Minestrone Soup Without Wheat

Many clients coming to Nutritionhelp find that they have developed a sensitivity or intolerance to certain foods. A major factor for this may be that with the balance of microbes in the digestive tract out of ratio, gut yeast, such as Candida albicans, has increased and become active, changing from its yeast form  to its fungal filamentous form.

 

In this fungal form, yeast is able to burrow into the gut wall. This can cause a good deal of irritation and may lead to an intolerance reaction, where specific foods in the diet, exacerbate this irritation, increasing symptoms of bloating and wind. Dairy, wheat and the other gluten grains are among the main culprit foods to consider as potentially adding to the discomfort.

A combination of stress, medications, and toxins, together with Candida burrowing into the gut wall, can impact the integrity of the digestive tract. This might allow undigested food particles to pass through the gut wall and enter the blood stream. This is commonly referred to as ‘leaky gut’. Once in the blood stream,  antibodies recognise that the food particles should not be present in the blood, and so an immune response is set off. This might impact mood, panic, headaches, or lead to a number or seemingly unrelated health issues.

 

So whilst Nutritionhelp starts with recommending Erica White’s basic sugar and yeast-free diet programme to support gut ecology, this may need to be adapted for each individual, according to their symptoms and the condition of the digestive tract. Avoiding wheat and/or the other gluten grains while reducing gut yeast may be a first step in allowing the digestive tract to heal.

Including a variety of foods in the diet prevents the over-use of any one food, therefore reducing the possibility of a sensitivity reaction to that food. Since wheat forms the basis of so many meals in the West, it is a good idea to experiment with a variety of gluten-free grains to replace wheat. Following is a recipe for minestrone soup, made with quinoa rather than pasta. The recipe is by Sylvia Bianco at MIND BODY GREEN. Play around with the ingredients according to what vegetables you have available.

 

Minestrone is a thick vegetable/bean soup, usually with the addition of pasta. It has a long history dating back to pre-Roman days, and it used to be made primarily with leftovers by poor families looking to stretch their food resources. It’s considered a part of la cucina povera, or poor kitchen. It evolved over the years, as any good recipe does, reflecting the economies and eating habits of the people making it, so I thought it fitting that I add quinoa (instead of pasta) and kale to this classic soup.

Don’t let all the ingredients scare you. All you’re really doing is chopping the veggies into a medium dice (about the size of popped corn) and putting everything in a big pot. It’s fast, easy and ready to eat in about 40 minutes without much fuss from you, and it’s good for more than one meal. Make a really big pot and freeze what you don’t use in quart containers. They last for months and will be a lifesaver when you can’t or don’t want to cook.

Ingredients

• 1 white onion – medium diced
• 2 celery stalks – medium diced
• 3 carrots – medium diced
• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil – or enough to cover the bottom of the pot
• 2 cloves garlic – finely chopped
• 2 cups fresh zucchini  (courgette) – medium diced (about 1 medium or 2 small)
• 2 cups green beans – cut in 1 inch pieces
• 1 bell pepper – medium diced
• 1.75 lbs of fresh tomatoes or 1 x 28 ounces can crushed tomatoes
• 4 cups of water
• 1 15-ounce can of cannellini beans
• 1 15-ounce can of chickpeas
• 1 cup quinoa
• 2 cups kale – stems removed
• 1 teaspoon turmeric (or to taste)
• Pinch of red pepper flakes
• Salt and pepper to taste

Optional:Garnish with slivered basil or finely chopped rosemary

Directions:

1. Place a large stockpot over low heat and add the olive oil, onions, carrots and celery. Cook for about 5 minutes or until softened.
2. Add the garlic and a pinch of red pepper flakes and cook for about one minute or until garlic begins to color.
3. Add the zucchini and the green beans, season with salt and pepper, add the turmeric, stir and cook for about 3 minutes.
4. Add the tomatoes and the water, raise heat to high and bring to a boil.
5. Lower the heat to medium/low and allow the soup to gently boil (uncovered) for about 20 minutes.
6. Add the quinoa and cover for 15 minutes.
7. Remove the cover, add the kale and the canned beans (more water if needed) bring back to a gentle boil and cook for another 5 minutes or just until the kale is tender.

Nutritionhelp Statistics – Digestion

Many clients coming to Nutritionhelp suspect that they may have an overgrowth of the common yeast, Candida albicans. Candida is usually present in the gastrointestinal tract in just small numbers where it resides side by side with millions of bacteria. The majority of these bacteria in healthy individuals should be friendly organisms, and these, according to Ralph Goplan in Optimal Wellness should “synthesize vitamins and help fight undesirable intestinal bacteria, high cholesterol levels and even some cancers.They keep the bowel functioning normally and discourage the overgrowth of yeast.”

However, the use of antibiotics kills off the friendly bacteria along with the infection it is treating, leaving the yeast populations room to expand and grow. As we have seen previously, too much yeast can affect health in all manner of ways, influencing anything from immunity to hormone function. However, since yeast is designed to be resident within the gut, it is not surprising that an overgrowth will frequently affect health throughout the entire digestive tract, form a cracked or coated tongue, gum inflammation and oral thrush, to heartburn and indigestion, to bloating, constipation or diarrhoea, to itchy anus.

A Nutritionhelp protocol is designed to starve the yeast and support the re-establishment of friendly bacteria again. In this post I will start to review the Nutritionhelp statistics relating to digestion, and then complete that list in my next blog when I will also discuss additional factors which might encourage yeast, leading to an unhelpful overgrowth. Remember, these statistics followed clients over  just two reviews (a time period of about 6 months). For details on the gathering of the statistics click here

• For clients recording indigestion or heartburn, 81% saw some improvement, with 57% seeing considerable improvement
• For clients recording the symptom of Diarrhoea, 90% saw some improvement, with 62% seeing considerable improvement
• For clients recording the symptom of constipation, 77% saw some improvement, with 45% seeing considerable improvement
• For clients recording irritable bowel syndrome, 86% saw some improvement, with 54% seeing considerable improvement
• For clients reporting the symptom of rectal itching, 92% saw some improvement, with 44% seeing considerable improvement.

For your own Nutritionhelp report with dietary and nutritional supplement recommendations click here. A Nutritionhelp online report takes into account your own personal nutritional requirements, your health history and your gut ecology score, which gives an indication of how the balance of yeasts and friendly bacteria may be influencing your health.

Digesting Protein

In order to digest food properly, our bodies produce an array of enzymes, each designed to target a specific type of food. The enzymes help break down the food, digesting it into particles that are small enough to be absorbed and used by the body. The production and efficiency of these enzymes may be affected by a number of factors, including nutrient levels and certain disorders, such as an overgrowth of gut yeast. If a client is struggling with digestion, Nutritionhelp will include recommendations and suggestions to help this process.

Digestion actually begins in the mouth, so it is very important to properly chew food and allow it to become thoroughly mixed with saliva.The stomach then mechanically mixes the food, releasing substances that chemically break it down, such as hydrochloric acid (HCl). Hydrochloric acid, often called stomach acid, plays a key role, helping digest proteins, fat, vitamins, and minerals, maintaining the acidity of the stomach, and helping to kill bacteria, viruses, and parasites.

One specific enzyme that the stomach produces is pepsin, to digest protein.  Pepsin is secreted as pepsinogen, which is inactive until it mixes with the hydrochloric acid, so you can see how important a sufficient level of stomach acid is. About 2-3 litres of gastric fluids are released into the stomach daily, so the stomach wall secretes protective mucus to prevent the stomach from being attacked and digested by the hydrochloric acid and enzymes it contains.

 

Digestion of course continues with other enzymes in the stomach and in the small intestine,but it is the production of hydrochloric acid that I particularly wanted to highlight today. The body slows in its ability to produce hydrochloric acid as we age.  This is affected by stress, but also a lowering of specific nutrients.So this is another benefit of receiving a tailor-made nutritional supplement programme from Nutritionhelp. This programme will include the nutrients that are essential to support the body in producing hydrochloric acid.

When someone experiences indigestion they may very easily purchase over the counter antacids to help, thinking that they have an excess of stomach acid.  Unfortunately,  it is frequently the opposite that is true, the stomach is struggling to digest a protein meal since, due to stress or the ageing process, it is producing too little hydrochloric acid to activate the digestive process. If you feel this may represent your own digestion it may be helpful to arrange a telephone consultation following receiving your online Nutritionhelp report.

As my last post outlined, it is essential that we include sufficient protein in our meals to support health, but if you find that digesting protein is an uncomfortable process it may be that you could do with some extra support, suggestions for which will be included within your own Nutritionhelp report.

How Your Gut Flora Directs Your Immune System

In an Interview with Dr Mercola, Dr. Natasha Campbel McBride talks about how gut ecology can affect the immune system. An excerpt of this interview is below. This is of course, central to Nutritionhelp’s approach in working with clients. In establishing correct gut ecology all of health may be supported. For advice and recommendations to support your own gut ecology take a Nutritionhelp questionnaire, or contact me at info@nutritionhelp.com

 

There are two primary “arms” in your immune system:

1. Th1 immunity is responsible for normal reactions to anything in your environment, from pollen to animal dandruff, dust mites, chemicals, food and anything else you come into contact with. Th1 is kept robust and healthy by your gut flora. As long as your gut flora is normal, you will have no adverse symptoms when exposed to these types of environmental influences, but if your gut flora is abnormal, your Th1 become increasingly disabled
2. Th2 immunity is designed to address immune functions inside your body, and is not equipped to handle environmental influences. However, it will try to compensate if your Th1 becomes disabled. Unfortunately, since it’s not properly equipped for this job, it ends up dealing with environmental influences like pollen and foods in an inappropriate way; the end result of which is allergies and intolerances.

It’s important to realize that food allergies and intolerances are a very different group of allergies from the more acute anaphylactic allergies. Food intolerances caused by disabled Th1 (due to abnormal gut flora) are not mediated by the same immunoglobulin as the true allergies are. Food intolerances can also manifest hours, days, or even weeks later, making identifying food allergies very difficult.

 “Different reactions can also overlap on top of each other. For example, on any given day you can be reacting to broccoli that you have just had for lunch, and to lamb that you’ve eaten yesterday, and to egg that you’ve eaten two days ago, and to a piece of bread that you’ve eaten 10 days ago. All of these reactions overlap on top of each other. On any given day, you have no idea what exactly you’re reacting to,” Dr. McBride explains.

Making matters even more difficult, these food allergies and intolerances can result in all sorts of reactions, from headache, to sneezing, to rashes, or abdominal pains or swollen joints. Or they may result in psoriasis, or cause eczema to flare up.

“Or, it can be an episode of depression, anxiety, or a panic attack. Any kind of symptom can be brought up by food allergies and intolerances,” Dr. McBride says.

At the same time, because your gut flora is abnormal, your gut lining begins to deteriorate, since it is actively maintained by our gut flora. (The beneficial bacteria in your gut make sure the cells that line your entire digestive tract are healthy, well-fed, and protected from chemical- or microbial attacks.) As your gut lining deteriorates, the junctions between the cells open up, causing your gut to become porous, or “leaky.”

“It becomes like a sieve, and foods don’t get the chance to be digested properly before they are absorbed,” Dr. McBride explains.

“They’re absorbed in this maldigested or partially broken down form. When the immune system and the bloodstream finds them and looks at them, it doesn’t recognize them as food. It says, “You’re not food. I don’t recognize you,” and it reacts to them. It creates immune complexes, which attack these partially digested proteins. As a result, we’ll get all sorts of symptoms in your body.”

The answer to this scenario is to encourage the integrity of the gut lining.  A major factor in this will be to rebalance yeasts and pathogens within the gut with friendly bacteria. Visit http://www.nutritionhelp.com for more information on Nutritionhelp’s approach to support gut ecology.

Gut Bacteria Affect Weight

Nutritionhelp places a high level of importance on encouraging and maintaining correct gut ecology, that is, the balance of friendly and unfriendly bacteria and unhelpful yeasts and pathogens within the digestive tract. If gut ecology is out of balance health may be affected in any number of ways, including immunity, skin health, IBS, Joint and muscle pain and headaches.

It comes as no surprise therefore, to find that new research is linking gut bacteria with weight management. Nutrigold reports on the latest findings:

We have recently reported on the Updates service about a study that shows how diets influence the levels of the two major families of gut bacteria associated with obese and lean people. Jumpertz et al (2011) found the levels of Firmicutes bacteria in the gut were increased with decreased Bacteroidetes levels (the opposite to that found in lean people) when switching from a low-fat, vegetarian based diet to a high-fat, high-sugar diet. These gut bacterial populations changed in a relatively short period of time as the composition of the diet changed. In some cases the shift occurring in just one day!

Further research has revealed that a 20% increase in Firmicutes and a decrease in Bacteroidetes (the opposite of what is observed in weight loss) are associated with an increase in the harvest of energy from the diet of about 150kcal (Shanahan, 2011).These studies highlight how dietary changes have rapid effects on the composition of gut bacteria and how this may lead to changes in the amount of energy we harvest from our food and ultimately fat storage. It also develops the theory that it is solely ‘calories in versus calories out’ (i.e. energy intake versus energy expenditure) that influences weight gain.  It might not be just what food obese people are eating but also what types of gut bacteria are present and how they are processing the energy from food. Coupled to, this a recent study has shown that gut bacteria can also regulate appetite hormones (Duca, 2012). This suggests that gut bacteria can control our weight (either gain or loss) via influencing levels of nutrient sensors such as ghrelin as well as energy harvest from the food we eat.

This is early days in this area of research but these studies further reinforce the role of supporting gut health through diet and probiotic containing foods and multi-strain probiotic supplements. It seems that by supporting gut health and beneficial bacteria, such as Bifidobacteria and Lactobacillus species, goes some way to maintaining optimal health.

A Nutritionhelp protocol will include a supplement to provide friendly bacteria from both the Bifidobacteria and Lactobacillus species as mentioned above, whilst also recommending nutrients to address yeast levels, to ensure gut ecology is balanced.

What is Your Body Trying to Tell You? – Indigestion

Indigestion may be affected by a number of factors, which a Nutritionhelp report would take into account in providing recommendations. Food matters takes up one  of those factors here, as we continue with their list of 9 symptoms you shouldn’t ignore.

You’re low on stomach acid…

One likely signal: Burping and indigestion

Background: If you’re low on stomach acid, your body won’t digest foods efficiently, especially dense foods like fats and proteins. When food sits in the stomach, so does the air you naturally swallow when you eat. The air has only two options — get pushed down the digestive tract with food or catch the next flight up the esophagus and out the mouth. The longer food loiters in the stomach, the more likely you’ll burp.

Other signals: Gastric reflux, weak immune system, cracked fingernails, chronic infections, gas

How to respond: Boost the first phase of digestion by becoming a more “sensory-based eater,” says Swift. “That means enjoy the sight and smell of the meal before you dig in so that your gut has time to release digestive factors, such as hydrochloric acid, in anticipation of a meal.” Then, eat more mindfully. Chew your food so that it’s easier for the gut to digest, especially proteins and fats.

If you still feel like your food sits in your stomach like a rock, Haas recommends trying digestive enzymes, which can help you better digest your food. For example, he says, you might try a product called betaine hydrochloride with pepsin (a time-released protein digestant), found at health-food stores.

Hydrochloric acid is the main ingredient in stomach acid. By taking it as a supplement, you’re basically giving your stomach a head start, especially with proteins and fats, which are the hardest food stuffs to digest, meaning they require more stomach acids than carbs. After you begin eating a meal with protein and fat, for instance, take one capsule. See how you feel after a couple of meals. If you feel OK, you can try two capsules and gradually increase to three or four. If you have any sensation of burning or acid indigestion, cut back to a level where you didn’t experience any negative side effects.

Stomach acid does actually decline with age, so it could be that many of the indigestion problems that are generally put down to excess acid, may be caused by too little stomach acid. A Nutritionhelp client can request contact with one of our associate nutritionists if they would like to discuss the suitability of supporting digestion with digestive enzymes or Hydrochloric acid as Betain Hydrochloride. As mentioned above, this should be introduced very carefully and gradually in order to avoid any burning or too great an increase in acid. A Nutritionhelp report will also ensure that the nutrients essential for the effective production of HCl are included in the diet, so that digestion is supported long-term.

What is Your Body Trying to Tell You? – Eczema

Continuing Food Matters list of 9 Symptoms you Shouldn’t Ignore

You’re eating something that doesn’t agree with you…

One likely signal: Eczema

Background: First a little background about food intolerances. When the body doesn’t tolerate a food well, ingesting that food creates a chronic, low-level irritation or inflammation in the gut. Over time, with regular exposure, the irritation worsens and creates fissures in the spaces between the cells. (Picture the walls of the gut, once tightly knitted together, looking more like an old afghan.)

These holes allow bacteria and their toxins, as well as incompletely digested proteins and fats, to “leak” out of the gut and into the bloodstream. Called leaky gut syndrome (or increased intestinal permeability), this condition sets the stage for myriad health problems, including rashes and skin problems, like eczema.

The skin is the body’s largest elimination organ, notes Lipski, so it’s not surprising that it comes under assault when toxins careen through the bloodstream. “A skin rash or eczema is a sign that the body is trying to slough out these toxins,” she says. “It’s trying to eliminate the problem the best way it knows how.

Other signals: Gas, bloating, fatigue, sinus congestion, foggy thinking

How to respond: An elimination diet is the best way to pinpoint the offending food. “Start with one or two foods you suspect,” says Swift, who prefers to call this the “illumination diet” because its focus is on “illuminating your health.”

Don’t know where to start? Foods that are most likely to wreak havoc on the gut include wheat and gluten-containing products, dairy products, sugar, soy, eggs, corn and yeast. If you’re uber-motivated, take Haas’s advice and go off what he calls “the big five” for a week: wheat, dairy, sugar, caffeine and alcohol. “It’s not easy to do”, he admits, “but you’re guaranteed to learn a lot about your body’s signals.” You might also consider keeping a food journal. Spend a week or two writing down what you eat and how your body feels in the minutes, hours and days afterward (e.g., an hour after you eat dairy, you feel bloated). “It’s about pattern and symptom recognition and connecting the dots,” says Swift, which in turn helps you decide which foods to eliminate first.

A Nutritionhelp protocol will automatically avoid some foods that may be affecting digestion and health, such as yeast and sugar, but clients can always request contact with one of our associate nutritionists if they would like help in pin-pointing whether a specific food should be avoided or not.

One of the main factors influencing leaky gut may well be an imbalance in gut microbes, so a Nutritionhelp programme supports good gut ecology. Once this has been addressed, and any culprit foods removed, there are specific nutrients which may help encourage the integrity of the gut wall and so help address the issue of a food intolerance.

What is Your Body Trying to Tell You? – Fibre Deficiency

Continuing Food Matters list of 9 symptoms you should not ignore

You’re not getting enough fibre…

One likely signal: Constipation

Background: Constipation is the clearest indicator of the body’s need for more fiber. “Our hunter-gatherer ancestors ate up to 100 grams of fiber a day and had an average stool weight of 2 pounds,” says Mark Hyman, MD, the editor of Alternative Therapies in Health and Medicine and author of The UltraSimple Diet (Pocket Books, 2007).

“Today, the average American eats less than 8 grams of fiber a day, and the average bowel movement is a puny 4 ounces.” That’s a problem, he says, because the bowels are key to the body’s elimination process. When traffic is backed up, toxins from the bowel leach back into the body and can cause a multitude of inflammation-based health problems in everything from your digestion and skin to your heart and brain. They can also disrupt hormonal balance and immunity. The bottom line, Hyman says: “If stools are hard and hard to pass, you’ve got a problem.”

Other signals: Frequent hunger pangs, energy slumps, digestive trouble, skin problems, inflammatory conditions

How to respond: Eat more legumes, vegetables, (fruits) and whole grains. All are chock-full of fiber and other nutrients, making them natural go-to foods. Getting the recommended 35 to 40 grams of fiber a day not only improves bowel health, but it also lowers the risk of diabetes and heart disease, says Andrew Weil, MD, director of the Arizona Center for Integrative Medicine of the College of Medicine at the University of Arizona in Tucson.

If you want other ways to sneak extra roughage into your day, Swift suggests … a seasoning she makes out of crushed pumpkin seeds, ground flax meal, sesame seeds, kelp flakes and sea salt — basically, a riff on gomasio, which is used as a salt alternative in Japanese cuisine. Put it in a wrap, sprinkle over brown rice or use to garnish soups, she says. “The nuts, seeds and ocean veggies are a nutrient- and fiber-licous powerhouse.” (Keep it in the fridge to lengthen its lifespan.)

Try making the gomazio above without the sea salt as there is a saltiness in the seaweed. If you can’t find kelp flakes, most supermarkets now stock Nori sheets. Lightly toast a sheet of Nori under a grill for a few seconds and then finely crumble it into the ground seed mixture.

Nutritionhelp does not encourage adding bran to foods, as this may be too harsh on the digestive system, stripping away beneficial nutrients. Include whole grains, legumes, seeds and vegetables at meals to support good elimination.  Occasionally someone may need additional support through a tailor-made Nutritionhelp report. Although fruit is fibre-rich and is mentioned above, this should not be included if you are following Nutritionhelp recommendations for encouraging gut ecology. Including sufficient water-intake each day is also a vital measure in preventing constipation.