Myintegrativehealth Blog – Adrenal Fatigue – Natural Hormone Therapy – Thyroid Dysfunction – Pain Relief – Digestive Health

Mention the phrase “food allergies” and most of us imagine those poor kiddos who get near a peanut butter sandwich only to have massive swelling around the eyes and throat, followed by difficulty breathing and hives.  The constellation of these symptoms make up what’s known as an anaphylactic reaction which, unfortunately, has become more and more frequent in the general population over recent years.  In fact, some newer studies suggest that approximately 3-8% of Americans run the risk of anaphylaxis when exposed to any number of foods, although tree nuts, milk and shellfish are at the top of the anaphylactic list.

Even more, we are seeing a less severe variation of these dangerous food allergies, called “allergy sensitivities” that don’t typically cause life-threatening symptoms, but can still be quite uncomfortable nonetheless.  If you have symptoms like indigestion, gastritis, eczema, asthma, celiac disease, arthritis, and even depression, anxiety, and chronic fatigue, it could be a result of a “food sensitivity.”  Additional reports suggest that at least 60% of Americans suffer from symptoms due to adverse food reactions as a result of food sensitivities.

Food allergies/sensitivities may be a reaction to a protein, a starch, a contaminant found in the food (e.g., pesticide residues) or a food additive (e.g., colorings, preservatives, flavor enhancers, etc).  Once the body decides it’s uneasy with a food, a complex cascade of events takes place that can result in either a life-threatening situation (anaphylaxis) or simply the aforementioned unpleasant symptoms.

Driving this reaction is the immune system’s production of multiple types of antibodies.  For example, during an anaphylaxis response, IgE antibodies are produced within two hours of exposure.  These antibodies then bind to specific cells called mast cells and basophils which release their inner contents–histamine.  This is why an anti-histamine, like Benadryl or Quercetin, is often prescribed for allergies.

Yet, it’s the more delayed allergic response found in food sensitivities, one that can take up to 72-hours after exposure, that causes the aforementioned “uncomfortable” symptoms.  This response is usually driven by IgG antibodies and although it can stimulate the release of some histamine, it usually recruits many more players of the immune system, further complicating the reaction in the body.

Studies suggest that dairy, wheat and eggs are the three biggest sources of food sensitivities in people.  How is this determined?  In the past, the skin prick test was used where small amounts of foods were injected into the skin either on the back or forearm.  Now a simple blood test does away with this antiquated test.  These blood tests can measure for both IgG and IgE antibodies and help guide you and your provider in a direction for food avoidance, which is the mainstay of treatment.

So if you suffer from indigestion, asthma, eczema, etc., simply avoiding problematic foods could be your ticket to feeling well.  In addition to elimination, I recommend rotation of food families (e.g., veggies, fruits, meats, etc.) along with assisting the body with its normal digestive processes through the use of pancreatic and stomach enzymes.  Probiotics can be quite helpful as well.

Living in fear of foods because of their potential to make us sick is unnecessary when you recognize there are easy ways to identify possible sources of food allergies/sensitivities.  Combined with practical and realistic interventions you can take to calm the reaction and subsequent symptoms, you can alleviate a multitude of health conditions.

Fabulous Fiber
No single nutrient does more to purify our bodies and prevent diseases than fiber.  As important as fiber is, it remains largely misunderstood.  Here’s some of the most common fiber facts and fallacies.

Fallacy: I get plenty of fiber, I have a salad everyday.

Fact: Salads are great sources of produce.  We all should be focusing on getting plenty of produce from a variety of sources.  Having said that, salads as typically made rarely provide more than a few grams of fiber.  Most provide high amounts of saturated fats in the dressing and cheese and trans-fatty acids in the croutons.  To order a healthy salad, hold the cheese and croutons, get vinaigrette on the side and add some beans.

Fallacy: I can’t eat high fiber foods like beans, they give me gas and bloating.

Fact: This definitely can happen initially.  What is going on is that the fiber stimulates growth of specific strains of good bacteria.  If you have too few of them, they kill off bad organisms in your intestines.  This killing off process releases gas.  When it comes to adding fiber, take it slowly.  Even just add a tablespoon or two of beans to your food each day for a few weeks.  Soon you’ll be able to thrive on high fiber foods without chasing away those around you!

Fallacy: I’m trying to lose weight so I’m staying away from grains.

Fact: While most of us get too much processed carbohydrates in our diets, numerous studies show that those who eat the most high fiber whole grains are the leanest.  If weight loss is a goal, you still need grains but in the right amounts.  Consume roughly 1/2 of a cup of brown rice, bulgar wheat, quinoa, barley or oatmeal with each meal.

Fallacy: High fiber foods taste bad!

Fact: Flavors in foods are carried by volatile aromatic compounds.  These compounds are at their highest concentration in the germ of the grain.  Think of a grain like an egg.  The shell is the husk, the starch is the white and the germ is the yolk.  Refined grains are just the starch, the complex flavors and aromas are lost in the refining process.   Pick up a pound of organic basmati brown rice and a pound of plain white rice.  Cook the white rice and notice the lack of aroma in the kitchen.  Then try the basmati, the whole kitchen will smell like hot buttered popcorn.  By the way, popcorn is also a whole grain!

R ed paper hearts, heart-shaped boxes full of chocolate, one whole day dedicated to love – it must be February! But this month isn’t just about valentines and chocolate, it is also about the heart; February is heart disease awareness month.

According to the American Heart Association in 2006, 81 million Americans had some form of cardiovascular disease.  About 73 million had high blood pressure, which is a common risk factor for strokes and heart attacks.  But high blood pressure isn’t the only risk factor, others to be aware of include:

• Age
• Gender
• Personal history of cardiovascular events

Ok, so you cannot do anything about those three risk factors, but here are some that you can do something about:

• Smoking
• Diabetes
• Cholesterol (Watch Dr. Christianson’s video on cholesterol)
• Obesity
• Sedentary lifestyle
• Stress

What are the warning signs of a cardiovascular event?

Stroke:

• Numbness or weakness of face, arm or leg, especially on one side of the body
• Confusion, trouble speaking or understanding
• Trouble seeing out of one or both eyes
• Trouble walking, dizziness, loss of balance or coordination
• Severe headache with no known cause

Heart attack:

• Chest pain or discomfort, pain may radiate down left arm
• Pain that radiates to the jaw, neck, back or stomach
• Shortness of breath, with or without chest discomfort
• Cold sweat, nausea or lightheadedness

Cardiac arrest:

• Sudden loss of responsiveness
• No normal breathing (someone does not take a normal breath when you tilt their head up and check for a breath for at least 5 seconds)

It is important to note that men and women are very different.  (You probably didn’t need a doctor to tell you that!)  Women typically don’t manifest the same symptoms of a heart attack as men.  Indigestion and extreme fatigue are the most common early warning signs of a heart attack in women.

New Research

A new study published Tuesday, February 15, 2011, in the Journal of Cardiovascular Electrophysiology shows that the heart’s ability to handle premature contractions (known as heart rate turbulence) may be the strongest indicator of a potential heart attack.  The study showed that even individuals considered to have a low cardiovascular risk are 8-9 times more likely to die of cardiovascular disease if they have abnormal heart rate turbulence. Heart rate turbulence is a measure of how well someone can handle sudden or extreme stress.  At this time, testing heart rate turbulence is not a standard test used to assess cardiovascular risk.  However based on this research, it may soon be.

So what can you do to maintain a healthy heart?

• Eat healthy, nutritious whole foods.  Avoid processed foods, fried foods, and fast foods.  Give your body the fuel it needs to keep it healthy.  This will also help you maintain a healthy body weight and lower your cholesterol levels.
• Remove all sodas (diet and regular) from your diet!  Consumption of sugary sodas leads to diabetes, which is a modifiable risk factor for cardiovascular disease.  But don’t think that you can safely switch to diet sodas.  A recent study shows that people who consume diet sodas have a 48% greater risk of CVD (cardiovascular disease) than those who don’t.
• Get out and move every day! We cannot say enough about the benefits of exercise.  Exercise helps lower other risk factors on this list such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol levels, diabetes, and obesity.  It is also a great stress reliever and helps maintain a healthy body weight. Get your family, friends and neighbors involved, make active living a group event and part of your daily life.
• Maintain healthy, loving relationships with your family and friends.  These are the people who make you happy and who support you when you need them. A smile on your face is great for the heart!
• If you smoke, please stop.  Smoking leads to atherosclerosis which can cause high blood pressure.

Awareness and education is key to understanding how to reduce your risk of heart disease.  See your doctor regularly and ask for help in reducing your risk factors.  It is the best way to show your love for your family, and yourself, in February.

Did you know that over half of the Americans who suffered heart attacks had normal cholesterol levels?  Did you know heart disease kills 8 times as many women as breast cancer? Here is a doozy: 300 patients on cholesterol drugs for 1 year will see at most 1 less cardiovascular death.

Heart disease is still a major killer for both genders.  If you have normal cholesterol you still may be at risk.  If you have cholesterol controlled by a statin drug like Lipitor, your risks are really not much lower.

What to do?  Thankfully you have a few new techniques that can better gauge your risk and, if the risk is high, it can be lowered by natural means.

LDL-C/LDL-P

The story of cholesterol starts with the Framingham study.

“In 1948, the Framingham Heart Study embarked on an ambitious project in health research. At the time, little was known about the general causes of heart disease and stroke, but the death rates for (heart disease) had been increasing steadily since the beginning of the century and had become an American epidemic.

The researchers recruited 5,209 men and women between the ages of 30 and 62 from the town of Framingham, Massachusetts, and began the first round of extensive physical examinations and lifestyle interviews that they would later analyze for common patterns related to heart disease. “ Framingham Study

As time went on, we learned that the predictive value of cholesterol tests could be improved by studying certain fractions of cholesterol.  Ever use whole milk from the farm?  You know how the cream rises to the top?  That is because there are different densities of fats inside the milk and the lighter ones float on top of the heavier ones.  Cholesterol fractions are just like this.  HDL is high density lipoprotein, it is heaviest.  This is the one called good cholesterol.  I’m always happy when a patient has lots of HDL – think of it is happy cholesterol.  LDL is low density lipoprotein; it is the lightest, just like the cream.  Also like the cream, it is the one that gunks up the blood vessels.  It is the lousy cholesterol you want less of.  At least that has been the consensus up until now.

Large amounts of data are poised to change this.  LDL can be thought of as little balls.  Some are larger than others.  The smallest LDL particles enter nicks in the blood vessels and get trapped in the inner layers.  If enough get trapped, the vessels simply narrow and have less room to carry blood. Eventually critical tissues like those of the heart get so little blood they die.  Bad deal!  At a medical conference in June, I heard a prominent cardiologist say that without knowing LDL size, total cholesterol and even cholesterol ratios have little or no predictive value for heart disease.

Thankfully these tests are now available by local laboratories and are covered by most insurance policies.  They also depend less on being in a fasting state than the older cholesterol tests did.  Click here for more info on this test.

Coronary Artery CT Scans

Heart disease affects all blood vessels, but occurs first in the areas that have the most blood flow and the most blood turbulence.   You’ve probably heard of the coronary arteries or of someone having a coronary.  The heart itself is a muscle and needs a constant supply of blood. In fact, your heart is only about 5% of your body’s mass yet it uses up to 25% of your body’s blood.

Since the coronary arteries, which bring blood to the heart, are always carrying lots of blood, they are often the first site of plaque buildup.  They are also one of the more dangerous sites for plaque buildup.  For about a decade, there has been a special high resolution CT scan that measures how much calcified plaque is in these arteries.  A recent study showed that the CT scan does have useful predictive value in determining risk of regardless of other known risk factors such as age, gender and cholesterol levels.  More info on the study here.

The test has also become more affordable recently.  Several years ago the test cost anywhere from $500 – 750, but now it can be done for $99.  I consider it a good screening exam for any adult who has not had one.  About 80% of people doing the test have no measurable plaque, their arteries are perfectly clear.  In these cases it is worth repeating in another 10 years.  For those that have measurable plaque, steps such as chelation therapy can reverse the plaque and bring the scores back to normal.  More info on coronary artery CT scans in general can be found here.

Finally, here is an easy thing you can do every day to help your heart regardless of your risk status.  Have a few ounces of pomegranate juice each day.  In general I prefer fruit over fruit juices.  When pomegranates are in the store, buy lots of them and clean a bunch at once.  The seeds freeze well and work great in smoothies.  The rest of the year, a few ounces of the always available juice is reasonably low in sugar and calories and full of heart protective flavonoids.  They have even been shown to speed exercise recovery.  Here is a great summary of all the things pomegranates are known to help.