Little known to the public at large. Little understood by the health community. Omnipresent in our conventional food culture. Proven to be at least mildly detrimental for everyone and downright destructive for the more sensitive (and often unsuspecting) among us. We’re talking lectins today: common natural agents on the one hand, cloaked thugs of the anti-nutrient underworld on the other. Our popular health media, if they’ve heard of lectins, certainly never make mention of them. Famous health gurus never deign to speak of them. In short, lectins thrive in the American diet basically unfettered, unscrutinized. Make no mistake, however. They’re a menacing power to be reckoned with. I’ve addressed them on Mark’s Daily Apple in the past (Why Grains Are Unhealthy) and in my book (The Primal Blueprint), but I still get a fair number of emails and forum questions asking for more info. As I always say, let’s break it down….
Read MoreProbiotics get a ton of positive press from a multitude of sources (including here). It’s one of those areas of nutrition that receives approval from pretty much every camp out there, like fish oil. (Even Dean Ornish supports the usage of fish oil; just about the only type of fat he seems to approve of.) I’m firmly in the “For” column as well if you haven’t already guessed. I feel so strongly about probiotics and their integral role in gut and overall health that, as you may know, I’m coming out with a probiotic supplement in a few weeks. But there’s another aspect to the manipulation of beneficial gut flora. I briefly mentioned them last time, and today I’m going to really gut the whole beast, so to speak.
Read MoreIt’s funny. Once you realize the relationship between nutrition, disease, health, and metabolism is complicated, complex, and completely interdependent, things somehow get a bit simpler. Everything is connected to everything else. Chronic stress begets chronic inflammation, which chronically elevates cortisol, which induces insulin resistance and belly fat accumulation. Celiacs are usually intolerant of casein, too. Diabetics get heart disease more and have higher cancer mortality rates. Diabetics are often insulin resistant and usually overweight. Celiacs are often Type 1 diabetics. The overweight sleep less, work more, and get less sun than leaner folks.
Read MoreLast week, I discussed the importance of gut flora in the digestion of food while briefly touching on its role in early immunity, including the development of asthma and eczema – both of which are immune issues that appear to be exacerbated or caused by disrupted gut flora in children. But it goes much further than “just” asthma and eczema. Our gut flora plays a massive role in mediating our entire immune response. Think about this little factoid: the human gastro-intestinal tract houses the bulk of the human immune system, about 70% of it. And foreign gut flora actually aids and abets our innate immune response system by improving the function of our mucosal immune system and providing a physical barrier to invading microbiota. Before I get into that, though, let’s go over what we mean by immune system.
Read MoreEveryone knows (well, not everyone, but anyone who’s probably reading this) how crucial the early days of an infant’s life are for establishing good habits and healthy patterns for the rest of its life. What the mother eats while pregnant, what the child eats, delivery methods, breastfeeding duration, heck, whether you read to your children or plop them down in front of the TV – everything helps lay the groundwork for the rest of their lives. Exposure to bacteria is another growing concern for parents. Too little bacteria, and we risk allergies and significantly compromised immune systems later on. Too much isn’t as much of an issue, though we should avoid obviously harmful bacteria. It’s my general sense that most kids these days get far too little bacteria in their lives. They’re swaddled in protective clothing, forbidden from touching (or, perish the thought, licking) things, and doused in antibacterial liquid every other hour. How many kids play in the dirt nowadays? Build forts? Turn over stones in search of bugs? Roughhouse with friends? Far too few, I’d imagine.
Read MoreHow did we survive all these years without functional yogurt products? If it weren’t for Yoplait and Dannon enhancing our digestive facilities, I bet we’d never get anything done in the bathroom. I, for one, can’t recall the last time I had a satisfying bowel movement without concurrently sucking on an extra large Purple Gogurt as I sat astride the toilet.
Yoplait and Dannon are responsible for injecting more culture into our lives than Warhol, The Smithsonian, The New Yorker, and ancient Athens combined. I love the way those two superpowers ultra-pasteurize their yogurt so as to rid it of any naturally-occurring, unpredictable, rogue probiotic cultures (unfettered bacterial growth? – no thanks) before supplanting them with nice, orderly probiotic cultures (and not too much of them, thanks). Mother nature? Natural selection? Ha! As if natural foods could improve my immunity and digestive health better than multi-national corporations. You think sauerkraut has your best interests in mind?
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