as:

Salsalate

Sodium salicylate

Magnesium salicylate (i.e., Salflex, Disalcid, or Trilisate)

They are the drugs of choice if there is renal insufficiency, as they minimally interfere with anticyclooxygenase and other prostaglandins. Additionally, they will not impair platelet inhibition in those patients who are on an every-other-day aspirin regimen to decrease their risk for stroke or heart disease.

Unlike aspirin, they do not increase the formation of products of lipoxygenase-mediated metabolism of arachidonic acid. For this reason, they may be less likely to cause hypersensitivity reactions. These drugs have been safely used in patients with reversible obstructive airway disease and a history of aspirin sensitivity.

They are also much gentler on your stomach than the other NSAIDs and are the drug of choice if you have problems with peptic ulcer disease. Unfortunately, all these benefits are balanced by the fact that they may not be as effective as the other agents and are less convenient to take. You need to take 1.5-2 grams twice a day, and tinnitus, or ringing in your ear, is a frequent side effect.

You need to be aware of this complication and know that if tinnitus does develop, you need to stop the drugs for a day and restart with a dose that is half a pill per day lower. You can repeat this until you find a dose that relieves your pain and doesn’t cause any ringing in your ears.

If the Safer Anti-Inflammatories Aren’t Helping, Try This Next…

If the non-acetylated salicylates aren’t helping, there are many different NSAIDs to try. Relafen, Daypro, Voltaren, Motrin, Naprosyn. Meclomen, Indocin, Orudis, and Tolectin are among the most toxic or likely to cause complications. You can experiment with them, and see which one works best for you. If cost is a concern, generic ibuprofen can be used at up to 800 mg per dose. Unfortunately, recent studies suggest this drug is more damaging to your kidneys. If you use any of the above drugs, though, it is really important to make sure you take them with your largest meal as this will somewhat moderate their GI toxicity and the likelihood of causing an ulcer.

Please beware that they are much more dangerous than the antibiotics or non-acetylated salicylates. You should have an SMA blood test performed at least once a year if you are on these medications. In addition, you must monitor your serum potassium levels if you are on an ACE inhibitor as these medications can cause high potassium levels. You should also monitor your kidney function. The SMA will show any liver impairment the drugs might be causing.

These medications can also impair prostaglandin metabolism and cause papillary necrosis and chronic interstitial nephritis. Your kidney needs vasodilatory prostaglandins (PGE2 and prostacyclin) to counterbalance the effects of potent vasoconstrictor hormones such as angiotensin II and catecholamines. NSAIDs decrease prostaglandin synthesis by inhibiting cyclooxygenase, leading to unopposed constriction of the renal arterioles supplying your kidney.

Warning: These Drugs Massively Increase Your Risk for Ulcers

The first non-aspirin NSAID, indomethacin, was introduced in 1963. Now more than 30 are available. Relafen is one of the better alternatives as it seems to cause less of an intestinal dysbiosis. You must be especially careful to monitor renal function periodically. It is important to understand and accept the risks associated with these more toxic drugs. Every year, they do enough damage to the GI tract to kill 2,000 to 4,000 people with rheumatoid arthritis alone. That is 10 people EVERY DAY. At any given time, 10 to 20 percent of all those receiving NSAID therapy have gastric ulcers.

If you are taking an NSAID, you are at approximately three times greater risk for developing serious gastrointestinal side effects than those who don’t. Approximately 1.2 percent of patients taking NSAIDs are hospitalized for upper GI problems, per year of exposure. One study of patients taking NSAIDs showed that a life-threatening complication was the first sign of ulcer in more than half of the subjects. Researchers found that the drugs suppress production of prostacyclin, which is needed to dilate blood vessels and inhibit clotting. Earlier studies had found that mice genetically engineered to be unable to use prostacyclin properly were prone to clotting disorders.

Anyone who is at increased risk of cardiovascular disease should steer clear of these medications. Ulcer complications are certainly potentially life-threatening, but heart attacks are a much more common and likely risk, especially in older individuals.

How You Can Tell if You Are at Risk for NSAID Side Effects

Risk factor analysis can help determine if you will face an increased danger of developing these complications. If you have any of the following, you will likely to have a higher risk of side effects from these drugs:

Old age

Peptic ulcer history

Alcohol dependency

Cigarette smoking

Concurrent prednisone or corticosteroid use

Disability

Taking a high dose of the NSAID

Using an NSAID known to be more toxic

Prednisone

The above drug class are called non steroidal anti inflammatories (NSAIDs). If they are unable to control the pain, then prednisone is nearly universally used. This is a steroid drug that is loaded with side effects. If you are on large doses of prednisone for extended periods of time, you can be virtually assured that you will develop the following problems:

Osteoporosis

Cataracts

Diabetes

Ulcers

Herpes reactivation

Insomnia

Hypertension

Kidney stones

You can be virtually assured that every time you take a dose of prednisone your bones are becoming weaker. The higher the dose and the longer you are on prednisone, the more likely you are to develop the problems. However, if you are able to keep your dose to 5 mg or below, this is not typically a major issue. Typically this is one of the first medicines you should try to stop as soon as your symptoms permit.

Beware that blood levels of cortisol peak between 3 and 9am. It would, therefore, be safest to administer the prednisone in the morning. This will minimize the suppression on your hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis. You also need to be concerned about the increased risk of peptic ulcer disease when using this medicine with conventional non-steroidal anti-inflammatories. If you are taking both of these medicines, you have a 15 times greater risk of developing an ulcer!

If you are already on prednisone, it is helpful to get a prescription for 1 mg tablets so you can wean yourself off the prednisone as soon as possible. Usually you can lower your dose by about 1 mg per week. If a relapse of your symptoms occurs, then further reduction of the prednisone is not indicated.

How Do You Know When to Stop the Drugs?

Unlike conventional approaches to RA, my protocol is designed to treat the underlying cause of the problem. So eventually the drugs that you are going to use during the program will be weaned off. The following criteria can help determine when you are in remission and can consider weaning off your medications:

A decrease in duration of morning stiffness to no more than 15 minutes

No pain at rest

Little or no pain or tenderness on motion

Absence of joint swelling

A normal energy level

A decrease in your ESR to no more than 30

A normalization of your CBC. Generally your HGB, HCT, & MCV will increase to normal and your “pseudo”-iron deficiency will disappear

ANA, RF, & ASO titers returning to normal

If you discontinue your medications before all of the above criteria are met, there is a greater risk that the disease will recur. If you meet the above criteria, you can try to wean off your anti-inflammatory medication and monitor for flare-ups. If no flare-ups occur for six months, then discontinue the clindamycin. If the improvements are maintained for the next six months, you can then discontinue your Minocin and monitor for recurrences. If symptoms should recur, it would be wise to restart the previous antibiotic regimen.

Evaluation to Determine and Follow Rheumatoid Arthritis

If you have received evaluations and treatment by one or more board certified rheumatologists, you can be very confident that the appropriate evaluation was done. Although conventional treatments fail miserably in the long run, the conventional diagnostic approach is typically excellent, and you can start the treatment program discussed above. If you have not been evaluated by a specialist then it will be important to be properly evaluated to determine if indeed you have rheumatoid arthritis. Please be sure and carefully review Appendix Two, as you will want to confirm that fibromyalgia is not present.

Beware that arthritic pain can be an early manifestation of 20-30 different clinical problems. These include not only rheumatic disease, but also metabolic, infectious and malignant disorders. Rheumatoid arthritis is a clinical diagnosis for which there is not a single test or group of laboratory tests that can be considered confirmatory.

Criteria for Classification of Rheumatoid Arthritis

Morning Stiffness – Morning stiffness in and around joints lasting at least one hour before maximal improvement is noted.

Arthritis of three or more joint areas – At least three joint areas have simultaneously had soft-tissue swelling or fluid (not bony overgrowth) observed by a physician. There are 14 possible joints: right or left PIP, MCP, wrist, elbow, knee, ankle, and MTP joints.

Arthritis of hand joints – At least one joint area swollen as above in a wrist, MCP, or PIP joint.

Symmetric arthritis – Simultaneous involvement of the same joint areas (as in criterion 2) on both sides of your body (bilateral involvement of PIPs, MCPs, or MTPs) is acceptable without absolute symmetry. Lack of symmetry is not sufficient to rule out the diagnosis of rheumatoid arthritis.

Rheumatoid Nodules – Subcutaneous nodules over bony prominences, or extensor surfaces, or in juxta-articular regions, observed by a physician. Only about 25 percent of patients with rheumatoid arthritis develop nodules, and usually as a later manifestation.

Serum Rheumatoid Factor – Demonstration of abnormal amounts of serum rheumatoid factor by any method that has been positive in less than 5 percent of normal control subjects. This test is positive only 30-40 percent of the time in the early months of rheumatoid arthritis.

You must also make certain that the first four symptoms listed in the table above are present for six or more weeks. These criteria have a 91-94 percent sensitivity and 89 percent specificity for the diagnosis of rheumatoid arthritis.

However, these criteria were designed for classification and not for diagnosis. The diagnosis must be made on clinical grounds. It is important to note that many patients with negative serologic tests can have a strong clinical picture for rheumatoid arthritis.

Your Hands Are the KEY to the Diagnosis of Rheumatoid Arthritis

In a way, the hands are the calling card of rheumatoid arthritis. If you completely lack hand and wrist involvement, even by history, the diagnosis of rheumatoid arthritis is doubtful. Rheumatoid arthritis rarely affects your hips and ankles early in its course.

The metacarpophalangeal joints, proximal interphalangeal and wrist joints are the first joints to become symptomatic. Osteoarthritis typically affects the joints that are closest to your fingertips (DIP joints) while RA typically affects the joints closest to your wrist (PIP), like your knuckles.

Fatigue may be present before your joint symptoms begin, and morning stiffness is a sensitive indicator of rheumatoid arthritis. An increase in fluid in and around your joint probably causes the stiffness. Your joints are warm, but your skin is rarely red. When your joints develop effusions, hold them flexed at 5 to 20 degrees as it is likely going to be too painful to extend them fully.

Restore your vision naturally y Dr. Mercola

Contrary to popular belief, deteriorating vision is primarily a side effect of modern lifestyle. Aging does not automatically mean you will lose your eyesight. The key is to properly nourish your eyes throughout the years, and avoid chronic eye strain.
For example, I noticed my near vision started to deteriorate around 20 years ago, but after applying these principles, at 61, I don’t wear reading glasses unless I need to see small print and there is very little light.

Staring at a computer screen for hours on end is a common cause of blurred vision, short-sightedness, and other eye problems.
Spending time outdoors is helpful, and research suggests that children playing outdoors for at least 40 minutes a day have a reduced risk of short-sightedness.
Your diet may be paramount though. Chronic vitamin A deficiency, for example, can lead to total blindness. Other nutrient insufficiencies significantly contribute to the development of macular degeneration.
Macular Degeneration Can Be Slowed or Prevented

Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is the most common cause of blindness among the elderly, followed by cataracts. There are two forms of macular degeneration:3 dry and wet.

Dry macular degeneration is the milder version that causes few symptoms, but it can degenerate into the wet form, in which blood vessels start growing in the back of your eye, causing your vision to blur.

A hallmark of wet AMD is loss of vision in the center of your field of vision. A healthy diet can likely prevent AMD in the first place, but supplements have also been shown to help slow down or stop the progression from the dry to the more advanced wet form.
“The federally funded Age-Related Eye Disease Study… found that people at high risk for advanced age-related macular degeneration could cut that risk by about 25 percent by taking a supplement that included:
500 milligrams of vitamin C, 400 I.Us of vitamin E, 10 milligrams of lutein, 2 milligrams of zeaxanthin, 80 milligrams of zinc, and 2 milligrams of copper.”

Antioxidant-Rich Diet Protects Your Vision

Macular degeneration and cataracts are largely driven by free radical damage, and may in many cases be largely preventable by eating foods rich in antioxidants, such as:

Anthocyanins, found in blueberries, bilberries, and black currants
Lutein and zeaxanthin,5 found in green leafy vegetables and orange and yellow fruits and vegetables.
Research shows those who consume the highest levels of lutein and zeaxanthin have a 40 percent lower risk of advanced wet macular degeneration compared to those who eat the least6

High quality animal-based omega-3 fats like those found in krill oil and wild-caught Alaskan salmon
Bioflavonoids found in tea, cherries, and citrus fruits
Vitamin D, found to some extent in various foods such as meats, but primarily created in response to direct sun exposure on bare skin. Vitamin D is particularly important for those with genetic risk factors for AMD.
Recent research7,8,9 found that middle-aged women who have a high-risk genotype and are vitamin D deficient are 6.7 times more likely to develop AMD than those without this genetic risk factor who also have sufficient vitamin D.

Lutein and Zeaxanthin — Two Key Nutrients for Your Eyes

Lutein and zeaxanthin are two key nutrients for eye health,10 as both of them are found in high concentrations in your macula,11 the small central part of your retina responsible for detailed central vision.

Lutein is also found in your macular pigment – known for helping to protect your central vision, and aid in blue light absorption — and zeaxanthin is found in your retina.

Though there’s no recommended daily intake for lutein and zeaxanthin, studies have found protective benefits at a dosage of 10 mg of lutein per day, and 2 mg per day of zeaxanthin.

Lutein and zeaxanthin are often found together in foods, although zeaxanthin is far scarcer than lutein. They’re primarily found in green leafy vegetables, with kale and spinach topping the list of lutein-rich foods.

Carrots, squash, and other orange and yellow fruits and vegetables also contain high amounts. In fact, the word lutein comes from the Latin word “luteus,” which means “yellow.” If you remember this, it may help you pick out vegetables likely to contain higher amounts of these two nutrients.

According to a 1998 study in the British Journal of Ophthalmology,12 orange pepper had the highest amount of zeaxanthin of the 33 fruits and vegetables tested.

Egg yolk from organically-raised, free-range pastured eggs is another source of both lutein and zeaxanthin that is well absorbed by your body. Interestingly, research13,14 shows that adding a couple of eggs to your salad can increase the carotenoid absorption you get from the whole meal as much as nine-fold.

Astaxanthin, a Powerful Promoter of Eye Health

Astaxanthin is a highly effective antioxidant produced by the microalgae Haematococcus pluvialis. When the water supply dries up, this microalgae produces astaxanthin to protect itself from ultraviolet radiation. There are only two main sources of astaxanthin: the microalgae that produce it, and the sea creatures that consume the algae, such as salmon, shellfish, and krill.

Compelling evidence suggests astaxanthin may be among the most important nutrients for the prevention of blindness. As noted by Valensa:15 “[A]ntioxidants which can cross the blood brain/eye barrier would be expected to provide enhanced protection of the retina particularly if the antioxidant can reach the central retinal macula.”

Dr. Mark Tso,16 who works at the Wilmer Eye Institute at Johns Hopkins University, was the head of clinic when I worked at the University of Illinois Eyebank in the1970s. He has demonstrated that astaxanthin easily crosses the eye barrier, and exerts its effects with more potency than any of the other carotenoids — including lutein and zeaxanthin — without any adverse reactions.

Other researchers17,18 have confirmed Dr. Tso’s findings, and studies have demonstrated that astaxanthin offers potent protection against a number of eye-related problems, including:

• Cataracts
• Age-related macular degeneration
• Cystoid macular edema
• Inflammatory eye diseases (i.e., retinitis, iritis, keratitis, and scleritis)
• Diabetic retinopathy
• Glaucoma
• Retinal arterial occlusion
• Venous occlusion
Astaxanthin also helps maintain appropriate eye pressure levels that are already within the normal range, and supports your eyes’ energy levels and visual acuity. Depending on your individual situation, you may want to take an astaxanthin supplement. I recommend starting with 4 mg per day. Krill oil also contains high quality animal-based omega-3 fat in combination with naturally-occurring astaxanthin, albeit at lower levels than what you’ll get from an astaxanthin supplement.

Black Currants and Bilberries, Two Powerful Berries for Eye Health

Dark blue or purplish, almost black-colored berries like black currants and bilberries contain high amounts of the antioxidant anthocyanins. Black currants contain some of the highest levels. They’re also rich in essential fatty acids, lending added support to its anti-inflammatory properties. For medicinal purposes, many opt for using black currant seed oil, but eating the whole food is always an option, especially when they’re in season.

Bilberry,19,20 a close relative of the blueberry, also contains high amounts of anthocyanins, just like the black currant. Research suggests the bilberry may be particularly useful for inhibiting or reversing macular degeneration. A 2005 study in the journal Advances in Gerontology21 found that rats with early senile cataract and macular degeneration who received 20 mg of bilberry extract per kilo of body weight suffered no impairment of their lens and retina, while 70 percent of the control group suffered degeneration over the three month long study.

“The results suggest that… long-term supplementation with bilberry extract is effective in prevention of macular degeneration and cataract.”

As for dosage, Total Health Magazine22 recently noted that “positive results in trials required the ingestion of 50 mg or more per day of anthocyanins. A prudent level of intake would be on the order of 90 or 100 mg of the anthocyanins per day.” Similar dosage suggestions are given by the editors of PureHealthMD,23 who note that:

“When looking for a bilberry supplement for the eye, choose one that also includes 10 to 20 mg lutein and 1 to 2 mg zeaxanthin. Patients should target 80 to 160 mg daily. Those seeking prevention of eye disease, or just protection of the cells, can target 40 to 80 mg daily in combination with other antioxidant vitamins or in fruit combinations, such as blueberry/bilberry/raspberry.”

The Bates Method May Help You See More Clearly
While it’s easy to assume that once your vision has begun deteriorating there’s no going back, this assumption may not be entirely true. According to Greg Marsh, a certified natural vision coach and the creator of the CD program Reclaim Your Eyesight Naturally, clear vision is achievable, even if you’re already wearing strong corrective lenses.

The method Greg teaches is known as the Bates Method, conceived by Dr. William H. Bates over 100 years ago. A board-certified ophthalmologist at the top of his field, Dr. Bates helped many people regain their vision with his technique. In fact, it was so effective that optometrists lobbied the local politicians to ban it! Unfortunately, they succeeded, and the Bates Method ceased to be used.

The method is based on a rather simple premise. When you strain your eyes, such as when you squint, this action squeezes your eyeballs, contorting them. This makes your vision blurry, as it alters where the field of vision “lands” on your retina. By identifying the source of the stress and strain, you can learn to let it go, relax, and thereby getting your vision back.

Basically, your vision is not compromised because of weak eye muscles. They’re strong enough. But, they’re too tensed to work properly, so you have to learn to relax them. Unfortunately, when you wear glasses, you’re actually retraining your eyes to strain in order to see all day long. So, ideally, you’ll want to remove your glasses whenever you can safely do so. Also make sure you have appropriate lighting, especially when reading.

Two Sample Bates Method Techniques

A technique called the Bates Long Swing can help your eyes relax by relaxing your body. Begin by simply swaying your body back and forth. The simple act of languidly moving your body, even just a little bit, has a very soothing effect on your brain and thought patterns, and that alone can sometimes help you feel more relaxed during stressful situations.

Your eyes also respond. Instead of being locked in a stare, like a deer in headlights, they can begin to relax and move naturally again. You can do the Long Swing just about anywhere, anytime, provided you’re standing up. One of the most famous Bates Method techniques is palming:

Start by looking around and noticing the level of clarity of your vision at present.
Place the center of your palms over your eyes. Relax your shoulders. You may want to lean forward onto a table or a stack of pillows, to facilitate relaxation. Relax like this for at least two minutes, focusing on relaxing your eyes, and sending love to your eyes through your palms. Feel free to engage your imagination here too, by imagining your eyes resuming their natural round shape.
After about two minutes, remove your hands, open your eyes, and notice whether anything looks clearer. Usually, it will.
To learn more about this method, listen to my interview with Greg Marsh. You can also find a lot of information about the Bates Method on the web. Greg’s program, Reclaim Your Eyesight Naturally, consists of six CDs and a 62-page guidebook that helps tie everything together. Just keep in mind that if you are looking for a quick fix, the Bates Method is probably not for you.

Computer Screens Are a Common Cause of Eye Strain

Many people these days spend a large portion of their days staring at computer screens of varying sizes, and this is a major source of eye strain and fatigue. A recent Epoch Times article24 offers a number of common-sense suggestions for minimizing computer-related eye strain, and All About Vision25 also lists helpful ways to protect your eyes when working in front of a screen. Some of these suggestions include the following:

Prevent screen glare by installing an anti-glare screen on your monitor, or a computer hood if you have large open windows causing glare on your screen. Darker colored walls with a matte finish are also preferable to bright white walls
Optimize your lighting by making sure your screen is the brightest thing in the room. According to All About Vision, “when you use a computer your ambient lighting should be about half as bright as that typically found in most offices”
Sit at least an arm’s length away from your computer screen, and make sure the screen is positioned just below eye level
Adjust the color temperature, brightness, text size, and contrast on your screen. If a website with white background glows like a light source, it’s too bright. Blue light is also associated with more eye strain than orange and red wavelengths, so reducing the color temperature (the amount of blue light) of your display may be helpful
Practice your distance vision. Every 20 minutes or so, take a break from the screen to look at something further away from you, such as across the street if you’re by a window
Other Natural Strategies That Help Protect Your Vision

In my opinion, there are natural, common-sense strategies you can employ to help protect your healthy vision, starting with your diet. As discussed above, certain foods are more or less necessary for optimal vision, and can go a long way toward protecting your eyesight throughout life. Besides the suggestions detailed above, here are a few other lifestyle strategies that can help optimize your eye health.

Quit smoking, if you currently do. Smoking ramps up free radical production throughout your body, and puts you at risk for a number of conditions rooted in chronic inflammation, including poor vision.
Care for your cardiovascular system by getting regular exercise. High blood pressure can cause damage to the miniscule blood vessels on your retina, obstructing free blood flow. A regular, effective exercise program consisting of aerobics, Peak Fitness exercises, core building, and strength training, can go a long way toward reducing your blood pressure. It’s also critical for optimizing your insulin and leptin levels.
Avoid processed foods and added sugars, particularly fructose.26 This is another primary way to maintain optimal blood pressure. Consuming 74 grams or more per day of fructose (equal to 2.5 sugary drinks) increases your risk of having blood pressure levels of 160/100 mmHg by 77 percent.
Normalize your blood sugar. Excessive sugar in your blood can pull fluid from the lens of your eye, affecting your ability to focus. It can also damage the blood vessels in your retina, thereby obstructing blood flow. To keep your blood sugar in a healthy range, follow my comprehensive nutrition guidelines, exercise, and avoid processed foods and excess sugar, especially fructose.
Avoid trans fats. A diet high in trans fat appears to contribute to macular degeneration by interfering with omega-3 fats in your body. Trans fat is found in many processed foods and baked goods, including margarine, shortening, fried foods like French fries, fried chicken, and doughnuts, cookies, pastries, and crackers.
Avoid aspartame. Vision problems are one of the many potential acute symptoms of aspartame poisoning.

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A balance of dopamine and serotonin for your brain function

Having a proper balance of Serotonin and Dopamine can have a positive influence on many things in both body and mind.

Some mental factors are: energy, attention, mood, excessive appetite (brain can crave aminos in food), memory, thinking ability, etc… Boosting serotonin and dopamine is used to treat nerve damage and head-trauma, Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s, Anxiety, ADHD/ADD, of course Depression, obesity, and excessive appetite, Chromes Disease, etc…

Serotonin and Dopamine

Serotonin is synthesized from HTP. Dopamine is synthesized from Tyrosine. The two act as competitors; when you raise one the other gets pushed down (and vise versa). Therefore, to avoid a depletion of one, these two are always taken together. Dr Martin Hinz (the inventor of an amino acid program) has access to 75,000 lab tests on 7,500 patients and spent 7 years to develop a process of supplementing patients with amino acids. Dr Hinz tells providers that they should not attempt to adjust this initial ratio, it will be counter-productive. This doses of HTP and Tyrosine are always given in a 1:10 ratio.

I’m praising Dr Hinz because his methods are working for me. His information is freely available and uses standard easy to obtain amino-acids. Dr Hinz’s research may be used independent of his products. Finally, the volume of free material published by Hinz and his associates is impressive. It is enough to keep me very busy for quite some time.

MAX DOSE

Both Dr Hinz and Dr Kalish publish recommended Max doses that do not require a lab test. Dr Kalish does some public speaking to non-medical persons. He is also trained and in contact with Dr Hinz about the amino acid program.

Dr Kalish’s, in a radio blog interview (2), gives what he calls a conservative maximum of 300 mg HTP and 3000 mg Tyrosine per day.

Cofactors for 5-HTP and or L-Tyrosine (per day per 300 mg of HTP and 3000 mg Tyrosine):
Vitamin C 1000 mg

B6 75 mg

Calcium Citrate 220 mg

I’m not concerned about dividing these down as much as I am about making sure they are included in the minimum amounts. The cofactors are just as important as the precursors (htp/tyrosine). They team-up with the pre-cursors rather than compete.Dr Kalish’s Interview
Here are my a few take-away-points from the Dr Kalish interview (2):Dr Kalish has been studying the brain for 8 yearsLow Serotonin & Low Dopamine
Excessive Appetite (Food Cravings)
crave sweets but protein is needed
Weight Gain
Depression
Feeling better after overeating
Low Dopamine
Focus Concentration
Low Serotonin
Unduly Sad
Overly Sensitive
Anxious

Dopamine acts like a dimmer switch (over time) while serotonin acts like a light switch (sudden changes)

Neurotoxicity caused by chemicals (and pesticides) dumped into the environment eventually making their way to the brain.

L-cysteine HCL (cysteine)
Dr Hinz starts all patients with L-cysteine and cofactors (3). In Dr Hinz’s research, L-cysteine is added to compensate for L-tyrosine-induced depletion of sulfur amino acids. Dr Hinz’s doses for L-cysteine are also used for lab-testing purposes. If I divide down the doses for L-cysteine to match the recommended 500 mg per day on the bottle sold in the USA, I get the following really small doses for the co-factors:
Selenium 45 μg
Folic Acid (folate) 45 μg

Dr Hinz’s packages L-cysteine in a trademarked product called CysReplete. These exact ratios above are present in each pill. Each pill contains:
1500 mg, Selenium – 134 mcg, Folate – 133 mcg
I take between 2 and 3 pills of l-cysteine a day. I will adjust this up or down based on how I feel and may increase to satisfy any substance craving I might have. I may decrease or increase either the htp/tyrosine together (keeping the 1:10 ratio) or decrease/increase the l-cysteine based on how I feel. Due to the 1/wk adjustment period, I’m more likely to leave the primary treatment does for htp/tyrosine alone and change the dose of the l-cysteine. These issues lessen as I get use to the dose and are replaced by enhanced mood and energy.

Drink L-cysteine with a big glass of water.

Dr Hinz uses the HCL form of L-Cysteine. Whole-foods carries a different form called N-Acetyl Cysteine (NAC). Although this may have higher bioavailability, I choose to stick with the HCL form used in the research. The HCL form is about half the price of the NAC.

Here is an example the HCL form:

http://www.swansonvitamins.com/swanson-ultra-ajipure-l-cysteine-pharmaceutical-grade-500-mg-30-caps
So, that is great news, this is the HCL form used in Dr Hinz’s CysReplete brand.
There are other benefits with L-cysteine including its ability to remove heavy metals from the body and it being an anti-oxidant.

Info about cysteine (4):

Supplemental cysteine may also be prescribed to reduce nausea and vomiting caused by chemotherapy.

detoxifying heavy metals and chemical
protecting cells from free-radical damage
breaking down excess lung mucous
Deficiencies may decrease your body’s production of cysteine, such as
methionine,
vitamin B6,
vitamin B12,
s-adenosylmethionine known as SAMe, and
folic acid

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) — Maryland Health Center 600 milligrams taken twice daily may prove beneficial

HIV or AIDS, you may as high as 4,000 milligrams cysteine per day
WARNING: if your body can’t metabolize cysteine you could suffer neurodegeneration

If you are concerned about loose hair follicles (see the Reference 1) you should investigate L-lysine. Notice, the doses of L-cystine in reference 1 are much greater, so L-lysine may not be needed.

Interactions with:

Nitroglycerin ( headaches and even cause you to faint)
Activated charcoal
Side Effects: nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, allergic reactions, low blood pressure, heart beat irregularities, breathing problems, and even death
asthma sufferers experiencing L-Cysteine side effects due to accidental inhalation of the supplement powder

Other Ingredients: Cellulose, gelatin, magnesium stearate, medium chain triglycerides, silica.
This is the TwinLabs version brand in the dark uv-protectant glass bottle. Also says “Well tolerated by the most highly allergic individuals.”
Dr Kalish says that lab test are required for anyone under 18-16 years of age. He says Children respond wonderfully to the treatment and that they are extremely sensitive to the dose.

References
Relative nutritional deficiencies associated with centrally acting monoamines
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3355850/

Notes:

“At the initial visit it is recommended that the following adult amino acid dosing values be initiated: L-cysteine 4500 mg, L-tyrosine 3000 mg, vitamin C 1000 mg, L-lysine 500 mg, 5-HTP 300 mg, calcium citrate 220 mg, vitamin B6 75 mg, folate 400 μg, and selenium 400 μg. The pediatric dosing values (<17 years) are half the adult dosing values. A full discussion of the scientific basis for each of these amino acid and cofactor nutrients is covered in previous writings by the authors. A brief overview is as follows:

L-tyrosine and 5-HTP are dopamine and serotonin precursors, respectively. Vitamin C, vitamin B6, and calcium citrate are cofactors required in the synthesis of serotonin and/or dopamine. Folate is required for optimal synthesis of sulfur amino acids. Selenium is given in response to the ability of cysteine to concentrate methylmercury in the central nervous system. L-lysine prevents loose hair follicles in a bariatric medical practice. L-cysteine is administered to compensate for L-tyrosine-induced depletion of sulfur amino acids.3,4,6,12”

Dr Kalish’s interview http://www.blogtalkradio.com/undergroundwellness/2011/12/02/brain-drain-with-dr-dan-kalish
NEUROTRANSMITTER TESTING GUIDELINES by Marty Hinz https://docs.google.com/document/d/17cVmXgFSRaEDjHVR2kGS1HSZIYsyHRj2kUhy7gkaG5o/pub
http://www.livestrong.com/article/281794-role-of-cysteine/

A collection of all documents related to this topic: http://goo.gl/JwgbO

More notes…

You need a sulfur amino that works as a methyl donor (like Cysteine HCL or SAMe). NAC is safer but does not work for this purpose. Cysteine is more cost-effective. This is why Cysteine and L-5-MTHF must be taken together to achieve this safely without raising Homo-cysteine (easily tested) levels too much. Dr Chad Oler can explain this much better than I can.

Also google Dr Mercola on Dopamine Depression Parkinson

Eat these foods for your brain:

Seaweed
Egg Whites
Cottage Cheese
Salmon
Turkey
Pumpkin Flesh
Pork
Mustard Greens
Chicken
Buffalo
Cod
Tuna
Sesame Seeds
Kidney Beans
Spinach
Avocado
Banana

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How one doctor reversed his Parkinson’s disease

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Leaky gut, leaky brain, eat your garlic and pickles by C Guthrie

Your intestines are home to a great deal of your digestive system, nervous system, and immune system. Here’s how to keep them healthy.

Modern life is hard on your gut. Your entire digestive tract can be affected by stress, processed foods, alcohol, medications, and bacteria.

All that chronic irritation can lead to inflammation and, eventually, to a lot of little pinprick-style leaks in the very thin and delicate lining of your intestinal wall.

And even a tiny leak can cause surprisingly big problems. A healthy gut is very selective about what gets passed into your body. But a leaky gut can release undigested food particles, bacteria, and toxins into your bloodstream, leading to a potentially outsized immune response.

If the damage to the lining of your gut is bad enough that such substances regularly leak through, it can wreak havoc on your health.

The long list of conditions associated with leaky gut syndrome (a.k.a. increased intestinal permeability) include acne, allergies, arthritis, asthma, autism, and many more.

Alessio Fasano, MD, director of the Center for Celiac Research & Treatment at Massachusetts General Hospital for Children in Boston, recently discovered that leaky guts can even lead to autoimmune disorders.

And it’s a bit of a vicious cycle: “Our bodies can only fight so many fires at one time,” explains Liz Lipski, PhD, CCN, author of Digestive Wellness. “If someone is suffering from chronic stress, disease, or inflammation, the normal repair and maintenance of the gut gets deferred.”

What damages the gut? Lipski and other experts say the top culprits include nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) like ibuprofen, as well as sugar, alcohol, processed foods, and any foods that trigger an allergic response. Other irritants include chronic stress, toxins, and microbiome imbalances.

Given how commonplace such irritants have become in our lives, it’s not surprising that intestinal-permeability problems are pervasive, says Jacob Teitelbaum, MD, coauthor of Real Cause, Real Cure: The 9 Root Causes of the Most Common Health Problems and How to Solve Them. “These days,” he asserts, “virtually everybody’s gut leaks to some degree.”

DAMAGE CONTROL

Leaky gut syndrome has been treated by the integrative and functional-medicine community for years. But now, more of mainstream medicine is acknowledging it, too.

So what’s changed? Our understanding of the microbiome, for one thing.

The discovery that human health and behavior are profoundly influenced by a huge population of microorganisms living predominantly in our guts shook up a lot of docs, says Leo Galland, MD, a conventionally trained internist in New York City who now serves as director of the Foundation for Integrative Medicine. “Western medicine’s acceptance of the leaky gut model has been nothing short of a sea change.”

Symptoms of a leaky gut vary. If the leakage is minor, symptoms will generally be confined to the gastrointestinal (GI) tract, explains Tom Sult, MD, a Minnesota-based physician and author of Just Be Well. Typical results? Bloating, gas, or cramps.

More significant leaks are more likely to produce bodywide symptoms, he says, including fatigue, joint pain, rashes, respiratory issues, asthma, and autoimmune responses — including psoriasis.

As the condition of the gut degrades, notes Sult, the health impacts can be dramatic. So if you think you may be experiencing the symptoms of a leaky gut, it’s wise to address it promptly.

The good news, says Galland, is that the cells of the intestinal lining replace themselves every three to six days. This means that, given the proper support, your gut can repair itself quickly.

Here are the “five Rs” — remove, replace, reinoculate, repair, and rebalance — recommended by our panel of gut-health experts.

REMOVE

With leaky gut, the first step is to identify and remove the source of gut-lining irritation, rather than attempting to suppress its symptoms with drugs.

Start an elimination diet. Removing common irritants like sugar, dairy, gluten, soy, and the chemical additives found in many processed foods can provide surprisingly quick relief, says Galland, who notes that sugar alone is enough to cause gut problems for many. A properly conducted elimination diet can help you pinpoint which foods are causing trouble: Eliminate a food for two weeks, then reintroduce the food, and keep notes on its effects.

Begin a food journal. Write down what you eat and how it affects you. If you feel bloated, fatigued, or gassy, add that food to your elimination list. “Most likely,” says Lipski, “your gut is telling you what foods it is sensitive to. You just need to listen.”

Limit use of alcohol and NSAIDs

Alcohol taxes the liver and steals nutrients from the gut. NSAIDs inhibit the body’s production of prostaglandins, substances needed to rebuild the intestines’ lining. “If you use a full therapeutic dose of NSAIDs for two weeks, there is a 75 percent chance you will develop a leaky gut that doesn’t go away when you stop taking the drug,” says Galland. If you are dependent on NSAIDs for pain management, work to reduce your total load as much as possible, advises Sult.

Root out infections. Leaky gut can be instigated by any number of pathogenic microorganisms and parasites that thrive in the gut’s warm, mucosal environment. If food-level interventions aren’t helping, find a healthcare practitioner to run tests and treat you. Because “all the nutrients in the world won’t help you if you have a parasite,” says Lipski.

REPLACE
The second step is to give your body what it needs to rebuild the gut lining. Lipski likens the inside of the small intestine to a towel covered with millions of little loops (called villi), which in turn are covered with millions of little fibers (called microvilli). If the gut is leaky, those fibers get matted, hampering regrowth and the absorption of nutrients from food. It’s a vicious cycle, because the villi need those nutrients to revive.

Eat plenty of whole foods. The body needs the components in real, fresh food to repair damage and rebuild healthy new tissue. Whole foods are full of vitamins, minerals, and phytonutrients, plus enzymes the small intestine needs to heal.

Prioritize nonstarchy vegetables and lean proteins. And eat plenty of good, whole-food fats — they help strengthen cellular membranes.

As your body heals, it will get rid of toxins and byproducts through your large intestine. You’ll need lots of fiber to eliminate that toxic waste material as quickly and efficiently as possible.

The best high-fiber foods are colorful vegetables, berries, legumes, nuts, seeds, and whole-kernel grains. Aim for 30 grams of fiber a day. Lipski suggests supplementing with 1 to 2 tablespoons of psyllium seeds, flaxseeds, chia seeds, or oat bran. If you have gluten sensitivities or are doing an elimination diet, stick with flaxseeds (also a good source of omega-3s) or psyllium seeds, which you can sprinkle in smoothies, or on hot cereal or granola.

Many of our experts also suggest supplementing with a good multivitamin, since nutrient deficiencies commonly accompany leaky gut conditions, even in those eating a healthy, whole-food diet.

Take digestive enzymes

The villi and microvilli projections are covered with digestive enzymes that your body needs to break food into component parts: carbs, fats, and proteins. In a leaky gut, enzyme support is crucial to healing and rebuilding villi, says Sult.

Taking supplemental enzymes before you eat gives the GI tract a jump-start on digestion, making food easier to break down and nutrients easier to assimilate. Take one or two capsules with meals three times a day or as needed.

In most cases, the villi rebound over the course of a few weeks, but it may take well over a month, notes Sult. Only a small percentage of people will require lifetime enzymatic support

Supplement with glutamine

The most plentiful free amino acid in the body, glutamine supports immunity and digestion by fueling the cells that line the small intestine. “Glutamine heals the intestinal lining more than any other nutrient,” says Lipski. She recommends taking 10 to 20 grams daily.

Get more omega-3 fatty acids

The gut uses them to calm inflammation and rebuild healthy cell walls. In animal studies, adding essential fatty acids improved the tight junctions between the gut lining’s cells and enabled the gut to fend off additional injury.

In addition to recommending several helpings of omega-3-rich foods, including coldwater fish, nuts, seeds, avocado, and purslane, Sult advises many of his patients to take a daily concentrated fish-oil supplement, preferably one with at least 3,000 milligrams of EPA and DHA. Look for a fresh, high-quality refrigerated oil that is tested for heavy metals and other impurities.

REINOCULATE
Once your body has patched up the leaks in the gut, you need to help it grow a healthy layer of good bacteria — flora that help protect the GI tract and assist with digestion. These beneficial bacteria strengthen your immune system, improve metabolism, help your body make vitamins, and aid in the absorption of minerals. The two most important groups are lactobacilli and bifidobacteria.

Once your body has patched up the leaks in the gut, you need to help it grow a healthy layer of good bacteria — flora that help protect the GI tract and assist with digestion.

Add a probiotic

High-intensity probiotic support rejuvenates and replenishes a microbiome damaged by antibiotics or a poor diet. Sult recommends a high-potency probiotic of at least 50 billion active cultures twice daily. For added insurance, he says, choose one that is enteric-coated, meaning it will ferry the bacteria through the stomach’s acid and release them into the alkaline intestines.

Eat fermented foods

To get your good probiotic bugs to stick around, says Sult, you’ve got to eat daily servings of prebiotic- and probiotic-rich foods such as kefir, yogurt (dairy or nondairy), sauerkraut, tempeh, and kombucha.

Other perks of fermented foods include lowered inflammation, increased blood-sugar control, and improved antioxidant status. “The only way to make a robust, permanent impact on gut flora, short of a fecal transplant, is with dietary change,” he says.

REPAIR AND REBALANCE
Once you’ve got your gut on the road to wellness, it’s time to focus on lasting lifestyle changes. Sliding back into the habits that caused your leaky gut will only invite the return of health problems you want to avoid. Here are two key strategies for supporting ongoing gut health:

Before taking your first bite, look at your food and take in its aroma. This will trigger the cephalic phase of digestion, an initial release of enzymes that help break down your food.

Eat mindfully. Before taking your first bite, look at your food and take in its aroma, advises Kathie Swift, MS, RDN, nutrition director for Food As Medicine at Washington’s Center for Mind-Body Medicine and author of The Swift Diet. This will trigger the cephalic phase of digestion, an initial release of enzymes that help break down your food.

As you eat, chew thoroughly, paying attention to your food’s flavor and texture. Avoid multitasking or rushing while you eat. Take pauses and breaths between bites, allowing your digestive system to keep pace. (For more on digestive health, see “Functional Wellness, Part 3: Digestive Health“.)

Calm your central nervous system

Under stress, the body’s nervous system kicks into fight-or-flight mode — the opposite of its rest-and-digest mode. Recalibrate by cultivating a calmer, more centered state. Consider a daily meditation or yoga practice. Or on a stressful day, swap heavy weightlifting for a tai-chi class. “When you change your thoughts,” says Sult, “you change your physiology.”

Most of the problems associated with leaky gut syndrome occur in your small intestine, but all the organs of your digestion are involved — and impacted. The information here is compiled from Jacob Teitelbaum, MD, coauthor of Real Cause, Real Cure, and Liz Lipski, PhD, CCN, author of Digestive Wellness.

Mouth: Not chewing food thoroughly can be a setup for digestive troubles. Mechanically breaking your food down to a liquid state makes your stomach’s job easier. It also mixes in digestive enzymes that begin dissolving proteins, carbs, and fats even before you swallow.

Stomach: Your stomach digests food with enzymes and acids, distilling it into a slurry that moves into the small intestine. If digestion is incomplete, food particles enter the small intestine. And if the gut lining there is irritated, those particles can pass into the bloodstream, setting the stage for inflammation and food sensitivities. Incomplete digestion can negatively affect your assimilation of nutrients and encourage the overgrowth of bad bacteria and yeasts.

Lymphoid Tissue: Throughout your small intestine, lymphoid tissues called Peyer’s patches are your first defense against pathogens sneaking through the gut lining. They are an important player in your immune system — about two-thirds of which is located in the gut. We eat about five pounds of food daily; our body’s digestive and immune systems have to process it all, filtering or neutralizing anything problematic — like food-borne chemicals and bacteria — from the good stuff our body needs. It’s a big job. Add undigested food particles to the mix, and the immune system can become overtaxed.

Large Intestine: As your large intestine continues to break down food, the colon extracts water from the slurry for use elsewhere in the body. A solid stool of waste forms and is sent to the rectum. In the absence of adequate fiber, however, elements of slow-moving waste can reenter the system, creating a variety of inflammatory and toxicity problems throughout the body.

Small Intestine: Your small intestine is like a 25-foot-long conveyor belt. Only tiny, digested molecules of fats, proteins, and starches are absorbed through the intestine walls into the bloodstream. But if you have leaky gut syndrome, the filter is defunct and large molecules leach into the bloodstream, where the immune system attacks them.

Gut Lining: The lining, or mucosa, is just one-cell thick (thinner than tissue paper) and has the total surface area of a tennis court. Keeping that lining intact is a big job — particularly if it’s under a continuous assault from processed foods, sugar, food intolerances, stress, toxins, alcohol, infections, and medications that irritate and inflame it. That chronic inflammation can eventually lead to leaky gut syndrome.

Tight Junctions: Your gut lining is made of millions of single cells; tight junctions form the seals between them. When these get irritated and inflamed, they loosen up, allowing undigested food particles to slip through into the bloodstream, triggering food allergies and stressing the immune system.

THE FOOD-ALLERGY CONNECTION

When you have a leaky gut, your gut lining allows larger-than-normal molecules of food to pass into your bloodstream. If a particle of undigested corn, for example, leaks through, your body may treat it like a foreign invader, attacking it just to get rid of it. “From that point, corn receives a physiological tag telling your immune system it’s a bad guy,” explains Lipski. And so a food allergy is born.

THE AUTOIMMUNE CONNECTION

Every autoimmune disease has three components, explains Alessio Fasano, MD: a genetic predisposition, an environmental trigger, and a leaky gut. The presence of undigested food particles and other noxious substances can play a big role in putting your immune system into overdrive and turning against the body itself — the classic onset of an autoimmune disorder.

ELIMINATION DIET

The Institute for Functional Medicine is pleased to provide Experience Life readers with access to IFM’s proprietary Elimination Diet Comprehensive Guide and Food Plan. Please click HERE to view and download IFM’s Elimination Diet.

BY CATHERINE GUTHRIE
Catherine Guthrie is a Boston-based science writer and contributing editor to Experience Life.

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