Are you a Fat Burner or a Sugar Burner?

Did you know that you can change your body from its preferred metabolism of fat, to a sugar based metabolism?

Did you know that even if you have accidentally changed your metabolism to a sugar burning metabolism, you can choose to change your body to a fat burning, lean machine?

Sugar, in the form of glycogen, is utilized by the body in times of stress for rapid bursts of energy. Glycogen is stored by the liver, and when the adrenals call out for emergency energy, the liver releases glycogen. Living a high stress lifestyle, or eating a diet high in processed foods, can cause the body to get spoiled and lazy. This is because, burning fat for energy is a tougher process than burning readily available, easy to burn, sugars.

Your body also naturally burns sugar when you exercise. Which is why aerobic activity, such as walking, helps to reduce blood sugar.

If you have read my book, Maintain Your Weight, then you already understand my concept about your metabolic furnace. If not, then a simple way to understand it is, sugar and processed foods are like dead leaves when thrown on a fire. They flame up instantly, and then die out very quickly. Larger more dense pieces of wood burn slower, and hotter, and the energy they produce lasts much longer.

If a person eats too much sugar and/or processed foods, or they have insulin which is sluggish & isn't doing its job, these sugars are not processed as they should be. Unused sugars are sent back to the blood stream for disposal and since the body doesn't know what to do with the extra sugar it gets saved as fat. The problem is, sugars do not stoke up your metabolic furnace; so you need energy sooner, and because your body is trained to use sugar for energy, you start to crave more sugars and simple carbohydrates.

I am guessing by this point you can name several people, you know, who probably have a sugar burning metabolism. You may even be saying, "Wow, that sounds like me." Would you like to take charge of your body and teach it to burn fat? It is possible.

First of all you need to let go of the myths you have learned about what to eat, and what not to eat. Here are some common dieting myths:

1. Fat is bad. NOT TRUE. Fat is necessary for building cells, protecting your organs, making skin soft and supple and other necessary functions. More specifically cholesterol, which is made from fats, is very important to the body. Every cell in your body uses cholesterol. The truth is; Healthy Fats are a vital part of everyones diet. About 30-40 percent of your diet should come from healthy fats.



2. You can eat as much protein as you want. NOT TRUE. Protein is absolutely an important part of a healthy diet, but a variety of protein is important. If you eat meat, about 20% of your diet should come from lean animal protein or beans and legumes. Remember that vegetables, and grains like oatmeal also have protein, so you are not going to be without enough protein if you eat right.



3. Grains should be a staple in your diet. NOT TRUE. Grains should be a small part of your diet, and they should be whole grains, like real steel cut oats. Not the kind that comes in a package you can pour hot water on and eat. In order for grains to be a healthy part of your diet, they must be difficult for your body to break down. Make your body work for those calories... and make sure the calories you provide are nutrient dense and high in fiber.



4. Red meat is bad for you. NOT TRUE. Meat which has visible fat is bad for you. Lean cuts are acceptable, but remember a portion of meat is about 3-4 ounces.... which is about the size of a deck of cards. Some individuals tolerate red meats better than others. There are lots of other meats you could consume also. Consider chicken, white fish, salmon and tuna, deer, bison etc. Pork tends to have fat cells which are not visible, and you can not cut off, so we often recommend that people who have inflammatory conditions or are trying to manage their weight, avoid pork.



5. Fiber is yucky! NOT TRUE. Vegetables have lots of non-soluble fiber. This fiber helps to balance blood sugar, and keep the pipes clean. Vegetables are also high in phytonutrients and are also known to help fight cancer. Vegetables are so important for your body you should eat some with every meal. 8 out of 10 bites of food should be a fruit or vegetable.



6. Fruit is too high in sugar. NOT TRUE. Fruit is best eaten away from large meals, because it gets processed much faster than meats and vegetables, and can cause some gas or bloating if eaten on top of a meal. If you have fruit with your meal eat it about 15 minutes before the rest of the meal. Fruit has water soluble fiber in it, which also helps keep the pipes clean, and can help with constipation. If you are diabetic, you may find that fruit can raise blood sugar because your body is not utilizing sugar properly. It's absolutely necessary to get your body burning fat for energy if you are pre-diabetic, or already dependent on medications for blood sugar management.

So you need to know how to do this... right? Well, I recommend the Leptin Diet. If you would like a printable form of this diet click here. Below is a simple run down of how it works.

Eat These Foods:

Healthy fats, such as; nuts, seeds, avocado, olive oil, salmo, tuna etc.

Lean proteins, such as eggs, seafood, chicken, turkey, fish etc.

Vegetables and fruits, such as asparagus, cucumbers, spinach, lettuce, beans, green beans, garlic, peppers, apples, bananas, grapes, kiwi, pineapple, cherries, blueberries etc.

Foods to avoid:

Cows milk, frozen custard, fatty cheeses, processed meats, peanuts, barbeque sauce, ketchup, mayo, cakes, candies, processed foods, sugar, etc.

For the full diet and its explanation click on the link above. If you have questions please don't hesitate to call the office. By the way, this diet is a great maintenance plan for people who just finished their diet drops.

One of the most important things to remember is: Chew your food thoroughly. Chew it until it is no longer recognizable, then swallow it. Also, remember to drink plenty of water. You should drink about half your body weight, in ounces, of water a day.

Recommended supplementation:

L-Carnitine to help your body burn fat. L-Carnitine is to Fat, as Insulin is to Sugar. We do have a couple of different options at our office for this product. Recommended amount is 1000 mg at breakfast, and lunch, daily.

EFA's (Essential Fatty Acids) I always recommend that a person take 2000-4000 mg a day of a good quality, pharmaceutical grade fish oil or vegetarian based EFA product while trying to lose weight.

CLA (Conjugated Linoleic Acid) Check out my blog from a week or so ago for more information on this great product. I usually recommend about 1500 mg three times a day while trying to lose weight.

Vitamin D is also very important in this process. Unless you live near the equator and spend a lot of time outdoors with very little clothing and no sunscreen, you probably need to take about 5000-8000 iu a day of a good quality, proven to be absorbable, product. We have two different types at our office, come by and ask about it.

Probiotics which are non-dairy in nature. Since you will be completely avoiding most dairy products during this program, you should find a good non-dairy probiotic. There are many available. We have one at our office that you only need to take 1 a day of, which is way less than most products suggest.

Enzymes are also very important for general health. We have a few different kinds which work well to aid in digestion if taken with meals, but they also work great to help clean inflammation out of the body when taken away from meals, on an empty stomach. We typically recommend enzymes for anyone who needs to lose weight, or may be dealing with food sensitivities.

I hope this information is helpful, and if you need someone to discuss it with, you can always make an appointment at our office. If you would like a printable form of this diet click here.

Fighting Heartburn and GERD Naturally – and Safely! :: Terry Talks Nutrition

Almost everyone has experienced heartburn. Usually, the first thing a person does to stop the pain is reach for a couple of antacids. It’s almost a trained response; we’ve all seen the commercials on TV telling us why stomach acid is the culprit behind acid reflux, and the best thing to do is eliminate it as quickly as possible.

Actually, that’s about the worst thing you could do.

We need stomach acid. Without it, we risk broken bones, food poisoning, infections, and even pneumonia, in addition to not being able to digest food properly. But that doesn’t mean you have to suffer with the pain and worse, esophageal damage, of heartburn. There are extremely effective natural ingredients that can stop the burn and soothe the digestive system without interfering with stomach acid. In this week’s Terry Talks Nutrition, we’re going to talk about botanical solutions to the growing heartburn problem.

What causes the fire?

While it isn’t immediately life-threatening, the pain from heartburn can be so severe that sometimes people mistake it for a heart attack. The “burn” is caused by stomach acids overflowing from the stomach into the esophagus. This is usually because of a one-way valve called the lower esophageal sphincter (LES). This valve allows food to enter the stomach from the esophagus, but keeps the stomach contents from coming back up into the esophagus. When the LES opens at the wrong time, or doesn’t close properly, the acidic digestive juices in the stomach splash onto the unprotected lining of the esophagus, causing the characteristic “burn” of heartburn.

Of course, heartburn is one thing, but gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) is another, more serious condition. When stomach acid repeatedly washes up into the delicate structures of the esophagus it causes real damage over time, destroying the mucosal lining – possibly leading to ulcers. Even worse, chronic irritation of the lower end of the esophagus may lead to a pre-cancerous condition called Barrett’s esophagus, which in turn can lead to cancer. In fact, it has been estimated that people with Barrett’s esophagus have 40 times the risk of esophageal cancer as those without this problem. Therefore, it is important to eliminate chronic heartburn for more reasons than merely reducing occasional discomfort.

People with GERD may have other symptoms as well, including chronic coughing, wheezing and regurgitation of food. And unfortunately, the billion dollars a year that Americans spend for antacid products to treat their heartburn and GERD not only won’t help – they are making the problem worse!

Stomach acid is not the enemy.

While many manufacturers promote and sell products that reduce stomach acid as a way to treat heartburn, these products are not the solution. Although they may – temporarily – stop the pain of heartburn, interfering with the body’s production of stomach acid does not help the underlying processes that lead to heartburn in the first place. And reducing stomach acid causes a whole new set of problems instead.

Normally, when the contents of the stomach are properly acidified, the pyloric valve at the lower end of the stomach opens, allowing stomach contents to move into the duodenum, the first section of the intestines, where digestion continues and absorption of nutrients begins.

However, if stomach acid levels are low, it takes a lot longer for the stomach’s contents to ferment, and that causes gas that presses against the esophageal valve. Over time, the valve weakens and the acidified contents of the stomach spill back into the esophagus, causing the pain of heartburn, and over time, the potential complications of GERD.

Reducing stomach acid is not the answer.

The reason why antacids and drugs that reduce acid production appear to work is because, as they neutralize stomach acids, the pyloric valve opens too quickly and allows the not fully-processed stomach contents into the duodenum. Because the stomach empties faster, there is less chance of the contents escaping back up into the esophagus. Plus, anything that does back up is less acidic, and less irritating to the esophagus.

So why is this bad? There are some important reasons:
Proteins that were supposed to be broken down in the stomach are now in the intestines, and could actually act as an allergen. This may contribute greatly to leaky gut syndrome and irritable bowel.

Protein not being broken down properly means that calcium and iron aren’t being absorbed properly either. In fact, use of acid inhibiting drugs has been associated with a 25% increased risk of bone fracture.

Harmful bacteria that could have been destroyed by stomach acids now have a “free pass” into the intestines, where they could do much more harm. Particularly dangerous bacteria called Clostridium difficile have been found to cause infections much more often in people who use acid blocking drugs.

Neutralizing stomach acids with antacids (Rolaids, Tums, Maalox, Mylanta, etc) causes a rebound effect in which the body in turn OVER produces acid to compensate for the lack of acid in the stomach where it is needed.

A new study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) shows that if you go into a hospital and are prescribed Prilosec (omeprazole), Nexium (esomeprazole) or Prevacid (lansoprazole)—all drugs that greatly reduce acid production--you have a 30% increased risk for contracting pneumonia during your stay. [Shoshana J. Herzig, Michael D. Howell, Long H. Ngo, Edward R.

Marcantonio. Acid-Suppressive Medication Use and the Risk for Hospital-Acquired Pneumonia. JAMA. 2009 May. 301(20):2120-2128.]

Fortunately, there are ingredients that help relieve and prevent heartburn naturally, without interfering with normal, healthy stomach acidity!

Natural ingredients work with your body—not against it!

Additional things to remember about heartburn and GERD

Of course, if you have problems with recurring heartburn or suspect that you have GERD, there are other lifestyle choices you must consider. If you smoke, stop. The benefits will far exceed stopping your heartburn, and you’ll be healthier and feel better overall. Avoid those deep-fried foods that can upset the stomach and cause inflammation throughout the body. And, consider eating smaller, more frequent whole food meals to avoid filling up all at once.

Pregnant women often complain of heartburn as the increasing size of the baby places unusual pressure on the stomach and its contents. After the child is born, this issue usually completely resolves. Pregnant women may not need any further intervention for their heartburn than eating smaller meals and elevating the head of the bed with some wood blocks to help prevent reflux. If heartburn persists, please check with your health care practitioner to decide if using this natural intervention is right for you.

Obesity, especially apple-shaped patterns of obesity, contributes greatly to heartburn and GERD, as the additional fat places undue pressure on the stomach. Losing even 5 or 10 pounds can improve heartburn and GERD risk.

You don’t have to suffer

Heartburn and GERD are not only painful; they can be dangerous as the esophagus becomes damaged by excessive acid exposure. However, turning off the acid can do more harm than good. By avoiding acid-stopping OTC and prescription drugs, being smart about your diet and habits, and using high-quality natural ingredients, you’ll give your body a chance to heal itself naturally. It’s a solution that simply makes good sense—for the long run.

For more information on how to cope with acid naturally call our office!

High Fructose Corn Syrup by Joe Buishas LD, CCN

What do the Atkins diet and the Japanese diet have in common? The Atkins diet is "high fat"… low carbs." The Japanese diet is "low fat"… "high carbs,” yet both display the ability to reduce chronic disease. The common link is both diets are low in "fructose." So here's the next question.

What simple sugar causes...
an increase in uric acid, hypertension, leptin resistance, reductions in energy or ATP, elevated triglycerides, insulin resistance, fatty liver, inflammation, and vascular disease? Let's add to that list the number one risk factor for the development of obesity? Have I got your attention? The answer, according to Dr. Richard Johnson, is fructose. Dr. Richard Johnson is a researcher and clinician at the University of Colorado Denver and author of the book The Sugar Fix.

Let's look closer at why fructose is one of the major factors that increases uric acid. "Fruit" contains fructose. As the fruit ripens the amount of fructose goes up. However, natural fruits contain vitamin C and other factors that are needed to break down and counteract the effects of fructose. So, two, three, or even four fruits a day are not a problem for most people.

Each piece of fruit contains around 8 grams of "natural fructose," but high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) or the combination of sucrose and HFCS is a problem. Sucrose or table sugar is a disaccharide and contains approximately 50% glucose and 50% fructose. But according to Dr. Johnson, the sugars are bound together. High fructose corn syrup contains 55% fructose but the fructose is not tightly bound and gets absorbed instantly and goes right to the liver.

"If this study can cause these results in just 2 weeks, what happens in 2 years! “

Studies at Duke University show people who drink soft drinks have a higher percentage of fatty liver disease primarily due to fructose. The average American ingests 70 grams of fructose a day. That's the average American. 25% of Americans ingest 130 grams or more of fructose daily.

Dr. Johnson shared a study where participants ingested 200 grams of fructose for a mere 2 weeks and found elevations of triglycerides, increases in blood pressure and insulin resistance, and decreases in the healthy HDL cholesterol. Fortunately, these changes were reversed after abstaining from fructose. This is a profound study even though the amounts of fructose were excessive.

Dr. Johnson states that glucose increases insulin production, but fructose increases insulin resistance. If this study can cause these results in two weeks what happens in two years? We may not ingest 200 grams of fructose daily, but the more sugar we eat, the more our bodies up regulate the ability to absorb it and we become more sensitive to it as we age.

Dr. Johnson suggests we set a maximum of 25 grams of fructose per day as a goal, one third of what is consumed every day by the average American. Just to give you an idea, one 12 ounce can of soda contains around 25 grams of fructose. One liter of soda would yield approximately 75 grams of fructose. Because fruit juice is so concentrated and processed it's almost as bad as soda. Dr. Richard Johnson's book gives tables on all the fruits and hidden sources of fructose that we frequently overlook.

In another study, Dr. Johnson found in newly diagnosed obese adolescents' with elevations in hypertension, 90% of the time they had elevated uric acid. Blood pressure was reduced 87% of the time by reducing their uric acid. Next to fructose, the second greatest factor to raise uric acid is beer. Somehow the yeast and fermentation process has a powerful effect on uric acid. Dr. Johnson emphasizes that uric acid is a great screen. He believes the levels should be 3.0 - 5.5; and if levels exceed that threshold, there is an increased risk for diabetes, obesity, hypertension, and kidney disease. Testing is inexpensive and can be used as a great motivating factor to encourage patients to make lifestyle changes.

Uric acid has some antioxidant properties, so we would like to have an optimal level. When uric acid levels are elevated, uric acid seeps into the cell and becomes a pro-oxidant. So outside the cell it is an antioxidant and inside the cell it is a pro-oxidant.

If you are concerned about your uric acid levels or your health over all, please call our office about a wellness checkup. A Kessinger Panel is $175.00 and an office visit to go over the test is $45.00. We can check your body out from head to toe and let you know how you are doing.

Thyroid, symptoms and Diagnosis

Thyroid Hormones
TSH, thyroid stimulating hormone, is the most common hormone tested to determine if the thyroid is operating correctly. Unfortunately, this is only part of the picture. T4 and free T3 are also very important key factors in determining whether the thyroid hormones are in balance.
Synthetic medicines only provide T4, which must be converted to T3 by the body. If the body has a problem making this conversion, the medicine will be poorly utilized. It's important that your doctor understand this metabolic process in order to manage your care in the best possible manner. Natural supplements provide T4 and T3 in the proper ratios, which are better utilized by the body.

Diagnosis
Symptoms of hypothyroid can be many or few. Some patients exhibit severe symptoms and others have mild symptoms, which often go undiagnosed. Often people who have a thyroid condition are frustrated and confused about their health, and feel as if they can not get a straight answer from anyone regarding their condition. Many are prescribed anti-depressants because their doctor is unable pinpoint the cause for their discomfort. Blood tests which are the standard for diagnosis are often incomplete or inaccurate.
Hyperthyroid is a less common condition which speeds up the thyroid.

"Hypo"Thyroid Symptoms
· Brittle nails or nails with ridges
· Acne
· Dry hair and Skin
· Deeply cracked skin on elbows & heels
· Skin rashes
· Thinning eyebrows on outer portion
· Hair loss
· Slow healing
· Dry mouth/Dry eyes/Blurred vision
· Heat/Cold intolerance
· Cold hands & feet or being cold all the time
· Raynaud's Phenomenon (white fingers when exposed to cold)
· Low body temp of <98.2 when healthy
· Anxiety
· Depression
· Muscle & joint aches
· Weight gain with very little caloric intake
· Inability to lose weight
· Fluid retention
· Chronic infections
· Slow reflexes/Slow thinking/Indecisiveness
· PMS & Menstrual irregularities
· Infertility and Low sex drive
· High cholesterol
· High blood pressure
· Hoarse voice
· Asthma
· Allergies
· Gall bladder disease
· Chronic constipation
· Difficulty swallowing or Lump in throat
· Bad Breath

Diagnostic Tools
Blood tests are part of the testing process, but it is very important to discuss symptoms and a thorough medical history with the doctor. Many times blood tests appear to show normal results, but the patient exhibits symptoms which warrant further investigation.

Treatment
Occasionally, a person who's blood tests show a hypothyroid condition have other hormonal imbalances which cause the thyroid hormones to be out of sync. Symptoms related to thyroid imbalance are not always caused by the thyroid. They could be caused by adrenal, pituitary, or other hormone imbalances.

Diagnosing a thyroid disorder is a complex task. Often times men or women can have symptoms for months, or even years, and their blood tests do not show that there is a problem.

It's important to work closely with the doctor to find the appropriate treatment for your individual condition. Supplementation, nutritional counseling, exercise and natural hormone therapy are often used as a holistic way to correct these imbalances.

Many people find that they prefer natural therapies to synthetic, and that they have less symptoms using a holistic method of treatment.