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H. Pylori, which was vilified in the '90s as the bacteria that causes ulcers, has a positive role: it gives us important feedback on fullness by regulating ghrelin according to this study. Ghrelin is a hormone that stimulates hunger. One side effect of ulcer treatment was that the ulcer patients became obese after eradicating H. Pylori. Ghrelin is produced in the stomach and acts as a neurotransmitter. If ghrelin levels are unregulated, you never feel full. Because of antibiotic use over generations, increasing numbers of children today have no H. Pylori, which may be contributing to the rise of childhood obesity. Additionally, people with H. Pylori have been shown to be at reduced risk for celiac disease, irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), gastro-esophageal reflux disease (GERD), and esophageal adenocarcinoma. The NCBI, which is part of the National Institute of Health, talks about management of H. Pylori levels by use of diet if gastric ulcers are detected. Things like drinking sauerkraut juice and eating other Brassica vegetables like cauliflower or broccoli sprouts can help. Adding manuka or oak honey, or high bush blueberry juice have all shown benefits. As always, follow the advice of your doctor. Given the downside of H. Pylori eradication, a peaceful coexistence seems to be the best bet.
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Dr Katherine Reed, biochemist and mother of five, knew something was wrong with her youngest daughter, Brooke. Once Brooke was diagnosed with autism, her mother was determined to help her. Through research and trial and error, she learned how to help Brooke: by switching what she ate to entirely unprocessed food. If you are wondering if your child's autism symptoms could be helped by changing his or her diet, and wondering if the effort is worth it when life is hard enough already, here is one woman's journey. She is passionate about helping others understand the differences that it's made for her daughter, and what it might mean for your child. Her daughter had been on track for being unable to be cared for at home, yet now is functioning normally. In this video, you'll also learn how removing MSG can help reduce symptoms of a wide range of diseases and disorders of the body including anxiety, depression, bipolar, Alzheimer's, diabetes (type 1&2), obesity, Parkinson's, OCD, Tourette's, sensory integration disorder and beyond. Specifics of these are mentioned at the 7:30 minute mark. Watch the video here: Here's a helpful MSG chart here: Warmly, Elizabeth  Studies have shown that believing that our stress response is harmful to our health can stress us enough to kill us prematurely. So rather than putting a negative spin on the word stress, how about a big old smile? As health psychologist Kelly McGonical points out, belief that stress is bad for you is the 15th leading cause of death in the US. People who experienced a lot of stress, but who didn't believe that stress is harmful had the lowest death rate in the study, lower even than the people with the lowest stress levels.
While some of us may worry about our stress response, it's not all a hardship for the body. In fact, part of our stress response is to release oxytocin, which causes us to reach out to others for support and inspires us to notice others' stress so that you can support others. Not only that, but oxytocin acts in the body to protect us from the effects of stress. It's anti-inflammatory and helps our blood vessels stay relaxed when under stress. Oxytocin also helps the heart repair itself. So your stress response strengthens your heart. We have biologically built-in ways to develop stress resilience when we reach out to others. So take heart. You can find Kelly's talk here: |