Category Archives: Health
Chocolate Banana Smoothie
While there are lots of good smoothie recipes, here’s one that is great and is pretty close to having a chocolate shake, but it has about 20 grams of protein.
- 1-2 scoops vanilla protein powder. I use one scoop for myself and 2 scoops if I make this for two servings.
- 1 T cocoa powder
- Cinammon, tumeric, ginger.
- 1 ripe banana If you put in a frozen banana you don’t need the ice cubes.
- 3 ice cubes
- 3 T yogurt
- 1 T vanilla
- 1 T peanut butter
- Soy milk – half cup
- Option #2 – we use an Oat milk with probiotics
- 2 T ground flax seeds
Microbiome Notes
The Microbiome is a figuratively and literally a large topic to contemplate, so I’ll be putting my insights from the experts on to this page.
Here is a good basic video to explain the microbiome.
Erica and Justin Sonnenburg are authors of “The Good Gut.” It has LOTS of information on the microbiome. Here are some insights.
- Probiotics might help, but you will have to experiment and see which ones have an effect. They might also help with infections.
- Fermented foods – try one at a time and see which you like and what effect each has. I started with three and was having some bad effects – I’m going back to one at a time.
The video below is an overall explanation of some of their studies and especially how and increase in either fiber or fermented foods affect the microbiome.
Results from tests below.
Fermented foods:
- Had a 25% increase in microbiotic diversity. From 100 to 125.
- The fermented foods only added 3 new species that were already in the fermented foods. . The other 22 new species were not from fermented foods. Fermented foods seems to have an indirect effect on microbiotic diversity.
- There was a decrease in inflammatory markers.
Probiotic Study of people with Metabolic Syndrome- Did not see an increase in microbiome diversity.
- No difference in inflammatory response.
- Insulin, glucose and lipids were unchanged.
- One sub-group call “responders” did show improvement in their insulin and trigycerides. They were eating more plants than the non-responders. Conclusion was you need to eat more plants if you are going to benefit from a probiotic.
- It’s best to blend fiber rich foods and fermented foods.
Here is a response from Christopher Gardner about the study above.
“We encouraged study participants to eat as much of five things as frequently as possible:
Kimchi
Sauerkraut
Kombucha
Yogurt
Kefir
On their own they found “gutshots” and various pickled (fermented) vegetables to add this list that qualified as having live bacteria.
There was no standard amount for study participants to eat.
If they liked yogurt but not kimchi, then they weren’t required to eat kimchi and ate more yogurt.
On average, they ate ~6 servings/day for 6-10 weeks.
On the hand, that probably sounds like a lot.
On the other hand, we had our study dietitian come up with various combinations of fermented food items that totaled 6 servings, and checked out what the calorie contribution of what this was.
Answer: ~300 calories for a TOTAL of 6 servings.
Keep in mind a typical bottle of kombucha sold in stores qualified as two servings, and only had 50 calories total for the two servings.
A half cup of sauerkraut or kimchi counts as a serving, and these are both relatively low-calorie foods.
300 calories would be 10% of the calories of someone eating 3,000 kcal/day, and 15% of the calories for someone eating 2,000 kcal/day. I suspect the “6 servings a day” sounds more reasonable if you know it was ~10-15% of their calories for the day.”
Dr.Will Bulsiewicz recommends
- Coffee with spices – tumeric, cinammon, ginger.
- Fermented foods – sauerkraut, tempeh,miso – 10 week trial – try this.
- Sprouts –
- Super Seeds – omega 3’s – ground flax, chia and hemp seeds
- He recommends taking an algae based omega 3.
- Kiwis – two per day – good for constipation.
Dean Ornish
I notice that he does include a probiotic in the list of pills he is giving people.
Blue Zones also recommends fermented foods.
https://www.bluezones.com/2019/04/6-ways-to-improve-gut-health/
Fermented Foods I’m trying. Starting Jan. 6th
Non-Dairy Yogurt – Almond Milk – Schnucks
Sauerkraut – Costco
Kombucha – Costco – note – I like to mix it with grape juice.
Daily Dozen
Here’s an app I have and look at almost every day.
It’s Dr. Gregger’s Daily Dozen.
It shows the 12 recommended foods and habits to do on a daily basis.
I like it since it’s easy to use and doesn’t require any sign in.
Cataract Operation Notes
I’m at that age where I need a cataract operation and thought I’d annotate what I have learned.
- I decided to have the standard monovision lens put it. It’s only for distance and I need correction for closeup, mid distance and far distance. It appeared to me that I’ll still be wearing glasses after the operation so there’s no need to have fancy lenses put it that might reduce the amount of light and not correct my vision to 100%.
- My co-pay was $160, and my 3 prescriptions cost around $150.00.
- I checked out my surgeon and he received a lot of positive reviews in the past.
- While he did not “knock me out” for the operation, he did give me a valium and a anesthesiologist gave me a drug to keep me in a very relaxed state. As I recall, after I got the drug, I don’t recall the operation or anything that went on.
- I woke up easily and walked with a bit of help and got a cup of coffee.
- The eye that was worked on was never good, but was even fuzzier when I went home.
- My memory must have been somewhat affected since I apparently took some pills after coming home, but don’t remember taking them.
- After 12 hours, I noticed my eye was clearing up and things were sharper.
- At my 24 hours visit, I could see 20/30.
- 48 hours – it appears that my left eye distance vision is BETTER than my right eye without glasses.
- Laptop computer vision is good.
- When you choose a monovision lens, they say that this is just for distance vision. What I have observed is that my vision is sharp from 12″ and out. I can use the laptop computer and also watch TV without glasses. Closeup vision – 12″ and closer is blurry.
- I’m hoping that I might be able to go without glasses except for reading – fingers crossed.
- No exercise for one week.
- Eye Drops – you need 3 types of drops and have a chart to follow. If you’re single, you might practice ahead of time with regular eye drops. I usually wait 5 minutes in between drops.
2nd Operation Notes
- I noticed that I was aware of what was going on during the operation this time, but I was not uncomfortable.
- I remembered everything after the operation.
- I had a slight irritation after the operation, but it was not painful.
- I did notice how much brighter things were. I turned down the brightness on my computer and the lights in my bathroom seem too bright.
- I might be able to do without glasses for long distance and just use glasses for close-up reading – we’ll see how that works out.
Dean Ornish Supplements
I’m trying to figure out the supplements that Dean Ornish is giving to his AD test participants.
As I have more information, I will post it here.
Here is the information from his online study notes.
He is now doing an Alzheimers reversal study…..here are some of the details….note the extra supplements.
Diet: A low fat (10-15%) whole foods vegan diet, high in complex carbs and low in refined carbs (fruits, vegetables, whole grains, legumes, soy, seeds & nuts). Calories unrestricted. Multivitamin, fish oil, curcumin, vitamin C, B12, CoQ10, lion’s mane, probiotic, and magnesium.”
On his website, he adds this advice… https://www.ornish.com/proven-program/nutrition/
“We recommend a low dose multivitamin and mineral supplement with B-12 (without iron, if not of childbearing age), fish oil and, possibly upon the advice of a physician, calcium supplements.”
He also seems to like Omega 3’s for most people.
https://www.ornish.com/zine/brand-omega-3s-recommend/
Nordic Naturals is what he recommends.
https://www.ornish.com/zine/omega-3s-health-benefits-sea/
“For heart health, the Dr. Dean Ornish Program for Reversing Heart Disease recommends 2-4 grams of Omega-3 a day with an approximate ratio 600 mg EPA and 400 mg DHA per 1000 mg. It’s important to read the labels since fish oil supplements contain fish, and some can be relatively high in cholesterol.
Curcumin article – he recommends – Standardized powder (curcumin): 400 – 600mg, 3 times per day
Lions Mane is a mushroom supplement that Dr. Ornish recommends.
This is also part of a supplement that Matt Fraser used when he was part of Cross Fit.
I’ve added this to my list. I’m taking 1 gram/day – no noticeable effects after 2 weeks.
Video where he says what supplements he takes, but I’m pretty sure he leaves a few off.
Multi-vitamin, CoQ10. Magnesium, Algae Omega 3, Quercetin, True Niagen – which is a NAD Plus supplement, Vit C, Vit D,
Health Gurus – WFPB
When you first start your journey toward a Whole Food Plant Based Diet (WFPB), it’s a bit confusing when you get into the details and different doctors and advisors. My main focus is to get advice from people that are science based and not just their opinion. Here’s my list and notes about particular doctors and their advice.
Dr. Neal Barnard – 69 years young in 2022
Part of the PCRM.org group. Lots of good advice – based on science. Little oil or alcohol. Small amounts of nuts and grape juice are advised.
Dan Buettner – not a doctor.
Author of the Blue Zone books – “The Blue Zones Kitchen” has a lot of good recipes. Olive oil is ok.
Here is a good interview.
Dr. T. Colin Campbell – 88 years young in 2022
Wrote “The China Study.” Went to China
“Heart disease can be reversed with diet alone – and in doing so, reducing animal protein is more signifnicant than reducing saturated fat.”
The above is a bit controversial, but the end result is the same – WFPB.
“I learned….they had never seen a heart disease fatality among their patients who had blood cholesterol levels below 150 mg/dL”
I wonder if this might be true also for types of dementia?
Dr. Caldwell B. Esselstyn Jr. – 88 years young in 2022
WFPB – his studies with heart patients brought cholesterol down to 132 and in the following 11 years they only had one coronary event and that was from a patient who strayed from the diet for two years. Blockage in arteries was reduced by 7% in the first 5 years – blood delivery is improved by 30%. He doesn’t like oils, and is ok with people without heart disease eating nuts,
Rip Esselstyn – same as his father above.
Dr. Dean Ornish – 69 years young in 2022
He has done great working that heart disease can be reversed through a WFPB diet. He now allows some seeds, nuts and possibly avocado.
He is now doing an Alzheimers reversal study…..here are some of the details….note the extra supplements.
Diet: A low fat (10-15%) whole foods vegan diet, high in complex carbs and low in refined carbs (fruits, vegetables, whole grains, legumes, soy, seeds & nuts). Calories unrestricted. Multivitamin, fish oil, curcumin, vitamin C, B12, CoQ10, lion’s mane, probiotic, and magnesium.
Dr Joel Kahn cardiologist – sells some stuff which makes him a bit suspect. He has an interesting email that you can subscribe to – it have the links to back up the advice. He also agrees that protein advances aging.
– You can deviate at times. https://youtu.be/yrCaG2gT2Vg?t=2860
– Get blood test for Lip protein A – https://youtu.be/yrCaG2gT2Vg?t=3394
– Animal based saturated fat promote high cholesterol – https://youtu.be/yrCaG2gT2Vg?t=4416
–
Dr. Michael Greger – 50 years young in 2022 Nutrition Facts YouTube Channel
Good videos with lots of science studies.
He has a list of 11 foods to eat plus exercise and he recently added mushrooms.
Dr. Gil Carvalho
Science based doctor which weighs a lot of evidence.
Chuck Carroll – not a doctor, but interviews great guests from the PCRM podcast.
Dr. Will Bulsiewicz – gastroenterologist
Plant Chompers – he does LOTS of research and is a bit hard to follow on YouTube as he speaks very quickly with lots of data.
Dr. Kim Williams – Cardiologist – seems very much science based
Video interview with Rich Toll
Drs. Dean & Ayesha Sherzai –
Alzheimers Disease but other diseases also. – video interview
Oats Five Ways
As I was watching Dr. Esselstyn on YouTube, I discovered a new way to eat oats. He just puts the raw oats in a bowl with berries and oat milk. I have tried it this way and like it just fine. It’s a bit chewy. but I like it and it’s certainly easy. I add a Tab of ground flax seed and don’t even notice it. I prefer soy milk for the protein. He eats oats like this two times a day…..note he is currently 88 years young.
The 2nd way is to combine oats and soy/almond etc milk and put it in the refrigerator overnight.
I just tried that today and I like the texture and taste. Even after two days, the oats are good. Add cinnamon in the overnight oats.
The 3rd way to eat oats are oatmeal cookies. Below are GF – Vegan cookies made with maple syrup…….delicious.
The 4th way to eat oats are granola bars. I like the Nature Valley oats n honey bars.
The 5th way to eat oats is the old fashioned oatmeal that you cook on the stove.
Rice – a Complicated Grain
One of the grains which is recommended on a Whole Foods Plant Based diet is rice – either white or preferably brown rice.
The complicating factor is that rice tends to pick up arsenic from the soil and water – not good.
Below are some links related to rice. Unfortunately, it seems to be a bit complicated.
Rice is Good.
In China, white rice did NOT increase the prevalence of diabetes when they mainly ate plants and rice. When the diet started to Westernize, the diabetes risk increased.
“Long term consumption of total rice, white or brown rice was not associated with risk of developing cancer in US men and women.”
Dr. Barnard – rice studies don’t show any increase in cancer. Brown or white rice doesn’t matter. Califormina, India and Paskitan rice has less arsenic.
Here is what Consumer Reports says about arsenic and how to reduce your risk.
Rice is Bad
Dr. Greger moves white rice to a red light food and brown rice to a yellow light food.
Best way to cook rice…..from Dr. Barnard, Con. Reports. and others.
- Choose rice from California, India or Pakistan – they have less arsenic.
- Rinse rice
- Soak rice in water over night and get rid of that water.
- Rinse thoroughly
- Cook rice in 6 to one ratio and throw off excess water after the rice is done.
- Rinse again with hot water.
- This procedure gets rid of 80% of arsenic.
Strength at 75
Change #1 – I hurt myself after just a couple of weeks. I’ve healed up and decided to cut back on the weight and not go to failure. I attempting to find a weight that is slightly heavy, but won’t cause me to pull a muscle. I’m exercising twice a week. Push ups have increased from zero to 4 in seven weeks.
Exercises
- Easy Pushups –
- Squats –
- Lay of side – leg lifts –
- Situps –
- Lay down one leg lift –
- Lift on side of body
- Overhead lift –
- Curls
- Reverse Curls
- Bent over row
- Shoulder shrug –
I was visiting a friend who recommend a book – The Slow Burn Fitness Revolution by Fredrick Hahn. It’s a way to increase strength at home with limited weights and a small time commitment. I was impressed with my friend’s results, so I thought I’d give it a try.
The Basics – for each exercise, lift the weight very slowly – 10 seconds up and 10 seconds down. Exercise for 60 to 90 seconds. We are starting with lighter weights and 60 seconds. If the exercise is too easy, increase the weight. We started out using a metronome app on the phone, but have stopped that and just use the Timer function on the phone and try and exercise for 90 seconds.
Sept. 19 – We are starting with hand weights two times a week – Mon. and Thur.
————
Strength Training and Aerobics are best for reduction in death – 41%.
As I researched the topic, I found a lot of people with this approach to strength training. Below are some of the other advocates.
Wayne Wescott seems to have a lot of evidence for the benefits of strength training.
Increase muscle by one pound per month and decrease fat one pound per month. He found the same muscle gain for twice a week versus three times a week. I don’t believe he tested once a week. He also shows many other benefits to strength training. I like that he uses scientific references.
Strength Training for Baby Boomers and Beyond by Wayne Westcott
Dr. Mercola
Doug McGuff is also well known in this area. He wrote the book Body by Science.
His main tenant is the same as Frederick Hahn. Train once a week – 60 to 90 seconds of slow lifting to the point of failure. He says, “move the weight as slowly as you can.”
I didn’t find anything new from this book.
Soil and Gut Connections
This is a hypothesis as to how the mechanisms in the soil and gut are similar and what I can learn from each.
As a gardener for over 30 years, I have seen the shift from gardeners taming their dirt and garden with the use of tillers, fertilizers, mono-culture, insecticides, fungicides and herbicides. The philosophy used to be, “I have to manage the dirt to get a good crop. ”
There is a shift today to a more natural way of gardening. If you go into a forest or natural area, no people are needed to manage the land. Mother Nature is in charge and seems to do a fine job without any need for human intervention. She creates her own nutrients from the soil, fungi, bacteria and other living creatures. One tsp of soil contains 100 million to 1 billion bacteria. The soil contains an army ready and willing to work for you and bring the plants the nutrients it needs.
As a result, there are a number of proponents of No Till, Cover Crops, Plant Diversity and No artificial fertilizers. Gabe Brown, Ray Archuleta, Charles Dowding, Scott Woodbury and Dave Brandt are all experts in this area with lots of YouTube videos.
The gut of every human seems similar to this soil model. It contains millions of bacteria and the particular type of microbiome is complex and somewhat different from person to person.
Just as you could feed your soil with fertilizers, you could also feed your gut with tilled up refined foods and then add in vitamins to try and stay healthy.
Another option is to only feed your gut with a whole food plant based diet and let your microbiome extract the needed nutrients for your body. That’s what I’m going to try and do. I’m hoping that my body will tell me what I need to eat and I can get all the nutrients I need by eating a diverse WFPB diet.
While I have taken many vitamin and supplement pills in the past, I am cutting back to just two – B12 and Vitamin D3.
Time will tell.
The Tom and Gerry Diet
While the goal is a 99% Whole Food Plant Based diet, we do use olive oil at times and are not religious and uptight if we eat a bit of “banned’ food. The trick is to find the healthy foods which work best for you and which you can eat the rest of your life. You need to personalize the diet that works best for you.
9 Month Report
- Numbers moving in the right direction – cholesterol 102, blood sugar normal.
- Feeling better – exercising 1 hr/day
- Lost 20 pounds
- Right foot more feeling
- Reflux and stomach is better
Where’s the Protein Song
(Sung to……Take Me Out to the Ball Game)
Where are you getting your protein?
Are you getting enough?
I say Beans and Lentils and Whole Grains
Tofu and Soy they’re so good for the brain.
And there’s Oats and Nuts and Seeds
potatoes, broccoli, and rice.
Whole Foods Plant Based is my best advice.
18 g – Peanut butter sandwich
Beans -Heirloom Beans
https://www.americastestkitchen.com/cookscountry/videos/5234-heirloom-beans
You can buy heirloom beans at Rancho Gordo – also……Walmart has Mayocoba beans for $2.26/pound
Movies to Watch
- The Games Changers
- What the Health – Netflix
- Forks Over Knives – YouTube.
- Seaspiracy – Netflix
Videos
Dean Ornish Program – Nov. 2022
St. Louis Restaurants
- BBQ – Smokee Mo’s – closed Mon. I had Nachos and BLT – I was not impressed. I won’t go back.
- Bombay Food Junkies – https://www.bombayfoodjunkies.com/ – 12955 Olive Blvd, St. Louis, MO 63141- Mainly fried food, but tasty. Check out the four sauces.
- CC’s Vegan Spot, 4993 Loughborough Ave., St. Louis, 314-899-9400, ccsveganspot.com
- City Foundry – Has a couple of places with bowls that I could try, Kalbi Taco Shack I was not impressed with their jackfruit or tofu tacos – their salsa for chips was tasty.
- Crazy Bowls and Wraps 10758 Sunset Hills Plaza, St. Louis, MO 63127 – they seems to have gotten better. They do deliver.
- DDMau – Webster Groves – they have some tasty options. https://ddmaustl.com/
- Favazzas – the Hill – good Vegan pasta palmadero plus Sicilian salad.
- Fiddlehead Fern – near Mobot
- Fridas – Caryn likes this place. Clayton
- Greek Kitchen – Kirkwood – arrive by 5pm – get reservation, Dancers on Sat. night Falafel is good.
- Love n Light Cuisine – https://www.facebook.com/LOVENLIGHTCUISINE/ cafe doesn’t seem to be open.
- Lulus
- Mai Lee – https://www.maileestl.com/menu – Vietnamese – has some soy meals.
- Mission Taco Joint – Kirkwood….tasty tacos, gucamole is ok, fries are good, vegan buttito is good, salad not good. You can also get black bean without cheese.
- PF Changs 1295 Chesterfield Pkwy E, Chesterfield, MO 63017
- Pizza Head – https://www.pizzahead.com – I don’t see any GF crust. Lots of vegan options. South Grand
- Plant Craft kitchen – 3860 S. Lindbergh Blvd – https://www.plantcraftkitchen.com/ over by Vantage Credit Union. Order online and pickup – no inside eating.
- Seedz Cafe – https://www.facebook.com/SeedzCafe/ – near Forest Park https://seedzcafe.chttps://seedzcafe.com/om/
- Seoul Taco – many locations – coming to Crestwood Schnucks – has tofu options.
- Small Batch – https://www.smallbatchstl.com/ ….3001 LOCUST STREETST. LOUIS, MO, 63103
- https://www.station3stl.com/ – try this out – near Cherokee.
- Sweet Art – https://sweetartstl.com/eats bakery – sweets
- Terror Tacos – https://www.terrortacos.com/ Grand
- Tree House 3177 South Grand Blvd.63118
Resources
- Physicians Committee – YouTube
- Gaz Oakley – https://www.youtube.com/c/avantgardevegan
- Mic the Vegan – https://www.youtube.com/c/MictheVegan
- Nutrition Facts – https://www.youtube.com/c/NutritionfactsOrgMD
- Rainbow Plant Life – https://www.youtube.com/c/RainbowPlantLife
- Simnett Nutrition – https://www.youtube.com/c/Simnettnutrition
- https://www.stayingalivewfpb.com/resourses
- The Brain Docs – https://www.youtube.com/c/TheBrainDocs
- Twitter – @chuckcarrollwlc – part of the Physicians Committee
Smoothie
Cinammon, frozen berries, banana, dates-2, ground flax, ginger, frozen kale, soy milk,
Dinners
- Baked Potato with toppings
- Chili on top of rice
- Hamburger and fries
Why WFPB
- B – alzheimers
- C – Parkinsons Disease – 1,
- C – early dementia
- D – t, r, b,r
- D – dementia, strokes, bypass, colon cancer
- M – Diabetes
- P – Rheumatoid arthritis
Protein Notes
- 1 gram protein/kg/day.
- I would need a minimum of 75 grams protein/day. 1 kg = 2.2 pounds.
- Protein Database
- Tofu – 4 oz – 12 g
- Beans/Hummus- 1/2 cp – 8 to 10 g
- Peanuts – 1/4 cp – 9 g
- Pnut butter 2 T – 7 g
- Soy Milk – 8oz – 7 g
- Peas – 4 g
- Bread – 1 slice – 3 g
- Rice – 1/2 cup – 2 g
TVP – Soy Based Product which makes a ground beef type of base for spaghetti, tacos etc.
Below is the recipe that Gerry used.
Product Tests
Mat Fraser – Crossfit Champion
I ran across Mat Fraser in a YouTube video and was impressed with his level of fitness for a relatively small man. At 5’7″ he’s my size, so right away I relate to him and hope I can learn a bit from him.
Here are some notes from the video below.
- He doesn’t follow any one type of diet.
- He doesn’t eat out much.
- He eats food from the outside of the grocery – meats, vegs, fruit,
Usually nothing from a package. - He eats white rice with almost every meal.
- “You can’t out train a bad diet.”
- He doesn’t take multi-vitamins
- He takes whey protein, Extend BCAA (Branched Chain Amino Acids), and CBD,
- CBD in morning – Beam Clarity and at night Beam Dream
- C4 pre-workout – has caffeine and beta-alanine
- Lots of sleep. Turn off all electronics. Sleepy time tea.
- I have also seen him use Ice Water baths – questionable?
- Interesting he did not mention any anti-inflammatory drugs.
Air Filter and Box Fan
Here’s an option for the people affected by the smoke in California. I use this on a regular basis. I use a very good air filter and tape it to a box fan. I used the Filtrete Healthy Living Elite Allergen Reduction Filter, MPR 2200. These cost about $15 on Amazon.
As you can see from the picture, this simple setup is doing an excellent job at filtering our the small particles in the air.
While you could use this in your furnace, I’ve found that it reduces the air flow quite a bit. I ended up putting one of these filter fans upstairs and one downstairs.
PH Tester and Tests
I recently bought a Xpertomatic PH tester to test some of the drinks I consume. I followed the directions on the instructions to calibrate it first.
For those of you unfamiliar with PH, it’s a test of acidity. On a scale of 0 to 14, seven is considered Neutral. Zero is very acidic and 14 would be very base or alkaline. The scale changes by a factor of ten for each number. Six is ten times more acidic than seven and five would be one hundred times more acidic than seven.
Here are my results.
- Beer – Schlafly Pale Ale – 5.36
- Coffee Costco – 4.6
- Coffee with cream – 5.2
- Coffee – Folgers – Med. Dark – 5.17
- Coffee – Folgers – Classic Medium Roast – Costco – 4.72
- Coffee Puroast – 5.75
- Coffee – Trader Joe’s cold brew – 5.24
- Tea from tap water – 6.9
- Water distilled – Essentials ShopnSave – 6.0
- Water distilled Blue Mountain – 6.78
- Water tap – 9.04. , 9.68
- Water – tap – filtered – 6.5
- Water bottled – 6.35
- Fruit compote – 3.8
- Kefir – 3.8
Lactobacillus gasseri for Weight Loss
RESULTS – gained two pounds.
I tried the probiotic below for a month and gained two pounds. Don’t waste your time if you want to lose weight.
————————————————————
While this is not definitive, I’m going to try Lactobacillus gasseri for thirty days and see what happens. Below are the links which seem to indicate this bacteria might help in weight maintenance.
Note – I gained two pounds in the last year taking some probiotics which were recommended.
Jan 8, 2016 – started taking two pills per day – 3 billion CFU per pill.
Weight at start is 183.
- http://authoritynutrition.com/probiotics-and-weight-loss/
- http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17977471
- http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18684338/
- http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20216555
- http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25884980
- http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23917447
- http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23614897
- http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0958694611000410
The video below talks about the role of bacteria in weight control.
Nutrition Rating for Foods
I’ve recently come across a concept called Yale University’s Overall Nutritional Quality Index (ONQI) . It apparently has also been monetized into the NuVal.com website. The idea is that foods are rated on a scale of 1 to 100, with one hundred being the best and one being the worst. The idea is that consumers want to get the most nutrition in the least amount of calories. NuVal won’t post their list for some reason, but they do give ratings on Facebook. I’ve put together a list of both the ONQI from Wikipedia and the NuVal information that is posted on Facebook. Mostly they both agree, but in some cases they are different.
Here is their list.
Broccoli 100
Blueberries 100
Strawberries 100
Greek yogurt non fat 100
Okra 100
Orange 100
Green beans 100
Sweet Potato 100
Spinach 100
Kale 100
Celery 100
Cherries 100
Pineapple 99
Radish 99
Summer squash 98
Watermelon 98
Apple 96
Green cabbage 96
Tomato 96
Clementine 94
Watermelon 94
Mango 93
Red onions 93
Fresh figs 91
Grapes 91
Banana 91
Milk (skimmed) 91
Avocado 89
Oatmeal 88
Raisins 88
Atlantic salmon fillet 87
Walnuts 84
Almonds 84
Atlantic halibut fillet 82
Catfish fillet 82
Cod fillet 82
Tilapia fillet 82
Oysters 81
Swordfish steak 81
Prawns 75
Shrimp 75
Clams 71
Pecans 69
Monkfish fillet 64
Peanuts 60
Milk (whole) 52
Scallops 51
Turbot fillet 51
Pasta 50
Turkey breast (skinless) 48 – NuVal gives it a 73
Tinned peas 49
Prunes 45
Chicken breast (boneless) 39 NuVal gives this a 57
Orange juice 39
Lobster 36
Pork tenderloin 35
Flank steak (Beef) 34
Turkey breast 31
Veal chop 31
Veal leg cutlet 31
Beef tenderloin 30
Chicken drumstick 30
Pork chop (boneless centre cut) 28
Chicken wings 28
Lamb chops (loin) 28
Leg of lamb 28
Ham (whole) 27
Raisins 26
Cheese 25
Green olives 24
Bagel 23
Peanut butter 23
Condensed cream of broccoli soup 21
Salted, dry-roasted peanuts 21
Fried egg 18
Swiss cheese 17
Diet fizzy drinks 15
Non-streaky bacon 13
Pretzel sticks 11
Dark chocolate 10
White bread 9
Salami 7
Hot dog 5
Cheese puffs 4
Milk chocolate 3
Apple pie 2
Crackers 2
Fizzy drinks 1
Popsicle 1
Esther Gokhale Back Posture Method
Since I’m always looking for ways to minimize my back pain, I ran across this woman and her approach to better posture.
Here is her book available on Amazon or your local library.
I took a few notes from one of the programs she did.
- If you are sitting, get up and move ever fifteen minutes. She suggests rolling your shoulders in a circular motion.
- She says that your back and hips should be in a “J ” shape. Buttocks out – not tucked in.
- Don’t arch your back
- You want your knees angled down.
- She suggests having a wedge in your chair so that you are angled down.
Videos are below
Air Filter and Box Fan
Since the mold, pollen and air seems to be so bad this year, I was theorizing that if I used a very good air filter and attached it to a box fan, my air quality would get better. I used the Filtrete Healthy Living Elite Allergen Reduction Filter, MPR 2200. These cost about $15 on Amazon.
As you can see from the picture, this simple setup is doing an excellent job at filtering our the small particles in the air.
While you could use this in your furnace, I’ve found that it reduces the air flow quite a bit. I ended up putting one of these filter fans upstairs and one downstairs.
It’s interesting that my wife’s allergy symptoms have abated since using this filter setup.
Does Chlorinated Water Kill Your Microbiome?
I was reading the latest book from Dr. David Perlmutter, Grain Maker, where he makes the statement, “Chemicals, such as chlorine, that are added to many sources of water, to kill bad bacteria will also kill good bacteria, probiotic bacteria.”
Since I’ve been drinking chlorinated water my entire life, as most Americans have, I was disturbed by this statement so I thought I’d do some research.
First off, Dr. Perlmutter doesn’t offer any scientific research for this statement. I wish he had sited some sources.
On the other hand, it does seem to make some sense. I’ve learned from practical experience that putting gold fish in a bowl filled with tap water will kill them fairly quickly. My logic is, if it will kill a gold fish, wouldn’t tap water also kill bacteria in your gut?
In 1998, the magazine, Scientific American, asked the question, “How does chlorine added to drinking water kill bacteria and other harmful organisms? Why doesn’t it harm us?” Their answer back then was, “Food in our stomachs and the materials normally present in the intestinal tract quickly neutralize the chlorine. So chlorine concentrations along cell membranes in the gastrointestinal tract are probably too low to cause injury.”
I did find some interesting research as to how tap water affects garden plants and lawn. Their main conclusion was, “Researchers have found that chlorinated drinking water may kill a number of microorganisms in soil or a compost pile. However, their reproduction rate is so rapid that populations rebound in a short time.”
In the St. Louis area, they add ammonia to the chlorine to keep it more stable – they call this chloramination.
The EPA has lots of informaion on chloramines. It has been used for decades in some communities. Here is the link. Chloramines in Drinking Water.
Josh Harkinson did an article for Mother Jones which includes this quote, “Chlorination has done tremendous good, so the default is to continue as is,” Martin Blaser, the director of the Human Microbiome Project, told me, “but whether or not there are subtler effects needs to be studied.”
A friend of mine in the field told me, “Specifically about chloramine, it seems that many water districts have switched from chlorine to chloramine because (1) it has a longer-lasting disinfection effect which keeps down bacterial growth in holding tanks and pipes, and (2) it has fewer toxic disinfection byproducts than chlorine. Chloramine is considered safe (at <4 mg/L) by the EPA. I doubt that chloramine would kill off bacteria in your body and/or probiotics at the low levels present in drinking water – it can be broken down (metabolized) by your saliva and leave your body in your urine. But I haven’t seen any specific scientific studies on this.”
Thanks to J for pointing me to the SFWater.org site which has a lot of information on chloramines.
http://www.sfwater.org/index.aspx?page=430
http://www.sfwater.org/index.aspx?page=357
http://www.sfwater.org/Modules/ShowDocument.aspx?documentID=6920
http://www.sfwater.org/modules/showdocument.aspx?documentid=4130
To summarize the SFWater.org information – Water with chloramines is safe to drink.
If you still decide to remove the chloramines, then for an investment of $23 plus the filter cost, a Brita pitcher filter is an easy way to remove the chloramines..
Here are some other resources.
- https://commonfund.nih.gov/hmp/index
- Pass the Microbes Please – very interesting story.
- Science Magazine – microbiome and obesity
- Mother Jones Story
- Martin Blaser – Youtube video
Microbiome Notes
It seems like one of the new frontiers in human biology is the role of the 100 trillion microbial cells that we all have in and on us. Microbes outnumber our human cells ten to one. How do they affect us and our biology?
Below is a good basic video which explains the concepts.
More Links and Resources
- NPR
- NPR 2
- Book – The Microbiome Diet
- Human Food Project
- NYTimes – Michael Pollan
More Videos
Dr. Mercola recommends:
- NO sugar or artificial sweetner
- Stay away from commercial yogurt and kefir.
- Un-pasteurized Sauerkraut, olives, pickles,
- Don’t drink chlorinated water !
- Don’t use anti-bacterial soap.
- Buy organic food.
- Take probiotics – Take them on an empty stomach – 20 minutes before a meal – don’t get enteric coated pills –
I don’t know if the below video has any validity, but it should be an interesting theory.
Tom Terrific 