Is Red Meat Healthy for Real Men and Women?

Red meat has taken a bashing in recent years. I cannot tell you how often patients tell me proudly that they have dropped red meat from their diet. Some of them are relieved to find out that I am not opposed to red meat consumption. I do advise that pasture-fed and organic meat be chosen instead of commercial red meat.
Our fears about red meat seem to center around two very legitimate concerns-cancer and heart disease. The question is how much of a risk is red meat to  our risk of these diseases?

What I find interesting is that we become focused on a food like red meat, which has been consumed by humans for thousands of years, long before cancer and heart disease became problems. Along with Diabetes Type II and Obesity, these are the modern diseases of the twentieth century and have only continued to increase dramatically and alarmingly despite our avoidance of red meat and our being prescribed cholesterol and blood pressure lowering drugs.

Let’s look at the studies. A meta-analysis of studies about red meat show there is no increase risk of cancer or heart disease, even for commercial red meat (from feed-lot cattle). However, there is evidence of risk from processed meats. A meta-analysis means that a large number of relevant studies were analyzed and conclusions were drawn from the analysis. Here is the link to the meta-analysis. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2885952/ Scroll down to bottom for the conclusion.

What is the concern about red meat? First there is concern about carcinogens storing in the fat. But there seems to be no evidence that meat  and animal products contain more toxins than vegetarian products like plant-based oils. Some fish contains a high quantity of toxins and other fish does not. So, source may be very important.  http://www.westonaprice.org/environmental-toxins/dioxins-in-animal-foods? http://www.westonaprice.org/environmental-toxins/dioxins-in-animal-foods?

The other concern is about saturated fats. But very early cancer research demonstrated that animals fats, including butter, were actually protective of heart and cells, and cancer preventive. Margarines and corn oils were the oils to avoid. We know that cholesterol is made, by the liver, out of starches and sugars and only about 10% is derived from the cholesterol in foods. And in the case of eggs Nature has included lecithin so that the cholesterol is broken down.

So, enjoy red meat, but choose wisely. And you may need some digestive enzymes or extra hydrochloric acid to properly digest the meat. Chew it well, as digestion starts in the mouth with the saliva and signals get sent to the stomach to get ready. There is a reason why red meat smells delicious to us when roasted or barbecued. Our cells can use the nutrients and our ancestors ate meat. We are Omnivores, plant and animal eaters. We need the vital proteins from animal, fish, dairy, nuts and eggs to be strong and fit. If our suppliers would just raise animals wisely, we would not have to worry so much about the source of our food. More on that in future blogs.

Is Organic Food Really Worth the Extra Price?

It has been pretty well established that eating more vegetables and fruits is healthy for us.  Buying organic adds to the food bill, but how much difference does it make to your health?
Let’s take a look at what organic means in the U.S.A.  (Europe has higher standards.) For the most part “certified organic” simply means that the crops have not been sprayed with chemicals or pesticides.  Unfortunately, this does not mean that the soil has been carefully prepared so that the pesticide-free produce has plenty of vitamins and minerals. However, organic farmers must be more soil-conscious because rich soil is more resistant to bugs.

Today we are exposed to thousands of chemicals that have never existed before in our history. All of those chemicals must be processed through the liver and kidneys. Pesticides are neurotoxins. That means they kill insects by attacking their nerve cells.  Pesticides are just as toxic to human nerves. We just happen to have more nerve cells, so killing off a few thousand at a time does not kill us. But how good can that be for our health in general?

A Harvard study from 2010, showed that kids exposed to pesticides were twice as likely to be diagnosed ADHD. This study appeared in Pediatrics.

People with high levels of dichlorophenol (a product of a herbicide) were more likely to have allergies to peanuts, eggs, milk and seafood, according to researchers at the Albert Einstein School of Medicine.

A study found in Therapeutic Drug Monitoring showed that mothers exposed to pesticides had a two to seven times risk of having a child with the most common form of childhood cancer- acute lymphoblastic leukemia.

Pesticides and chemicals can interfere with the delicate dance of the endocrine and hormonal system, according to the World Health Organization. http://www.who.int/mediacentre/news/releases/2013/hormone_disrupting_20130219/en/

The list of commercially grown foods with the highest amount of pesticides includes coffee, strawberries, bananas, apples, celery cherry tomatoes, grapes, peppers, nectarines, peaches, potatoes, hot peppers, bell peppers, kale, collard greens and summer squashes.

Pesticides are manufactured to resist rainfall, so just rinsing your produce is not enough. You can make your own spray by mixing 1 TBLS lemon juice, 2 TBLS white vinegar with 1 cup of filtered water. (Be sure to use organic lemons.) Rinse well or soak,  spray and wash, and rinse again.

So, even if organic is not always in your budget you can help protect your family and yourself from neurotoxins. This is one area of chemical exposure you can control. There is so much we cannot avoid, and it is the cumulative burden that may tip our bodies over into the cellular damage that precedes a disease state.

I mentioned coffee and I highly recommend organic coffee.  Marie et Cie, at the corner of Riverside and Colfax, is one of my favorite places for organic coffee. They also offer light meals and home-made goodies, some gluten-free, served with a great French vibe.

Donut Prince on Olive Street in Burbank, close to my office at Reese, has a coffee bar with an organic selection. Don’t go unless you can resist the donuts! No gluten-free selections here.

Starbucks claims to use coffee from crops that are not sprayed, but are not certified organic. Let me know any other cafes that serve organic coffee and I will list them in a future blog.

Hope you are enjoying all the wonderful summer fruits and veggies, and now you know how to have the flavor and health benefits, and avoid the toxins.

Summertime and the Living is Hot and Humid-How to Thrive

I am currently in Florida for business and a class. I prefer coming here in the winter months, but here I am, with 90 degree temperatures. Today the humidity is only 67% but my phone app says it feels like 104 degrees outside.
As if frizzy hair and melting make-up were not enough, I also find I get a mild headache and drained feeling after only a short time outdoors in this weather. So, I thought I would share with you my own secret weapons for this severe climate change from California.

There are several factors that come into play in severe weather. First is liver health. If you find that bright sunlight bothers your eyes, or you feel sick in hot weather, consider liver support or a cleanse.

If hot weather makes you tired consider your adrenals. These small glands situated above the kidneys make a number of hormones that help your body adapt to environmental conditions. Strong emotions, as well as weather and temperature changes bring a surge of adrenal action. If your adrenals are tired from over-stimulation, too much sugar or caffeine or medications and drugs, your body will not be able to adapt well. Supporting adrenals with herbal medicines such as licorice, rhodiola, eleuthero will help. Licorice should be used in small amounts by anyone with high blood pressure issues.

Nutrition such as whole food B vitamins from brown rice, organ meats, and brewer’s yeast is important. Adrenals are also the largest storage place in the body for Vitamin C, but you need C from foods, not ascorbic acid vitamins. Supplements from Standard Process ™ include food source B vitamins, whole complex C, as well as glandular extract support that will actually get your adrenals working at an optimum level again.

Adrenals also are affected by salt levels. You may need more sea salt (not iodized table salt) in hot weather, especially if you get headaches. Potassium is lost in sweat, so consider eating potassium rich foods such as bananas, oranges, prunes and broccoli. You can also supplement with potassium. Plenty of fresh vegetables and fruits and drinking water while avoiding caffeine and sodas is always a wise policy.

Cal Amo® from Standard Process is my favorite hot weather friend. It has various chlorides and calcium that help your body’s water balance, without making you too alkaline and upsetting your salt/potassium balance.

Knowing how to help your body cope with temperature and humidity and other environmental changes can help your holiday stay happy. One of my patients, who always suffers from severe headaches when visiting her family in Colorado’s high altitude country, recently was able to avoid her usual medication by getting on a supplement program a couple of seeks before her trip.

Your own bio-chemistry is unique. You do not have to suffer when the seasons change or you have to travel. Email me with any questions you have.

Fatigue is a Drag-Also a Symptom

What percentage of people do you know who are tired? Plenty. It is the most common complaint for patients seeking medical help, according to the medical journals.
Most often a medical doctor will find no reason. That is because MD’s look for disease, not wellness. Low-energy, fatigue, exhaustion are all symptoms of a number of problems brewing below the surface. An actual disease state may not appear for years. This affects the quality of life, but also fosters continue wear and tear that will eventually lead to disease.

The first thing to consider is hormone deficiency. Both low thyroid and low adrenals are causes of fatigue. Even if you are told that your thyroid blood work is “normal”, consider that the most common hormone checked, TSH, is a pituitary hormone not a thyroid hormone. The active thyroid hormone is called T3 and it must be formed in the liver. So, if your liver is congested and over-worked, possibly due to the hundreds of chemicals it has to process every day, then your thyroid may be fine, but you are not getting the benefit. And that will make your tired because many cells in your body have a receptor for T3.

If you have difficulty losing weight, cold hands and feet, feel chilled when others are warm, feel foggy mentally or are forgetful, are depressed, retain water, have dry skin, low libido, thinning outer third of eyebrows, consider that you have low thyroid. You may have some of these symptoms even if you are on thyroid medication, which means there are other things to balance in the hormone/endocrine system, or your liver needs help.

Often you do not need a prescription to revive your thyroid and get the thyroid hormones you need. Consider natural thyroid support, including iodine, but use only the bio-available forms. Thyroid protomorphogen is a blue print for making new healthy thyroid cells. And you may need a liver detox or liver support program. So, being tired is only partially a function of how much sleep you are getting.

I will write more about causes of fatigue next time.