Transcriptions:

Rob: What the topic for today Kev?

Dr. Kevin: I wanted to talk about dementia and Alzheimer’s disease and what we can do to prevent and to some extent treat these diseases.

Rob: What’s the difference between the two?

Dr. Kevin: Dementia is an umbrella term for a set of symptoms including impaired thinking, personality changes, impaired reasoning and defective memory. It is a term that is often associated with the cognitive decline of aging. Common causes of dementia are Alzheimer’s disease, Huntington’s disease, Parkinson’s Disease, Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease and vascular problems in the brain.  Alzheimer’s disease is a severe form of dementia that currently affects an estimated 5.8 million North Americans. Approximately 8.5 million new cases of dementia are identified every year in NA.  One in nine seniors over the age of 65 has Alzheimer’s, and the disease is now thought to be the third leading cause of death in North America accounting for over 550,000 deaths annually, right behind heart disease and cancer. About 2/3 of all Alzheimer’s patients are women.

Rob: Do we know what happens to a person’s brain that has this disease?

Dr. Kevin: Two abnormal structures called plaques and tangles are prime suspects in damaging and killing the nerve cells of the brain.

Plaques are deposits of a protein fragment called beta-amyloid that build-up in the spaces between nerve cells.

Tangles are twisted fibers of another protein called tau that builds up inside cells. Though most people develop some plaques and tangles as they age, those with Alzheimer’s tend to develop far more. They also tend to develop them in a predictable pattern, beginning in areas important for memory before spreading to other regions.

Rob: So what can be done by those of us who don’t have dementia to keep it that way?

Dr. Kevin: Well Rob there is a lot of evidence out there to show that lifestyle is a big player in this disease process. Recent research indicates that tobacco use may play a significant role in Alzheimer’s disease. In 2014, the World Health Organization (WHO) published a report entitled “Tobacco Use & Dementia,” based on a comprehensive scientific review of tobacco use, exposure to secondhand smoke, and incidence rates for all types of dementia, including Alzheimer’s.

The report found that smokers have a 45 percent higher risk of developing dementia than non-smokers, and concluded that 14 percent of all Alzheimer’s cases worldwide may potentially be attributed to smoking.

These risks hold true across nearly every income level and geographic boundary—including US, China, India, and Latin America. Smokers with dementia also die earlier than non-smokers with dementia.

A growing body of research suggests there’s a powerful connection between your diet and your risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease, via similar pathways that cause type 2 diabetes.

Contrary to popular belief, your brain does not require glucose, and actually functions better burning alternative fuels, especially ketones, which your body makes in response to digesting healthy fats.

According to some experts, such as Dr. Ron Rosedale, Alzheimer’s and other brain disorders may in large part be caused by the constant burning of glucose for fuel by your brain.

Rob: Yea I recently heard something about Alzheimer’s being nicknamed Type 3 diabetes – what’s the connection with diabetes?

Dr. Kevin: Yes it appears that there is a very important connection between our old friend sugar and dementia and specifically Alzheimer’s.  Alzheimer’s disease was dubbed “type 3 diabetes” in 2005 when researchers discovered that in addition to your pancreas, your brain also produces insulin, and this brain insulin is necessary for the survival of brain cells.

In your brain, insulin helps with neuron glucose-uptake and the regulation of neurotransmitters, such as acetylcholine, which are crucial for memory and learning. This is why reducing the level of insulin in your brain impairs your cognition.

Research has also shown that type 2 diabetics lose more brain volume with age than expected—particularly gray matter. This kind of brain atrophy is yet another contributing factor for dementia.

Studies have found that people with lower levels of insulin and insulin receptors in their brain often have Alzheimer’s disease. But according to recent research published in the journal Neurology, sugar and other carbohydrates can disrupt your brain function even if you’re not diabetic or have any signs of dementia.

To test their theory, they evaluated short- and long-term glucose markers in 141 healthy, non-diabetic, non-demented seniors. Memory tests and brain imaging were administered to assess their brain function and the actual structure of their hippocampus (the hippocampus is involved with the formation, organization, and storage of memories.). Some of this research was summarized in Scientific American and states:

“Higher levels on both glucose measures were associated with worse memory, as well as a smaller hippocampus and compromised hippocampal structure.

The researchers also found that the structural changes partially accounted for the statistical link between glucose and memory. These results ‘provide further evidence that glucose might directly contribute to hippocampal atrophy.”

The findings suggest that even if you’re not diabetic or insulin resistant (and about 80 percent of Americans fall into the latter category), sugar consumption can still disrupt your memory.

Long-term, it can contribute to the shrinking of your hippocampus, which is a hallmark symptom of Alzheimer’s disease.

The authors of the study suggest that “strategies aimed at lowering glucose levels even in the normal range may beneficially influence cognition in the older population.”

Neurologist Dr. David Perlmutter, MD insists that being very strict in limiting your consumption of sugar and non-vegetable carbs is one of THE most important steps you can take to prevent Alzheimer’s disease for this very reason.

He cites research from the Mayo Clinic, which found that diets rich in carbohydrates are associated with an 89 percent increased risk for dementia. Meanwhile, high-fat diets are associated with a 44 percent reduced risk.

Rob: Where does exercise come in to the formula for preventing Alzheimer’s and dementia?

Dr. Kevin: Exercise encourages your brain to work at optimum capacity by stimulating nerve cells to multiply, strengthening their interconnections, and protecting them from damage. During exercise nerve cells release proteins known as neurotrophic factors. One in particular, called brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), triggers numerous other chemicals that promote neural health, and directly benefits cognitive functions, including learning.

A 2010 study on primates published in Neuroscience also revealed that regular exercise not only improved blood flow to the brain, but also helped the monkeys learn new tasks twice as quickly as non-exercising monkeys. This is a benefit the researchers believe would hold true for people as well.10

In a separate one year-long study, individuals who engaged in exercise were actually growing and expanding the brain’s memory center 1 percent to 2 percent per year, where typically that center would have continued to decline in size. To get the most out of your workouts, I recommend a comprehensive program that includes high-intensity interval exercise, strength training, stretching, and core work, along with regular intermittent movement.

Rob: How about natural ways or suggestions to treat the disease if someone suspects they‘re heading down that path?

Dr. Kevin: If you want to boost your memory, drink more high-quality decaf green tea. In a study of 12 healthy volunteers, those who received a beverage containing 27.5 grams of green tea extract showed increased connectivity between the parietal and frontal cortex of the brain compared to those who drank a non-green tea beverage.9

The increased activity was correlated with improved performance on working memory tasks, and the researchers believe the results suggest green tea may be useful for treating cognitive impairments, including dementia.

B vitamins including vitamin B12 may slow brain shrinkage by as much as seven-fold in brain regions specifically known to be most impacted by Alzheimer’s disease. In one study, participants taking high doses of folic acid and vitamins B6 and B12 had blood levels of homocysteine that were lowered as was the associated brain shrinkage – by up to 90 percent. The researchers noted:11

“…B vitamins lower homocysteine, which directly leads to a decrease in GM [gray matter] atrophy, thereby slowing cognitive decline. Our results show that B-vitamin supplementation can slow the atrophy of specific brain regions that are a key component of the AD [Alzheimer’s disease] process and that are associated with cognitive decline.”

This makes a strong case for ensuring your diet includes plenty of healthful B-vitamin sources, such as meat, poultry, eggs, and wild-caught fish. Leafy green vegetables, beans, and peas also provide some B vitamins, but if you eat an all vegetarian or vegan diet, vitamin B12 is one of the nutrients your body is most likely deficient in. Also, when you get older, the lining of your stomach gradually may lose its ability to produce hydrochloric acid and intrinsic factor, two substances that are essential in releasing vitamin B12 from your food and absorbing B12 through your small intestine. If you’re over 50, you may not be absorbing vitamin B12 at an optimal level and may be at risk of deficiency.

Because vitamin B12 is the largest vitamin molecule known, it is not easily absorbed from most oral supplements. Injections or a sublingual (under your tongue) tablet or spray work far better, as they allow the large B12 molecule to be absorbed directly into your bloodstream.

Rob: What about fish oils I hear they are great for brain function?

Dr. Kevin: Yes a study called MIDAS (Memory Improvement with DHA) — enrolled older adults with normal age-related cognitive decline. Those who took 900 milligrams of DHA daily scored somewhat better on a computerized memory test than those receiving the placebo.

Also coconut oil is being used to treat dementia. The active ingredient resides with caprylic acid, a fatty acid found in processed coconut oil. The human body breaks down caprylic acid into ketone bodies, a protein derived from caprylic acid. A similar protein is used in a medicine called Ketasyn. Research found that individuals who took Ketasyn had better memory performance and less cognitive decline. This research is still undergoing clinical trials. Meanwhile, some individuals are using coconut oil as a less expensive alternative to the medicines that contain Ketasyn.

The post 018 – Dementia Alzheimers Disease appeared first on Your Best You Today.

Transcriptions:

Rob: Myth #1: It is best to eat many, small meals throughout the day.

Studies clearly disagree with this. Eating 2-3 meals per day has the exact same effect on total calories burned as eating 5-6 (or more) smaller meals (British Journal of Nutrition 1997, 2010).

Eating frequently may have benefits for some people (like preventing excessive hunger), but it is incorrect to believe that this affects the amount of calories we burn.

There are even studies showing that eating too often can be harmful… a new study came out recently showing that more frequent meals dramatically increased liver and abdominal fat. (Hepatology May 2014).

Eating frequently throughout the day tends to perpetuate blood sugar and insulin dysregulation thereby causing the individual to move closer towards Type II diabetes.

Rob: And we were talking earlier on how frequent meals may actually cause weight gain….

Dr. Kevin: That’s right Rob new research (Cell Metabolism Dec. 2014) done on rats showed that those that ate at all hours, frequently throughout the day became obese and metabolically unwell compared to rats that ate the same amount of calories but limited the eating to a 12 hour period daily. Those rats maintained a lean body mass. This is what I have found in my practice….

Rob: Myth #2: Eggs should be avoided because they are high in cholesterol, which promotes heart disease.

Dr. Kevin: We’ve been advised to cut back on whole eggs because the yolks are high in cholesterol. However, cholesterol in the diet has remarkably little effect on cholesterol in the blood, at least for the majority of people.

Studies have shown that eggs raise the “good” cholesterol and don’t raise risk of heart disease (Clinical Nutrition in Metabolic Care Jan. 2006). An excerpt from this study states… ”We need to acknowledge that diverse healthy populations experience no risk in developing coronary heart disease by increasing their intake of cholesterol but, in contrast, they may have multiple beneficial effects by the inclusion of eggs in their regular diet”.

One review of 17 studies with a total of 263,938 participants showed that eating eggs had no effect on the risk of heart disease or stroke. In addition, people with higher egg consumption had a 25% lower risk of developing hemorrhagic stroke.

Whole eggs really are among the most nutritious foods on the planet and almost all the nutrients are found in the yolks.

Telling people to throw the yolks away is outrageous. Eggs are also satiating….

Rob: Myth #3 Salt causes high blood pressure and should be avoided.

Rob: But salt can make you puffy and cause you to retain fluid can’t it?

Rob: I noticed you left bananas out of that list – they are high in potassium aren’t they?

Dr. Kevin: You’re right Rob but they are generally an unhealthy fruit to eat so that’s why I left them out.

Rob: Myth #4: Eating Fat Makes You Fat… so if You Want to Lose Weight, You Need to Eat Less Fat

Fat is the tissue that is under our skin, making us look soft and puffy if we have too much of it. Therefore it seems logical that eating fat would give us even more of it. However, this depends entirely on the context. Diets that are high in fat AND carbs can make you fat, but it’s not because of the fat.

In fact, diets that are high in fat (but low in carbs) consistently lead to more weight loss than low-fat diets… even when the low-fat groups restrict calories. (New England Journal of Medicine May 2003) Severely obese subjects with a high prevalence of diabetes or the metabolic syndrome lost more weight during six months on a carbohydrate-restricted diet than on a calorie- and fat-restricted diet, with a relative improvement in insulin sensitivity and triglyceride levels, even after adjustment for the amount of weight lost. Another study published in Obesity Reviews (12 Aug. 2008) showed the same results and also indicated that BP was also reduced in the carbohydrate reduced group.

Rob: Fat has more calories than protein and carbohydrates so doesn’t that mean that fats will increase your total caloric intake and therefore you will have to exercise more after eating equal amounts of fats versus carbohydrates?

Dr. Kevin: Technically that is true Rob – if you are young and have no blood sugar issues this is probably true however being that over half of the North American population has blood sugar dysregulation in some form – especially as we age – then this statement has to be revamped. This is where we see that the old adage “a calorie is a calorie is a calorie” is just not true.  And the reason all comes down to insulin – insulin is elevated in the body by sugars, starches and caffeine.  When insulin is elevated it promotes fat deposition. Fat and protein have virtually no effect on raising insulin levels unless eaten in very large quantities frequently.  Fat tends to be very satiating so we tend to feel full faster we eating fats.

Rob: Myth #5: The only people who should eat gluten-free are those with celiac disease, which is only about 1% of the population

Dr. Kevin: It is often claimed that no one benefits from a gluten-free diet except patients with celiac disease. This is the most severe form of gluten intolerance, affecting around 1% of North Americans

However another condition called gluten sensitivity is much more common and is said to affect about 6-8% of people. Studies have also shown that gluten-free diets can reduce symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome (Am. J of Gastroenterology Mar. 2011), schizophrenia (British Journal of Psychiatry 1969), autism (Nutritional Neuroscience Sept. 2003) and epilepsy (European Journal of Epilepsy, Feb. 1998).

However… people should eat foods that are naturally gluten free (like vegetables, fruits nuts, seeds and meats), not gluten-free “products.” Gluten-free junk food is still junk food.

Some new studies suggest that it may be other compounds in wheat that cause some of the digestive problems, not the gluten itself. Many people just feel better on a gluten or grain free diet so try it and see how you feel!

The post 017 – 5 Health Myths appeared first on Your Best You Today.

Transcriptions:

Dr. Kevin: Today I wanted to answer some questions posed by some of our listeners

Rob: Amy S. from Minneapolis, Minnesota asks “What are your thoughts on fluoridation of drinking water? Is it safe – my main concern being the safety of children?”

Dr. Kevin: Water fluoridation is the practice of adding industrial-grade fluoride chemicals to water for the purpose of preventing tooth decay. One of the little known facts about this practice is that the United States fluoridates over 70% of its water supplies, (making over 185 million Americans forced to drink fluoridated water) – it has more people drinking fluoridated water than the rest of the world combined. Most developed nations, including all of Japan and 97% of western Europe, do not fluoridate their water.

In the United States, the Oral Health Division of the Centers Disease Control (CDC) hails fluoridation as one of the “top ten public health achievements of the 20th century.” However, comprehensive data from the World Health Organization reveals that there is no discernible difference in tooth decay between the minority of western nations that fluoridate water, and the majority that do not. In fact, the tooth decay rates in many non-fluoridated countries are now lower than the tooth decay rates in fluoridated ones.

As is becoming increasingly clear, fluoridating water supplies is an outdated, unnecessary, and dangerous relic from a 1950s public health culture that viewed mass distribution of chemicals much differently than scientists do today. The few nations that still fluoridate their water should end the practice. Here’s three reasons why:

Reason #1: Fluoridation Is an Outdated Form of Mass Medication

Unlike all other water treatment processes, fluoridation does not treat the water itself, but the person consuming it. The Food & Drug Administration accepts that fluoride is a drug, not a nutrient, when used to prevent disease. By definition, therefore, fluoridating water is a form of medication. This is why most western European nations have rejected the practice — because, in their view, the public water supply is not an appropriate place to be adding drugs, particularly when fluoride is readily available for individual use in the form of toothpaste.

Reason #2: Fluoridation Is Unnecessary and Ineffective

The most obvious reason to end fluoridation is that it is now known that fluoride’s main benefit comes from topical contact with the teeth, not from ingestion. Even the CDC’s Oral Health Division now acknowledges this. There is simply no need, therefore, to swallow fluoride, whether in the water, toothpaste, or any other form. Also despite early claims that fluoridated water would reduce cavities by 65%, modern large-scale studies show no consistent or meaningful difference in the cavity rates of fluoridated and non-fluoridated areas.

Reason #3: Fluoridation Is Not a Safe Practice

The most important reason to end fluoridation is that it is simply not a safe practice, particularly for those who have health conditions that render them vulnerable to fluoride’s toxic effects.

First, there is no dispute that fluoridation is causing millions of children to develop dental fluorosis, a discoloration of the teeth that is caused by excessive fluoride intake. Scientists from the Centers for Disease Control have even acknowledged that fluoridation is causing “cosmetically objectionable” fluorosis on children’s front teeth–an effect that can cause children embarrassment and anxiety at an age when physical appearance is the single most important predictor of self-esteem.

Second, it is known that fluoridated water caused severe bone disease in dialysis patients up until the late 1970s (prior to dialysis units filtering fluoride). While dialysis units now filter out the fluoride, research shows that current fluoride exposures are still resulting in dangerously high bone fluoride levels in dialysis patients and patients with other advanced forms of kidney disease. It is unethical to compromise the health of some members in a population to obtain a purported benefit for another — particularly in the absence of these vulnerable members’ knowing consent.

And, finally, a growing body of evidence reasonably indicates that fluoridated water, in addition to other sources of daily fluoride exposure, can cause or contribute to a range of serious effects, including arthritis, damage to the developing brain, reduced thyroid function, and possibly osteosarcoma (bone cancer) in adolescent males.

In recent years, communities throughout the United States and Canada have started to reassess the conventional wisdom of fluoridating their water.  Many of these communities, including over 50 since 2010, are reaching the obvious conclusion: when stripped of its endorsements, well-meaning intentions, and PR-praise, fluoridation simply makes no sense.

Europe reached this conclusion a long time ago. It is now time for the U.S., Canada and other English-speaking nations to follow suit.

Also worthy of note is the news that the Ministry of Health in Israel has recently banned fluoride in the drinking water as has Portland, Oregon. Connecticut, South Carolina, and Minnesota are also looking at lifting mandatory fluoridation rulings

Rob: Is there anything our listeners can do if they live in communities that fluoridate their drinking water?

Dr. Kevin: Yes there is Rob. Now, a new study published in Pharmacognosy Magazine titled, “Curcumin attenuates neurotoxicity induced by fluoride: An in vivo evidence,” adds experimental support to the suspicion that fluoride is indeed a brain-damaging substance, also revealing that a natural spice-derived protective agent against the various health effects associated with this compound is available.

To physically remove fluoride from your drinking water you can use distillation, reverse osmosis or an activated alumina defluoridation filter.

Dr. Kevin: What else do you have there Rob?

Rob: Joel V. from Perth, Australia asks “You mention a lot about food in your podcasts but really don’t say much about exercise.  Where does exercise fit into your suggestions for total health?”

Dr. Kevin: Exercise is imperative for maximum health – but I am typically helping people treat chronic disease (for a more comprehensive answer to this question listen to the podcast).

Dr. Kevin: What’s next Rob?

Rob: This from Rem L. from Victoria, British Columbia, Canada – “My question is about my old nemesis, sugar. Do you have some suggestions for getting off sugar? It’s been really hard to get off sugar and any help would be appreciated.”

Dr. Kevin: Because sugar has an indirect effect on lowering serotonin levels and lower serotonin levels provoke sugar cravings it makes sense that repeated sugar use will cause increased sugar cravings. Conversely when one eliminates sugar from their diet it results in an elevation of serotonin levels which in turn decreases sugar cravings (for a more comprehensive answer to this question listen to the podcast).

Dr. Kevin: What’s the next question Rob?

Rob: Amanda L. from Omaha, Nebraska asks “A friend recently mentioned that antibacterial hand cleaners are not safe. Our family uses them a lot so I am concerned”

Dr. Kevin: What Amanda is speaking about I think is the agent triclosan an antibacterial agent added to many hand cleaners but also to; topical acne medications, bodywashes, cosmetics, kitchenware, clothing and deodorants and as of the recording of this podcast it is added to Colgate Total toothpaste, Breeze Daily Mouthwash; Reach Antibacterial Toothbrushes. Triclosan is a potent antibacterial and antifungal agent otherwise known as 5-chloro-2-(2,4-dichlorophenoxy)phenol.  One might think that it’s a great idea to use an antibacterial/ antifungal agent in soaps, toothpaste and other personal hygiene products but it is not and here’s why.

First of all when we constantly KILL microorganisms we immediately bring into play the issue of microbial resistance – a similar situation now exists with the overuse of antibiotics. Soap just washes microorganisms off of our skin – it doesn’t kill them so no resistance.

Secondly triclosan has been shown to be an endocrine disruptor. A study published in the journal Toxicological Sciences showed a marked reduction in T3 and T4 levels in pubescent male rats.  Other studies have shown that triclosan increases estrogen levels and decreases testosterone levels

Thirdly triclosan can react with the free chlorine in tap water to produce lesser amounts of other compounds, such as 2,4-dichlorophenol. Some of these intermediates convert into dioxins upon exposure to UV radiation (from the sun or other sources). Although only small amounts of dioxins are produced, some dioxins are extremely toxic and are very potent carcinogens.

Fourthly Triclosan’s safety is under review by the FDA and Health Canada.

Three years ago, Colgate-Palmolive responded to safety concerns brought forth by consumer groups by removing triclosan from its soap products. But the company left it in its best-selling toothpaste – WTF?

The Mayo Clinic website says – triclosan is an ingredient added to certain soaps, cosmetics, clothing, cookware, furniture and toys to reduce or prevent bacterial contamination. Recent studies, however, have raised questions about whether triclosan might be hazardous to human health.

Research has shown that triclosan:

When you use a product containing triclosan, you can absorb a small amount through your skin or mouth. A 2008 study, which was designed to assess exposure to triclosan in a representative sample of U.S. children and adults, found triclosan in the urine of nearly 75 percent of those tested.

Triclosan isn’t an essential ingredient in many products.

There currently isn’t enough evidence to recommend avoiding use of products that contain triclosan – WTF?

The post 016 – Q and A appeared first on Your Best You Today.

Transcription:

Rob: So what are we talking about tonight?

Dr. Kevin: I want to talk about a disease that most North Americans do not know that they have and yet it is a potential cause of the following diseases; cancer, heart disease, stroke, diabetes, kidney stones, gout, obesity, depression, anxiety, sugar/carb cravings, high blood pressure, dyslipidemia, hypoglycemia, inflammation, insomnia and PCOS to name a few.

Based on studies in the United States in 2012 more than 50% of U.S. adults aged 20 years or older have this disease. This condition occurs in more than 50 percent of obese children, according to a 2006 study published in the Journal of Diabetes Care. Current studies suggest that 50% to 70% of women with PCOS have this disease. Anecdotally as far as patients that I have seen over the last 20 years I believe these percentages are low……. and the vast majority of North Americans who have this disease have never heard of it.

Rob: So what is this little known disease?

Dr. Kevin: It’s called insulin resistance or hyperinsulinemia

Rob: So this means that people can become resistant to insulin – how so?

Dr. Kevin: To better understand insulin resistance, let’s review some basic biochemistry. Insulin is a hormone produced by the islet cells of the pancreas. When blood sugar rises after food is eaten, the pancreas pumps out insulin, whose job is to shuttle glucose into cells, where glucose is used for energy or stored as glycogen.

To do its job, insulin must fit like a key into receptors lining the outside of the cell.  Each cell contains 20,000 or more insulin receptors. Once inserted in the cell’s receptors, insulin activates an enzyme in the receptors called tyrosine kinase. This triggers a series of events that allows glucose to enter the cell. With insulin resistance, the cells “resist” this process, so instead of entering the cell, glucose builds up in the blood. The pancreas responds by pumping out higher than normal levels of insulin in an attempt to reduce blood glucose to normal levels.

Rob: How does one get this disease?

Dr. Kevin: Genetics plays a small role in the disease but the most common cause can be attributed to lifestyle factors especially poor diet, lack of exercise and smoking. Sugar, carbs, soda, juice, processed food

Rob: I know we have touched on insulin in our episodes on sugar.  Remind us again why elevated levels of insulin are so harmful to our health

Dr. Kevin: Elevated insulin levels can cause; inflammation which can show itself in a blood test called C – reactive protein. Inflammation can lead to damaged blood vessels, fat deposition, blood vessel constriction causing hypertension also too much insulin causes sodium retention which also can be linked to hypertension. Fluid retention can also cause damaged blood vessels, arterial plaque formation.  High levels of insulin can promote serotonin suppression which can result in anxiety, depression, sleep disturbance, obsessive/compulsive thoughts and behaviours, negative thinking, repetitive thoughts, brain fog, addictive behaviour, low energy, irritability, craving carbohydrates and increased appetite!! So if we are insulin resistant we can crave the very foods that cause a blood sugar spike which when we eat them promotes elevated insulin which in turn pushes us back through the viscous cycle with ongoing craving. Insulin resistance also causes hypoglycemia (with this also comes increased blood glucose = link to cancers, insulin also increases the growth of malignant cells), increased triglycerides and higher levels of bad cholesterol (LDL), premature aging (liver spots and skin tags).  High insulin levels are also linked to an inability of the kidneys to clear uric acid = kidney stones and gout

Rob: How do we find out if we have it?

Dr. Kevin: There is a test called the glucose-insulin tolerance test

Rob: If our listeners don’t have access to this test are there other signs and symptoms that one should be watching out for?

Dr. Kevin: Abdominal weight gain, difficulty losing weight despite regular exercise, energy dip in the afternoon, tired after eating, cravings for sweets and or carbs, feeling hungry or having the desire to eat despite having just eaten, feeling hungry throughout the day, liver spots and/or skin tags, high blood pressure that can be transient, cold hands, feet, buttocks and/or nose, low serotonin symptoms, PCOS (is the most common cause of infertility in women with symptoms of acne, hirsutism, increased androgens, pelvic pain, anxiety and depression) and endometriosis.

Rob: If you have insulin resistance doesn’t it increase your chances of getting type 2 diabetes?

Dr. Kevin: Current stats show that 11 % of North American adults currently have type 2 diabetes and 35% have pre-diabetes.  In both diseases insulin resistance is the precursor. So yes having IR dramatically increases ones chances of type 2 diabetes

Rob: So how can we turn this disease around – it sounds like lifestyle is the big player here?

Dr. Kevin: Reference episode 11

Rob: That’s great. I’d like to thank you for listening to “Your Best You Today.” Check back soon for another episode. If you have any comments or questions please leave them below.

If you like this podcast please let your friends know about it too. Thanks a lot. You’re listening to Your Best You Today.

The post 014 – Insulin Resistance appeared first on Your Best You Today.

Transcriptions:

Dr. Kevin: Vitamins and minerals are substances that your body cannot manufacture and must be received into the body in one form or another. If you eat an excellent diet on a daily basis and you live a relatively stress free existence and you avoid pollutants in your environment as well as no alcohol and caffeine you probably do not need to supplement your diet with vitamins and minerals

Rob: Why do you say stress free existence?

Dr. Kevin: Stress hormones such as cortisol actually deplete the body of many B vitamins, as well as vitamins C and A and magnesium and zinc which also get used up during stress responses such as the tensing of muscles and the rise of blood pressure

Rob: OK so there has been a fair bit of press recently stating that multivitamins are a waste of time and money and may even be harmful

Dr. Kevin: According to researchers at the Kaiser Permanente Center for Health Research, vitamin supplements are probably useless when it comes to preventing heart disease and/or cancer.

NBC specifically said that a ‘very extensive look at the studies that have been done show it may be a waste of time when it comes to preventing the diseases most likely to kill you.

This ‘very extensive look’ encompassed 26 preselected studies.

This preselection was done by two investigators who “independently selected and reviewed fair and good quality trials for benefit and fair and good quality trials and observational studies for harms.”

Out of the more than 12,760 study abstracts screened, a total of 26 studies were selected for inclusion in their analysis. They already had an agenda

Jaakko Mursu, PhD; Kim Robien, PhD; Lisa J. Harnack, DrPH, MPH; Kyong Park, PhD; David R. Jacobs, PhD

Background Although dietary supplements are commonly taken to prevent chronic disease, the long-term health consequences of many compounds are unknown.

Methods We assessed the use of vitamin and mineral supplements in relation to total mortality in 38 772 older women in the Iowa Women’s Health Study; mean age was 61.6 years at baseline in 1986. Supplement use was self-reported in 1986, 1997, and 2004. Through December 31, 2008, a total of 15 594 deaths (40.2%) were identified through the State Health Registry of Iowa and the National Death Index.

Results In multivariable adjusted proportional hazards regression models, the use of multivitamins (hazard ratio, 1.06; 95% CI, 1.02-1.10; absolute risk increase, 2.4%), vitamin B6 (1.10; 1.01-1.21; 4.1%), folic acid (1.15; 1.00-1.32; 5.9%), iron (1.10; 1.03-1.17; 3.9%), magnesium (1.08; 1.01-1.15; 3.6%), zinc (1.08; 1.01-1.15; 3.0%), and copper (1.45; 1.20-1.75; 18.0%) were associated with increased risk of total mortality when compared with corresponding nonuse. Use of calcium was inversely related (hazard ratio, 0.91; 95% confidence interval, 0.88-0.94; absolute risk reduction, 3.8%). Findings for iron and calcium were replicated in separate, shorter-term analyses (10-year, 6-year, and 4-year follow-up), each with approximately 15% of the original participants having died, starting in 1986, 1997, and 2004.

Conclusions In older women, several commonly used dietary vitamin and mineral supplements may be associated with increased total mortality risk; this association is strongest with supplemental iron. In contrast to the findings of many studies, calcium is associated with decreased risk.

The randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled experimental design has prevailed as the “gold standard” in biomedical research, intends to control potential bias in patient/group assignment, investigator allegiance, patient expectations, and nonspecific therapeutic effects – not exactly what these studies embraced.

Rob: So it sounds like you recommend the use of multivitamins for most people

Dr. Kevin: While I strongly recommend multivitamin supplements, as I personally take one daily, I most certainly do not support using supplements as a way to justify poor food choices.

Rob: As a population do we get enough vitamins and minerals from our food?

Dr. Kevin: The Estimated Average Requirement (EAR) has been established, representing the amount of a nutrient that would meet the actual requirement for half of the people in a given population group. The RDA (Recommended Dietary Allowance) is derived by adding two standard deviations to the EAR. (In many cases, the standard deviations are not known with certainty and are based on estimates.) Thus, the RDA is always higher than the EAR, and the RDA remains the desirable target for individual nutrient intake

These data are summarized in the USDA (US Dept Of Agriculture) report What We Eat in America. (Moshfegh, Goldman, et al., 2005)

(EAR) Estimated Average Requirement

(RDA) Recommended Dietary Allowance

A study published in the Archives of Internal Medicine 2009 showed that between 1988 and 1994, 45 percent of 18,883 people (who were examined as part of the federal government’s National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey) had 30 nanograms per milliliter or more of vitamin D, the blood level a growing number of doctors consider sufficient for overall health; a decade later, just 23 percent of 13,369 of those surveyed had at least that amount.

The slide was particularly striking among African Americans: just 3 percent of 3,149 blacks sampled in 2004 were found to have the recommended levels compared with 12 percent of 5,362 sampled two decades ago.

Rob: Vitamin D? What’s up with that – we get it from the sun – why are so many people deficient?

Dr. Kevin: The one word answer is sunscreen……..and everyone is told to stay out of the sun.

Rob: So it sounds like most of us are depleted in minerals and vitamins

Dr. Kevin: We are and the scary part is that as people age they become more depleted at a time when they need their vitamins and minerals even more

Rob: So are there any studies that show efficacy for vitamins?

Studies showing the Efficacy of Multivitamins/vitamins

Benefits of Vitamin D3

Rob: So it makes sense based on this information that most of us should take vitamins but are they safe….is there a downside?

Dr. Kevin: Well……..

Safety of Supplements

• 1,080 dietary supplement AERs (adverse effect reports) were reported to FDA4

Dr. Kevin: When you do the math, there were 488 times as many adverse events reported from prescription drugs as from dietary supplements. In all, the number of AERs is miniscule compared to the hundreds of millions of supplement servings consumed each year.22 In fact, according to a 2007 National Health Interview Survey,23 more than half of American adults (157 million individuals) take nutritional supplements. Further compare that to the statistic that about the same number of people—just over half of all Americans—take two or more prescription drugs,24 and the difference in safety between supplements and drugs becomes even clearer. Other data further supports the remarkable safety record of dietary supplements. For example:

Rob: And what about the quality of our food?

Dr. Kevin: It’s processed, GMO – it has preservatives, dyes, chemicals, artificial flavours, decreased nutrients in our soils because of over farming and decreased crop rotation. Common sense tells us that based on the facts most of us should be taking at the very least a good quality multivitamin every day, some vitamin C – at least 1000 mg daily, and most of us should take some vitamin D3 at least 2000 IUs per day!

Rob: That’s great. I’d like to thank you for listening to “Your Best You Today.” Check back soon for another episode. If you have any comments or questions please leave them below.

The post 013 – Multivitamins appeared first on Your Best You Today.

Transcription:

Rob Heppell:  Welcome to the “Your Best You Today Show,” I’m your host Rob Heppel and joined as always with health expert, Dr. Kevin Jackson.

Dr. Kevin is a Naturopathic doctor who’s been helping people find natural solutions to health issues for over 25 years. With the Your Best You Today online radio show, we’re going to dive into the common health issues and explore natural solutions to them. Welcome back, Dr. Kevin.

Dr. Kevin Jackson:  Hey, Rob. Thanks for having me.

Rob:  Hey, what are we going to be tackling today?

Dr. Kevin:  I wanted to talk about artificial sweeteners. We’re surrounded by these substances on a regular basis.

I think it’s great to pass on some of the information that I think most people really don’t know about when it comes to what they’re ingesting when it comes to these artificially sweetened foods. Mainly soft drinks, but many foods nowadays are actually sweetened with these artificial sweeteners.

Rob:  We’re going to be looking at these substitutes that are no calorie and they’re a substitute for sugar, right?

Dr. Kevin:  That’s right. This is really how they were pushed in the very beginning.

Because they have no calories in them and because weight loss is such a huge industry in the world, something that tastes sweet that has no calories, it’s a big deal. That’s why so many people ingest these products.

Rob:  Now, we’ve talked about sugar a.k.a white death on previous programs. We’d assume that these no sugar alternatives are better. But since we’re talking about them, I’m guessing that they’re not. Is that right?

Dr. Kevin:  You’re right on there, Rob. I want to go through the three main or most common artificial sweeteners.

Let’s just look at what they’re all about and why people should consider not ingesting these things. Let’s start with sucralose. Most people are familiar with it. If you’re in the coffee shop, this little yellow packet that says Splenda or sucralose on it. It’s a no calorie substitute along with others that people often put in their coffee or they may see it in their favorite soft drink.

One of the reasons that sucralose came on to the market was that early research showed that sucralose passes right through the gastrointestinal tract undigested. You don’t even absorb it. That was the original thinking behind this product. As a result, everybody jumped on the band wagon, and said, “Here’s a great sweetener that doesn’t get into your bloodstream at all. Therefore, there are no concerns with it.” New research actually shows that it is metabolized. It can cause a number of issues once it is in the bloodstream.

Rob:  What are some of these side effects of sucralose?

Dr. Kevin:  One of the more common ones, Rob, is that it…we all probably heard of good gut flora or the good bacteria that live in our gastrointestinal tract.

It’s so important and it often gets killed off if we take antibiotics. A lot of the yogurt commercials out there right now are promoting their product, because it contains probiotics or the good gut flora.

Sucralose has been shown to alter the amounts and quantities of these beneficial microbes that hangout in our gastrointestinal tract by as much as 50 percent ie. reducing them by as much as 50 percent. The alteration in bacterial counts can be associated with weight gain and obesity. That’s definitely a concern.

The other issue around sucralose is that it limits the absorption of some therapeutic drugs, such as those for cancer and heart disease and makes them less effective.

A lot people bake with Splenda or you can actually buy things that are made with Splenda that have been baked to reduce calories and to take the place of sugar. But it decomposes during baking and that releases potentially toxic compounds called chloropropanols.

The jury is really out on chloropropanols because there’s a lot of thinking behind the fact that these may actually be quite poisonous to us. A real kicker is that sucralose can alter insulin responses and blood sugar levels. It’s also been associated with inflammatory bowel disease. There are some questions that it might even alter genes in some research that’s been done.

The very reason that people are using something like sucralose is that it can hopefully take the place of sugar. We’re already talked about sugar. One of the nasty things or the scary things about sugar is that it increases insulin and increases the insulin response, which causes a host of problems in our body. Now the research is showing that sucralose is actually doing the same thing, along with some other nasty things, too. That’s a bit of a concern.

Rob:  Before we go on to the next topic, I know that my mom, wherever she goes, in her purse she has a bunch of Splenda in there for her coffee.

She carries all these little yellow packages around, or little pink packages. I’m not sure what brand name it is.

I don’t know if we’re going to cover this in the other two topics that you talked about. Is it better for her just to have sugar? To have brown sugar, to have honey? She’s 77, I’m not going to get her off of her coffee or her tea, and she’s going to probably want it sweetened. Out of everything natural or unnatural, what would be the best?

Dr. Kevin:  The best option is stevia. There are many different brands of that. There’s one available in the United States called Truvia, that a lot of people like, because it has a little bit better taste than most Stevia.

Stevia across the board is the safest by far, and it’s very sweet. Some people don’t like the aftertaste. If you can’t take Stevia, probably the next best thing that I would recommend, would be something like xylitol, which is a sugar alcohol.

Some people don’t do well with it also. It can cause some gas or abdominal discomfort . It only gives you about 40 percent of the effect of sugar in your body, (assuming you’re OK with it), it’s often made from birch sap. It’s a good option, it’s a decent option.

It helps with microbial overgrowth in the mouth. It reduces the chance of the microbes that cause tooth decay. That would be the next best option, with stevia being the number one option, as far as I’m concerned.

Then if you have to go to sugar, if you have to have something in the sugar realm, I would say agave syrup or honey in moderation, small amounts are probably the next best thing. Really, we’re getting back into this sugar argument, and that problem is…Well we’ve talked it to death in previous episodes already I think.

Rob:  [laughs] Thanks for that. I don’t know if my mom will be too happy with your answer.

Anyway, I’ll have to deal with that when I talk to her. What do we have next then after sucralose?

Dr. Kevin:  I want to talk about aspartame. Everybody out there probably knows about aspartame, because it’s so prevalent in our foods today.

It’s been around for quite a while. It’s also known as NutraSweet or Equal. Spoonful and Equal‑Measure are other names of it, same thing. It was actually discovered by accident in the mid‑’60s, by a chemist for the G.D. Searle company, they were actually making an anti‑ulcer drug. They found this sweetness to it and found that it tasted pretty good.

Then in 1985, Monsanto actually purchased that company, and then set up the NutraSweet company as a separate subsidiary.

Rob:  Hey, Kev, I’ve heard like Monsanto, aren’t they the guys that modify grains? Like the genetically modified stuff, and ruined that industry [laughs] .

Dr. Kevin:  They definitely do not have a good reputation worldwide, especially, when we’re talking about farming and the things they have done.

They’re very involved in genetically modified organisms. They’re very much involved in shutting down some of the smaller farmers. They really have an agenda to…it really seems to be all about money.

Yeah, that’s that same company, Rob. They own the rights to Aspartame, otherwise known as Equal or NutraSweet.

Aspartame is actually made up of three chemicals, aspartic acid, phenylalanine, and methanol.

Aspartic acid or aspartate is a chemical or a substance that acts as a neurotransmitter in the brain. It sort of facilitates the transmission of information from one brain cell to the next. If you had too much aspartate in your brain, it actually kills specific neurons or brain cells. That’s a bit of a concern.

As a result, we’re seeing people who ingest large amounts of aspartame have some of these neurological symptoms potentially, which we’ll talk to in a bit. The other issue is methanol which is otherwise known as wood alcohol. It breaks down to form formaldehyde in the body. Formaldehyde is a deadly neurotoxin.

An EPA assessment of methanol states that methanol is considered a cumulative poison due to the low rate of excretion once it’s absorbed. Wood alcohol, you may have heard of some people who actually drink wood alcohol or methanol thinking that it’s alcohol.

It has a similar effect on the human body. People get drunk from it but it often kills people or they go blind as a result of it. The reason is because it’s oxidized into formaldehyde in the body.

Anyway, the EPA recommends that there should be a limit of consumption for methanol of 7.8 milligrams per day. One liter, about a quart of aspartame sweetened beverage contains about 56 milligrams of methanol.

That’s seven times the daily limit set out by the EPA. Environmental Production Agency, the very agency that actually is there to see that we don’t put poisons into our body. However, aspartame containing beverages do just that.

Heavy users of aspartame containing products consume as much as 250 milligrams of methanol daily or 32 times the EPA limit. Now, we’re talking about something that is a neurotoxin. It’s killing brain cells. Imagine giving that to your child. You’re poisoning your child. You’re potentially damaging their brain.

The other interesting thing about aspartame is that they say that if aspartame was put out as a new substance, a new drug on the market today or a new product for sale, it would never pass the restrictions that are placed on new products on the market. It just wouldn’t make it through. The FDA couldn’t allow it.

Aspartame accounts for over 75 percent of the adverse reactions from food additives reported to the FDA every year. Many of these reactions are quite serious. Some of those include seizures and death. A few of the 90 different documented symptoms were listed in a report on aspartame dangers. Some of those are headaches, dizziness, seizures.

Just a little aside, Rob, kind of really interesting case I had. This was a 16‑year‑old girl who came into my office. She was a swimmer. She was very athletic. She had been suffering with these very bizarre seizures for two years. She’d been to a number of medical specialists, pediatricians from many different hospitals in about a 300 mile radius of where we live. They diagnosed these seizures as non‑epileptic stress‑induced seizures.

The strange thing about these seizures was that she would suddenly fall to the floor and she would engage in swimming motions like a flutter kick, overhand swimming motions, breaststroke motions. These seizures could last for up to an hour.

Rob:  Wow.

Dr. Kevin:  You can imagine that if she was in school and this was happening in the middle of class, it didn’t go over too well.

Finally, they said she couldn’t come back to school until they had it straightened out. She dealt with this for almost two years. Nobody could figure out what the problem was. She came in to see me with her mom. We talked about what she was ingesting. She was drinking an average of about one Diet Coke a day.

Rob:  Just one?

Dr. Kevin:  Just one Diet Coke a day. Just one. That’s a lot of poison…

Rob:  …some people drink…

Dr. Kevin:  Exactly.

Rob:  …three or more.

Dr. Kevin:  Absolutely. That’s the thing about aspartame or any of these substances that we’re talking about.

Everybody is different. Some people might metabolize this just fine. It’s those people out there who don’t that this could really ring true for and maybe help them out a lot. If ingest this for many years, what are the long term effects of it?

I knew that there was a connection between aspartame and seizures. I had never heard of anything like this before. But none of the experts seem to know about it either. I said, “Let’s just stop all aspartame.”

She stopped the aspartame and never had another seizure.

Rob:  Ever?

Dr. Kevin:  Ever. That was it. That was the end of it. We could have put her back on the Diet Coke to see if they came back again, but I thought that would be cruel and unusual punishment. We didn’t go that route.

She was convinced. Her mom was convinced. I don’t think she’s had one since. That’s a number of years ago. It’s a fascinating story of bizarre things that can be caused by toxicity by simply having one soft drink a day.

Other symptoms ‑‑ nausea, numbness, muscle spasms. Some people out there might notice that they have some of these symptoms, and maybe consider stopping all artificial sweeteners and see what happens.

Weight gain…..strangely enough also rashes, depression, fatigue, tachycardia which is a fast heartbeat, insomnia, vision problems. Vision problems are linked to the methanol issues, where blindness is actually linked to methanol. Hearing loss, heart palpitations, difficulty breathing.

Another one I see quite commonly linked to artificial sweetener is anxiety attacks. If a person is prone to anxiety, they might want to look at what they’re putting into their body and their mouths with regard to these artificial sweeteners.

Slurred speech, loss of taste, tinnitus which is ringing in the ears, vertigo, memory loss. That’s an important one, memory loss. You don’t want your five or six‑year‑old child when you’re feeding them a Diet Coke to have issues around memory loss. They’re not even in school yet.

There are some suggestions. This is not proven yet but there are suggestions that brain tumors, multiple sclerosis, epilepsy, chronic fatigue syndrome, Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s disease, lymphoma, birth defects, fibromyalgia, may all be exacerbated or made worse by the presence of aspartame.

That’s aspartame in a nutshell. We could probably talk about it for another hour, but I won’t beat a dead horse. I think it’s as bad enough as it is.

Rob:  One thing that surprised me there when you said that it actually kills brain cells and here back in the day when I thought I was having a healthy choice of vodka and Diet Coke, thinking that there’s no calories there and I put up with some slight brain deficiencies from the vodka but I guess I was doubling down with the Diet Coke.

Dr. Kevin:  I think you’re more than doubling down, because it’s like taking some wood alcohol and pouring it into your vodka. Not a good option at all.

Rob:  Kev, I forgot, where are we next?

Dr. Kevin:  [Laughs] We’re going to hit on the next artificial sweetener which has become quite common nowadays.

It’s Acesulfame K or Acesulfame potassium, either one. You’ll see that in a lot of the soft drinks especially, but it is used in foods, as well. It’s a potassium salt containing methylene chloride.

Rob:  I’ve heard about this methylene chloride. It doesn’t sound like we want to be ingesting that.

Dr. Kevin:  You’re right, Rob. methylene chloride is a known carcinogen.

It’s been known to cause cancer and there are many studies to show that. It’s also used as a paint stripper, degreaser, and a dry cleaning solvent. This is what you’re getting in your Acesulfame K.

Rob:  Actually, that’s where we heard of it when we’re talking about decaffeinated coffee. Right?

Dr. Kevin:  Exactly.

Rob:  Right? Oh, OK.

Dr. Kevin:  That’s the other thing it’s used for. It’s used for decaffeinating and taking caffeine out of coffee.

There are a number of decaffeinating agents but methylene chloride is one of those agents. If you’re not happy with your diet drink with the Acesulfame K, then, you go to your coffee and you can get some of the same product in that, as well, if it’s decaffeinated.

There are a lot of question marks about this product. It’s one of the newer artificial sweeteners and it’s undergone the least scientific scrutiny. Early studies show that there might be this link between this substance and multiple cancers in laboratory animals.

Rob:  Are there any other side effects they know of at this time?

Dr. Kevin:  Yeah, we know that long term exposure to methylene chloride can cause nausea, headaches, mood problems, impaired liver function and kidney function, problem with eyesight, and as I mentioned, possibly cancer.

The other thing again and a bit of a common theme that we’re seeing here with these artificial sweeteners is that it can contribute to hypoglycemia or blood sugar dysregulation.

This is very often the reason that we are using these substances. It’s because we’re trying to avoid sugar and all its negative effects. I think we should really be very careful and read our labels and see just how many of the things that we’re ingesting that these three substances weaseled their way into these foods, we just have to be very careful, I think.

Rob:  Earlier, we were talking about the diet soda industry and their campaign that they’re using to make people believe that these products can actually help them lose weight.

We’ve had enough episodes in the past that I know where this is going. Maybe if you could talk to our listeners about that.

Dr. Kevin:  Yeah, what we were talking about, Rob, was a bit of a segue into what we’re talking about here, mainly about soft drinks, anything that uses artificial sweeteners.

The Coca‑Cola company has rolled out this ad campaign encouraging people to unite in the fight against obesity, interestingly enough. Soft drinks are one of the major causes of obesity and weight gain in people. It’s kind of ironic, or I guess, they’re just trying to save their market share.

They launched this campaign assuring people that diet beverages containing the artificial sweetener aspartame are safe alternatives to regular soda. The issue with this is that they are basically promoting their product and saying that it fights against obesity.

One of the studies that they actually brought to the forefront, a study wherein it was funded interestingly enough by the American Beverage Association, which to me immediately renders it invalid, because there’s obviously a proprietary interest here.

They took two groups of people. Some drank diet soda, others did not. They said that people who drank diet soda when mixed with an intensive coaching protocol, they lost 13 pounds in 12 weeks, and the people who didn’t drink diet soda lost nine pounds in 12 weeks.

From that they said, “If you drink diet soda, you lose more pounds than if you don’t.” That’s a huge leap. With this issue around obesity, nowadays, a lot of people were taking note of that and they’re obviously taking it to heart and buying more soft drinks that contain aspartame.

Rob:  Obesity is just getting out of control. It seems to keep on getting worse.

Dr. Kevin:  So true, Rob. The most recent statistics actually published by the World Health Organization on obesity, they showed that in 2008, more than 1.4 billion adults 20 years of age or older were overweight.

Of those, 500 million were obese. That meant 35 percent of all adults aged 20 or older were overweight and 11 percent were obese. That’s worldwide. The scary thing about some of the statistics that come out of this study by the World Health Organization is that more than 40 million children under the age of five were overweight or obese in 2012.

Because we see that soft drinks are accounting for 25 percent of our sugar intake, and then, another percentage above and beyond that because people are trying to avoid sugar, they’re still using the soft drinks but they’ve got all these artificial sweeteners in them, and those artificial sweeteners are also promoting obesity.

I think it’s a very pertinent piece of information here to say we need to avoid these things across the board. We can’t touch diet soft drinks. We can’t drink regular soft drinks because both of those are very very unhealthy for us and cause a ton of problems.

According to this study that was put out by the American Beverage Association, if you drink your soft drinks that contain aspartame, you’re actually going to lose weight. The issue is, Rob, that the science clearly shows that this is not true.

Researches repeatedly show that artificially sweetened no or low calorie drinks and other diet foods tend to stimulate a person’s appetite, thus, increasing the craving for carbohydrates and it stimulates fat storage and weight gain.

Artificial sweeteners basically trick your body into thinking that it’s going to receive sugar or calories, but then, when the sugar doesn’t arrive, your body signals that it needs more which results in carbohydrate cravings. Most people give in to such cravings and end up overeating on other foods and snacks.

The amazing fact is that you potentially gain more weight with these artificial sweeteners than if you were eating or ingesting sugar in the first place.

Just a couple of studies I just want to show to back this up. There was a study done in 1986 published in Preventive Medicine. It was a big study. It looked at 78,700 women aged 50 to 69 for one year.

Artificial sweetener usage increased with relative weight and the users were significantly more likely to gain weight compared to those who did not use artificial sweeteners, regardless of their initial weight.

Another study that was published in Physiology and Behavior in 1988, it determined that no calories sweeteners produced significant changes in appetite and of the three sweeteners tested, aspartame produced the most pronounced effects in actually increasing people’s appetite.

Other studies, Physiology and Behavior 1990, they found that aspartame specifically had a time dependent effect on appetite, producing a transient decrease followed by a sustained increase in hunger cravings. What that means is if you ingest something with aspartame in it, you may initially actually feel like not eating. This is where some of these companies actually said people lose their appetite if they ingest aspartame. But the net effect is that down the road, there is a sustained or prolonged increase in hunger overall. The person generally is more hungry.

There are many other studies out there that actually show conclusively that aspartame and these other artificial sweeteners are deleterious to our health. I could go all night with these, but I think the point is made and if you’re not convinced in what we’re talking about today, you should really investigate this for yourself.

Even if you google these three artificial sweeteners for yourself, look at the pros and cons and obviously, try to get an independent assessment because obviously, if you’re going to the American Beverage Association site, they’re not going to have anything bad to say about these artificial sweeteners. I think if you look into it for yourself, you’re going to find out that these things are really poisonous, and we should not be putting these things into our body ever. And most importantly, we should never feed them to our children.

Rob:  What’s interesting is when you look back at the Coke line up that they’ve had. They have a regular Coke and then regular Coke decaffeinated, Diet Coke with caffeine, Diet Coke decaffeinated. All four of them are going to just cause negative effects.

Dr. Kevin: So true and we haven’t really talked about the fact that there’s sugar in most of the Cokes. There are artificial sweeteners in other Cokes but then there’s also caffeine. We’ve already talked about the negative effect of caffeine.

Rob:  Negative effects of even the caffeine free.

Dr. Kevin:  Exactly. The issue really is more about there are no good choices. I think we’ve talked about this before that if you have to have a soft drink, if you have to have something that’s sweetened and that’s bubbly, there are some alternatives out there.

There is a product called Zevia, which is made with stevia. It is a carbonated drink. I don’t recommend that it is a great option, but it’s the best option that I’ve come across. You’re not going to have to worry about the side effects potentially of these artificial sweeteners or the extreme negative effects of all the sugar found in those soft drinks.

Rob:  I think this has been a really eye‑opening episode that we’ve had. You’ve had some great studies to kind of back it up.

As you said for the listener, take it upon yourself to go and just research this or maybe even do just a little bit of your own little test or challenge. Drop all your diet drinks for a month and see if those headaches go away, see if those cravings for carbs go away, and see if you maybe lose some weight, or just feeling better.

Dr. Kevin:  That’s absolutely true, Rob. For some people who don’t want to give it up for themselves, then I say to them, “If you have kids, don’t let your kids ingest these substances. Don’t let your kids get into soft drinks.” Because when we really narrow it down, soft drinks kill people in the long term on a regular basis for a number of different reasons.

Don’t let your kids get into that. Get them used to herbal teas. You can make lemonade using stevia as a sweetener. Water is the best thing you can give them, purified preferably. Keep them away from soft drinks.

Rob:  This is great, Kev. Thanks so much for all the research that you put into this show and we look forward to the next one. Once again, thank you for listening to the Your Best You Today radio show.

We hope that this helps you. We hope that it helps your kids. If it does, please tell someone else.

Check back soon for another episode of the Your Best You Today online radio show. I’m your host, Rob Heppell, together with Dr. Kevin Jackson. We’ll talk to you soon.

The post 012 – Artificial Sweeteners appeared first on Your Best You Today.

Transcription:

Rob Heppell:  Welcome to the Your Best You Today show. I’m your host, Rob Heppell, and I am joined with health expert, Dr. Kevin Jackson.

Kevin is a naturopathic doctor and has been helping people find natural solutions for their health issues for over 25 years. With the Your Best You Today online radio show, we’re going to dive into common health issues and explore natural solutions to them.

Welcome back to the show, Dr. Kevin.

Dr. Kevin – Hi Rob, thanks for having me.

Rob – So what are looking at today for a topic?

Dr. Kevin – I want to talk about the great cholesterol myth and the great statin scam

Rob – Sounds like this episode will be fraught with controversy

 Dr. Kevin – Not really Rob, because if you look at the real science behind this topic, the truth is undeniable.

Cholesterol does not cause heart disease.

The French have the highest average cholesterol in Europe but the lowest incidence of heart disease and half the heart attacks that North Americans have.

Half of all heart attacks occur in people with normal cholesterol levels.

Lowering cholesterol does not improve health outcomes.

Rob – I thought statins reduced the incidence of heart attacks?

Dr. Kevin – Statins appear to have positive effect because they have a weak anti-inflammatory effect, and inflammation does cause heart disease.

Perhaps the biggest “sham” of all is that statin drugs, touted as “preventive medicine” to protect your heart health, can actually have detrimental effects on your heart. For example, a study published in the journal Atherosclerosis showed that statin use is associated with a 52 percent increased rate of calcified coronary plaque compared to non-users. Coronary artery calcification is the hallmark of potentially lethal heart disease!

Recent research also shows that statins can effectively negate the benefits of exercise, which is one of the primary heart disease prevention strategies! The study, published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, discovered that statin use led to dramatically reduced fitness benefits from exercise, in some cases actually making the volunteer LESS fit than before.

Rob – So statins are bad for you?

Dr. Kevin – Statins are beyond bad for you AND they cause many nasty side effects. There are over 465 studies showing their adverse effects, some occur right away; others crop up after years of use. Some cease when medications are discontinued; others don’t. By blocking the body’s production of CoQ10, statins cause serious problems ranging from potentially fatal muscle inflammation and wasting to congestive heart failure. So if you must take statin drugs then you absolutely must take at least 100 mg of CoQ10 daily.

Statins also interfere with at least 20 biochemical pathways in the body. Cognitive problems affect about 15 percent of statin users, including episodes of temporary amnesia called transient global amnesia. Statins have an adverse effect on tau, a protein made by brain cells that helps maintain their structure. Abnormal tau proteins are linked with neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and ALS. Statins also can cause progressive mild to severe cognitive decline and anxiety, depression, inability to deal with stress, as well as violent behavior. Statin-takers are more likely to develop peripheral neuropathy, and to experience tremors and vertigo.

Other health issues linked with statins include cancer, suppressed immunity, cataracts and optic nerve problems, liver damage, impotence and loss of libido, hypersensitivity reactions that can lead to the autoimmune disease lupus, birth defects if taken by pregnant women, skin rashes and dryness, hair loss, gastro-intestinal problems, insomnia, and pancreatitis. Vitamin E is a key anti-oxidant protecting the heart. Statins decrease blood levels of vitamin E and interfere with E’s anti-oxidant capabilities. Low levels of vitamin D are a risk factor for heart disease; statins decrease your ability to manufacture vitamin D from sunlight

Rob – With all those side effects it’s a wonder anybody takes the drug

Dr. Kevin – The reason is about the victory of proprietary interest over science and logic.

Atherosclerosis—the main cause of heart attacks and strokes—is the accumulation of fatty plaque inside the walls of major arteries. As the disease progresses, arteries become

increasingly narrow, making it easier for an embolus or a plug to completely shut off blood flow, resulting in either a heart attack or a stroke. When cholesterol was found to be a major component of arterial plaque, the “cholesterol theory of heart disease” was born. It was a knee jerk reaction to believe that high cholesterol levels cause atherosclerosis. The truth, however, is not so simple. Cholesterol is an anti-oxidant, a repair and healing molecule. The body produces more of it in response to stress and tissue damage, when repair and healing are needed. Remove the causes of the body’s distress, like inflammation and oxidation, and you lower the type of cholesterol linked to the plaque. Cholesterol is the band-aid the body uses to fix the damage caused predominantly by lifestyle – change your lifestyle and no more need for the band-aid.

Drug companies responded to the cholesterol theory by investing millions in developing

cholesterol-lowering drugs. Now, although unbiased science has disproved the cholesterol theory, these companies have an enormous vested interest in keeping the cholesterol myth alive and well, and they’re doing an excellent job of doing just that.

Pfizer’s Lipitor (atorvastatin) is the best-selling drug of all time. It brings in ten billion dollars a year and has quadrupled Pfizer’s net income.

Statins account for a total of about 35 billion dollars annually in sales.

Rob – How prevalent is the use of these drugs?

Dr. Kevin – One in five Americans over the age of 45 take statins and a total of about 25 million Americans take a statin drug currently.

New guidelines recently released increase the potential for 70 million Americans to be taking statins.  That’s 45 million potential customers not yet taking statins! Among adults aged 60 to 75 without heart disease and not on statins, 87 percent of men (up from 30 percent now) and 54 percent of women (up from 21 percent now) would be candidates for taking statins daily. Pfizer and other drug giants are spending millions to convince patients and their doctors that they need statins, which are typically taken for life. With insurance and government subsidies, we’re all paying for these ineffective, unnecessary, toxic drugs. It is exactly this kind of “healthcare” that threatens to bankrupt us all

Rob – So if cholesterol is not the cause of stroke and heart disease…what is?

Dr. Kevin – The real problem in heart disease is oxidized cholesterol. Normal un-oxidized cholesterol is harmless. This is why some people with normal cholesterol levels get heart attacks while others with high levels do not—the difference is in the amount of chronic inflammation in their bodies and whether or not their cholesterol is being oxidized. It doesn’t matter whether your cholesterol is high or low.

Inflammation and oxidation are interrelated processes. Inflammation is the body’s healthy

response to injury, irritation or infection. It neutralizes harmful microorganisms, helps repair wounds (often by calling in cholesterol, which is a component of scar tissue), and cleans up debris. However chronic inflammation is an unhealthy condition which generates a constant supply of free radicals that overwhelm our anti-oxidant defenses.

Unchecked free radicals create further damage generating more inflammation, and a vicious cycle is underway. Arteries work hard, see a lot of wear and tear and are constantly being repaired. In a healthy body, this repair work involves temporary inflammation and an influx of cholesterol that subside once the repair has been made. The problem is that most of us have a diet and lifestyle that promote chronic systemic inflammation.

Rob – How do we know if we have chronic inflammation in our bodies at any given moment?

Dr. Kevin – Unfortunately, most North Americans suffer from chronic inflammation, caused by a variety of factors that seriously undermine health and cause premature aging.  Common inflammatory diseases resulting from an “inflammatory cascade” include, allergies, Alzheimer’s, asthma, arthritis, autoimmune diseases, bursitis, cancer, cervicitis, colitis, cystitis, diabetes, gastritis, heart disease, hepatitis, infections, myocarditis, nephritis, neuritis, osteoporosis, prostatitis, sinusitis, tendonitis, and vaginitis. Even our children are increasingly suffering from “diseases of aging” in epidemic numbers. To put an end to this tragedy, we must learn how to prevent and reverse chronic inflammation.

Rob – So let’s stop the inflammation and oxidation and move people away from that litany of diseases you just listed.  What’s involved?

Dr. Kevin – Well Rob that’s the million dollar question and that’s what a lot of these podcasts are about – getting healthy to avoid chronic disease most of which involves inflammation and oxidation.

We tend to be our own worst enemies by failing to get enough anti-oxidants from fresh fruits and vegetables and potentially from supplements. This sets the stage for chronic diseases like atherosclerosis. In an unhealthy body, normal arterial damage is not fully repaired and leads instead to chronic inflammation and free radical damage. The body manufactures more and more cholesterol which is rushed to the scene, becomes oxidized and forms more and more plaque. What are the components of our inflammatory diet and lifestyle? The deadly metabolic poisons sugar and refined grains such as flour and rice have an enormous inflammatory effect on the body. Stress is a major player in stroke and heart attack.  Trans fats and rancid fats are an important contributor to heart disease and greatly increase both inflammation and oxidation.

Refined oils lead to deficiencies in essential fatty acids like the omega-3s that prevent

inflammation. According to a 2005 study in Archives of Internal Medicine, fish and flax oils, both high in omega 3 fats, have prevented more cardiac deaths and total mortality than statins. Dairy and grain-fed animal proteins contain an inflammatory balance of fats; avoid farmed fish that are grain-fed, and get meat from grass-fed animals.

Eating too much grain and animal protein versus fruits and vegetables creates systemic acidity, another cause of inflammation. A diet deficient in folic acid, B6 and B-12 causes an unhealthy accumulation of homocysteine, a pro-oxidant and pro-inflammatory substance that is linked to heart disease. Chronic infections are inflammatory and can damage arteries. For example, some pathogens that cause gum infections are found in heart disease; for healthy gums, get plenty of vitamin C and CoQ10. Chronic stress, allergies, insufficient sleep, being overweight and lack of exercise all have inflammatory effects.

Many environmental toxins are pro-inflammatory and pro-oxidant. Chlorine, for example, is a powerful oxidizing agent capable of causing extensive damage to blood vessels—so we put it in our tap water.

Rob – So shouldn’t we drink bottled water or purify our tap water?

Dr. Kevin – Well Rob, bottled water is just water in a bottle there are no regulations on what bottled water is.  You are better to purify your water at your tap using a carbon based water purifier.

Other causes of inflammation or oxidation are heavy metals, such as lead and mercury, as they have been implicated in artery disease. Smoking is a major risk factor in heart disease – probably the greatest risk factor. On the other hand, a massive amount of evidence has shown that increasing consumption of anti-oxidants reduces the odds of getting atherosclerosis. The “French Paradox” refers to the fact that although the French have notoriously high levels of cholesterol and high blood pressure they have low rates of heart disease. The paradox can be explained by their better diets, containing more fresh fruits and vegetables, and some say their habit of drinking red wine with meals (moderation being the key word here Rob). Red grapes are especially high in anti-oxidant flavonoids. Flavonoids work synergistically with vitamin C and are found in abundance in many fruits and vegetables, especially grapes, apples, citrus, onions, tomatoes, squash, eggplant, parsley and berries, and in green tea—most of which have been studied and found to reduce heart disease substantially. The French also use garlic and olive oil liberally. Garlic prevents the oxidation of cholesterol and reduces plaque accumulation in the arteries. Those on a Mediterranean-type diet, who consume a lot of olive oil, have 20% higher levels of oleic acid in their cholesterol, making it more resistant to oxidation. Other phenol compounds in olive oil add to its anti-oxidant value (the higher quality the olive oil, the more phenols there will be). Since each antioxidant has a somewhat different role, getting a wide range of antioxidant supplements is best. Linus Pauling considered atherosclerosis a vitamin C-deficiency disease. Not only is vitamin C one of our most important anti-oxidants, it is crucial for the production of collagen, needed to build and repair artery walls. Low vitamin E levels have been more predictive of

cardiac mortality than any other single factor. This fat-soluble vitamin gets incorporated into cell membranes where it prevents oxidation of cholesterol and other fat particles. CoQ10 assists vitamin E. Beta carotene, vitamin D, alpha lipoic acid, selenium and zinc are all important anti-oxidants to include. Avoid ingesting oxidized fats—do not purchase the usual supermarket oils. Minimize cooking with fats, and when you do, use organic ghee, coconut oil or olive oil on low heat (don’t let the pan smoke). Store olive oil away from heat and light. Refrigerate nuts, seeds, cod liver oil and flax oil.

Heart disease is both preventable and reversible. There is no need for drugs or surgery. Don’t let the cholesterol myth confuse you. Exercise regularly and supply your arteries with excellent nutrition—eat a good, plant-based diet and high-quality antioxidant supplements. Keep inflammation down and you keep heart disease away.

Rob – You also mentioned stress as a player in cardiovascular health – how does it fit into the mix?

Dr. Kevin – stress is one of the biggest killers on the planet, and, like sugar, far more of a danger to us than cholesterol ever was. Stress hormones age (and shrink) an important area of the brain called the hippocampus, which is involved in short-term memory. Stress hormones also trigger the release of inflammatory chemicals in the body called cytokines, which makes stress a double threat when it comes to heart disease.

Stress can exacerbate nearly any disease, not to mention that it can slow, or even prevent, recovery. And stress can actually foster weight gain—the major stress hormone, cortisol, causes the body to retain weight around the middle. And fat is inflammatory by nature.  So there you have it in a nutshell Rob.

The post 011 – Cholesterol Myth and Statin Drugs appeared first on Your Best You Today.

Transcription:

Rob:  Hey, Kevin, welcome back to the show.

Now, we’ve really had some great episodes. We are talking about sugar. We are talking about carbs, fats, and protein. How about we kind of bring this all together?

Dr. Kevin:  Yeah, absolutely, Rob. After some people have been listening to the things we’ve spoken about…the episodes in the past, we are talking about the effects of proteins, carbs, fats, and how they…in fact, have a major impact in your health.

Rob: A lot of people have to be scratching their heads and saying “what can I eat”? It is the most pertinent question because we are saying don’t eat this, don’t eat that……..what’s left?

And so, for a lot of people I think it helps if they can actually get something tangible, and some ideas of things that they can feed their family on a regular basis that are going to be healthy that fit within the realm of what we’re talking about, trying to keep those sugars, caffeine, carbohydrates down.

Getting the appropriate amount of protein and eating the good fats and staying away from bad fats, all in one ball. How does that work? Maybe we could look at what a typical daily meal plan would be.

Dr. Kevin:  Absolutely. Because our diet or the generally poor diet that most North Americans ingest plays such a major role in their health concerns and health status.

If you can eat a healthy diet on a regular basis, many people are shocked to find out that chronic diseases can just go away. What I want to talk about is just a sort of across the board, healthy way of eating for your three meals a day, and then your snacks. Give it a try and see what you think.

Let’s start with breakfast. I know we talked before Rob about the typical breakfast is toast with jam and maybe some Corn Flakes or some Cheerios or Shreddies with some milk and maybe a little sugar on top, a coffee and orange juice, maybe some pancakes, occasionally. Those are all things that really fly in the face of what we’ve been speaking about.

And so, what are some alternatives to those kinds of foods? We touched on this briefly in protein. Eggs are really one of the healthiest foods you can eat. It’s contrary to popular belief, and I know we’ve spoken about this many times.

Rob:  You said up to five eggs per day, where I know like some doctors have told me, don’t have more than two eggs in a week?

Kevin:  Yeah. That’s just not based in science. My rule of thumb is, don’t eat more than five eggs a day. Basically, its tongue in cheek it’s just saying don’t worry about eggs eat them, they’re great for you.

When we look at it as a whole food, eggs are the most perfect protein on the planet. You don’t get a ton of protein, you only get about six grams of protein per average sized egg, which is still decent. But there’s a lot of nutritional value there, there is a lot B vitamins, there is Choline, there are really good quality fats, there is lecithin.

We’ve spoken about cholesterol and eggs do contain cholesterol, but the evidence clearly shows that when you eat eggs and you eat the cholesterol from the eggs, it does not typically increase your LDL or bad cholesterol at all.

In fact in many cases I see it increases HDL, the good cholesterol. Eggs, because they can contain some cholesterol in them, the knee-jerk reaction in the past has been “if eggs contain cholesterol that’s going to increase your blood cholesterol” – is just not true, the evidence clearly shows this in virtually all cases, however there are a couple of rare exceptions to this.

But right across the board in virtually, every case it’s completely safe. Like I said, its great protein. Eat your eggs soft boiled, hard boiled, one of the best ways of preparing them is poached – frying eggs is OK.

If you fry eggs really quickly, if you’ve got it on bachelor heat when you are cooking them, they get that gristly brown denatured protein on the underside and that’s very difficult to digest.

If you fry your eggs, fry them very slowly in a little water perhaps, a little coconut oil. At a low temperature, put the lid on the pan…

Rob:  Like you’re going to start on medium heat.

Dr. Kevin:  Yeah medium usually works well. If you have to flip them, that’s fine. Just keep it on a medium temperature.

Again, you’re trying to get the eggs to come out so that the white is completely white and not covered in that brown gristly sort of denatured protein.

Scrambled eggs, same thing. Omelets, same thing. You cook them really quickly and they’re going to be brown on both sides. If you can just use a lower temperature, it’s a better option.

If you’re in a real rush, soft boiled egg, you can do it in four minutes or so. It’s a great food and it’s an excellent tasting food, too, and it sustains you for the morning. If you have a coffee and juice and a piece of toast for breakfast, there’s nothing there that’s going to sustain you. You’re going to be hungry and searching for food in a short period of time.

What I recommend with eggs if you’re going to put something with it, consider salsa. You can get salsa that’s low or no sugar. If you make an omelet, you can throw the salsa into the omelet. You can also put any number of vegetables into your omelet or you can mix vegetables into scrambled eggs.

If you can use salsa or veggies it adds more body to what you’re eating and you can change it up a little bit. Eggs are great.

Meats. I recommend if you can, if you’re going to use things like bacon and sausage and ham that you try to get the organic if it all possible.

You can buy turkey sausages, turkey bacon, chicken bacon, kinds of meats that don’t have a lot of nitrates in them and a lot of preservatives.

My personal favorite for breakfast is eggs with a salad. I know a lot of people think that’s bizarre. Getting vegetables with a good quality protein on a regular basis is just probably the healthiest thing you can do for your body.

Vegetables give us a lot of phytonutrients, our macro and micro‑minerals and they’re just chock full of nutrition. We should try to eat vegetables at every opportunity. If you have eggs, throw some vegetables in with them or just have some vegetables on the side, raw or salad or you can steam or grill some vegetables alongside your eggs.

Other options that I frequently recommend for patients are protein shakes. Getting a decent quality protein powder that doesn’t have sugar added to it is imperative as some are loaded with sweeteners. The best liquid to mix it with is unsweetened coconut milk, hemp or almond milk. Cow’s milk contains lactose (sugar) and should be avoided. Maybe a handful of berries can be mixed in with it.

A lot of protein powders contain 20 to 25 grams of protein per scoop. Again, a great way to start off your day. It takes you two minutes to make it. If you’ve got a blender there is nothing to it.

Rob:  Could you put some vegetables in that shake?

Dr. Kevin:  Absolutely. A lot of people depending on the type of blender they have, they can throw kale or some spinach or just some green vegetables into that, and make it a green shake which is a great way to go.

Avocado is great in a shake, as well, but you really want to make sure you throw that protein powder in there.

I think that’s where a lot of people fall down with their shakes is that they make it from orange juice or they use some sort of juice, and then, they throw in some berries and other fruit and then throw in a little bit of kale. It’s mainly sugar, water and a little bit of kale.

If it’s soy milk you want to use I recommend it being non‑GMO. If you go with a shake, you’ve got a great quick meal replacement which can also be used if you have to have a snack.

One other thing that I recommend is to make your own granola. Granola usually is made of grains, and its usually got honey or sweetener in it and for that reason, it doesn’t work out so well to start your morning off.

If you can use chopped nuts and seeds ‑ pine nuts, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, hemp seed, chia seeds, even sesame seeds. You mix that with some chopped up nuts, almonds, macadamia nuts, pistachio nuts, cashews, hazelnuts. Chop that all up into bite sized pieces.

Mix it all together. Throw some unsweetened coconut milk or almond milk on top of that and add some fresh fruit if you want to. And again, you’ve got a good protein based meal to start the day off that is a lot like having a granola or a cold cereal.

Rob:  Without all the carbohydrates that you’re going to get, obviously in the cereal, but even in some of the other pre‑bought granola that would come with, as you said, the honeys and those things like craisins or foods that come with a lot of sugar added.

Dr. Kevin:  That’s it, and remember we spoke a few episodes ago about how much sugar we ingest on an annual basis.

That’s around 120 pounds a year ‑‑ and this is where some of these hidden sugars sneak in, as in what we’re eating for breakfast. A lot of these packaged breakfast cereals are just chock‑a‑block full of this sugar, and this is one way to avoid all that and still get that good hearty breakfast that’s going to make you feel good, give you the nutrition you need for the day, and you won’t feel hungry in another hour and a half.

Those are just a few suggestions for breakfast. Snacks are things that are usually recommended. Try not to eat snacks. Try to eat just three meals a day. I know that kind of flies in the face of what a lot of the pundits out there talk about.

They say have five, six, small meals a day. That’s not a healthy way to eat. We’re intended to eat three meals a day. What I say to people is depending on how active you are ‑‑ personally, if I’m in my office working a 12 hour day, I’ll typically eat two meals, no snacks.

That’s all I’ll eat for the day, because I’m not active. I’m not doing anything. I don’t need to be sustained by three meals a day.

Typically, for the people who are eating five small meals a day or five meals through the day or six, you’re actually promoting a disease process, and that mainly is blood sugar dysregulation and insulin resistance. For people who have blood sugar problems, the last thing you want to be doing is eating five, six, meals a day.

Try to eat three meals per day, and we’ll get into this in a little bit more depth in future episodes here. If you have to snack, and I recommend not doing it, but if you have to, some of the healthier options would be veggie sticks, nuts and seeds, preferably raw if you can get them raw, unsalted if you can.

A little bit of salt is not the end of the world. Salads make great snacks ‑‑ just a small salad, something you would take in a little container to work, if you need to. Use that as part of your lunch or a snack if you have to.

Bean salad, tossed salad, coleslaw, shredded broccoli salad, spinach salad, Greek salad,  obviously without the cheese if you’re sensitive to dairy products, Caesar salad, preferably without the croutons and again without cheese if you’re dairy sensitive.

Salads really make the world go round. They’re just great for us, and we really should be trying to eat a couple of salads a day if we can.

Other snack ideas are avocados. Avocados are a really healthy food, kind of like eggs, you can’t eat enough of those. Fruit in limited qualities without overdoing it, fruit is good for you in moderation, and also smoothies as we spoke about before.

Rob:  I’m sure there are some fruits that are better than others, because you mentioned in the smoothies you can have some berries but you didn’t say bananas. What’s the difference there?

Dr. Kevin:  It’s a great question because the really high sugar foods you really want to try to avoid, and the worst ones, first of all, candied fruits ‑ that goes without saying.

Dried fruit ‑‑ dates, figs, raisins, Craisins, those kind of things really high on concentrated sugar. They taste sweet for a good reason. It’s like eating candy. You really want to try and avoid that. Melons have the highest sugar content or the highest glycemic index of pretty well all fruit ‑‑ watermelon being the absolute worst. It really is not a healthy thing to eat.

And then, the tropical fruits ‑‑ the main tropical fruits are banana, mangoes, papaya, pineapple, guava. You really should try to avoid those. I know people say bananas are so good for you, they’re high in potassium. There’s lots of things out there that are high in potassium.

Bananas are full of sugar and your body breaks it down into sugar quickly. You know if you eat a banana, you just don’t even need teeth to do that.

You can gum it down and you can swallow one of those things in five seconds. To eat an apple, it’s going to take you a while. You’ve got to bite into that. You’ve got to masticate that. You’ve got to chew that thing up. It’s got to be broken down in your system.

It’s going to take some time to get the sugars out. Banana is not like that, and that’s why bananas are really not a healthy thing to eat and you really should avoid those.

The healthiest really are the berries. Obviously, some people have problems with berries ‑‑ strawberries being one of the ones people can be allergic to. But assuming that’s not the case, berries are probably, blueberries are one of the healthiest foods in the planet ‑‑ probably the second healthiest food on the planet, as far as I’m concerned. Those are great.

Rob:  Next to what?

Dr. Kevin:  Broccoli. I would say broccoli. Broccoli, kale ‑‑ those are right at the top of the heap, I would say.

Apples are very good. Pears, plums, cherries are fantastic, citrus fruit, assuming again, you don’t have any problems with those. Some people are allergic to citrus fruit. Those are good. I think if you keep that in mind, it really does help, again, keep the high sugar foods out of your diet if you’re avoiding the high sugar fruits.

Rob:  Just how you explain that sounds like a lot of the fruits that are permissible or good choices are more northern fruit that would be grown in orchards and on trees, and I think you mentioned some of the southern of tropical fruits are the ones that tend to have higher sugar.

Dr. Kevin:  That’s very true, and I think you’ll see also any fruit that’s very ripe, like a very ripe banana, you know how sweet that tastes, and that’s the same way with most other fruits that are overly ripe. It can be higher sugar content. You just have to be a little bit careful with that.

You’re right, the fruits you’re going to see in the tropical areas, close to the equator, they’re the ones that typically give us the most problems when it comes to blood sugar.

Lunch, what I recommend for everybody for lunch is vegetables with the protein. The easy way to do that is a salad with a protein on it. Some people tell me, “I just can’t eat salads.” And then I say, “That’s OK, let’s get you some steamed or some cooked or some grilled vegetables and throw a protein on top of it.”

That may mean using something like canned salmon, preferably not farmed. You take some canned salmon, a little bit of mayonnaise. I recommend a full fat, no sugar mayonnaise, like Hellman’s, for example. You can get the organic ones, which are even better, but for the average person out there, who’s just shopping in a regular grocery store, Hellman’s full fat, not the light.

The light has more sugar in it.

[crosstalk]

Rob:  And the one with the olive oil? Is that OK? That’s Hellman’s with a green lid.

Dr. Kevin:  Yeah, that’s good. That’s a good one too. You’ll see that when you look at how many grams of sugar there is and the full fat for mayo, they don’t really have any.

Certainly, what we have here for Hellman’s has no sugar in it. Take some mayo, mix it up with egg or with salmon, even chicken and make a chicken salad on top of a whatever salad you like underneath or the vegetables.

It’s the simple quick way to get good quality food that doesn’t take a long time to make and you can take as very portable. You put it in a container, you take your salad dressing separate from that, which is preferably like an oil and vinegar type salad dressing. If you are going to use salad dressing, extra virgin olive oil is one of the best.

It’s a very simple way to eat instead of the usual sandwich, wrap, pizza, those kinds of things. You’re just asking for trouble by eating these things. Unfortunately, for a lot of us, lunch means a sandwich, and it’s just not a healthy way to eat. If you can get into the mode of eating vegetable with protein and salads, these are ways to do that. Your best way to do.

Supper, your evening meal, I recommend trying to eat fish, if you can eat it, three time a week. Again, you don’t want farmed. An easy one that’s readily available there is sole. You can usually get that frozen, if you’re land locked, if local fish is not available to you. That’s a pretty solid, good quality protein.

Fish and then chicken, duck or turkey, preferably organically grown if you can do that. Wild meats are fantastic, but if you use beef, port, lamb, bison, preferably pasture fed.

Along with that, if you want to go with things like pastas, there are now better quality pastas out there. A lot of people think better quality pasta just means non gluten based pasta, like a rice pasta or a corn pasta. Not necessarily the healthiest thing to eat.

There are things available, like black bean pasta, there is something called Miracle Noodles, that are available out there. There are kelp noodles. These are things that aren’t really high carb foods, but they still give you the mouth feel and the taste of a pasta if you can a pasta sauce on that, it tastes great.

That’s an option in luau of the typical pasta. Also spaghetti squash. If you cook spaghetti squash and you for it out, it actually looks a lot like spaghetti. You just throw spaghetti sauce on top of that however you like it and you got an alternative to your typical pasta.

With whatever protein you’re going with, I recommend the salads or vegetables. Trying to stay away from potatoes, yams, sweet potatoes, because they are very starchy, causes a lot of problems in the carb department. It converts to sugar. We’ve talked about starch and how that affects us negatively.

You are trying to stay away from the grains as well, like rice, which is a common fill in for most people. If you have to go something that’s a grain, I recommend quinoa. It’s got a lot more protein in it. It’s a better option. It depends on what the situation. If your diabetic, I don’t recommend quinoa, I recommend staying away from all grains, if you’re diabetic.

If you need some sort of dessert I recommend backed fruit or fresh fruit salad, fruit cocktail, or just an apple or handful of berries, or some nuts or seeds. It’s fairly simplistic way of eating, but it’s a healthy way to eat. You eat that way and it stabilizes your blood sugar, it lowers your insulin levels, increases your serotonin levels, I think we spoke about before.

Some people say it’s a little boring, a little repetitive, but there’s lots of things you can do within a realm of those ideas that can work really well for you.

Rob:  Kevin, that’s great. What a solid meal plan. As you just said, there are all these other things that we’re so used to eating, but what you’ve given us, there’s still lots of options there.

Dr. Kevin:  Absolutely, Rob. The other thins is legumes. Lentils, chick peas those are great and you can use lentils.

You cook up lentils and use them like rice or if you’re making like a stir fry, do your stir fry on top of lentils. Do it on top of chick peas. It’s a better option. A lot more protein involved in those foods than you ever going to get from rice, which is basically very little protein in rice.

Hopefully, this opens some horizons for people out there that don’t typically eat this way. Maybe they’ll experiment and if they do, I think they’re going to see that they start feeling a lot better by eating this way on a regular basis. Give yourself a month eating this way.

Nine times out of 10 people feel noticeably better. I’ve seen many chronic disease processes gone by just changing you diet and eating something similar or can do what we are talking about here today.

Rob:  I’m sure you could use this meal plan that you’ve talked about in some of your treatments, right? More specific situations or elements?

Dr. Kevin:  Absolutely, because eating this way stabilizes blood sugars. If you’re a diabetic and you eat this way, you’re going to feel a lot better.

You’re going to see much better blood sugar levels, blood glucose and hemoglobin A1C numbers. You’re going to feel better and for a lot of people, I’ve got hundreds and hundreds of patients, who aren’t taking their meds.

Don’t have to take their meds anymore for their diabetes, and are technically not diabetic anymore, just by making dietary changes along the lines of what we’re talking about here today.

Rob:  Kev, this is awesome. I think that’s probably a good place to wrap up. Next time, what we should do is tackle the grocery store or shopping at Costco.

Now, we got a good meal plan. Now, we have to go fulfill that. How does that sound?

Dr. Kevin:  Yeah, that’s great, Rob. I think that’s where we should go next.

Rob:  Great. Thanks for listening to the “Your Best You Today” radio show. If you like what you’ve heard today, please let someone else know about it and maybe we could help them as we’ve helped you.

If you have any questions at all, feel free to leave them below the episode here. We always love you to rate our podcast on iTunes. Thanks for listening.

The post 010 – Meal Suggestions appeared first on Your Best You Today.

Transcription:

Rob: Welcome to the, “Your Best You Today Show”. I’m your host Rob Heppell joined with me as always health expert Dr. Kevin Jackson. Dr. Kevin is a naturopathic doctor, who is been helping people find natural solutions to the health issues for over 25 years. With the “Your Best You Today” online show, were going to dive into common health issues and explore natural solutions to them. Welcome back Dr. Kevin.

Dr. Kevin: Hey Rob.

Rob: So hey, this last episode we talked about protein. And you hinted a little bit about what we are going to talk about today. And I think it’s the third of the tri-fecta, we’ve talked about carbs and we talked about proteins and now we’re going to be talking about fats.

Dr. Kevin: That’s it. You know, and I think there are a lot of misconceptions about fats. And I think that’s really probably half the battle. We have been told these things about fats that are not based in science. A lot of knee jerk reactions, regarding fats that they are the nastiest of the three. That we have to avoid them at all costs, and that’s just not true.

Now some fats are very nasty and really should be avoided at all cost, but certainly not the vast majority of fats. And the first thing that I wanted to talk about was trans-fat. You know, trans-fat truly are killer fats. I mean, we’ve heard, saturated fat is bad for you. Well trans-fats are I would say 20 times worst than anything a saturated fat can do for you in a negative way. Trans-fats are substances that are found in a lot of baked goods, fried foods that kind of thing. So what are trans-fats? Well trans-fats are fats that have been altered in a very negative way, usually it involves hydrogenation. So, you’re going to see these fats in margarines, crackers, cookies, snack foods and fried foods but if it’s says partially hydrogenated oils, or it’s been cooked in partially hydrogenated oils, then you know there’s going to be some trans-fats. And the research clearly shows that trans-fats are linked to weight gain more than any other type of fat. Especially if you’re comparing to monounsaturated fat, like you find in olive oil, which is actually quite good for you. But the thing about trans-fats, is that they can distribute body fat in the abdominal area, which is really a risky placed to carry extra padding. And additionally they are associated with inflammation and atherosclerosis, or the building of plaque in the arteries.

So, I mentioned a few of the foods, but margarines, shortening, pastries, doughnuts, muffins, biscuits, cookies, cakes, frostings, pies, crackers, chips, breads, instant flavored coffee drinks, microwave popcorn, fried food, chicken patty sandwiches, french fries; these are all things that you want to take a look at. And because most of the manufacturers nowadays are forced to list the amount of trans-fats it’s really important that you look on the label where it lists “trans-fats” and take a look at the amount of trans-fats present in that particular food.

The American Heart Association suggests we should never ingest more than 2 grams a day of trans-fats, and I personally believe it’s more like one gram of trans-fats daily should be the maximum. But you have to be little bit careful Rob, because, the companies that are manufacturing these products that have trans-fats take advantage of a labeling loophole that allows any content under 0.5 grams of trans-fats, to be listed as 0. So if you have something that contains 0.45 grams of trans-fat, and it’s listed as 0, and you have three or four servings of that food in a day you’re already up over the maximum level that we’re talking about. So really if you are watching for hydrogenated oils and you’re staying away from junk foods and fried foods, you are avoiding the chance of getting these into your system.

Rob: Ok. So are you saying that, if it’s 0.45, they still have to list it but they can put it as 0 grams, because they round off?

Dr. Kevin: Yes, all products must list the amount of trans-fats per serving. But what they can do is if a product has 0.8 grams of trans-fats in a standard serving they can list it as half a serving which moves the trans-fat level to 0.4 grams which then can be listed as 0.  So one should be careful and always look at the top of the label where it lists serving size.

Rob:  How should we avoid them then?

Dr. Kevin:  Like I’m saying, Rob, if we avoid junk foods, it’s really pastries, baked goods, donuts, muffins, biscuits, cookies, cakes, pies, chips. You’ve got to watch your bread. Most breads, have no trans fats but some do contain them often depending on quality. Microwave popcorn, fried foods. You just really want to try and stay away from these foods.

Rob:  If we really cut those out, there’s not going to be a healthy alternative to what you just listed?

Dr. Kevin:  That’s true. Here’s the interesting thing. If you cook food in saturated fat then there’s no chance that that saturated fat can convert to a trans-fat. The old adage is that you never cook things in lard, butter or in coconut oil, because they’re saturated fats. A saturated fat cannot become a trans-fat. Only an unsaturated fat can become a trans-fat. Polyunsaturated or unsaturated…if it’s hydrogenated, it can become a trans-fat. That can get kind of complicated.

If you just remember that saturated fats are the fats that you get from meats and lard and typically from butter and coconut oil, those are actually quite safe when we’re talking about trans-fats, because you just won’t find trans-fats from those sources.

Rob:  Can we dive a little bit deeper then into saturated fats?

Dr. Kevin: This is a really important point to be made in this episode. That is we’ve heard nothing but bad things about saturated fats.

Saturated fat has long been vilified by the medical profession and the powers that be generally saying that we really have to minimize our saturated fat. There’s a really interesting study that was done in 2010. It was published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. Science has really discovered that there wasn’t enough proof to link saturated fat to either heart disease or stroke.

Four years before that, there was actually a large health study called the Women’s Health Initiative.  They found that eating less saturated fat did not result in lower rates of heart disease or stroke.

In the 2010 study that I was telling about in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, it was very large. It was a meta‑analysis that involved 21 studies and nearly 350,000 people. It was quite clear and one of the medical doctors involved basically said that everybody just assumed that the evidence against saturated fat was strong.

But when they actually analyzed this and they looked at all the research that came from it, he said that he had to work hard to get his study published, because there was an intrinsic mistrust of this kind of result showing that saturated fat really was not a player in stroke and heart attack. There are many other studies to actually back this up.

I think when it boils down to it and if you look into this, I’ve been saying this for years, there is no clear research to show that saturated fat is linked to all these heart and stroke problems.

There was actually a medical doctor out of Harvard Medical School also involved in some research finding the same results. Basically, what they found was saturated fat is just not a concern when it comes to stroke and heart attack.

What the research discovered was cutting out saturated fat did not make a difference until you consider what people ate in place of it. Swapping out animal fats for vegetable oils, for instance using soybean oil instead of butter appear to lower your LDL cholesterol levels and slight disease risk but trading bacon for bagels didn’t make any difference.

A lot of the studies out there that have shown or that hypothesize that saturated fat was really unhealthy for us and it was linked to heart attack and stroke were predominantly based on animal studies. There’s not a lot of real research or scientific research that shows that saturated fat is truly an issue for us humans.

This is a bit of a shocker for a lot of people but back a hundred years ago, people ate a lot more saturated fat than we do today. Now, we have all these options in place of saturated fat like vegetable oils.

Vegetable oils are a relatively new invention. Everybody used lard back a hundred years ago. We have more heart attacks and strokes now than ever before compared to 100 years ago.

Common sense tells you that saturated fat is really not as negative as we believed in the past or that people have believed in that past. I think that’s so important. Don’t be afraid of good quality red meat. I know that sounds like probably a shocking thing for a naturopathic doctor to say.

Good quality red meat and we’re going to talk about that specifically is actually a great source of protein and it actually can be a source of omega‑3 fatty acids, which are the great fatty acids that we get from fish.

Rob:  Before you move on, you gave a bunch of examples of the trans-fats. What are some of the other examples of saturated fats?

Dr. Kevin:  Saturated fats are found in most red meats and levels are dependent on how lean the meat is and how much fat you cut off.

Saturated fats are found in beef, pork, lamb, and bison, to some extend in chicken and turkey, and also, found in cheese and dairy products, and eggs.

Animal products basically are the main sources of saturated fat. More and more people are using coconut oil as something to cook with and they’re actually using it as a source of nutrition. People are taking it to stimulate their immune systems. They’re using it to help digestive issues. They’re cooking with it.

I strongly recommend that if you’re going to do any high temperature cooking that you only use organic coconut oil, because it’s saturated and it doesn’t turn into a nasty fat when you heat it up. When you take a monounsaturated or a polyunsaturated fat like you’d find in olive oil or in corn oil or sunflower, et cetera….when you heat it up, you’ll see that it starts to smoke at a fairly low temperature and that fat now becomes a nasty fat. It’s not a trans-fat but it’s not good for you. Saturated fats are much more stable at high temperature. That’s why coconut oil is great.

When we’re on the topic of fats, we can’t avoid talking about cholesterol. Cholesterol is a real concern for me not because I see patients who have high cholesterol, because really, the number one prescribed drugs in North America are statin drugs. They are drugs used to lower cholesterol. We’ll probably have an episode just on statin drugs at some point, because they’re one of the things that I abhor. Of all the medications out there, it’s probably one of the drugs I abhor the most. Just to give you an example. There was a ten year followup study on ischemic strokes called the Copenhagen Stroke Study and this was done out of Denmark. It was a very comprehensive study. It looked at people who had high versus low cholesterol levels.

What this showed quite conclusively was that people who had high cholesterol had less mortality and morbidity associated with strokes than people who had low cholesterol.

I’ll say that again. People who had high cholesterol actually had a lower chance of mortality and morbidity from stroke than people with low cholesterol. We have been led to believe over the years that we’re going to end up with a stroke or heart attack, if our cholesterol is high.

The evidence for many years and certainly with this Copenhagen Study clearly indicates that that is not the case. When we’re talking about good and bad cholesterol, that’s a different story but so many people look to their medical doctors. They look at total cholesterol and they put a patient on a statin drug because their total cholesterol is high.

The research clearly shows that that should not be done especially because they have so many side effects.

Some of the side effects for statin drugs are amnesia, liver and kidney damage, rhabdomyolysis, which is a disease of the muscles that causes severe weakening and pain in the muscles, joint pain, and gastrointestinal problems. On and on it goes.

Really, cholesterol is just not as big a concern as was originally sent out to the masses. We’re all under that belief that we have to lower our cholesterol in all cases, and that is just is not the case. We should not be worrying that much about cholesterol.

We should be looking at other things that are important preventives for stroke and heart attack, and we’re going to have an episode exclusively on some of the things we can do to prevent stroke and heart attack, and actually, blood tests that you can have done to determine whether or not stroke or heart attack is in the cards for you. Because you hear these stories all the time, that people are healthy and they just fall over one day with a stroke or a heart attack that nobody expected. There are many things you can do to look at your risk for these diseases, and cholesterol is not one of those concerns in most cases.

Let’s look at the omega‑3 and omega‑6 fatty acids. The omega‑3 fatty acids, one of the good fats we know of, they’re anti-inflammatory, they’re found typically in fish, seafood and flaxseed. The omega‑6 fatty acids are the more inflammatory substances, and they’re found typically in red meat, and to some extent, chicken.

Let’s just look at eggs. Range fed eggs have an omega‑6 to 3 ratio of 1.5 to 1. That means that for every one and a half units of omega‑6, there’s one unit of omega‑3. That’s a very close ratio, that’s excellent because the omega‑3s are very positive and have these great benefits to us.

Whereas, you buy a standard supermarket egg, and the ratio is about 20 to 1, and that’s a huge difference. That means you have 20 times more of the inflammatory fats than you have of the anti-inflammatory fats. People say that an egg is an egg ‑‑ that’s just not the case.

Getting range‑fed eggs makes a difference. Why? Because, if chickens eat vegetables, they eat insects, they eat plants, they eat fresh foods available to them in their environment, then they’ll have a high amount of omega‑3 fats in their eggs. If they’re fed grains and prefabricated foods, then, they tend to have very high levels of the omega‑6, which are inflammatory and not good for us.

Rob:  For the range‑fed eggs, if you’re to purchase organic eggs, would they fall under that, or…?

Dr. Kevin:  Yes, typically organic means that the animals are range‑fed, or fed a diet that is high in omega‑3 fatty acids, a natural diet. And also, as a result, their ratios are guaranteed to be leaning more towards the omega‑3 fats than the omega‑6 fats.

There’s an interesting study talking about meats. North Dakota State University conducted a study on the nutritional difference between grass fed, and grain fed bison. What they found when they looked at the meats was that the grass‑fed bison had the omega‑6 to omega‑3 ratio of 4 to 1, and the grain‑fed was twenty one to one.

Here’s another situation where you can get a grass‑fed or a pasture‑fed meat that’s actually good for you, because of these omega‑3 fatty acids. A lot more of the omega‑3 fats, which are what we get out of fish, good for us because of the heart benefit, the mental benefit in cognitive functioning, the anti-inflammatory effect….. it thins your blood.

Also, how long cattle are fed grain versus pasture is really important. After 200 days in a feed lot, grain fed cattle have omega‑6 to omega‑3 ratios that exceed 20 to 1, meaning, very high levels of omega‑6. And most cattle are fed for at least 200 days on grain. But if you go the other way and you have no grain, or very little grain then the omega‑3 fatty acids increase in the meat of the cattle.

That’s an important thing. Look for pasture‑fed, look for grass‑fed meats: beef, lamb, bison all are potentially your better options. They are good quality protein, and especially, if you get something that’s certified organic, that’s even better, because then, you know that there is going to be no antibiotic residues in the food or hormones used, as well.

Rob:  Now, is this still the same when you talk about fish. Like, farmed fish versus wild, like salmon for example?

Dr. Kevin:  It’s true, you know, they’ve definitely shown clearly that wild fish have higher levels of omega‑3 fats than the farmed fish.

The salmon for example, which is farmed off the west coast of North America, we see huge differences in the amount of omega‑3 fatty acids, but just also the quality of the meat is so much better, and then, there’s inherent issues associated with farmed fish, like sea lice, and they do tend to use hormones in their diet, the quality of the meat is completely different.

A lot of people, certainly in our area here, refuse to buy the farmed fish. In fact, a lot of it is sent to Asia, because it’s just not a good seller in our neighborhood here for those reasons. But you know, Rob the other thing we were talking about earlier was eggs. We were talking about the protein source of eggs.

Historically, eggs have been considered unhealthy, because they can contain cholesterol. A large egg contains just over 200 milligrams of cholesterol, which is a lot compared to most foods. However, it’s been proven time and time again that eggs and dietary cholesterol do not adversely affect cholesterol levels in the blood.

This is certainly what I’ve seen over the years. In fact, I have many people who come in with elevated cholesterol, poor LDL/HDL ratios ie. their bad versus good ratios. I actually put them on increased eggs in their diet. My rule of thumb is don’t eat more than five eggs a day.

Eggs are a great source of protein, they’re high in nutritional factors, and the evidence clearly shows that the cholesterol we get from these eggs does not, in most cases, increase our blood cholesterol levels.

There was a meta-analysis done, it was published in 2013, and it looked at seventeen studies and it discovered that eggs had no association with either heart disease or stroke, in people who were healthy. It did not increase their risk in any way. And so, what is it about eggs that are so good?

First of all, they’re high in antioxidants. They’ve got two antioxidants which are really important – lutein and zeaxanthin. And these are two things that have been shown recently to have very positive effects on eye health.

Retinal health, people with macular degeneration or even glaucoma, and people who are prone to retinal tears, these two antioxidants have been shown to be beneficial for these people, and I actually use these as treatments for these eye disorders. But eggs are loaded with these two wonderful antioxidants.

And also, among other things, one large egg has 77 calories, that’s not a lot of calories, five grams of fat, and six grams of protein, and nine essential amino acids. It’s rich in iron and phosphorus, selenium , Vitamin A, B12, B2, B5, and it contains a lot of choline. About 100 milligrams of choline, which is really important for brain function.

I actually use choline to treat people who have memory problems and dementia. Again, eggs can be beneficial there. Choline is also helpful for our liver function. And so, most of us have taxed livers, and we’re going to be talking about the liver in a future episode, because it’s such an important organ.

It performs over 500 functions in the human body and really gets abused by most of us. Choline is really one of those substances that helps out the liver. And so, the other great thing about eggs is because of the fat and cholesterol content, they’re very satiating, they actually help you lose weight.

How do they do that? Because when you eat eggs, they actually stay with you for a long time. You feel full for a longer period of time so you don’t need to eat as often.

That’s why I recommend for people who have the time, if you can get up and eat eggs in the morning, it’s just a great way to start your day off, because you’re going to get good quality protein, you’re going to get a bunch of antioxidants, you’re getting great nutritional value, you’re getting the good fats that are going to satiate you, and you put that all together and it’s really hard to beat eggs for breakfast.

Or, some people put them in shakes, I think that’s also a great option too. Now, we talked a little bit about coconut oil, and coconut oil is great, because it’s high in something called lauric acid, and lauric acid is a saturated fat, but it’s been shown to be really healthy for us, and there are other substances in coconut oil such as caprylic acid, which is actually an anti‑fungal agent.

It can actually be used to treat yeast infections. Coconut oil can be used to treat yeast infections, and you take it orally. And it has a lot of polyphenols which are substances that act as antioxidants in the body.

Coconut oil, which is a great thing to cook with, can actually be used as a daily supplement. Some people take a tablespoon of it every day because it’s beneficial to them on many levels.

That’s really what I wanted to touch on as far as fats go, there’s a lot more to it, but I think in a nutshell we kind of covered the important part of this, Rob. I think that hopefully this will give people out there who are listening a little bit more insight into fats.

It’s not something that we need to be afraid of, and in fact, for a lot of my patients who I’m trying to get away from carbohydrates, I get them onto fats like avocados as they are a great source of fats I love.

They’re satiating, as well. They make you feel full and they sustain you for a long period of time. Nuts and seeds also contain fats. They are also beneficial to us and they give us some protein, as well.

That combined with the eggs and the things we’ve spoken about with red meats are great things to incorporate into our diet. Don’t be afraid of fats. They really are beneficial. There’s lots of information out there on the web. Not that necessarily all the information on the web is great.

There’s a lot of information that you can look up for yourselves and see that there are actually some good clinical studies to show that these fats are really not the pariah that we once thought they were.

Rob:  Kev, seems like every one of these episodes is eye opening with all the stats, especially, just the difference between the grain fed chickens and their eggs versus free range eggs, and the difference between the omega 3 and omega 6.

I’ve never knew that before. You can’t get that information off of the container. I guess it’s stated there, but the common person doesn’t know how to interpret it. You just think, “Oh, well, it’s got a nice box and it looks like it should be healthier.”

Or really, what’s the difference, is it worth paying double for the free range or organic eggs. Obviously, if you’re worried about your health, it’s probably a small price to pay.

Dr. Kevin:  Yeah, I agree. It’s something that for a lot of people they have to draw the line somewhere, because everybody has a budget and everybody has to say, “OK, we can only spend so much.” But when you’re looking at your health and your children’s health or your spouse’s health, food is one of the most important things that we have total control over.

It’s just really what we’ve been talking about essentially for the last nine episodes. Making better decisions. If you make a few better decisions each day, the net effect is going to be a positive one for you. Hopefully, some of our listeners can use this information to make the quality of their life and the life of their love ones better…… then mission accomplished.

Rob:  This is great, Kev. Thanks again for such an enlightening episode. For you listeners, we appreciate you listening. I hope that you’ve been able to take some pointers and apply that to how you’re going to eat and how you’re going to make your food choices.

If you have any questions at all, make sure you leave a comment below the podcast here on the website. If you’re enjoying what you’re hearing, we’d asked that you share this podcast with a friend.

Thanks a lot for listening. This is the “Your Best You Today” online radio show.

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