Podcast Episode #2By Guy Lawrence
In this episode of The Health Sessions I get to hang out with Dr. Ranga J. Premaratna who has a Ph.D- Food & Nutritional Science with specialisation in Nutrition, Food Microbiology, Biotechnology.
We chat about the gut & brain relationship and simple steps you can take to enhance daily brain function.
Download or subscribe to us on iTunes here.
Omega 3s, as they’re known for short, are “good” polyunsaturated fats. They are important for growth and brain function as well as heart health because they help lower triglycerides and total cholesterol. A diet full of omega 3s also has been linked to improved immunity and a reduced risk of high blood pressure, Alzheimer’s disease and rheumatoid arthritis.
There are three types of omega-3 fats. EPA (eicosapentaenoic acid) and DHA (docosahexaenoic acid) are most commonly found in cold-water fish. ALA (alpha-linolenic acid) is the omega-3 fat found in plants like flaxseed.
Good sources of EPA and DHA are cold-water fish such as salmon, tuna and sardines (salmon and sardines are typically low in mercury as well). ALA is found in canola oil, soy products such as soybean oil and tofu, flaxseeds, walnuts and in some leafy green veggies (for example, kale).
Omega-3 supplements are also an option; they are made from fish oil, flaxseed or marine algae oil. When considering a supplement, remember these guidelines: Take with food to avoid a fishy aftertaste or digestive problems, avoid mega-doses unless prescribed by a doctor and remember that supplements will not provide you with the other nutrients found in omega-3-rich foods.
Eat a diet rich in all three types of omega-3 fats. Experiment with healthy salmon recipes and try to get two servings of omega 3-rich fish per week. An example of a serving would be 6 ounces raw or 4 to 5 ounces of canned or cooked salmon. To get some ALA, cook with canola oil, top oatmeal with ground flaxseed, add tofu to stir-fries or sprinkle walnuts on yogurt or salads.
Increase your daily omega 3 intake with 180 natural protein superfood.
Read full article here.
In fact two people in my own circle of friends have recently been diagnosed with diverticulitis. After talking with them about their diets, it became apparent that they ate plenty of processed foods but not very much fresh and whole food. These people may have avoided diverticulitis if they followed the principles of the Paleo Diet.
Before exploring how the Paleo Diet can help your digestive health, let’s look at some of the ways digestive health can be compromised. Lifestyle and poor nutritional choices weaken the digestive system and causes ailments to one third of western society. The typical Western diet is high in saturated fat and low in fibre. Fibre aids the digestive process by helping to move food through the digestive tract. If food moves to slowly through the intestines, it can lead to constipation and the putrification of food inside the intestines. Too much saturated fat can cause indigestion and bloating in the gut as the stomach’s enzymes try to digest it. Lack of exercise is another facet in poor digestive health. Physical activity helps digestion because activity assists in the movement of food through the digestive system.
In my friends’ case, diverticulitis was a result of their diets. Diverticulitis is small, bulging sacs or pouches of the inner lining of the intestine (diverticulosis) that become inflamed or infected. According to the NIH, eating a low fibre diet is one of the most likely causes of this disease and that people who eat mostly processed food, do not get enough fibre in their diet. Processed foods include white rice, white bread, most breakfast cereals, crackers, and pretzels.
So how could the Paleo Diet help have helped my friends avoid getting diverticulitis and other digestive problems? First of all, a Palaeolithic diet doesn’t include processed food. Paleo Diet principles are based on the idea that for optimal health, people should eat a diet that is similar to what early hominids ate 2 million to 12,000 years ago. More information about the Paleo Diet can be found in What is the Paleo Diet. Paleo recipes don’t include grains such as rice and wheat thereby reducing a person’s exposure to food processing.
Read more here.
If you want to eat like our ancestors, try our 180 Super Food.
Ever wondered if soy is actually a health product? If you are following a paleo diet, then you a probably fairly carnivorous, but whether you do eat the paleo way or you are a vegetarian, soy is certainly something you should consider having in your diet or noy.
Dr. Kaayla T Daniel, PhD, CCN, believes that soy is not a health food, does not prevent disease and has not even been proven safe. Laboratory studies link soy to malnutrition, digestive problems, thyroid dysfunction, cognitive decline, reproductive disorders, even heart disease and cancer.Like wheat, soy wasn’t eaten by people until agriculture was developed. Even then, soy wasn’t eaten by people until more than 2200 years ago when the Chinese learned to ferment it. In evolutionary terms, soy has been a part of the human diet for a very short period of time.
The Paleo Diet is based on the concept that modern man is designed to eat the types of foods that our ancestors consumed during the Palaeolithic era. This era occurred between 2.5 million and 12000 years BP. During the period, the early hominids were hunters and gatherers. Fruit, vegetables, plants, nuts, fish, seafood and game were the staples of the Paleo Diet.
To improve your Paleo Diet: Try 180 Natural Protein SuperFood.
Read more here.
Celiac disease is an inherited autoimmune disorder in which the body reacts to the ingestion of gluten by causing the lining of the small intestine to become inflamed, thus affecting its ability to absorb nutrients. Though CD is often thought of as a gastrointestinal disorder, it is actually a complex autoimmune disorder characterized by a wide variety of symptoms, many of which are not immediately associated with digestion.
Common symptoms include nausea, abdominal pain, bloating, diarrhea and iron deficiency anemia. Until recently, CD was thought to be rare in the United States. Then in 2003, a landmark study conducted at the University of Maryland demonstrated high rates of undiagnosed CD, approaching 1 percent of the population.
A growing segment of the population defines itself as gluten “sensitive.” These people have negative tests for CD but have improved health on a gluten-free diet. Researchers at the Center for Celiac Research at the University of Maryland have just published intriguing research demonstrating that gluten sensitivity is a separate disorder from celiac disease.
The research provides the first scientific evidence that gluten sensitivity is a true medical disorder characterized by an immune response and specific genetic markers.
Gluten sensitivity is thought to affect 6 percent of the U.S. population. Common symptoms include fatigue, headaches, abdominal pain and alternating diarrhea and constipation. There is also evidence that some people with schizophrenia and autistic children might be affected by gluten sensitivity.
While the symptoms of CD and gluten sensitivity can be similar, those with gluten sensitivity don’t exhibit intestinal inflammation or nutrient malabsorption. The only treatment for both conditions remains a gluten-free diet. While following a gluten-free diet can seem daunting at first, there are resources to help.
Read the full article here.
180 Superfood is gluten-free, learn more here.
