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Posts tagged ‘digestion’

New Year’s Resolutions

Here we go again making new year’s resolutions. Among the
most common resolutions include losing weight, stopping unhealthy
habits such as smoking or drinking, and starting an exercise
program. Whatever a person’s new year’s resolution is, it is
important to be patient and give ourselves a break when things
don’t go as planned. Anyway, I’d like to discuss the issue of
addictions, whether it’s smoking, drinking, gambling, you name it.
Oftentimes, these addictions are brought about by nutritional
imbalances. To put it simply, people oftentimes crave certain
things because they lack nutrients such as vitamins, minerals,
amino acids, essential fatty acids, and trace elements.
Fortunately, there are tests available that could tell us exactly
what we’re lacking. These tests could be done through the blood,
hair, and the urine. Of course, these tests are not mainstream yet,
so your conventionally-trained doctor may not be aware of these
tests. However, a simple CBC and serum chemistry can tell us what’s
going on with a person nutritionally, although indirectly. A CBC
for instance, can tell if there’s iron, B12 or folic acid
deficiency. High blood sugar could be due to lack of vitamin B1 or
thiamine. Low creatinine could be due to protein insufficiency or
impaired digestion. Low uric acid could be due to copper or
molybdenum deficiencies. Low CO2 can also be due to a lack of
vitamin B1 or thiamine deficiency. Low albumin could be due to a
need for more vitamin C. Low AST/SGOT and low ALT/SGPT could be due
to vitamin B6 deficiency. Low GGTP could be due to B6 or Magnesium
deficiency. High total/free T-3 could be due to iodine deficiency
while low total /free T-3 could be due to selenium deficiency. Low
total/free T-4 could be due to iodine deficiency. In summary,
“normal” tests don’t really mean anything because it’s mostly based
on statistics. Low normal or high normal mean something, especially
if a person is symptomatic. It goes back to individualizing
treatment or a more personalized medicine.

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Random Thoughts

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Shut Your Pie Hole!

Veggie burger eating competition, Slovakia.

Image via Wikipedia

Excuse my French. But that’s one of the only ways we can take care of the obesity epidemic in the US and around the world. Many people consume excess calories beyond what their body needs to function optimally. When I first came to the US 17 years ago, I was surprised by the huge servings of food they serve at most, if not all, restaurants (fast food or slow food ones) that I visited. I remember as a kid, my mom would always tell me to finish the food on my plate. But I won’t coz I was a picky eater and besides, she would finish eating the rest of my food anyway. Perhaps, at a young age, I thought intuitively that eating when you’re already satisfied is not right. Good thing, even though I ate junk food during my residency training, I somehow didn’t overeat or gain weight. Ideally, the only time to eat is when we’re hungry. Emotional reasons for eating should be addressed properly. Like when a person’s depressed, they tend to eat carbs to lift their spirits. A better option would be to inhale therapeutic-grade peppermint oil when you feel down because this oil uplifts, works as a digestive aid and also suppresses appetite according to a research study conducted by Dr. Hirsh, a board-certified neurologist from Chicago, who happened to be one of the attending physicians at the hospital where I did my residency training. A good rule of thumb when eating is to eat the amount of food that you could fit in the palm of your hand. Of course, you gotta eat whole foods that’s organic, in season, and sustainably produced. Avoid CRAP (conventional, refined, adulterated produce) foods if possible coz it makes you gain weight too.

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Tips

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