We all know that antibiotics kill off some friendly bacteria (probiotics) along with the bad pathogens. We also know they can cause bowel and immune problems. And we’ve been bombarded with information that cautions us to take probiotic supplements after a course of antibiotics to replenish our beneficial colonies and support good health. But there’s a lot more to intestinal bacteria than you’ve been told.

Upsetting the balance of “good” bacteria to “bad” bacteria can have a far-reaching effect on your health beyond supporting a healthy immune system and helping regulate bowel function. They can predict your risk of getting type-2 diabetes, help regulate blood pressure, and improve your brain function by keeping you calm.

Your body contains about 50 trillion cells. This may seem like a tremendous amount, but not when you compare it to the 500 trillion bacteria in your intestines and other tissues. Our bodies contain 10 times more bacteria than cells.

Although both beneficial and pathogenic bacteria are normal inhabitants, their compositions — and balance — influence your health more than you may realize. In fact, we’re just beginning to understand more of their widespread effects.

Brain function

We have known for a while that our brain sends signals to our intestines, and that stress often contributes to gastrointestinal symptoms. Now we’re seeing that our intestines are able to talk to our brain as well. What has been thought to be one-way communication is actually a two-way street.

One explanation is that the greatest concentration of serotonin and other neurotransmitters involved in mood control is in your intestines. This is why stress and emotions can trigger intestinal symptoms. When I was a child, I could never eat when I was upset. It would cause painful bloating. To this day, I tend to eat lightly when I’m stressed. You may have also noticed that there’s a connection between your emotions and your digestion.

Researchers at UCLA (University of California in Los Angeles) recently discovered for the first time that the bacteria in your foods affect your brain and mood. They divided study participants into three groups. One group ate some yogurt containing several strains of probiotics twice a day for a month. The second group ate the same amount of a dairy product without probiotics. And the third group of women ate no dairy products.

All of the women had a functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) scan of their brains before and after the study. They also had scans of when they were at rest and when they were looking at pictures of angry or frightened people. The women who ate the yogurt containing probiotics were calmer, while those who had no probiotics had increased anxiety.

Past studies have shown that our diet influences the composition of bacteria in our intestines. “Now we know that this has an effect not only on the metabolism but also affects brain function,” says Dr Emeran Mayer, the study’s senior author.

This revelation raises more questions to address in future research. Does taking antibiotics repeatedly affect the way our brain functions, and if so, in which ways? And could we find ways to treat brain-related diseases like Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s, and autism by increasing foods containing probiotics in our diet? We need more studies to answer these questions. In the meantime, it won’t harm you to take probiotic supplements, and they may give you a feeling of well-being.

Diabetes

Probiotics can help regulate your blood sugar, as well. Your body-mass index is one way to predict your risk of getting type-2 diabetes. Your waist-to-hip ratio is another. But intestinal bacteria can predict your risk even better. We know from past studies that diabetics have different bacterial populations in their intestines than the bacteria in non-diabetics that result in reduced glucose tolerance. Another risk marker is butyrate.

Butyrate is a fatty acid that’s connected to good health. We know that healthy women have more friendly bacteria in their intestines that produce butyrate than women with type-2 diabetes. By examining the bacteria in a person’s gut, it’s possible to predict who is at risk for diabetes.

Three Swedish research groups have developed new methods to locate and map the composition of intestinal bacteria. They discovered that probiotics altered brain function. This had previously been unknown. As soon as their methods become available, I’ll be sure to let you know.

Meanwhile, there are several things you can do. You can regulate your blood sugar with a diet low in refined carbohydrates, and you can take a probiotic supplement.

Since we don’t know which probiotic strains affect your brain, I suggest you rotate your probiotics to include different strains. You’ll find suggestions for specific probiotics in this month’s article on building a healthy terrain.

Probiotic supplements are not the only way to increase friendly bacteria. Don’t forget to include probiotics in your diet in the form of fermented foods like sauerkraut, yogurt, and tempeh, and reduce your intake of pathogenic bacteria by eating a diet low in sugar. Sugar feeds bad bacteria.

Blood pressure

Recently, researchers at Johns Hopkins and Yale Universities were surprised to discover odor-sensing receptors in blood vessels throughout the body. They thought these receptors were present only in the nose. These receptors, found in the intestines, are part of a complex system that regulates blood pressure – and they are bacteria-dependent. In the intestines, these receptors react to small molecules produced by bacteria by raising blood pressure.

The researchers discovered one of these receptors, Olfr78, throughout the body in the walls of small blood vessels in the heart, diaphragm, skeletal muscle, and skin. They were not just in the nose. They were everywhere!

Further tests found that Olfr78 attached itself only to acetic acid — a molecule known as vinegar. Then researchers determined that propionate, another fat, also binds to Olfr78. Here’s where it gets interesting. Acetic acid and propionate are short chain fatty acids (SCFAs) produced in the large intestines when bacteria cause soluble fiber — like oats and beans — to ferment.

The researchers gave antibiotics to a group of mice for three weeks to wipe out their intestinal bacteria. Some of the mice lacked the Olfr78 gene. In these mice, their blood pressure rose.

Another gene, Gpr41, with a non-odor-related receptor, had the opposite effect. When it bound to SCFAs the mice’s blood pressure went down. Because the effect of Gpr41 is stronger than the effect of Olfr78, an increase in short chain fatty acids lowers blood pressure. And the key to lowering blood pressure is the bacterium fermented from soluble fiber. If you have high blood pressure, add foods high in soluble fiber, like fruits, vegetables, and whole grains, along with fermented foods, to your diet.

Karlsson, Fredrik H., Valentina Tremaroli, Intawat Nookaew, Göran Bergström, Carl Johan Behre, Björn Fagerberg, Jens Nielsen, Fredrik Bäckhed. “Gut metagenome in European women with normal, impaired and diabetic glucose control.” Nature, 2013; DOI: 10.1038/nature12198.

Paddock, Catharine, PhD. (2013, February 27). “Gut Bacteria Help Regulate Blood Pressure.” Medical News Today. Retrieved from http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/256919.php.

Tillisch, Kirsten, Jennifer Labus, Lisa Kilpatrick, Zhiguo Jiang, Jean Stains, Bahar Ebrat, Denis Guyonnet, Sophie Legrain-Raspaud, Beatrice Trotin, Bruce Naliboff, Emeran A. Mayer. “Consumption of Fermented Milk Product With Probiotic Modulates Brain Activity.” Gastroenterology, 2013; DOI: 10.1053/j.gastro.2013.02.043.

3 Easy Steps to Building a Stronger Terrain and a Healthier Body

Last month, I talked about the importance of treating the environment, or terrain, of microbes in your gut before even treating the microbes themselves. The idea is to strengthen your terrain so you are less vulnerable to pathogens because they don’t want to live there. This treats a problem at its real source, not at the source of symptoms.

Basically, you want to have a terrain that pathogens can’t stick to. One that leaves nothing to hang a microbe on or feed it. One that’s as free as possible from inflammation, contaminants, and germs. One that contains the nutrients your body needs to be healthy.

Many people erroneously begin by increasing their supplements or changing their diets. But think about it. If your tissues and organs are clogged with
toxins and can’t function optimally, it may look like you need more nutrients than are necessary.

So where should you begin? I developed a three-step program for my patients, which begins with detoxification, followed by improving digestion, and then supplementing any missing or low levels of nutrients.

This is not all you need to do. But by taking these three steps you can build a stronger terrain. It is a good, effective start that can prevent you from wasting time and money. After taking these steps, it would be ideal to work with a health care practitioner, like a knowledgeable naturopath, who can design
a specific program to meet your individual needs.

Step 1: Detoxify

You can’t have a healthy terrain if your tissues contain a lot of toxins. And since your body’s normal pathways of detoxification don’t remove all toxic substances, you constantly need to remove stored toxins.

If you don’t think your terrain contains many toxins, you’re wrong. There’s no escaping them in today’s modern world. You can’t avoid BPA and BPS in plastic water bottles, tin cans, and other containers. These estrogen disruptors are also found in all paper money and credit card receipts. You can read more about how they have been linked to cancer, diabetes, and dozens of other illnesses in my article in the July 2013 issue.

You also can’t avoid exposure to heavy metals in the air, water, and soil. Or in pesticides and medications that eventually get into our waterways. To reduce the toxins that are building up in your body every day, you need to take substances that bind to them and carry them out of your bloodstream – every day. The best solutions I’ve found, which has been the subject of many sound scientific tests, are modified citrus pectin and alginates. Both are found in PectaSol Detox Formula.

But as good as this formula is for cleaning your blood, some toxins accumulate in your tissues and are not removed with this or other detoxification formulas alone. That’s where Detox Complete comes in. It is the second of two detoxification formulas for a deeper cleansing. Detox Complete is designed to remove contaminants trapped in tissues that your body would never be able to get rid of otherwise. Begin your terrain detoxification program with both.

Start by taking PectaSol Detox Formula for a month or two. Then add Detox Complete. Continue taking both for as much as a year or more — the longer the better. Remember, you’re removing decades of toxic accumulations. This takes time, especially with products as gentle and effective as these. You can order both products by calling 800-791-3395.

Eventually, depending on your state of health, you can just take the PectaSol Detox Formula to remove the contaminants you’re exposed to on a daily basis. This is what I’ve been doing for several years.

Step 2: Digestion

Your body knows how to digest your foods and supplements, and how to extract nutrients from them. But it needs certain substances in order to do this effectively. There are no more important substances needed for good digestion than probiotics (friendly bacteria). They fight inflammation, control pathogenic bacteria that cause diarrhea and infections, and contribute to a healthy immune system. They also help you utilize nutrients like vitamin B12.

Before you reach for digestive enzymes and hydrochloric acid — substances that treat symptoms — eliminate sugar. Sugar feeds bad bacteria. Probiotics will have little effect if you’re feeding pathogenic bacteria at the same time as probiotics, and sugar is their primary food.

Next, add fermented foods to your diet. Just about everyone knows that yogurt and kefir (a liquid form of yogurt) contain probiotics. But not all are equally beneficial. Make sure you avoid eating any yogurt product that contains sugar.
Other foods that contain probiotics include kim chee, sauerkraut, pickles, tempeh, and miso soup. Introduce a variety of probiotics into your foods and supplements. You will most likely need more than one product, because your intestinal tract contains over 400 types of probiotics, and each of us has individual amounts of specific varieties.

I wish I could tell you that one or two particular products were best, but I can’t. You may need different probiotics than someone else. However, I can tell you which ones I’ve found to be particularly effective in hundreds of people I’ve worked with. This can give you a place to start.

Some good quality probiotic supplements I like include Culturelle, Natren’s Healthy Trinity, and Advanced Bionutritionals’ Advanced Probiotic Formula (800-791-3395). Take one or two formulas for two to three months, then switch to other varieties. Continue taking a combination probiotic formula like Advanced Probiotic Formula once a day on an empty stomach for maintenance.

Step 3: Nutrients

We’re all deficient in some nutrients, but these deficiencies vary from person to person … with one exception. Almost everyone who is ever tested is low in vitamin D. Sufficient levels of vitamin D are needed for thyroid function, immunity, energy, psoriasis, cognition, strong bones, and literally dozens of other uses. Although your body makes vitamin D from sunlight, even sailors and surfers who spend a lot of time in the sun are deficient.

See for yourself. Get tested either through your doctor or by using an in-home test from a reputable lab like ZRT Labs (866-600-1636 or [email protected]). Ask for the 25(OH)D test. Through ZRT, this test is $65 including shipping – the lowest price I have found. You can find other labs on the Internet.

The 25-hydroxy vitamin D blood test will give you the most accurate measurement of this nutrient, but the problem lies in the tests’ interpretation. Doctors and medical organizations differ in their recommended amounts. The Vitamin D Council (www.vitamindcouncil.org), a non-profit organization, recommends at least 50 ng/ml. Most traditional doctors say that 30 ng/ml is enough. I disagree. After reading scores of studies on the subject and seeing the positive changes in people with higher levels of this nutrient, I agree with the Vitamin D Council. I take, and recommend taking 5,000 IU of vitamin D3 (the best-absorbed kind) a day (800-791-3395).

Make sure that you include a lot of water and high-fiber foods to help flush out contaminants. A healthful diet with plenty of vegetable and fruits will both keep you from reabsorbing toxins and provide you with some of the nutrients you need to build a healthy terrain.

December, with its holidays and celebrations, may not be the ideal time to start this program. But it could be the best time to plan your own three-step program you can begin the first week in January. Use this time to stock up on probiotics and make a list of the foods you want to emphasize – as well as those you’ll want to reduce or eliminate.

Who Can You Trust If Not the FDA?

If only a few people died after taking normal doses of an herb, there would be an outcry from the medical community to ban that substance. Even one hospitalization or death is too many. If there were several similar reports, the herb would most likely be pulled from stores. But when severe, and sometimes fatal, skin reactions occurred after taking a popular drug, the news of this reaction was buried. All the FDA did was to give pharmaceutical companies a slap on the wrist and tell them to modify their labels. Clearly, you can’t depend on the FDA to protect you.

Recently, three published reports linked acetaminophen (Tylenol) to severe rashes and blistering. In most of these reported cases, acetaminophen was the only drug these people took. In addition, after they took acetaminophen a second time, they reacted to it again. And I’m not talking about massive doses, either. They were given normal doses of one of the most popular and often-prescribed drugs for fevers and pain. The FDA was unable — or unwilling — to say that the drug caused these severe reactions and, in some cases, deaths. But since it was the only drug they took, it’s clear that Tylenol caused their symptoms.

That’s not all.

It would be bad enough if these were the only incidents. They’re not. Prior to the three published reports, the FDA received notification of more than 100 other cases of serious skin problems attributed to acetaminophen. Twelve of the people in these reports died.

There have been warnings for years about the connection between acetaminophen and liver toxicity, yet you can still buy it in over-the-counter painkillers as well as in prescription drugs. Now we’re hearing about a rare reaction that has already killed over a dozen people and hospitalized many more.

So what is the FDA going to do now? They’ve directed pharmaceutical companies to print a warning on their labels about possible skin reactions.

The FDA won’t say that acetaminophen actually caused any of these acute symptoms — and death in some cases. But remember, it was the only drug these people took before getting sick.

What can you do to protect yourself from the side effects of drugs like Tylenol? Be proactive. When-ever your doctor gives you a new prescription, or you reach for a drug you think of as being safe, ask your pharmacist for a list of possible side effects. If you experience any of these side effects, stop taking the drug immediately and seek medical attention. Insist that your pharmacist report your reaction to the FDA.

Use all drugs with caution and take only what you need. Just because a drug can be sold without a prescription doesn’t mean it’s safe. You might even consider using herbs, homeopathics, and essential oils. They have a history of safety. And they often work just as well as the drugs.

Gever, John. “FDA warns of fatal skin reactions with acetaminophen,” MedPage Today, August 1, 2013.

NUTRITION DETECTIVE

Should You Avoid These Foods and Supplements If You’re Taking Chemotherapy?

For years, oncologists have been telling their patients to avoid taking antioxidant supplements if they’re taking chemotherapy. They said that antioxidants interfere with chemo drugs. Yet, these same supplements, and the foods high in their active ingredients, are protective against cancer. What should a cancer patient do? Take antioxidants or avoid them?

The answer may be to do both, but not at the same time.

New studies conducted at the University of Illinois have found two antioxidants that kill aggressive human pancreatic cells. But when you take them is key. This may explain why sometimes they’re helpful and sometimes they’re harmful.

These antioxidants, apigenin and luteolin, are in celery, artichokes, and Mexican oregano. They destroy pancreatic cancer cells by inhibiting an important enzyme.
When you take them at the same time, flavonoids and chemotherapy drugs compete with one another, canceling out each other’s beneficial qualities. But when scientists pre-treated the cancer cells with flavonoids for 24 hours and then applied a chemo drug afterward for 36 hours — instead of giving them simultaneously — the percentage of cells that they killed went from 8.4%
to 43.8%!

Researchers frequently use higher amounts of nutrients in their studies than can be found in fruits and vegetables. That’s because pharmaceutical companies, that often fund their studies, are looking for ways to come out with new patentable drugs. But foods contain numerous co-factors that can boost their effectiveness beyond a single nutrient, like flavonoids. So add Mexican oregano, celery, and artichokes to your diet. Just be sure your artichokes are organic. Most are grown with high amounts of pesticides.

Meanwhile, you may want to avoid taking antioxidants on the days you get chemotherapy, and resume them a day or two afterward.

LETTERS

Q: My mother has had several strokes over the past six months, which left her with mild dementia. Do you know of any non-toxic, natural therapy that might help her? We’d be happy to find something that keeps her dementia from getting worse. And we’d be ecstatic to find something that would restore some of her memory. Do you know of anything that might help her? — P.G., Venice, CA

A: A recent Chinese study found that a common plant-based compound that I’ve written about before improved learning and memory in laboratory animals. We know that this compound is a powerful antioxidant and anti-inflammatory, and it can help with Parkinson’s disease and Alzheimer’s disease.

The compound is resveratrol. And this new study indicates that it improves cognition and reduces oxidative stress in animals with vascular dementia. What this means is that your mother’s memory may possibly improve with resveratrol.
In case you’re not familiar with vascular dementia, it refers to the decline in mental abilities caused by a series of strokes. This occurs when a blockage interrupts the blood flow to the brain. Every time the person has a stroke, memory and mental functions get a little worse. This is why we see a gradual decline in some people with dementia.

If your mother has suffered a stroke, or a series of strokes, she can safely take a supplement like Advanced Resveratrol Formula (800-791-3395). It contains resveratrol from three plant sources along with a hefty amount of bioflavonoids to help reduce any inflammation.

Neural Regeneration Research, vol 8, no 22, 2013.

Q: You are very general on the types of chemicals removed by PectaSol Detox Formula. I worked in a hospital chemistry lab for 30-plus years with a lot of unusual exposure. Now I have elevated chromium and cobalt from a metal on metal hip. Will this work? — L.M., email

A: I’m very general because there are no studies that specifically address PectaSol’s action on cobalt and chromium. We do know that there is a table of binding affinities derived from several authors for pectins, which shows cobalt fairly high to mid-range. In this table, chromium was low.

The pectin will preferentially take out the higher affinity elements before it will start working on the others. So lead, etc. will be the first to chelate out of the body. And chromium, which is an essential nutrient, may well be one of the last.
Since the binding affinity for cobalt is good, using PectaSol for six months or more is certainly worth a try. Especially since you’ve been exposed to other contaminants over the years.

This includes your metal on metal hip replacement, which, over time, can cause bits of titanium to flake off. The titanium debris from artificial joints can lead to painful inflammation.

It may take a while to see any benefit, but due to your history, I think it would be worth trying.