What’s in Your Guts?

It seems that most people I talk to just can’t get their minds to adequately provide a picture of what is actually in their intestines (besides food). When I say something like “there’s billions of seats where the bacteria sit,” at best I get a dumb stare and sometimes a “what the heck are you talking about?” I seriously considered putting in an article here by one of the country’s most renowned microbiologists, but I decided that her words might continue to go over the heads of the average reader. So I have devised a cartoon version here that might be better at explaining the situation. You tell me if this works.

First, maybe you should re-read the sections about your intestines, way back in Issue 02. Now what we’re going to do here is to slice across the small intestine so that, roughly, we have an oval-shaped section, then with a magical microscope, we’re going to zoom in on that slice until we can see the seats I have been talking about. Voila! The picture we get is approximately that of a football stadium, where 100,000,000 (rough approximation) spectators can watch the game and make lots of noise about what is going on down there on the field. Except, in this case, what is going on in the artificial turf portion of this picture isn’t a game, but the passage of food.

Now for the next step. You can see in this picture that every seat in the stadium is full. Here’s a question: Are they all rooting for the home team? No? Then, would it be easy for you to say that some of those seats are filled with “good” guys and some with “bad” guys? Next picture: a graphic representation of the good bacteria (green), the bad bacteria (red), and fungi (orange). The brown in the middle is the digesting food, and there usually always is some of that present.

OK, now we are hovering directly above the cross section, looking down from the Badyear Blimp. Section #1 has a few good bacteria, a lot of fungi, and a whole bunch of bad bacteria. Obviously, this person is sick, so he goes to his friendly allopathic doctor, who immediately gives him a shot of antibiotics. What does that do? It kills all the bacteria, whether good or bad, and leaves the cross section looking somewhat like #2.

Now, if the situation would stay like that, maybe this person wouldn’t be too bad off, but the fact is, all those stadium seats will be filled immediately with whatever is attached to the next thing you put in your mouth or even breath in. Section #3 is someone who had probiotics after his antibiotics, in which case the intestine was immediately repopulated by the good bacteria – the ones who are rooting for the home team. Note that the fungi are still there because this person had an antibiotic, not an antifungal. Antibiotics do not kill fungi because they are made from the toxic metabolites of fungi. Section #4 shows what the cross section would look like if this guy had his antibiotics and did not follow that with a probiotic. Instead, he swallowed his pills with a soda pop (which contains enough sugar to let one fungus cell grow to 6,000,000,000 fungi).

Look at #4! No good bacteria to help him digest his food. This person was sick and I guarantee he is going to get sicker. Not only will he be unable to properly digest, but he is going to get illnesses that the allopaths will only prescribe more antibiotics for, worsening the situation until the only thing populating those seats are fungi. Now he will check into the hospital with ALS, or Crohn’s Disease, or leaky gut, or any of dozens of other fungal diseases (none of which the allopaths know to be fungal). Perhaps, soon, he will also get diagnosed with cancer, because this huge fungal population will break off, bore through the intestinal walls, enter the blood stream, try to mutate the genetic structure in favor of their own matrix, etc., etc. Get the picture? The home team loses big time!

What you want is for that entire section to be mostly green – no red, very little orange. There are normally a certain number of yeasts in your intestines – even the dreaded <gasp!> Candida albicans. A small number of yeasts are not a problem, if your good bacteria are populous enough to keep them in check. You actually have a myriad of other microorganisms, not just yeasts and bacteria, in your body at any given time. The problem starts when the good guys are decimated and there are not enough of them to keep the bad guys from taking over. So you will never have an intestine that is populated only by good bacteria, but they must, of necessity, comprise the vast majority of those stadium seats. Oh, and while we’re at it, do note that this cross section we were looking at is only about ½-inch deep, and you have 25-28 feet of small intestine, all of which has this stadium seating. So multiply these pictures by 600x to account for the entire length (in “average” adults). On average, the adult human body is home to, at any given time, approximately 100,000,000,000,000 organisms, some good, some bad, some neutral.

Now do you understand why we are pushing the regular use of probiotics? And that those probiotics must be a very large number (30+ billion) live active units? If you take a hard pill, stored at room temperature, you are wasting your money because the bacteria are dead (and I don’t give a hoot which whacko claims he has created a super strain or uses non-human bacteria that can live in garden dirt – they will not do you any good, and some of those might even be harmful). Only live human-strain bacteria can repopulate your intestines so that you have as many good guys as possible rooting for the home team.

Some Really Bad Foods – Avoid These

The following is from MSN Health & Fitness. I’ll leave their words (in black) alone and add my comments (in green). Note that these people know nothing about mycotoxins and have found other reasons why these foods are bad. But this article might also serve as an example of why you cannot believe everything you read, even when you perceive that someone is on the same bandwagon as you are. Small omissions can make for big mistakes.

Hydrogenated fats

These are mostly man-made fats that are used in bakery items and stick margarine. Studies show that it isn’t so much how much fat there is in your diet that causes problems, as what kind of fat, and hydrogenated fats are the worst. Avoid buying cookies, crackers, baked goods or anything else that has hydrogenated oil on the ingredient list. Fortunately, the FDA now requires that food manufactures identify the amount of hydrogenated fats in their products — look for trans fats on the nutrition panel.

Olestra

Olestra is a fake fat, used to make non-fat potato chips and other snacks. You’d think, with all the bad rap fat has gotten, a non-fat fat would be great. But Olestra has been shown to bind with fat-soluble vitamins A, E, D and K and carotenoids — substances thought to keep the immune system healthy and prevent some cancers — and to eliminate them from your system. Proctor and Gamble, the company that produces olestra, has acknowledged the problem with vitamins A, E, D and K and is now fortifying it with them. (So what good is it to add extra vitamins just so their olestra can also eliminate what is added?)

Olestra has also caused digestive upset in some people, especially when they eat a lot of it. Often, it’s not just fat in the potato chip that causes problems for people; it’s the fact that they are displacing healthier foods, such as fruit, so Olestra can just perpetuate an unhealthy habit.

Nitrates

Many foods, especially cured meats such as bacon and hot dogs, use nitrates to preserve color and maintain microbial safety. Nitrate is harmless, but it can convert to nitrite, which can form nitrosamines, a powerful cancer-causing chemical, in your body. Whenever possible, look for nitrate-free preserved meats. When you do eat foods containing nitrates, have a glass of orange juice at the same time (for instance, orange juice with your morning bacon). Vitamin C is known to inhibit the conversion to nitrosamines in your stomach. (I’m sure we already beat this nitrate issue to death in a past newsletter.)

Alcohol

This one item has created more problems than all the rest put together. Of course, it is possible to consume alcohol wisely and safely and enjoy it immensely, such as a fine glass of wine with a delicious dinner. But even if you exercise caution in no other area of your diet, this is the area where you should. (I disagree with this last statement entirely. All drinking-alcohols are mycotoxin in origin, and beer and wine also add live yeasts to the equation. Therefore, regardless of the supposed benefits of one beer or one glass of wine per day (as suggested by many allopathic doctors – and, when I was living in England in the late ‘60s and early ‘70s, the hospitals actually gave a glass of beer per day to their patients), the bad side far outweighs the good side.)

Raw oysters

Raw oysters can carry deadly bacteria that can cause severe illness or death. Because it is strictly “buyer beware” when buying them, you take a big risk every time you do. To date, no government or independent body inspects seafood for safety or will guarantee its quality. Oysters are a nutritious food, and are OK to include in your diet, but if you do, cook them first! (I put a cooked oyster in my mouth once many years ago. When I finally stopped retching, I vowed to never ever let one of those slimy things near me again! Caca poo poo! Ptooie!)

Saturated animal fats

That means fatty meats, especially beef and pork, or the skin on poultry. It also includes full-fat dairy products such as cheese, milk, and cream. Fatty meat and dairy products do have some contributions to make to a diet, but none that can’t be found elsewhere. (Here I will add that we should not fall for the idea that red meat is bad, in and of itself – red meat, as it is grown today, probably contains antibiotics and hormones, and the fat definitely contains the mycotoxins from those antibiotics and whatever was in their feed (corn, moldy hay, etc.). Again, this is due to the use of antibiotics and hormones used in the agri-business to make cattle fatter faster (thus increasing profits), but that also holds true for pigs, chickens, turkeys, etc. You cannot be sure any meat is safe today unless you raised it yourself and used no processed feed and no artificial hormones or antibiotics. The old adage “garbage in, garbage out” is so very true in this case.)

Soda

Drinking soda is a poor way to get fluids. They are full of sugar (a fungal growth food) or artificial sweeteners (a neurotoxin) and often contain caffeine, artificial colors and flavors. Substitute homemade soda by mixing sparkling water with fresh, 100% juice (no sugars added). (Or try homemade lemonade or iced tea.)

High-fat snacks, chips

Even if they are made with vegetable oil, they should be minimized. The balance of fat in our diets has shifted too far to the omega-6 variety, found in most processed vegetable oils. It is thought that too many of these fats may be leading to certain chronic diseases. (Here’s another outright “don’t touch it with a 10-foot pole” statement: The term “vegetable oil” sounds so safe, doesn’t it? What harm could come to you from a vegetable? Actually, “vegetable oil” is a catch-all term meaning one or more of: corn, soy, or peanut oil (usually corn and/or soy). Corn and peanuts are universally contaminated with mycotoxins, and soy, even if there were no mycotoxins, can cause estrogen-dependent cancers. So “vegetable” oil is not a good choice either.)

Liquid meals

They aren’t inherently bad for you, but they do keep you from eating natural foods that contain more nutrients and fiber and disease-fighting phytochemicals. They may be okay for people who are too sick to eat, but don’t let them displace the real foods in your diet. (Yet I have a friend who is suffering from heavy metal toxicity because of drinking too much Ensure. Read those labels!)

News Shorts

While perhaps not directly relevant to this newsletter, yet still very relevant to your children’s health – if you want to know what they are really eating in school, check out this article:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/11148063/

And as for the following, why haven’t they bothered to check for fungi?

TRENTON, N.J. - New Jersey is among the states seeing an increase in deaths from an intestinal bacterial infection that most often strikes older hospital patients who have taken antibiotics.

National occurrences are up as well because, officials say, an overuse of antibiotics for other ailments is killing off the “good” bacteria (Gee, modern allopathic doctors are finally admitting this?) that used to control the growth of Clostridium difficile bacterium.

More at: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/11134749/

Signs that We are Making Changes in the Health World

The following is from Dr. Mercola’s newsletter. If it is true, it’s good news, but obviously, there is still a long path ahead of us before anyone can claim we are “winning the war.”

·        Increasing numbers of people are seeking natural alternative solutions. Last year an estimated two-thirds of Americans used some form of natural medicine for their health problems

·        More and more are starting to question whether physicians really do “know it all,” whether drugs really ARE the answer, and whether the FDA should be trusted at all, especially after tragedies like the FDA-approved drug Vioxx, which has killed 60,000 people

·        Insurance companies, once stalwarts of the conventional system, are finally starting to include natural preventive approaches and alternative treatments in their models. This is not, of course, out of the goodness of their hearts, but because they are recognizing that it actually reduces their overall costs in the big picture, as preventive health means less people getting sick in the first place

·        Bottled water -- not soda pop, not beer -- has been the fastest growing beverage segment. Even those caught in the heart of the mainstream are learning that clean water, a natural health fundamental, is essential

·        Natural health and organic food is the fastest growing grocery segment of all, with the giant grocery store chains adding organic and natural health sections to their stores. Meanwhile, even McDonald’s and Wendy’s are working overtime to try to add healthier choices to their menus ... because people like you are demanding it. (I must add here that we should also remember that not everything labeled “organic” is really better than the standard products, and as for McDonald’s, you know they only make changes for increased profits, not for your health.)

Your National Press is Off the Ball

COLUMBIA, S.C. - The maker of contaminated pet food that caused the deaths of dozens of dogs nationwide acknowledged Tuesday that workers at its South Carolina plant failed to follow internal testing procedures to ensure its products were safe.

Diamond Pet Foods made the acknowledgment after the federal Food and Drug Administration released a report showing the company has no record of test results for 12 shipments of corn in September and October, when grain tainted with the deadly fungus aflatoxin slipped into the plant. – Associated Press, 7:35 a.m. ET Feb. 1, 2006

Now you folks know that we reported this over a month ago, and, as of last count, over 76 dogs are known to have been killed by this aflatoxin-contaminated dog food (unsubstantiated reports suggest over 100). So here’s my rant: 1) Why the heck does it take the mainstream press so long to report things like this? and 2) Why are they playing it down? They say it “caused the death of dozens of dogs…” Excuse me, buttheads, but that would be six dozen or more! And to date, of all the mainstream news articles I have read on this subject, still not a single one of them has suggested that humans might also be killed by aflatoxins. Pay attention people! The dogs’ internal workings are the same as yours! Whatever will kill a dog will kill a human. And that crap is in most of the foods you get at the grocery store. Also, note the words in their article that I highlighted: aflatoxin is not a fungus, it’s a mycotoxin (a fungal metabolite). There’s a big difference, so obviously they still have no clue what they’re talking about; they just printed an FDA press release. As usual, one may assume if it is a government document, it is propaganda, not truth.

from “One Minute Wellness” by Dr. Ben Lerner with Dr. Greg Loman:

While allopathic medicine has many lifesaving benefits, recent findings are revealing more and more that the cures may in fact be more dangerous than the diseases they were created to heal.

Every drug is to some degree a poison. Virtually any medication taken by the wrong patient, in the wrong dose, or at the wrong time has the ability to be harmful, if not fatal. The risk/benefit analysis of drug consumption—prescribed or otherwise—needs to be brought into focus for health and economic reasons.

Before you think that this view is alarmist in nature, consider the following facts about the use of one of the world’s most common pain-related drugs, acetaminophen (available under the product name Tylenol, for example). Acetaminophen use is the number one reason for acute liver failure in the United States. It is also responsible for 8 to 10 percent of the end-stage renal disease in the U.S. These statistics are associated with one extremely common, widely-used drug that is considered so safe it is available without prescription to anyone with the money to pay for it. If the “non-dangerous” drugs yield consequences of this nature, what is happening with products that require the restrictions of a prescription to obtain them?

“Care, not treatment, is the answer,” says Dr. Joseph Mercola, (http://www.mercola.com) a Chicago-area osteopathic physician, in response to the health-care crisis. “Drugs, surgery, and hospitals are rarely the answer to chronic health problems. Facilitating the God-given healing capacity that all of us have is the key. Improving diet, exercise, and lifestyle are basic.”

Exercise Builds a Healthy Brain

by Heather S. Oliff, PhD

You probably know that exercise is important to keep your body healthy, but it might do wonders for your brain too.

Research is showing several positive effects of exercise on the brain, including:

• Enhanced mood
• Improved memory
• Increased brain blood flow
• Delayed or slowed progression of Alzheimer’s disease
• Reduced brain damage after injury

Mood

One study of older sedentary adults who participated in three exercise-training sessions per week for four weeks reported an improved mood, quality of life, and personal morale, as well as reduced anxiety.

Another study examined the effects of long-term exercise. Older adults who were previously sedentary experienced an improved morale after a year-long training program, which included aerobic exercise three times per week.

Exercise may also alleviate depression and anxiety, which may be due in part to the fact that older people who exercise moderately on a regular basis have been found to sleep better. According to sleep researchers at the Stanford Center for Research and the Emory University Sleep Disorders Program in Atlanta, older adults who exercise spend less time trying to fall asleep and generally sleep longer and more soundly than their sedentary counterparts.

Exercise produces other benefits, such as increased muscle strength, flexibility, range of motion, balance, endurance and posture, all of which promote self-sufficiency and decrease feelings of dependence and depression.

Memory

Memory decline usually accompanies aging, but exercise may slow the progression. Several recent studies have documented the effects of exercise on memory. In one study, older sedentary adults participated in an exercise program that consisted of one hour of fast treadmill walking, three times per week for four months. The exercisers, when compared with sedentary people, experienced a significant improvement in memory and reaction time tests.

These researchers also found that older adults that participated in a strength and flexibility program for one hour three times per week for four months, improved their performance on memory tests. Even though the memory-enhancing effects were more profound in people performing aerobic activity, the research shows that any type of regular exercise is better than none at all.

In another study, newly retired people who chose a more sedentary lifestyle had cognitive test scores that progressively declined over a four-year period. By comparison, new retirees who participated in regular exercise, such as walking, jogging, calisthenics, bicycling, sports, dancing, or aerobics, did not have a decline in cognitive test scores.

Brain Blood Flow and Stroke Risk

Blood flow in the brain also declines with age;1 this is a risk factor for stroke. The same four-year study mentioned above found that the new retirees who did not exercise had a significant decline in cerebral blood flow, while those who remained active or continued to work had a more constant cerebral blood flow, suggesting that exercise helps to reduce age-related decline in cerebral blood flow and may protect against stroke.

Note 1: I disagree with the statement that blood flow to the brain declines with “age.” I believe it declines simply because the arteries are clogged or otherwise restricted. This appears to be age-related only because the things that do the clogging accumulate over time. A younger person who ate more junk would get the same results as an older person who ate less junk, assuming their lifestyles/physical activities were otherwise comparable.

Alzheimer’s Disease

A Japanese study followed the lives of 828 people 65 years of age or older who did not have dementia over a seven-year period. They found that people who participated in daily exercise at leisure time or moderate to severe physical activity at work had a significantly lower incidence of Alzheimer’s disease. Some people believe that leading a physically active life may be protective against Alzheimer’s disease.

How Does Exercise Affect the Brain?

Animal studies give us insight into what happens inside the brain during exercise. Mice love running, so they were given running wheels and allowed to voluntarily exercise. When compared with mice that did not exercise, the exercising mice had an increased number of new brain cells in the hippocampus — a part of the brain involved in learning and memory. Therefore, when you exercise you may increase the number of neurons in your brain. Nicole Berchtold, PhD, says, “The more brain cells the better, especially in the hippocampus. Go out and exercise to build up your muscles and brain cells.”

One molecule that appears to be an important player in brain health and function is brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF). BDNF is a type of growth factor that makes neurons more resistant to injury. BDNF helps neurons survive, especially neurons that are susceptible to degeneration in Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson’s disease.

“We have made some exciting discoveries. We have found that exercise increases BDNF levels in memory centers of the brain,” says Berchtold. “Scientists have also shown that BDNF enhances learning and memory. The exciting implications are that exercise not only keeps your neurons healthier, but exercise may also help you learn.”

Scientists have shown that exercise can increase the number of brain cells as well as increase levels of protective molecules in the brain. This means that exercise has the potential to slow neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s disease, or repair damaged or aged brains.