The human endocrine systems such as the thyroid are susceptible to disruption by naturally occurring and human-made compounds, possibly by affecting the hormone balance. These Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals (EDCs) are a wide class of compounds such as organochlorine pesticides (most banned now in the developed world but still hanging around in the environment and food), industrial wastes, plastics and plasticizers, fuels and numerous other elements that exist in the environment or are in high use during daily life. Endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDC) are released into en...
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A healthy gut microbiota not only has beneficial effects on the activity of the nervous and immune system, but also both directly and indirectly on thyroid function. A growing number of studies support the link between gut microbiota composition and thyroid health. Many thyroid and intestinal diseases coexist like Hashimoto’s thyroiditis (HT) and Graves’ disease (GD) are the most common autoimmune thyroid diseases and often co-occur with Celiac Disease (CD) and Non-celiac wheat sensitivity. The negative influence on the immune system and the inflammatory regulation of a...
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Reflux is not a single condition but has many differences between individuals as well as many potential causes and related conditions or co morbidities. Comorbidities are the other conditions which occur with it at the same time. Hence why it is so important to fix this condition in a holistic systematic way. The research shows the common digestive diseases such as gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), chronic gastritis, duodenogastric reflux, and irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) have considerable overlap and symptom fluctuation over time. Comorbidity and GI condition...
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Ultra-processed foods and drinks, which come in packets and no longer look or taste like traditional foods, are one major hallmark of the Western diet. In high-income countries, ultra-processed foods are now dominating the food supply, and they are rapidly gaining ground in growing economies. Ultra-processed foods have devastating effects on the microbiota. Everything we eat determines the type of species and the balance in our microbiome. Studies comparing populations on a long-time Western diet, versus a rural African or agrarian diet, have reported very large differen...
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In a recent study of 104 980 participants, for every 10% increase in processed food, there was a 12% increase in the risk of overall cancer and an 11% increase for the risk of breast cancer. This includes people who eat processed foods 3 or more times a day, including highly processed breakfast cereals, take-aways, or who eat prepackaged foods for dinner and lunch. This is not food. These same people develop a myriad of adverse health conditions and wonder why they are sick. Then later they develop cancer and wonder why. No person wants to die of cancer, however, with ...
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Parkinson's disease (PD) is a scary, relentlessly progressive neurodegenerative disease which is now showing up in more people and younger populations than ever before. It is believed to be a consequence of both genetic susceptibility and a number of environmental factors including gut health, resulting in increasing neuronal oxidative stress. A large amount of evidence now shows the involvement of the gastrointestinal tract in PD, including alterations in the microbiome, intestinal permeability (leaky gut) and more recently, the role of beneficial metabolites of the mic...
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Seaweed has grown increasingly popular in the Western diet but in addition to the food value of seaweed, several health benefits have also been reported to be present in this valuable food source. It is presumed that the unique features of the marine environment, where the seaweeds are grown, are mainly responsible for most of its properties. Among the functional effects of the seaweed, nutritional and health-related benefits have been widely studied. Compared to the terrestrial plants and animal-based foods, seaweed is rich in some health-promoting molecules and materials ...
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Inflammation is literally the body "on fire" and is a primary immune mechanism response of the body to a range of noxious stimuli. Chronic inflammation is being shown to be involved in the onset and the development of most if not all chronic illness that are now at epidemic proportions in our society. These include atherosclerosis (damaged and blocked arteries), heart disease, stroke, obesity, neurodegenerative diseases, depression, Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s Disease, thyroid disorders, diabetes, asthma, autism, arthritis, celiac disease, eczema, psoriasis, Multiple Scler...
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The different compartments of the gastrointestinal tract are inhabited by diverse populations of microorganisms often governed by the pH of that environment. By far the most important predominant populations are in the colon, primarily the large intestine. It was originally believed that the composition of the intestinal microbiota was relatively stable from early childhood; however, overwhelming evidence now shows that diet, environmental and lifestyle factors have a large influence on your gut microbes. Some bacteria such as Escherichia coli (E. coli) can double their ...
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Understanding some basics of chronic illness is the key to fixing the problem. The simplest place to start is with the underlying conditions that lead to chronic illness. This is what I call the “Illness Triad” or “Disease Triad”—inflammation, oxidation and acidosis. These three conditions are present in every form of chronic illness and prevent the body from healing and recovering. If we reduce them or even stop them from being out of control, then we can allow the body to heal and stop the progression of chronic illness. But the more advanced chronic il...
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