Monday, January 25, 2010

Gluten Intolerance

Gluten intolerance is an inherited autoimmune disorder characterized by a sensitivity to gluten, a protein found primarily in wheat, rye and barley.(Oats used to be considered a culprit, but no longer are.) When people with this condition eat gluten, their immune systems are activated and the resulting inflammatory response damages or destroys the villi that line the small intestines and allow nutrients to be absorbed. Affected individuals may have neurological problems such as numbness, depression, anxiety, ADHD, autism, even seizures, dementia and psychotic episodes. Children especially can have bloating, abdominal pain, canker sores, diarrhea, or constipation. Whatever the reason, people who get off gluten often have remarkable improvements. You can test yourself by simply stop eating all wheat, rye and barley for four weeks, then slowly add each of them back into your diet and see how your body reacts.

Wednesday, January 20, 2010

Seven Secrets For a Long Life

Here are the seven secrets to a long life: Stay away from cigarettes. Keep a slender physique. Get some exercise. Eat a healthy diet and keep your choleterol, blood pressure and blood sugar in check. Research shows that most 50-year-olds who do that can live another 40 years free of stroke and heart disease, two of the most common killers, says Dr. Clyde Yancy, President of the American Heart Association. This should be your goal: fasting blood glucose less than 100, blood pressure below 120/80, total cholesterol of less than 200, body mass index less than 25, get at last 150 minutes of moderate exercise or 75 minutes of vigorous exercise each week, meet at least 4 of these dietary recommendations: 4 1/2 cups of fruit and vegetables a day; 2 more 3.5-ounce servings a week of fish; drink no more than 36 ounces of sugar-sweetened beverages a week; 3 or more 1-ounce servings of whole grains a day; 1500 or less milligrams of salt a day.

Monday, January 18, 2010

Some Health Problems with eating Grains

Gluten, a protein most commonly found in wheat, rye and barley. Celiac disease if often referred to as wheat or gluten intolerance and occurs when your body cannot digest gluten. The undigested gluten then triggers your immune system to attack the lining of your small intestine, which can cause symptoms like diarrhea or constipation, nausea and abdominal pain. Over time, your small intestine becomes increasingly damaged and less able to absorb nutrients such as iron and calcium. This in tern can lead to anemia, osteoprosis and other health problems. Lectin is a protein produced by wheat to ward off its natural enemies such as fungi and insects.Lectin also called WGA is attracted to the small intestines. Lectin or WGA attaches itself to the protective coatings of nerves called myelin sheath and inhibits the growth, maintenance and survival of the myelin sheath and nerves. This is perhaps one of the causes of MS.

Thursday, January 7, 2010

Sluggist Thyroid-Do you have any of these?

Did you know that depression, heart disease, chronic fatigue, fibromyalgia, PMS, menopausal symptoms, muscle and joint pains, irritable bowel syndrome,or autoimmune disease could actually indicate a problem with your thyroid? The classis signs of a sluggish thyroid gland include weight gain, lethargy, poor quality hair and nails, hair loss, dry skin, fatigue, cold hands and feed, and constipation. More than 10 percent of the general population in the US, and 20 percent of women over 60 have subclinical hypothyroidism. But only a small percentage of these people are being treated.Some of the family history that suggests you could have a higher risk of hypothyroidism include: goiter, prematurely gray hair, left-handedness, diabetes, autoimmune diseases such as multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, sarclidosis.Gluten is one of the most common causes of thyroid dysfunction because it causes inflammation.