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Top 10 Prebiotics

Top 10 Prebiotics

Prone to infections? Suffering from NEW allergies? Have no energy in spite of getting lots of sleep?
There are differences between the best probiotics and prebiotics on the market. Wondering whether you need to include probiotics and prebiotics in your diet? Ask yourself: 1) What do these do for gut health 2) Why you might be feeling unwell without them


Prebiotics

Prebiotics are found in whole grains, bananas, onions, garlic, honey and artichokes. Find out more about gluten free whole grains here.


Prebiotics Probiotics

Prebiotics are non digestible carbohydrates. Prebiotics act as food for probiotics. When probiotics and prebiotics are combined, they form a synbiotic. Fermented dairy products – such as live organic yogurt and kefir – are considered synbiotic. This is because they contain live bacteria and the fuel they need to thrive. If we have an autoimmune disorder or fighting any of the above, it might be time to include prebiotics in your diet.


Prebiotic foods

Prebiotic foods selectively stimulate the growth of the beneficial bacteria already inhabiting the gut. These foods include 1) onions (2) jerusalem artichoke, and fruits and vegetables high in soluble fibre: (3) sweet potatoes (4) brussels sprouts (5) asparagus (6) turnips (7) mango (8) avocados (9) strawberries (10) apricots


Modern lifestyles makes us fat and diabetic because of poor gut health  [tweetthis twitter_handles=”@SusannahMakram” hidden_hashtags=”#prebiotics” url=”http://susannahmakram.com/?p=1416″]Moder lifestyles make us fat and diabetic because of poor gut health[/tweetthis]


There is no getting around it: healthy gut bacteria is a necessity not a luxury. When it comes to maintaining a healthy weight and metabolism you need to start with your gut environment. Unfortunately, several features of the modern lifestyle directly contribute to unhealthy gut flora:

  • Antibiotics and other medications like birth control and NSAIDs
  • Diets high in refined carbohydrates, sugar and processed foods
  • Diets low in fermentable fibers
  • Dietary toxins like wheat and industrial seed oils that cause leaky gut
  • Chronic stress – the “bad” Stress not the “good” stress
  • Chronic infections (lowered immunity)
probiotics prebiotic

probiotic prebiotic

Soluble fibre dissolves in water to form a gel. It is especially rich in prebiotics called fructo-oligosaccharides. These include compounds called inulin and oligofructose. These compounds are not broken down by stomach acid or digestive enzymes. Instead they are fermented and used by beneficial bacteria in the colon, especially two types called lactobacillus and bifidobacter.

Another type of prebiotic compound is called galactooligosaccharide, or GOS. It is a natural component of human breast milk. This helps get a newborn’s digestive tract off to a good start. GOS provides nutrition for the baby’s colonies of beneficial intestinal bacteria. It also helps prevent pathogenic bacteria from attaching to the lining of the baby’s tract. GOS is especially beneficial for bifidobacter colonies in the colon, according to this review published in the “Journal of Nutrition.”

Best Supplements

If you have a health condition that interferes with your ability to consume fiber-rich foods, an organic soil based, probiotic combined naturally with a prebiotic is advisable.  If you have a health condition that interferes with your ability to drink milk, this is also true. Fiber supplements that contain wheat dextrin or psyllium are also good sources of prebiotics. Supplements are generally considered safe but may cause gas and bloating as undesirable side-effects in some people. Before deciding to go down the supplement route it is advisable to discuss prebiotic supplements with your specialist to determine if they are a good choice for you.

Always Read The Label. Are soluble fiber food additives present in your day-to-day household products? Inulin is sometimes added to beverages and some baked goods and snacks. This makes them prebiotic foods. Another manufactured product called polydextrose acts as a soluble fiber. It is also a common food additive, used to thicken and replace some sugar in cakes and dessert mixes and puddings. Weight Loss or Low Fat or “diet” food products: Wheat dextrin, a grain-derived soluble fibre, is also added to soft foods and beverages by manufacturers to increase the product’s thickness and to replace some dietary fat and lower calories.

How To Treat Psoriasis

Psoriasis Facts

Here’s how to treat psoriasis by treating its cause. Natural remedies can work if we start at the root of the problem, there’s no point chugging celery juice if you’ve got a leaky gut. Psoriasis affects 2% – 3% of the UK. Psoriasis is an inflammatory skin condition that causes thickening, redness, scaling.

Psoriasis Triggers

The causes of psoriasis remain unknown but it can run in families. It can be precipitated by illnesses. Psoriasis, therefore, is believed to be linked to problems with the immune system. Stress or even some medications may trigger psoriasis. When you have psoriasis, your body starts producing too many skin cells. Although there is no cure, per se, the condition can be well controlled using the Susannah Makram Clinics functional care approach.

Celebrities With Psoriasis

Cara Delevingne – model, Hollywood actress – revealed her psoriasis trigger – stress. Catwalk modelling made her ‘hate herself and her body’. Kim Kardashian suffers with psoriasis and dedicated time on Keeping up With The Kardashians to showcase her psoriasis symptoms and shame.

Psoriasis can affect the whole of the skin including the scalp and nails. Occasionally it can be associated with arthritis – characterised by remission and ‘flare ups’.


Many diseases that seem totally unrelated to the gut, such as eczema or psoriasis or arthritis, are actually caused by gut problems


So if you have to get you gut working properly, how do you get good gut health? Here’s how to treat psoriasis…

Gut Health and Psoriasis

1) EAT 2) DRINK – what food should I cut out for good gut health? gluten, dairy, yeast, corn, soy and eggs yeast, corn, soy and eggs? – e.g. irritants associated with food intolerance or (common) inflammatory triggers.

ASK the questions. Ask why before you do decide to go gluten free and dairy free. Understand why you are advised to avoid yeast, corn, soy and eggs. If asked to go sugar free, is this sugar or specifically high fructose corn syrup?
Safe, Clinical, Practical, Effective management of food intolerance or suspected allergies is a process. PHASE 1 and PHASE 2 use elimination of the suspected food. If indicated this will confirm your diagnosis so your Naturopathic Portfolio treatment works for you.

How To Treat Psoriasis

3) TAKE 4) MAKE – functional laboratory testinggut health analysis. e.g. testing for SIBO To treat the right, if any, infections or overgrowth of bugs like parasites, small bowel bacteria, or yeasts. This is part of PHASE 1-2. You might not need any special tests at all.

psoriasis and nutrition

how to treat psoriasis 

E.g. Taking digestive enzymes with food or taking the right probiotics as recommended for you. Susannah takes care to consider the right dosage when treating psoriasis. How to treat psoriasis properly factors dosage into your 4 PHASE Portfolio due to timing and bioavailability. These are tailored to have the best possible effect on your overall health. Your Naturopathic Portfolio is an unique as your DNA. Our body systems are complex. Nutrition is an exact science. Your Portfolio is simple. EAT DRINK TAKE MAKE for you only. Taking extra omega 3 fat supplements may help cool inflammation in the gut.
Gut-healing nutrients such as glutamine and zinc may work for you but it depends on what exactly needs healing, requires attention.


There is no trial and error in the functional medicine method. You have to treat the cause to get the result. 


What does Psoriasis look like?

There are several clinical patterns of psoriasis:
Chronic Plaque– The commonest variant, it tends to occur on the extensor aspects of the elbows and knees and in the scalp. Skin changes include pink or red inflamed, thickened plaques with copious white scale (see image).
Sebopsoriasis – similar to scalp psoriasis but can occur on the face, chest, armpits and groin
Flexural – raw, red areas in the groin, armpits or under the breasts
Guttate – multiple small spots of psoriasis that erupt on the trunk following a sore throat or illness (see image).
Erythrodermic – extensive disease covering more than 90% of the body surface area.
Palmoplantar pustular – pus-filled inflamed spots and the palms and soles
Pustular – the most severe form of psoriasis, skin lesions are red, tender and filled with pus spots

Psoriasis Treatment

Psoriasis Treatment

 

Psoriasis Treatment

Conventional treatment of psoriasis can be divided into three basic strategies depending on severity, namely creams, phototherapy (ultraviolet/sunlight) or systemic medication (oral or injectable drugs). Creams include emollients, soap substitutes, vitamin D, tar, steroids. Phototherapy involves precise doses of ultraviolet light being delivered by a medical UV-machine. Systemic medications include tablets such as acitretin, methotrexate and ciclosporin or injectables such as etanercept, adalimumab or ustekinemab. These powerful drugs are reserved for severe or life-limiting psoriasis.

Chances are, we’ve come across some one who is suffering from psoriasis. They’re likely being treated using methods of conventional medicine. This means their psoriasis is being treated symptomatically. Have we ever wondered why they’re still suffering from psoriasis? By pioneering and pushing the boundaries of functional healthcare in UK at Susannah Makram Clinics we’re dedicated to achieving excellence in healthcare by managing chronic conditions, treating he cause of dysfunction. We’re documenting successful treatment outcomes daily.


When we want to heal our skin we need to heal our gut. When we have knowledge we have power. When we take ownership of our health, we see and feel changes in every aspect of our lives. In the four phases. 


SUBSCRIBE to Susannah Makram TV for our unique video mini series on naturopathic skincare In The Four Phases.

Bad Gut Health Symptoms

Bacteria in gut

BEST SELLING PRESCRIPTION DRUGS. These drugs are changing our gut bacteria. What does this mean when we’re after good gut healthEVERY YEAR there’s a list of the top selling prescription drugs. (Read on to find out what these are).

Nutrition expert Susannah assesses gut health  our gut health reflects our overall health.

At our London clinics we find patterns in YOUR HEALTH STORY. What does this mean exactly? Gut health and gut bacteria is a topic of overwhelming interest in functional healthcare right now.

WHY DOES THIS MATTER? 

The types of bacteria in our gut are summarised here. Gut bacteria are either growing in number or dying.
Our gut microbiome depends on 1) nutrition 2)lifestyle 3) environment. READ ON for 7 SIGNS we have an UNHEALTHY GUT
Gut bacteria rely on what we’re feeding them. The good bacteria we hear about is the one we try to cultivate. More about good and bad gut bacteria and gut health probiotics can be found here.

The top 25 best selling prescription drugs

The top drugs prescribed to the world include cholesterol-lowering drugs or statins. Also, drugs for chronic pain. Top of the chronic pain list are Humira an anti-inflammatory for arthritis   and oxycontin and vicodin. These tally high for pain relief consistently. Insulin glargine injection for type 1 diabetes, metformin for type 2 diabetes and asthma medications like albuterol also rank in the top ten. Several antacids like omeprazole and other drugs for indigestion always rank high.


Research firm IMS compiles a rolling 12-month history in the US. The pharmaceutical industry publication Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology News (GEN) do as well.

Gut Health

Gut health refers to the function or dysfunction of the gastrointestinal (GI) tract.

How do we maintain gut health? Any impairment of the Gut lining can increase the risk of developing infectious, inflammatory and functional GI diseases. An example of gut lining impairment is leaky gut syndrome.


As well, impairment can increase risk of extra-intestinal diseases, such as immune-mediated and metabolic disorders. GI barrier impairment can increase risk of immune-mediated & metabolic disorders.


 

Bad Gut Health

Bad Gut Health

Less clear, however, is whether GI discomfort in general can also be related to GI barrier functions. In any case, methods of assessing, improving and maintaining gut health -related GI functions are of major interest in preventive medicine. It is worth looking out for your body’s bad gut health symptoms.

A healthy gut

When we feel something’s not quite right, often it’s more than just a gut feeling. As powerful as those are, our precious health calls for understanding and finding solutions. The more we know, the more we can do. Signs of an unhealthy gut are below.

  1. You have a lowered immune response. 70-80% of our immunity to infection and disease is controlled by your gut microbiota.      [tweetthis]70-80% of your immunity to infection and disease is controlled by your gut microbiota[/tweetthis]      Your immune system launches a response, resulting in inflammation. This response might include recent developments of food allergies or food intolerances that you are experiencing later on in life.
    Allergies

    Allergies

  2. You experience unexplained changes in your weight. Bowel and bladder habits are affected. E.g. IBS, digestive issues such as gas and bloating.
  3. You suffer from tiredness that is unexplained. As featured by the Mayo Clinic, studies are connecting bacteria to its effect on energy absorption. “Researchers have identified a difference in the types of bacteria found in a lean person’s gut versus those that live in the gut of someone who is obese. The amount of energy is small, but researchers wonder if over time this could be a factor in weight maintenance.”
  4. You suffer from mood swings, anxiety disorders, depression, poor memory, poor concentration, ADHD or ADD. These may be due to inflammation in the gut. The gut-brain axis explains this.
  5. You have or have had autoimmune disease. Autoimmune diseases examples are alopecia areata, Coeliac disease, RA, MS, vilitgo, Raynauds, SLE, reactive arthritis, Addison’s disease, Psoriasis etc.
  6. You have skin conditions that are recurrent. Typically your skin issues are non responsive to medication. they don’t respond well to medical grade topical solutions and treatments. Or, they are a temporary solution, until the next outbreak. An example is adult acneacne vulgaris or eczema or rosacea
  7. You have diabetes or insulin resistance. This can be affecting your fertility, whether you are male or female.

Safe, clinical, practical and effective.


Call  020 7060 3181