Reader Question: "What is the relationship between gluten and thyroid issues?"

It is estimated that about 90% of thyroid issues are actually autoimmune disorders with Hashimoto’s thyroiditis topping the list of occurrence. There is strong evidence that both Grave’s disease and Hashimoto’s are linked to gluten intolerance. Why? Because the wheat gluten protein gliadin is so close in structure to the proteins of the thyroid gland that they are mistaken for one another. Gliadin gets into the bloodstream often due to injury to the gut mucosa. This then allows intact proteins to bypass the normal route of absorption which requires them to be broken down to basic amino acids or simple peptides. When this breach occurs, the gliadin protein is essentially still labeled as such and is mistaken as a bad guy by the immune system. Unfortunately, the thyroid gland is often tagged as well and becomes an innocent target for destruction by the immune system.

It is for this reason it is imperative that you avoid gluten if you already know you have Hashimoto’s or Graves disease. Each time you ingest gluten, you activate another assault on the thyroid which can last as long as six months every time you eat it! There is no way to eat gluten-containing foods safely in this case. It’s not about being gluten-free “most of the time”. You have to swear off it completely to avoid the destruction of your thyroid gland.

How does the gut mucosa get injured to the point of failure? There are many possible answers to this but other key players aside from the highly irritating glidain protein, are the non-steriodal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) that so many of us take. I had one client who called ibuprofen “vitamin I” because he took it daily until we discovered that it was the likely cause of his leaky-gut syndrome and “sudden” onset of multiple food allergies. NSAIDs include ibuprofen and medications with ibuprofen in them like Motrin, super-aspirins like Naproxen, and even those seemingly harmless 81mg “baby aspirin”. Even a single dose of baby aspirin causes bleeding in the gastro-intestinal tract. When taken long-term, NSAIDs can cause huge amounts of silent damage to the gut. Having just said this, it is really important that you don't stop any NSAID therapy prescribed by your healthcare practitioner. Please work with them if you choose to make any changes. There are things that can be done to mitigate the negative effects of NSAIDs if you must be on them long term. If you have put yourself on a regimen of daily baby aspirin, please tell your healthcare provider and have them help you titrate yourself off of them if need be. Going "cold turkey" can be dangerous.

If NSAIDs cause all this damage, why don’t you feel anything? Because the pain receptors in the GI tract are really deep down in the tissue. It’s a good thing too! Believe me, you would not want to feel your stomach lining sloughing off every three days due to its exposure to all that hydrochloric acid! A lot of tissue damage can occur before we register any problem. By then, the leaking has usually been happening for a long time.

Leaky gut syndrome is essentially exactly what it sounds like. Material from the GI tract leaks into circulation and the surrounding tissues without being completely digested. When these food particles leak out of the gut, the immune system sees an invasion and counter-attacks. “Sudden” development of multiple food allergies is a key sign that the gut needs healing. Once the GI tract is sealed back up and healthy, most of those food allergies often disappear because those intact proteins are not making it through any longer.

We are complicated systems of systems. There is nothing we ingest, swallow or breathe in that has only a single effect whether that is food, medicine, air, water, or a toxin. Please don’t self-medicate with supplements or over-the-counter drugs without learning as much as you can about them and working with someone who can help you make the best choices for your health.

Get curious. Get informed. Get Real.


(also published in the Patch.com)

The Soy Conundrum: Part 2

As I said in my last post, this is a HUGE topic that would take volumes to adequately explore. Is soy a human food? My answer is a tentative maybe. Here are more reasons why...

Farming practices: Aside from the fact that nearly all soy grown in the US is now genetically modified, it is important to know that this modification allows soy to withstand heavy doses of herbicides. Unfortunately, because soy is a legume, it is very good at soaking up these toxins and incorporating them into the beans themselves. You can’t wash them off. (GMO issues will be discussed in another posting.) These toxic residues have many potential harmful effects on the human system including acting as endocrine disruptors, meaning they will mess around with your whole hormone system.

Phytoestrogenic properties: “Phyto” means plant, so phytoestrogens are estrogen-like substances found in plants. They are present in many different plants including alfalfa sprouts, flaxseeds, clover, hops and thyme, but they are highest in legumes and soy contains the highest amount of them all. Studies have been inconclusive about if these phytoestrogens help menopausal symptoms or if they worsen hormone sensitive cancers. However, these compounds have been shown to have feminizing effects on infant boys and can accelerate sexual maturation in girls. In some cases soy has been implicated in the development of gynecomastia in adult men (the development of breast tissue) and a decrease in sperm production.

Autoimmune disease: More than 70 years worth of studies have connected soy consumption to thyroid disorders, especially Hashimoto’s thyroiditis. This is a type of autoimmune disease that causes hypothyroidism. (Interestingly enough, the exacerbation of Hashimoto’s has also been connected to gluten consumption.) If you suffer from hypothyroid and especially Hashimoto’s, you may find significant symptom relief by eliminating soy. This can seem like a daunting task because soy is everywhere.

Processed foods: Soy is in nearly 60% of all processed foods and basically 100% of fast foods. Soy and soy derivatives are the backbone of the food product industry. The durable nature of soy proteins and their low cost makes them ideal for highly processed foods. If you are trying to avoid soy, the best thing to do is to shop the perimeter of your market where all the REAL food is and cook it yourself. Instead of spending hours trying to read labels to find all the places soy is hidden, spend that time making your own foods.

Cardiovascular health: Soy has been promoted as beneficial for cardiac health. Most of these studies focus on specific constituents of soy called isoflavones. It is important to consider the whole package if soy is used as a food source. It is also important to look at the way some of these studies were put together. Benefits have been shown when conventionally raised animal products are replaced by soy as a protein source, but is the outcome due to soy or due to the reduction in damaged fats and proteins that come from conventional meats and dairy? Be sure to look carefully at studies, both pro and con.

Conclusion: Caution. Soy can be beneficial for humans in small amounts if fermented. Certain constituents may be beneficial for treatment of certain disease states. But the use of soy in its highly processed forms (TVP, soy protein isolate, etc) as the primary source of protein in the diet can be problematic, especially for children.



Get curious. Get informed. Get Real.




(also published on the Patch.com)

The Soy Conundrum: Part 1

This is a HUGE topic that would take volumes to adequately explore, but I’ll try to give you the highlights. If you’ve been following health trends, you are likely as confused as most Americans about soy. Is it healthy for human consumption? My answer is a tentative maybe. Here’s why...

How Soy is Grown: About 85% of all soy grown is now genetically modified. Even if you don’t care about the genetic material itself, what this tinkering has done has allowed these crops to be even more heavily sprayed with pesticides and herbicides which travel up the food chain. We are seeing more and more research coming in now about how these residues contribute to disease, especially in children.

Health Claims: Most of the health claims are marginal at best. When you actually read through the literature and the research, you’ll find there are small benefits to LDL reduction associated with eating soy (although it’s hard to determine if that is the reason or if it’s because participants traded conventional meats for soy a few meals a week and maybe it was really just the removal of the damaged fats and fat soluble toxins that did the trick). Most of the positive health benefits are found from using fermented soy foods, not from products like “Tofurky” or SPI (soy protein isolate).

Protein Quality: You will hear many proponents of vegetarian and vegan diets claim that soy offers a complete protein source. While it is true on a chemical level that soy offers a broad spectrum of essential amino acids, it also important to understand that soy contains chemicals that slow or prevent the digestion of proteins and significantly impair the bioavailability of their component amino acids.

Human systems simply don’t produce the all the enzymes essential to the complete digestion of soy protein or the breakdown of the “anti-nutrients” that get in the way. When we rely strictly on soy for protein, or have a very high intake of soy products in the diet, we risk long term amino acid and mineral deficiencies that create problems in all our systems including hypothyroidism, anemia and immuno-deficiency.

Anti-nutrients: These are substances that either impair nutrient bioavailability or are chemicals that directly impinge on human systems creating health problems in the long term. One of these problematic substances is phytic acid or phytate. Soy has one of the highest amounts of phytate of any legume or grain studied, and to make matters worse, the phytates in soy are highly resistant to breaking down by heat (unlike phytates found in spinach, for example). Phytic acid blocks the absorption of vital minerals such as calcium, magnesium, iron, copper and zinc. Because we don’t have the capacity to break down phytates, we have to rely on other mechanisms to do it for us. Happily, bacteria can do this via fermentation. This is why fermented soy products are considered by most nutrition experts to be the best form for human consumption. Fermented soy products include tamari (soy sauce), miso and tempeh.

Unfermented soy also contains enzyme inhibitors that block one of your body’s main proteases: trypsin. This is essential in the digestion and breakdown of proteins. Diets high in trypsin inhibitors can precipitate pancreatitis (and other pathological conditions of the pancreas), amino acid deficiencies and gastric distress as the undigested proteins make their way through the intestines.

If you choose to use soy, please choose organic, non-GMO, fermented products, and rotate your protein sources so you don’t rely exclusively, or even heavily, on soy. It is essential that growing children NOT use soy exclusively as their bodies try to build bones and brains. There are plenty of other legumes out there and when combined with a grain you will have a complete amino acid profile, and a broader spectrum of nutrients.

Get Informed. Get Help if you need it. And Get REAL.

(also published on the Patch.com)

Stress and the Uncommon Cold

Everyone always calls it “the common cold” when in fact that’s a HUGE misnomer. Every cold (and flu) you get is unique, caused by rapidly morphing viruses that make you it’s unwilling host for about 2 weeks. The virus is different every time even though your symptoms may be the same. So really, it’s the uncommon cold and all too common symptoms you experience during the battle back to health.

Speaking from recent unpleasant experience I can tell you that the battle requires constant vigilance and lots of hand washing. Also speaking from personal experience, I can tell you that stress is the ally of that fiendish virus, not you.

Stress and your immunity have an ongoing wrestling match already. The more stress you require your body to endure, the less effective your immunity becomes. Why? When you get stressed out, your body is flooded by a cascade of chemicals designed to induce your ability to run for your life or fight for it. Chemicals that shut down all other systems that are not immediately needed for you to survive the next 20 minutes flow through your bloodstream. Digestion and absorption slow to almost a stop as cortisol shuts down insulin production, and neuro-peptide-Y quickly shunts any recently absorbed fuel to fat storage in the abdomen to be dealt with later. Production of blood cells in the bone marrow screech to a halt while inflammatory compounds rush into circulation in preparation for injury.

Since your immunity is dependent upon the whole host of white blood cells, when you are under chronic stress your ability to fight off infection falls in relationship to your ability to produce white blood cells, and stem inflammation. When the body is chronically on high alert, it uses up resources unwisely. It’s a bit like running out of water by keeping your lawn green in the desert and then watching as your house burns down because the well is dry.

Personally, the sickest I’ve ever been was teaching preschool years ago. I caught the first cold the kids passed around and then just kept getting hit with each new one that came through the school as my immune system struggled to find resources while I fretted constantly about having enough money to pay my bills, went through big changes in my relationship, and skimped on my grocery bills by eating lots of highly processed boxes of mac and cheese. I finally ended up with walking pneumonia and my exasperated doctor threw his hands in the air saying “if you don’t quit your job I’m going to have to admit you to the hospital!”

Now I know better about the food side of things, but I still struggle with chronic stress. I have found that one of the keys is to see “catching a cold” as a signal from my body that it’s time to slow down. De-stress. Nourish myself with whole delicious foods. And spend time each day outside in real air and sun (if possible) to really take a conscious breath. Yes there are supplements and herbs that can help, but nothing works as well as making sure you don’t burn up your resources before you need them.

Get rest. Get nourished. Get REAL.

(also published on The Patch.com)

Seasonal Allergies and Nutrition

I don’t need to tell you that hay-fever can make a beautiful spring miserable. If you also are sensitive to leaf molds then autumn isn’t much fun either. Loading up on over-the-counter allergy medications leaves you feeling wired and tired at the same time and a bit like your brain is swimming through jello for the day which doesn’t help matters. You’ve tried everything you can think of and still carry an extra box of tissues everywhere you go. But believe it or not, there are a few things about seasonal allergies that you probably haven’t heard yet.

We all have heard of antihistamine medications, but do you know what they actually do? The arsenal of specialized cells on the front lines of our immune systems include cells designed to carry supplies of biochemical weapons. Mast cells and basophils are little bubbles filled with histamine. They hang out on the margins of where our internal environment meets the outside world, so they are found in skin, the mucus membranes of the lungs, nose, mouth and eyes, and in the digestive tract. When an allergen activates an antibody (IgE reaction) and that antibody binds to a mast cell, the contents of mast cell are then spilled into the surrounding tissues causing lymph vessels and capillaries to become “leaky”. This in turn causes local swelling and puts other parts of the immune system on high alert. This is the start of an inflammatory process that progresses to watery eyes, a drippy nose, and sinuses full of mucus.

The interesting thing is that we also consume foods that are high in histamine and our systems react the same way by creating an inflammatory response to these foods. If our body is already on high alert from an environmental attack, adding in foods that are high in histamine can exacerbate your symptoms. It is a good idea to reduce your intake of high-histamine foods during the time of year you are more susceptible to allergens.

High-histamine foods include some of my favorites so it’s hard to let them go when they are what I want to reach for when I feel yucky, but here they are: chocolate, wine, beer, avocados, aged cheeses, cider, vinegar, smoked fish, soured breads, fermented foods like sauerkraut and tamari, yogurt, sour cream, pickles and olives. There are also foods that cause us to release our own histamine stores including ripe bananas, eggs, fish, milk, pineapple, strawberries and tomatoes. If you can focus on other foods or at least limit these foods during allergy season, your symptoms will likely lessen.

Additionally there are a few nutritional supplements that have a few tricks up their sleeves. Vitamin C actually acts as an antihistamine in doses over 1000mg. You can try taking 1000mg buffered C up to 5-6x a day to help “unstuff”. The bioflavonoid quercitin, and the herbs boswellia and nettles are also wonder-workers. Look for allergy relief blends of these nutrients to help boost your body’s ability to manage allergen attacks.


(also published in The Patch.com)

Reader Question: "Is eating yogurt daily good for the average person?"

The short answer: Maybe... It depends... On a lot of things... like your personal biochemistry, the source of the dairy, and the ingredients in the yogurt to name a few. The longer answer: First let’s take a VERY short look at the history of dairy as a human food. Really we should not be able to digest milk beyond when we should be weaned from our mothers, by about the age of six. Waaaaaaay back during when human tribes were far flung around the globe and not in regular contact with each other, the northern European tribes, Egyptians, and other groups who were domesticating cattle began to exhibit a genetic mutation that left the gene responsible for making the lactase enzyme in the “on” position. This meant that these humans could continue to digest the lactose sugars in milk beyond childhood. The tribes who were not exposed to this mutation have maintained their “normal” adulthood lactose-intolerance. This is why many African and Asian populations are largely lactose-intolerant. Today this is changing as genetic material is rapidly mixing as we become a more global society. 



Dairy as a food has changed radically in the last 150 years with the advent of pesticides, industrial confinement dairies, growth-hormone injections, antibiotics and pasteurization. Let’s just look at pasteurization for a minute. This process was largely adopted in an effort to stop the spread of diseases such as typhoid, scarlet fever, and tuberculosis that sickened many people during the early 1900s by way of ingesting contaminated milk products. Pasteurization is now mandated in many states and dairy products must meet certain national standards to cross state lines. The two main pasteurization techniques subject raw milk to temperatures exceeding 161F for 15 seconds (high-heat-short-time; HTST) or 280F for 2 seconds (ultra-high-heat; UHT). The UHT or “ultra-pasteurized” process is becoming more popular so now you can even find milk in tetra-packs on unrefrigerated grocery shelves. 



What does this do to the milk? Consider that milk proteins, primarily whey and casein, are fragile. When they are subjected to high heat, vigorous shaking, or high-speed blending, they begin to break apart quickly into random amino-acid groups or singles in a process known as “denaturing”. The body likes to receive intact un-denatured proteins so it can break them apart into the puzzle pieces it knows how to use. Highly processed dairy products create dubious protein bioavailability for our human systems. In addition, the high heat damages the fats found in milk, including beneficial conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) which helps trigger healthy body composition balance (i.e. supports lean mass and helps the body let go of extra body fat mass). 



Keep in mind that toxins tend to travel most effectively up the food chain in fats (the subject another upcoming post) and you’ll want to avoid any non-organic dairy product as well.



So back to the yogurt question: Yes, unflavored yogurt made from whole, organic milk from grass-fed, hormone-free cows can be healthy for people who are not allergic to dairy or lactose intolerant. Highly-processed, denatured, fat-free, "squeeze-pack" yogurts with loads of sugar or sugar-substitutes and carrageenan thickeners? not so much (and especially not for children). Get the good stuff. Get as close to milk from a happy, healthy Bessie as you can. Get REAL.

Reader Question: "What foods are the most important to eat organic?"

An excellent question and let me say, you aren't the only one confused about this! First let’s clear up some misconceptions about what organic is and isn’t. What exactly does “organic” mean anyway? According to the USDA National Organic Program website, “organically grown” means the food was grown and processed without any synthetic fertilizers or pesticides. However, this doesn’t exclude fertilizers or pesticides that are naturally derived, so, this doesn’t mean the foods were never sprayed with anything. Currently “organic” also means no sewage sludge, irradiation or genetic modification can be used in the production of the food or ingredient (whew!).

As of 2002 there are three sub-designations that are important to know about: “100% organic”, “organic” and “made with organic ingredients”. The “100% organic” designation is the only one that is just that. All the ingredients must be certified organic. In the case of “organic”, all agricultural ingredients must be certified organic except where a special “National List” allows them not to be. These non-organic ingredients can’t make up more than 5% of the total (not counting water and salt). In the case of “made with organic ingredients”, at least 70% of the finished product has to be certified organic (not counting water and salt). Any other ingredients that are not required to be organic on the National List can’t be produced but “excluded methods” (another special list).

Tricky? You bet! Political? Absolutely! Consumer friendly? Nope. That said, it’s still a good idea to eat as organically as you can afford to for your long-term health and the overall health of our interlinked ecosystems. But, what do you do when you can’t afford to eat all organically all the time? Here are a few simple things to keep in mind. First, the lower on the food chain you eat, the less intensely concentrated these toxins become before you consume them. As you move farther away from the original interaction between dirt, seed, sun and rain (ex: chard > beetle > chicken > egg; or grass > cow > milk > butter) the more the toxic residues from fertilizers, pesticides, herbicides, fungicides, hormones, antibiotics, and more become, so as the human at the top, you ingest much higher quantities via eggs or butter than you do via chard or oats. Spend your hard earned cash on organic butter (and other dairy), meats, poultry, and eggs. Breathe a little easier about whole grains, most veggies and most fruits. For a really good list of the top most contaminated and the top cleanest conventionally grown fruits and veggies, get the Environmental Working Group’s “Dirty Dozen” and “Clean 15” lists. They even have an ap for your phone so you have it with you when you grocery shop. For starters, only buy organic apples and spinach, but don’t worry so much about broccoli or avocados.

Lastly, when you start reducing "food products" with lots of ingredients on the labels and start eating more whole foods, you eliminate places where toxins can easily get hidden. Keep it REAL! Bon appetite!

(also published on the Patch.com)