Category Archives: Gut

Micronutrient Testing

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ID-100315316Are you struggling with IBS and pulling your hair out because no matter how careful you are about what you eat, you still have diarrhea? You might be deficient in vitamin B12. Did you know that zinc helps you concentrate and studies show that zinc deficiency is very common in people with ADHD? Did you know that being tired might not be a sign of needing a nap, but rather magnesium deficiency?

Do you

  • feel tired?
  • feel anxious?
  • have muscle cramps?
  • have skin conditions?
  • have digestive problems?
  • have low libido?

These are all signs of micronutrient deficiencies. And they all have a simple easy solution-supplementation of the nutrient you are deficient in. But you don’t want to just wildly take supplements. Perhaps you do just need a nap. Additionally, too much of a good thing is dangerous. You want to discover what your unique deficiencies are and how much of specific nutrients you would need to reestablish a healthy level.

How? How to figure out what’s going on in your body without all the guess work? Through a simple micronutrient blood test. Keep reading for more details.

Vitamin and mineral deficiencies are extremely common in people who have chronic health problems. Do you suffer from:

  • ADHD
  • Autism
  • Celiac
  • Crohn’s or Colitis
  • Diabetes
  • Cancer
  • Auto-immune diseases

Micronutrient deficiencies are also very common in people who are on medications such as:

  • Antacids
  • Antibiotics
  • Cholesterol lowering drugs
  • Anti-depressants
  • Anticonvulsants
  • Anti-inflammatories
  • Diuretics

I am pleased to offer micronutrient testing to my clients through Spectracell. Their exclusive and comprehensive micronutrient test measures 35 essential nutrients INSIDE your cells (not just in your blood serum). This will give a much more accurate and long term picture of your health (compared to conventional blood testing you can get at your doctor’s office). Vitamins and minerals are so crucial to your health and the symptoms of deficiency (some are listed above) can be easily overlooked or worse, mistaken for other health problems. Imagine getting a slew of tests and medical treatments (to no avail) when the solution is supplementing a specific nutrient you are missing.

So many of us go along with our lives, taking a multivitamin and assuming that everything is fine. But wouldn’t it better to be aware of what’s going on in your body?

Please contact Dianne with any questions or for more information. Check out my tests page for this and other tests I offer.

Image courtesy of KEKO64 at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

The Best Smoothie

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Rishkoff Smoothie 3

Every single ingredient in this smoothie is a superfood. This smoothie is gluten-free, dairy-free, low in FODMAPs, and contains gut-healing ingredients. And with ingredients like strawberries, bananas and pineapple juice, and coconut oil, it is delicious and nutritious (for anyone). I developed this recipe for me, as a way to heal and seal my gut after all my struggles. It’s a rare and useful drink to fill my gut with everything it needs (and nothing it doesn’t!).

Pineapples contain bromelain, an anti-inflammatory compound. Coconut oil is easy to digest and it’s fatty acid structure causes it to be utilized for energy and not stored in our fat cells. But the heavy hitters in this smoothie are the L-glutamine and gelatin. Both of which can help repair leaky gut.

Recipe:

3-4 strawberries, cut up
2/3 of a whole banana, sliced up
organic fresh pressed pineapple juice
1 tb of coconut oil
1 teaspoon of gelatin (Knox brand)
1 teaspoon of L-glutamine powder (pharmaceutical grade)

Directions:

Put the cut up pieces of fruit in the blender.

Add pineapple juice just enough to cover the empty spaces between the fruit.

Put the coconut oil in a microwave safe bowl and heat it for 30 seconds to turn it liquid. Then add it to the blender.

Add the gelatin and L-glutamine

Blend and enjoy!!!

If you want a full meal-add a little of your favorite protein powder too!

PS: While the sugars in this smoothie are ALL natural (no added sugar), it is not a low carb drink and may be too high in sugar for some people.

(My recipe also appeared on Further Food Photos courtesy of Further Food as well! Rishkoff Smoothie 2)

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Eat, Drink and Be Calm

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ID-100306682Most of us are rushing around all day. Squeezing in eating and checking it off the schedule. If you have kids, meals can be even more rushed. The kids are hungry and want the food now, and then you all have to zoom off to school or an activity afterward.

Here’s the problem: when we are in stressed-out-rushing mode our digestive systems are too. This means we digest and absorb less of our food and our body doesn’t receive all that it needs to function well. (And the kids don’t get all they need to grow!)

The cortisol that is released when you are stressed (any time you are not relaxed, you are stressed) causes all kinds of damage to your body.

But what it does to your digestion? It basically switches it off. Less stomach acid and digestive enzymes (necessary for digestion), and less absorption of vital nutrients.

So, here’s what I suggest. Before each meal: REST, For 20 seconds. What you do in that 20 seconds is up to you. Breathe and meditate. Say Grace. Doesn’t matter, as long as you are STILL. Set your body into relaxed-mode and you will get tons more nutrition out of your meal.

Image courtesy of khongkitwiriyachan at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

As always, share this with your friends!

Leaky Gut

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Leaky gut is as gross as it sounds. Not because what is in your digestive track is leaking out of your body but because it’s leaking INTO your body.

The lining of the GI track, like your skin, is a barrier to the outside world. What’s in your gut IS outside your body until your GI lining lets it through. Luckily this gut lining is extremely good at letting in the good and blocking the bad. It has tight junctions (imagine a net). Things that should get through: fully digested and broken down molecules of protein (amino acids) and carbohydrates (single monosaccharaides), as well as vitamins and minerals. Things that should stay out: bacteria, non-digested food particles, toxins and other things that belong in your poo and then the toilet.

But when the lining is damaged, the tight junctions become loose. And what shouldn’t get through does. This is leaky gut, or increased intestinal permeability.

It is theorized that all autoimmune disease is partially caused by leaky gut. Something big and/or foreign get into your blood and your immune system attack these unwanted things. But over time, you immune system starts getting confused and starts attacking you. If you are genetically predisposed to an autoimmune disease, this can be a trigger. Leaky gut can also cause food allergies and sensitivities. If a protein molecule (that isn’t totally broken down into single amino acids) gets through, that will cause an immune reaction and trigger a food sensitivity or allergy.

Symptoms of a leaky gut:

  • Fatigue
  • Gut symptoms (bloating, abdominal pain, diarrhea, constipation)
  • Autoimmune conditions
  • Food sensitivities
  • Skin problems (rashes, eczema)
  • Headaches and migraines
  • Anxiety and Depression
  • Behavioral problems (ADHD, Autism)
  • Weight problems
  • Adrenal Fatigue

Causes of a leaky gut:

What can help?

  1. You want to remove all your triggers. (stop taking aspirin, start meditating, give up gluten, etc)
  2. Treat the root cause (infection, SIBO)
  3. Heal the lining

What heals?

  • Gelatin. I am not talking about Jello. I am talking about non-flavored unsweetened gelatin. The amino acids heal the tight junctions. Bone Broth, if made properly, is an excellent source. But you can buy gelatin powder too and add it to drinks and food. Check out this smoothie!
  • L-glutamine. An amino acid that heals the lining.
  • Zinc, Vitamin A
  • Probiotics (as long as SIBO, and other infections are treated appropriately)
  • Digestive enzymes
  • Real food

For more on leaky gut and how to fix it for good, check out my eBook!

 

Image courtesy of Ohmega1982 at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

 

 

SIBO

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pic-tummypain

SIBO (pronounced see-bo) is an acronym for Small Intestinal Bacterial Overgrowth. Your colon has 100 billion bacteria per milliliter but your small intestine should have less than 100,000/ml. When too many bacteria migrate or colonize in the small intestine, SIBO develops and all hell breaks loose.

SIBO is responsible for all sorts of uncomfortable symptoms, such as gas, bloating, and diarrhea. More importantly, it causes damage to the small intestine leading to a ton of non-digestive problems as well. It is estimated that 84% of people with IBS (Irritable Bowel Syndrome) also have SIBO. Similarly, people with Crohn’s Disease and Celiac are likely to have SIBO as well.

When bacteria are in your colon (large intestine), they eat what’s left over (mostly fiber) after you have absorbed all the nutrients that your body needs. But when the bacteria in your small intestine (before your body has absorbed all that it needs), they get VIP access to your food (carbohydrates are their favorite). As described in the book Breaking the Vicious Cycle: “The presence of undigested and unabsorbed carbohydrates in the small intestine can encourage microbes to take up residence and multiply. This, in turn, may lead to the formation of products, in addition to gas, which injure the small intestine…. bacterial growth in the small intestine appears to destroy the enzymes on the intestinal cell surface preventing carbohydrate digestion and absorption and making carbohydrates available for bacteria” This is the cycle. Injury to the intestine–>impaired digestion and absorption–>bacterial overgrowth–>damage to the intestine–>impaired digestion…and so on. When the bacteria injure the intestines and impair digestion, the small intestines become less able to digest carbohydrates, leaving more for the bacteria to digest, and allowing for more bacterial multiplication. They are preventing you from digesting the very thing they need to eat.

Symptoms:

  • Abdominal bloating and distention
  • Gas
  • Abdominal pain and discomfort
  • Diarrhea, constipation, or a mix of the two
  • Heartburn or GERD

Systemic symptoms and associated conditions:

  • Vitamin and mineral deficiencies
  • Leaky Gut (where your intestinal wall let’s things into your blood that aren’t supposed to be let in)
  • Fatigue, brain fog
  • Food sensitivities
  • Headaches/migraines
  • Mental Disorders (Autism, Depression)
  • Obesity
  • Skin problems
  • Autoimmune disorders

How does this start?

  • Insufficient stomach acid (acid kills bacteria)
  • Impaired cleansing waves (a wave of muscle contractions that sweeps the debris out of the small intestine and into the colon in between meals and at night)
  • Anatomical issue (such as having no ileocecal valve, the valve at the end of the small intestine, that keeps colon bacteria from migrating up)
  • GI infections or disease (Crohn’s or Celiac)

There are a few treatments for SIBO, antibiotics being the best. But the underlying cause might still be a problem and the SIBO will likely reoccur. There are a few diet options as treatment: The Specific Carbohydrate Diet, GAPS diet, Elemental Diet or a low FODMAP diet. Each of these manipulates the type and amount of carbohydrates in your diet to starve the bacteria.

Nutrition therapy with a Registered Dietitian (who specializes in digestive disorders) is essential. Besides being necessary to attempt one of the therapeutic diets mentioned above, nutrition is critical for:

  • Preventing the SIBO from returning
  • Correcting vitamin and mineral deficiencies
  • Healing the gut lining
  • Increasing stomach acid
  • Encouraging cleansing waves. (There are a few ways to do this, but my favorite is with lemon water)

Talk to your doctor if you suspect you have SIBO. And get a qualified Dietitian.

For more information about SIBO and how to get rid of it, check out my eBook!

 

Lemon Water, the Best Superfood

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pic lemon

Move over kale (and watercress…), there’s a new superfood in town. Lemon juice in lukewarm water happens to be one of the very best things you can put in your body.

I first learned about this through my research on digestion and gut problems. I was amazed and relieved that there was something I could actually do to help certain tricky gut issues (more on this below).  But I went on to discovered that there are many other benefits to drinking lemon water beside gut health.

Benefits of lukewarm water with lemon juice include:

  • Vitamins and Minerals
    • Lemons have Vitamin C, many B vitamins, Calcium, Iron, Magnesium, Potassium and Fiber
  • Weight loss and craving control
    • The fiber in lemon is pectin and it has been shown to reduce hunger cravings, possibly helping with weight loss.
  • Bad Breath
    • The acid in lemon helps kill the bacteria in your mouth that cause bad breath.
  • Better younger skin
    • This is possibly a stretch but has been reported. The likely explanation is that the Vitamin C helps with collagen which can keep skin younger, tighter and less wrinkled.
  • While lemon is acidic, it helps keep your body/blood alkaline (at a healthier pH level).
    • Removing uric acid from your joints
    • Reducing inflammation all over the body
    • Preventing UTIs and Kidney stones from forming
  • Caffeine substitute.
    • Warm lemon water in the morning has also been shown to be a stimulant. But a healthier one than dehydrating caffeine!
  • Hydrating.
    • Obviously it is the water, not the lemon per se, that will be hydrating you. But it is still very important and a wonderful benefit of drinking lemon water.
  • Gut health and Digestive Benefits:
    • Helps relieve constipation: warm lemon water in the morning gets things moving along
    • Increases stomach acid. Too little stomach acid comes with a lot of problems. Without it, food doesn’t break down properly so it can’t be digested and absorbed. This can lead to food sensitivities as well as indigestion and malnutrition. Also, we need a certain amount of stomach acid to kill the bad bacteria that enter our system via our food. This isn’t just our best line of defense against food poisoning, it is an essential part of keeping the gut flora in balance.
    • Increases bile production so we can properly digest and absorb fat and fat-soluable vitamins.
    • It loosens biofilms. What? Well, the bad bacteria are very crafty, forming little films around themselves, attaching to our gut lining. This poses an obstacle to antibiotics, good bacteria and other methods of trying to kill them. Lemon juice (or apple cider vinegar) actually helps remove these films so the bad bacteria underneath get exposed and removed from the lining, thereby allowing healing to take place.

Need any more convincing? Even my skeptic husband decided to try it!

Lemon water can benefit anyone. But for those with digestive problems (or a tendency for kidney stones), it is a miracle drug. I should mention one possible side effect-the acid can be hard on your tooth enamel.  To ensure no damage-you could drink it through a straw! There are also special toothpastes to use to strengthen your enamel. Another very effective trick is to rinse your mouth out with water (or better yet water with baking soda) after drinking your tall glass of lemon water. Important: do not brush your teeth for a half hour after drinking the lemon water. Rinse with water and then wait. This is due to the acid making your enamel soft. The toothbrush and paste can be rough on the soft enamel.

The best way to get all these benefits is to squeeze lemon into warm water, drink it first thing in the morning and not eat for 15 minutes. The way to maximize all the digestive benefits is to do this before each meal. The way to maximize most of the other benefits too is to do this throughout the day!

A half of a lemon a day is recommended if you weigh less than 150 pounds, a whole lemon if you are over 150 pounds.

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Image courtesy of voraorn at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Belly Fat or just Bloated?

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A lot of us carry a little extra bulge in the middle. But how do you know if it is fat or bloat?

Bloating is caused by gas. Bloating and gas are caused by a number of things. (this list is not comprehensive)

  • Swallowing air when you eat, chewing gum, carbonation
  • Trouble digesting, slow digestion
  • Constipation
  • Dysbiosis (imbalance of bad bacteria) or SIBO
  • Cancer

Many of us have extra fat in the belly. It is the place of choice for fat storage originating from:

  • unhealthy fats such as trans fats or processed vegetable oils
  • sugar overload
  • genetics

So which do you have?

Answer: bloating ebbs and flows. If you wake up in the morning with a flat stomach and then look pregnant after dinner, it’s bloating. A bloated belly is usually (but not always) changing size and shape. If you don’t know, start using a measuring tape at several intervals throughout a day and week. If the number varies a lot, it is bloating. If you have belly fat, the number won’t change by more than an inch.

If you are still unsure, get checked out by a doctor. They can listen and feel around your abdomen find out more clues as to what’s going on.

So often we ignore bloating, but it can be a symptom or indication of a serious condition. And I am not just talking about cancer. If you have gut dysbiosis, it won’t just go away. Rather it leads to many avoidable problems. Call me, I can assess whether past diet, lifestyle, and antibiotic use may be causing your bloating.

For more information on bloating and how to fix it for good: read my eBook!

Image courtesy of jesadaphorn at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Gluten Free Eating while Traveling

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There was a recent article in Today’s Dietitian about the challenges of eating gluten free while traveling. I thought I would pass on their resources:

Allergy eats: www.allergyeats.com

Celiac Travel: www.celiactravel.com

Find Me Gluten Free: www.findmeglutenfree.com This is also an app-GREAT for finding a restaurant wherever you are.

Triumph dining: www.triumphdining.com

Hope this was helpful! Follow me on Twitter @diannerishikof for more

 

Gluten Free Cookbooks

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A new cookbook has arrived, and I was asked to review it. With almost 100 recipes, CarbSmart Low-Carb & Gluten-Free Fall and Winter Entertaining by Tracey Rollison & Misty Humphrey, is a kitchen essential for when you need to entertain guests and you want to serve delicious dishes that are low carb and gluten free. The recipes are easy to prepare without relying the usual processed foods.

Original and tantalizing recipes like pepperoni chip dippers and Swiss pecan crisps jumped right off the page. These are both creative gluten free alternatives to crackers.

This book is perfect for people who have struggled with balancing the desire to provide guests with scrumptious dishes and yet maintain the healthy goal of celebrating the holidays without added sugar or gluten free.

You can find it on Amazon here. The same publisher has another gluten free cookbook: Easy Gluten-Free Entertaining

All About Gluten

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I recently wrote a comprehensive article about gluten for Paleo Demystified’s Blog. I wrote about who should stay away from gluten and why, and how to figure out if you are one of those people. Please read the article!

Also, I posted a gluten related blog a while ago too.

And two more articles: one from Time magazine about the rise in Celiac Disease. And one in the New York Times that is a very comprehensive article about gluten.

Happy reading!