Chronic Fatigue Syndrome is in Your Gut, Not Your Head

Note from Millie; Healing from any disease begins with healing a leaky gut. ALL health begins in the gut, without proper food digestion we cannot assimilate nutrients.

June 27, 2016

Cornell University

Physicians have been mystified by chronic fatigue syndrome, a condition where normal exertion leads to debilitating fatigue that isn’t alleviated by rest. There are no known triggers, and diagnosis requires lengthy tests administered by an expert. Now, for the first time, researchers report they have identified biological markers of the disease in gut bacteria and inflammatory microbial agents in the blood.

Chronic fatigue syndrome is a condition where normal exertion leads to debilitating fatigue that isn’t alleviated by rest.

Physicians have been mystified by chronic fatigue syndrome, a condition where normal exertion leads to debilitating fatigue that isn’t alleviated by rest. There are no known triggers, and diagnosis requires lengthy tests administered by an expert.

Now, for the first time, Cornell University researchers report they have identified biological markers of the disease in gut bacteria and inflammatory microbial agents in the blood.

In a study published June 23 in the journal Microbiome, the team describes how they correctly diagnosed myalgic encephalomyeletis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) in 83 percent of patients through stool samples and blood work, offering a noninvasive diagnosis and a step toward understanding the cause of the disease.

“Our work demonstrates that the gut bacterial microbiome in chronic fatigue syndrome patients isn’t normal, perhaps leading to gastrointestinal and inflammatory symptoms in victims of the disease,” said Maureen Hanson, the Liberty Hyde Bailey Professor in the Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics at Cornell and the paper’s senior author. “Furthermore, our detection of a biological abnormality provides further evidence against the ridiculous concept that the disease is psychological in origin.”

“In the future, we could see this technique as a complement to other noninvasive diagnoses, but if we have a better idea of what is going on with these gut microbes and patients, maybe clinicians could consider changing diets, using prebiotics such as dietary fibers or probiotics to help treat the disease,” said Ludovic Giloteaux, a postdoctoral researcher and first author of the study.

In the study, Ithaca campus researchers collaborated with Dr. Susan Levine, an ME/CFS specialist in New York City, who recruited 48 people diagnosed with ME/CFS and 39 healthy controls to provide stool and blood samples.

The researchers sequenced regions of microbial DNA from the stool samples to identify different types of bacteria. Overall, the diversity of types of bacteria was greatly reduced and there were fewer bacterial species known to be anti-inflammatory in ME/CFS patients compared with healthy people, an observation also seen in people with Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis.

At the same time, the researchers discovered specific markers of inflammation in the blood, likely due to a leaky gut from intestinal problems that allow bacteria to enter the blood, Giloteaux said.

Bacteria in the blood will trigger an immune response, which could worsen symptoms.

The researchers have no evidence to distinguish whether the altered gut microbiome is a cause or a whether it is a consequence of disease, Giloteaux added.

In the future, the research team will look for evidence of viruses and fungi in the gut, to see whether one of these or an association of these along with bacteria may be causing or contributing to the illness.

Materials provided by Cornell University. Original written by Melissa Osgood. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.

Heartburn pills tied to serious bacterial infections

Note from Millie; You want to heal from the causes of poor digestion instead of putting a Band-Aid on the symptoms. In the next post I will address how to resolve it.

By Lisa Rapaport

(Reuters Health) – People who take popular heartburn pills known as proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) may be more likely to develop intestinal infections than people who don’t take these medications, a Scottish study suggests.

The pills work by stopping cells in the stomach lining from producing too much of the acid that can cause ulcers and reflux symptoms such as heartburn.

Researchers examined data on about 188,000 people who used these drugs and about 377,000 similar individuals who didn’t take PPIs. Compared to people who didn’t use the drugs, those who did were at higher risk for a severe form of diarrhea caused by the Clostridium difficile bacteria. Their odds of this infection were 1.4 times higher when they were hospitalized and 1.7 times higher when they weren’t in the hospital.

In addition, PPI users had a 4.5 times greater risk of getting Campylobacter infections, a common form of food poisoning, if they were hospitalized and a 3.7 times higher risk when they weren’t hospitalized.

“Reducing stomach acid, which acts as a barrier to infection, increases the chance of getting a GI infection,” said senior study author Dr. Thomas MacDonald, a pharmacology researcher at the University of Dundee in Scotland.

“The main risk of PPIs are gastrointestinal infections,” MacDonald added by email.

MacDonald and colleagues analyzed data on stool samples collected from patients in Scotland between 1999 and 2013.

Overall, there were 22,705 positive test results for bacterial infections. This included 15,273 people with C. difficile and 6,590 cases of Campylobacter, the authors reported in the British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology.

Researchers also tested for Salmonella, Shigella and Escherichia coli, or E. coli, but didn’t find an association between PPIs and these infections.

One limitation of the study is that it only included data on people who took PPIs with a prescription, even though these drugs have been available in Scotland since 2004 without a prescription, the authors note. Researchers also lacked data on other factors that can influence the risk of bacterial infections such as obesity, smoking and alcohol use.

Previous research on PPIs and infections has produced mixed results, with some studies suggesting an association and others failing to establish a connection, noted Dr. Wojciech Marlicz, a gastroenterology researcher at Pomeranian Medical University in Poland who wasn’t involved in the study.

Millions of people worldwide take PPIs, which are available without a prescription in Europe and the U.S., which means even a slight increase in the odds of bacterial infections can still impact a lot of patients.

“The main problem with PPI use is their general overuse,” Marlicz said by email. “These drugs are very potent and safe when used according to indication.”

“Some patients will gain clear benefits from PPIs as they have stomach problems, such as ulcers which will heal better with less acid,” said Dr. Claire Steves, a researcher at King’s College London who wasn’t involved in the study.

“However other patients may take these as preventatives, or for mild symptoms,” Steves added by email. “This study would prompt us to reassess the risk and benefit for each individual, and in some cases alternatives – such as changing diet or lifestyle – may be better options.”

High Cholesterol Intake and Eggs Do Not Increase Risk of Memory Disorders

Note from Millie; remember that overall high cholesterol is NOT an indicator of poor health, it’s the RATIE between HDL and LDL that are crucial.  Most peoples LDL are too high from glutens, vegetable oils, sugars, processed foods and poor overall nutrition.

January 9, 2017

University of Eastern Finland

Summary:

A relatively high intake of dietary cholesterol, or eating one egg every day, are not associated with an elevated risk of dementia or Alzheimer’s disease. Furthermore, no association was found in persons carrying the APOE4 gene variant that affects cholesterol metabolism and increases the risk of memory disorders, report researchers at conclusion of a new study.

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A new study from the University of Eastern Finland shows that a relatively high intake of dietary cholesterol, or eating one egg every day, are not associated with an elevated risk of dementia or Alzheimer’s disease. Furthermore, no association was found in persons carrying the APOE4 gene variant that affects cholesterol metabolism and increases the risk of memory disorders. APOE4 is common in Finland. The findings were published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

High serum cholesterol levels have been linked not only to an increased risk of cardiovascular diseases, but also to an increased risk of memory disorders. In the majority of the population, dietary cholesterol affects serum cholesterol levels only slightly, and many nutrition recommendations worldwide no longer set limitations on the intake of dietary cholesterol. In carriers of APOE4, however, the effect of dietary cholesterol on serum cholesterol levels is more visible. In Finland, the prevalence of APOE4, which is a hereditary variant, is exceptionally high and approximately one third of the population are carriers. APOE4 is a risk factor of both cardiovascular diseases and memory disorders. However, research data on the association between a high intake of dietary cholesterol and the risk of memory disorders in this population group hasn’t been available until now.

The dietary habits of 2,497 men aged between 42 and 60 years and with no baseline diagnosis of a memory disorder were assessed at the onset the Kuopio Ischaemic Heart Disease Risk Factor Study, KIHD, in 1984-1989 at the University of Eastern Finland. During a follow-up of 22 years, 337 men were diagnosed with a memory disorder, 266 of them with Alzheimer’s disease. 32.5 per cent of the study participants were carriers of APOE4.

The study found that a high intake of dietary cholesterol was not associated with the risk of dementia or Alzheimer’s disease — not in the entire study population nor in the carriers of APOE4. Moreover, the consumption of eggs, which are a significant source of dietary cholesterol, was not associated with the risk of dementia or Alzheimer’s disease. On the contrary, the consumption of eggs was associated with better results in certain tests measuring cognitive performance.

The findings suggest that a high-cholesterol diet or frequent consumption of eggs do not increase the risk of memory disorders even in persons who are genetically predisposed to a greater effect of dietary cholesterol on serum cholesterol levels than others. In the highest control group, the study participants had an average daily dietary cholesterol intake of 520 mg and they consumed an average of one egg per day, which means that the findings cannot be generalised beyond these levels.

Story Source:

Materials provided by University of Eastern Finland. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.

Journal Reference:

1. Maija PT Ylilauri, Sari Voutilainen, Eija Lönnroos, Jaakko Mursu, Heli EK Virtanen, Timo T Koskinen, Jukka T Salonen, Tomi-Pekka Tuomainen, Jyrki K Virtanen. Association of dietary cholesterol and egg intakes with the risk of incident dementia or Alzheimer disease: the Kuopio Ischaemic Heart Disease Risk Factor Study. The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 2017; ajcn146753 DOI: 10.3945/ajcn.116.146753

7 Reasons To Swap Your Breakfast Cereal For Eggs

Many Americans were raised on the theory that eggs were loaded with artery-clogging cholesterol, and that eating them was a surefire way to promote coronary heart disease. That couldn’t be further from the truth. When Wake Forest University researchers reviewed some of the top scientific studies, they found no link between eating eggs and heart disease.

In fact, many leading health experts call eggs the perfect food. The white part and the yolk work together to bring you an ample serving of important vitamins, healthy fats, trace minerals, and other nutrients—all in one convenient, low-calorie package. After all, a single whole, large egg contains just 72 calories. They’re easy to cook, too—nature’s healthy version of convenience food.

90% Of People Are Deficient In Vitamin E—Here’s The Easiest Way To Get More Without Supplements

You know you need vitamins and minerals for optimal health—and there’s a good chance you even take a daily multivitamin to cover your nutritional bases. Yet according to experts, there’s one nutrient a whopping 90% of us still aren’t getting enough of: vitamin E. That’s too bad, considering this fat-soluble vitamin has antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties, which have been shown to stave off conditions such as heart disease, cancer, and more.

Scientists at Purdue University gave one group of healthy individuals a salad with just raw, mixed vegetables; they gave another group that same salad with one and a half scrambled eggs; and they gave a final group the same salad with three scrambled eggs. The researchers found that vitamin E absorption was a whopping 4 to 7 times higher when three scrambled eggs were added to a salad. Previous studies conducted by the same team found absorption of carotenoids (such as alpha-carotene, beta-carotene, lutein, and lycopene) was increased 3 to 8 times when three eggs were added to a salad. Even better, the study participants’ cholesterol didn’t change no matter how many eggs they received.

Boost your intake of resistant starch to help your gut thrive

Millie–   The info given here is a large part of why I moved away, slightly, from Paleo toward Mediterranean Diet.  Paleo simply does not allow for enough veggies, has too high a protein intake and keeps the body in an acid state..not ideal for heal or healing.

If you’re like most people, you don’t eat enough fiber. And even if you are meeting your daily fiber target, you might be focused on getting lots of one particular kind, such as wheat bran to prevent constipation, or psyllium to lower blood cholesterol.  Either way, you’re likely shortchanging your good gut bacteria the special type of fiber – called resistant starch – they need to thrive and keep you healthy.  Without a steady supply of resistant starch, the healthy microbes that reside in your gut can die off, increasing the load of disease-causing bacteria. Running down the good guys may also increase the risk of allergies, type 2 diabetes, obesity and inflammatory bowel disease.

Why microbiota matters

Your intestines are home to trillions and trillions of microbes, the vast majority of them residing in the large intestine. Collectively, these bacteria, yeasts and fungi make up what’s called your microbiota.  The terms microbiota and microbiome are often used interchangeably, but there’s a subtle difference. The gut microbiome refers to the gut microbes themselves (microbiota) plus the genes they contain.

Our gut microbiota extracts energy and nutrients from fiber, synthesizes certain vitamins, activates disease-fighting phytochemicals, regulates immune function and protects the lining of the gut. Growing evidence suggests this microbial community also plays a role in inflammatory bowel disease, mental health, weight control, even food cravings.

A gut microbiota that contains a diverse community of micro-organisms is defined as a healthy one because it increases the likelihood of beneficial species and fewer pathogenic bacteria.  Each person’s microbiota is unique and always changing. Genetics, antibiotic use, hygiene, stress and illness can shape the makeup of our microbiota.

Diet and microbiota

Your diet is considered the most powerful tool that can alter the composition and activity of gut microbes.

A Western-style diet, high in animal protein, saturated fat and refined carbohydrates and low in fiber has been linked to a loss of microbiota diversity. Plant-based diets, on the other hand, have been associated with a richer, more diverse microbiota.  Large changes in your diet can alter your microbiota in just one or two days. Even so, it’s your long-term dietary habits that count when it comes to the composition of your microbiota.

Enter ‘resistant’ starch

Like its name implies, resistant starch escapes digestion in the small intestine and makes its way to the large bowel, where it’s slowly fermented and broken down by good bacteria.  Fermentation creates short-chain fatty acids, compounds that feed gut bacteria, fuel colon cells, prevent the growth of harmful bacteria, fortify the intestinal lining and help regulate immune function.

Good sources of resistant starch include white beans, lentils, green peas, cashews, unripe bananas, plantain. 

The longer you cook a food and the higher the temperature used, the more resistant starch will be lost.

Rice, potato, yams that have been cooked and cooled are decent sources of resistant starch, though. Cooling cooked starches changes their structure making them resistant to digestion in the small intestine.

If you don’t eat enough resistant starch, good bacteria can feed on other things, which can damage the gut. The microbiota of mice starved of fermentable fiber have been shown to feed on the mucus lining of the gut, making it thinner and more vulnerable to infection-causing bacteria.

Eat a variety of fibers

Increase your intake of resistant starch gradually, over a period of weeks, to allow your gut bacteria to adjust.

Drink more water when increasing your fiber intake since fiber needs to absorb water to work effectively.

Gut feeling for diversity

Research on how foods alter the microbiota and, in turn, influence health is in the very early stages, but it’s accelerating at a very rapid pace. Studies suggest the following tips can help nourish and nurture your microbiome.

Eat more plants. A study published this month in the journal Cell Host & Microbe found that, compared with people who ate a typical American diet, those who followed a lower-calorie, mostly plant-based diet had a far more diverse microbial community in their gut. Aim for your meals to be 75-per-cent plant-based. Fill three-quarters of your plate with such foods as whole grains, vegetables, fruit, legumes and nut and seeds.

Ditch the Atkins-style diet. A high-protein, low-carb diet won’t cultivate a robust microbiota. Findings from a 2011 study conducted in overweight men suggested that such a diet reduced beneficial short-chain fatty acids and antioxidants. It’s also thought that undigested proteins that reach the colon may promote the growth of harmful bacteria.

Increase resistant starch. Foods such as white beans, lentils, green peas, cashews, unripe bananas, plantain, are good sources of resistant starch, fuel that allows good gut bacteria to flourish. Cooked and cooled rice, potato, yams and pasta also contain resistant starch. Add leftover grains and pasta to salads to boost your fermentable fiber intake.

Add prebiotics. Studies show that supplementing your diet with non-digestible carbohydrates known as prebiotics can fuel the growth of Bifidobacteria and Lactobacilli, two common probiotic bacteria. Prebiotic foods include asparagus, bananas, Jerusalem artichokes, jicama, rye, barley, kefir, leeks, onions, garlic and chicory root. Foods high in resistant starch are considered prebiotics.

Limit artificial sweeteners. Findings from experiments published in the journal Nature in 2014 showed that consuming artificial sweeteners led to glucose intolerance in mice and humans by disrupting the composition of gut bacteria. (The volunteers consumed the maximum acceptable daily intake of saccharin for a week, equivalent to eight packets of sweetener per day.) It’s thought that certain intestinal bacteria react to artificial sweeteners by secreting substances that trigger inflammation and impair the body’s ability to utilize blood sugar.

– Leslie Beck

Eating spicy food could help you live Longer

Whether you’re obsessed with salsa or siracha, it’s time to load up on spicy food if you want to live longer, according to new research. A study published in the journal PLoS ONE linked red hot chilli peppers with a 13% lower risk of death – and we’re guzzling down the curry as we type.

Using data from the National Health and Examination Survey (NHANES), scientists from the University of Vermont analyzed the diets of over 16,000 American adults. Specifically, they looked at the question, “How often did you have hot red chilli peppers?” Those who reported eating any hot peppers in the past month had a lower mortality rate over a period of 18 years, after adjusting for other factors.

While it’s difficult to prove a direct cause-and-effect between the two, these results don’t stand alone. Two more studies, one from India and another from China, have also connected spicy foods with longevity. That’s good news for your Chipotle order.

So what’s so magical about chilli peppers? Besides nutrients like B, C and pro-A vitamins, the researchers believe an active ingredient called capsaicin protects against both heart disease and obesity. And although the survey asked about red chillies specifically, capsaicin is found in all types of hot peppers, including jalapeños, habaneros and cayenne. It’s what gives them their heat!

Peppers can also help you out right now, if you’re looking to lose a few pounds, that is. “While the jury is still out on whether or not spicy foods can actually give us a metabolic boost, there’s no doubt that eating spicy foods may also have a weight loss benefit,” says Jaclyn London, R.D., Nutrition Director at the Good Housekeeping Institute. “That’s because when we consume foods with heat, the natural tendency is to slow down while we eat (since it’s tough to race through anything with hot peppers!), helping us stay in touch with satiety signals and really stop when we’re full — not stuffed.”

Living longer and hitting those weight loss goals? Chilies for the win!

Diet Helps Shed Pounds, Release Toxins and Reduce Oxidative Stress

Research by exercise scientists has found that a balanced, protein-pacing, low-calorie diet that includes intermittent fasting not only achieves long-term weight loss, but also helps release toxins in the form of PCBs from the body fat stores, in addition to enhancing heart health and reducing oxidative stress.

January 11, 2017

Research by Skidmore College exercise scientist Paul Arciero has found that a balanced, protein-pacing, low-calorie diet that includes intermittent fasting not only achieves long-term weight loss, but also helps release toxins in the form of PCBs from the body fat stores, in addition to enhancing heart health and reducing oxidative stress.

Arciero’s findings add to a growing body of evidence on the benefits of a ‘protein-pacing’ caloric restriction (P-CR) diet, which cuts back on calories and features four-six meals a day, each of which includes 20 to 25 grams of protein. Participants in Arciero’s study also engaged in intermittent fasting.

His research results are discussed in “Serum Polychlorinated Biphenyls Increase and Oxidative Stress Decreases with a Protein-Pacing Caloric Restriction Diet in Obese Men and Women,” which is published in the latest edition of the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health (Arciero-Protein-Pacing & Toxins).

A professor of health and exercise sciences at Skidmore, Arciero also is director of the college’s Human Nutrition and Metabolism Laboratory. Skidmore students, health services staff and other colleagues assisted with the P-CR diet research.

The International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health article is the third publication in recent months to report on Arciero’s findings on the impact of a P-CR diet. Previous articles, including the July 30 edition of Nutrients (Arciero-Protein-Pacing & Body Composition) and the August 29 edition of Frontiers in Physiology (Arciero-Protein-Pacing & Heart Health), highlighted improvements in body composition and vascular health, respectively.

In each case, Arciero first compared the results of the P-CR diet between obese men and women following a 12-week weight loss diet and subsequently compared the P-CR diet with those achieved by the heart-healthy diet over a 52-week period. The 12-week P-CR diet was equally effective at reducing body weight (>24 lbs, 10%), oxidative stress (25%), and arterial stiffness (12%) and increasing toxin release (25%) in women and men. Following the 52-week phase, P-CR demonstrated improvements over the traditional heart-healthy diet in maintaining weight loss; reducing artery stiffness; and releasing toxins.

“The heart-healthy diet has proven health benefits,” Arciero said, “but it’s important to continue to research and identify additional dietary strategies that may help improve individual and public health.”

A toxin-fighting response

His findings on toxins can help allay concerns that weight loss — which releases toxins into the blood — could have a negative effect on dieters’ health.

Environmental pollutants and other toxins are stored in fatty tissue. During weight loss, fat breaks down and toxins are discharged into the bloodstream. Scientists have expressed concern that the released toxins could increase dieters’ oxidative stress and their risk of developing serious conditions, including hormone (endocrine) disruption (reproductive and fertility problems), heart disease, cancer, Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson’s disease.

Arciero’s research findings — that a P-CR diet does not increase disease markers and, in fact, can aid detoxification and reduce oxidative stress — help reduce those fears. Furthermore, the findings suggest that those who are not overweight or obese could also benefit from a P-CR diet.

“Although weight loss typically leads to improved health, we know that in those who are overweight and obese — and, therefore, storing excessive toxins — there is the potential for the release of toxins to impact the body in negative ways,” Arciero explained. “We wanted to capture the release of those toxins and the body’s response.

“What we found was that the body compensated by increasing antioxidants. In response to this flood of PCBs, the body was coming to its own defense, scavenging and squelching the toxins. We had a healthy weight-loss intervention,” Arciero added.

The objective of the first 12-week phase was to assess the ability of a P-CR diet to achieve successful weight loss (defined as 10 percent of starting body weight) and this was achieved, with a mean weight loss of over 25 pounds.

During this phase, women consumed 1,200 calories per day and men, 1,500. Of those, 30 percent came from lean protein, 45 percent from unrefined carbohydrates, and 25 percent from healthy fat. One day a week, participants followed an intermittent fast/cleanse, consisting of 300 to 450 calories from antioxidant rich plant-food sources.

The second phase (52 weeks) of the research compared the results of the P-CR diet and a more traditional heart-healthy diet. All dieters consumed roughly the same number of calories: approximately 1,900 for both groups. P-CR dieters fasted/cleansed either once every two weeks or once a month. Those on the heart-healthy diet followed the guidelines of the National Cholesterol Education Program, consuming 35 percent of calories as fat and 50 to 60 percent as carbohydrates. Heart-healthy dieters also ate 20 to 30 grams per day of fiber and consumed fewer than 200 milligrams per day of dietary cholesterol.

At the end of the 12-month period, the results for the two groups deviated significantly, with the P-CR diet outperforming the heart-healthy diet for both maintaining weight loss, reduced blood vessel stiffness and eliminating toxins.

Research participants who remained on the P-CR diet regained about 1.5 pounds of the weight they’d lost and continued to eliminate toxins. Those on the heart-healthy diet, however, regained 12 pounds. Most of it was fat — and that fat may likely have (re-)stored toxins.

“We have scientific evidence that it’s the quality of your diet that matters,” Arciero said. “Through diet alone, we can favorably impact the detoxification process, decrease oxidative stress levels, reduce blood vessel stiffness and enhance weight loss. That’s an important public health message.”

Skidmore College