Spring arrived early this year in Colorado, and with the gorgeous blooms comes allergy season.  Many of my patients this month have complained of runny nose, watery eyes, and of course, sneezing.  Fortunately, natural medicine has many remedies that can help you get relief fast.  For those with more severe allergy symptoms, a natural allergy supplement may be indicated.  

Stop the Sniffles with Local Honey

Honey is believed to prevent symptoms of hayfever and seasonal allergies.  When bees pollinate and make honey, they collect allergens from flowers, trees and other plants.  This leaves traces of those allergens in their honey.  Eating local honey may work like an allergy shot, exposing you to small amounts of allergens and helping your body build immunity towards environmental triggers.  Look for local honey at your local farmer’s market.  

Green Tea Can Alleviate Allergies

Did you know that drinking green tea can help alleviate your allergies?  Green tea contains antioxidant compounds, one specifically called Epigallocetechin gallate (EGCG) which has been shown to reduce histamine reactions in the body and prevent hayfever symptoms such as runny nose, watery eyes and sneezing.  EGCG is found in black and oolong tea, however green tea has much higher concentrations.

Omega 3 Oils Can Reduce Allergic Inflammation

Omega 3 oils found in fish oil or cod liver oil can be extremely helpful for reducing allergies because of their potent anti-inflammatory effect.  Omega 3 oils have a systemic effect on the body and can reduce both allergic and cardiovascular inflammation.  I like cod liver oil because it contains extra vitamin A and vitamin D for added immune support.

Vitamin C Heals Hayfever

Vitamin C is a powerful antioxidant that can have a dramatic effect on reducing allergy symptoms including hayfever and asthma.  You can get vitamin C from citrus fruits, brussel sprouts, broccoli, collard greens, cabbage, tomato and canteloupe.  

Bioflavonoids (Vitamin P) For Allergies

Bioflavonoids are a class of red, yellow, orange and blue pigments in plants known in medicine for their antioxidant properties in the body.  Bioflavonoids were once called vitamin P due to their effect on vascular permeability.  The most well-known bioflavonoid used for allergies in Quercetin, which has an anti-histamine effect.  Quercetin can be purchased at the Boulder Natural Health clinic. 

Call Boulder Natural Health today at 303-960-3920 to find out how natural medicine can prevent and heal your seasonal allergies!

View this Post here Five Natural Remedies To Heal Seasonal Allergies Check out our website here Boulder Natural Health

Diet and exercise are only part of the story with weight loss.  Your body’s metabolism is also affected by stress, hormones and sleep.  Research shows that getting more sleep at night can minimize genetic influences on weight gain.  

According to Dr. Nathaniel Watson, the co-director of the University of Washington Sleep Disorders Center, more sleep equals less weight gain as it relates to genetic factors.

“The longer you sleep, the less important genetics become in determining what you weigh,” he said.  ”Does this mean you can sleep yourself thin?” Watson asked. “Probably not. But you can sleep yourself to a point where environmental factors, like diet and activity, are more important in determining your body weight than genetics.”

In a study published online in the journal of Sleep, researchers evaluated more than 1,000 pairs of maternal and fraternal twins in the U.S.  The twins were assessed for weight, height and sleep patterns.  According to the findings, if a person received less than seven hours of sleep per night, there was a greater correlation with that person having a higher body mass index, a measurement of weight relative to height, and greater genetic influences on BMI.

“Shorter sleep creates a permissive environment for the expression of obesity-related genes,” Watson said. “Let’s say you have identical twins, with the same BMI-related genes. One twin is a short sleeper and the other is a normal sleeper. The short-sleeping twin is going to be turning on the genes related to BMI — it’s a permissive environment. The longer-sleeping twin is not creating that permissive environment.”

On the flip side, getting more than nine hours of sleep seemed to suppress genetic influences on participants’ weight.

Other studies have measured the impact that lack of sleep can have on weight, focusing primarily on how late night snacking can increase weight. Others have focused on the role of hormones such as leptin, thought to suppress appetite, and ghrelin, believed to trigger hunger, could affect weight gain.  Those hormones are largely regulated by sleep patterns.

Source: Sleep Can Turn Off Obesity Genes, Study Says.

Dr. Julieanne Neal is a naturopathic doctor at Boulder Natural Health.  She specializes in weight loss management, insomnia, adrenal fatigue, and other hormonal imbalances.  

View this Post here Study Shows Getting More Sleep Can Help You Lose Weight Check out our website here Boulder Natural Health

The controversy continues: Should women in their 40′s routinely get mammograms to screen for breast cancer?  A recent article published in NPR’s Health Blog discusses two newly released studies that attempt to clarify the answer to this question.  According to one study, women ages 40 to 49 with extremely dense breast tissue and a first degree relative with breast cancer were identified as having at least a 2-fold increase in risk for breast cancer.  The study did not make specific recommendations for routine mammogram screening but suggested that identification of these risk factors may be helpful for women and doctors making decisions about preventative care.  

Regular mammograms for this age group is hotly debated.  In 2009, the U.S. Preventative Services Task Force  made recommendations against women in their 40s to get a mammogram every year or two.  According to Dr. Michael L. LeFevre, a task force member from the University of Missouri School of Medicine, mammography may not be as important for women in their 40s:

“The benefit of mammography in the 40s is not as large as it is later in life and is not as large as most people assume it to be. And there are some harms associated with mammography.”

Those that are against regular screenings say that mammograms frighten women with false alarms, instigate repeated exams and unnecessary biopsies and some times women undergo unneeded surgery, radiation, and chemotherapy.

“Mammography may pick up small tumors that never would have progressed to harm them in their lifetimes,” said Jeanne Mandelblatt, an oncologist at Georgetown University. “Yet they’ll undergo treatment for breast cancer when that disease if it had been never detected would have never bothered the woman.”

Annual or biannual mammograms are recommended by the U.S. Preventative Task Force for women in their 50s because the risk for breast cancer is higher.  Mandelblatt and her colleagues analyzed data from millions of women, mammograms, and breast cancer cases from dozens of published studies and huge databases to see if women in their 40s maintained the same level or risk as women in their 50s.

Published in the Annals of Internal Medicine, the researchers found that two types of women would benefit from regular mammograms in their 40s: those who have dense breasts, and those who have a close relative — a mother, sister or daughter — who had breast cancer.  Because they are twice as likely to develop breast cancer than the average women, that risk makes it more beneficial to have regular mammography screening than to not.

Karla Kerlikowske of the University of California, San Francisco, who worked on the study said, 

“If you’re a 40-year-old who’s at high risk of breast cancer then undergoing mammography every two years makes sense for that person. If you’re a 40-year-old person who’s at very low risk waiting til you’re 50 is reasonable.”

Still, the American Cancer Society recommends all women in their 40s get mammogram screenings every year. And Otis W. Brawley, the society’s chief medical officer, says he’s not ready to change that view.

“I don’t think we’re ready to actually have as a widespread policy that we would use these profiles to determine who should get screened and who should not get screened,” said Brawley, who wrote an entitled, Risk-Based Mammography Screening: An Effort to Maximize the Benefits and Minimize the Harms, that was published with the studies.

For now, doctors and their patients still need to make their own decisions weighing the pros and cons of mammograms for women in their 40s.

Source: NPR Health Blog: Studies Reignite Mammogram Debate for Middle-Aged Women

View this Post here Should You Get Annual Mammograms? Studies Spark More Debate with Mammography Check out our website here Boulder Natural Health

Researchers have found that type 2 diabetes patients who received naturopathic care had lower blood sugar levels, better diet and exercise habits, improved mood and a stronger sense of control over their health than patients only receiving conventional care.  These findings emerged from a new joint study between Group Health Research Institute and Bastyr University Research Institute suggesting that complimentary and alternative medicine may provide benefit for people with type 2 diabetes.  

“Patients involved in the study cited the benefits of trying different approaches to find the best ways to minimize the effects of type 2 diabetes,” said Ryan Bradley, ND, MPH, director of the Center for Diabetes and Cardiovascular Wellness at Bastyr University and its clinic, the Bastyr Center for Natural Health.  ”The news is encouraging for those fighting the disease.”

Forty participants received naturopathic care including counseling on diet, exercise, and glucose monitoring in addition to conventional diabetes care from their medical doctors, including prescription medications.  Some of the study participants received stress-management care and dietary supplements.  Researchers compared these 40 participants with 329 patients who received only conventional diabetes care.

Over the course of six months and about four visits with a naturopathic doctor, the participants demonstrated improved self-care, more consistent monitoring of glucose and overall improved mood.  Hemoglobin A1c rates (a measure of blood-sugar control) were nearly a full percentage point lower for patients receiving naturopathic care, compared to only 0.5 percent over the same period of time for the 329 patients who received conventional diabetes care alone.  

The finding has been published in BMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine. 

Source: Naturopathic care can cut blood sugar levels, improve mood in diabetics. 

View this Post here Naturopathic care shown to lower blood sugar levels and improve mood in diabetics Check out our website here Boulder Natural Health

It seems obvious that a person under chronic stress may eventually get sick.  The question is: how does that happen?   A recently published study entitled, Chronic Stress, Glucocorticoid Receptor Resistance, Inflammation and Disease Risk, reveals that chronic stress inevitably makes us sick and more prone to inflammation and disease through cortisol resistance.

Published April 2nd, 2012 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), the research was separated into 2 viral-challenge studies.  The first study was meant to determine whether stress causes cortisol resistance and whether people with cortisol resistance are more likely to develop a common cold.  Two hundred and seventy-six healthy volunteers were assessed for recent stressful life events, glucocorticoid receptor resistance (GCR), and various baseline levels such as race, sex, age, BMI.  The volunteers were quarantined, exposed to a virus, and followed for 5 days.  Those volunteers with a recent exposure to a long-term stressful event demonstrated glucocorticoid receptor resistance (GCR), and those with GCR were at higher risk of subsequently developing a cold.

The second study was meant to determine whether cortisol resistance could make a person have more inflammation.  Using the same control variables, 79 volunteers were exposed to a virus and monitored at baseline and for 5 d ays after the viral challenge for the production of local inflammatory markers in their nasal secretions.  It was found that people with greater glucocorticoid receptor resistance had more local proinflammatory cytokines among infected subjects. 

What does this all mean?  Chris Kresser, author of the Healthy Skeptic, a website and blog discussing current health research, discusses why this new research paints a different picture of stress and disease:

“I think most people think that stress causes disease by dysregulating the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis, but this notion that stress acts simply by elevating cortisol levels is becoming less and less likely, at least in the current scientific literature,” said Kresser.  ”This new paper and other recent papers suggest that it’s actually the sensitivity of cells or the target tissue to cortisol, not absolute levels of cortisol that’s most important.”

Similar to the concept of insulin resistance, leptin resistance, or even thyroid hormone resistance, this latest research suggests that people can have cortisol resistance, which can lead to illness, chronic inflammation and other health problems.  Just one more reason to make exercise, sleep, yoga, meditation, massage, or whatever else you do for stress management a priority in your life.

“I think I can pretty safely say that people who are taking active steps to manage their stress have significantly better clinical outcomes than people who don’t,” said Kresser.  ”I just think stress is a much bigger contributor to disease than most of us really realize.”

View this Post here Chronic Stress Leads To Cortisol Resistance, Inflammation and Disease Check out our website here Boulder Natural Health

The Paleolithic diet proponents are up-in-arms about the alarming news that eating red meat may increase your risk of cardiovascular disease, cancer and lead to an early death.  The new study entitled, Red Meat Consumptions and Mortality, published in the Archives of Internal Medicine, concluded that:

“Greater consumption of unprocessed and processed red meats is associated with higher mortality risk. Compared with red meat, other dietary components, such as fish, poultry, nuts, legumes, low-fat dairy products, and whole grains, were associated with lower risk.” 

Only hours after this report was released, the media hit the hype button with these articles:

All red meat is bad for you, a new study says.

Red meat is blamed for one in ten early deaths.

Scientists warn, “red meat can be lethal”.

Unfortunately, this study does seem to put a dark cloud over proud omnivores.  The study evaluated over 120,000 women and men from the Nurses’ Health Study  and the Health Professionals Follow-Up Study, for 28 and 22 years respectively and found that single daily serving of unprocessed red meat was associated with a 13% increased risk of death from all causes.   A single serving of processed red meat—the equivalent of one hotdog—was associated with a 20% increased risk.

Staffan Lindeberg, M.D., an associate professor of medicine at the University of Lund, in Sweden, says singling out red meat may be counterproductive.  

“Studies like Pan’s are inherently iffy due to red meat’s unhealthy reputation, which makes red-meat consumption difficult to tease apart from a person’s overall lifestyle, Lindeberg says.  A bigger threat to health is the sugar- and starch-heavy Western diet as a whole,” says Lindeberg.

Paleo diet proponents say that making conclusions from an observational study based on food frequency questionnaires is absurd.  Robb Wolf, a former research biochemist and the New York Times Best Selling author of The Paleo Solution – The Original Human Diet says there are a number of reasons why this study doesn’t hold water.  On his most recent blog post he cites these three reasons:

“1-Nutrition data was collected via Food Frequency Questionnaires.  Yes, folks just had to remember what they thought they ate.

2-Confounders galore. The higher meat consumption group tended to be overweight, smoked and was less active. Apparently they did not get a Paleo cohort in that mix?

3-Correlation does not equal causation. Now…I hesitate to even include this and here is why: Some epidemiology CAN be done in such a way that we can find a correlation that is worth pursuing some kind of mechanistic validation. But this “study” is so poor, so lacking in rigor that the correlation/causation argument (although valid) gives this waste of paper more credibility than it deserves. I’ll make that clear by actually debunking a carbs=cancer piece in just a moment. But first I want to address something many folks have been quipping via Facebook and twitter: “Well, these results would be different if they used grass fed meat…”  More from Robb Wolf’s blog…

Red meat has had a bad wrap for years.  Unfortunately, many people who eat red meat often maintain other characteristics of an unhealthy lifestyle such as being over weight, doing less exercise, drinking alcohol and smoking cigarettes.  According to the researchers of the study, they did take those factors into account in their analysis.  

Read more: http://www.marksdailyapple.com/will-eating-red-meat-kill-you/#ixzz1pPBtYIEB

View this Post here The Red Scare: New Study Claims Eating Red Meat Will Shorten Lifespan Check out our website here Boulder Natural Health

Flavonoids continue to get big press in the world of natural health.  A new study published January 4th, 2012, in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition found that eating flavonoids (also called bioflavonoids), a natural, heart-protective substance found in colorful fruits and vegetables, can reduce the risk of heart attack and stroke in seniors.

Researchers from the American Cancer Society and Tufts University obtained questionnaires from more than 98,000 men and women whose average age was 70 about  diet, lifestyle and medical history.  Over seven years, 2,771 of the study participants died of heart disease or stroke.  A total of 615 of these deaths were people who reported the lowest intake of flavonoids compared to 515 deaths in people reported their flavonoid intake was highest.  The researchers accounted for smoking, exercise habits and weight in addition to flavonoid intake.  The researchers concluded that the participants who consumed the most flavonoids in their diet were 18 percent less likely to die over the 7 years than those who consumed the least amount of flavonoids.

Dr. Andrew Weil, MD, recently commented on the results of this study in his blog:

“We’ve known for some time that flavonoids are good for the heart. One of their actions is to help the body make more nitric oxide, a substance that relaxes smooth muscle in blood vessels allowing better blood flow. This study shows that even small increases in foods that provide flavonoids can make an important difference to health.”

Classified as plant pigments, the word flavonoid comes from the latin word flavus, meaning yellow, their color in nature.  Flavonoids were originally referred to as vitamin P, likely for their effects on helping the permeability of blood vessels in the body.  Flavonoids are generally known for their antioxidant properties in their polyphenolic compounds.

The foods with the highest amounts of flavonoids include: apples, apricots, blueberries, pears, raspberries, strawberries, black beans, cabbage, onions, parsley, pinto beans, tomatoes, citrus fruits, green and black tea, red wine and dark chocolate.

Source: Flavonoids Fight Cardiovascular Disease

View this Post here Flavonoids Reduce the Risk of Heart Attack and Stroke Check out our website here Boulder Natural Health

I have a hard time eating salads this winter.  I’d rather be curled up with a rich stew, hot chocolate or comfort food.  I had all but given up on eating greens this season when I came across this amazing recipe in the New York Times entitled Arugula Pina Colada Smoothie.  Arugula in a smoothie?  Who would have thought?  I had to try it.

I ran to the store and made the recipe, plus 4 others, all created by Martha Rose Shulman, author of the Recipes for Health series.  To my surprise, they were delicious!  Who would have thought that you could put salad ingredients in a blender and make a smoothie that actually tastes good?

I’ve since made all of her smoothie recipes with a slight modification–I add 2 scoops of rice protein powder to help balance my blood sugar levels.  Each recipe is chalk full of vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, protein and fiber, which helps promote optimal digestive health, blood sugar stabilization and boost immune function.

Here are my favorites:

1) Mixed Berry and Beet Smoothie

The gorgeous color of this smoothie is enough to make your mouth water.  I had this one for breakfast and I was completely wowed.  I used the coconut milk instead of the yogurt.

Mixed Berry and Beet Smoothie

1/2 cup freshly squeezed orange juice

1 cup mixed frozen berries or blueberries

2 tablespoons granola

1/3 cup diced beet, either raw or roasted (50 grams)

1/4 cup plain low-fat yogurt or low-fat coconut milk

1 teaspoon honey or agave syrup

2 heaping tablespoons of brown rice protein powder (vanilla flavor)

2 or 3 ice cubes

Sliced orange for garnish (optional)

Place all of the ingredients in a blender and blend for 1 full minute. Pour into a glass, garnish with an orange slice and enjoy.

Yield: 1 generous serving.

Nutritional information per serving: 269 calories; 5 grams fat; 1 gram saturated fat; 1 gram polyunsaturated fat; 2 grams monounsaturated fat; 4 milligrams cholesterol; 52 grams carbohydrates; 6 grams dietary fiber; 82 milligrams sodium; 8 grams protein

2) Pear and Arugula Smoothie with Ginger and Walnuts

I substitute coconut milk for the yogurt to keep it dairy-free.  I have been drinking this smoothie for lunch and I am completely satisfied.

1/2 cup freshly squeezed orange juice

1 cup arugula, tightly packed (about 30 grams)

1 tablespoon walnuts (7 grams)

1/2 ripe pear, cored and peeled (100 grams)

1 quarter-size piece of fresh ginger, peeled

2 to 4 tablespoons plain low-fat yogurt (to taste)

2 heaping tablespoons of brown rice protein powder (vanilla flavor)

3 ice cubes

Place all of the ingredients in a blender and blend for 1 full minute.

Yield: 1 generous serving.

Nutritional information per serving: 184 calories; 6 grams fat; 1 gram saturated fat; 4 grams polyunsaturated fat; 1 gram monounsaturated fat; 2 milligrams cholesterol; 31 grams carbohydrates; 4 grams dietary fiber; 30 milligrams sodium; 5 grams protein

4) Red Berry, Cabbage and Almond Smoothie

I love this recipe because cabbage is rich in an amino acid called l-glutamine which is great for intestinal healing.  This smoothie would be great for anyone with digestive issues.

1/2 cup freshly squeezed orange juice

1 cup mixed frozen berries, preferably with some cherries included in the mix

1/2 cup chopped red cabbage (50 grams)

1 teaspoon honey

1/8 teaspoon cinnamon

2 or 3 drops almond extract (about 1/8 teaspoon)

6 almonds or 2 teaspoons raw almond butter

2 heaping tablespoons of brown rice protein powder (vanilla flavor)

3 ice cubes

Place all of the ingredients in a blender and blend for 1 full minute. Pour into a glass, garnish with an orange slice and enjoy.

Yield: 1 generous serving.

Nutritional information per serving: 200 calories; 5 grams fat; 0 grams saturated fat; 1 gram polyunsaturated fat; 3 grams monounsaturated fat; 0 milligrams cholesterol; 41 grams carbohydrates; 6 grams dietary fiber; 38 milligrams sodium; 4 grams protein

3) Arugula Pina Colada Smoothie

1/4 cup freshly squeezed orange juice

1/2 cup light coconut milk

1 1/4 cups chopped pineapple (about 180 grams)

1 cup arugula (30 grams), rinsed

1 quarter-size piece of ginger, peeled

2 heaping tablespoons of  brown rice protein powder (vanilla flavor)

2 or 3 ice cubes

Place all of the ingredients in a blender and blend for 1 full minute. Pour into a glass, garnish with an orange slice and enjoy.

Yield: 1 generous serving.

Advance preparation: This is best enjoyed right away.

Nutritional information per serving: 215 calories; 7 grams fat; 5 grams saturated fat; 1 gram polyunsaturated fat; 1 gram monounsaturated fat; 0 milligrams cholesterol; 40 grams carbohydrates; 3 grams dietary fiber; 46 milligrams sodium; 2 grams protein

5) Pineapple, Orange, Granola and Carrot Smoothie

A small amount of granola contributes great texture to this tangy smoothie. I prefer the thick version without the ice cubes, but that’s a matter of taste. Pineapple is an excellent source of manganese and contains an enzyme called bromelain that aids digestion.

1/2 cup freshly squeezed orange juice

1 cup fresh pineapple (about 125 grams)

2 tablespoons granola (preferably homemade)

1 small or 1/2 large carrot, peeled and sliced or diced (about 50 grams)

2 ice cubes (optional)

Carrot sticks or curls for garnish

Place all of the ingredients in a blender and blend for 1 full minute.

Yield: 1 generous serving.

Nutritional information per serving: 207 calories; 4 grams fat; 0 grams saturated fat; 1 gram polyunsaturated fat; 2 grams monounsaturated fat; 0 milligrams cholesterol; 43 grams carbohydrates; 5 grams dietary fiber; 37 milligrams sodium; 4 grams protein

 

All Recipes by: Martha Rose Shulman is the author of “The Very Best of Recipes for Health.”

Source: Arugula Pina Colada Smoothie, New York Times, March 1st, 2012

View this Post here 5 Smoothie Recipes Guaranteed to Boost Your Health! Check out our website here Boulder Natural Health

Being gluten-free is en vogue these days, but your waistline may benefit from the fad.  According to Dr. Mark Hyman, MD, in his recent Huffington Post article entitled: Three Hidden Ways Wheat Makes You Fat:

“Two slices of whole wheat bread now raise your blood sugar more than two tablespoons of table sugar.”

Most of the patients that I see believe that whole grain breads are actually good for them–adding fiber, vitamins and nutrients to their diet and improving their overall health.  Dr. Hyman disagrees, saying that whole grain breads are still processed and contain significant amounts of added sugar.

“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.”

Hyman reports that both white and whole grain breads raise blood sugar levels 70 to 120 mg/dl over starting levels for people with diabetes.  High glycemic index foods make people store belly fat.  Increased sugar levels in the body triggers inflammation, causes fatty liver disease, and eventually leads to the whole cascade of obesity, pre-diabetes and diabetes. These three health conditions now affect 50 percent of Americans and they are considered the cause of most of our health care costs.

Gluten Associated Health Problems

Gluten is that sticky protein in wheat that holds bread together and makes it rise.  Gluten is found in wheat, barley, rye, spelt and contaminated oats.  Celiac disease is a condition where gluten triggers severe inflammation in the digestive tract.  Gluten sensitivity has been linked to insulin sensitivity, weight gain, diabetes, autoimmune diseases, mood disorders, autism, schizophrenia, dementia, digestive disorders, nutritional deficiencies and cancer.  According to Hyman’s article, celiac disease and gluten-related problems now affect at least 21 million Americans.

How Does Gluten Cause Inflammation?

If you are sensitive to gluten or you have celiac disease, eating gluten is likely going to cause some digestive upset.  This is because the gluten protein triggers inflammation both in the digestive tract and throughout the whole body.  Dr. Hyman explains,

“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.”

Why Is Gluten Sensitivity So Common Now?

According to Dr. Hyman, it is because the type of wheat grown in this country has changed. The wheat that we consume is genetically modified.

“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.”

What Makes Wheat Addictive and Fattening

Dwarf wheat contains very high levels of a super starch called amylopectin A, which makes bread fluffy which increases the starch content and contributes to added weight gain. In addition, wheat also contains proteins called  ”exorphins.” They are like the endorphins you get from a runner’s high.  They bind to the opioid receptors in the brain creating a mild morphine-like effect.  The wheat polypeptides are absorbed into the bloodstream and cross the blood brain barrier. They are called “gluteomorphins,” after “gluten” and “morphine.”  This high encourages the body to want to binge on breads, pastas, cookies, cakes and pastries.

How To Find Out If You Have Celiac or Gluten Sensitivity

Testing for celiac disease can be done through a blood test assessing for elevated antibodies to gluten (anti-gliadin, AGA, or tissue transglutaminase antibodies), as well as an intestinal biopsy.  If you do not have celiac disease, then you might have gluten sensitivity.  The gold standard for diagnosis of food allergies and food sensitivities is an elimination / rechallenge diet, where you avoid the food for 4 – 6 weeks and then rechallenge the food to see if you get reactions.  You can also do a food allergy test panel assessing IgE and IgG antibodies to 96 foods.

Source: Three Hidden Ways Wheat Makes You Fat by Dr. Mark Hyman, MD, Huffpost Healthy Living

For more information about natural treatments to heal celiac disease, gluten sensitivity, gastrointestinal problems, or food allergy testing, call Boulder Natural Health today at 303-960-3920, or send us an email!

View this Post here Wheat and Weight Gain: How Eating Wheat Can Make You Fat Check out our website here Boulder Natural Health

You have come to the right place! Boulder Natural Health is a naturopathic medical clinic specializing in natural health solutions for women, men and children in Boulder, Colorado.

Naturopathic medicine can successfully treat most acute and chronic health conditions.  The goal of treatment is different from conventional medical care because the focus is treating the underlying cause of disease and not just the symptoms.

“Palliation therapy only goes so far.  In time, the symptoms usually come back or the disease process becomes more advanced.  When you address the underlying dysfunction in the body and restore the biochemical balance to all organ systems, symptoms resolve on their own,” said Dr. Julieanne Neal, a naturopathic doctor / naturopath in Boulder, Colorado, and the owner of Boulder Natural Health.

Dr. Neal’s therapeutic approach is tailored to the individual. She will work with you to create a health plan that fits your lifestyle and promotes your optimal health long-term.

“My job as a naturopath is to educate and empower my patients with greater knowledge and better health choices so they can live to their fullest potential.  Teaching and promoting healthy lifestyle habits is the foundation of my practice.” 

Below is a list of some of the most common conditions treated at Boulder Natural Health.  Click on the conditions below to learn more about our naturopathic approach.

Allergies, fatigue, headaches, sinus infections, GERD, ulcers, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, anxiety, depression, ADHD, insomnia, hormonal issues, yeast infections, PMS, menopause, hypothyroidism, PCOS, diabetes, fibromyalgia, autoimmune disease, gastrointestinal conditions, food allergies, candida, weight loss, infertility, and more…

Schedule A Free 15 Minute Consultation!

Interested in learning more about natural medicine? Call Boulder Natural Health today at 303-960-3920 and set up a free 15 minute phone consultation to learn more about our natural approach to health. Or you can send us an email using the form below.

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View this Post here Are You Looking For A Naturopath in Boulder? Check out our website here Boulder Natural Health