A trick to combating fat and obesity that works…

I may have to retract things I have said in the past. I can’t recall if I’ve ever explicitly stated it in this blog, but for a long time I’ve been a follower of the idea of “If It Fits Your Macos” (IIFYM) dieting.
IIFYM is often summed up in an over simplified manner as ever calorie from every carbohydrate source has the same value to your bodyweight no matter if it’s from rice, grains, sugar, poptarts or icecream. 500 calories of carbs from ice cream has the same weight gain potential to your body as 500 calories of whole-wheat bread.

Now there’s evidence that not only is this untrue in the immediate short term digestion, but over time you can alter the way your body responds to calories and gains weight, even combat obesity. This suggests that obesity might not be solely the result of over eating.

Mounting evidence suggests that the microbiome of the intestines, that is the bacteria in our large intestine that help us digest our food, are responsible for how our bodies respond to intake of certain foods. We have four primary families of bacteria but the most important for our purposes are the Firmicutes and Bacteroidetes.

In those with obesity we see a decrease in Bacteroidetes and an overgrowth of Firmicutes. This may be something they were born with, brought on by environmental factors, or it could be caused by long-term bad diet.

Recent evidence suggests that growth and death of different gut bacteria is in response to our food intake. Firmicutes thrives in a diet high in fat and sugar. Bacteroidetes however feeds on complex carbohydrates, starches and plant matter as well as our intestinal mucins when in a state of starvation. This is a good thing for those looking to control their weight which I’ll explain shortly.

So how can I apply this to weight loss?

There’s a few things you can do to help rebalance your gut bacteria in favor of healthy Bacteroidetes populations.

Eat more starchy fruits and vegetables

This includes potatoes, plantains, green bananas, to name a few. Overall though, there’s not really a wrong answer here. Fruits and vegetables are healthy sources of complex carbs, vitamins and minerals and the more of these you eat the less junk food you’ll have room for.

Fasting:

Bacteroidetes is more resilient to starvation that its counterpart. In a fast bacteroidetes can consume intestinal mucins to stay alive where other bacteria will gradually starve out. I’m not advocating long term starvation diets or water fasts, but healthy intermittent fast for 16 hours a day, or fasts with only green drinks or restricted zero-carb dieting for large portions of the day, even up to 72 hours could potentially effect the balance of bacteria. Remember though, our intestinal bacteria is very resilient and changing it is a LONG TERM plan, so any diet you choose needs to be sustainable. You can’t hope to crash diet your bacteria into the way you want. As soon as you go back to eating sugary, fatty food you’ll go back to the way things were.

Eat LESS junk food

This shouldn’t really need explaining. Junk food feeds the bad bacteria, it’s high in empty calories, low in satiation, and it’s bad for your long term health. Simply reducing your daily intake may not be enough for those with advanced weight gain problems. You need to commit to a lifestyle change for the long term if you want to reap the benefits.

Source:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3448089/

Eat away those food intolerances.

I recently made a post on gut bacteria as it relates to food intolerance. I shared the literature I’d found with some members on Crohn’s Forum and was asked what I would recommend to a patient if I was to suggest a therapy targeted at repopulating gut bacteria?

I’m going to link back to this study which is where I get much of my information.

This is highly theoretical, and my knowledge is not perfectly well rounded on this topic, and I will admit that as I go! If you can expand on any of the topics I discuss here, or find issues, I implore you to contact me at beyondtheodds@hotmail.com my goal is to get the population THINKING about these topics, not to become a first rate source of primary medical advice.

My digging into this topic is still fairly new to me, but given what I’ve already read I have formulated an early dietary strategy which I intend to apply. Here’s how my post was detailed:

Therapeutic Diet for Managing and Improving IBD Related Symptoms and Food Intolerance

I’m still building on it with self experimentation. The problem would be that I would need to create a different diet for each patient based on their digestive capabilities.

It seems evident that our food intolerances are based on both the level of dysbiosis and the specific imbalances. For example the reason that some patients can have lactose but others cannot is likely due to either insufficient bacteria of the kind that consume it in the lower GI tract, or overgrowth of harmful bacteria that consume it in the upper GI tract. I think we need testing on the specific bacteria loads of healthy individuals vs. ones with specific food intolerances to see what those differences are so we can better understand what needs to be taken out or put back in.

Mine are VERY limited right now, IDEALLY I would include a higher balance of prebiotic foods in my diet but I cannot tolerate the ones I want to, while many other Crohn’s patients can.

I can tell you a rough idea of an approach I would use based on the chart I found describing bacterial growth as relates to diet.

Summary of diet-induced dysbiosis

Diet Bacteria Altered Effect on Bacteria References
High-fat
Bifidobacteria spp. Decreased (absent) [45]
High-fat and high-sugar
Clostridium innocuum, Catenibacterium mitsuokai and Enterococcus spp. Increased [18]
Bacteroides spp. Decreased [18]

Carbohydrate-reduced
Bacteroidetes Increased [49]

Calorie-restricted
Clostridium coccoides, Lactobacillus spp. and Bifidobacteria spp. Decreased (growth prevented) [48]

Complex carbohydrates
Mycobacterium avium subspecies paratuberculosis and Enterobacteriaceae Decreased [49]
B. longum subspecies longum, B.breve and B. thetaiotaomicron Increased [53]
Refined sugars
C. difficile and C. perfringens Increased [54,55]
Vegetarian

E. coli Decreased [56]
High n-6 PUFA from safflower oil
Bacteroidetes Decreased [59,60]
Firmicutes, Actinobacteria and Proteobacteria Increased [59,60]
δ-Proteobacteria Increased [61]
Animal milk fat
δ-Proteobacteria Increased [62]

Stage 1 diet
My first step would be to test for SIBO and the prevalance of harmful / invasive species like MAP, C. Diff, and Klebsiella because if those are a problem it limits your dietary options further. Simple sugars would DEFINITELY be off the table. Klebsiella also limits your use of standard prebiotics like RS, FOS and inulin because it’s capable of breaking the complex molecular bonds that divides them from simple sugars.

So my first treatment for those with SIBO would be one of a few things. The safe approach would be a mixture of complete carb restriction and intermittent fasting, which risks further imbalancing the gut flora in favor of bacteroidetes, but unfortunately the only other choice is powerful antibiotics which will have the same result, but with a possibly more dramatic die-off of good bacteria. It might require several antibiotics taken at the same time with bad side effects to kill off these bacteria without dietary changes.

I would restrict the diet initially to meats, broths and tolerable oils focused on safflower and coconut oil, basically a fully ketogenic diet until they see a decrease in invasive bacteria. Due to extreme restriction of diet I would also put them on a multi vitamin. I would say this approach should be completely safe, supplementing with probiotics would be optional but not necessarily effective due to the chances you’d simply be starving them out anyway. Caprylic acid supplementation is also an option that I would consider safe but not sure if it’s effective. You’d already be getting some in coconut oil.

Grey area

For a more pseudo-science approach, I would say it’s -possible- but not yet tested to the point of recommendation to supplement with eugenol and carvacrol containing oils like thyme, oregano and cloves, black wallnut,wormwood, cinnamon, basil and bay leaf which have been shown to kill harmful bacteria while feeding Firmicutes strains. Until I can find further evidence on the safety and effectiveness of this therapy I would file it under a ‘maybe.’ I would like to further look into if taking them with an enteric coating to deliver them as food to the large intestines + fight off harmful bacteria there would be effective / optimal. So far search results on the topic have been no help.

Stage 2 diet
After the invasive bacteria is under control I would introduce complex carbs starting with low dose resistant starches like psyllium husks, potato starch (if tolerable), green bananas or plantains along with supplementation of FOS and inulin since foods containing it will likely be hard to digest for a patient with advanced dysbiosis due to high fiber content.

Initially they would likely experience flatulence, bloating and possibly diarrhea or constipation, so moderation and gradual increase based on personal comfort level would be necessary. Continued testing would be important to see that levels of harmful bacteria remain low and aren’t feeding on the prebiotics.

Grey area
As you begin to introduce prebiotics, over the next week or so I’d say start introducing probiotics targeted at bringing up the shortcomings in their bowel diversity. Unfortunately it doesn’t seem like there are capsules or anything for Clostridia, but it’s likely Bifido bacteria would be the first choice which is a protective bacteria many Crohn’s patients are deficient in.

This is another area I need more research in. When do you introduce probioitics / prebiotics? If you introduce the prebiotics first with nothing to feed you could be feeding the already over represented bacteroidetes. If you introduce probiotics without prebiotics as food for them they may starve. Will both at the same time simply cause too much gastric upset (flatulence, diarrhea etc.) for the comfort of the patient? How long will it take to subside? This is another area I need to find hard information on.

I would look really hard at supplementing L. acidophilus in those with lactose inolerance and possibly colostrum supplementation which acts as another natural prebiotic. I need further research to confirm effectiveness of both.

Stage 3 diet
Ideally the patient’s food tolerances should continue to improve until they are able to move onto a diet rich in raw fruits and vegetables from which they can get their vitamins and prebiotics, along with meats, animal fats and healthy oils like safflower, and extra virgin coconut and olive oil. This would be the end goal for long term maintenance of healthy gut bacteria.

For those with complications of Crohn’s like having had resections it could complicate the effectiveness because bacterial populations are regional to the intestines and I have no evidence of whether those populations can migrate and what effect that has on the ecosystem of the gut.

Grey area
I would look at raw, organic honey and royal jelly as a prebiotic for those in the advanced dietary stages with no signs of SIBO. I think regular testing for SIBO until dietary effectiveness is established would be best. I have reservations about honey though because some say harmful bacteria cannot digest it due to its chemical structure, while others say it can. I’d really like a confirmation on this but it doesn’t seem that many find it scientifically relevant.

Long term maintenance, comparison with obesity etc.
Over the long term, it looks like a diet rich in complex carbs and fats with moderate protein will lead to the ideal balance that we’re looking for. We basically want to be eating what obese people eat – because they have an overgrowth of Firmicutes where we have the opposite. We’re unfortunately prevented from the large intake of simple sugars typically associated with obesity because it promotes SIBO.

So what do we have to learn from this? Well unfortunately both the bacteria that we want, and the one we want to reduce depend on carbohydrates to an extent. Firmicutes seems to love fat and sugar – but bad bacteria also love sugar, so sugar binge eating is not an option to us!

Firmicutes is much less resilient to starvation than Bacteroidetes. If an obese person combined fasting with increase of resistant starches, they’d see a reduction in firmicutes and an increase of bacteroidetes.

Fasting and how it relates to this
For this reason I support the continual small meals through the day approach for Crohn’s. In the past I’ve spoken in favor of fasting for Crohn’s so let me clarify why I believe it’s not the OPTIMAL approach, and will advise against it except as a SIBO therapy until I can further investigate its effects on Bacteroidetes and intestinal flora.

During a fast we see a loss of firmicutes as well as harmful bacteria, an increase of gut-based serotonin production, and increased catecholamine production, increased cortisol production. All this is beneficial to Crohn’s healing EXCEPT the loss of firmicutes.

We also see the Bacteroidetes begins to consume intestinal mucins to avoid starvation, as a biproduct is creates butyric acid which promotes mucosal healing. So we see healing of the mucosa, balancing of the neurotransmitters, and bowel rest, great stuff really.

But we also see death of Firmicutes which leads to furthering of food intolerance. I don’t have the resources to prove if one can maintain / grow their firmicutes population during the 8 hour feeding window of an Intermittent Fasting diet, so until I sure, I deem fasting to be counter-productive to the goals of expanding dietary food tolerance.

Dairy and MAP
I’d like to make a fleeting mention of dairy. I’m starting to believe that MAP bacteria is not the primary cause of Crohn’s, and that it’s simply a result of the dysbiosis we see, and a marker of the loss of protective bacteria and overgrowth of harmful bacteria. It’s likely that the high prevalence in Crohn’s patients is a sign of overall bad gut health, and it’s possible that it DOES cause symptoms, however we also find it in healthy, asymptomatic individuals. I think in advanced dietary recovery with L acidophilus supplementation I would consider dairy to be SAFE and that the MAP should be manageable if you can restore a healthy balance of gut bacteria to protect you from it. I think monitoring of symptoms and levels of MAP in a patient in the advanced stages of the recovery diet would be very interesting to give us a better perspective on the role of dairy consumption and MAP growth.

My opinion on dairy is, perhaps, biased because I’ve NEVER seen correlation between dairy and my symptoms except when consuming it at ABSURD levels (1 gallon whole milk a day). The one time I experienced problems with dairy, I supplemented Kefir for a couple weeks and the problems subsided.

I’d like to post-edit this section to include a link to this article

https://mrheisenbug.wordpress.com/2014/08/24/the-truth-about-lactose-intolerance/

With more information on gut dysbiosis as a cause of lactose intolerance. 

Thoughts on another promising dietary supplement:

I just found this, I read about it before but forgot to mention it because there’s just so much stuff I’ve read lately I forget some things.
Polydextrose seems extremely promising in its ability to rebalance gut bacteria.
[url]http://ajcn.nutrition.org/content/72/6/1503.full[/url]

[QUOTE] Short-chain fatty acid production—notably that of butyrate, isobutyrate, and acetate—increased with polydextrose ingestion. There were substantial changes in fecal anaerobes after polydextrose intake. Bacteroides species (B. fragilis, B. vulgatus, and B. intermedius) decreased, whereas Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium species increased. [/QUOTE]

[QUOTE]Conclusion: Polydextrose ingestion had significant dietary fiber–like effects with no laxative problems.[/QUOTE]

This is EXACTLY what we want.

I will definitely be looking into polydextrose, possible adverse effects, and seeing if I want to try it myself in the near future.

More Crohn’s therapies based on scientific studies.

 A scientific approach to at home Crohn’s Disease Therapy

Disclaimer:

I am not a doctor. When I say therapy, I suggest this as a possibility for helping those with Crohn’s to whom other treatments have proven unsuccessful, or are looking for alternatives to pharmaceutical routes. This is not a cure, nor should it be taken against the advice of qualified medical professionals, but I believe that it can work for many patients to alleviate their symptoms based on the studies we have available. As with any treatment, there is risk for complications, there is not a 100% success rate, and there is risk of side effects and drug interaction. Consult your doctor before trying any new products or supplements!

Personally I am currently applying all therapies suggested here, this does not mean I endorse their use casually, nor have I used them long enough to comment on their effectiveness. As of 1 week into fasting, 1 month into taurine, 5 days into DHEA and Psyllium Husk supplementation and 4 days into l-carnitine I am experiencing beneficial effects from the fasting and psyllium husks for sure. The others have not shown definite, remarkable, or observable results. 

I will begin by offering you a brief synopsis of the treatment for those interested, then going into the details and science later for those that like to read.

After months of trying anti-bacterial and anti-fungal diets with no success I started researching other causative factors in Crohn’s Disease and other tested supplements, and seeing how they relate to my person experiences. I stumbled on a handful of things that work closely together and have greatly improved my current state of wellbeing.

1. Intermittent Fasting: An extreme calorie restriction is exercised from the time one goes to bed to 5pm the following day. During this time only roughly a liter of 70-30 water to juice mixture is allowed. This should be primarily vegetable juices and low sugar fruits like carrots, kayle, spinach etc. A mouthful is swallowed once an hour. Along with this black coffee is taken to prevent sodium loss. This triggers a cascade of hormonal responses in the body that promote healing, suppress inflammation, and balance serotonin / dopamine levels.

2. Taurine: Taurine supplementation has been shown to improve symptoms of Ulcerative Colitis and Crohn’s Disease. Exact dosing is not well explained. Taurine acts to balance secondary bile salts in the gut.

3. Propionyl L-Canitine: DNA aleles linked to Crohn’s disease are also linked to poor L-Carnitine transport. Adding more to the body could help alleviate the deficiency.4
4. DHEA: I’ve suggested DHEA in the past but recently come across another source suggesting it. Inflammatory diseases cause the resources necessary for proper hormonal balance to be diverted to cortisol production. DHEA bypasses this cortisol pathway. Taking DHEA could improve Crohn’s symptoms as well as alleviate other symptoms of hormonal imbalance such as mood problems, depression, and loss of sexual desire / performance.

5. Psyllium Husks: Psyllium husks are likely safe unless you have an ileostomy. They are a bulking agent that helps to stop diarrhea, and may aid in bile acid reabsorption. There may be other hidden benefits to them not fully understood, but they have been instrumental in reintroducing sugars into my diet.

So now you know what they are, but how about some science on WHY they work and WHAT they do?

Fasting:

Links between serotonin levels and Crohn’s disease have been observed leading to the possibility that hormones influence the condition. (2)

Modulating hormone levels is beyond the scope of most at-home treatments, and convincing a doctor to treat your Crohn’s with experimental hormone therapy that’s only been tested on one patient (3) may be difficult.

During a fast it has been shown that the production of serotonin in the gut is upregulated steadily, reaching a huge spike after 48 hours (1). Gut-derived serotonin may not play the same role in the body as serotonin in the brain, but it does have an extremely beneficial effect to the health of the gut.

Fasting also produces catecholamines believed to have a positive therapeutic effect on Crohn’s.

Juice fasting may have a less stressful effect on the body than a complete 0 calorie water fast. (4)

Taurine:

We see in Crohn’s disease an association with an imbalance of bile acids in the ileum. Upon digestion bile is created by the liver, it’s then conjugated into secondary bile acids via exposure to Taurine and Glycine. (5) Secondary bile acids are water soluble and more readily used and re-absorbed in the ileum.

Crohn’s patients are shown to express a poor balance with too little Taurine-conjugated bile acids leading to poor usage and poor reabsorption. Though the effects of this on the condition, whether it’s causative or symptomatic, are not well understood, treating it has shown some promise for therapeutic effect. Increased consumption of Taurine may provide the extra required for the body to stabilize the secondary bile acids in the ileum.

Priopionyl L-Carnitine:

A complex series of reactions is involved in the benefits of L-Carnitine. It’s associated with an enzymatic response that suppresses tnf-a inflammation – the cause of Crohn’s inflammation. It may work synergistically with butyrate and the probiotic Saccharomyces boulardii to suppress inflammation. (10) A more detailed explanation is available in the source material.

DHEA:

Most of what I have to say about this is a summation of other points already made. The excess production of cortisol in an inflammatory disease limits the amount of healthy hormones the body can produce. Supplementing DHEA skips the cortisol pathway, this may allow the body to reach a more natural hormone balance, reducing depression, stress, and possibly Crohn’s symptoms and inflammation. (11,12,13)

DHEA should be taken under the supervision of an endocrinologist.

Psyllium Husks:

Psyllium husks act as a stool bulking agent via their fiber, they can aid in both diarrhea and constipation prevention. They may also act upon the biles in a manner similar to Cholestyramine.

Sugars act in a way similar to Crohn’s disease in upsetting the balance of secondary bile acids in the ileum. I observe frequent, loose, bile-containing bowel movements after consuming sugar. Psyllium husks have been extremely effective in preventing this outcome for me.

Psyllium husks are likely safe unless you have a stoma, stricturing, ostomy bag, or do not consume them with enough water. Ask your doctor if you have one of the above complications.

Sources:

Fasting:

1. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3696514/
2. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17481962
3. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3108661/
4. https://www.knowyourgut.com/the-miracle-of-juice-fasting-for-colitis-and-ibs/

Taurine

5. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1411649/?page=1
6. http://www.crohnsforum.com/showthread.php?t=42304
7. http://molpharm.aspetjournals.org/content/69/4/1405.full
8. http://informahealthcare.com/doi/abs/10.3109/00365528309181619?journalCode=gas
9. http://crohnsdoesntlivehereanymore.blogspot.com/2012/05/does-taurine-supplementation-improve.html

L-Carnitine

10. http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2251729413000086

DHEA

11. http://www.dheausa.com/crohn_disease.htm
12. http://www.lifeextension.com/Protocols/Gastrointestinal/Inflammatory-Bowel-Disease/Page-06
13. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12562454

Salicylate Intolerance – a link to IBS and behavioral issues

Many people have heard of gluten intolerance, but there are other intolerances that exist as well that many are affected by but few know of. In this post I’ll simply be covering Salicylates, but I’ll mention Amines and FODMAPs if you want to start doing external research, and dedicate posts to them soon.

“Salicylates are derivatives of salicylic acid that occur naturally in plants and serve as a natural immune hormone and preservative, protecting the plants against diseases, insects, fungi, and harmful bacteria.”

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salicylate_sensitivity

Salicylate intolerance will also lead to aspirin sensitivity / intolerance and this is one of the main ways most people find out.

The list of salicylate sensitivity symptoms is huge, but to name a few, skin reactions like dryness, swelling, itching, digestive reactions like diarrhea, gas, bloating, mood disorders, fatigue etc. A more in dept list is available here.

http://salicylatesensitivity.com/info3/

The thing about salicylate sensitivites is sometimes it’s not just when consumed, but also topical contact with them such as through shampoo, tooth paste, and other body cleaning products.

Salicylates are found in many foods and eliminating them entirely is nearly impossible so the goal of treatment is to limit the amount ingested / used on a daily basis. These foods include many things which are considered to be healthy or beneficial for skin and digestive problems such as coconut oil, honey and mint, as well as fruits and vegetables.

Testing for sensitivity at a doctor’s office is possible but not as cut and dry as other allergies / sensitivities and may involve exposing the patient to increasing doses of aspirin to trigger a controlled reaction.

If you believe you have symptoms and you’d like to test yourself, simply look up high and low salicylate foods and cut your diet to a minimum and see if your symptoms are reduced. Use salt and baking soda instead of toothpaste and avoid using soaps and body washes not on this list: http://www.fibrofreerecoverygroup.com/salicylate-free-product-list/

A New Pathogen Enters The Stage

Last post I discussed MAP bacteria as a possible cause or causative factor in Crohn’s disease. What I’m learning now helped expand my understand to show a bigger picture.

While MAP may be causative in many of Crohn’s symptoms, it seems Crohn’s also comes hand in hand with another pathogen. Associated Adherent-Invasive Escherichia coli. A strand of E. Coli bacteria that gets into the macrophages where it’s hard to kill or treat, then sends out requests for an inflammatory response from the body, triggering the inflammation associated with Crohn’s disease.

Why do Crohn’s patients have it when other people don’t?

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25809337

In short, genetic predisposition. The genetics associated with Crohn’s disease are in alleles directly linked with handling of intracellular bacteria.

Discussion http://www.crohnsforum.com/showthread.php?p=861697

Your immune system is weak because of a genetic defect allowing bacteria like MAP and AIEC to thrive within its macrophages, as a result, they cause an overactive immune response in the form of inflammation – so this is where we see both a weakened and overactive immune system explained.

How this effects treatment compared to MAP doesn’t change much. Eliminating the harmful bacteria is key, but how do we prevent it from coming back if we’re already genetically predisposed to it? I haven’t found an answer for that on my web searches yet.

Dangerous Crohn’s Treatments

I know in the pursuit of a cure it’s easy to get caught up in the promises of cure-all treatments and miracle supplements. A lot of them have stories of people miraculously cured by taking some kind of fruit juice or supplement. They may be posted on some poorly made website or on earthclinic and while some may be perfectly save (like Apple Cider Vinegar) others can have potentially dangerous side effects so it’s important you do your research before trying anything! In my search for a cure I’ve tried a few holistic remedies and so far NONE of them had any effect on my ability to tolerate foods, my Crohn’s symptoms have been 100% dependent on what I eat and no amount of enzymes or probiotics have been able to fix that. This may not be the case for everyone, and I’m not trying to dissuade you from trying things, but to understand that these are PRODUCTS a company is trying to make money with, they are going to make outlandish claims to try to take advantage of your situation.

One of these products is Nopalea.

It claims to be a fruit juice made with cactus fruit. The truth is that it’s a slurry of various common store bought fruits with SOME cactus juice mixed in. It also contains Maltodextrin which has been linked to rapid overgrowth of E.Coli in Crohn’s patients and thus symptoms of flare ups. The stuff weighs in at $25 a bottle, and one bottle is supposed to last about a week, so that’s $100 in juice a month. I’ve tried it and it did nothing.

Master Mineral Solution

(Miracle Mineral Solution, and some similar names) is effectively nothing more than low dose poison, it’s like using chemotherapy to treat Crohn’s. If what we believe is the cause of Crohn’s is true (harmful bacterial overgrowth in the intestines) then it might explain why some people claim this product has relieved their symptoms, but at what cost? Are we still chopping off hands to treat infections? From the Wikipedia: “The product contains essentially the same ingredient as industrial-strength bleach before “activation” with a food-grade acid” “MMS is falsely and dangerously promoted as a cure for HIV, malaria, hepatitis viruses, the H1N1 flu virus, common colds, autism, acne, cancer, and more.” “When citric acid or other food acid is used to “activate” MMS as described in its instructions,^[7] the mixture produces an aqueous solution containing chlorine dioxide, a toxin and a potent oxidizing agent used in the treatment of water and in bleaching.” There’s more details in the Wiki but I’m not really sure why you wouldn’t be convinced at his point.

Colloidal Silver.

 I only recently found out the negative effects of this. The product is pushed as an antibiotic remedy, but in truth it’s only been loosely proven to be effective at anything. The FDA has been making brands strip claims that it has any health benefits off the label, because as of yet they are all unproven. What we DO know is it’s linked to permanent blue discoloration of the skin, and malabsorption of vitamins that Crohn’s patients already struggle with.

Aloe Vera Juice. 

It’s possible that oral ingestion of Aloe Vera is carcinogenic, studies have only been done on laboratory animals and are thus far inconclusive. There may be some benefit to Crohn’s and Colitis sufferers in supplementing this. I wouldn’t go out of my way to expressly forbid it, but it’s recommended you cycle this supplement and take as directed on the bottle. It may cause worsening of symptoms for Crohn’s patients as it is a diuretic.

Pau D’arco. 

There’s insufficient evidence to prove that it works, and it may be unsafe to consume. Some Crohn’s patients claim it has improved their symptoms. It’s not a well understood supplement, take at your own risk. “Pau d’arco may affect the blood’s ability to clot, and could interfere with any blood thinning drugs you are taking”

Remedies that work for some people I would consider safe:

– Probiotic therapy.

Though this area is still poorly understood many people report great benefits from supplementing with probiotics or home made fermented foods like sauerkraut, kefir and kombucha. Be warned, however, that many with IBD also have SIBO and this can include Candida and other overgrowths. Some may respond negatively to ingesting fermented foods.

– Apple Cider Vinegar.

 I’m still not sure exactly what this does but a lot of people treat it as a cure all. I haven’t seen any reason to believe it’s unsafe, so go ahead and give it a try, just remember to drink it through a straw to avoid damaging your tooth enamel. Similar to probiotics, some may have negative reactions to vinegars.

– Baking Soda. 

Often goes hand in hand with ACV, I’m not sure what it’s actually supposed to do, but it’s fairly safe. Because it reduces the acidity of the stomach it’s not recommended to take this before or shortly after eating, or taking other medications that may rely on the acidity of the stomach to break down. It’s believed that baking soda may also have a calming effect to those with salycitate sensitivities because it bonds with the salicylic acid and neutralizes it.

– Digestive Enzymes.

 Mileage on these may vary. Try finding out the foods you have trouble with and buying the analogous enzyme to digest it. After my research I’m a big fan of what’s in NOW Foods Super Enzymes. It contains a good balance of plant enzymes and pancreatin to break down things that Crohn’s patients will often struggle to digest. Take these with meals and see what happens. If you prefer a natural approach some fruits like papaya and pineapple contain natural enzymes.

– Cat’s Claw Extract.

Another herbal remedy with little literature but a lot of anecdotal support. Cat’s claw is an immune booster and has been reported by Crohn’s patients to help their symptoms. Consult with your doctor about drug interactions.

Part 4 of My Story…

When I left off after part 3 I had just begun to understand the link between diet and the effects it had on my condition. Believing now that I could control it through diet alone, and getting no relevant help from medical professionals, I abandoned them to seek my own healing.

I began working out and eating safe foods to gain weight. I went from around 100 lb.s to about 124 on just clean, healthy meals. I started craving a more varied diet, and I seemed to have hit a wall in my weight gain. I started looking at my options, and decided that if I wanted to gain weight fast, I could binge eat unhealthy foods that were safe for my stomach.

I began consuming large amounts of milk, candy, and a protein shake high in sugar. I quickly put on a lot more weight in the coming months and managed to hit a sturdy 150 lb.s, the most I’ve ever weighed.

At the end of summer I was ready to come off disability and start working.

At the same time I noticed some small infections in my arm pits. I began trying to treat them with various natural remedies, both topically and oral. They continued to grow despite these efforts. I was determined to solve this myself and I threw all sorts of natural remedies I read off the internet at them, including apple cider vinegar, aloe vera juice, colloidal silver, baking soda, garlic and probiotics just to name a few.

The infections continued to grow until I lost a lot of mobility in my arms. I couldn’t raise my arms above my head or lower them close to my body without extreme pain. I finally caved and went to the doctor. I had the right side infection lanced and drained. They started me on Doxycyline, however my stomach wasn’t having any of it, and I experienced burning sensations and discomfort. After further reading I found Doxycycline is linked to cause and worsening of Crohn’s disease. I stopped taking it and returned to my doctor. They put me on a two week course of Bactrim.

I couldn’t have the left side infection lanced because it was still too solid and located close to what I believed to be connective tissue, possibly tendons. My doctor told me it was not connective tissue, but after further research and due to the fact that it felt and looked like the tendon that connects the bicep to the upper shoulder in diagrams, I lost trust in this doctor and went to a new one.

As my infection did not fully heal from the first course of antibiotics, I wanted to get a second opinion to see what other options I had. The new doctor put me on a 1 week double dose of Bactrim. The infection went down, but didn’t go away. I was getting pretty scared at this point, it seemed like the infection wasn’t responding to antibiotics.

At the same time I had heard about an experimental treatment for Crohn’s online, that proposed Candida might be the cause of many Crohn’s symptoms. The treatment involved a no-sugar diet while supplementing Undecylenic Acid and high amounts of Vitamin C.

Within a few days of starting this diet the infection began to get smaller. I continued on this diet and eventually it went away entirely. It really was a miraculous coincidence in a way that the treatment I was trying for my Crohn’s worked for the infection, otherwise I have no idea what I would have done. Likely the doctors would have put me on further and more dangerous antibiotics.

I continued my sugar free diet for about 2 months. I lost a LOT of weight during this time and fell back below 120.

I noticed some improvement in my symptoms and a better tolerance for fiber and spicy foods, but I was not cured. I have not had any significant infections since then. I now make sure to control and limit the amount of simple sugars in my diet.

I still don’t know the exact reason that this happened, but I have two theories. One is fructose intolerance and the other is candida infection.

I’ve covered Candida in a previous post and I may cover Fructose Intolerance in a future one, but I’m not very well read on it at this point. In short it has to do with the liver being unable to process fructose and having a toxic effect on the body.

This more or less brings me up to recent events. Overall my health has been less of a roller coaster since learning to control my diet, however I’ve still been losing my tolerance for certain food as time passes on. I’m looking to understand this in hopes I can prevent or reverse it. My leading culprits are SIBO (small intestinal bacterial overgrowth) or Candida, as I can’t figure any other way my overall health stays fairly steady but the foods I can eat continue to be limited.

I recently lost chocolate, rice and orange juice, and I have trouble understanding why this came on all of a sudden. I’m hoping I can find some answers in the near future.

I’m working on regaining all the lost weight from my no-sugar diet in a healthier way, this time was complex carbs and more meat and eggs. I’ve passed 135 steadily on the scale and I’m in the gym 3 times a week. Hopefully I can get back to where I was, this time in a healthier and maintainable way.

Magic Fat Loss Tricks

Any time something seems too good to be true, it probably is.

Fat Loss Supplements

The unfortunate truth about most fat loss supplements is that they’re rarely effective, and if they are, they’re rarely safe or legal.

Two of the current popular fat-loss products are green tea / green tea catechins and green coffee extract.

The truth is that neither has had sufficient testing done to prove that they have a significant fat burning effect.

Tests were performed on mice using green coffee extract (GCE) showing a loss in fat, but the mice were fed 1% of their total diet in green coffee extract. I’m guessing most people aren’t looking to make green coffee a staple in their diet. The more you eat, the more coffee you’ll have to consume to make 1%, and chances are for an obese individual, that’s a lot of coffee.

Human testing was rarely performed by independent tests. Tests were influenced by the industry, and in most cases this means variables are tweaked and conclusions are misread to produce a favorable outcome in order to sell the product.

The fact is that any connection to fat-burning is weak at best. It may simply be the caffeine and chlorogenic acid naturally present in all coffee is responsible for the fat loss caused by GCE. This means GCE is no better at burning fat than the coffee you already consume – in fact if you’ve already developed a resistance to caffeine, the benefits of GCE will be further diminished.

Green tea has shown similar results. Though in-vitro testing suggests enzyme interactions caused by ECCG, a catechin in Green Tea Catechins, the in-vivo testing shows unreliable at best results. Once again it could simply be the caffeine has a fat-burning effect on those who are not accustomed to consuming it.

We know caffeine has fat burning properties, however the amount you need to consume to see significant results would be inadvisable.

Overall the fat loss caused by these products pales in comparison to simple diet and exercise.

Gluten Free and Gimmick Diets:

Gluten free dieting is a trendy way to lose weight. The theory is that gluten is inherently bad for you and makes you fat, bloated and inflamed, however I still haven’t seen significant evidence to suggest that gluten is unsafe to individuals who can safely digest it. I may not be one of these individuals, but that doesn’t mean I think wheat is evil.

One problem with Gluten Free diets is people following it often move on to pre-made gluten free products. These products are often even more calorie dense than their counterparts made with wheat. Whether it’s cookies, bread, or noodles, you’ll find they buffer the undesirable taste and texture with higher amounts of fat and sugar.

If gluten is truly having a toxic effect on your body, you should be losing weight due to starvation, not gaining it.

Carb limited diets can have detrimental effects as well, which I’ll discuss further in the next section.

Fasts and Starvation Diets

Fasting (not to be confused with intermittent fasting, a safe and effective body fat management diet) and starvation diets are another unsafe way people try to lose weight. It ignores the very mechanics of the body in the pursuit of quick results. The body doesn’t like to lose fat, fat is one of its primary survival resources.

When you fast your body still needs energy.  While your muscles can consume fat or glucose for energy, your brain needs glucose. Since your body doesn’t store glucose, and can’t readily convert fat into glucose, it needs to go through some chemical reactions to feed the brain. These reactions break down muscle tissue and produce ammonia. You’re now losing muscle tissue, which means your body’s daily caloric consumption declines causing you to hold weight easier, and you’re flooding your body with toxic ammonia.

The same occurs in a low-carbohydrate diet with high activity levels.

When your body enters a starvation state, it becomes more covetous of calories, and once you come off your fast and start eating again, you’ll quickly put on weight to make up for this.

Extreme diets are NEVER the answer.

Take a natural approach to fat loss instead.

Step 1: Control Your Appetite

Controlling your appetite is a matter of some dietary changes that can help reduce hunger, so you have less cravings. Protein has a higher satiation effect per calorie than fat or carbohydrates. Think lean meat to curb your appetite. Chicken, and tuna fish are a good choice in this department.

Fiber is also an effective appetite suppressant. Grab a salad, but skip on the dressing. Dressings are usually loaded in fats and sugars, and may make that salad more calorie packed than a cheeseburger.

Limit your sugar intake. It’s been suggested that high glycemic-index carbs and simple sugars may stimulate the appetite of individuals whom already have problems controlling it.

Step 2: Increase Your Activity Level

Strength training is the best way to burn fat. Muscle consumes calories, and can also improve your body’s interaction with insulin. Building muscle can be just as, if not more effective than cardio in burning off the pounds quickly. Look at performing compound movements using the most muscles per movement you can, and don’t skip leg day!

Step 3: Balance Your Diet

Use a calorie calculator to find out how many calories a day you need to be eating to maintain your goal weight. Find out how many calories you are eating now. In order to safely reach your target weight with minimal loss of muscle, you want to slowly diet down to that calorie range by reducing your daily intake by 50-100 on a weekly basis. So if you are eating 3000 calories now, and your target weight only requires 2000 calories, eat 2900 calories each day for the next week. The following week eat 2800, and so on, meaning you will be on a 10 week program. This will also help your stomach to adapt to slightly less food each day, so hunger isn’t as much a problem. Your stomach will adjust to less food given time.

Balance your diet between about 35-40% protein, 40-50% carbs and 15-20% fats. More details on dietary basics can be found in this post.

Conclusion

Remember, fat loss isn’t complicated, it’s all about dedication. Find a program that’s safe and effective, and expect to do it slowly. A diet you can stick with is more likely to work.

Resources:

Ketogenic Diets 2: Preventing Muscle and Bone Loss on Ketogenic Diets

http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/ammonia.htm

http://examine.com/supplements/Green+Tea+Catechins/

http://examine.com/supplements/Green+Coffee+Extract/

Feeling Sick While You Workout?

As a Crohn’s Disease sufferer, often times while working out, my stomach begins to act up. It’s usually in the form of an annoying burning sensation, similar to acid reflux, coupled with gas.

For the longest time I made no connection between the actual physical activity and my response until reading some information about Exercise Induced Intestinal Permeability. While exercising, the increased temperature of your body, coupled with dehydration, causes your intestines to more readily allow substances to pass through them into your blood stream. This can result in a multitude of negative effects on your body.

One commonly known interaction is between Aspirins and exercise. Due to the increased permeability, it’s inadvisable to take aspirin during or immediately after intense workout.

Crohn’s patients, who likely already deal with leaky gut syndrome and food sensitivities need to be especially aware of this.

How can I combat EIIP? 

Studies have been done to try to reduce intestinal permeability during workout and reduce symptoms. They’ve given us some clues on how we can better manage leaky gut while still engaging in healthy activity levels.

Step 1 is to remain hydrated. Drink plenty of water leading up to, and during your workout. A drink with a low concentration of carbohydrates can help limit the permeability and may increase water and sodium uptake. I suggest sucrose (Table sugar) or a high-glucose sweetener as many Crohn’s patients may also have Fructose sensitivity. Fruits like cherries, figs, plums, kiwi, fresh and dried apricots, dried prunes and bananas are your best bet for higher glucose carbohydrates, try sweetening your drink with home-juiced fruit juice in your water.

When hydrating it’s important to remember the risk of electrolyte imbalance through over-hydration. This is why sports drinks contain sodium. Try making your own by adding about 1/2 tsp salt to each 1.5-2 liters of water.

If you plan on exercising a time spam greater than 60 minutes consider supplementing potassium or adding banana or other high-potassium fruits or vegetables to your juice. Potassium loss is another complication of extended exercise and over hydration.

And most importantly, avoid Aspirin before and immediately after an intense workout.

Sources & Additional Reading:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3190328/

http://jap.physiology.org/content/90/6/2075

http://leakygutresearch.com/leaky-gut-syndrome-and-exercise/

Make your own Electrolyte drink

Build a Mindblowing Tricep Horshoe

The ‘horse shoe’ shape of the tricep seen in the monstrous, cut and dry bodybuilders is one of the iconic symbols of good arm definition many seek out.

You go to the gym and hit your arms with bench press, cable pulls, kickbacks, and overhead pressing, but all of this neglects an important part of your triceps!

The long head of the tricep functions in a way that we frequently overlook. It ties in to our torso across the scapula and works synergistically with the lats to pull a weight from behind our head, primarily in a lying position.

Try lying tricep overhead extensions with a barbell or ez-bar to hit your triceps in a way that all your pressing motions are missing.

Mark Rippetoe explains this in more detail.

For a quick video watch this