NUTRITION: Beware of headlines!

I was very interested in recent headlines like this one, “There’s even more evidence that taking supplements is a waste of money — and could be harmful to your health.”

Uhhhhhhh … no.

What the study cited ACTUALLY FOUND was that:

• Dietary supplement use is not a substitute for a healthy balanced diet in otherwise healthy people;
• Taking mega doses can harm your health.

Meta Analysis: Probiotics reduce inflammation

This doctor gives a clear, easy-to-understand explanation of the meta data and several of the mechanisms that are probably involved.

Canned Tuna and Salmon Products

How to choose the best brands

Upping My Game

I am extremely mold sensitive and did not understand before this month that my mason jar/airlocks aren’t sufficient for creating a truly anaerobic, 100% mold killing ferment. I haven’t had any VISIBLE mold, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t still mold in there. And in Chrissy World, ANY mold is too much mold.

There’s also no way to ensure my ferments are not stalling at Stage 2. They will only move through Stages 3 and 4 if the jar is truly anaerobic and it is only in these stages that the histamine is lowered. I’m histamine sensitive too, so I was frankly appalled to learn that most mason jar ferments get stalled in Stage 2.

Fasting

After I watched this video, in which this M.D. (Nephrologist) explains why “eat less, move more” diets don’t work and why intermittent fasting does, I ordered his book which I’m avidly reading.

Fun with Extra SCOBYs

Kombucha needs Camellia sinensis to be properly nourished.

That means black, green, white, and/or oolong teas. Flavored teas, such as Earl Gray, Red Zinger or Chai, often contain antipbacterial essential oils that may damage the kombucha culture, so avoid using them for your main brew. Strongly smokey teas such as Lapsang Souchong, while they won’t technically damage the culture, are not considered a good flavor match by most brewers.

SCOBYs grow baby SCOBYs.

In the past, I’ve puréed the extras in water and fed them to the garden. But I just tried brewing a batch of kombucha with herbal teas. It’s so delicious!

Dark Chocolate

Dark chocolate has a number of health benefits, leading certain people I know (me) to think it’s a good way to have a guilt-free sweet treat.

But according to Consumer Lab, even a relatively small serving daily can easily put an ADULT over the safe limit for CADMIUM, a toxic heavy metal that accumulates and hangs around in the body doing mischief for YEARS.

Resistant Starch: Reheating Makes It Even Better For You!

When certain starchy foods, including pasta, potatoes and rice, are cooked and then cooled, the digestible starches convert to resistant starches via a process called retrogradation.

Resistant starch is REALLY GOOD FOR YOU. Many studies in humans have demonstrated that consuming resistant starch improves insulin sensitivity, lowers blood sugar levels, reduces appetite, and has numerous benefits for digestion.

Human Health BEGINS with Gut Health

If you’ve got an hour, this is a good video. Dr. John Bergman, D.C., talks about Leaky Gut Syndrome … what it is, what causes it, what cures it.

Interesting points I noted while watching …

• The sympathetic part of the nervous system controls “fight or flight” while the parasympathetic part controls “rest, digest, and repair.” I’ve heard those words in the context of stress control, but didn’t really understand what they meant. It’s actually quite simple!
• A researcher Bergman cites suggests that things like vaccines, antibiotics, pesticides, and stress, only INDIRECTLY cause problems, like autism, which are now epidemic in our culture. The DIRECT problem they cause is gut dysfunction, which in turn causes all the other stuff.
• This makes total sense to me. There are pounds of beneficial bacteria and yeast living on the lining of a healthy gut. These probiotics interact with the Central Nervous System and also make up 80% of the human immune system. So duh … if you mess up the gut biome, you will in turn mess up your physical, mental and emotional health!
  

Resistant Starch 101

Resistant starch reaches the large intestine undigested, where the friendly bacteria can eat it and grow stronger and more numerous.

The friendly bacteria that eat resistant starch excrete short-chain fatty acids, such as butyrate, which is the preferred fuel of the human cells that line the colon wall.

The short-chain fatty acids that aren’t used by the cells in the colon wall can travel via the bloodstream to the liver and other parts of the body where they have various beneficial effects.