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And the journey begins...
Making such a drastic lifestyle change has me learning a lot these days. I am busy reading all about what foods contain gluten and how to identify it on packaging and ingredient lists. I didn’t realize that even things like spices, soy sauce, lunch meat and salad dressing are gluten-ridden. I have decided to cut out all ‘heavy’ gluten – i.e. bread, chips, beer, flour tortillas, wheat pasta, and so forth. I am not going to worry about the bits of gluten in my spices or soy sauce though many people do; I am focusing on the big stuff. I felt really good this first day. I cook a lot and have always made fresh veggies the center of my meals so it’s not too tough for me to eat vegetable based meals. I ate a big salad for lunch at work and for dinner I made a big shrimp and kale stir fry that was delicious and completely satisfying. Every time I decide to make some change in my habits, I find that the first three days aren't as tough as I am excited to get going on my 'new lifestyle' so I'm expecting this to get harder after the first few days without a crunchy baguette! WIN A 3 PACK OF COLONICS!!! PURE Colonics wants you to try a mini-version of what I did! Try a gluten-free diet for just one week, keep a journal of how your feeling, changes you noticed, and so forth and submit it to the PURE Colonics' Facebook page. At the end of October there will be a drawing from all of the names of people who submitted their journal entries. If your name is picked, you win 3 colonics ($405 value)!!
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Kick-starting your summer with a healthy makeover from the inside out! Here are some tips to get your body feeling refreshed and ready for this skin-baring season!
Drink Up! Challenge yourself to drinking two liters of water a day. Small changes will make it possible, i.e. start the morning out with a glass of water before getting your cup of joe and drink a glass between each glass of wine while at happy hour. This will not only get things moving inside but you'll notice a difference in your skin as well. Stretch It Out Start feeling more agile and limber by stretching your muscles on a daily basis. Rather than sitting on the couch during your favorite show, grab a spot on the floor and loosen that tension. Who knows, you may even be motivated to get out of the house all together and go for a quick jog or walk around the block! Find A New Activity The change in weather is the perfect opportunity to change up your usual activities. Challenge your body in new ways such as taking a yoga or salsa dancing class. The city is full of fun, free, activities outdoors throughout the next couple of months- we even listed some on the calendar that seem particularly fun. For more ideas, check out the Hudson River Park Events Calendar. Give Your Insides A Break! Take a break from your normal diet and try a cleanse or detox. Click here for a few that Philomena is a fan of! Get a Colonic The colon plays a huge role in throwing out toxins but when it's backed-up it can't do it's job properly. Visit us for a hydro-colonic to start your summer on a clean note. As the nice weather has decided to stick around for the weekend, let's make the most of it and get outside! Taking advantage of these sunny days is not only good for your mind and your mood- it's the perfect opportunity to get moving. Physical activity is a key ingredient to keeping your system regular and there is no lack of activities to keep you from get moving (inside and out!) this Spring. Below is a list of fun activities to get you out of your stuffy apartment and under the sun! Enjoy! Stretch Out In Socrates Sculpture Park Bring a mat and stretch out in the fresh air with the sun warming your back! The open-air sculpture museum offers free yoga classes on the weekends (Sat 9:30–10:30am, 11am–noon; Sun 10–11am). They also offer tai chi classes on Sundays (11am–noon). (www.socratessculpturepark.org) Skate The City Meet dozens of skaters at 7:45pm at the south end of Union Square for a 2 hour skate around the city along a different route each week. All skill levels are welcome as long as you can stop and turn, and because you'll be rolling on the road, helmets and wrist guards are a must. Post-skate keep hanging with your new friends at Mumbles bar and restaurant! (www.unionsquarenyc.org) Hang Out On The High Line Stroll down the High Line and enjoy the the design-minded, elevated green space with snacks from an amazing lineup of local vendors. Tuesday night stargazing is a great after-dark activity and will start up again on May 7th. (www.thehighline.org) Stop and Smell the... Cherry Blossoms The Japanese have a term for appreciating cherry blossoms from bud and bloom to the blankets of fallen petals: 'hanami'. This cycle will be on full view as the Brooklyn Botanic Garden’s over 200 cherry trees show their colors. Tours of the collection—the largest of these trees outside of Japan—along with other Japanese plants on the grounds, take place at 1pm on Wednesdays and 11am on Saturdays during the show. (www.bbg.org) Get On Two Wheels- It's Bike Month! Check out pedal-powered events such as Bike Expo New York (May 3, 4) and the TD Five Boro Bike Tour (May 5), plus a bunch of classes where you can learn to ride or improve your road skills and confidence. Locations and times vary. (www.bikemonthnyc.org) Visit 5 Pointz
Beginning May 4 the Institute of Higher Burning hosts a full lineup of parties, scratch battles and live art. You can also explore the area and check out a spray-painting demo on a guided tour (www.sidetour.com) Most adults eat way too much sugar. Sugar is found naturally in many foods, such as honey and fruit. However, it's also added to lots of foods - most obviously sweets, chocolate and cakes. There are also 'hidden' sugars in things like cereals and pasta sauces.
To spot hidden sugar, the Health Team recommends getting into the habit of reading nutritional information listed on food. Look for the 'carbohydrates (of which sugars)' figure. 15g or more of sugar per 100g is a lot and 5g or less is a little. When the carbohydrates aren't broken down into sugars, have a look at the ingredients list. The main ingredient comes first. Look out for other words that are used to describe sugar, such as sucrose, glucose, fructose, invert sugar and corn syrup. If one of these is near the top of the list then that product is probably high in added sugar. If you are trying to lose weight the obvious way to do it is by cutting out sugars. Here are a few other reasons why you should avoid sugars:
Resources: The Health Team: http://www.wellsphere.com/health-team-profile/94520 Studies have shown the powerful effect exercise can have on cancer care and recovery. For patients who have gone through breast or colon cancer treatment, regular exercise has been found to reduce recurrence by up to 50%.
Mayo Clinic, September 2012 Preschoolers from low-income neighborhoods and kids who spend more than two hours a day in front of a TV or video-game console have at least one thing in common: a thirst for sugary soda and juice. 54.5% of 4-5 year olds from poorer neighborhoods drank at least one soda per week, compared to 40.8% of kids from higher socioeconomic backgrounds. Preschoolers from low-income areas also drank less milk and consumed more fruit juice, which, like soda, is linked to rising sugar intake. Researchers found similar drinking habits among preschoolers who spent more than two hours of "screen time" per day watching TV or playing video games. Kids from poorer neighborhoods sat in front of screens more often, and drank larger volumes of sweetened beverages. Just 30% of children ate recommended amounts of fruits and vegetables, and only 23.5% consumed the recommended amount of servings of grain products.
University of Alberta, August 2012 
Gluten-free is hot these days. There are books and websites, restaurants with gluten free menus, and grocery stores with hundreds of new gluten-free food products on the shelf. Is this a fad, or a reflection of response to a real problem?
Yes, gluten is a real problem. But the problem is not just gluten. In fact, there are three major hidden reasons that wheat products, not just gluten (along with sugar in all its forms) is a major contributor to obesity, diabetes, heart disease, cancer, dementia, depression and so many other modern ills. This is why there are now 30 percent more obese than undernourished in the world, and why chronic lifestyle and dietary driven disease kills more than twice as many people as infectious disease globally. These non-communicable, chronic diseases will cost our global economy $47 trillion over the next 20 years. Sadly, this tsunami of chronic illness is increasingly caused by eating our beloved diet staple, bread, the staff of life, and all the wheat products hidden in everything from soups to vodka to lipstick to envelope adhesive. The biggest problem is wheat, the major source of gluten in our diet. But wheat weaves its misery through many mechanisms, not just the gluten! The history of wheat parallels the history of chronic disease and obesity across the world. Supermarkets today contain walls of wheat and corn disguised in literally hundreds of thousands of different food-like products, or FrankenFoods. Each American now consumes about 55 pounds of wheat flour every year. It is not just the amount but also the hidden components of wheat that drive weight gain and disease. This is not the wheat your great-grandmother used to bake her bread. It is FrankenWheat -- a scientifically engineered food product developed in the last 50 years. How Wheat -- and Gluten -- Trigger Weight Gain, Prediabetes, Diabetes and More This new modern wheat may look like wheat, but it is different in three important ways that all drive obesity, diabetes, heart disease, cancer, dementia and more.
The Bible says, "Give us this day our daily bread." Eating bread is nearly a religious commandment. But the Einkorn, heirloom, Biblical wheat of our ancestors is something modern humans never eat. Instead, we eat dwarf wheat, the product of genetic manipulation and hybridization that created short, stubby, hardy, high-yielding wheat plants with much higher amounts of starch and gluten and many more chromosomes coding for all sorts of new odd proteins. The man who engineered this modern wheat won the Nobel Prize -- it promised to feed millions of starving around the world. Well, it has, and it has made them fat and sick. The first major difference of this dwarf wheat is that it contains very high levels of a super starch called amylopectin A. This is how we get big fluffy Wonder Bread and Cinnabons. Here's the downside. Two slices of whole wheat bread now raise your blood sugar more than two tablespoons of table sugar. There is no difference between whole wheat and white flour here. The biggest scam perpetrated on the unsuspecting public is the inclusion of "whole grains" in many processed foods full of sugar and wheat, giving the food a virtuous glow. The best way to avoid foods that are bad for you is to stay away from foods with health claims on the labels. They are usually hiding something bad. In people with diabetes, both white and whole grain bread raises blood sugar levels 70 to 120 mg/dl over starting levels. We know that foods with a high glycemic index make people store belly fat, trigger hidden fires of inflammation in the body and give you a fatty liver, leading the whole cascade of obesity, pre-diabetes and diabetes. This problem now affects every other American and is the major driver of nearly all chronic disease and most our health care costs. Diabetes now sucks up one in three Medicare dollars. The Super Gluten Not only does this dwarf, FrankenWheat, contain the super starch, but it also contains super gluten which is much more likely to create inflammation in the body. And in addition to a host of inflammatory and chronic diseases caused by gluten, it causes obesity and diabetes. Gluten is that sticky protein in wheat that holds bread together and makes it rise. The old fourteen-chromosome-containing Einkorn wheat codes for the small number of gluten proteins, and those that it does produce are the least likely to trigger celiac disease and inflammation. The new dwarf wheat contains twenty-eight or twice as many chromosomes and produces a large variety of gluten proteins, including the ones most likely to cause celiac disease. Five Ways Gluten Makes You Sick and Fat Gluten can trigger inflammation, obesity and chronic disease in five major ways.
Celiac Disease: The First Problem Celiac disease and gluten-related problems have been increasing, and now affect at least 21 million Americans and perhaps many millions more. And 99 percent of people who have problems with gluten or wheat are NOT currently diagnosed. Ninety-eight percent of people with celiac have a genetic predisposition known as HLA DQ2 or DQ8, which occurs in 30 percent of the population. But even though our genes haven't changed, we have seen a dramatic increase in celiac disease in the last 50 years because of some environmental trigger. In a recent study that compared blood samples taken 50 years ago from 10,000 young Air Force recruits to samples taken recently from 10,000 people, researchers found something quite remarkable. There has been a real 400 percent increase in celiac disease over the last 50 years.[3] And that's just the full-blown disease affecting about one in 100 people, or about three million Americans. We used to think that this only was diagnosed in children with bloated bellies, weight loss and nutritional deficiencies. But now we know it can be triggered (based on a genetic susceptibility) at any age and without ANY digestive symptoms. The inflammation triggered by celiac disease can drive insulin resistance, weight gain and diabetes, just like any inflammatory trigger -- and I have seen this over and over in my patients. Gluten and Gut Inflammation: The Second Problem But there are two ways other than celiac disease in which wheat appears to be a problem. The second way that gluten causes inflammation is through a low-grade autoimmune reaction to gluten. Your immune system creates low-level antibodies to gluten, but doesn't create full-blown celiac disease. In fact, 7 percent of the population, 21 million, have these anti-gliadin antibodies. These antibodies were also found in 18 percent of people with autism and 20 percent of those with schizophrenia. A major study in the Journal of the American Medical Association reported that hidden gluten sensitivity (elevated antibodies without full-blown celiac disease) was shown to increase risk of death by 35 to 75 percent, mostly by causing heart disease and cancer.[4] Just by this mechanism alone, over 20 million Americans are at risk for heart attack, obesity, cancer and death. How does eating gluten cause inflammation, heart disease, obesity, diabetes and cancer? Most of the increased risk occurs when gluten triggers inflammation that spreads like a fire throughout your whole body. It damages the gut lining. Then all the bugs and partially-digested food particles inside your intestine get across the gut barrier and are exposed your immune system, 60 percent of which lies right under the surface of the one cell thick layer of cells lining your gut or small intestine. If you spread out the lining of your gut, it would equal the surface area of a tennis court. Your immune system starts attacking these foreign proteins, leading to systemic inflammation that then causes heart disease, dementia, cancer, diabetes and more. Dr. Alessio Fasano, a celiac expert from the University of Maryland School of Medicine, discovered a protein made in the intestine called "zonulin" that is increased by exposure to gluten.[5] Zonulin breaks up the tight junctions or cement between the intestinal cells that normally protect your immune system from bugs and foreign proteins in food leaking across the intestinal barrier. If you have a "leaky gut," you will get inflammation throughout your whole body and a whole list of symptoms and diseases. Why is there an increase in disease from gluten in the last 50 years? It is because, as I described earlier, the dwarf wheat grown in this country has changed the quality and type of gluten proteins in wheat, creating much higher gluten content and many more of the gluten proteins that cause celiac disease and autoimmune antibodies. Combine that with the damage our guts have suffered from our diet, environment, lifestyle and medication use, and you have the perfect storm for gluten intolerance. This super gluten crosses our leaky guts and gets exposed to our immune system. Our immune system reacts as if gluten was something foreign, and sets off the fires of inflammation in an attempt to eliminate it. However, this inflammation is not selective, so it begins to attack our cells -- leading to diabesity and other inflammatory diseases. Damage to the gastrointestinal tract from overuse of antibiotics, anti-inflammatory drugs like Advil or Aleve and acid-blocking drugs like Prilosec or Nexium, combined with our low-fiber, high-sugar diet, leads to the development of celiac disease and gluten intolerance or sensitivity and the resultant inflammation. That is why elimination of gluten and food allergens or sensitivities can be a powerful way to prevent and reverse diabesity and many other chronic diseases. The Super Drug Not only does wheat contain super starch and super gluten -- making it super fattening and super inflammatory -- but it also contains a super drug that makes you crazy, hungry and addicted. When processed by your digestion, the proteins in wheat are converted into shorter proteins, "polypeptides," called "exorphins." They are like the endorphins you get from a runner's high and bind to the opioid receptors in the brain, making you high, and addicted just like a heroin addict. These wheat polypeptides are absorbed into the bloodstream and get right across the blood brain barrier. They are called "gluteomorphins," after "gluten" and "morphine." These super drugs can cause multiple problems, including schizophrenia and autism. But they also cause addictive eating behavior, including cravings and bingeing. No one binges on broccoli, but they binge on cookies or cake. Even more alarming is the fact that you can block these food cravings and addictive eating behaviors and reduce calorie intake by giving the same drug we use in the emergency room to block heroin or morphine in an overdose, called naloxone. Binge eaters ate nearly 30 percent less food when given this drug. Bottom line: wheat is an addictive appetite stimulant. How to Beat the Wheat, and Lose the Weight First, you should get tested to see if you have a more serious wheat or gluten problem. If you meet any of these criteria, then you should do a six-week 100 percent gluten-free diet trial to see how you feel. If you have three out of five criteria, you should be gluten-free for life.
The problems with wheat are real, scientifically validated and ever-present. Getting off wheat may not only make you feel better and lose weight, it could save your life. My personal hope is that together we can create a national conversation about a real, practical solution for the prevention, treatment, and reversal of our obesity, diabetes and chronic disease epidemic. Getting off wheat may just be an important step. To learn more and to get a free sneak preview of The Blood Sugar Solution where I explain exactly how to avoid wheat and what to eat instead go to www.drhyman.com. Please leave your thoughts by adding a comment below. To your good health, Mark Hyman, MD References: [1] Saja K, Chatterjee U, Chatterjee BP, Sudhakaran PR. "Activation dependent expression of MMPs in peripheral blood mononuclear cells involves protein kinase." A. Mol Cell Biochem. 2007 Feb;296(1-2):185-92 [2] Dalla Pellegrina C, Perbellini O, Scupoli MT, Tomelleri C, Zanetti C, Zoccatelli G, Fusi M, Peruffo A, Rizzi C, Chignola R. "Effects of wheat germ agglutinin on human gastrointestinal epithelium: insights from an experimental model of immune/epithelial cell interaction." Toxicol Appl Pharmacol. 2009 Jun 1;237(2):146-53. [3] Rubio-Tapia A, Kyle RA, Kaplan EL, Johnson DR, Page W, Erdtmann F, Brantner TL, Kim WR, Phelps TK, Lahr BD, Zinsmeister AR, Melton LJ 3rd, Murray JA. "Increased prevalence and mortality in undiagnosed celiac disease." Gastroenterology. 2009 Jul;137(1):88-93 [4] Ludvigsson JF, Montgomery SM, Ekbom A, Brandt L, Granath F. "Small-intestinal histopathology and mortality risk in celiac disease." JAMA. 2009 Sep 16;302(11):1171-8. [5] Fasano A. "Physiological, pathological, and therapeutic implications of zonulin-mediated intestinal barrier modulation: living life on the edge of the wall." Am J Pathol. 2008 Nov;173(5):1243-52. Mark Hyman, M.D. is a practicing physician, founder of The UltraWellness Center, a four-time New York Times bestselling author, and an international leader in the field of Functional Medicine. You can follow him on Twitter, connect with him on LinkedIn, watch his videos on YouTube, become a fan on Facebook, and subscribe to his newsletter. For more by Mark Hyman, M.D., click here. For more on diet and nutrition, click here. For more on personal health, click here. For more on weight loss, click here. Follow Mark Hyman, MD on Twitter: www.twitter.com/markhymanmd Does your liver need a break? Weighing in at approximately 3 lbs, the liver is the largest gland in the body. It secretes between one half and one full quart of bile each day. That's the same volume as a carton of milk! All toxic substances, either produced or absorbed by the intestine, are detoxified in the liver. According to Ayurveda, it is the seat where anger, hate, jealousy, and fire easily stagnate. Releasing anger brings maturity. In Chinese medicine, the liver emotionally generates the will to grow and provides the energy of creativity. The 7-Day PURE Liver Cleanse Morning: > Drink 8 oz of room-temperature water with squeezed lemon juice upon awakening. > About half an hour later, drink Dr. Schulze's Liver /Gallbladder Flush Drink*, consisting of:
Ideas for lunch:
Ideas for diner:
Throughout the Day > Avoid: Oily, fried foods, sugar, alcohol, cannabis, tobacco. > Herbs to use: Kutki, Schizandra, Triphala > Drink liver-friendly teas all day that will include herbs such as:
> Drink one glass of unsweetened cranberry juice every afternoon Gas: If you feel bloated and gaseous from eating so many vegetables, try a digestive enzyme that targets what type of food you are eating or probiotics Here are 5 top warning signs that it’s time for a PURE Colonic:
Need some help? ANCIENT WEIGHT-LOSS TEA RECIPE A centuries-old recipe used to dissolve fatty tissue, rejuvenate skin’s youthfulness, and cleanse mucous from the colon, this tea is also an excellent source of vitamin C. Drink 2 or 3 glasses a day for weight loss. Ingredients:
Reference:Food As Medicine by Dharma Singh Khalsa |
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