What you Ate today may affect your DNA

Really?  Do we really have the power to control our genes?  It may be hard to believe but research is now showing that lifestyle changes can change our DNA is less than 2 weeks.

One of my college alumni departments sends quarterly newsletters, which I briefly peruse and toss but this one article stopped me dead in my tracks and I could not put it down.  Here’s what I read, with my two cents of course added in of course.

Berkeley Nutritional Sciences and Toxicology professor Andreas Stahl shares 5 key lessons he teaches on recent developments for the causes and treatment options of metabolic disorders.  Here they are:

• The body senses nutrients:  they body senses which nutrients you need and if they are not present it will try to compensate.  If you are craving a certain food (and sorry – not sugar or processed foods) like oranges you may need more Vitamin C in your body.  Many times pregnant women will crave meat during pregnancy due to increased iron needs.   If your body is telling you it needs a certain food pay attention!
• Nutrient sensing gone wrong can cause disease:  this can be the key to those who develop diabetes.  Those with insulin resistance can continually crave and consume carbohydrates.  Increased carb intake over time can lead to increased blood sugar, setting the stage for type two or adult onset diabetes.
• There are different kinds of diabetes – inherited and acquired:  too much food interferes with the body’s normal response to insulin.   This “over nutrition” can predispose one to adult onset or type 2 diabetes. 
• The brain regulates your urges to eat and expend energy: can you believe your brain receives signals from different organs telling it whether your stomach is full, if the food you are digesting is tasty, how full your fat stores are, etc.  The brain processes all these signals and generates feelings of hungry versus fullness.
• Your cells remember:  changes in diet can affect the susceptibility of disease for future generations.  A mother’s diet during gestation can impact the development of disease and weight issues in her children. 

   Take home message:  our bodies are pretty intricate.  What we eat will influence our cells even on a DNA level – and not only us but future generations as well.  If you are craving a certain healthy food your body needs it. 

  Every decision you make to eat in a healthful manner and move your body is way more important than you think so maintain that healthy lifestyle through the holidays – your grandchildren and their grandkids will thank you someday! 

Time for Health?

I read a statistic in a study last week that astounded me:

People spend about 74 minutes/day browsing the internet and 81 minutes per day using “apps” or smart phone applications.

So how is it that we have time to devote 155 minutes per day or about 2.5 hours for technology but not for our health?

I hear multiple times per day “I know I should exercise but don’t really have the time.”

Studies show just 30 minutes per day can be the difference between a diabetes diagnosis or not, being on medication for high blood pressure and even life or death. 

One study showed men who walk 30 minutes 3-4 times per week had 50% less risk of morbidity and mortality.

If you can’t find the motivation or time to exercise consider speaking to a health care professional – your life could depend on it. 

Enough said for now – so stop reading this and take time for your health.  And you can probably find a find a way to incorporate technology with your exercise at the same time.

Don’t be afraid of the Vampire: Breaking Down your Blood Values

With Halloween around the corner, you've probably heard about the rage of vampires and The Twilight Saga:  Breaking Dawn coming out in November.

Let's take a break from the candy this Halloween and understand what this vampire elixir is all about for your health.

You may go to the doctor each year to get your blood work done since you care about your health.  However, do you really understand the results once they come back? 

Some physicians are great at explaining each value and some just say, “your numbers are good.” 

Taking control of your health means understanding the values, if they’ve changed and what they represent.

For example let’s say your normal levels for a certain blood value like your thyroid hormones are at the top of the range and now they are at the bottom, which is not normal for your body.  Unless you keep abreast of this your health could be deteriorating without your knowledge.

Let’s start with a common labatoary value called your blood glucose. 

Blood glucose is related to how well your body is metabolizing food, specifically carbohydrates.  Since our diets are rather high in processed, starchy foods this is one I pay close attention to.

“Normal” values are between 70-110 depending on the lab.  However, having a fasting (without food) glucose value of 110 is not normal. 

Healthy fasting glucose values are considered below 90. 

I’ve had many a client come in with several years of blood work only to see their blood glucose values gradually rising over those years without their knowledge, since they were in “normal” range.

If your glucose levels are above 95 consider checking a value called your glycosylated hemoglobin A1C which measures what your blood glucose has been averaging over the previous 3 months.  The normal value is 4-6.  If your level is over 6 you are at a risk for impending diabetes and if it is over 6.4 you are considered diabetic.

Another important value now is Vitamin D. 

“Normal” values are between 30-100 but health experts consider optimal values above 50 since Vitamin d functions as a hormone and affects hundreds of metabolic pathways in the body.

Since it is almost impossible to get enough vitamin D in our food and most of us avoid the sun, this important nutrient is low in much of our population and needs to be supplemented.  If your values are 30-35 it is in “normal” range but having a higher value could help significantly help with your immune system, metabolizing fat due to lowering of insulin resistance, lowering cancer risk and optimal bone health.

Take home message?

1. Get a copy of your yearly blood work and have your doctor go over each value with you and compare to previous years 

1. If your physician is not available to go over the values with you, consider switching to someone who can or have an appointment with an RD or other trained health-care professional who understands these values and can help you make appropriate lifestyle changes

This Halloween get your numbers checked and be informed about their values.

Don’t be afraid to face the vampire at your doctor’s office - it could be good health for you and your blood.

Is a high sugar, starchy carb diet hurting your pancreas and your health?

I was speaking to a friend yesterday and discussing this quandary:  we all know drinking too much harms your liver and taking drugs is detrimental to your brain and body’s organs.

But do we really understand how a high sugar and processed carb diet effects the pancreas?

I know I preach the importance of protein but there is a reason for this nag:  it calms down the sweet and sugar cravings and tells the brain it is okay without the sweet (besides increasing your metabolism and burning more calories in general).

If you eat a high sugar diet with desserts, chips and packaged processed foods on a regular basis what really happens?  Can it be all that bad?

Here’s the breakdown:

Beta-cells:  these are the ultra important cells in your pancreas that manufacture insulin and help you digest your food.

If you are eating a high sugar diet your beta cells are working on over-drive all the time, which wears them out, and eventually they start to die (sort of like your car transmition).  However, unlike an automobile you just can’t “replace” the beta cells.

Eating a high sugar diet on a daily basis wears out your pancreas just like alcohol eventually wears out your liver.

When a client comes to me with an elevated blood sugar and is on the brink of diabetes approximately 50% of the beta-cells of their pancreas are GONE.

Some new medications exist which can help regenerate the beta-cells but they are still in the early stages of research.  Changing your diet and exercise HELP immensely but why play with fire? 

Why get to the point where you have a 911 in your body?

Diabetes, pancreatic cancer and obesity is at all time high in America.  The message of adequate protein, good fats and eating whole real foods may seem like a broken record to many of you…but my heart keeps nagging me to help our nation with this health crisis before it’s too late and many of our loved ones are gone.

And remember – there is nothing sweeter than a good healthy body so spread the word.

Do I really need to be concerned about salt?

Are increased levels of dietary salt all that significant to health? 

At a recent conference I went to researchers reported it is VERY significant.  Just a 1-2 point increase in blood pressure carries a higher risk of cardiovascular disease and stroke, particularly for the systolic pressure or the first number on the ratio.

Approximately 42% of Americans have normal blood pressure with 58% having elevated or borderline high blood pressure.  The estimated lifetime risk for developing high blood pressure also known as hypertension is 90%.

Where does sodium come from?  Take a look at the list below:

Sources of dietary sodium:        

                                                77% from food processing

                                                6% at the table

                                                5% in cooking

                                                12% inherently in food

Therefore most of the salt we consume is in processed packaged foods.  Seems like an easy fix if there ever was one – stop eating things with increased shelf life in a package – i.e. cookies, crackers, chips, etc.

Consuming high levels of salt increases the work on the heart, kidneys and other organs.  One or two high salt meals are not going to affect the body but day after day of eating processed foods will not be in your health favor.

How is sodium in the diet tied to our health? 

62% of strokes and 49% of cardiovascular events are attributed to hypertension.  26% of adults worldwide or 972 million have hypertension.

It is estimated that reduction of sodium by 1000-2000 mg. per day can save 50, 0000 lives.  In addition, lowering sodium in the diet can lower risk of stomach cancer, diabetes and asthma.

A target of 2000-4000 mg of sodium per day is the range for health. This levels falls into the medium range with too little or too much sodium increasing risk of mortality.

How can you achieve this level of sodium?

1.  Avoid or Limit processed foods – if you do choose something in a package stick to foods with less than 200-300 mg. per serving.  When eating out limit fast foods and foods with high salt content.

2.  Watch your condiments – besides decreasing your salt shaker at the table limit ketchup, barbeque, soy sauce and those with MSG.

3.  Choose fresh or ground herbs to season your foods and cut the amount of sodium in recipes by half or cut out completely

Small changes can lower your blood pressure enough to dramatically affect your health.  Eating less salt may be hard at first, but you might be surprised how appealing the real taste of food can be and how much better you feel! 

And yes, you do need to be concerned about salt – it could save your life.