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Anti-inflammatory foods

Anti-inflammatory foods

Here’s 4 anti-inflammatory foods and easy ways to reduce inflammation. Anti-inflammatory foods aren’t always easy include in our daily diet so we’ve picked out the best swaps to make as well as pro-tips like avoiding sugar… and gluten and dairy too!

Is sugar free anti-inflammatory? What’s inflammation exactly? Follow us as we answer these questions here. 

Osteopathy and nutrition: ligament sprains and muscles strains produce inflammation. So WHAT CAN WE ACTUALLY EAT to support our body’s in-built healing process?
Here are 4 anti-inflammatory foods to eat for their natural anti-inflammatory properties. Our bodies produce inflammation or release inflammatory markers a response to stress or ‘foreign invaders’.

4 Foods to Relieve Pain

1. JERF. And if you can’t eat enough fruit and vegetable daily consider taking them like this.  Just eat real food Avoid process food – hydrogenated oils ++sugar & salt -contribute to inflammation / joint pain.

Processed food

anti-inflammatory foods

4 anti-inflammatory foods

PRO-TIP: If we just eat real food rather than processed food we’re over half way there! Anti-inflammatory food doesn’t come out of a crisp packet. Foods that are as close to their natural form as possible are really the best kinds of anti-inflammatory foods. Even if it’s not coming from the farm directly, we can try to reduce pesticide and chemical fertiliser content. Follow us for tips on how here. 

 

Swap this for this. Ketchup and other condiments for real spices or real foods, e.g. turmeric, Liposomal Curcumin
Ginger, ground pepper corns, cayenne pepper, tamarind etc…

PROTIP:Liposomal Curcumin /Resveratrol can remain in the blood for longer, at a higher concentration. And unlike many commercial supplements in varied delivery systems, liposomal delivery is exceedingly safe. Liposomal Curcumin/Resveratrol is made with only natural non-GMO ingredients

tamarind

tamarind

turmeric uses

turmeric uses

peppers

peppers

 

2. Inflammatory markers:
C-reactive protein (CRP) Especially with high CRP levels, you want to do everything possible to reduce inflammation. Turmeric (and probiotics according to studies)

Acute inflammation is your body’s appropriate response to infection or trauma. You’ve experienced a sore throat, rash, hives, or a sprained ankle.

But inflammation should do its job and then leave. With allergies, rheumatoid arthritis, autoimmune disease, or asthma, an overactive immune response and chronic inflammation can slowly wreak havoc. Eventually this can lead to illness and rapid ageing. Your CRP levels should be less than one. Anything higher provides a giant warning sign that you have hidden inflammation.

4 Foods Relieve Pain

3. Choose high quality protein sources. We cover plant based protein sources here. If you’re going for fish remember it’s 2-3 portions weekly and see the golden rule. For eggs, fish, poultry and meat remember the golden rule: pastured, free-range or grass fed. Why? Because we are what we eat and what what we eat eats!

4 Foods Relieve Pain

4. Alcohol — 1 ounce / 1oz distilled spirits daily. 5 oz wine or 12 oz beer for women and double for men. Soft drinks — swap soft drinks for unsweetened ice tea. Cheers!

Manuka honey vs raw honey

Manuka honey is simply honey made from one specific plant – the manuka tree. This tree is found in New Zealand. Consumption of manuka honey may offer antibacterial benefits for the health of the digestive system which sugar alone cannot, but research is limited for this.

Raw Honey Health Benefits

Raw honey is honey that hasn’t undergone any heat processing. The resulting ‘raw’ or uncooked honey product leaves the vast majority of bio-active compounds intact.

What’s in raw honey?

Raw honey will contain a much greater variety of bio-active compounds than regular honey. Often these are in a much greater quantity than even manuka honey.
As raw honey can be made from any plant, the quantity and variety of plant derived compounds is very variable. However, bee derived compounds will be much more consistent in their presence and quantity. One such compound is a peptide called bee-defensin, which exists in 2 forms (bee defensin-1 and bee defensin-2), and is a natural part of the bee-hives immune system. This peptide is a known antibacterial agent. Consuming bee-defensin is thought to help promote digestive system health and the immune system, although conclusive evidence is limited.

4 Foods Relieve Pain: Other compounds found in raw honey include a number of polyphenols. For example: caffeic acid and catechins (which are also found in green tea). These polyphenols are known to exert antioxidant properties on the body.

These polyphenols can help the body protect against a range of ailments which are associated with oxidative damage. A number of these compounds will also be in manuka honey, and possibly generic honey. However, they’ll generally be found in higher quantities in raw honey.
NB. The high sugar content of all honey, although it may contain beneficial compounds that can promote our health, will still have an impact on our levels of insulin.

 

DID YOU KNOW? Our joints and our gut – therefore also our brain! – function best when we eat a diet rich in whole grains. But what about gluten – does this cause inflammation in our gut? —– FAST FACT -> You can find and eat wholegrain gluten free food so if you’re following a gluten free diet you don’t have to miss out on the healthful benefits of wholegrains!

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What is The Microbiome?

What is the Microbiome?

WHAT’S THE MICROBIOME? Our microbiome is the community of trillions of bacteria that live within us, outnumbering our own cells by 10 to 1. This newly discovered world plays a dramatic role in our health and is transforming our very understanding of modern medicine. Indeed, the Mayo clinic has recently said that understanding the microbiome is:

“…as important in the practice of modern medicine as germ theory or the principles of genetics.”

 

skincare-dna

 

The gut microbiome includes communities of microorganisms from the three kingdoms of bacteria, yeast, and archae plus viruses that live primarily in  the large intestine. The human microbiome consists primarily of bacteria, most of which make their home in the large intestine.

More than 1000 species of bacteria can be found in the human gut microbiota but it’s been estimated that only 150 to 170 predominate in any one person.


What is the Microbiome? Is Your Gut Healthy?


At Susannah Makram Clinics we use The Organix Dysbiosis test

The Organix Dysbiosis test is a urine organic acids test measuring the by-products of microbial metabolism, and is particularly useful in detecting the presence of pathogenic microbial overgrowth. As a stand-alone test, the Organix Dysbiosis Profile allows Susannah to assess microbial overgrowth and guide and monitor targeted therapy for patients.

“Dysbiosis,” is described as an imbalance in the microecology of the digestive tract. When the microbial balance of the gut is disturbed, opportunistic (“bad”) bacteria can overgrow and impede the effects of the “good”, predominant bacteria needed for a healthy gut.

lab

Urine is an important medium for testing microbiology in the gut. Urine contains unique products of microbial metabolism which are used to measure small bowel yeast and bacterial overgrowth.

Advantages of using the Organix Dysbiosis test specifically include:

  • Reports D-arabinitol, a specific marker for Candida sp., which can cause disease in patients, especially if they are immunocompromised.
  • Reports D-lactate, an indicator of L. acidophilus overgrowth and carbohydrate malabsorption.
  • Utilizes the LC/MS-MS method, providing more stability, accuracy, and sensitivity in measuring organic acids at low levels for optimum test results.
  • A single urine specimen is easy for patients, leading to increased patient compliance.
  • Discrimination between microbial classes allows for more focused and targeted therapies.
  • An economical follow-up test for practitioners to monitor targeted therapy.

 The new techniques for identifying microbes have led to the microbiome being called “the forgotten organ” and like any organ in the body, it can go wrong. Problems with the microbiome are being linked to diseases including inflammatory bowel disease and Type 2 diabetes, obesity, cancer, asthma and mental health disorders and autism. 


The NIH Human Microbiome Project has been set up to explore correlations between the microbiome and human health and disease. These also have a impact on healthy pregnancy, birth, mothering and midwifery.

Matamoros et al. (2012) ‘development of intestinal microbiota in infants and its impact on health’ and Collado et al. (2012) ‘microbial ecology and host-microbiota interactions during early life stages’.


Subscribe to Susannah Makram TV channel on youtube. What health conditions are we discussing this week? Let’s start the conversation. What’s good gut health EXACTLY?

 

SIBO and IBS

SIBO and IBS

IBS and SIBO can be confused. However, there is no denying the existence of SIBO by the medical community. Here’s how to fix SIBO after we confirm the tiredness and the bloating is causing it. To know what is SIBO is to know who’s likely to have it. When we have IBS the nerve endings in our gut are always firing. This creates a condition of visceral hypersensitivity, so our gut is more sensitive than it should be. What triggers this?
The link between our emotions and digestion system makes sense: the gut has been called our second brain. Our gut contains more nerve cells than even our spinal cords.
Small intestinal bacterial overgrowth aka SIBO refers to a condition whereby:

  1. Abnormally large numbers of bacteria (usually defined as at least 100,000 bacteria per ml of fluid) are present in the small intestine &
  2. The types of bacteria in the small intestine resemble more the bacteria of the colon than the small intestine.

How to fix SIBO

The majority of our gut bacteria should be in the colon. Bacteria can migrate backwards into the small intestine. Or, when there is low stomach acid or poor pancreatic enzyme production, bacteria in the small intestine can overgrow. When any of these happen it causes symptoms, such as diarrhoea, gas, or bloating.


Sibo and IBS

What are they? Irritable Bowel Syndrome or IBS is one of more than 20 functional gastrointestinal disorders FGIDIBS and SIBO continued.


Studies show 50% patients diagnosed with IBS actually have an underlying imbalance called SIBO.

Naturopath London

Naturopath London

Symptoms IBS

Breaking research from UNC shows that IBS patients depending on their sub-type–or primary symptom such as constipation, diarrhea, bloating–have different clusters of microbes. i.e. Constipation predominant IBSers will have similar flora clusters compared to other IBS-C patients –and this differs compared to IBS-D patients etc.

Sibo symptoms

Do you wake up with a flat belly and by the end of the day look six months pregnant? Even if you have not experienced abdominal bloating to such an extreme, any amount of bloating is not normal. It is a sign of intestinal inflammation or poor gut health. If you are having gas and/or bloating regularly, you could have food sensitivities +/- a gut infection, such as SIBO. Certain strains of bacteria feed off of refined carbohydrates. These strains break them down into short-chain fatty acids, creating gas and causing bloating.

Another strain of bacteria can break down bile salts before your body has a chance to use them. Bile salts are crucial for the breakdown of fats. Without bile salts, the end result is fat malabsorption or diarrhea.

Finally, a third type of bacteria can produce toxins. These damage the lining of the small intestine. This prevents your body from absorbing the nutrients you need, much like what we see with a leaky gut.

 

woman-dna

10 Risk Factors For SIBO

  1. Low stomach acid 2. Irritable bowel syndrome 3. Coeliac disease (long-standing) 4. Crohn’s disease 5. Prior bowel surgery 6. Diabetes mellitus – Diabetes type I and Diabetes type II 7. Multiple courses of antibiotics 8. Organ system dysfunction, such as liver cirrhosis, chronic pancreatitis, or renal failure 9. Heavy alcohol use has long been recognised in association with SIBO 10. Overall there appears to be a moderate association between (the) Oral Contraceptive Pill (s) OCPs and inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) such as Crohn’s disease and likely, given links, therefore SIBO

Why spend time being treated for the wrong thing? Why repeat what wasn’t working?  [tweetthis]We wouldn’t buy the same broken gift we returned in the past – why do we do this with our bodies? [/tweetthis]


Did you find this article interesting? You might find the 10 Signs Of Small Intestinal Bacterial Overgrowth worth a read too. Just click here and subscribe here for the unique video series on treating SIBO for healthy weight loss.


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