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Inspired Health

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We have teamed up with Inspired Health

Inspired Health is the official UK home for brands such as Udo's Choice, Cleanmarine, Manuka Health, One Nutrition and many more.

It is the place to come for expert opinion, news and views on health & wellness.

Inspired Health is designed to be a place to share the 25 years’ worth of wisdom they've curated.

Inspired Health believes that your health is of paramount importance when it comes to you being your happiest self and they aim to provide the information and literature that helps you make informed decisions to take responsibility for your life and health.

They work with nutritionists, personal trainers, chefs and general wellness coaches to bring you a diverse, unbiased wide-ranging overview of what’s happening in health & wellness as well as inspiring recipes to help you try delicious and exciting new recipes no matter what diet you’re following.

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Saccharomyces Boulardii for Prevention and Treatment

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There is an amazing list of potential benefits from this probiotic supplement:
Heal #leaky #gut, protect from harmful gut bacteria [C. difficile, #H.pylori, #parasites], prevent [traveler's, acute, chronic, antibiotic induced] #diarrhea, reduce symptoms of #Crohn's disease, #Ulcerative #colitis, & #IBS [Irritable bowel syndrome].

S. boulardii is a live yeast used extensively as a probiotic. Several mechanisms of action have been identified to support our body and fight intruders. 

Viral infections can lead to "leaky gut". The well-studied probiotic yeast S. boulardii plays a crucial role in the preservation and/or restoration of intestinal barrier function - being effective in the prevention and treatment of gut disorders. Another study confirms that probiotics "are a rational adjunctive options for the treatment of various viral diseases."

S. boulardii has several features that help it to be effective. First of all, enough of it survives the gastric acid and bile and can thrive at our body temperature. It is - like all yeasts - resistent to antibiotics, so it can be used during antibiotic therapy. It is a "tough" one and resists our digestive enzymes. 

  • Keep the microbiome - the healthy bacteria - in balance
  • Hinder the intruders to settle and infect the gut
  • Stimulate our immune response
  • Stabilise the gut barrier
  • Stimulate the enzymes responsible for absorption of nutrients

Several clinical trials and experimental studies strongly suggest a place for Saccharomyces boulardii as a biotherapeutic agent for the prevention and treatment of several diseases.

Clinical efficacy of Saccharomyces boulardii in acute and chronic diseases as well in disease prevention.

Acute Diseases

  • Antibiotic-associated diarrhea
  • Clostridium difficile infection
  • Acute diarrhea
  • Persistent diarrhea
  • Enteral nutrition-related diarrhea
  • Traveler’s diarrhea
  • Helicobacter pylori infection

Chronic Diseases

  • Crohn’s disease: also keeping patients in remission!
  • Ulcerative colitis
  • Irritable bowel syndrome
  • Parasitic infections
     a) Amebic colitis
     b) Giardiasis
     c) Blastocystis hominis
  • Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-related diarrhea

Viral Diseases

Probiotics possess unique mechanism by which viruses are eliminated. 

Infectious diseases, especially nosocomial infections (i.e. influenza, pneumonia, methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, Norovirus, severe acute respiratory syndrome corona virus, etc.), have periodically caused widespread outbreaks and are considered to represent serious threats to public health. ​

S. boulardii has been shown to be effective in acute rotavirus diarrhea. 

Prevention

S. boulardii has been successfully used in a variety of scenarios and has proven to prevent:

  • Antibiotic-associated diarrhea
  • Clostridium difficile infection
  • Acute diarrhea
  • Persistent diarrhea
  • Enteral nutrition-related diarrhea
  • Traveler’s diarrhea
  • Helicobacter pylori infection

Secretory IgA

Secretory IgA is known as the respiratory and GI tracts’ first line of defense. It can prevent the adhesion of viruses and other pathogens from our respiratory and gut lining. Numerous studies have shown improved outcomes in various infections, as well as cancers and gut issues.

People with Hashimoto’s tend to have low secretory IgA (SIgA). This could be partially genetic (if you’re a non-secretor like I am), or due to infections you may have, or lifestyle factors (like stress and sleep deprivation).

S. Boulardii can help to boost Secretory IgA. 

Our recommendation

Order HERE
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The Bitter Aftertaste of UK’s new Sugar Tax

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“From Friday (6 April 2018), millions of children across the UK will benefit from the government’s key milestone in tackling childhood obesity, as the Soft Drinks Industry Levy comes into effect.” Or, will they?

Childhood obesity is one of the most serious public health challenges of the 21st century. Overweight and obese children are likely to stay obese into adulthood and more likely to develop noncommunicable diseases like diabetes and cardiovascular diseases at a younger age.

According to estimates from Public Health England, two thirds of adults and a quarter of children between two and 10 years old are overweight or obese. Obese children are more likely to become overweight adults and to suffer premature ill health and mortality, and by 2034, 70 per cent of adults are expected to be overweight or obese.

The fundamental causes behind the rising levels of childhood obesity are a shift in diet towards increased intake of energy-dense foods that are high in fat and sugars but low in vitamins, minerals and other healthy micronutrients. Choosing healthy foods for infants and young children is critical because food preferences are established in early life.

One of the UK Governments interventions to tackle obesity has been the introduction of the “sugar tax”, adding up to 24p per liter on sugary drinks. Not surprisingly, this has resulted in a sharp increase of artificial sweeteners in soft drinks as sugar replacement.

Although artificial sweeteners have been considered safe, accumulating evidence indicates that they can induce glucose intolerance and disturb energy levels in the human body. In particular, the gut microbiome has been demonstrated to play a role in these processes. In a study from 2017 Acesulfame-K increased the abundance of Bacteroides bacteria in the gut microbiome which is associated with obesity and indeed resulted in a significantly higher body weight.

Toxic products generated by gut bacteria can enter systemic circulation and induce chronic inflammation. The above study found that Acesulfame-K may increased the risk of developing systemic chronic inflammation.

Another study from 2015 reviewed the nutritional benefits and risks related to intense sweeteners [IS]- analyzing 10,989 scientific papers. It found that – contrary to claims that use of artificial sweeteners leads to weight loss, “no conclusion can be drawn as to the long-term effect of replacing caloric sweeteners with IS on the weight of regular adult consumers of sweet products.” It further found that “most of the prospective observational studies undertaken in children show that IS use is paradoxically associated with weight gain.”

“Some studies … suggested that aspartame consumption may be involved in triggering epileptic seizures and migraines.”

Sucralose [e.g. Splenda, E955, Canderel Yellow] was found to be mutagenic at elevated concentrations. Cooking with sucralose at high temperatures was reported to generate a potentially toxic class of compounds. It alters the microbial composition in the gastrointestinal tract (GIT), with relatively greater reduction in beneficial bacteria.

The artificial sweetener aspartame remains one of the most controversial food additives. A study found that people who consumed high-aspartame diets, had more irritable mood, exhibited more depression, and performed worse on spatial orientation tests.  Chronic use of aspartame was found to cause liver injury, depletion of Glutathione (GSH) [an important antioxidant] and to trigger the blockade of an important detoxification pathway [trans-sulphuration pathway].

Diabetic neuropathy is one of the three major complications of Diabetes mellitus (DM). . The artificial sweetener Sorbitol was found in a study from 2015 to damage Schwann cells which regulate peripheral nerve function, which can make the neuropathy worse.

Instead of loading foods with unhealthy artificial sweeteners, and as one of the study rightly states “for the general population, the overall assessment of potential risks and benefits does not justify the long-term use of IS as sugar substitutes, particularly in beverages” we should skip the artificially-sweetened and sugar-sweetened frankenfoods and replace them with natural foods and – when it comes to drinks – water.

Dr Oliver Frey MD MRCGP


Health & Wellbeing

Sources:

http://www.who.int/dietphysicalactivity/childhood/en/
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/soft-drinks-industry-levy-comes-into-effect
https://www.nuffieldtrust.org.uk/news-item/can-the-nhs-help-tackle-the-uk-s-obesity-epidemic/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5464538/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4590273/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3856475/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5617129/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5300302/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4498049/

 

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What a Bonfire does to your Lungs

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Setting large piles of stuff aflame can have significant environmental and human health impacts

Open burning of any kind is generally bad for humans and the nearby environment. Compared to controlled burning, such as in boilers, large outdoor fires tend to produce “highly mutagenic and carcinogenic emissions” that can affect any humans hanging out in the vicinity. (Mutagenic chemicals, as the name suggests, are those that tend to cause genetic mutations.) The fine particles in smoke, meanwhile, can find their way into eyes and lungs and cause bronchitis, as well as aggravate existing conditions like heart and lung disease

Temperature matters. If the fire is hot enough, many of the toxic molecules will break down into simpler, less toxic ones. But open fires rarely reach those temperatures, meaning toxic molecules are released as a gas that can easily find its way into lungs and the environment. As opposed to high-temperature incinerators, bonfires also tend to produce more carbon monoxide, which is harmful when breathed in and can form toxic ozone.

From an environmental perspective, the smoke from any bonfire—including normal ones built with wood or paper—adds particulates and carbon to the atmosphere. These can act not only as air pollutants, but also as “climate forcers,” meaning they can contribute to climate change in the short or long term—albeit on a much smaller scale than industry or automobiles do. Particulate pollution can lead to lung and nose irritation, and possibly even lung cancer if exposure is severe and prolonged, according to the Centers for Disease Control

Ash from bonfires can also easily run off into rivers and lakes, introducing chemicals and possibly altering the pH of the watershed. This could cause the widespread of fish and other animals living in or near the watershed.

Burning most kinds of plastics or metals is a quick path to creating adverse health effects because of their inherently toxic molecules.

Some of the worst items to burn in terms of toxic emissions include manmade chemicals like Teflon or many plastics, used motor oil and rubber such as that found in tires. On the more natural side of things, burning poison ivy can be very harmful to people allergic to it.

Warning from Asthma UK: Bonfires could cause potentially fatal asthma attacks

The smoke fumes from burning wood can linger in the air creating localised pollution, which could cause asthma attacks for the 5.4million people in the UK with the condition, says Asthma UK. Two thirds of people with asthma say poor air quality makes their symptoms worse.

The charity advises that the smoke from bonfires could be ‘deadly’.

Are you concerned about your personal lung cancer risk? The EarlyCDT®-Lung Test  can help to assess your personal risk.

Dr Oliver Frey, MD MRCGP

IoD Ambassador Health & Wellbeing

Source: Smithsonian magazine 

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Low magnesium associated with coronary artery calcification

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Studies suggested an association between low serum magnesium levels and metabolic or cardiovascular disease and several studies have shown that low serum magnesium is associated with vascular calcification.

A study analysed 34,553 participants as part of a health examination program in a Korean population at low risk for cardiovascular disease. Low serum magnesium was associated with coronary artery calcification (CAC) after adjustment for age, sex, BMI, diabetes, hypertension, cardiovascular disease, systolic BP, LDL cholesterol, HDL cholesterol, eGFR, serum calcium and phosphorus, high-sensitive CRP, current smoking status, alcohol intake and vigorous exercise frequency.

Our recommendation:

A lack of magnesium is also linked to constipation and muscle cramps.

We recommend to take 400 mg Magnesium daily, ideally as a Magnesium Citrate as this is well absorbed. The upper safety limit for an adult is 1600 mg daily. Too much magnesium can lead to loose stools.

Source: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.numecd.2015.07.010

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