Probiotics have been shown to help in:
• reducing general inflammation
• improving immune function to generally fight infections
• lowering blood pressure (that alone is such a surprising outcome: HOW do they do do it??)
• preventing harmful bacterial growth in stress situations
• lowering cholesterol
• mitigating irritable bowel syndrome and colitis
• improving mineral absorption
• the prevention of colon cancer
• to alleviate rotavirus infections in children
• healing travelers' diarrhea in adults
• preventing secondary infections in antibiotic therapy
• preventing Helicobacter pylori infection of the stomach
• preventing urinary tract infections and infectious prostatitis
• lowering the incidence of antibiotic-associated diarrhea due to Clostridium difficile
Translated, probiotic means “for life’ and is obviously the contrary expression to antibiotic, “against life.” Don’t get me wrong, antibiotics can save lives, but there is no doubt that physicians have over-prescribed them since they came on the market during World War II. Now we have to live with the consequences: Resistant bacteria.
Probiotics, on the other hand, are not likely to do any harm to your body. In fact, they are the most helpful supplement money can buy, in my opinion (the second is fish oil). Try different strains because the above effects have been shown not to be general to be related to individual bacterial strains.
Side effects may be cramping and occasional diarrhea. If one strain bothers you, try another brand. I personally like PrimalDefense which also contains chlorella - but as usual, I do not endorse a product, and want to hear from you which brand you prefer. Also, start with a low dose, and slowly go up, as your bowels get used to it.
The thinking is that helpful gut bacteria like Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium will repopulate the intestines, but one study showed that the benefits even accrue with dead bacteria. However they work - they do work. Read More
Blog: On Health. On Writing. On Life. On Everything.
The Dreaded Cellulite
May 19, 2010
Cellulite – in medical terminology: gynoid lipodystrophy – is what many women dread: those dimpled masses of fat around the thighs.
One study showed that people who were severely overweight, improved their cellulite when they lost weight. But people who were less overweight, experienced worse cellulite after weight loss. What is a woman to do??
The Natural Medicine take on cellulite is that it is poorly exercised, inflamed fat, and here is what you can do:
• Eliminate all dairy and milk products (cheese, butter, yogurt, milk solids) from your diet. Dairy seems to be the one single aggravating factor in the diet. The Mediterranean diet (lots of vegetables, herbs and olive oil plus small amounts of meats) seems healing. Dairy is a highly inflammatory food; olive oil is anti-inflammatory.
• Also leave out white starches and sugars. Replace with brown rice and legumes (beans, lentils garbanzos).
• Start with a very moderate program to exercise (because big programs don't work; they overwhelm you). For instance, Jump up and down one minute – and find out how awfully long a minute is… If you have that minute in your daily routine every single day, go for two minutes. Next step: Go for a short walk at lunch hour. Take the steps.
• Brush your skin with a dry brush – always in the direction of your heart. It is not as effective as exercise, and very boring, but it mobilizes those sluggish fat cells – at least a little bit.
• Always end your hot shower/bath with a short cold one (unless you have uncontrolled high blood pressure and/or arterial disease).
• Cold sitzbaths are recommended if you also have varicose veins. Fill at least an inch or two of cold water in the tub. Sit with legs outstretched for one to two minutes.
Cellulite is not a beauty problem. It is a quick measure of your metabolic health. While a little bit of dimpling might just come with age, those factors that now annoy you with cellulite will, in the long run, present you with heart disease, diabetes, stroke, dementia, arthritis, depression, cancer, and so on. Read More
No Time For Cooking?
May 18, 2010
The argument most often used why people eat take-out food, TV dinners and in restaurants, is that they have no time to cook.
Once you understand that you cannot be healthy on ready-made foods, you will want to cook for yourself and your family. Contrary to popular belief, it does not take much time to cook.
As an example, let’s look at our dinner last night. This is what we had:
Fish filet with green sauce
Red kale in olive oil and garlic
Parisian carrots
Red lentils with cumin.
Sounds like an outlandish dish for you? For us, it is pretty much every-day fare. It did not take me more than half an hour to bring this fresh meal on the table.
Fish filet: We had cod, but any filet would do. – The green sauce is the tricky part; in this case it was a frozen leftover from when we last had guests. Melt some virgin coconut fat in a frying pan (no microwaving!), add frozen green sauce, wait until thawed before adding the fish. Fry on low until done (a few minutes). Instead of green sauce, I could have sprinkled the fish with dried dill, or fresh herbs from the garden.
Red kale: Cut in stripes, wash quickly in cold water. Add dried or fresh garlic (I used dried), olive oil, pepper and salt (I prefer an herbed salt). Sautee in little water until done (about twenty minutes). - Most vegetables taste delicious with just olive oil and garlic - try!
Red lentils: One cup of red lentils to two cups of water (this is the ratio for most grains and lentils). Add salt and ground cumin. Bring to a boil. Simmer until done (about twenty minutes).
Carrots: Wash carrots, cut in bite-sized pieces. Add parsley (dried or fresh; the original recipe asks for parsley; I had run out of it and used dried cilantro instead – you make do with what you have), white pepper, salt and a teaspoon full of honey. Butter or, better, ghee (clarified butter) is optional. Sautee in little water. Takes about twenty minutes.
Serve and, as they say, enjoy!
Green sauce recipe: You need a kitchen machine for this – a blender will not do: Chop a small onion, a few baby carrots and a few cloves of garlic in the machine. Add as many washed and coarsely cut herbs as you can put your hands on: Basil, parsley, cilantro, dill are my staples. Water cress, thyme, sage, rosemary and others are optional. Blend with olive oil, pepper and salt until smooth. Fill up with plenty of olive oil until frothy. Freeze leftovers in small tupperwares.
You might notice that I use a lot of healthy fats (coconut oil for frying, olive oil, ghee). They don’t make your cholesterol go up – cheese and meats will do that. My husband’s cholesterol hovers around 110 – enviably. Good fats lower inflammation in the body. AND you leave the table satisfied. Read More