Finding a New Primary Care Doctor

A Big Thanks To Leslie at Wellparents.com for this great advice Thanks to Leslie at Read more

The Rollercoaster of Life

Grandma: "I always wanted to go again. You know, it was just so interesting that a ride could make me so frightened, so scared, so sick, so excited, and so thrilled all together! Some didn't like Read more

Sheltering at Home/Covid 19

Never in the last two decades of my career as a physician would I have imagined that we would be using the same mask to see patients all day and then sterilizing/recycling them at the end of the day. Read more

Turmeric Health Benefits

Have you ever wondered what the paste is applied to the bride and groom's faces and arms in Indian weddings?  It's actually the spice turmeric.  Turmeric is the ingredient in curry that gives it a vibrant yellow color.  Actually, Read more

COVID 19 Precautions

With the scare of COVID here in the USA now, I wanted to post a little info about boosting immunity to prevent contracting the virus. Here are some important facts about Covid-19 It is spread by contact with Read more

Natural Tips for Avoiding Colds

This cold and flu season is still upon us and unfortunately, many patients are still being plagued by these nasty viral symptoms.  Here are a few tips to try if you feel like you are coming down with something. Of Read more

Sherry's Story

Sherry has a great story.  She has been diabetic for years and she has made some massive changes!   "I have been on a lifestyle change. It has been a year following a ketogenic food plan.  When I started this journey Read more

Pharmacy to Farmacy

Many of you may know Erin-- the fabulous Pharm D that worked in our office a few years back.  Erin is a phenomenal gal and we embarked on the journey  into natural medicine around the same time.  As we both Read more

gluten

What Happened When My Dad Went Gluten Free

It seems I am getting more and more testimonials from patients on how great they feel when they go gluten free.  I thought I would re-post this great story by one of my friend’s experiences.  Comment down below with any of your own experiences and share!

 

What Happened When My Dad Went Gluten Free

Health trends, like many trends, come and go.  But the gluten-free trend may just be a keeper.  Why is this?  This gluten thing is part of a bigger picture….genetically modified foods and how they cause inflammation, and how that makes us sick.  Here’s what happened to my dad.

It all began in 2002 when my dad was 53 years old.  His heart just wasn’t beating right, and at 35-44 beats per minute (normal is 60-100), dad felt pretty lousy.  Eventually, it was determined that dad’s thyroid was under active.  This caused his heart to beat too slowly.  Dad felt like he couldn’t breathe, and nearly passed out whenever he stood up.  But it didn’t end there.  The slow heartbeat thickened the wall of Dad’s heart, which in turn led to an electrical problem causing atrial fibrillation, or irregular heartbeat.

Dad’s doctor added thyroid hormone to correct the hypothyroidism.  This, and a surgical procedure brought his heart back to the normal beats per minute.

But what was the root of Dad’s thyroid problem?  An autoimmune disorder, Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis caused Dad’s immune system to attack his thyroid.  His body was confused by an invader, but instead of going after the true culprit, Dad’s immune system accidentally recognized his thyroid as the enemy.  Under attack, the thyroid was unable to produce enough hormone to keep his heart beating fast enough.

So what was the enemy that invaded Dad’s body, and why did his immune system become so confused?

Always the student of nutrition, Dad read that hybridized, or genetically modified wheat can cause autoimmune problems.  Hybridization of the grain makes people sensitive to gluten.  He read that the human body fails to recognize hybridized wheat as food.  This fact stunned Dad because he knew 70% of our immunity comes from digestive tract.  The logic was simple.  Inundate the digestive tract with hybridized wheat, which the body fails to recognize as food, and you could potentially create an immunological reaction.

Dad made a plan.  Calm the immune system.  How?  Cut wheat.  (He had already cut junk food years ago).

After six to eight months, Dad’s blood test showed his TPO antibodies had dropped from 2,700 to 141.  In plain language, that means his immune system stopped cranking out the little critters that had been attacking his thyroid.  After a total of 12 months wheat free, Dad’s TPO’s continued the downward trend to 101.  Additionally, the post wheat-free blood tests showed more improvements.  Dad’s TSH was low normal, measuring .5.  Normal range for TSH, or Thyroid Stimulating Hormone, is .47-4.7.  This was great news because it let his doctor know Dad’s brain no longer needed to pump out TSH in order to stimulate the thyroid.  After going wheat free, Dad’s TSH had dropped down to normal, and with some adjustments to his thyroid medication, his next TSH check showed a reading of 2.0, well within the normal range.

These blood test improvements led Dad’s doctor to lower his thyroid medication from 137 mcg to 112 mcg for 6 weeks, and then down further to 100 mcg.  Dad is so happy to have less medication and, of course, hopes to eventually discontinue it altogether if possible.

Cutting wheat just may have eliminated the culprit guilty of revving up Dad’s immune system.  This simple dietary change helped my dad gain control of his rogue immune system.

About the author:

Jeanne Barker Benz is a full-time mom of three children and Team Beachbody Coach.  While her background is in law, her passion is encouraging others in faith, education, business, and health.

 

Posted on by Angela in Body, Diet, Nutrition Leave a comment

Gluten Issues –with the Gluten God!

What about all that GLUTEN????

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I absolutely love the Underground Wellness Site and always refer legitimately interested patients there to learn about nutrition and it’s healing effects on the body.  The body never ceases to amaze mean and the way that we are all so intricately woven together from system to system makes me marvel at the body’s resilience to its mistreatment.  I wasn’t ever aware of how perfectly in tune my mind, body, and spirit all were until these last few years and I am thankful to my awakening.  I’ve played this video in follow-up to the Wheat Belly video that many of you have watched during your office visits.  I am amazed at how little it takes to cause such an uproar in the body–This one is short and worth a one time viewing.  Tom O’Bryan is like the “Gluten God” to me and Sean Croxton has many resources on his site and podcasts that are filled with incredible science, tips, and transformation stories.  Please dig deeper if you are interested at all!

Posted on by Angela in disease, Nutrition, Weight Loss, Whole Food Leave a comment

Against the Grain—part 2

So in the last 3 weeks I have been putting on weight and belly fat like crazy.  I didn’t figure it out till this morning when I was putting together this post on wheat—-Bingo (light bulb)– A few weeks ago I got the crazy notion to add some goldfish crackers on my salad at lunch.  My obsessive compulsive habits had me eating those little heathens daily.  Despite eating primarily PALEO, that little bit of wheat has started that vicious wheat belly cycle all over again.  Needless to say, I will be eliminating those today.

So here is the part 2 of the dreaded wheat conundrum–wheat is a drug!  Crack if you must.

Wheat actually acts like an opioid in the brain.  Like all opioids, wheat can stimulate appetite.  In 1981, the glycemic index was first introduced and ironically wheat had a higher index than sugar and white bread.  Wheat elevates sugar levels which in turn elevate insulin levels.  Insulin resistance can then ensue which can lead to diabetes.  Wheat has a component called amylopectin A which can really elevate insulin levels.  Not to mention that it contains the protein Gliadin which can cross the blood brain barrier.  It actually unlocks the intestinal barrier which can allow foreign antigens to enter the blood stream.  This leads to Leaky Gut Syndrome.  But, more on that to come……

 

 

Symptoms of Insulin Resistance

general fatigue, after meals

difficulty losing weight

always hungry

need for sweets after meals

cravings for sweets are not satisfied after eating them

frequent urination

waist circumference is equal to or greater than hips

irritability between meals

excessive thirst

More detailed information can be found in Dr. William Davis’s book–“Wheat Belly”

and by visiting http://www.wheatbellyblog.com

Posted on by Angela in Body, Diet, disease, Nutrition, Weight Loss, Whole Food Leave a comment

10 Signs You May Be Gluten Intolerant—

It has been estimated that 15% of the US population.  Could you be one of them?

If you have any of the following symptoms, you may actually be gluten intolerant.  Please remember that these symptoms are vague so they only warrant investigating an intolerance.  And as usual, consult your personal physician if you have concerns.

 

1.  Migraine headaches

2.  Keratosis pilaris (bumps that look like chicken skin on the back of your arms)

3.  Fatigue or brain fog after eating gluten

4.  Autoimmune disease (Hashimoto’s thyroiditis, Rheumatoid arthritis, Ulcerative colitis, Lupus, Psoriasis, Scleroderma or Multiple sclerosis)

5.  Dizziness or feeling off-balance

6.  PMS or PCOS

7.  Fibromyalgia or chronic fatigue

8.  Inflammation in joints

9.  Anxiety, depression, ADD or mood swings

10.  Digestion issues such as gas, bloating, diarrhea or constipation

 

Personally, my ALCAT did show a mild sensitivity to gluten so I am considering eliminating it.  You can either get an ALCAT test done (approx $250 if not covered by insurance) by contacting me or you could simply do an elimination diet.  This requires you eliminate gluten 100% from your diet for at least 30 days and preferably 90 days.  Then you track your symptoms and when you re-introduce the gluten–see exactly how you feel.

Posted on by Angela in Diet, Nutrition, Weight Loss, Whole Food 3 Comments

Wheat Woes

If you stop consuming wheat the following should happen—-

1.  Your weight will decrease

2.  Your appetite will decrease

3.  Your blood sugars will decrease

4.  You will have decreased joint pain

5.  Your C-reactive protein will drop (marker of inflammation)

6.  Your blood pressure will improve

7.  Your triglycerides and LDL (bad cholesterol) will decrease and your HDL (good cholesterol) will increase

8.   You will have less acid reflux and irritable bowel symptoms

All excerpted from Dr. William Davis’s lecture at the A4M conference  in December 2012.  Learn more at his blog

http://www.wheatbellyblog.com

Also visit my previous post Against the Grain -part 1 for more information on the dangers of modern day wheat

 

Posted on by Angela in Body, Diet, Nutrition, Weight Loss, Whole Food Leave a comment

Gluten Free

If Oprah Winfrey is doing it, there must be something to this fad.  But, is gluten-free dieting just a fad, or is it really an issue in our food products?  We have to start by defining what gluten sensitivity is versus celiac disease.  Celiac disease is an autoimmune disease in which the lining of the small intestine is damaged when a person with the disease eats a gluten product.  This hampers absorption of nutrients and leads to malnutrition along with symptoms of diarrhea, abdominal pain, and bloating.  Now, if you are like me you are asking, “What is gluten?”  Gluten is a protein present in wheat flour, which is widely used in commercial goods.  It is also found in flour made from barley, rye, and spelt.  There are an estimated 3 million Americans diagnosed with celiac disease.  The rates are doubling every 20 years in Western countries.  The prevailing theory is that our guts have not been taught to deal with gluten as antigens and our immune systems start to react to these proteins as free radicals (Thanks Joe).  The first step, I believe is to get tested for celiac disease by your doctor if you know that you react badly to products like cookies, cakes, pastries and breads.  Keeping a food/symptom diary can really help determine this.  If your celiac tests are negative, you could still have an intolerance to gluten that causes milder symptoms such as achy joints, headaches, chronic fatigue, skin disorders, mood changes and more.  There are tests available to check for gluten intolerance that are very simple.  These blood tests can help determine if you are having some intolerances to gluten or any other food additive.  I should have this blood test available to all AngelaMD.com followers in the next month.  Stay tuned for more on that!

Here is a great website with tons of great gluten-free recipes!  http://glutenfreefix.com/

Posted on by Angela in Body, disease, Nutrition, Weight Loss, Whole Food Leave a comment