Thursday, October 25, 2007

YOU ARE WHAT YOU EAT

I often feel when I tell clients to stop eating wheat, sugar and fast carbs like potatoes and white rice, that they think this is based on a radical point of view based on fad low carb diets. It is really based on science and how these foods effect us on a genetic basis. Also, when it comes to weight and issues like heart disease, onset diabetes, cancer etc, many medical authorities blame genes for these health problems, and don't realize that foods and nutrients have profound effects on turning good or bad genes on or off.

According to Mark Hyman, M.D., in the May 2007 issue of American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, there was a very interesting study done to prove my point. This study demonstrates that foods have biochemical triggers.
In this study, researchers from Finland took two groups of people with metabolic syndrome and gave each group a different diet. The diet differed in what type of carbohydrates they consumed for the 12 week study. The rest of their diet was identical. They contained the same calories and the same amount of fat, protein, carbohydrate, and fiber. The first group had wheat, oats, and potatoes as the source of their carbs. The second group ate rye as their source of carbohydrate. Rye has some very special properties. It is slowly absorbed by the body and has phytonutrients that help you lose weight and improve metabolism. After the 12 weeks, the researchers took a fat sample and analyzed it to find out which genes were turned on or off. So what happened? In the wheat, oat, and potato group, 62 genes were activated that increased inflammation, oxidative stress, and the stress response, worsened blood sugar balance, and generally amplified all of the forces in the body that lead to obesity, heart disease, cancer, diabetes, and Alzheimer's disease!
No good genes were turned on. In the rye group, 71 genes were turned on that prevent diabetes, lower cholesterol, reduce inflammation, and improve blood sugar control. In both cases, the genes that were turned on and off were 100% effective. In other words they were either anti-inflammatory or pro-inflammatory. This also hold true for good fats and bad fats. Vegetable oils are pro-inflammatory and fish oils are anti-inflammatory.
The key to disease prevention lies in what you eat and what supplements you decide to take.

Here are some great nutritional studies that have come by my desk this month...

cw


A chemical found in green tea helped moderately diabetic mice tolerate sugar and produce insulin...
WASHINGTON -- A chemical found in green tea helped moderately diabetic mice tolerate sugar and produce insulin as well as GlaxoSmithKline Plc's Avandia pill did in a study.
Five-week-old moderately diabetic and severely diabetic mice were fed the compound, an antioxidant called epigallocatechin gallate or EGCG, or given Avandia. The rodents' blood sugar and insulin levels were studied after five and 10 weeks of treatment. The moderately diabetic mice fared as well on green tea extract as they did on Avandia, also known as rosiglitazone, the researchers reported. EGCG was not as effective in the severely diabetic group.
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Vitamin K shows potential in the fight against wrinkles...
19/10/2007 - Research suggests that vitamin K plays a role in protecting skin elasticity and may help protect against skin aging and the development of wrinkles.Recent studies have linked vitamin K to the elasticity of skin in patients suffering from pseudoxanthoma elasticum (PXE), an inherited condition resulting in severe wrinkling of the skin on the face and body. Although the link between vitamin K and normal levels of skin wrinkling seen in healthy populations is unknown, scientists suggest that these studies illustrate that the vitamin is involved, in some capacity, in the skin's elastic qualities.
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Omega-3 Madness: Fish Oil or Snake Oil...
WASHINGTON—Omega-3 claims are popping up in everything from cereal to mayonnaise, but are those foods the panacea that marketers would have you believe? According to the cover story in the October issue of Nutrition Action Healthletter, certain omega-3s may reduce the risk of heart disease and might even help protect against cancer, Alzheimer’s, and vision problems. But many foods making claims have little or none of those omega-3s, and labels don’t have to reveal how much or which omega-3 fat the foods contain. DHA and EPA, the omega-3s found in salmon, trout, other fish, and algae, are linked to a lower risk of heart disease. Another omega-3, ALA, found in flaxseed and to a lesser extent, canola and soy, may not have the same benefits. But that doesn’t stop companies from loading products with ALA and bragging about their omega-3 content.
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Christopher Wiechert, C.N.C.


Christopher Wiechert's Healthblogger is for educational or informational purposes only, and is not intended to diagnose or provide treatment for any condition. If you have any concerns about your own health, you should always consult with a health care professional. If you decide to use this information on your own, it's your constitutional right, but I assume no responsibility. The views expressed on this website are those of the health professionals & scientists I list or my own opinions and are not intended to replace any medical advice you may require. The contents have not been approved by the Pharmaceutical Association, the American Medical Association, or the Food and Drug Administration. This website may present views diametrically opposed to the views of such organizations. I also offer resources to products I formulate as well as those that I believe are of high value and quality. Profits from these recommendations are used to keep HealthBlogger free to those who read and appreciate the time and research that goes into these posts. It has been my experience over the last 30 years that if I offer reports and research without product recommendations, you will most likely pay more at the local health food store, and may not get the right product or the quality you would expect. I only recommend companies I respect and order from myself. I consider this a value added service that I offer along with the research. If you find this a conflict of interest, please don't order from my links.

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