435 Activated Charcoal [28 August 2017]

Activated charcoal has a long history of medicinal use. Charcoal is almost pure carbon, resulting from the burning of wood, bone, coal or other organic material such as coconut shells in the absence of oxygen. Activated carbon has been treated to increase the surface area of the carbon, maximizing its absorption.

Carbon is commonly used in water filters to remove impurities and toxins including metals. Charcoal is also used internally as a supplement and externally as a poultice. There is an entire book on the topic “The Complete Handbook of Medicinal Charcoal and Its Applications” available from charcoalremedies.com.
Some of the uses of activated charcoal are:

• Taken as an emergency poison treatment [call the poison control centre before using as it does not work on all poisons]
• Taken in large doses between meals as a body cleanse and detox program
• Used in the treatment of Candida albicans infections to slow growth of intestinal yeast and to absorb the toxins released during the die-off stage (Herxheimer reaction)
• Used with chronic kidney disease to reduce the load of waste products to filter
• Quickly reduces acid indigestion by neutralizing stomach acid
• Counters food poisoning so is useful when travelling to prevent diarrhea
• Reduces flatulence by absorbing intestinal gas
• Charcoal is one of the ingredients in Colic Calm gripe water for babies
• Taken both internally and externally (in warm water soak) to relieve gout
• Used topically for spider & insect bites, severe acne, diabetic ulcers

Some cautions are necessary in taking activated charcoal. Take the charcoal two hours away from medications as it will reduce their efficacy. Do not use for long periods of time as it also reduces absorption of nutrients from your food and supplements. Drink extra water when using charcoal as it absorbs water from the intestines and can cause constipation.

I sell activated charcoal in capsule form and can get it in bulk powder. The powder is mixed in a glass of water – it looks awful but has no taste.

Source: Mercola.com "Is activated Charcoal Beneficial?" 10 July 2017

For more information on this or other natural health topics, stop in and talk to Stan; for medical advice consult your licensed health practitioner.

434 Collagen & Our Skin [21 August 2017]

I wrote about the benefits of collagen supplements back in February of this year [#406] for strong and healthy skin, bones, muscles, tendons, cartilage and ligaments. This week I want to concentrate on just one of these – skin health.

As we age the collagen matrix in the dermis of our skin becomes damaged, fragmented, and less dense. The result is dry, inelastic skin with … (gasp!) wrinkles! Introducing small collagen peptides in the blood stimulates the fibroblast cells to synthesize and reorganize new collagen fibers and to produce hyaluronic acid [see #015 June 2009]. This increases the density, strength and elasticity of the skin making it look and feel younger.

Two clinical studies done in 2008, in Tokyo Japan and in Lyon France, measured the effects of oral collagen supplementation on skin properties. Both studies used 10 grams daily of Peptan™, a hydrolyzed collagen made by Rousselot in France. The studies found that after 8 to 12 weeks Peptan™:
• increased skin hydration by 28%
• improved skin smoothness by reducing the number of micro-relief furrows by 26%
• prevented the formation of deep wrinkles, and
• improved skin suppleness 19%

Until recently the collagen I sold in my store was bovine (from cattle). I now have marine (fish source) collagen as well. Peptan™ marine collagen is made from the bones, scales and fins of North Atlantic tilapia. The peptides in Peptan™ are very small (9 times smaller than most on the market) and are therefore much more readily absorbed. Fortunately, marine collage has no fishy taste or odour.

Like bovine collagen, marine collagen is a Type 1 collagen which is essential for healthy skin, hair, nails, tendons and bones. Marine collagen has an amino acid profile that makes it especially beneficial for the skin while bovine collagen is slightly better for bones, tendons and cartilage.

So if you want smooth, firm younger-looking skin (and who doesn’t?), feed it fish collagen peptides!

For more information on this or other natural health topics, stop in and talk to Stan; for medical advice consult your licensed health practitioner.

433 The Low-Lectin Diet [14 August 2017]

After looking at last week’s list of all the things that lectins do to us you might suspect that everyone would benefit from a low lectin diet. And you would be right. But I don’t recommend a low-lectin diet for everyone for two reasons: 1) it eliminates many very nutritious foods, and 2) since lectins are in almost all plant foods and some animal foods it is very difficult to follow a low-lectin diet. But there are some people for whom it would be worth trying:

• Food allergies - if you have one or more severe food allergies, it could be the lectins that are the culprit
• Celiac disease or gluten intolerance – if you follow a gluten free diet but still have some symptoms, other lectins may be involved
• Auto-immune diseases – the potential benefits are huge for sufferers of these conditions so it is worth considering a low-lectin trial

There are three phases to a low-lectin diet:

1. Healing Phase: eat only foods from the low-lectin list until your symptoms clear. This may take a few weeks, months, or even a year.
2. Experimental Phase: add foods from the moderate list, a few at a time, eating in moderation those you can tolerate and eliminating any that cause symptoms to recur. Then see if you can tolerate the occasional high lectin food.
3. Maintenance Phase: Follow your customized diet for as long as you want to stay healthy and symptom free, reintroducing foods as your health improves.

Besides avoiding the high lectin foods completely, there are a few strategies we can all use to reduce the lectin content of foods.

• Peel and remove seeds of high lectin foods like tomatoes and peppers – lectins are concentrated in the skins, root hairs and seeds
• soak beans and legumes for 8 hours, changing water every 2 hours
• cook beans with a pressure cooker – the higher heat destroys more lectins
• sprout grains and seeds – sprouting reduces the lectins in the seed coat
• white rice is safer albeit not as nutritious as brown rice
• take a lectin-blocking supplement with each meal

For more information on this or other natural health topics, stop in and talk to Stan; for medical advice consult your licensed health practitioner.

432 What Lectins Do [7 August 2017]

Lectins are proteins in plants designed to protect them from being eaten. Gluten is the best known lectin, but there are hundreds of them found in most plants, including many that we humans use for food. Lectins are not broken down in digestion and only partially destroyed by cooking.

In #430 I explained how lectins cause leaky gut syndrome which leads to inflammation and auto-immune diseases. But that’s not all they do. Lectins also:

• bind to the epithelial cells in the lining of the gut and damage the microvilli where nutrient absorption occurs. This significantly interferes with the absorption of nutrients, especially protein, and can lead to loss of muscle mass.
• bind to the surface of beneficial bacteria in our gut, wiping them out while allowing pathogenic bacteria to proliferate
• interfere with the digestive enzymes in the gut preventing proper digestion of food
• bind to glycoproteins on the surface of cells throughout the body including joints, brain, liver, heart, kidneys; the immune system responds by attacking the organs and tissues affected leading to a variety of auto-immune diseases
• create hyper-sensitivity to foods leading to food allergies; people have found that after being on a low-lectin diet for a year or so their food allergies improve or disappear
• stimulate the release of histamine from mast cells causing an inflammatory response
• suppress the production of T and B lymphocytes reducing the immune system’s ability to protect us from foreign invaders
• cause blood cells to stick together destroying the blood cells and causing blood clots
• block the satiety hormone leptin, resulting in food cravings, over-eating, and obesity [see #327 Leptin Resistance]
• interfere with the body’s ability to regulate insulin and blood sugar levels.
• cause enlargement of the pancreas and atrophy of the thymus
• bind to neurons damaging the nervous system including eyesight
• interfere with the cell nucleus preventing normal reproduction of the cell and accelerating the aging process
• in summary, contribute to most of the chronic conditions that plague mankind!

Sources:
Gregory Barton, Cure Your Autoimmune and Inflammatory Disease, 2010
Evelyn Carmichael, The Essential Handbook to Lectin, 2017

Next week: who would most benefit from a low lectin diet.

For more information on this or other natural health topics, stop in and talk to Stan; for medical advice consult your licensed health practitioner.