gut health Archives -

April 22, 2019

Collagen Powder Side Effects: No Risk, All Benefit?

Got questions about collagen powder side effects? We’ve got answers. In this article, we’ll explain what collagen powder is good for, who can use it, and what to watch out for if you’re concerned about collagen peptide safety.

What is collagen powder?

You have probably heard of it before. Collagen powder has been a popular health buzzword for a while.

Collagen, a protein that binds tissues, is the most abundant protein in the human body, found primarily in connective tissues such as hair, nails, tendons, and ligaments.

In powdered form, collagen hydrolysate (aka collagen peptides) is a white powder made from the connective tissues of animals. It contains easy-to-digest proteins that can help heal or strengthen human connective tissue.

Collagen hydrolysate and gelatin are closely related and both are beneficial to your health.

Both of them come from collagen-containing tissues and contain the same amino acids, but they are chemically different.

Gelatin comes from cooking connective tissue, which extracts gelatin while leaving the proteins in longer chains. These longer protein pieces mean that gelatin can only dissolve in hot water and will cause liquids to gel once cooled.

Collagen hydrolysate (collagen powder) is a more intensively-processed form of collage which breaks the protein chains up into smaller pieces.

These smaller protein pieces mean that collagen hydrolysate will dissolve in cold liquids and will not cause liquids to gel. It also means that collagen hydrolysate is easier for the body to digest.

What are the side effects of taking collagen?

When it comes to side effects, collagen powder has very little downside. There are few side effects and the FDA has designated it “generally recognized as safe” (GRAS).

A few benefits to consuming collagen peptides include:

Improving the health of skin, hair, and nails. As the body ages or you deal with chronic health issues, the collagen in connective tissues can decrease, leaving them weaker and less elastic. Supplementing your diet with collagen can help strengthen and improve elasticity.
Slowing or reducing painful joint issues. The cartilage in your joints, as well as the tendons and ligaments that are responsible for flexion, are also collagen-rich tissues that can stiffen and degrade over time. Supplementing with collagen can help keep your joints healthy and happy.
Improving gut health. Collagen is essential to a healthy gut lining. When leaky gut is at play, collagen helps to heal and repair the gut wall, thereby helping to reduce inflammation.
Providing easy-to-use amino acids. The amino acids in collagen offer a variety of benefits to the body, from building muscle mass and increasing energy and metabolism to slowing the effects of aging and speeding healing. Amino acids even improve the health and function of vital organs like the heart and liver.
Improving the health of your teeth and bones. Collagen can help prevent bone degradation, like what you see with osteoporosis. It also aids in the mineralization and stability of dental tissues.

Is collagen safe to take?

As mentioned above, collagen is GRAS with few known side effects.

The biggest risk is if one is sensitive to the protein of the source animal itself. If you are sensitive to beef, for example, then it would be best to avoid collagen powder sourced from beef. Instead, look for marine collagen powder.

How much collagen should you have a day?

How much collagen you should have per day depends on your goals and health. If you are looking to improve the appearance of your skin and hair, aim for 1-5 grams per day.

If you’re looking to prevent muscle loss with collagen powder, then you would be looking at upwards of 15 grams per day.

Dr. Kellyann Petrucchi, the author of the Bone Broth Diet, recommends collagen powder at:

5 grams per day of collagen powder for everyone
10-15 grams per day if you deal with chronic inflammation
Up to 30 grams for athletes and those dealing with digestive dysfunction or joint pain.

Can collagen make you gain weight?

From a caloric perspective, pure collagen supplementation cannot make you gain unwanted weight because there should be nothing in it but collagen, which is a protein and will not lead to an increase in calories consumed.

If anything, collagen has been found to have a suppressant effect on appetite because it keeps you full, longer.

What collagen can do is help increase muscle mass and burn fat. This may contribute to an increase on the scale, but that increase will be in muscle tissue. As muscle mass increases, so too does metabolism which leads to an increase in fat burning.

Collagen powder side effects

As mentioned before, collagen itself has few known side effects. That being said, there are some factors to take into consideration.

Poorly-sourced collagen can contain additives that are unnecessary and potentially detrimental to your health and gut, even going so far as to spur allergic reactions.

The health and lifestyle of the animals used to make the collagen come into play, as well. Cattle raised in feedlot/CAFO operation eat a diet rich in GMO corn and soy (problematic in its own right) and other feedstuff that has been treated with glyphosate.

There is evidence to indicate that due to the molecular similarities between glyphosate (a toxic chemical) and glycine (an amino acid found in collagen), glyphosate can mistakenly be assimilated into collagen in place of glycine, contributing to a whole host of health issues.

You will also want to avoid collagen sourced from farmed fish used to make marine collagen powders for similar reasons.

In other words, quality matters!

Another area of concern is the potential for collagen powder to raise oxalate levels in the body.

Elevated oxalate levels, especially the urine, can raise the risk of developing kidney stones in at-risk individuals (approximately 10% of the population).

To determine if this is you, it may be best to have your urine oxalate levels tested before committing to long-term or high-dose collagen supplementation. Ensuring optimal levels of vitamin B6 works to neutralize the risk of elevating oxalate levels in response to collagen supplementation. Being diligent to stay well-hydrated also reduces the risk of developing kidney stones.

Due to the potential to raise oxalate levels, collagen may also be problematic for those dealing with SIBO and other forms of oxalate sensitivity.

Which collagen is best?

So how do you know what collagen powder to buy?

I recommend Perfect Supplements Hydrolyzed Collagen or Perfect Supplements Gelatin, depending on your needs.

Perfect Supplements goes to great lengths to ensure a safe and high-quality product. Their collagen is sourced from 100% grass-fed cows and is rigorously tested to ensure product purity and that it is free from glyphosate and other contaminants like pesticides and hormones.

Perfect Supplements is also lower-priced than comparable brands, despite being super high quality! The company offers multi-item discounts, plus you can save an extra 10% using the code FAMILYHEALS10.

Can you take collagen in supplement form?

Yes! Perfect Supplements has recently released a Type II Collagen- derived from bovine cartilage, which helps to improve joint health. If taking capsules is your jam, this new supplement is for you.

It has the coveted glyphosate-free label, as well as important co-factors to ensure your body can assimilate these crucial nutrients for join health. Check it out here.

If bovine collagen is not an option for you, Vital Proteins makes a good quality marine collagen supplement from the scales of wild-caught whitefish.

Collagen powder side effects: no risk, all benefit?

For the majority of people, collagen is a safe and low-risk way to increase protein intake and support the health and strength of connective tissue for kids and adults alike.

Here are some delicious recipes to bring more collagen powder into your day:

Super Antioxidant Blueberry Chia Seed Smoothie
Homemade Popsicles
Paleo Fudgesicles
Rustic Paleo Pizzette
Gluten-Free Fruit Crisp
Secret Ingredient Bulletproof Tea
DIY Hormone Support Supplement
Paleo Biscuits
Chocolate Pudding
Banana Pudding
Gingerbread Man Immune-Boosting Gummies
Gut-Healing Gummies
Bulletproof Chocolate Milk
Or, simply mix it into your favorite hot or cold beverage

How do you use collagen powder? Share with us in the comments!

April 1, 2019

Can a Vaccine Provoke An Allergic Reaction To Food ?

I’ve shared my vaccine story and how the MMR vaccine ruined my health with the hope that it might save you from the downward health spiral that vaccines can trigger. Part of what makes vaccines so hard on the body is the toxic effects that they have on the immune system. There is also emerging evidence that vaccines may trigger an allergic reaction to food. Yep- vaccines can cause food allergies, folks.

Autoimmunity is one side effect of vaccines. Allergies are another.

In short, when we inject food proteins, rather than consume them, we get in the way of the immune system’s ability to accept the food as normal.

We currently don’t know enough about vaccines to say that they can be safely given to everyone.

In this blog post, I’ll share about how vaccines might cause food allergies.

What does an allergic reaction to food look like?

When the body has an allergic reaction to food, the immune system produces signals specifically for that food. In the case of most food allergies, we call these signals IgE antibodies.

When antibodies come into contact with specific food proteins, this triggers the release of histamine. Not everyone will develop an allergy to common allergens, like dairy and egg. But when a food allergy develops, the body reacts when you eat that trigger food.

With the release of histamine during an allergic response, you can expect to see things like:

Hives
Itchiness
Runny nose
Coughing
Wheezing
Vomiting

Sometimes, eczema or asthma accompany food allergies.

The most common ways to identify a food allergy are to use a skin prick test or a blood test that looks for IgE food antibodies. The current gold standard to confirm an allergy is with an oral food challenge.

What causes food allergy?

In order for a food allergy to develop in the first place, you must first be sensitized to the allergen. This is when you are first exposed to the trigger food protein and go on to develop antibodies. During sensitization, there are no symptoms of a food allergy.

After sensitization, your next encounter with the trigger food will cause allergy symptoms. Usually, this happens rapidly.

But what causes sensitization in the first place?

We know that food allergy and related issues like eczema and asthma are becoming more common. But there are still a lot of unanswered questions when it comes to explaining how allergies arise.

The gut plays a role. Genes can also increase the risk of developing allergies. And so can the environment.

And then there’s the hygiene hypothesis – that we’re too “clean.” Suggesting that living with pets, livestock, or even older siblings can reduce the risk of allergies.

Where do vaccines fit in?

Many vaccines contain food proteins. And as we’ll talk about later, how they’re administered matters too.

The very act of injecting food proteins into the body – rather than ingesting them – may increase the risk of food allergies.

How vaccines work

A vaccine works with your child’s immune system to educate it against infectious agents.

For example, when your child gets sick, special immune cells recognize the pathogen as an invader. Each invading pathogen contains antigens, which generate an immune response. Part of this immune response includes antibodies.

Once a pathogen is destroyed, the body stores antigens in the lymph nodes. This creates a “memory” of the infection and speeds up the body’s response so that next time it can release antibodies and quickly fight the invader.

A vaccine mimics an infection.

A weakened pathogen or parts of the pathogen kickstart an immune response so that after the mock infection has cleared, the body has a memory of the infection and the potential for a rapid immune response.

That said, we still don’t know all the ways that a vaccine interacts with the immune system.

This means that full safety cannot be confirmed.

Can vaccines cause food allergies?

The Institute of Medicine clearly says in a 2011 report called Adverse Effects of Vaccines that,

Antigens in the vaccines that the committee is charged with reviewing do not typically elicit an immediate hypersensitivity reaction. However… the above-mentioned antigens do occasionally induce IgE-mediated sensitization in some individuals and subsequent hypersensitivity reactions, including anaphylaxis.

In other words, scientists have noted a relationship between vaccines and the development of allergies, including severe allergy known as anaphylaxis which requires immediate medical care.

And yes, vaccines do contain food proteins.

For example, Tdap and DTaP vaccines contain milk protein. In children with severe milk allergy, these vaccines can cause anaphylaxis. In this case, the initial vaccine isn’t usually the problem.

It’s the booster.

Which means that sensitization occurs with injection into the body, when the food protein bypasses digestion. Then, when the time comes for a booster shot, a milk-sensitized child shows signs of food allergy.

Likewise, it’s also been shown that IgE antibodies to egg white can increase after receiving the flu vaccine.

Food proteins found in vaccines include:

Chicken egg
Milk casein
Gelatin
Soy
Yeast

Beyond this, vaccines also contain polysorbate 80 and sorbitol which are manufactured using food sources like wheat and corn. And at this point, no one can guarantee that vaccines with polysorbate 80 and sorbitol are free from allergenic proteins.

Food proteins aren’t the only problem

In addition to allergenic food proteins from egg and dairy, vaccines contain adjuvants or “helpers.” An adjuvant stimulates the immune system and helps to make a vaccine more effective, maintaining immunity over a long period of time.

Manufacturers often use aluminum as an adjuvant, which unfortunately is also a neurotoxin. Aluminum can make the brain inflamed and may even lead to autoimmunity.

And in the case of food allergy, aluminum supports the production of IgE, making food proteins more allergenic.

We also see this in the case of peanut allergy: a vaccine containing an aluminum adjuvant leads to increases in cow milk protein IgG and peanut protein IgE, even with food avoidance.

Vaccines cause food allergies

Even though there’s plenty of evidence to suggest that vaccines cause foods allergies – enough to at least warrant more caution – many parents feel pressured to get their child fully vaccinated.

Sometimes the connection is tough to pinpoint since food allergies might be diagnosed weeks or months after a vaccine.

Meaning that even though the vaccine caused a food allergy, it comes across as far less obvious than anaphylaxis.

With up to five vaccines given to a young child at one time, why aren’t we doing more to investigate the safety of food proteins and adjuvants in vaccines?

Did your child have an allergic reaction to food after vaccines? Share in the comments!

July 15, 2018

Tasty Salsa Dip Recipe Made with Lacto Fermentation

Lacto fermentation is a good way to get good bugs into your gut! It’s the same process by which sauerkraut is made, and this salsa dip recipe is one of the easiest ways to get it done!

Now that the summer sun is blazing, you may be starting to get a bounty of tomatoes. Making this salsa dip (and preserving it via lacto fermentation) is a great way to use and save your tomatoes. Even if you don’t grow them yourself, there should be a good supply of fresh, affordable tomatoes at the grocery store and farmers market for you to stock up on.

If canning tomatoes or making sauerkraut have intimidated you to this point, this salsa dip recipe will be an easy introduction to the concept of both- preserving tomatoes and getting in some good gut bugs via lacto fermentation.

If you’re new to lacto fermentation, it’s an easy and effective way to get probiotics into your gut via food vs. a commercial probiotic (I think it’s great to do both!). Let’s dive in to why lacto fermentation is so wonderful!

What is lacto fermentation?

Fermentation is as old as life itself. At some point, humans learned to guide the process to repeat especially tasty results. These processes have been handed down and passed around, creating beloved foods and national dishes. The most familiar fermented foods are made using lacto fermentation.

“Lacto” refers to a specific species of bacteria called Lactobacillus. Strains of these bacteria are present on the surface of all plants, especially those growing close to the ground, and are also common to the gastrointestinal tracts, mouths, and vaginas of humans and other animal species.

Lactobacillus bacteria convert sugars into lactic acid.

Beyond preservation advantages, lacto fermentation also increases or preserves the vitamin and enzyme levels, as well as digestibility, of the fermented food. The lactobacillus bacteria are known as pro-biotic (PRO-life), which makes lacto fermented foods good for gut health.

It’s so important to eat a variety of fermented foods daily in order to get a wide variety of healthy bacteria into your gut. Because the gut hosts the majority of the immune system, a healthy gut means a healthy overall body and decreased sickness.

The gut is also known as the “second brain,” which means a healthy gut also means a healthy brain! Recipes like this fermented salsa dip, as well as pickles, are a great way to get some good gut bugs into kids as well.

How does lacto fermentation work?

Lacto fermentation involves submerging vegetables into a solution of water and salt (you can also add a “starter” from a previous batch of fermented veggies), then allowing them to sit for a period of time. The Lactobacillus bacteria will convert the sugars in the vegetables into lactic acid, which then preserves the vegetables, as well as increases the enzymes and probiotic content.

Are pickled and fermented the same thing?

“Pickling” often involves preserving cucumbers or other vegetables with vinegar. This does not create probiotics or any real health benefits. Lacto fermentation is a type of pickling that offers awesome health benefits!

What kind of vegetables can you ferment?

You can ferment just about any kind of vegetable. For instance, cabbage is turned into sauerkraut and kimchi; cucumbers are turned into pickles; tomatoes can be turned into a salsa dip. I’ve even fermented guacamole! Just get creative and try combinations of vegetables you think sound good together, or just ferment one at a time. Onions and carrots are also popular.

Why does fermentation help preserve food?

Lactic acid is a natural preservative that inhibits the growth of harmful bacteria. By converting the sugars in vegetables into these beneficial bacteria, harmful bacteria are kept at bay.

How do you make homemade salsa dip via lacto fermentation?

I like to make a chunky salsa vs. blended, but you could blend the ingredients if you prefer.

To make this easy salsa recipe, simply chop up your vegetables, and combine in a jar with some type of starter substance (more on that in the recipe). Secure a lid and let sit for three days before enjoying. Store in the refrigerator to stop the fermentation process (and avoid an exploding jar!).

Find the recipe below to make this super simple, fast salsa dip and start eating your probiotics in just three days!

Print Recipe

Salsa Dip Recipe Made with Lacto Fermentation

Prep Time15 mins

Total Time3 d 15 mins

Servings: quart salsa

Author: Jaclyn

Ingredients

5 medium tomatoes
1 medium onion
2-3 jalapeno peppers increase or decrease based on how spicy you want your salsa dip to be.
1/4 cup sauerkraut juice or whey* you can save the juice from homemade or store bought sauerkraut, so long as the sauerkraut is refrigerated and contains active, live cultures and has not been pasteurized.
1/4 cup packed fresh cilantro
3 cloves garlic
2 tsp salt

Instructions

Dice the vegetables and cilantro and mix together in a large bowl.**
Press the garlic, then add it, the salt, and the whey to the vegetables and stir to combine.
Place the salsa in a quart-sized canning jar and smash down until the vegetables are submerged in liquid. If you don't have any sauerkraut juice or whey, you can add a bit of water.
Add an airtight lid and fasten tightly.
Allow jar to rest on the counter for three days, keeping a close eye on the pressure, as the center of the lid will begin to bulge. Be sure to leave a couple inches at the top of the jar, so there is space as the fermentation process creates gasses that will press upward to escape.

Notes

*Whey is the liquid that drips off when you strain homemade yogurt or kefir. It is probiotic-rich and contains a variety of good bacterial strains.

**Alternatively, you can blend the ingredients in a blender to the smoothness or chunkiness of your liking.

June 6, 2018

Managing Your Stress Response

Is your stress response chronically elevated? It could be adrenal fatigue. We’ll tell you more about how to quiet your stress response and heal your adrenals below.

What is the most common response to stress?

I don’t know a mom that wouldn’t rate her stress level as “high.” In our fast, be-it-all, do-it-all world, we are left with limitless decisions and tasks despite our limited resources. Families are overburdened and overwhelmed in epidemic numbers.

Is this how we were meant to live? Why are we so stressed? Is there something we can do about it?

What are the stages of stress response?

Most of us notice we have stress but don’t know the stages of stress which are actually quite distinct. If you understand the stages any stressor follows, you can learn how to control and manage your stress responses to lower your overall stress.

Stage 1: Recognizing a potential stressor event.

Any outside occurrence can be perceived as a potential stressor. This comes in many forms and happens thousands of times in the course of one day. We get the mail, drive, cook, work, clean, and go throughout our daily lives. Any out of the ordinary happening or unexpected event triggers our consciousness to consider if this is a threat or stressor.

This is where habits can be helpful. Good habits help you make fewer decisions and free up your time and mental resources to make decisions on more important tasks. For some, this means making a weekly schedule of your tasks can decrease your overall stress levels.

Stage 2: Evaluating the potential stressor event.

Once a potential stressor is recognized, we begin to evaluate if it’s truly a stressor to our personal resources. What is a stressor to one person, is not to another. Our subconscious asks these two questions: is this a threat to me, and do I have the resources to meet this demand?

If we feel that the event could be a threat, or that we do not have the resources to handle it, we begin the physical and mental stress process. This event is labeled as a stressor, and even if it’s not significantly draining, we will treat it as such. This is why some individuals can handle a significantly stressful event and others are upset over an unexpected $4.50 bill.

Stage 3: The body prepares for the stress response.

If an event is labeled a potential stressor, the body begins to respond by firing up the nervous response to meet the stressor’s demands. The sympathetic nervous system (SNS), also called the fight-or-flight response, prepares the body for extra physical demands and possibly a battle or quick escape.

The SNS signals the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis, or HPA axis, to create and use more energy (ATP) because of the incoming event. This system communicates to the adrenals (small organs located above the kidney) to produce more cortisol, the hormone responsible for generating energy in our body.

While energy moves to our limbs and brain to physically and mentally prepare, it is moved away from our internal organs such as our digestive and immune systems, emotions, and sexual behavior.

Stage 4: The body acts on the stress response.

In this final stage of stress, the body prepares for the attack or flee. Pupils dilate, the heart rate increases, perspiration and breathing increases, blood clotting factors are sent to the appendages, and the blood moves from the internal organs to the limbs and brain.

Stage 5: The body perceives the threat as over, and scales back.

After the stressor’s demands are perceived as met, our parasympathetic system begins to take back over and lessen the effects of the sympathetic system. The parasympathetic system sends out messages to lower stress hormones, move the energy back to the digestive system and internal organs, rest, and to regenerate new energy for storage. It focuses on the long term, versus the short term of the SNS, survival.

Run or eat? Your “fight-or-flight” and “rest-and-digest” instincts

Why is the body’s response to stress called the fight or flight response? Because back in our non-modern days, we needed this type of reaction to stressors. Most of our serious threats were environmental and physical, and we needed to be able to act quickly to fight or run away from our enemy.

Today, not so much. The enemy is our busy schedule, rude boss, unruly toddlers, financial struggles, and on and on. Our stressors are more long term rather than short-term, and our SNS is activated for way too long. This wreaks havoc on our digestion, immune system, emotions, sexual health, and energy levels.

The vagus nerve and your stress response

When the parasympathetic system is employed, the vagus nerve is stimulated to send signals of relaxation, peace, and calmness to your body. When your vagus nerve is impaired, those messages aren’t sending.

Luckily, you can stimulate the nerve yourself to encourage the body to lessen your stress levels. Though there are a number of herbs which can help, simple relaxation techniques like mediation, prayer, laughter, and music or silence can make a huge difference in our vagal health.

How to improve your stress response

First, begin with managing your beginning stages of response. You don’t need to perceive every event as a threat. Mantras such as “I have all I need,” “God is my strength,” & “This too shall pass,” will create a baseline of peace and strength in your world, eventually reminding even your subconscious that it doesn’t need to jump on every possible stressor.

Work on developing a solid foundation of a good schedule, concrete community and help, financial stability, and self-awareness (via journaling, meditation, etc).

Then, implement these steps to lessen your stress response.

Mindfulness – simply being aware of yourself, your response to events, and being present in the moment elevates your mindfulness. Being aware of the Four Agreements, as penned by Don Miguel Ruiz, can also help in your relations to yourself and others: Be impeccable with your word. Don’t take anything personally. Don’t make assumptions. Always do your best.
Deep and slow breathing – slowing your breathing can slow down your stress response and activate your parasympathetic system. Try 5 or 10 long breaths that fill your lungs all the way to your belly, clearing your mind and focusing on one object in front of you.
Sole water – imbalanced minerals play a huge role in adrenal health. If you have consistently been stressed, you may be depleted. Sipping sole water can rejuvenate your mineral levels and increase your energy, creating a more positive stress response. Learn how to make sole water here.
Adaptogenic herbs – in addition to a balanced, whole foods diet, adaptogenic herbs such as maca, ashwaganda, ginseng, holy basil, rosemary, milk thistle, and some mushrooms and can help your body cope with stress. Learn how to make your own adaptogenic herbal remedy here.
Give back and connect – volunteering at a friend’s home, local shelter, or charity will broaden your perspective on your life’s stressors and teach you how to cope with new situations. Realizing there’s a world apart from our struggles can send huge ripples of change through our view of our own stress.

The Adrenals 101

If you have been undergoing chronic stress, your adrenals may actually have sustained some damage. Your adrenal system may be overactive, or underactive after years of stressful burdens. If you are consistently short-tempered, have a very low sex drive, don’t enjoy social engagements, do not sleep well, have a consistently high heart rate or high blood pressure, it may be time to give your adrenals some additional support.

Supporting your adrenals

Cortisol is the primary hormone that helps us adapt and handle stress in our day to day lives. Yes, it’s that important. And unfortunately, it can become low producing or get thrown off its daily rhythm leading to major issues for your mental, emotional, and physical health.

Test your adrenals via a four-point (four different times of the day, see below) saliva test and consider supplementing for the lows (adrenal cortex extract) and highs (zinc and/or holy basil). We like this supplement and this supplement of adrenal cortex. Of course, if you know your farmer, you can also ask for the adrenal glands and desiccate them yourself.

Iron
To build up your thyroid and adrenal health, you need a solid supply of iron. It’s important to get your iron tested before working on healing your adrenals (see test below in Additional Resources). To improve iron levels, work on healing your gut, detoxing your liver, and getting enough natural iron. Consider taking desiccated liver capsules.

Selenium
Selenium is an important cofactor to thyroid hormone production. Selenium must be optimal for your thyroid and adrenals to function properly, as selenium prevents iodine from attacking the thyroid cells. You can consider a supplement like this one, or eating Brazil nuts, which contain high levels of selenium.

Iodine
As of the 1990’s, salt and other processed foods are no longer required to contain iodine. It was replaced by its not-so-healthy friend bromine, which works against iodine in the body and actually makes other toxins, like fluoride, stick in the body.

Originally derived from the sea, iodine is also found in cranberries, strawberries, kale, and seaweed. Kelp is one of the best natural sources, though most of us need more than kelp to supplement our low iodine levels.

In fact, the RDA is about .003% of the amount most iodine researchers say we need today. Iodine (with selenium) is needed to produce enough thyroid hormones, which in turn generate good ol’ ATP (energy) in your body.

Iodine deficiency looks like lack of energy, thinning hair and eyebrows, brain fog, fatigue, low immunity, and breast tenderness and cysts.

See testing, supplementation, and dosing suggestions in the Additional Resources section below, and be sure to read our full post on iodine supplementation here.

There is hope! You may not need therapy or medication to manage chronic low or even high levels of stress. You can change your stress response with a little of self-awareness and some help from a few natural supplements.

How do you handle daily stress in your life?

Additional Resources

Stop the Thyroid Madness Website

Stop the Thyroid Madness Book

BLT Thyroid Test

ZRT At Home Cortisol Saliva Test

Iron Test

Lugols Iodine

Natural Seagreens Iodine

Iodine Dosing

May 29, 2018

How to Treat H Pylori Naturally at Home

We have lots of home remedies around here. If you’re battling an H pylori infection, you may be looking for a natural remedy. You can learn how treat H pylori at home, naturally, without resorting to antibiotics. Find the remedy below.

It’s usually pretty easy to whip out some herbal remedy, natural supplement, or random concoction when dealing with sinus infections, stomach bugs and headaches.

However, I’ve you’ve battled serious stomach symptoms, you may find yourself scratching your head.

If your symptoms aren’t responding to the typical stomach flu remedies, you could be dealing with an H pylori infection. Thankfully, learning how to treat H pylori at home isn’t that difficult and, for many, proves to be immediately effective at stopping symptoms.

You may even be able to avoid antibiotic treatment, the usual conventional H pylori treatment.

What is H pylori?

First off, if you’re not familiar with H pylori, it stands for Helicobacter pylori and is a type of spiral-shaped bacteria that affects the digestive tract. It’s common to contract H pylori during childhood and to not develop symptoms until much later, or ever at all, though it’s estimated to affect around 60% of the world’s adults.

H pylori may be responsible for the majority of ulcers.

H pylori can be diagnosed with a variety of tests, including a breath test and a stool test, though if you have symptoms, using the simple and inexpensive remedy found below is worth trying before resorting to expensive tests.

What are the first symptoms of H pylori?

The symptoms of an H pylori infection are a number of common digestive complaints:

bloating
excessive burping
heartburn
nausea
change in appetite
unexplained weight loss

One hallmark symptom of H pylori is burning in the stomach when it is empty. A more serious or prolonged H pylori infection may lead to diarrhea or constipation, fatigue and low energy, bad breath, and even mental illness like depression or anxiety.

How long can you live with H pylori?

H pylori may last for years without causing symptoms, though the longer one lives with the infection, the more damage it may do to the gut lining. Learning how to treat H pylori naturally will help to ease symptoms and prevent long-term health problems resulting from an acute infection.

Is H pylori infection curable?

Like many modern infections, H pylori has adapted to its environment, and thrives within the gut. Rather than aiming to completely eradicate the bacteria, one should take the approach of creating a stomach environment that is hospitable to good, healthy bacteria so that the H pylori cannot thrive, and instead gets crowded out.

What kills H pylori naturally?

While the conventional treatment for H pylori is a combination of antibiotics (which doesn’t have a perfect success rate, as the bacteria can become antibiotic resistant, leading to worsening symptoms and recurring infections), learning how to treat H pylori naturally is the key to long-lasting results that won’t have unwanted side effects.

There is a protocol that will clear up an H pylori infection and stop symptoms quickly so that you can go back to enjoying life free of constant stomach discomfort:

A combination of raw manuka honey and black seed oil. Yep, a simple, inexpensive treatment may improve your symptoms overnight!

Here’s the protocol:

1 tsp per day raw New Zealand manuka honey
1 tsp per day black seed oil

That’s it. Treatment should last for a minimum of two weeks, until symptoms have cleared. Stomach discomfort may return if a dose is missed.

Manuka honey deets

Also manuka honeys are not created equally. There are a few things you want to look for, including potency. Potency is rated by UMF- unique manuka factor.

The UMF will reveal how potent the antibacterial properties of a manuka honey are, which is determined by the amount of hydrogen peroxide, methylglyoxal, and dihydoxyacetone found in the honey. It’s important to choose a honey that is at least UMF 10.

The manuka our family uses and reserves for more serious conditions (like recovering from a tonsillectomy or acute infections like H pylori) uses a cute play on the UMF label by dubbing their honey UFF 1000- Ultimate FREZZOR Factor.

The reason Frezzor boasts UFF 1000 is because they not only have developed a very potent honey with antibacterial properties, they have added a few additional ingredients to increase its efficacy, including herbal extracts and minerals for better absorption.

It’s also important to look for a manuka honey that is third party tested for glyphosate and other pesticide/GMO residues, which Frezzor is. You can buy Frezzor Pure New Zealand Manuka Honey here. Keep in mind that a small jar lasts a very, very long time, as it’s to be used as a potent medicine rather than food.

Black seed oil FYI

Black seed oil is known to be beneficial for a variety of illnesses. It’s made from the seeds of the black cumin plant (Nigella sativa). It is especially beneficial for treating H pylori because it’s been shown to be effective against drug-resistant bacteria.

In addition, black seed oil may be beneficial for liver health, treatment of cancer, and even diabetes.

There are lots of options out there, but look for a pure black seed oil that was affordable and a liquid, making it easier to take larger daily amounts vs trying to take a tsp worth of capsules. You can get a good one here.

How to treat H pylori: other considerations

In addition the above treatment, one should keep in mind the health of their gut to make it a more hospitable environment for good microbes. Diet and other supplementation to support gut health and digestion are important.

What can I eat with H pylori?

A GAPS-style diet can be helpful for those suffering from an H pylori infection. Due to the high content of meat stock and broth and probiotic foods, the GAPS diet (particularly the intro portion of the diet) helps to heal the gut quickly, making it difficult for infections like H pylori and parasites to live.

This book and this book can help as you prepare to tackle the GAPS intro diet (and if you suffer from H pylori, you should strongly consider it!).

As a general rule, if you are suffering from symptoms of H pylori, avoid:

sugar
gluten
dairy that has not been cultured
starchy foods (including most store bought gluten free breads and foods)

Daily, incorporate these foods into your diet:

fermented foods like sauerkraut and kimchi
kefir, if dairy is tolerated, or look for one made with an alternative milk like coconut
meat stock (not to be confused with bone broth- read the difference here)
nourishing fats like ghee, tallow, and coconut oil (which is also antibacterial)

Other supplements to consider

In addition to learning how to treat H pylori with honey and black seed oil and changing your diet, you should incorporate some supplements that support digestive health.

Probiotics- we like these because they are gentle, allergen-free, and effective. Plus, one tiny bottle lasts for months and months for multiple people! Probiotics help to repopulate your gut with good microbes so that undesirable ones die out.

Digestive enzymes- if your digestion is impaired due to an H pylori infection, and especially if you’re experiencing indigestion and heartburn, you need to take digestive enzymes. Those with ulcers should not take enzymes with HCL. These enzymes will help to break down sugars, fats, proteins, and carbohydrates.

Have you suffered from symptoms of H pylori? Now that you’ve learned how to treat H pylori at home, please share using one of our links for others who may have symptoms.