We now know the gut is the cornerstone of health and inflammation in the body. The first theory to explain the link between the gut and inflammation, which underlies all the chronic diseases we suffer from, was put forward in 1907, when Elie Metchnikoff proposed that tissue destruction (disease) and senescence (ageing) throughout the body were consequences of chronic systemic inflammation, which occurred as a result of increased permeability in the colon and the escape of bacteria and their products into the blood. He believed that these bacterial products activated our imm...
Read more
If I came home sick from anywhere as a child my mums first question was always, “have you been to the toilet?” I didn’t realize the significance of this until much later and I don’t think my mother even realized what she fully meant. Except that our poo is one of the best and of course the simplest signs of our inner health and therefore our outer health as well. Our poo (feces) can tell a lot about our health and is made up primarily of microorganisms, fibre other undigested materials and water. Living bacteria represent 80% of fecal dry weight. The regularity and ...
Read more
Nutritional deficiencies are now a recognized risk factor for psychiatric disorders, while excessive intake of nutrient poor foods is predictive of poor mental health, while a healthy diet reduces risk. For example studies have shown low blood levels of certain nutrients in psychiatric disorders, folate (B9) and B12 are often deficient in schizophrenia, and are associated with symptom severity. That is the lower the levels the higher the symptoms. While on the other side supplementing with B-vitamins can significantly reduce symptoms of schizophrenia and reverse some o...
Read more
In recent years, more and more evidence shows that lower vitamin D status is associated with several known risk factors of stroke. This study undertook a systematic review and a meta-analysis of Nineteen previous studies and found a between a 62 and 145% increased risk of stroke for people with the lowest Vitamin D levels. So go out and get some more sun and some rich fatty vitamin D rich foods. Vitamin D is a fat soluble vitamin. Stroke is the second leading cause of death among people aged 60 years and above, and is causing a substantial global disease burden. Bas...
Read more
The link between chronic inflammation and cancer has long been recognised since the 19th century when German pathologist Rudolph Virchow first hypothesized that the origin of cancer was at sites of chronic inflammation. Now it seems that modern science has caught up with the observations of the 19th century. Dr. Otto Warburg discovered that cancer cannot thrive in an alkaline medium and the interstitial fluid of tumours has shown pH values of less than 6.0, 0.2–0.6 units lower than mean pH of normal tissues (very acidic). In fact, as a result of only partial metabolism...
Read more
This study published in the British Medical Journal showed doctors trained in nutritional and environmental medicine and who practiced complimentary medicine prescribed about 25% less antibiotics. While antibiotics have been lifesaving, the overprescription of antibiotics has sparked the evolution of drug-resistant strains of life threatening bacteria which has resulted in tens of thousands of deaths each year. The US Centers for Disease Control estimates that up to 50 % of prescribed antibiotics in the USA are unnecessary. Unfortunately, the use of antibiotics is of...
Read more
A recent large study of 2500 participants (mean age 66 years, 54% women), a higher Omega-3 Index was associated with significantly lower risks for total mortality, for non-CVD and non-cancer mortality, and for total CVD events. Those in the highest omega 3 levels compared to those in the lowest had a 34% lower risk for death from any cause and 39% lower risk for incident CVD. These associations were generally stronger for docosahexaenoic acid than for eicosapentaenoic acid. When total cholesterol was compared it was not significantly related with the health outcomes. Ea...
Read more
A large amount of evidence has shown a high intake of tree nuts is associated with a reduced risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD), mortality from type 2 diabetes (T2DM), and all-cause mortality. In this study after 4 weeks on a pecan-rich diet the researchers saw beneficial changes in serum insulin, insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) and beta cell function (HOMA-β) as well as cardiometabolic disease. That is a significant reduction in the risk of diabetes2, heart attacks and stroke. Cardiovascular diseases (CVD) are a leading cause of death worldwide, and is primarly cause...
Read more
Chronic inflammation is known to play a major role in the development of cardiovascular diseases (CVD) and related mortality. Various dietary components also have been implicated in playing a major role in the development of various CVDs and research has shown that whole diet and various dietary components have a direct association with inflammation. Consumption of fruit and vegetables has been shown to reduce levels of inflammation. Increased adherence to healthier dietary patterns characterized by increased intake of plant-based foods such as fruit and vegetables, nuts, a...
Read more
Atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (CVD) such as acute heart atacks and stroke remains the leading cause of death worldwide. Both epidemiological and clinical studies have shown a strong link between inflammation, such as C-reactive protein (CRP), tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha and interleukin (IL)-6, and the risk of cardiovascular events. Studies have also shown a strong link with inflammation and insulin resistance, an important determinant of CVD and diabetes. So it all comes down to inflammation In this study they investigated the link between inflammation ...
Read more
