Tag Archive for: probiotics

Farmacology – Farm as Medicine

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At the risk of sounding like I’m writing a review, I feel compelled to share a bit about a book I’m devouring these days that I believe anyone interested in studying various approaches to cultivating health would find stimulating: Farmacology: Total Health from the Ground Up by Daphne Miller, M.D..

My attraction to this book lies in how beautifully it bridges the connection between farming and health – a connection often ignored or overlooked. Personally, it perfectly links my devotion to local, farm-fresh foods with my background and passion for nutrition. From the first chapter, I was struck by the wisdom the author learns from the farmers she meets on her journey and how it mirrors my own experience gaining insights into nutrition from the farmers I’ve interviewed throughout the years, seeking to understand how they farm for health. In fact, much of what I have learned about nutrition since graduating from the Institute for Integrative Nutrition has come from farmers – not formal teachers.

The author, a practicing physician, explores what farming can teach us about nurturing ourselves and presents the idea of “farm as medicine,” a concept I’d love to see gain widespread traction. As she travels to various family farms around the country, she seeks to discover the hidden connections between how food is grown and raised and the link to our health, asking questions like, “Are there connections between soil microbes and those in our bodies?” and “Why does a dirty farm offer protection from allergies while a dirty urban apartment does not?”

As Dr. Miller tells stories and shares insights from the farms she visits, she also introduces the reader to one of her most challenging and mysterious patients, Allie, who struggles with a laundry list of health concerns nobody can resolve: chronic bloating, allergies, weight gain, premature aging, and extreme fatigue. Allie never experienced a dramatic illness or accident; instead her symptoms started out low grade and mushroomed. By the time she found Dr. Miller, Allie had reached a point where simply getting out of bed each morning felt challenging. High-dose supplementation, energy bars, and sophisticated testing from various medical specialists hadn’t been helpful.

As Dr. Miller gleans as much knowledge as she can from each farmer she meets, she approaches Allie with a radical idea (especially for a physician): would Allie be willing to “join a farm cycle?” When Allie agrees, essentially Dr. Miller prescribes the following:

  • Choose farm-fresh food: shop at farmers markets and join a CSA to ensure consuming the freshest, most nutrient-dense food possible.
  • Eat for biodiversity: to save the plant-loving microbiota (a community of beneficial bacteria, protists, fungi, and more) in her gut from extinction, eat a diverse assortment of local grains, vegetables, and fruits.
  • Eat dirt and bugs: not literally! Simply don’t be too obsessive about cleaning farm-fresh produce, knowing that micro traces of healthy soil clinging to food carries healthy bacteria and minerals.
  • Engage in farm love: seek out opportunities to engage with a community garden or farm, which offer natural opportunities for physical activity, increase the chances for interpersonal connection, and have anti-depressant effects, according to research.

Definitely not your typical doctor’s office prescription, yet four months later Allie was feeling better than she had felt in years and her labs finally came back normal.

Dr. Miller writes, “…it is fair to say that most of us in the medical profession are just starting to grapple with what it means to take a “whole system” approach to health and healing. Agriculture, meanwhile, has been considering this question for decades. From my perspective, there are many reasons why agriculture is ahead of medicine when it comes to weblike thinking, starting with the simple fact that farming, even at its most technological, has never completely turned its back on nature.”

In closing, I would love to see us move beyond the well-accepted “food as medicine” mantra and adopt a richer “farm as medicine” philosophy. I have no doubt that farmacology has the potential to gently guide us back to a natural state of health. So, how soon can you get your petudie to a farmers market?

xo,

Claudine

A Digestive Superhero

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This week I’m excited to introduce you to a digestive superhero I know and love, a veritable Wonder Woman of digestive health: psyllium husk.

Most of you know I love teaching people how to support their digestive health. Talking about poop is as normal to me as talking about the weather, and I feel confident this little seed could help you have such brag-worthy b.m.’s that you’ll start enjoying poop conversations as much as I do.

It’s one of those tools I like to keep in my back pocket, especially when I’m working with folks with constipation. It rarely lets me down.

Psyllium, or psyllium husk powder, comes from a shrub-like plant and is chock full of fiber, both soluble and insoluble. Think of psyllium less as food for you and more as food for the millions of bacteria that live in your gut. It’s vitally important we pay attention to and support these bacterial friends since they profoundly influence so many aspects of our health: immune function, mood, weight, digestive well-being, and much more.

In other words, psyllium can help build a healthy and robust bacterial ecosystem, which is critical to overall health.

When the bacteria in our gut feast on all the great fiber in psyllium, they produce a short chain fatty acid called butyrate, which is shown to increase insulin sensitivity and have anti-inflammatory effects, in addition to improving digestion. Furthermore, as this little husk makes its way down the intestinal tract, it absorbs water and forms a spongy gel, which adds bulk to stool, scrubs the intestinal tract clean, and binds to toxins, ushering them out of the body through well-formed stool.

Think of it as an “intestinal soft scrub.”

And yes, while I especially love using psyllium to jumpstart a stalled digestive system, it can also be helpful for those folks on the other end of the digestive spectrum – those who struggle with diarrhea. Because psyllium absorbs water and bulks up, it can help slow down or stop diarrhea.

It can speed things up, slow things down, bulk things out – it’s a digestive superhero!

In addition to enjoying bulkier, more robust stools (yes, these are enjoyable), side benefits of psyllium husk can also include:

  • more stable blood sugar: in general, fiber helps slow down the absorption of sugars into one’s blood stream, which is pretty much always a good thing. Stable blood sugar is a key building block of health.
  • lowering LDL, or “bad,” cholesterol numbers by inhibiting its absorption in your intestines
  • feeling fuller longer, thereby curbing the urge to overeat
  • weight loss, which is inevitable when you start clearing out toxins and built-up stool
  • clearer skin: psyllium husk can help move yeast and fungus out of your body, helping to clear rashes or other skin issues that have been exacerbated by these conditions

So, are you going to give it a try? What do you have to lose? Probably just some old, impacted fecal matter if you ask me, and that will certainly put an extra bounce in your step.

Keep in Mind

For those ready to experiment with this digestive superhero right away, keep the following tips in mind:

  1. Psyllium should not be treated as a replacement for the beneficial fiber you get when eating fresh fruits, vegetables, nuts, and seeds. It’s a SUPPLEMENT. Make sure you’re consuming plenty of whole foods daily. (FYI: 10-12 servings is considered the gold standard these days.)
  2. Drink plenty of water when you take psyllium – at least a full 8-ounce glass. Because psyllium bulks up, it does have the potential to cause an obstruction if someone is chronically dehydrated. Obviously that’s the last thing we want! Staying hydrated is simply a foundational building block of health, so aim for 50-70 ounces of water daily.
  3. Gradually build up the amount you take, starting with just a 1/2 teaspoon a day and increasing to no more than 2 Tablespoons daily. If the intestinal tract has become lazy, it can take some time to get it moving again. Be gentle with your body.
  4. Finally, if you take medications or other vitamin/mineral supplements, consume psyllium either an hour before or two hours after you take your medications, vitamins, or minerals. It can interfere with absorption if taken to close together.

How to Get Your Psylly On

Like any new food or supplement, psyllium can feel a bit mysterious, but it’s actually pretty easy to get into your body.

Most of the time I simply add it to an 8-ounce glass of water and drink it down. That’s likely the easiest method, and it ensures you’re taking it with enough water, which I mentioned is very important.

Other options include adding it to yogurt or smoothies, but you’ll want to make sure to send it down the hatch quickly if you add it to a smoothie. It starts gelling up within minutes and will make your smoothie pretty darn thick. Some people don’t like that texture.

Are you somebody who likes to make protein bars or power balls? You can often sneak in a couple tablespoons of psyllium powder to your recipe, and chances are you won’t even notice it’s in there. Psyllium acts as a binder, too, so it can even help hold gluten-free products together, which is a bonus.

If you have other ideas, please share in the comments section! I always love ideas and feedback!

So what do you say? Are you ready to get your psylly on? If you do, make sure to let me know how it goes.

Love, Claudine