​High blood sugar is prevalent.  Any statistic will show this to be true.  NBCnews.com reported in a 2015 article by Maggie Fox that “half of all U.S. adults have diabetes or blood sugar so high they’re almost diabetic.”  So most people will have to face this issue at some point in their lives.  The older we get the more we need to address this issue.
 
Reducing sugar and refined carbohydrate intake along with regular excise is indeed one of the biggest benefits to us in our quest for lowering blood sugar.  But there are certain nutrients and supplements that also help with high blood sugar and diabetes if we have adequate amounts.  One that I will focus on for this post is magnesium. 
 
Dr. Carolyn Dean, in her book, The Magnesium Miracle, states that magnesium deficiency may be an independent predictor of diabetes, and serves as a relatively new marker for the disease. 
 
The majority of people do not have optimum levels of magnesium.  A good test that we have available for testing magnesium is RBC (red blood cell) magnesium or Intracellular Magnesium, but it is not routinely ordered.  The magnesium test that most people get is the serum magnesium test, but this particular intracellular magnesium test measures the magnesium within the cells (intracellular) where most magnesium is found.  Since it is not routinely ordered, you would need to ask specifically for this test.  What would be an optimum level to have for this RBC or intracellular magnesium test?   You want to be in the upper range with 6.0-6.5 mg/dL, according to Dr. Dean.
 
Magnesium can be found in dark leafy greens, dairy products, meats, seafood, nuts, blackstrap molasses, seaweed, soybeans, seeds, nuts, wheat germ, whole grains and even chocolate.  Since magnesium is found in so many foods, why then would we become magnesium deficient?  Magnesium content in foods varies greatly depending on the magnesium content in the soil in which the food was grown.  Also, magnesium is lost in the industrial processing of the food, and in how the food is finally prepared.  For instance, boiling food in water causes magnesium to leach out into the water. 
 
Another reason for low magnesium would be that even though adequate magnesium may be taken in, it does not mean that our bodies absorbed and utilized the adequate amounts.  Many factors come into play here. For one, not having enough stomach acid prevents us from absorbing all that we ingest.  Low stomach acid may be the result of the aging process as well as taking antacid medications, consuming too much alcohol, being under too much stress, and other factors that would be good to discuss in another post. 
 
Diabetics in particular lose a lot of magnesium in the urine because of increased urine flow as the kidneys try to rid excess glucose from the blood.  And yet another route of magnesium loss or depletion is due to prescription medications such as diuretics, blood pressure pills, steroids, birth control pills, and certain diabetic medications.  All will rob the body of some magnesium.
 
How can magnesium help to regulate blood sugar?  Insulin is a hormone we produce that acts like an escort to blood sugar guiding it into our cells where the blood sugar is most needed.  Insulin requires magnesium.  In a magnesium depleted diet, insulin becomes less effective at its job.  Both insulin and magnesium are important for blood sugar regulation and they are dependent on each other.
 
Magnesium supplements come in many forms. The form most easily found on shelves is magnesium oxide.  This form is not very well absorbed into the cells so it makes a great laxative, but is not preferred as the best form for cell absorption.  Magnesium glycinate is one of my favorite forms and is one of the most absorbable forms.   This form is also good for sleep, so take it at bedtime.  Another good form is Magnesium Citrate.  This would be a good one for issues with kidney stones.  Always check with your doctor first if you are having trouble with kidney stones, however.
 
How much magnesium do you need to take?  For optimum health, the basic Optimum Daily Intake for magnesium is 500-750mg. for men and women, according to The Real Vitamin and Mineral Book, by Lieberman and Bruning.  Start slow and ramp up to reach this optimum intake.  If you get too much, you will know since you will have loose stools, then back down a bit.  I like to take magnesium at night as it has a muscle calming effect, but you can take divided doses at morning and night.  This way, it keeps a steady supply in your system. 
 
Another way to get more magnesium is through skin absorption.  You can add 2 cups Epsom salt to your bathwater or soak your feet in an Epsom salt foot bath.  Epsom salt is magnesium sulfate.   Still another way is to spray on magnesium oil after a bath.  Some people say they get a stinging feeling which stands to reason since it is a salt.  With time I have found that this goes away.  It feels much like a swim in the ocean and can be sticky feeling for a while, but give this a try since it really is a good way to get more magnesium.  You can purchase this or you can make your own.  There are many sources on the web explaining how to make this.
 
If you are a diabetic, it would be wise to check your blood sugar (glucose) levels while starting a magnesium supplement to see the effect magnesium may have, but first, It is always encouraged to tell your doctor when starting any new supplement, especially if you have kidney, liver, or heart disease, or you are on prescription medications since some supplements and pharmaceuticals might have a combined negative effect.
 
What is your call to action?  I would suggest keeping track of your blood glucose levels over time and also getting tested for intracellular magnesium.  If you are not in optimum range, than I would suggest finding ways to supplement with magnesium as I have mentioned in this post.  Then retest to see how you are doing.

Contact me for more information.  I'll be glad to order professional quality supplements for you, including magnesium.

It's just our nature to want to blame someone or something else, rather than own up and take control of the situation ourselves.  We all like to have a pity party and bask in our misery, especially if we think that the bad situation is out of our control.   It's somewhat comforting though, knowing that it's not our fault, and especially when a doctor says this to us and tells us that it's not our fault.  Just "go slap your mother," was the advice given to me by a doctor many years ago when referring to a health problem I was faced with.    Maybe it didn't help the situation I was in, but at least it let me know it wasn't my fault.  But wasn't it?

 I'm talking about genetics.  Back then, I just gave in to the seemingly scientific fact that we all are predestined to doom or delight when it comes to our health, depending on the genetic hand that was dealt to us.  But with new research now after over 50 years since Francis Watson and James Crick first proposed their model for DNA and genetics, we can take this matter of doom or delight into our own hands when it comes to our health.  I know, I know, I hear you say, "well, we all still die, 10 out of 10 people die."  Yes, you are right.  We will never defeat death in this perishable body on this earth, but while we are here, we can sure put up a good fight, and we can possibly save ourselves from living out our days on a bed of ill health.  I believe our bodies are God's temple where the Holy Spirit dwells, and we need to care for it as much as we can.  

Now don't go slap your mother.  I'm about to tell you about new research that points to the fact that our genetic tendencies are not set in stone, that they can be influenced by the choices we make.  It's really hard for me to believe that we can alter our propensity toward a certain disease by the foods we eat, but that's what new research is trying to say.  

Take a look at these two words and the meanings given to them:

          Nature:  The inner blueprint that has its own rules and regulations
          Nurture:  Everything you do, like eating, sleeping, working, exercising, learning, environmental exposure (the sum total of it all).

It's not an all or nothing kind of thing, it's not all nature or all nurture when it comes to our health or lack of.
What would be the first thing you would think of if given the word from your doctor that you have heart disease or cancer?   Your first thought would probably be that of wondering if this is something that is genetic, that you couldn't possibly have done anything about it (nature), or is it caused by the way you are doing things (nurture).

New research is indicating that what we inherit (nature) is only a genetic potential or tendency, but how we live and the quality of our environment (nurture) determines what our genes actually express.  For instance, you may inherit a tendency for heart disease or cancer, but these diseases may only be expressed depending on how you live, eat, and the toxins you may be exposed to.  You may never develop that heart disease or cancer if you don't smoke, and you do exercise, eat right and avoid toxins as much as you can.

Now isn't that good news!  You don't have to slap your mother, and she doesn't have to slap her mother, but both of you can work on nurturing your body for the sake of good health.  To get you started, I have listed a few simple steps to work on:

1.  Avoid as many contaminants as you can:  pesticides (go organic if possible), heavy metals (cook in stainless steel, cast iron (see comments below about cast iron), glass, or porcelain cookware instead of aluminum), plastic packaging (especially in the microwave), cosmetics or anything you are putting on your skin that contains toxins.  The skin is our largest organ and can definitely absorb chemicals we put on it.  

2.  Avoid as many processed foods and sugar as possible:   Think about what kinds of foods the Pilgrims must have eaten when they landed here in America and try to avoid foods that they would not recognize.  Would they have eaten Twinkies, Fruit Loops Cereal, Ramen Noodles, Hamburger Helper?  No, but they would eat whole foods like vegetables and fruits, wild game, or sea foods.  

3.  Stay hydrated by drinking plenty of filtered water, broths, soups, and herbal tea

4.  Get plenty of sleep

5.  Exercise regularly but do not overdo it.

6.  Eat a diverse array of foods with many colors.  Learn what factors influence the nutrients in our foods.

May God bless your efforts to be healthy.

Reference:
Mateljan, George. (2007). The World's Healthiest Foods. (1st Edition). Canada: GMF Publishing

In the small intestine, there are many villi and microvilli.  They look like tiny hairy protrusions extending from the lining.  

These villi and microvilli (also called brush border) create a much larger surface area for the purpose of absorption, and the cells are linked closely  together forming tight junctions.

See this short video of the villi in the small intestine.

In a healthy person, these tightly linked junctions will provide for absorption of nutrients that have been broken down into the smallest of components, but will keep out larger molecules. 

When the gastrointestinal tract is inflamed or irritated, these junctions will loosen up, allowing for larger molecules to pass through.  It can even be a good substance, such as broccoli, but when broccoli is not broken down into the tiniest of particles for digestion, and the junctions are loose, allowing for larger molecules to penetrate, then broccoli is seen as a foreign substance.   When these large substances are able to pass through the intestinal lining, they enter the blood stream and an antibody response is created by our immune system, alerting our white blood cells to spring to action.  Once this battle is taking place in the blood stream, then inflammation and disease can show up any where in the body.  It can become rheumatoid arthritis, for example.  And to add to this trouble, a person can become malnourished over time, if inflammation continues in the GI lining, preventing even the good nutrients from entering. 

So the term "leaky gut" pretty much describes the situation.  Here's a good example:  When I brew coffee, I use a filter to catch the grinds.  If I use a food colander with bigger holes, the grinds will go through, and I do not like to drink coffee grinds.  It's the same way with "leaky gut."  Large particles are penetrating the intestinal lining and entering the blood stream.  Another name for leaky gut is increased intestinal permeability.

Of surprise to me, I learned that surgery and tube feeding in the hospital can also create a similar condition to Leaky Gut, since bacteria can get through the blood stream.

Leaky Gut has been associated with the following problems:  allergies, celiac disease, Cohn’s disease, HIV, and mal-absorption syndromes.  It is also linked to autoimmune disease such as AIDS, ankylosing spondylitis (chronic inflammatory disease of the spine), asthma, atopy, autism, bronchitis, eczema, food and environmental sensitivities, other allergic disorders, psoriasis, Reiter’s syndrome, rheumatoid arthritis, Sjogren’s syndrome, and skin irritations.  

Leaky Gut has no single cause but may be attributed to chronic stress, poor food choices, alcohol, NSAIDs (aspirin, Advil, Motrin, etc.), food sensitivities, poisons in the environment, candida, or chemotherapy drugs.

Now that we have all found ourselves in one or more of the previous listed problems, what can we do about it?  

My heart's desire is to help others with their health problems.  Hopefully upon graduation from school, I will be able to begin to direct someone in the right path.  Most textbooks say to work with your health professional for treatment; maybe I will be that person soon.

To repair Leaky Gut, try the 4 R approach: 

• Remove the cause
• Replace with beneficial enzymes and nutrients
• Reinoculate with beneficial bacteria (probiotics and prebiotics)
• Repair the intestinal wall

Remove: Take a look at what may be the cause of "leaky gut."  What kind of food choices do you make?  Are you eating a diet of whole foods, or is it mostly refined or processed foods?  Try to eat organic if possible to avoid toxins in foods.  Are you under stress?  The body will gear up for emergencies or possible danger (fight or flight), but did you know that stress from meeting deadlines, or working with an impossible co-worker, will also put the body in the same kind of stress.  Stress is something we must all deal with.  Exercise can be a stress reliever, but it can also be a stress inducer if the body is pushed too hard.  Remember that it is not so much that we are under stress, but how we respond to it that matters most.   If you think you have food sensitivities or allergies, then eliminate certain foods from the diet and see how your body reacts after reintroduction of the foods after 3 or 4 weeks.  if your body reacts in a bad way, then you probably do have a sensitivity or allergy to it. 

Replace:   Use digestive enzymes or bitters with meals to help digest the food.  In between meals take proteolytic enzymes to help immune fuction.  Try mucilaginous herbs such as slippery elm (can be in tea form), fenugreek, peppermint and marshmallow (tea form).  Flaxseeds are very mucilaginous.  They can be ground in a coffee grinder and added to foods or just soak them in water for several hours and drink as is.  I grind 2 tablespoons every morning and add a small amount of organic unsweetened applesauce, a little unsweetened almond milk, and a little liquid stevia if more sweet taste is preferred.  Supportive foods include:  cabbage juice, bone and vegetable broths, fresh vegetable juices (not storebought since pasteurization kills the enzymes).  Focus on eating a whole foods diet.

Reinoculate:  Fermented foods and probiotic supplements

Repair:  Aloe vera juice is very soothing and cooling.  It promotes cell regeneration and repair.  Glutamine is alkalizing to the body and is indicated by many health professionals as the top repair supplement.  The cells of the small intestine depend on glutamine as their main fuel for maintenance and repair.  Start with 1-30 grams daily and keep watch.  Too much can constipate, so you want to find your range and take that daily.  Quercetin (Perque Pain Guard brand or Repair Guard brand) - 500 - 3,000 mg daily.  Quercetin can help with allergies as it prevents histamine release.

There are other supplements.  If interested, contact me.

For other posts in this series see About Nutrition

Sources:
Total Body Tune-up by Michael Murray
Digestive Wellness by Liz Lipski
Hawthorn University NC-3 Lectures

Digestion - A process that most of us take for granted.  Did you know that the food you ingest is basically outside the body contained in a tube that is about 20-30 feet long from entrance to exit points?  Unless the food is absorbed, the nutrients will never become a part of the body and there will be no benefit.   If food cannot be broken down into very, very minute particles, then the best diet would be of little value.  

So where does it start, and what can we do to assure that what we eat will be absorbed into the body?  

It all starts with your brain and your sense of smell.  Think about your favorite food right now, prepared just the way you like it.  Think about how it smells and imagine taking a bite of it right now.  Doesn't that send a wake-up call to your salivary glands?  Your body is gearing up for the arrival of this food.  Enzymes are released in the mouth stomach to start the chemical break-down.   

The enzymes that are released from the salivary glands are enzymes (amylase) designed to break down starches (carbohydrates) and enzymes(lingual liapase) designed to break down fats.  While carbohydrates and fats begin their digestion in the mouth, protein does not begin to digest until it reaches the stomach.  In the mouth is the first chance for carbohydrate digestion, and the only chance until the food reaches the small intestine.  Next time you eat some carbohydrates, try to chew your food until it is nothing but mush, and you will see that the breakdown is taking place in your mouth, since the food will taste sweeter the more you chew.

Not only is there a chemical break-down taking place, but a mechanical break-down of food begins with our teeth and tongue to grind the food down into smaller pieces and it works hand in hand with the chemical break-down.  I think there are a lot of people who scarf their food down so fast that they do not give enough time for chemical and mechanical break-down to take place, which puts an increased burden on the stomach to break food down and reduce it to a liquid.  The food will have to stay longer in the stomach because it was not chewed well, and this can produce fermentation, which causes gas and bloating.  This slows down the digestive process.  It would benefit us all to make a conscious effort to think about our food when we eat and take care to properly chew our food, allowing amylase (the digestive enzyme secreted from saliva glands) to work on the carbohydrates, in the mouth and in the top part of the stomach.   The amylase is destroyed as the food gets lower into the stomach because of the hydrochloric acid.   Remember, carbohydrate break-down will not happen again until the food reaches the small intestine.  

 In the mouth, saliva is a necessary factor in taste sensation, because some food components must first be dissolved before they can be detected by taste buds.  We are missing the joy of really tasting the goodness of our foods when we eat with haste.  Saliva consists of water, mucus, digestive enzymes, and antibacterial agents and is needed to moisten our food to aid in swallowing.  

Good health requires good digestion.   Without good digestion, it is very difficult to maintain good health.  Poor digestion brings on symptoms, and symptoms turn in to disease states.  Digestion is not optimum unless food can be broken down into the smallest available particles and then absorbed mostly in the small intestine.  Work with your body to break down nutrients, first by taking the time to chew your foods. 

I have been trying to work on this myself.  Sometimes I can really focus and chew each bite, and then there are other times that I forget about it totally and realize that I just ate my food in haste.  It takes practice, but I believe that this is one giant step we can take in enhancing our health.

For other posts in this series please see About Nutrition

Credits:  Hawthorn University NC-3 Lecture "In the Mouth" 
              Nutritional Sciences, 3rd Edition, McGuire and Beerman

Have you ever thought about the concept of "whole foods" and what it could mean to your health?

I'm pretty sure this post will be elementary to many, but being elementary does not make it any less important.  In fact, I would say that even though the topic of whole foods can be well understood, it is doubtful that most of us live by a "whole foods" diet.

It is estimated that 90% of the food budget is spent on processed or refined foods, which offer very little nutritional value, and contain ingredients that even rob us of our stored nutrients.  

Here's a simple explanation of what a whole food is:  It will be one that is as close to its natural state as possible; it will look as it does in nature, unprocessed and unadulterated, and will almost always be found in the perimeter of your grocery store.  It is perishable and has a short shelf life; it does not contain additives, colorings, or preservatives.  It's real food, not from a box or packet.  

Still have questions?  Simply put, it is the foods that God created for us to eat (plants and animals) - the food your great grandparents ate.  So if in doubt, ask yourself if this would be a food your great grandparents would recognize. 

It may surprise you that the major causes of death in the U.S. during the early 1900s were infectious diseases, whereas the leading causes of death now are chronic degenerative diseases like heart disease, osteoporosis, and cancer.  Fortunately, though they are among the most common, they are also among the most preventable.

Adopting  a "whole foods" diet, getting plenty of sleep and staying active, can prevent or control the devastating effects of these diseases.

So here is your challenge.  Try it for one week - eat whole foods, see how you feel, and then hopefully you will adopt this way of eating for life.  At least try to eat whole foods 85% of the time.  For a long life, eat foods with a short shelf life.

For other posts in this series see About Nutrition

Resources:  Hawthorn University lectures and Nutritional Sciences by McGuire and Beerman, 3rd edition.

We all like bargains, don't we?  I'm going to tell you how to get one when it comes to foods.

What is nutrient-richness?  It is the amount of nutrients a food contains divided by the number of calories it also contains.  

Example:  One Medium Orange with 69.7 mg. vitamin C  = 1.13
                                                61.6 calories

So that comes to 1.13 mg. of vitamin C delivered to your body for every calorie in the orange.  

I'd say that's a pretty good bargain!  It didn't cost you many calories to get your dose of vitamin C, and by the way, the recommended dietary allowance of vitamin C is about what is contained in one orange.

Now let's contrast that with a cup of french fries.      One Cup French Fries with 17.3 mg. vitamin C = .13  
                                                                                                                    136.2 calories

So that comes to .13 mg. of vitamin C delivered to your body for every calorie in the french fries.

To get the same dose of vitamin C from the french fries as you do from the orange, you would have to eat 4 servings, with a cost of 544 calories, as opposed to the one orange, with only 61 calories.  

So, want a bargain?  Shop for and eat foods that are nutrient-rich, and that won't cost you an arm or a leg for calories, or in this case, maybe your heart.

For other posts in these series see About Nutrition

I compiled this post by using my required software in my studies at Hawthorn University.  The concept of nutrient-richness came from my textbook:  World's Healthiest Foods by George Meteljan.                                                                           

Continuing my series on "About Nutrition," What I am learning in school: 

An apple, is an apple, is an apple, right?  At least that's what I thought in the not too distant past.  But oh, not so!  Read on to find out what makes one apple, or any garden crop for that matter, more nutritious than others.

Soil – The more nutrients in the soil, the more nutrients in the plant, and thus the more nutrients in us.   Conventional farming adds three fertilizers (nutrients) to the soil, nitrogen, phosphate, and potassium.  These three are chosen because they make foods grow strong, have hearty stalks, appear very green and healthy, but they are devoid of all the rest of the nutrients.  We have over 60 different vitamins and minerals that the body needs.  When only three are added back into the soil, what about the rest of the body’s needs for the nutrients?  Organic farmed food is usually grown in soil that is very rich with a full spectrum of nutrients from organic matter.
(Hawthorn University NC-1 Lecture – Chemical Free and Organic)

Maturity at Time of Harvest – Some vegetables and fruits are shipped long distances so they must be picked prematurely, in order to get the produce to the consumer before over ripening.  Phytochemicals are substances in plants that prevent cancers and other diseases.  These beneficial substances are formed as the fruits and vegetables ripen on the vine.  When produce is picked before it is ripe, it may be deficient in these important phytochemicals.  
(Hawthorn University NC-1 Lecture – Seasonal Foods)

Length of Time After Harvest– Once harvested, foods begin to lose nutrient value.  That’s why having a personal garden is best, so food can be picked at the perfect time, and eaten with optimum nutrition.  Here is a scenario that happens most times.  The food is picked prematurely, it is sprayed with chemicals to keep it fresh, it travels many, many miles, it is purchased and taken home, placed in the refrigerator, and then many days later, we will eat it.  Many days have past since harvest and many nutrients have been lost.  
(Hawthorn University NC – 1 Lecture – Fresh Foods)

Irradiation - Irradiation is a process in which food is passed under gamma rays that come from radioactive cobalt.  The energy kills a number of harmful bacteria, fungi, and parasites on the food and it preserves the food, giving it a longer shelf life and potentially sterilizes that food.  Is that a good thing?  One of the side effects of this is nutrient depletion.  A number of both water and fat-soluble nutrients, particularly the B vitamins and vitamins A, C, and E, as well as some unsaturated fats, are depleted by irradiation.  
Hawthorn University NC -1 Lecture – Irradiation and Pesticides

Food Preparation Method – Overcooking of certain vegetables can deplete water-soluble vitamins.  Processed foods often have nutrient losses in the 50-80% range.  When it comes to cooking methods, steaming is  the best method for retaining flavor and nutrients in foods.
Mateljan, George. 2007. The World’s Healthiest Foods. (1st Edition)

For other posts in this series see About Nutrition

One of the books that I am required to have in my studies at Hawthorn University, is "The World's Healthiest Foods."  I love this book because the author takes a deep look at the top 100 most nutritious foods.  He breaks down each food and lists its nutritional analysis.  Certain foods contain certain nutrients in quantities unique to each food.

 I am amazed at God's creation and how He has supplied the many nutrients into each food.  He knew that our bodies would require these nutrients and so He gave us what we needed.  

Unfortunately, we have traded His food for man's "so called" foods that are nothing more than a long list of chemicals that we cannot pronounce, nor can our bodies digest.  These chemicals get stored in our soft tissues because they cannot be metabolized or eliminated, and in doing so, this storing of toxins requires that certain nutrients be pulled from our bodies just to be able to handle them.  In essence, it robs and depletes us of our nutrients.  Have you ever cleaned house and had some items that you just didn't have a spot for, so you walk around trying to find where to store them, using your energy to do so.  This is what happens in the body.  The body doesn't know what to do with them.  These toxins require something from the body just to store them in the tissues, and eventually these toxins will cause disease and degeneration on top of depletion of nutrition.  

Every God created food (whole foods) has its own set of nutrients and our bodies require a diverse range of nutrients, so it just makes sense to branch out and eat a wide variety of foods.  Don't just eat the same thing every day because same food = same nutrition.  If your habit is to eat the same thing all the time, consider branching out and trying new foods. 

For other posts in this series see About Nutrition