October 22nd, 2013
By Craig Fear
While a little under 1% of the population is diagnosed with Celiac disease, an allergy to gluten, more are being diagnosed and self-diagnosed as gluten intolerant (aka gluten sensitive).
What’s the difference?
A food allergy is an immune reaction to a protein-based substance in a food. Celiac disease is an allergy to a specific part of the gluten molecule which is actually composed of two proteins - gliadin and glutenin.
A food intolerance is a reaction to a non-protein-based substance in a food. They’re often delayed meaning the person does not have an immediate reaction. But intolerances can also be a due to an inability to digest a food due to an underlying digestive weakness. For this reason, they can be trickier to diagnose. And in the case of a gluten intolerance, there are no agreed upon lab tests that can confirm it (as of yet). Just because a blood test comes back negative for Celiac disease doesn’t mean the person is not reacting to gluten. Keep Reading…
August 26th, 2013
By Craig Fear
Last week I made another appearance on Mass Appeal, a local morning talk show here in western MA.
It’s a quirky little show and I always get a kick (and an adrenalin rush) out of it.
I answered four basic questions about acid reflux: What is heartburn? What is GERD? Why is acid reflux NOT caused by too much acid? And why do medications for acid reflux cause long term health problems? Keep Reading…
August 19th, 2013
By Craig Fear
Big Mac + Zantac = Prozac
I love that quote by Dr. Alan R. Gaby. I think it captures so much that is wrong with modern society.
If the quote isn’t obvious in its meaning, let me explain.
Big Mac represents bad food.
Zantac is an acid blocker. Tens of millions of people take acid blockers (Prilosec, Prevacid, Pepcid, Nexium, etc.) to stop stomach acid from refluxing into their esophagus.
Contrary to popular belief, acid refluxes into the esophagus NOT because tens of millions of people produce too much acid. As I explain in my book, The 30 Day Heartburn Solution: A 3-Step Nutrition Program to Stop Acid Reflux Without Drugs, this is the myth that the pharmaceutical companies propagate. This myth sells A LOT of acid blockers. Keep Reading…
August 6th, 2013
By Craig Fear
Today I want to share with you a story that I share in the Introduction of my new ebook, The 30 Day Heartburn Solution.
Several years ago I gave a talk at a local library on acid reflux. This is a condition where stomach acid refluxes into the esophagus and burns the lining resulting in heartburn. If this happens chronically it can damage the esophageal lining. This is known as GERD (Gastro-esophageal reflux disease).
In my talk I explained in detail why heartburn and GERD are not caused by too much stomach acid, but in fact, NOT ENOUGH. Keep Reading…
May 6th, 2013
By Craig Fear
Digestive problems? Millions of Americans are suffering with poor digestive health these days brought on by not only poor dietary choices but poor dietary advice as well. The mainstream nutrition advice to eat low-fat, eat more whole grains and eat more fruits and vegetables can actually exacerbate many digestive problems.
Yesterday I made another TV appearance here in western Massachusetts where I discussed five tips to improve your digestive health. Most of these tips are not tips your doctor is telling you about. But they’re really important, especially if you’ve been experiencing more chronic, long-term digestive problems. Keep Reading…
February 8th, 2013
By Craig Fear
As a Nutritional Therapist I am always refining what I do so I can help people as effectively as possible.
Through the years I’ve refined how I work with people publicly in my group weight loss program and privately via my one to one consultations. And if there’s one thing I’ve learned it’s that this work I do can be incredibly draining or incredibly energizing.
As such, I’ve recently created three new programs around the health issues I’ve had the most consistent success helping people overcome. They energize me and when you start feeling better I KNOW they can energize you. Keep Reading…
September 12th, 2011
By Craig Fear
Do you someone suffering from mental health issues? Chances are you do. Over the past twenty years the rise in things like depression, ADHD, anxiety, learning disabilities and behavioral problems is nothing short of staggering. And the rise in pharmaceuticals to treat these issues is equally staggering. About one in five Americans are on some form of anti-depressant.
A few weeks ago I asked one of the members of my GET AT THE ROOTS 12 week weight loss program to shoot a little video. We were on week 11 at the time and the topic for week 11 is Brain Chemistry Deficiencies (Mental Health Issues would be an equally suitable name). It was a bit off the cuff but I think we captured a good testimonial to the power of nutrition when working with these issues. Keep Reading…
June 12th, 2011
By Craig Fear
That’s right. You read the subject line correctly. It’s not a mistake. Nor is it a gimmick. I’m dead serious. You really do need to eat more bacteria for good health.
But first, this blog is a continuation in a series detailing the underlying issues that can prevent not only healthy weight loss but good health in general. So let’s review real quick.
The first and most important underlying issue is Blood Sugar. You have to get sugar out of your diet. The second is Digestion, more specifically, correcting the acidity in the stomach so that our food can start to digest properly. The third was Digestion again, with a focus on food sensitivities and leaky gut in the small intestine.
Now here’s the fourth:
Underlying issue #4: Digestion!
OK, I promise, this is the last topic on digestion. But digestion doesn’t end in the small intestine! It ends in the large intestine, and that’s what today’s blog is about. This is an area that causes so many problems for so many people.
So let’s continue our journey south in the digestive process.
After your food leaves the small intestine, whatever is left, moves into the large intestine for recycling and excretion. Here’s where things get interesting. Because here, in your large intestine, lies a microbial world so rich, so dense and so complex, that scientists are learning new things about it all the time. I liken it to the Amazon rainforest and you could think of it as a separate ecosystem living entirely within us.
In this ecosystem lies about five trillion (yes, that’s trillion with a T) bacteria which is about five times the cells that make up your body. About five hundred different species have been discovered. We can’t live without them and they can’t live without us. It is essential that they are healthy and thrive as they play dozens and perhaps hundreds of roles in our body. They enhance the uptake of vitamins and minerals, keep the lining of the large intestine healthy, benefit the immune system and help with the production of some hormones, to name just a few.
However, within these hundreds of different species lie harmful ones. Scientists estimate that about 80% are beneficial and 20% are harmful. But if the microbial ecosystem is healthy, the good guys keep the bad guys in check.
Enter the Standard American Diet.
This is the equivalent of all-out war on our friendly gut flora.
Because guess what the bad guys love?
Sugar.
Now the bad guys start gaining an upper hand on the good guys. One bad guy in particular is known as candida albicans. Candida is very common in women. It’s a yeast and when it gets out of balance it can cause yeast infections amongst many other problems.
Guess what else wreaks havoc with our friendly flora?
Antibiotics.
Anti-biotics which translates as ‘anti-life’ are prescribed by doctors to kill harmful bacteria within us. While this may be necessary, antibiotics also kill beneficial bacteria. Probiotics which translates as ‘pro-life’ are supplements that contain bacteria that occur naturally in our digestive system, particularly our large intestine. This is why probiotic supplements are often used after a round of antibiotics to re-populate the gut with good, health promoting bacteria.
But let’s not forget diet! Many practitioners are quick to prescribe dozens of costly supplements without taking care of the root cause – poor diet.
So obviously, removing sugar from the diet is key. Another important thing to do is to eat more cultured foods as these are Nature’s true probiotics.
All traditional cultures, before the advent of refrigerators and freezers, consumed cultured foods on a regular basis. Culturing foods preserves them for long periods of time. It’s a natural process by which the starches and sugars in fruits, vegetables and dairy are chemically broken down by naturally occurring bacteria and converted into lactic acid. Thus culturing is also referred to as lacto-fermentation. Lactic acid preserves food and prevents spoilage. More importantly these chemical changes have some remarkable health benefits. They are truly super foods with powerful healing properties.
Probably the most common cultured food in America is yogurt. Yogurt, as well as other cultured dairy products, is often well tolerated by those with dairy sensitivities. Casein, the protein in milk is difficult for many to digest. Culturing pre-digests casein. Lactose, the sugar in milk can also be difficult for some to digest. Lactose intolerance is a common condition in which the body lacks the ability to break down lactose. Culturing pre-digests lactose. Thus even those with lactose intolerance can tolerate most cultured dairy products including butter, buttermilk, cheese, kefir, sour cream and crème fraiche to name just a few.
The second most common cultured food in America is probably sauerkraut which is just fermented cabbage. Other common cultured vegetables include kimchi, a spicy Asian sauerkraut (and my personal favorite), pickles, beets and carrots. Most of these can be found in health food stores. However, there’s nothing simpler and easier to make than fermented fruits and vegetables! Store bought or home-made, learn to incorporate these foods into your diet on a regular basis.
So I hope you understand why correcting digestive issues are so vital to overall health. Along with balancing the body’s blood sugar by reducing sugar and processed foods, many health issues will start to correct. Digestion and Blood Sugar Balance - these are truly the twin pillars of good health in the body!
Truth be told, there are many more underlying issues that can prevent good health. Fatty acid deficiencies, mineral deficiencies, dehydration, toxins and stress are a few examples. But for simplicity sake, work with Digestion and Blood Sugar Balance and I’m confident you’ll make progress.
Finally, seats are filling up fast in the Get at the Roots! 12 week weight loss/wellness class. Classes start this week so if you’re interested and/or have questions, feel free to contact me.
I’m truly excited to teach this fantastic new program here in western MA! Each week we detail a different underlying issue of poor health and how to correct it. Guess where we start with the first four classes?
I hope by now you know the answer.
May 30th, 2011
By Craig Fear
Underlying cause #3: Food Sensitivities
It always amazes me when people come to see me with dozens of foods they are supposedly allergic to. What no one ever tells them is that it’s usually because their upper digestive system is not breaking their food down properly.
First let’s distinguish between a food allergy and a food sensitivity. A food allergy is a reaction to a protein in a food. It’s often a severe reaction. A food sensitivity is an allergic-type reaction to a non-protein substance and the severity of the reaction varies greatly. Most food sensitivities are a lot more subtle than true food allergies and they can be difficult to identify. But what unites both of them is often poor diet and poor digestion.
If the stomach is not breaking down the food properly, undigested food assaults the small intestine. The small intestine is where our food gets absorbed into our body. You could say that our food doesn’t really become us until it passes through the delicate lining of the small intestine. Under normal circumstances, the food is thoroughly digested before it enters the small intestine so that it can easily pass through the lining.
However, if something passes through that lining that shouldn’t, your immune system is waiting and ready to take care of the foreign invader. About 70% of our immune system lies in our gut.
But if food doesn’t get broken down properly, it can damage the lining of the small intestine. Things start leaking through in inappropriate sizes. This is known as “leaky gut”.
This sets the stage for food allergies and sensitivities as well as a whole host of immune issues such as asthma, skin conditions and autoimmune conditions.
Furthermore, inflammation develops in many areas of the digestive tract. Now we have all these conditions that end with -itis. Something that ends with -itis literally means inflammation. So now we have gastritis, inflammation in the stomach. Ileitis, inflammation in the ileum. Pancreatitis, colitis, diverticulitis, ulcerative colitis, etc. Get the point?
Medications deal with the inflammation on the symptomatic level. They may or may not help but they never address the root cause.
And what’s the root cause? Again, poor diet and poor digestive function. We keep throwing fire (poor food) on the fire (inflammation) and wonder why we have digestive problems.
In reality, most food sensitivities and food allergies can be resolved through a period of removing the offending food and healing the digestive tract.
How to do this?
Number one, make sure your stomach is breaking down food properly. Make sure the blender is set on high! My previous blog detailed steps for correcting poor stomach function.
Number two, stop eating pro-inflammatory foods. Unfortunately, there are a lot of pro-inflammatory foods out there. Basically, all processed foods promote inflammation in the body. Sugar is at the top of that list, which I’ve discussed at length. Next in my opinion are grains, especially those that contain gluten.
So for starters, let’s remember that grains, even whole ones, are high in starch. Starch is essentially long chains of glucose molecules. Glucose is sugar. Now that’s not necessarily a bad thing as glucose is essential for life. The problem is that we juts consume so dang much of it in America. Think of the standard American breakfast – cereal, pancakes, waffles, bagels, toast, muffins, pastries. In other words, grains, grains, grains, grains and more grains. And most of that are refined grains.
Food for thought: Grains are fed to cattle in factory farms to fatten them up. Could the same dynamic be occurring in the US population?
“But I eat only whole grains”, you say. OK, good. But grains are still hard on the body’s digestive system. Traditional cultures, soaked, sprouted and fermented grains. This makes them more digestible. It also makes them more nutritious.
The food industry is not interested in doing this. Don’t ask Kellogg’s, Nabisco, Quaker Oats, General Mills or any other giant food corporation to do this anytime soon. It takes time and care to prepare grains properly. Time and care are not profitable.
And then there’s the gluten issue. Gluten is the main protein in wheat, barley and rye. It’s a very complex protein and it’s hard on the body’s digestive system. Furthermore, most wheat is the US is genetically modified and sprayed with pesticides.
This does not mean you need to give up grains forever. Grains can be very healthy for many people. However, I would recommend keeping them to a minimum for some time, especially for weight loss. And if you’re having a chronic digestive issue, consider a strict elimination diet for 2-3 weeks. You can do this for any food that you suspect is giving you problems.
Dairy, soy, corn, eggs are the more common foods that can cause many problems for people. The saying, “One man’s food is another man’s poison” is very true.
But if you’re experiencing a long term chronic issue and/or an inability to lose weight, start with eliminating grains and monitor your symptoms. I bet you’ll feel much better.
Finally, if you’re going to consume grains, choose sprouted grain products which you can find in health food stores. Sprouted grains have a smaller gluten content, higher nutrient content and are easier on digestion.
Another good habit is to soak grains overnight in warm water with a tablespoon or two of an acidic medium such as whey, yogurt, kefir, buttermilk or lemon juice. Soak in equal parts water for a minimum of 7 hours and up to 24 hours. In so doing the cooking time of grains is dramatically reduced. Oatmeal soaked overnight for example needs only to be a simmered for a few minutes. Truly instant oatmeal!
OK, be honest. Are you overwhelmed by the thought of having to give up grains? Does the thought of going breadless send shockwaves of terror through your body?
Admittedly, it can be a little overwhelming to do this on your own, especially if you’re experiencing a long term chronic digestive issue. This is where a qualified Nutritional Therapy Practitioner can help.
So next time we’ll continue our journey south in the digestive process and discuss the fourth underlying issue that can prevent weight loss and good health. Yes, it is still related to poor digestion. This is why the first four weeks of the new twelve week weight loss/wellness program I’ll be teaching are spent on correcting digestive issues. It is so vital to healthy weight loss and good overall health in general.
Stay tuned.
May 23rd, 2011
By Craig Fear
Nutritional Therapists look at the human body like the roots of a tree. Feed the roots and the tree thrives. Feed the roots of health in the human body and the body thrives. In Nutritional Therapy, we call these roots Foundations. When these Foundations crumble, the health of the body crumbles. For most people that equates to weight gain. Weight gain is just a symptom of underlying imbalances in these Foundations.
If you’ve been reading these blogs I’ve already discussed at length what is in my opinion, the #1 underlying cause of not only weight gain but also poor health in general: Blood Sugar Balance. Everyone must have stable blood sugar to be healthy. Too much sugar will raise cholesterol, withdraw minerals from your body, suppress the immune system, lead to heart problems, type II diabetes, etc. etc. I’ve talked at length about this so I don’t want to repeat myself. Just read some of my recent posts and that will get you up to speed.
Beyond sugar, there are other underlying issues that contribute to weight gain and poor health. Over the course of the next several blogs, I will detail these underlying issues and tell you what you can do about it.
But before we dig in, a shameless act of self-promotion. In a few weeks I’ll be starting a 12 week weight loss program that is designed specifically to get at the roots of weight loss. If you live in the Pioneer Valley and would be interested, please check out the ‘weight loss program’ link right here on my website. My friend, Nancy, has created a short video describing the program.
OK, no more self-promotion!
Ready to truly get at the roots of your weight issue? Let’s go!
Underlying Cause #2: Digestion
50% of all Americans have some degree of digestive dysfunction. You can eat a healthy diet but if you don’t have the digestive capacity to break down and absorb the nutrients in your food, you cannot be healthy. I see this all the time. Heartburn, bloating, constipation, IBS and candida are just a few common digestive problems that are afflicting more and more people at younger and younger ages.
Let me ask you a question: Why are antacids the best selling drugs in America?
Don’t answer. I will tell you: Because they work!
However, they solve a symptom not a cause. Let’s understand why.
Your stomach is akin to a blender. That blender must be on high speed to break down your food so that it can be easily absorbed in the small intestine. And the acid in your stomach determines the speed. It drives digestion. What happens if that blender speed slows down, if that acid diminishes? You guessed it, digestion slows. Undigested food now sits in your stomach. You feel bloated. You feel sick. Remember your stomach is much warmer than room temperature. It’s hot in there! So now the food starts to ferment, putrefy and expand. You burp after meals. You get gassy. Your breath stinks.
If a little of that putrefying food refluxes back into your esophagus, you get a burning sensation. This is heartburn. Unlike your stomach, the lining of your esophagus is not made for the acid. So it burns.
So you take an antacid. The burning stops. But the underlying issue persists. So you start taking antacids like Tums, Rolaids, Alka-Seltzer or Pepto-Bismol. But then they stop doing the job so you move up to more powerful drugs known as acid blockers that literally shut down the acid producing cells in your stomach. Prilosec and Zantac are two examples.
So the question is what is the underlying cause of low acid levels? At the top of that list would be nutrient deficient, processed, sugar-laden foods. To produce stomach acid, your body needs things like zinc and B vitamins for proper production. The S.A.D. does not provide the raw materials for this. Things like overeating, over consuming carbohydrates, stress, alcohol and of course antacids themselves have been show to diminish acid production as well.
And when this happens, our metabolism slows.
Digestion is also a north to south process. Poor acid production also affects things further south in the digestive process. If food is not broken down properly, it assaults the intestines with just that, undigested food. And more problems result.
So what to do?
If you’re deficient in vitamin D, you take vitamin D, right? Deficient in minerals? Take minerals. Well, when the acid in your stomach becomes deficient, it is no different. Supplement with acid! You might be surprised to learn that all health food stores sell supplemental hydrochloric acid for use as a digestive aid. Dosing can be a little tricky as some need more than others, so be sure to see a qualified practitioner.
There are many other things that can boost the body’s acid production. One of the most low tech methods is to take a little apple cider vinegar before meals. Various herbs and bitters are known to help as well.
But to me the most important thing is the diet. I’ve seen so many cases of heartburn and stomach problems resolve with dietary changes alone. Start there. Reduce the starches and sugars in your diet and see what happens. At the top of that list would be refined carbohydrates. Next would come grains, even whole ones, as they’re hard on the body’s digestive system. You might find that not only do your digestive symptoms improve, but the numbers on the scale start going down too.
So Nutritional Therapists always help people with their digestion. Together with balancing the blood sugar, these two are in my opinion, the ultimate Foundations. I call them the twin pillars of good health. Because when they start to correct, many of the other roots of the tree start to correct on their own.
Of course, if we’ve been eating the SAD for decades, it can take some time for the roots to start thriving again. In the next blog, I’ll detail some of the other roots that need additional attention and support as well.
Stay tuned!
