Author: Yalda Alaoui

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Fatty Liver Diet: Look After Your Liver

Woman holding human liver model with variety of healthy fresh food on the table. Concept of balanced nutrition for liver health

Liver Disease Prevention

Hello Everyone! Did you know that what you ingest (and what you don’t) has an incredible impact on your liver? What you eat and drink and your supplements and medication affect the liver.

Your liver is the second largest organ in your body, and it performs over 500 functions that are essential to life. It has a role in nearly every organ system in your body and has a bidirectional connection with your gut.

Homeostasis in the gut is essential for liver health; likewise, the liver must be healthy for the gut!

There are plenty of reasons why you need to look after your liver. For this post, I explain some of a healthy liver’s functions. It will also showcase why an Eat Burn Sleep Liver Detox and Lifestyle are imperative to good health and liver disease prevention and remission.

Why You Should Care About Your Liver

What Conditions are Linked to Liver Disease?

How Does The Liver Digest?

Leaky Gut and Liver Disease

What a Healthy Liver Does

Why You Need a Liver Detox

What Is Fatty Liver Disease?

How Do You Protect the Liver?

Why You Should Care About Your Liver

Liver disease has increased since 1970 by 400%.

In fact, the hospital admission rates for liver disease in the financial year ending 2021 in the UK were the highest since the financial year ending 2011 and significantly higher than the financial year ending 2020.

Many of my clients have been diagnosed with fatty liver disease and have not been able to put their conditions into remission before. A doctor may tell you to eat healthily and watch what you are drinking, but they can’t follow you around and advise you. The big issue is that many foods and drinks that we think are healthy are not. Even many supplements!

Everything impacts the gut, which affects the liver!

What Conditions are Linked to Liver Disease?

Your liver is around the size of a large cone and is tucked under the right-hand ribs in the upper abdomen. It weighs around 3 pounds and takes about 13 percent of your blood supply. The portal vein brings nutrient-rich blood from your gut, and the hepatic artery carries oxygenated blood from your heart.

The thing is, is that there are so many conditions that can create sub-optimum liver function. Gut dysbiosis and chronic inflammation, for example. And all the conditions and symptoms that are attached to those, like gastrointestinal symptoms, SIBO, IBD, eczema, chronic fatigue, nausea, anxiety, multiple sclerosis, fatty liver, and joint disorders.

Fatty liver disease is linked with type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, kidney disease, heart attacks, and obesity.

There are so many things that we ingest that are linked to these conditions, through gut bacteria and chronic inflammation, that ultimately affect the function of the liver.

The liver is an important buffer between gut contents and systemic circulation.

How Does The Liver Digest?

You see, some of the liver’s vital functions are that it is involved with digestion and blood, which I will describe. If you think about how it processes, purifies, detoxifies, and stores from what we eat and drink, I think it makes you more aware of why you have to look after your gut and liver health. Not just to avoid fatty liver disease and other conditions.

Once something is ingested (food, drink, medication), the stomach and intestine digest it; it gets absorbed into the blood, and 80% of hepatic blood goes to the liver through the portal vein.

This is rich with molecules from gut bacteria, and dietary and environmental antigens. It carries simple sugars, amino acids, glycerol, vitamins and salts, toxins, and byproducts to your liver.

The liver must tolerate this immunological load while providing ‘surveillance’ for viruses, infections, pathogens, malignant cells, etc.

A good-functioning liver is involved in many immunological functions. There are many cells in the liver that are involved with immune activity (Kupffer cells). They destroy disease-causing viruses and other bacteria that enter the liver from the gut.

Leaky Gut and Liver Disease

In a leaky gut, where the intestinal barrier is damaged, the liver becomes exposed to numerous toxins from the gut, as well as from gut bacteria.

If there is an imbalance of gut bacteria, this will dysregulate the immune system, and liver health is further compromised.

Toxins that reach the liver via a disrupted gut barrier accelerate liver disease, increasing the inflammatory response.

It is easy to overload the liver, create an imbalance in gut bacteria, and damage the intestinal lining with today’s diets and sedentary lifestyles.

What a Healthy Liver Does

On receipt of what is delivered to the liver, it then does a filtering process. It will store nutrients like vitamins and minerals to be released when needed. If we eat the right ones, that is! Malnutrition causes liver disorders!

There are all sorts of things that a healthy liver does to convert vitamins into functional forms to be secreted back into circulation or metabolized for excretion.

It detoxifies and pushes toxic substances out of the body.

When food is processed, the liver will also remove excess glucose (sugar) from carbohydrates from the blood and store it as glycogen for when blood sugar decreases. It turns to glucose, giving instant energy into the bloodstream.

When glycogen storage is used up, the liver creates glucose from carbohydrates and some protein.

A healthy liver also produces bile continually, which is critical to digest and absorb any fat that has been eaten, and converts it into energy. Any excess carbohydrates and protein are converted and stored for later use while synthesizing other fats like cholesterol.

Bile comprises bile salts, bilirubin, electrolytes, and cholesterol and is essential for vitamin K absorption. The liver has to produce enough bile to help vitamin K create coagulants to help clot the blood!

It is bile that carries away toxins!

The liver also absorbs and metabolizes bilirubin, which comes from the breakdown of hemoglobin. (High levels in a blood test are a sign of fatty liver disease or hepatitis). The liver or bone marrow stores iron released from hemoglobin. This makes the next generation of blood cells.

The liver also produces albumin, which carries enzymes, hormones, and vitamins through the body. It also keeps fluids in the bloodstream from leaking into the surrounding tissue. Low levels in a blood test indicate liver or kidney issues.

A healthy liver directly synthesizes multiple hormones! It has numerous endocrine functions which are essential for growth, development, metabolism, and reproduction.

It regulates amino acids, synthesizes angiotensinogen, which manages sodium and potassium levels and blood pressure, and removes hormones such as estrogen and aldosterone when necessary. Thyroid hormone conversions also occur in the liver.

Why You Need a Liver Detox

This is just a simplistic look at some of the liver’s functions. It is an incredible organ that must be looked after to prevent it from developing a disease. As I mentioned, it gets overloaded, particularly with the foods and drinks produced now if you consider all the chemicals around us and what we ingest.

You may hear that you do not need to detox because a liver detoxes itself, but food has changed dramatically, and inflammatory lifestyles slow the liver down! Here are a couple of sample recipes from Eat Burn Sleep to show you what type of meals will do you good when eaten every day: Cream of Broccoli & Zucchini Soup & Coconut Yogurt & Almond Cake.

I thoroughly advise our liver detox in the Personalized Advice at least twice a year.

You may be interested in reading: Detox Your Liver Naturally & Looking For a Safe Liver Detox for Weight Loss?

What Is Fatty Liver Disease?

If inflammatory mechanisms in the liver that deal with pathogens and tissue damage, for instance, become disrupted due to less-than-optimum health, disease progression can develop.

Many liver diseases share the same gut dysbiosis, gut permeability, and pro-inflammatory changes in many studies. 

Fatty liver disease is a condition caused by irritation to the liver and often runs alongside obesity or heavy alcohol use. Liver tissue accumulates amounts of fat in response to the injury in liver cells. What we ingest contributes to fatty liver disease.

Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease (NAFLD) is a little different because it is not because of alcohol directly. It is most common in people with diabetes, high blood pressure, insulin resistance, obesity, etc. NAFLD also affects people who are not overweight.

Hepatitis is an infection of the liver from viruses and toxins. An autoimmune response can cause it, too!

Cirrhosis is where scar tissue replaces liver cells in a process called fibrosis. Hepatitis can cause this, as well as alcohol and toxins.

Gilbert’s syndrome is a genetic disorder where the body cannot break down bilirubin, so mild jaundice occurs.

Liver cancer is the sixth most common form of cancer globally.

Several organs, like the lungs, heart, and kidneys, are affected if liver disease occurs.

Manipulating gut bacteria to reduce inflammation and improve gut barrier function is an important strategy in the management of diseases.

This is why this anti-inflammatory diet and lifestyle are proving to be a success in putting a fatty liver into remission and avoiding getting one!

How Do You Protect the Liver?

Unhealthy diets and lifestyles change gut bacteria. This results in the production of pathogenic factors that impact the liver.

I advise a lifestyle change to avoid liver overload, with good food, nutrition, and little daily tweaks detailed in The Lifestyle Guide that cumulatively make a massive difference to liver health.

Looking after gut bacteria and avoiding immune dysregulation, dysbiosis, and chronic inflammation will do amazing things for your health.

Remember that chronic inflammation leads to the pathology associated with autoimmune, infectious, and malignant liver disease. Gut health increases or decreases inflammation depending on what you eat, think, and how you live.

If it hasn’t gone too far, your liver can be repaired. It is the only visceral organ that can regenerate. Start a fabulous detoxification to reset your liver and move on to the next level of health.

Members, although I advise following this lifestyle on an 80/20 ratio, there are times when it can be more like 70/30 because, as you know, this lifestyle isn’t about perfection. So, I advise doing the liver detox twice a year. Check Instagram for the results of the last time I did one!

You won’t believe how incredible you feel afterward, such as a newfound enthusiasm for life and your health!

I am sending you all good health wishes.

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Why Aspartame Is Linked to Cancer

Aspartame and Cancer

Hello Everyone! If you follow Eat Burn Sleep, this won’t be the first time you have heard me say that the food industry and its marketing have much to answer for! Both affect our physical and mental health.

In the 1950s, artificial sweeteners were promoted for weight loss as an alternative to sugar, and everyone was buying into it. Many chemicals were approved for food use at this time. Interestingly, not long after was the onset of rising obesity and cancer.

Artificial sweeteners cause gut dysbiosis, whereby an imbalance of the bacteria essential for life occurs. Gut dysbiosis leads to chronic systemic inflammation and a dysregulated immune system. Obesity is a systemic chronic inflammatory condition. As are some cancers.

Linking aspartame with cancer starts with what happens in the gut, and despite what people are saying in the media, it is easy to consume a dangerous amount!

BBC World asked me to comment about it if you missed it! All my latest Instagram posts are at the bottom of the Home page here. 

Why Do Artificial Sweeteners Exist?

Why Is It Easy to Consume a Dangerous Amount of Aspartame?

What Foods and Drinks Contain Aspartame?

Aspartame Causes Pathological Changes

Obesity and Cancer

How To Reduce Calories Without Chemicals

Why Do Artificial Sweeteners Exist?

Artificial sweeteners were initially discovered in 1879 by Constantin Fahlberg in Ira Remsen’s laboratory at John Hopkins University in Baltimore, USA.

The story goes that he wondered why his bread tasted so sweet and remembered that he hadn’t washed his hands after being in the laboratory all day long. He was working with the coal tar derivative benzoic sulfimide. He called this sweet chemical saccharin, and he and Remsen went on to develop it in Germany.

It was popular during the world wars due to the agricultural crisis and sugar shortage.

During the time of the rapidly developing fast-food and confectionary industry in the 1950s, this artificial sweetener was viewed as an excellent way to reduce calories. Many additives are approved without long-term health studies to back up their safety.

The late 50s/early 60s was also the onset of the increase in obesity and cancer.

Artificial sweeteners for low calories for weight loss coincide with obesity increase because artificial sweeteners cause gut dysbiosis. Gut dysbiosis causes chronic inflammation. Obesity and some cancers are caused by chronic inflammation.

Aggressive marketing of foods that contain additives, sweeteners, and colors that should not be for human consumption has been around for a long time. They all contribute to the rise in disease.

Artificial Sweeteners and The Link to Cancer

In the 60s, cyclamate came along to blend with saccharin to take away the bitter aftertaste. It was used to sweeten beverages in the food industry until 1970, when it was banned in the US with suspicions of it causing cancer.

In 1977, scientists discovered saccharin caused bladder cancer in rats, so it carried a cancer warning label. It took four years to be listed in the US National Toxicology Program’s Report on Carcinogens. Twenty-three years later, scientists discovered humans don’t metabolize saccharin like rats, so the cancer warning label was removed!

This was when aspartame debuted as an alternative to sugar. Again, marketed as a weight-loss product.

Two years later –  approved for the large, lucrative market of soft drinks!

Aspartame was discovered in a similar way to saccharin. Scientist James Schlatter had obtained the chemical as part of some drug research and had licked his finger!

It is 200 times sweeter than sugar!

Yet, it’s not natural, doesn’t taste the same, and has no calories. It has been, and is continuing to be, used in thousands of products since.

Food safety experts have called for aspartame to be banned many times over the years.

Why Is It Easy to Consume a Dangerous Amount of Aspartame?

It’s easy to dismiss health warnings when you hear that exposure to one particular carcinogen does not necessarily mean getting cancer.

This is true because genetics, lifestyle, exposure to other environmental factors, and the quantity and duration of exposure all come into it, but they surround us. There are so many carcinogens in what we eat and drink!

I keep hearing that experts are saying, “It would be impossible to exceed the recommended maximum amount of aspartame because that would be the equivalent of drinking 12+ glasses of Diet Coke a day.”

Unfortunately, this message is harmful to good health because aspartame isn’t just in carbonated drinks.

People may think they are safe by avoiding Diet Coke. Aspartame is in so many things! See the list below.

Aspartame rapidly hydrolyzes in your body, and absorbed in the gastrointestinal tract, and transforms into toxic metabolites before making lots of changes in the body, according to studies.

The intestinal microbial community and immunity are affected, and DNA, liver, enzymatic changes, levels of cysteine, metabolism, growth, disease, and mental well-being!

Let’s bear in mind we are only talking about one dietary carcinogenic here, too! There are so many additives that are capable of causing cancer. Not to mention that there are cancer promoters, too, that accelerate the growth of cancer!

Check the Red Food List, Members.

The European Journal of Oncology states half the amount (20mg per kg of body weight) of the recommended maximum amount of aspartame consumed links it to cancer.

Aspartame is used to improve taste, color, and texture and extend the shelf life of over 6000 products (and counting) without adding calories. Many food products and beverages contain it.

The compound is also in 500 pharmaceutical products because it is cheap and readily available. I have even seen it in ‘healthy’ foods.

So, it is easy to consume a large amount of aspartame in one day! 

What Foods and Drinks Contain Aspartame?

Aspartame is in many ultra-processed products and include:

    • *Sugar alternative sweeteners in little packets and dispensers
    • *Carbonated drinks like Diet Coke, Coke Zero, Diet Pepsi, Pepsi Max, Sprite Zero, Diet Mountain Dew, Fanta Zero, and other ‘Diet’ and ‘Zero’ drinks
    • *Most ‘sugar-free’ products
    • *’Zero sugar’ teas and juices
    • *’Low sugar’ products
    • *’Diet’ products
    • *’Low calorie’ products
    • *’Fat-free’ products
    • *Soft powdered drinks like milkshakes and hot chocolate
    • *Chewing gum
    • *Types of candy/sweets
    • *Many ready-made desserts
    • *All kinds of dessert mixes
    • *Many icecreams
    • *Some vitamins and supplements
    • *Many workout supplements
    • *Various medication
    • *Some cough syrups and drops

 

For context purposes, a can of Diet Coke contains an estimated 200mg of aspartame!

Aspartame Causes Pathological Changes

Just this year, The World Health Organization (WHO) released a guideline on non-sugar sweeteners (NSS), stating that NSS had no value to a diet and was linked with diseases and mortality. They advised not to use them to control body weight.

Dr. Soffritti et al. have performed many studies on aspartame over the last decade and monitored the subjects throughout their entire lifetime. All with evidence of cancer-related aspartame and have stated:

• ‘Recent results of life-span carcinogenicity bioassays on rats and mice published in peer-reviewed journals, and a prospective epidemiological study, provide consistent evidence of aspartame’s carcinogenic potential.’
• ‘Our study shows that aspartame is a multi-potential carcinogenic compound whose carcinogenic effects are evident even at a low dose of 20mg/kg bodyweight.’
•  ‘When life-span exposure to aspartame begins during fetal life, carcinogenic effects increase.’

Aspartame Increases Pathogenic Gut Bacteria

In many studies, a significant difference in gut microbial diversity occurs following the consumption of artificial sweeteners. Even ones FDA-approved!

Chichger & Shil (2021) showed in their study that sweeteners increase the ability of bacteria to form biofilms (3D structures that act as a microbial battlefront). They increase the adhesion and invasion of bacteria into human gut cells. This leads to our gut bacteria invading and causing damage to our intestines, linked to infection, sepsis, and multi-organ failure.

Pathogenic gut bacteria produced by aspartame can escape into the bloodstream via a leaky gut, triggering inflammation.

Suez et al. (2015) showed the results of a human study on 4-day food intake. It showed the relationship between aspartame and microbiota and demonstrated the increase in the abundance of Enterobacteriaceae and Clostridium leptum. These are both pathogenic and inflammation-inducing. Suez et al. (2015).

Obesity and Cancer

Systemic inflammation is a contributing factor in cancer.

As a matter of fact, the risk of developing cancer in chronic inflammatory conditions like obesity also demonstrates the relationship between cancer and inflammation.

It could also be the link to why more early-onset cancers that affect the digestive system are rising!

Advancing age was always the most critical risk factor for some cancers, but with more and more children with obesity, it means that the risk of developing cancer now happens earlier than it did before.

The food industry really has a lot to answer for!

Shuji Ogino, a professor of pathology at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, stated, “Many cancers involve the digestive system, which points to a big role for diet and the bacteria that live in our gut called the microbiome. I think this is an important piece because what it’s pointing to is changing exposure prevalences at early ages that are producing earlier-onset cancers.”

Being overweight links to cancers not related to the digestive system, too.

You may be interested in my BBC World interview: Does Junk Food Damage Your Body?

How To Reduce Calories Without Chemicals

Reducing calories through low-calorie, diet, zero, sugar-free, fat-free, 0%, etc., leads to inflammation. That means obesity, cancer, thyroid issues, alopecia, fertility issues, joint problems, brain fog, anxiety, depression, skin and body hair issues, and a whole array of other conditions.

I advise that you ignore these drinks and foods and ditch the calorie counting, skipping meals, fasting, yo-yo dieting, and constantly feeling hungry and unhappy! As I mentioned, you won’t avoid weight gain. Rather, you are encouraging it in the long term. 

Life is to be lived. Food is to be enjoyed. A happy, healthy body is not hungry.

A happy, healthy mind and body have a good intestinal microbial community that protects the body from disease and reduces weight naturally without risk.

If you want to avoid chemicals in food and protect yourself and your family from cancer, obesity, and other chronic inflammatory conditions, join us on a Standard Membership.

Enjoy chemical-free drinks like Sugar-free Lemonade and Moroccan Spiced Coffee.

Eat and live the Eat Burn Sleep way. It works for busy people and for non-cooks, too! We focus on reducing inflammation and looking after our intestinal microbes.

Intestinal microbial communities play a significant role in health and disease; they change by what we eat, drink, and do every day, for better or worse.

What are you eating and drinking today?

Whatever you do, I hope that your day is lovely!

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Come Off Antidepressants

Empowering Techniques

Hello Everyone! I hope that you are well. Panorama, a BBC investigative documentary series, recently aired a really interesting program about antidepressants. After it aired, The Royal College of Psychiatry published a document reiterating the right way to go about coming off antidepressants.

Depression is a chronic condition and can be fatal. Stopping medication abruptly is dangerous.

Interestingly, doctors have now been recommended not to prescribe antidepressants unless patients request them.

In the show, Tony Kendrick, who is a Professor of Primary Care at Southampton Hospital, said, “We now teach (medical) students to hold off prescribing them (antidepressants) for mild depression because most people get better doing something else for a few months, and they won’t get problems further down the line when they want to come off them.”

This post is to help you if you have depression or are considering coming off or even starting antidepressants.

Side Effects of Antidepressants

Some Facts About Antidepressants:

Medical Supervision and Coming Off Antidepressants

How Long Should You Take Antidepressants?

Diet and Lifestyle Intervention for Depression

Support for Reducing Antidepressants

How Does Food Affect Depression?

Man, face not seen, holding an antidepressant pill bottle

Side Effects of Antidepressants

Firstly, as the program demonstrated, you should always consult your doctor with any medical matter.  Antidepressants cannot be just stopped.

The side effects of taking antidepressants can be plenty, but the benefits for many people can outweigh the adverse effects. For many, they are life-saving. Oftentimes, the negative effects make people feel changed completely.

People have stated that they have numbing feelings that help their depression. However, good feelings, love, happiness, libido, genital nerves, and interest in hobbies have also been numbed.

Interestingly, Panorama also highlighted that there are many studies where adults with moderate to severe depression have been given a placebo. 20-40 people out of a hundred showed an improvement in 6-8 weeks.

40-60 adults noticed an improvement after taking antidepressants for 6-8 weeks.

This is only an extra 20 out of 100 people!

It is important to make sure that severe depression is diagnosed and treated correctly. Antidepressants can be helpful for some people to get into a daily routine, start going to psychotherapy, and embark on a good diet and lifestyle regime – source: InformedHealth.org.

Taking antidepressants and discussing the pros and cons should be discussed with your doctor.

Some Facts About Antidepressants:

• Antidepressants cause gut dysbiosis, which can cause weight gain, type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, other chronic inflammatory conditions, and autoimmune diseases – source: National Institutes of Health.

• Global consumption of antidepressants has increased dramatically in the last two decades. Long before the 2020 pandemic -source: Euronews.

• Use of antidepressants increased by nearly two and a half times from 2000 to 2020 in 18 European countries – Source: Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.

• Two million people in the UK have taken antidepressants for five years or longer—source: the Pharmaceutical Journal.

• Long-term studies don’t support the long-term use of antidepressants (yet some people need them long-term). Clinical trials and studies on the side effects of medications are not usually longer than six weeks.

• When medications are taken over a long period, the body and brain adapt to it. This leads to tolerance, lessening the effects over time, and withdrawal when stopping. Dependence is different than addiction, which also involves cravings and compulsive use – source: Dr. Mark Horowitz (UCL Psychiatry).

 

Medical Supervision and Coming Off Antidepressants

Around the world, antidepressants have been beneficial for people who have faced devastating and life-threatening conditions and have saved lives.

However, because of how they have always been marketed as a ‘magic bullet’ that you can easily stop taking safely, I am sure that many people with mild depression or anxiety would not have started them if they had known about the side effects.

When people have come off them, the side effects have been mistaken as part of their depression condition and gone back on them again.

The Royal College of Psychiatrists explains that there are some ways that you and your doctor may know what withdrawal symptoms are and what are signs of depression through timing. Withdrawal symptoms generally start immediately after discontinuing antidepressant use. Depression will usually take longer to return. Of course, this is all for discussion with your medical practitioner/therapist.

There are usually side effects of any medication. Like I always say, they can often save you, but they are not for the long term for everyone.

Medication causes gut dysbiosis.

This is when the induction of susceptibility to many pathological conditions occurs. Gut dysbiosis actually contributes to depression and anxiety.

So, the medication you take for depression can cause depression.

It is also linked to joint pain, skin inflammation, hair loss, gastrointestinal issues, cardiovascular complications, weight gain, obesity, and cancer.

Medications can keep your body inflamed!

How Long Should You Take Antidepressants?

The Royal College of Psychiatrists’ advice on Stopping Antidepressants says, ‘How long you take antidepressants depends on why you were prescribed them. You usually don’t need antidepressants for more than 6-12 months’. It should be reviewed every six months on a joint decision between the person with depression and the medical practitioner.

Clinical trials and studies on the side effects of medications are not usually longer than six weeks.

Depressed young female sat holding her knees with her head down

However, they also state that some people need them for longer. It really is a matter to be discussed with your therapist/doctor.

Diet and Lifestyle Intervention for Depression

Antidepressants have often been prescribed for mild cases when they were not necessary. As the Professor at The College of Southampton stated, doing something else for a few months may be more helpful to avoid damaging withdrawal symptoms further down the line.

Diet and lifestyle intervention is often prescribed and is good for treating depression as it is noted that what we eat and how we live do contribute. Of course, one size does not fit all, and mental health is a complex condition, but there is evidence of how an integrative approach supports mental health.

Especially since the right type of eating supports the microbiota-gut-brain axis, modulates the immune system, and reduces inflammation.

Check out the post: Microbiota-Gut-Brain Axis & Mental Health.

The prevention, promotion, and management of depression through the gut-brain axis with this anti-inflammatory lifestyle are gaining more and more traction. I know how Eat Burn Sleep is helping people with depression and anxiety. Members are continuously telling me, so I can genuinely say that this anti-inflammatory lifestyle is evidence-led as well as scientifically backed for improving mental health.

Mental well-being is usually always mentioned even when members have joined to reduce their weight, bloating, PCOS, alopecia, eczema, arthritis, migraines, Crohn’s Disease, ulcerative colitis, and so on! The connection is chronic inflammation!

Indeed, focusing on gut-healthy nutrition, anti-inflammatory movements, stress-reducing exercises, good sleep-wake cycles, meditation, mindfulness practice, and support in reducing cravings that don’t help will assist during tapering or even while you are on medication.

Support for Reducing Antidepressants

I advise that you talk with your doctor if you are thinking about reducing your antidepressants and show them this BUPA-Global-approved lifestyle. Stopping antidepressants immediately is potentially dangerous for some. Having your mental health toolbox to support you during this time is essential.

Many areas in life that can impact mental health, like obesity, stress, lack of sleep, poor diet, and exposure to pollutants, can increase low-grade systemic inflammation.

Cortisol and oxidative stress in the body also induce chronic inflammation. You may need professional help with psychological trauma, which is a well-established risk factor, but another well-established risk factor is chronic inflammation, and this is something that you can have control over. Controlling things that you can, where you can, helps.

Members follow the comprehensive science-backed personalized advice for Depression & Anxiety. It is a natural alternative to antidepressants and will help you manage depression and support you when reducing antidepressants.

Or even if you don’t want to come off antidepressants just yet, it will help you because there are compounds in foods you shouldn’t have when you are on certain antidepressants, for instance, and it may just contribute to combatting side effects.

It is a safe way to enhance physical and mental well-being and has positive side effects like continual mood-lifting, weight management, and better body composition.

How Does Food Affect Depression?

Malnutrition and many diets, like the keto diet and low-calorie diets, are linked to depression because of the decline in gut species richness and beneficial microbes in the gut. Starving your body of what it needs may not show itself now.

An abundance of microbiota-loving nutrients will support your gut, brain, and immune health, aiding the production of serotonin and reducing neuroinflammation. This may reduce any side effects, as healthy gut microbiota is established and will certainly be supportive. Mental resilience will improve.

This is very much a mental and physical health education platform, with easy-to-make (even for the very busiest of you) 300+ good-mood food recipes.

Enjoy recipes inspired from around the world, like Vietnamese Chopped Salad & Healthy Speculoos Biscuits. 

I would also advise that you pick your moment in coming off antidepressants if you do. The sunnier climes may make it easier because of the benefits of the mood and sleep-boosting sunshine.

Ensure you have good support around you. Connect with our supportive nutritionists any day of the week in our forum, or reach out to me via a 15-min Zoom call.

I wish you all well!

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Long COVID Migraines

Stressed Headache Sick African American Employee Woman At Computer

How to Reduce Headaches Linked With Long COVID

Hi Everyone! It seems that one of the significant late neurological manifestations from having COVID-19 is intense headaches with chronic pain that is resistant to easily accessible pain medications.

According to many studies, Long COVID headaches were observed in women over 39; half had never experienced headaches before COVID-19, and those with a history of headaches reported worsening pain after COVID-19. People with Long COVID migraine state that they have them 2-5 times a week, which is debilitating!

If you have Long COVID and disabling headaches are among your symptoms, this post may relieve you greatly.

Long COVID Symptoms

How is Inflammation Connected to Long COVID Migraines?

Why Are Your Migraines Different Than Before COVID?

Why Migraine Meds Don’t Work

How Do You Treat Migraines?

Side Effects To COVID-19 Vaccines. Tired Vaccinated Black Lady With Patch After Coronavirus Antiviral Injection On Arm Touching Forehead, Suffering From Fever, Headache, High Body Temperature

Long COVID Symptoms

Most people recovered from COVID-19 and continued their regular lives, but symptoms have debilitated many.

There were more vulnerable people, after all, since if somebody had an existing inflammatory disease, they were at high risk. Many people have silent inflammation running, which can be surprising!

Headaches were one of the most common symptoms that ran alongside COVID-19; for some, they never went away and got worse. If you have Long COVID, migraines may not be your only symptom. Some of our members who had Long COVID have stated (in the Testimonials) that they used to have:

• Migraines
• Depression
• Anxiety
• Obesity
• Bloating
• IBS
• Anemia
• Chronic stress
• Joint pain
• Muscle pain
• High blood pressure
• Breathlessness
• No energy
• Exhaustion
• Loss of taste/smell
• Insomnia
• Brain fog
• Memory issues
• Less focus and concentration
• Worsened existing conditions
• Continual viruses
• Heartburn
• Stomach cramps
• Diarrhea
• Skin rashes

Indian man touching head, headache

With inflammation implicating Long COVID and Long COVID causing more inflammation, which causes the immune system to be dysregulated, this would explain why Long COVID symptoms went away for our members.

By reducing inflammation and boosting immunity through improving gut health, liver health, anti-inflammatory movement, stress reduction, other neuroplasticity exercises, and better quality consistent sleep, they can live a regular life again.

It also explains why Long COVID symptoms persist if you are not on an anti-inflammatory diet and lifestyle.

African American woman in business outfit having headache at office hall, copy space. Millennial black lady

How is Inflammation Connected to Long COVID Migraines?

Numerous studies show an increase in inflammatory markers in Long COVID patients, as shown here: Interleukin 1, Interleukin 6, and Tumor Necrosis Factor (TNF) cytokines are associated with Long COVID. 

Cytokines are a protein that increases inflammation as part of the innate immune response. Levels can increase to incredibly high levels after having COVID-19. These are all powerful pro-inflammatory agents!

This is why migraines may not be the only symptom you suffer from. In fact, migraines are often reported alongside chronic inflammation conditions.

Chronic inflammation and immunological alterations with cytokine storms running all the time like this will do that!

It will switch on anything hereditary, leaving you at risk of developing chronic conditions like autoimmune diseases and picking up viruses quickly. You may enjoy reading How to Recover from Virus Infections, Can Food Poisoning Cause Inflammation? and How to Boost Your Immunity to Fight Viruses.

Why Are Your Migraines Different Than Before COVID?

Through studies, people who have Long COVID migraines state that they are different from any headaches that they have had previously.

Since most people with migraines already have elevated inflammation, any further inflammation can cause changes since chronic inflammation stimulates pain-causing nerves and other processes that can affect migraines.

Woman with sinus pain, headache and stomach problems, lying on a couch at home.

People also report that stress and anxiety have increased due to the challenges of having more migraines. Trying to navigate daily activities, life, work, school, social occasions, holidays, vacations, and relationships when you don’t know when an attack will occur has a considerable physical and mental impact.

One migraine a week would be challenging, but a Long COVID migraine causes up to five a week, it states in one study. 3 out of 4 reported spending time alone in a dark room without noise for 6+ hours on each attack and then dealing with the after-effects.

Stress and anxiety promote a never-ending cycle of inflammation.

Stressed young indian woman touching head and feels dizzy, suffering from headache and migraine pain, sits on the sofa at home with eyes closed, tired and exhausted mixed-race lady feels bad

Stress induces many changes in the brain and body, like increasing gut permeability and a leaky gut, reshapes gut composition and triggers pathogenic bacteria, activates our immune system, and increases inflammation, increasing neuroinflammation.

This will alter the gut-brain axis because of the bidirectional link between the gut and the brain. Briefly, what goes on in the gut goes on in the brain and vice versa. (If you think about how you get butterflies in your tummy or need to go to the bathroom before speaking in public or before an event, this is the brain-gut connection).

Studio shot of young handsome African man doctor against white background

It would be no surprise to feel low and anxious when you have a debilitating condition, but gut bacteria imbalance and inflammation actually increase the chances of depression & anxiety (neuroinflammation).

Some gut bacteria actually encourage dysregulated eating!

Stressful times can also influence your diet and lifestyle choices, which affects gut health and increases inflammation. Have you seen the Live Masterclass on Emotional Eating recently?

Let’s not forget how sleep quality changes during stressful times. Gut imbalances mean less serotonin production, too, which is the precursor to melatonin, which enhances sleep (and happiness!). There are so many reasons to reduce inflammation through gut health!

These articles may interest you: Weight Loss and The Link to Sleep & What Happens if You Don’t Sleep Well?

Beautiful Elderly Mature Female Model Touches Face in Headache Upsetted. She Stands in Half-Turn on White Background. Right Side Tonned Portrait.

Why Migraine Meds Don’t Work

Firstly, medications have saved millions of lives!

It has been recognized, though, that severe headaches are one of the major debilitating symptoms of Long COVID that are resistant to over-the-counter pain medication.

Ultimately, medications can cause damage to our gut health by reducing good bacteria and increasing harmful bacteria, like antibacterial resistance genes, for instance.

The gut lining may also become perforated, and pathogens can leak into the bloodstream.

Steroids and anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) that are given for migraines drive inflammation through gut dysbiosis.

You may want to read: NSAIDs, Gut Health & Inflammation & Painkillers Not Helping your Headaches?

Diarrhea that our members said they used to have (without the condition of IBD) can be because of the medication they were taking, for instance. They reported an increase in taking anti-inflammatory drugs with Long COVID migraines due to the occurrence, length of time, and pain intensity but have not had much relief.

This is because NSAIDs increase gut imbalance. For one, the pathogenic Clostridium difficile bacteria grows. This causes diarrhea. It lives in our gut under the control of beneficial gut bacteria, but a gut imbalance encourages its growth.

Plus, certain headaches are resistant to medication, like Refractory migraine.

How Do You Treat Migraines?

Understanding gut health and brain health will help you with Long COVID migraines and many other disorders. Eat Burn Sleep’s health education will empower you because you will get to know how your body works in an easy way.

Second-nature choices occur the more you learn and the more you do for your health with our tools on this platform.

Enjoy meals like Bolognese Sauce & Kung Pao Chicken.

In time, you don’t need to reach for painkillers; you have reduced stress in your mind and body, better body composition, and good quality sleep, for instance. In time, life will be less challenging, and you can plan and be spontaneous.

Your migraines may just be reduced considerably in a matter of days. Our member Jewel reported relief on day 1 of being on the program after three weeks of continual headaches (check out the COVID testimonials). Members indeed feel the instant changes in many ways, but I would allow for longer and start the Six Week Reset for a next-level health reboot.

Taking charge of your health through health education and taking control where you can is key.

Members, access the personalized advice for Long Covid Recovery here and Migraines are in the same section.

I am wishing you good health and a good day!

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Can Food Poisoning Cause Inflammation?

The Bugs in Your Tummy Can Help

Hello Everyone! If you have ever had food poisoning, you will know that it is a very unpleasant experience that you want to avoid happening again, but have you ever wondered if it was food poisoning?

If several people ate the same food as you, how come they didn’t have the same reaction?

There are many reasons why humans differ in their response to exposure to bacterial infections. For this post, I will tell you why good gut health armors against food poisoning and the subsequent risk of developing inflammatory conditions like IBS and IBD.

Food Poisoning Statistics

6 Ways to Avoid Food Poisoning:

Does Gut Health Reduce Food Poisoning Risk?

How Does Gut Health Stop Bacteria?

How Does The Body Deal With Poisons?

Our Adaptive Immunity

What Raises the Risk of Food Poisoning?

What Can Food Poisoning Cause?

Food Poisoning and Further Disease Studies

Food Poisoning Statistics

Approximately 600 million people fall ill to food poisoning a year, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO). Most of the cases reported are caused by Salmonella and Campylobacter, which have high levels of antimicrobial resistance.

(It isn’t just food where Salmonella and Campylobacter can be harbored, as pets can spread the bacteria, and they may not show any symptoms).

Bacteria breed faster in warmer temperatures, and there is a greater contamination risk when you prepare and eat food outside.

Meat on a wooden chopping board, next to carrots and salt. Hands are seen cutting the meat with a large knife.

6 Ways to Avoid Food Poisoning:

  1. – Separate raw meat, eggs, and fish from other foods
  2. – Wash your hands and cooking preparation area, using different chopping boards and different knives
  3. – Avoid touching your mouth and face while prepping 
  4. – Cook food to a safe temperature (e.g., steak, lamb chops, and fish need to be 145 degrees)
  5. – Don’t leave food and leftovers out of the refrigerator for more than an hour (maximum of two for leftovers). Keep food in a cooler until you cook it.
  6. – Improve gut health.

 

Does Gut Health Reduce Food Poisoning Risk?

Absolutely! Ensuring that your gut health is tip-top means that if you eat contaminated food, your gut and immune system are fully equipped to fight Salmonella and Campylobacter’s maneuvers!

It will also reduce the risk of developing leaky gut syndrome, IBS, IBD, diabetes, and other chronic inflammatory conditions.

Indeed, good gut health reduces inflammation and aids in putting autoimmune conditions into remission.

Suppose you have a compromised immune system or inflammation running in your body. In that case, it will leave you susceptible to bacteria and viruses, and it will be challenging for your body to fight them.

How Does Gut Health Stop Bacteria?

The bugs in our tummies provide immune homeostasis.

As I mentioned, poor gut health (dysbiosis) is linked to a weakened immune system, making it less able to fight bacteria.

Compromised gut health is also linked to non-communicable diseases. 70% of gut-associated lymphoid tissue (GALT) resides in the gut.

GALT and the intestine are essential for the body’s immune defense. They allow tolerance to good bacteria and nutrients from our diets while dispelling invaders!

A healthy gut contains an arsenal of barriers to incoming pathogenic organisms that come in physical, immune, chemical, and enzymatic forms!

Because Salmonella and Campylobacter have high-level antimicrobial resistance (which is why they can transfer from animals to humans in the food chain), they are an extra challenge to the immune system (particularly where the immune system is compromised!).

How Does the Body Deal With Poisons?

What happens usually is that when pathogens enter the body, an inflammatory response is triggered. A lot goes on to successfully engulf and destroy invading micro-organisms in a healthy body.

The innate immune system prevents invaders from entering via:

  • *skin – keeping them out!
  • *mucus – trapping them!
  • *immune system cells – attacking them on entry!
  • *sweat and tear enzymes – which are anti-bacterial compounds!
  • *stomach acid – destroying them.

 

Our Adaptive Immunity

Our adaptive immunity is where our immune system recognizes what a pathogen is, and when it enters the body, our cells and organs create antibodies. A process of attack and destruction occurs, and then the immune system puts that bacteria that has infected you into a memory box so that you can get long-term protection from that pathogen.

During the invasion, amongst many other things, the immune system induces reactive oxygen species (ROS) production, too. This is where Salmonella and Campylobacter gain strength because they thrive on the proteins from this reaction.

Many gut bugs in your tummy at this time cannot survive the changed environment, which gives these bacteria an advantage as they take over!

However, certain bacteria produced in healthy, diverse microbiota before the invasion stop Salmonella from raising their internal pH to facilitate cellular functions required for their growth.

Increasing the diversity of gut bugs enhances resistance to pathogen colonization.

It’s all a complex interplay of different strains and species in the gut, where one microbe affects other microbes’ functions.

Quite like the Eat Burn Sleep lifestyle! One factor affects the other/s in a symbiotic way!

An interplay of nutrition (from recipes like these: Italian Chicken Salad & Paleo Energy Bars), lifestyle, sleep, movement, and neuroplasticity is needed for good gut and immune health.

This is why you can’t just do one thing like take some probiotics and expect them to do the trick of good gut and overall health.

Nutrition absorption and distribution is a significant fact influencing a robust bacterial community. 

In case you missed these posts: What Kills Candida Fast, Naturally?, How to Recover From Virus Infections, How to Boost Your Immunity to Fight Viruses.

What Raises the Risk of Food Poisoning?

Many people are more vulnerable to bacteria, which is one explanation why you could eat the same contaminated food as someone else, and only one of you has a reaction.

Vulnerable people include children who are under five and people who are over 65, pregnant, and who have existing conditions. Members, for advice on what to avoid for your condition, follow the personalized advice for your condition.

Here is a list of ways our immune is weakened:

  • *Poor nutrition
  • *Autoimmune diseases
  • *Chronic inflammation conditions
  • *Cancer
  • *HIV/Aids
  • *Liver disease
  • *Kidney disease
  • *Unhealthy lifestyle: smoking, alcohol, lack of exercise, high fat/ high sugar diets, low-calorie diets
  • *Lack of sleep
  • *Obesity
  • *Immune-suppressing medication
  • *Medication/antibiotics
  • *Chronic stress
  • *Deficiencies
  • *Age
  • *Isolation

Members get in-depth Insomnia advice here.

What Can Food Poisoning Cause?

Food poisoning usually clears up within 3-6 days, but there is strong evidence of how food poisoning can lead to further disease.

Leaky gut syndrome, gut bacteria imbalance, immune dysregulation, and inflammation are induced by the proteins in food-poisoning bacteria like Salmonella.

Due to the changes in the gut lining and gut bacteria imbalance, symptoms can continue once the infection has passed.

Gut dysbiosis equals immune dysregulation and chronic inflammation, and the risk of autoimmune diseases and immune dysregulation causes gut dysbiosis!

This leads to immune dysregulation and other chronic inflammatory conditions.

Food Poisoning and Further Disease Studies

So, in answer to whether food poisoning can cause chronic inflammation, the answer is yes.

A significant volume of research shows the link between disease development after food poisoning and IBS, reactive arthritis, IBD, Crohn’s Disease, Ulcerative Colitis, and other chronic inflammatory conditions.

These are just a few food poisoning and further disease studies:

Chronic inflammation can cause DNA damage, epigenetic modulation, and chromosome instability, leading to colon cancer risks. Mughini-Gras et al. (2018).

One in every nine people exposed to foodborne illness develops IBS at a rate four times higher than the non-exposed individuals, according to a meta-analysis of 45 studies. Klem et al. (2017).

IBD is linked to food poisoning, according to numerous studies. For instance, a study in Denmark noted that an episode of gastroenteritis with Salmonella and Campylobacter species tested positive is significantly associated with an increased risk of new-onset Ulcerative Colitis and Crohn’s Disease.

Do enjoy traveling, eating outside, and socializing, though. It’s all good for your mental and physical health, and your immunity needs you to be social (unless your doctor has told you otherwise).

Just remember, use your nose when it comes to food and drink. Don’t take the chance if they don’t pass the sniff test; if you think food is undercooked when you dine anywhere, don’t eat it. Don’t compromise your health.

It’s never too late to focus on gut health. It’s imperative to combat many health issues.

Have a beautiful day!

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Getting Pregnant With Endometriosis

woman holding her pregnant belly

You Can Have a Baby With Endometriosis

Hello Everyone. If you have endometriosis, there is no doubt that the impact on your life is profound.

Endometriosis pain can be different for every woman. It can feel like your insides are being torn apart or electrified at some parts of the month, or you may have dull, nagging aches in the back and pelvic area regularly. Accompanying symptoms can interfere significantly with your daily life.

This post is to reassure you that there is natural help if you have endometriosis and are worried about infertility. Please share with anyone that suffers from this debilitating condition. It may give them great hope.

Endometriosis and Fertility

Infertility With Endometriosis

Can Endometriosis Cause Depression?

Can You Get Pregnant With Endometriosis?

How Can You Have a Healthy Baby?

Endometriosis and Fertility

Life with endometriosis can be extremely limiting and can often send sufferers to bed for days on end, where they spend the time curled up in a ball, with intense pain, feeling unable to move.

Your tummy can swell, causing what is commonly known as an ‘endo belly’. The pain can be excruciating when you go to the bathroom, extending to other parts of your body, like your back and legs.

Heavy periods can accompany endometriosis, meaning you can never be far from a bathroom. Endometriosis can lead to hormonal acne, painful cysts, psoriasis, and arthritis.

Endometriosis can be exhausting and can leave little room for life’s pleasures.

Intimate relationships, work, school, social life, and mental well-being can all be affected, and for many, there’s the added worry about infertility.

Infertility With Endometriosis

As I mentioned, endometriosis is a chronic inflammatory condition that can present itself with severe pelvic pain throughout the month, along with many debilitating symptoms.

It can cause dyspareunia (painful intercourse) and severe constipation and is linked to infertility. This chronic inflammation condition often goes undiagnosed mainly.

The World Health Organisation reports 190 million women of reproductive age globally receive an endometriosis diagnosis. It describes endometriosis as the tissue that lines the uterus, which then grows outside the uterus.

An immunosuppressive state caused by chronic inflammation (dysregulation of the immune system) can be the perfect environment for this to occur.

The American Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology (AJOG) states that 6 out of 10 endometriosis cases are not picked up in the US.

AJOG classifies endometriosis as a wide-ranging and pervasive sequela (a condition that is a consequence of previous injury) described as ‘nothing short of a public health emergency ‘requiring immediate action.’ 

AJOG also states that from a clinical perspective, endometriosis may be better defined as a menstrual cycle-dependent, chronic, inflammatory, systemic disease that commonly presents itself as pelvic pain.

Oftentimes, other health challenges present themselves with endometriosis. Like iron deficiency and the symptoms of what that entails, like extreme fatigue, difficulty walking, or the need for infusions.

Can Endometriosis Cause Depression?

Depression often accompanies this chronic inflammation condition, which is understandable. Endometriosis can take over your life. If social life is diminished, work life is a challenge, and you are confined to bed regularly, this can all contribute to low mental well-being.

Depression also occurs due to a physiological process due to the nature of the chronic inflammation.

Chronic inflammation increases neuroinflammation (brain and spinal cord inflammation), which affects mental well-being.

Anxiety and depression are heightened when inflammation is present.

You may want to read Do You Often Feel Like Crying?

Can You Get Pregnant With Endometriosis?

Yes, you can get pregnant with endometriosis. Many women with endometriosis have gone on to have healthy babies by reducing inflammation.

Inflammation can disrupt the function of the endometrium, causing impairment in critical cell processes that prepare the endometrium for pregnancy, and it can reduce progesterone levels, for instance.

Discuss this anti-inflammatory diet and lifestyle to treat endometriosis with your doctor.

We start with a focus on the microbiome and the liver on the 6-week Reset. Read the testimonials about the benefits of this health-changing protocol before going forward to next-level health.

Certain bacteria in the microbiome are associated with endometriosis, which is balanced through the Eat Burn Sleep lifestyle. Treating gut dysbiosis improves immune response and reduces chronic inflammation.

This is why members who have endometriosis and other inflammatory conditions, with fertility concerns, have been able to conceive and have a baby on this lifestyle.

Chronic inflammation is linked to infertility and miscarriages.

When you reduce inflammation around the uterus, the chances of having a healthy implantation and a positive outcome for pregnancy are much higher.

You may want to read Improve Fertility for A Healthy Baby & Inflammatory Infertility.

How Can You Have a Healthy Baby?

Lowering chronic inflammation in the whole body will assist with treating dyspareunia, increasing the chances of getting pregnant, and carrying you through to delivering a healthy baby.

There are reasons why our members who have endometriosis feel like they can live a normal life again. Treated from all angles, with the right foods, exercise, and stress management, inflammation is reduced at systemic levels immensely.

When you have endometriosis, it can seem like there are not many days to look forward to that don’t have the ramifications of what the chronic inflammatory condition entails.

The excellent news is that on Eat Burn Sleep, pain, bloating, and inflammation reduce as the days go by. Days can be looked forward to as these subside, and life can be enjoyed again.

If you have the Eat Burn Sleep Premium Membership, you can personalize the program, depending on your health goals.

We have so many ways that you can incorporate tailored health advice for endometriosis. There’s the fertility (with or without IVF) section for men and women, plus endometriosis, hormonal balance, and depression section.

You may have other health concerns accompanying your endometriosis that you need help with, like bloating, migraines, acne, psoriasis, and hair loss. There’s a pregnancy and postpartum section for when your fertility dream has been realized!

Whether fertility is a goal for now or the future, don’t despair, and certainly don’t delay reducing your chronic inflammation systemically. Everyone’s health improves dramatically when you follow the Eat Burn Sleep method.

I am sending good wishes for a healthy, happy day!

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Anti-cancer Diet: Recovery and Prevention

Aiding Recovery and Prevention of Cancer

Hi Everyone! This post is about an anti-cancer diet and lifestyle that may aid in the recovery and prevention of cancer. According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), 30-50% of all cancer cases are preventable.

WHO has stated that dietary and lifestyle factors, physical inactivity, and being overweight significantly contribute to cancer.

Even people with ‘cancer genes’ may not develop cancer without dietary and lifestyle insults that turn healthy cells into abnormal cells that thrive in an inflamed microenvironment.

You can help yourself and your family to be more protected against cancer by living in an anti-inflammatory, gut-healthy way. By reading on, you can learn why an anti-inflammatory diet and lifestyle may help you prevent and reduce an environment for tumor cells to survive and grow.

What Diet Helps Prevent Cancer?

How Is Inflammation Linked to Cancer?

Are Genetic Cancers Common?

How Can You Reduce Cancer With a Diet?

How Can Lifestyle Change Gut Health?

Infections and Cancer

Weight Loss Will Protect Against Cancer

Stress and Cancer

Personalized Advice for Cancer Prevention and Recovery

What Diet Helps Prevent Cancer?

An anti-inflammatory diet and lifestyle will not only encourage weight loss (obesity is one of the leading causes of cancer) but may help prevent and reduce the chances of tumor growth because tumor cells survive where chronic inflammation exists.

Targeted at gut health, an anti-inflammatory diet promotes good bacteria diversity, regulates inflammation, and provides anti-tumoral effects in gut bacteria.

For instance, as one example, some bacteria can stimulate cancer formation by blocking immune cells that usually inhibit the growth of tumors.

Unhealthy food, chemicals, additives, lack of exercise and sleep, being overweight, stress, toxins, alcohol, smoking, and pollutants are some factors that increase pro-inflammatory cytokines, inflammatory enzymes, adhesion molecules, chemokines, and so on.

Read: Why Aspartame Is Linked to Cancer.

Living an anti-inflammatory lifestyle will provide you with more protection; the sooner you start, the better. We need to educate our younger loved ones!

How Is Inflammation Linked to Cancer?

Inflammation has powerful effects on not only the development of cancer but also the spreading of cancer because it allows tumor cell survival.

A chronic inflammation microenvironment causes DNA damage and cell mutation, allowing tumor cell survival and growth.

Microbial pathogens are known to drive the growth of tumors, and many malignancies are associated with gut health imbalance.

Inflammation can exist in the body without symptoms for a long time. You may be interested in reading Signs of Inflammation That May Surprise You and How to Silence Hidden Inflammation.

Are Genetic Cancers Common?

According to Cancer Research UK, it doesn’t mean you have a cancer gene if you have relatives with cancer.

Cancers from inherited genes are less common than you may think (5-10%). Most cancers develop because of our environment, diet, lifestyle, and chance, not because of specific genetic inheritance.

Inherited genes usually have a pattern. The more relatives with the same or similar cancer, and the younger they were at diagnosis, the stronger the chances of a family history of cancer are.

Inherited genes mean you have a higher risk of developing diseases, but further gene changes need to happen for cancer to develop.

I always advise making your body less inflammatory, even if you don’t have apparent symptoms or non-communicable diseases that run in the family. 78% of deaths are linked to chronic inflammation.

How Can You Reduce Cancer With a Diet?

According to The Lancet, more than 19 million new cancer cases were diagnosed in 2020 worldwide. By 2040, that burden is expected to increase to around 30 million new cancer cases annually. 

Cancer is a disease caused by many factors, including diet, lifestyle, immune response, hormones, stress, genetics, and environment.

When you consider WHO’s statement that 30-50% of cancer cases are preventable, you can better bolster against cancer by looking at the factors of diet, lifestyle, stress, etc. It is hard to escape chemicals and toxins because they are everywhere, but tobacco, alcohol, and obesity remain the leading causes.

What we feed ourselves has a significant impact on the risk of disease.

Focusing on gut health to reduce inflammation and boost immunity is a great place to start if you don’t smoke and drink in moderation.

Obesity is a chronic inflammatory condition, which is treated with this anti-inflammatory lifestyle, as well as better protection from cancer.

If you think about tumor cells needing an inflammatory environment to grow, reducing inflammation gives them less chance of survival.

A powerful anti-inflammatory technique involves the bacteria in your gut.

The bacteria in your gut have the unique ability to reduce inflammation, as well as strengthen your immunity, and reduce metabolic, infectious, and chronic diseases. The bacteria in your gut can even lessen genetic expression (epigenetics) if certain cancers do run in your family.

Gut bacteria also promote regular, quality sleep by producing serotonin and dopamine neurotransmitters, which assist your body in optimum health! (The production of serotonin and dopamine will also aid your mental health). 

It’s astonishing what balancing your gut bacteria will do for you mentally and physically! The power of those microbes in your gut should not be underestimated!

Plus, eating a wide variety of the proper nutrients daily in your anti-cancer diet that work synergistically together will prevent cellular stress, boost immunity, and reduce fat cell composition, as they aid in inhibiting inflammation and optimizing health.

If you eat anti-inflammatory foods predominantly, you can get away with having pro-inflammatory foods occasionally. A more detailed anti-cancer diet and recovery protocol are in the personalized advice. You can access that section here or click on the link below.

In case you missed these posts: What Foods Help With Cancer Prevention and Recovery?, How Can You Prevent and Treat Cervical Cancer?

How Can Lifestyle Change Gut Health?

Of course, the bacteria in your gut cannot change your lifestyle, but your lifestyle can change your gut bacteria.

(However, those bugs in your tummy have the power to let your brain know what it needs to survive. Good food or junk food, feed it, and it will grow and want more! Yet, you can soon change it around).

So, your gut bacteria changes if there are any stressors, and it becomes less diverse, increasing inflammation and dysregulating the immune system. If you are exposed to smoke, pollution, or lots of chemicals, these will change your bacteria, reduce immunity, and keep inflammation high.

Diet, lifestyle, and immune system are among the factors that influence microbiota composition and activity.

You may enjoy the post: The Benefits of Sun Exposure, which includes how to sunbathe safely to avoid skin cancer. Did you know that too little sunshine can be detrimental to other cancers?

Infections and Cancer

Cancers are linked to infections like hepatitis, H-pylori, and HPV.

During infection and bacterial overgrowth, bacterial pathogens can expand and release toxins when the gut is affected by dysbiosis (imbalance).

These toxins cause DNA breakdown, which can contribute to DNA mutations, tumor initiation, and the progression of cancer cells.

Your immunity is improved with less inflammation in your body because chronic inflammation is a dysregulation of the immune system.

You may be interested in reading How to Recover From Virus Infections.

Members, reduce bacterial overgrowth by following the advice for candida and h-pylori here.

Weight Loss Will Protect Against Cancer

Cancer Research UK states that obesity is the cause of 13 different types of cancer, and having a healthy diet overall, which will reduce weight, can reduce the risk of cancer.

Members, you can kickstart weight loss on the 6-week Reset. Large amounts of weight can be lost initially, and then weight reduces continuously, daily, as optimal health returns. The beautiful thing is that it is safe and nutritious and heals your chronic inflammatory condition and symptoms. There are no health risks, and it isn’t temporary. Not many weight loss schemes can say the same!

Read: Low-calorie Foods for Weight Loss & How Can You Lose a Lot of Weight Fast?

Stress and Cancer

Chronic stress over some time can cause gastrointestinal disorders, which lead to gut dysbiosis, which leads to inflammation and dysregulation of the immune system.

It can cause anxiety and depression and increase the risk of developing diseases, including cancer.

Excessive stress hormones also prevent immune cells from effectively controlling cancer cells by increasing inflammation and suppressing immunity.

Not all things that cause stress are controllable, I know, but there are many ways to reduce stress that will aid in dealing with uncontrollable stress-related incidences.

For instance, stress worsens if you don’t eat or drink well, get little sleep, and exercise. Have you heard my conversation with Dr. Tamsin Lewis on the links between mental health and physical health?

Personalized Advice for Cancer Prevention and Recovery

New members, check the Lifestyle Guide on how to navigate this lifestyle, which will aid in stress reduction profusely. Also, check the personalized advice on depression and anxiety.

Please check the Personalized Advice section on what else to do for Cancer Prevention and Recovery.

Or, if you would like to have a confidential 15-minute Zoom consultation with me, please book it here.

Non-members, here are some taster recipes: Egg Muffins: Sweet Potatoes, Carrots & Chives & Asian Chicken Soup With Konjac Noodles.

You may also like to visit the podcasts section. A host of subjects are covered with my wonderful guests, including cancer survival, stress reduction, food additives and your microbiome, mental health, mindset tips, and the immune system.

While the evidence continues accumulating about cancer protection and reduction with an anti-cancer diet and lifestyle, following the Eat Burn Sleep way of eating, moving, thinking, reducing stress, and sleeping will likely help (check the reviews)!

After all, there is a strong correlation between not paying attention to what we eat and how we live, which causes chronic inflammation and cancer risk. Taking into account that cancer cells love an inflammatory microenvironment.

Please look after yourself.

As always, I wish you well.

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Thyroid Diet: Food, Leaky Gut, & Thyroid Issues

Malnutrition Could Lead To Thyroid Malfunction

Hi Everyone. If you have been following Eat Burn Sleep for a while, you may remember that I wrote about thyroid foods and health at the beginning of the year.

In this article, I will briefly explain the link between digestive issues like leaky gut syndrome and thyroid issues.

If you have digestive issues, like leaky gut syndrome or IBS, along with thyroid issues, you may be deficient in micronutrients. What is unfortunate is that these micronutrients are imperative to keep your thyroid healthy, which puts you in a perpetual cycle of less-than-optimum thyroid health.

So this post is about how you can heal digestive issues and intestinal conditions like leaky gut syndrome, absorb the proper nutrients for thyroid hormone synthesis, and protect yourself from other diseases related to the thyroid.

What Is the Best Thyroid Diet?

Thyroid Issues and Leaky Gut Syndrome

What Is Leaky Gut Syndrome?

How Food Links to Thyroid Issues

Micronutrients Affect the Thyroid

What Are the Symptoms of Thyroid Issues?

What Food Affects the Thyroid?

Thyroid Healing Diet & Lifestyle

What Is the Best Thyroid Diet?

The best thyroid diet has a focus on gut microbiota. You see, your gut bacteria influence many functions in the body.

Not only does the gut microbiota influence the availability of the micronutrients needed for thyroid hormone synthesis, but as I mentioned above, it influences the development of further thyroid diseases.

Healthy gut bacteria have beneficial effects on immune system activity and may prevent thyroid hormone fluctuation and disorders.

A healthy composition of gut bacteria influences things like the availability of iron, which allows the utilization of vital nutrients for thyroid health. It also provides the perfect reservoir for T3 (one of the thyroid hormones), for instance.

Thyroid Issues and Leaky Gut Syndrome

There’s a reason why if you have the autoimmune thyroid disease Hashimoto’s or Graves disease, it wouldn’t be surprising if you had leaky gut syndrome. Or any intestinal disease like celiac disease or digestive issues like IBS, bloating, and diarrhea.

Intestinal diseases and thyroid diseases often co-exist.

Chronic inflammation and autoimmune diseases affect the thyroid gland.

What Is Leaky Gut Syndrome?

Leaky Gut Syndrome, also known as ‘increased intestinal permeability,’ is an intestinal (or digestive) condition.

Inside our stomachs, we have an extensive intestinal lining. Like a tight net, this lining forms a barrier and filters what gets absorbed into the bloodstream. When it is damaged and malfunctioning, a barrier doesn’t exist, and it may have cracks and holes in it. It may become ‘leaky’.

These holes allow partially digested food, harmful bacteria, and other toxins to penetrate the tissues beneath them.

The immune system then becomes activated because it sees the particles as foreign objects or can react with other intestinal tissues.

The tissues become inflamed, and the regular bacteria change.

The changes in gut bacteria (dysbiosis) lead to inflammation and digestive conditions and affect other aspects of your health too.

The gut dysbiosis that occurs with digestive issues alters the immune response by promoting inflammation and reducing immune tolerance. This interferes with important conversion and functions of thyroid hormones. Plus, nutrients for the thyroid are not absorbed.

Dysbiosis has not only been found in autoimmune thyroid diseases like Graves and Hashimoto’s, but it has been reported in thyroid carcinoma (which is treatable these days).

What you eat can change gut bacteria, cause dysbiosis, and affect thyroid hormone synthesis.

Gut bacteria that are fed by the food that you choose may be having a detrimental effect on your thyroid.

Bacteria in the gastrointestinal tract (gut) must be diverse and are a mix of viruses, protozoa, fungi, etc. If the mix gets disturbed and the harmful bacteria start multiplying, then this is the state when health becomes challenged.

The bad guys can multiply for many reasons, but certainly because of the type of food you eat (and don’t eat!).

For example, if you love fried foods every day of the week, the harmful bacteria that welcome compounds that are not particularly good for you will thrive on that. Feed them regularly, and your body goes into a state of disease.

Malnutrition (insufficient nutrition) affects the functioning and recovery of the gastrointestinal tract, immune and thyroid (as well as every single organ!).

Micronutrients Affect the Thyroid

Gut microbiota has to be a certain mix to ensure essential micronutrients obtained from food are available for thyroid hormone synthesis.

Also, the necessary conversion of T4 (thyroxine: mood, body, temperature, metabolism) to T3 (triiodothyronine: digestive, metabolic, bone health) is performed in the liver, as well.

Then, it would help if you had vitamin D because this hormone (vitamin D is a hormone) assists in regulating the immune response and for healthy bones, teeth, and muscles. 90% is produced by sunlight and 10% by food.

The Benefits of Sun Exposure explains more about vitamin D.

This is why the liver needs to be looked after, too. 

Not to mention that thyroid medication is heavy on the liver!

Have you read: Detox Your Liver Naturally?

Studies have shown that these specific co-existing micronutrients, including iodine and zinc, essential for hormone synthesis and immune response regulation, are deficient in people with autoimmune thyroid diseases.

What Are the Symptoms of Thyroid Issues?

This article: Thyroid Health Foods & Advice, tells you:

  • * the symptoms of a low thyroid function
  • * the symptoms of hyperthyroidism
  • * about men’s symptoms of thyroid issues
  • * what can cause thyroid disorders
  • * how a healthy thyroid functions
  • * the importance of liver detoxing (our detox is so powerful!) for thyroid health

 

What Food Affects the Thyroid?

Many foods affect the thyroid, but you must ensure that you eat the right food with the right micronutrients because malnutrition can lead to thyroid malfunction.

Members, please check personalized advice for thyroid issues and watch the Masterclass Live on thyroid issues.  Non-members, you can join here to access the best thyroid diet and lifestyle to avoid malnutrition and heal your digestive condition.

Here are a couple of recipes to sample: Asian Beef Lettuce Wraps & Paleo Chocolate Chip Cookies.

It is easy to follow and equips you with all the tools you need to be in your best health, including the proper exercise for your thyroid that is associated with improving serum thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) and cortisol-reducing practices (stress affects T4 and metabolism is affected), for instance. 

Thyroid Healing Diet & Lifestyle

Healing your gut lining, promoting positive changes in gut bacteria, absorbing nutrients, boosting immunity, reducing inflammation, detoxing your liver, treating conditions like leaky gut, IBS, IBD, celiac, Crohn’s, Colitis, diverticulitis…it’s all here!

Be wary of following online thyroid diets from non-reputable sources. Some tell you to eat lots of vegetables, which is dangerous. Certain vegetables may block the body’s ability to utilize iodine, which is essential for thyroid health, as mentioned above.

Some minerals and foods interfere with thyroid medication. A good thyroid diet is rather complex; getting nutrition advice from a trusted source is essential.

Not everything ‘obviously’ healthy is healthy. Not everything is off-limits on EBS.

The impact of food on thyroid issues shouldn’t be underestimated.

Good nutrition is fundamental to good health.

Check out the reviews!

I hope that your day is healthy and happy.

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How to Ease Chronic Fatigue Syndrome/ME

Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Diet

Hello Everyone! Chronic fatigue syndrome, or ME (Myalgic Encephalomyelitis), has been a somewhat mysterious disease since the 1930s. Still, recent scientific studies connect the dots and reveal what may help restore chronic fatigue.

For this post, I refer to the studies by Montoya et al. (2017), Williams et al. (2021), and Missailidis et al. (2019), as well as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

If you have (or know anyone with) ME/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, I am sure you will feel some relief knowing there’s been some headway in identifying underlying causes. Spread the word!

Is Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Real?

How Does ME Develop?

Symptoms of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome

How Do You Treat Chronic Fatigue Syndrome?

What Do Changes in Tummy Bacteria Do?

What Is a Good Chronic Fatigue Syndrome/ME Diet?

Support for Chronic Fatigue Syndrome/ME

Is Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Real?

Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, or Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (ME), is real.

It’s been around since 1930, and its prevalence is rising. The disease incidence at the beginning of the 20th Century was around 2 cases per 100,000 population. The 21st Century brings an estimated 30-50 cases per 100,000 population.

Chronic Fatigue Syndrome/ME can be found in all ages and races, and according to many international studies, it seems more prevalent in women.

For some, it may be chronic and disabling, with numerous symptoms like sleep problems, depression, and malaise.

How Does ME Develop?

Countless studies have been conducted to ascertain how Chronic Fatigue Syndrome develops. They are continuing, as it is not yet fully understood. Still, the links with inflammation, gut bacteria, stress which increases inflammation, and autoimmune disease, a chronic inflammatory condition, are increasing.

The Center for Disease Control and Prevention lists possible causes:

Immune System Changes – ‘It is possible that ME/CFS is caused by a change in the person’s immune system and how it responds to stress. ME/CFS shares some features of autoimmune diseases, as they are more common in women and characterized by increased inflammation.’

Stress – ‘Cortisol levels lead to an increase in inflammation and chronic activation of the immune system.’

Infections, changes to energy production, and genes have all been linked by scientists.

This study by Montoya et al. (2017) links inflammation:

Cytokine measures from people with and without the condition were undertaken to determine whether inflammation could be associated with ME/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and correlated with disease severity and fatigue duration.

‘Of the 17 cytokines that correlated with severity, 13 were found to be proinflammatory, likely contributing to many of the symptoms experienced by patients and establishing a strong immune system component of the disease.’ 

More research links to evidence of common denominators of disturbances to immunological and inflammatory pathways, heavy stress on the body, autonomic and neurological dysfunction, shifts in metabolism, and gut physiology or gut microbiota disturbances, as well as a wide range of mitochondrial dysfunction. Missailidis et al. (2019).

Symptoms of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome

Profound fatigue is a significant symptom, of course.

Still, there are always more symptoms like sleeplessness, IBS, migraines, fungal infections, swelling, water retention, lymph pain, muscle and joint pains, low blood pressure, depression, attention deficit, lightheadedness, brain fog, memory problems, anxiety, and lack of well-being.

Many people have developed chronic fatigue syndrome after Covid-19.

Have you heard my chat with Dr. Tamsin Lewis about Long Covid, immunity, and energy in Podcasts?

How Do You Treat Chronic Fatigue Syndrome?

If a doctor has ruled out possible other causes, they tend to treat symptoms with anti-inflammatory medication, sleeping pills, antibiotics, muscle relaxants, autoimmune suppressants, and painkillers.

Medical treatments for chronic fatigue seem to target the symptoms since the entire understanding of the disease is still evolving, as mentioned above.

The trouble with medication, from my knowledge and experience, is that it is often life-saving but doesn’t treat the cause at systemic levels. It can overload the liver, irritate the gut lining, and create dysbiosis.

Gut dysbiosis (changes in tummy bacteria) is a change in gut physiology and microbiota disturbances.

What Do Changes in Tummy Bacteria Do?

Gut dysbiosis (changed tummy bacteria) dysregulates the immune system, and chronic inflammation kicks in. These will cause susceptibility to developing other conditions.

In an already inflamed and immunocompromised body, more health challenges may arise (joint pains, IBS, migraines, depression, memory loss, fungal infections, and lack of well-being, as mentioned above).

Gut health is connected with mental health. Chronic inflammation extends to neuroinflammation. This is why depression, anxiety, and cognitive dysfunction (brain fog) can run alongside many health conditions.

Many people have high cholesterol with chronic fatigue, so if you are looking to lower your cholesterol, please check this article.

Does Gut Health Affect ME?

Recent studies have linked gut bacteria to chronic fatigue syndrome/ME. Drs Williams, Lipkin, and Snow, along with their collaborators, analyzed the genetic makeup of gut bacteria. The results showed critical differences in microbiome diversity, quantity, metabolic pathways, and interactions between species of gut bacteria. Williams et al. (2021).

Many studies show that people can recover from Chronic Fatigue Syndrome/ME. The length of time is dependent on treatment.

What Is a Good Chronic Fatigue Syndrome/ME Diet?

An anti-inflammatory, gut-healthy diet and lifestyle may help you reduce the recovery time tenfold. 

If you do one thing today towards improving your condition, make it a focus on gut health.

When you don’t have the energy to make a cup of tea on some days, the thought of doing anything right now may sound too much, but what you eat on Eat Burn Sleep may make a huge difference.

It will improve your gut health, reduce inflammation naturally, and boost your immune system. Eating nutrient-rich, gut-healthy food regularly is undoubtedly good for promoting restorative and regular sleep.

Support For Chronic Fatigue Syndrome/ME

There is a personalized advice section for extra support when you join a Premium Membership. You may experience conditions alongside ME/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, like depression, migraines, candida, IBS, bloating and bowel issues, Long Covid, weight loss, weight gain, water retention, and hair loss, for instance, are all listed here. Plus more.

There are guides on what to eat, what not to eat, supplements (our own supplement will be ready soon – so exciting!), therapies, inspirations, neuroplasticity exercises, and much more!

You can join EBS here or book a 15-minute Zoom call with me.

It could be life-changing.

I hope so.

Wishing you good health!

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How Do You Get Nutrients With Celiac Disease?

A Nutritious Celiac Diet

Hello Everyone! I was reading a nutritional assessment recently about women with celiac disease. It revealed that their daily micronutrients were unmet.

The study in Norway (Norkost 3) showed that women with celiac disease had an unbalanced diet with a higher intake of total and saturated fat, along with a low fiber intake, compared to the general population.

The results highlighted the need for people with celiac to follow a nutrition-dense diet free of all the triggers.* 

This post is for you if you have celiac disease and need guidance in not just what to eat to ensure that you get the proper nutrition but to guarantee that taste, variety, and cakes are involved!

What Are the Symptoms of Celiac Disease?

What Is the Best Diet for Celiac Disease?

How To Eat Healthily With Celiac Disease

What Happens if You Eat a High-Fat Diet?

What Happens if You Don’t Eat Enough Fiber?

Where Do You Find Celiac Nutrition Online?

What Are the Symptoms of Celiac Disease?

Celiac disease is an autoimmune disease, and symptoms can be surprising and may include:

  • Diarrhea
  • Constipation
  • Bloating
  • Stomach cramps
  • Vomiting
  • Anemia
  • Nutrient deficiencies
  • Extreme fatigue
  • Headaches
  • Dizziness
  • Skin rashes
  • Hair loss
  • Damage to teeth enamel
  • Mouth ulcers
  • Joint pain
  • Low bone density
  • Sensory symptoms
  • Cognitive dysfunction
  • ADHD (attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder)
  • Low moods, anxiety, and depression
  • Weight loss

 

The only way to manage celiac disease is through diet and lifestyle, and if done successfully, you can live a symptom-free, rich life.

What Is the Best Diet for Celiac Disease?

If you are newly diagnosed, you may feel relieved that you finally know what has been causing all of your health challenges. 

You may have searched for the best diet for celiac disease online and resolved that you won’t be eating out anymore and will be taking food with you wherever you go. 

You may have listed everything you can eat but then be flummoxed at putting a varied meal plan together to fit into your life or the family.

The best diet recommendations for celiac disease can often feel restrictive, unsustainable, and boring. Mourning all the food you love, like cake, bread, and cookies, is expected when you have been diagnosed with celiac disease.

You may not know what to avoid since many safe foods for people with celiac disease can be made, processed, and grown alongside foods that cause celiac flare-ups.

*Some surprising ingredients in gluten-free foods will not help your celiac condition.

You could replace your current favorites with ‘gluten-free’ foods but be gaining weight and not feeling optimum health. You may not realize that other ingredients in some gluten-free packaged foods may cause gut dysbiosis.

Gut dysbiosis will exacerbate your symptoms! It causes chronic inflammation, dysregulates your immune system, and makes you vulnerable to more disease.

It can be mind-blowing, I know.

How To Eat Healthily With Celiac Disease

With celiac disease, the lining of your small intestines is damaged, and your immune system has mistakenly attacked your healthy tissues when you have eaten gluten (the substances inside are seen as threats to the body!). This causes your body to be unable to take in nutrients.

I know that when you have to watch what you eat and drink due to the need to eliminate celiac flare-ups, you can often go with tried and trusted ‘safe’ options and limit your food variety. Getting through the day without cramps or sickness is easier than anticipating an attack!

What happens to many people who have gastrointestinal symptoms with their autoimmune disease or chronic condition is malnutrition and dehydration.

These then present more issues that can develop. Anemia, as one example, then presents itself with more symptoms. Have you read Anemia, B12, & Iron Deficiencies?

Poor nutrition absorption can weaken your immune system. You may be interested in reading more about your immune system here.

What Happens if You Eat a High-Fat Diet?

The Norkast 3 study revealed women with celiac disease have high-fat intakes.

A high fat intake puts the risk of diseases of the heart at a higher rate. It can increase the risk of obesity, metabolic syndrome, fatty liver, type 2 diabetes, and certain types of cancer.

One of the problems is that processed gluten-free foods do not help you when you have celiac disease. They could be making your health worse in the long run.

You see, gluten-free processed food usually has a lot of saturated fat and chemicals to make them palatable. (Have you listened to my podcasts and Instagram Lives about additives and the microbiome with Dr. Dawn Shirling yet?).

There’s also a Masterclass Lives on Additives, that you can listen to/watch here.

High-fat diets change long-chain fatty acid metabolism and gut dysbiosis, which results in high levels of inflammatory triggers. 

A high-fat diet and chemicals can alter the bugs in your tummy (microbiota) and decrease, in particular, certain ‘good’ bacteria and increase ‘bad’ bacteria.

As I often mention, bacteria are essential in gut, brain, and immune health.

Gut dysbiosis leads to chronic inflammation, which leads to immune dysregulation.

Oftentimes, with an alteration in the tummy microbiota comes depression, anxiety, low moods, and feeling like you want to cry, for instance. This is the brain-gut connection. Have you read How Do You Live with IBS and Anxiety?

Many people with chronic inflammation suffer low moods and depression, not just because of the challenges of having the conditions and how they present themselves.

What Happens if You Don’t Eat Enough Fiber?

The women in the study with celiac disease also had low fiber intakes.

Fiber is essential in our diets for digestion, gut health, and reducing the risk of developing chronic inflammatory conditions.

Your cardiovascular system is more protected with a fiber-rich diet because fiber reduces total cholesterol and low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol. LDL is a significant risk for heart conditions. Fiber also slows down carbohydrate sugar absorption, preventing blood sugar spikes after meals.

It is essential to get the balance right because low fiber intake changes tummy bacteria diversity and feeling fuller for longer, too.

Too little can cause bowel issues like IBS and even bowel cancer.

You can miss out on many nutrients if your diet is strict or limited for whatever reason (not the correct type of fiber and fats), but I will save that for another time.

As I mentioned earlier, many deficiencies occur due to conditions that trigger many trips to the bathroom. I have been there! You can feel really ill and low because of the lack of nutrients (as well as dealing with all of the complications and challenges).

Nutrition cannot be compromised. For many autoimmune diseases, mineral deficiencies, for instance, are not compensated for.

It is crucial to have a nutrient-rich diet for celiac disease while reducing inflammation, healing the condition, and protecting from developing other conditions and symptoms.

I have two autoimmune conditions in remission, and I feel amazing!

You may be interested in listening to how I put my autoimmune diseases into remission here or reading about how our bodies are wired for healing here.

Where Do You Find Celiac Nutrition Online?

Needless to say, Eat Burn Sleep’s nutrient-packed celiac-friendly diet and lifestyle may have you feeling the same way in very little time. Plus, it just gets better, and it isn’t temporary.

You don’t have to overthink too much because I have done all the meal planning, family and friends-friendly recipes, lunch boxes, and eating-out guide for you. When I was devising it, I decided that it had to be delicious and include tons of treats. I didn’t want to miss cakes and cookies! I don’t ‘do’ bland in life!

You don’t need to be good at cooking to prepare delicious nutrient-dense celiac-friendly meals. There are dozens of cake and cookie recipes (which have a reputation for being divine by cake-eating experts!), and you will know what to eat when you dine out (the eating-out guide is on the app!).

You can still eat your old favorites in moderation (but you may not want to because of the pain they used to cause and because gut microbiota is very clever!).

One important thing to note is I advise you to think about all of the beautiful new food and ways to live that are before you if you have been diagnosed with celiac, rather than feeling like you have to give up things you love. Adopting the Eat Burn Sleep gut health diet and lifestyle will reinforce the incredible way you will feel in no time.

Changing what you eat and how you eat will aid your gut healing, digestion, nutrient absorption, brain, energy, and sleep patterns. Moving and thinking in an anti-inflammatory, stress-free way will support them further.

Eat Burn Sleep allows you to be spontaneous again!

Life is to be lived well, after all!

I hope you have a wonderful day.

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Reduce Asthma with an Anti-inflammatory Diet

Asthma and Gut Health

Hello Everyone! Did you know that certain nutrients and what you eat make a difference to asthma when consumed regularly? Those bugs in your tummy that I talk about will also play a role in your asthma.

This post explains how this safe and natural anti-inflammatory diet and lifestyle may benefit you if you have asthma.

What Is Asthma?

How Does Gut Health Affect Asthma?

What Is a Good Asthma Diet?

How Can You Fix Asthma Naturally?

Does Stress Affect Asthma?

What Exercise Is Good for Asthma?

How to Live a Happy Life with Asthma

What Is Asthma?

Asthma is a non-communicable disease affecting children and adults. One of the critical components is chronic inflammation of the airways.

According to WHO, 262 million people in 2019 were affected by asthma, and there were 455 000 deaths worldwide.

Asthma has been linked to many things like intestinal permeability, nutrition deficiencies, specific diets, certain exercises, genetics, stress, intense emotions, medication, tobacco smoke, pollution, weather, chemicals, animal hair and skin, pests, disinfectants, and overcleaning, dust, mold, and infections.

Chronic inflammation and disruption in gut health are linked with asthma, which dysregulates the immune system, which many of the above can cause. 

Maternal diet and lifestyle and how you were delivered into the world are linked to asthma, too!

How Does Gut Health Affect Asthma?

A healthy gut has 4-5 lbs of diverse bacteria, fungi, viruses, and protozoa (known as microbiota). It produces metabolites that impact metabolic and immune responses and protects against pathogens.

Many factors determine the diversity of the bacteria in your gut. For instance, airway responses can increase with a gastrointestinal tract with more invasive bacteria than protective bacteria. The immune system is compromised, chronic inflammatory respiratory disorders increase, and so on.

In a study on the origin of respiratory diseases in children, Watson et al. (2019) determined that there was always gut dysbiosis (imbalance) with a diagnosis of asthma.

Balanced gut microbiota is imperative to health, considering that 70% of immune cells (Gut-associated Lymphoid Tissue) reside there, and gut lining strength depends on it.

If anything happens to the gut lining (intestinal barrier) and the gut-associated lymphoid tissue, this is when autoimmune and chronic inflammatory disorders may occur. Indeed, asthma has been linked to ‘Leaky Gut Syndrome’.

Changes in the gut are linked with altered immune responses and airway homeostasis.

What Is a Good Asthma Diet?

What you eat could impact your asthma. Many foods cause a great disturbance in homeostasis in the body, leading to inflammatory conditions and exacerbating symptoms in diseases like asthma.

As with many inflammatory conditions, like I say, gut-healthy nutrients in Eat Burn Sleep’s anti-inflammatory diet may prevent and alleviate asthma, too.

You see, short-chain fatty acids are produced in high amounts when you follow EBS, and they have immunomodulatory and anti-inflammatory effects.

We have an abundance of antioxidants in our recipes that will contribute to reducing airway inflammation and reactivity. They also have anti-allergic properties. They prevent, intercept, and repair oxidation and cellular damage (lungs are constantly exposed to oxidants).

Remember that our focus is gut health, which is imperative to overall good health.

How Can You Fix Asthma Naturally?

It isn’t just about what you eat, of course, because how we live, and sleep can cause inflammation. There are asthma triggers everywhere!

The health education that Eat Burn Sleep provides is vital to reducing your inflammatory condition and improving your health and quality of life tenfold.

By the way, I always advise to never give up medication that your doctor has prescribed you, and certainly run this gut health lifestyle for asthma by them.

Eat Burn Sleep gives you the tools to improve liver function. You see, allergies and many substances and compounds can create sub-optimum liver functioning. Members, access the potent and safe liver detox here.

The lifestyle enhances metabolism, nutrient absorption, immunity, and the reduction of oxidative stress and inflammation in the body.

The great thing is that it suits the whole family (I call it family and friend-friendly), and it’s portable. You can access the food lists, shopping guide and recipes (which you may have saved to favorites), and daily goals on the app, for instance, at the grocery store.

The Eating Out Guide is handy on the app, too!

Does Stress Affect Asthma?

Cortisol and other hormones release when stressed. If elongated, this can induce alterations in immune response, which may have implications for triggering asthma attacks and exacerbating the condition. It affects digestion and gut health, too.

Stress can worsen your asthma, promoting a cycle because asthma can exacerbate stress. Stress can also aid in the development of asthma.

(Some stress can’t be avoided, but EBS’s stress-reducing tools are incredibly effective!).

You may be interested in reading: Do You Often Feel Like Crying and Don’t Know Why?

What Exercise Is Good for Asthma?

Many things can occur that will affect asthma with some exercises. For instance, airways can get smaller and inflamed with heat and water loss when breathing in dry air. Some exercises can induce asthma.

However, many sports are low-risk for asthma, and there are effective stress-reducing safe movements (as well as neuroplasticity exercises) to do on this anti-inflammatory lifestyle.

How to Live a Happy Life with Asthma

It can seem hard to believe, at times, that what you eat, what you do, and how you sleep could contribute to the intensity of your symptoms and long-term effects. 

Living the EBS way treats chronic inflammatory conditions like obesity, GERD, and eczema. These are commonly linked to worsened asthma outcomes.

This anti-inflammatory diet and lifestyle for asthma, along with good management of medications under your doctor’s guidance, may very well help you live a regular, active, and happy life.

I wish you all a happy, healthy day!

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Brain Food for Studying and Focus

Improving Brain Health Through Nutrition

Nutrition is essential for brain health. Eating well for memory, focus, and the best cognitive function is a good plan when studying for exams.

So too, is focusing on what will feed the good bugs in your gut, aiding brain health.

Not eating good brain food, not exercising, or sleeping enough while preparing for exams may upset your gut health, which may upset your brain health.

This post is designed to help anyone who wants to improve their focus, memory, and cognitive thinking, which is particularly helpful for exam time and anytime!

What Is Good Brain Health?

What Are the Best Brain Foods?

What Foods Are Good for Memory and Focus?

What Helps Studying?

How Can You Improve Focus and Concentration?

How Do You Stop Craving Sweets and Snacks?

What Is Good Brain Health?

In the British Medical Journal, the brain is defined as a complex organ with at least three levels of functions that affect our daily lives.

These are:

  • Maintenance of cognitive, mental, and emotional processes
  • Maintenance of normal behavior and social cognition
  • Interpretation of senses and control of movement

 

Brain health, therefore, may be defined as the preservation of optimal brain integrity and mental and cognitive function and the absence of neurological disorders. Wang et al. BMJ (2020).

Neurological disorders are linked to systemic inflammation affecting the central nervous system.

For thousands of years, it has been known that nutrients can affect cognitive processes.

Along with other factors like exercise and sleep, nutrition plays a crucial role in shaping cognitive functions. The network of neurons that communicate with cells and the body relies on nutritious, anti-inflammatory, gut-healthy foods that will prevent oxidative stress, fight free radicals, and encourage neurotransmitter production, for instance.

Many foods contribute to cognitive decline.

Foods that increase inflammation will increase inflammation in the brain, too.

Take, for instance, ultra-processed foods (UPFs), which I talk about a lot. If they form the majority of someone’s diet, then essential brain nutrient requirements are not being met. For instance:

  • Short-chain fatty acids support the integrity of the blood-brain barrier, protecting the brain from toxic compounds.
  • Polyphenols offer protection from neurodegenerative diseases (and cancer, cardiovascular diseases, osteoporosis, etc.).
  • Omega-3s, which are important for our brain throughout our lives…and the list goes on!

You may enjoy reading: Do We All Need Omega-3?

What Foods Are Good for Memory and Focus?

Any foods that encourage bad bugs to flourish in your tummy causing gut dysbiosis (imbalance), are not good for memory, learning, and focus.

When you eat nourishing, nutritional food, which promotes a healthy gut and ‘feel-good’ neurotransmitter synthesis, it also reduces inflammation in the brain and supports healthy brain function. 

Neurotransmitters are an integral part of the brain-gut axis. You can read all about the amazing things neurotransmitters do for our minds and bodies here.

Dopamine, for instance, is involved in memory and focus. 50% is produced in the gut by enteric neurons and intestinal epithelial cells. The rest is made in the brain by converting the amino acid tyrosine into another amino acid called L-dopa! L-dopa then undergoes another change, where enzymes turn it into dopamine!

The role of dopamine is also involved in attention, learning, cognition, mood, and motivation. These are all important, of course, and will assist you when you are studying for exams.

Tyrosine, for example, plays a critical role in dopamine production. Boosting levels with tyrosine-rich foods are a good way. It can also be made from phenylalanine, another amino acid in many protein-rich foods we love on EBS!

These provide an extra boost of memory and mental performance!

Like other minerals and vitamins, for instance, concentrating on tyrosine alone won’t work if your body lacks good nutrition. 

Also, just taking ‘studying’ supplements are not enough, either. If you missed it, read my AGI Review: Is AGI Supplement Good for You? 

Needless to say, you always need complete nutrients to allow for conversions and synthesis in the body.

What Helps Studying?

Nourishing your gut and mind will also help you keep stress at bay and reduce any digestive issues and anxiety you may have while studying. Did you read last week’s article: How Do You Live With IBS and Anxiety?

Various compounds and activities enhance brain health and help with studying for exams. They make an immense difference in learning and retaining information! Plus, you are protecting yourself from possible neurodegenerative disease, looking further down the line.

So many diets contribute to difficulties with studying, staying focused, and remembering. Snacking and not eating and drinking well during exam time is common. Just bear the thought that if you eat, drink, and sleep well, it is likely to enhance your studying at this time.

Make sure you read: What Happens If You Don’t Sleep Well? , Why Are You Moody and Irritable? , and

Is This the Reason Why You Are Tired All the Time?

How Can You Improve Focus and Concentration?

Focus and concentration can improve rather quickly when you switch to an anti-inflammatory diet and lifestyle. It isn’t just about food!

Replenishing, nourishing brain health nutrients will kick in rather quickly. Following Eat Burn Sleep for brain food for studying, cravings for ultra-processed foods (UPFs) will diminish. This is good because UPFs won’t help your focus, memory, and cognitive thinking.

If you think that you are doing okay eating them, imagine how even greater your mind can be. Do bear in mind long-term use because oftentimes, we can get away with things if they are temporary.

Changing diet patterns isn’t as hard as it may seem, too. It’s all about those bugs in our tummies!

How Do You Stop Craving Sweets and Snacks?

You can stop craving sweets and snacks on Eat Burn Sleep.

Members say that foods they used to eat now taste so ‘weird,’ ‘strange,’ and ‘chemical,’ and they cannot believe that they used to form a large part of their diet.

Focusing on improving the bacteria in your stomach is so powerful because it removes those ‘addictive’ bacteria that keep telling your brain that you want more junk. Bacteria are so powerful. They, good or bad, tell your brain to feed them more of what they need to survive.

So, the harmful bacteria that cries out for unhealthy food wants to grow and multiply. If they are satisfied, the good guys will diminish. As this is happening, your body can become susceptible to digestive and immune issues and chronic inflammatory conditions. Your brain may not be at its optimum, slowing your cognitive function. This will mean that studying, memory, focus, and all learning abilities may not be not as switched on as they could be.

Looking after your brain and nervous system will look after automatic activities such as breathing and waking up. It will also aid in reading, learning, and remembering information.

Ensure that you eat well and live well. Support the vagus nerve, move correctly, keep stress and inflammation at bay, look after your immune system, and support neurotransmitter production by doing so. It will assist in your studying.

Having the right balance will ensure good quality sleep. It’s important not to fight sleep for good cognitive function.

Being kind to yourself is essential. During exams. During life.

I wish you good health and good luck.