Tag: Doctor
Beware of eating grapefruit with certain drugs
When taking certain medication, be sure to avoid eating grapefruit and drinking grapefruit juice. While grapefruit is delicious and has many health benefits, it can interact with some common medication, causing serious side effects. It doesn’t take much either, as one-half grapefruit or a single glass of grapefruit juice is enough to cause this. And the effect can last for several days.
Medications are processed in your liver and small intestine by a group of proteins called cytochromes. Cytochromes break down medications, thereby reducing their levels. Grapefruit, as well as Seville oranges, tangelos, pomelos, and Minneolas, contain naturally-occurring compounds called furanocoumarins. Furanocoumarins can disrupt the activity of cytochromes. By slowing down the breakdown of medicines, grapefruit can increase the levels of these medications in your blood, thereby increasing their side effects.
Here are 33 common medications that can interact with grapefruit:
Some cholesterol medications:
- Atorvastatin (Lipitor)
- Lovastatin (Mevacor)
- Simvastatin (Zocor)
- Felodipine
- Nifedipine (Procardia)
- Losartan (Cozaar)
- Eplerenone (Inspra)
- Amiodarone
- Dronedarone (Multaq)
- Erythromycin
- Rilpivirine and related HIV drugs
- Primaquine and related antimalarial drugs
- Albendazole
- Bupropion (Wellbutrin)
- Quetiapine (Seroquel)
- Lurasidone (Latuda)
- Ziprasidone (Geodon)
- Buspirone (Buspar)
- Diazepam (Valium)
- Midazolam (Versed)
- Triazolam (Halcion)
- Apixaban (Eliquis)
- Rivaroxaban (Xarelto)
- Clopidogrel (Plavix)
- Ticagrelor (Brilinta)
- Clopidogrel
- Fentanyl
- Oxycodone
- Colchicine
- Sildenafil (Viagra)
- Tadalafil (Cialis)
- Tamsulosin (Flomax)
- Silodosin (Rapaflo)
Published December 4, 2017 by Dr. Daniel Thomas, DO, MS
5 Genes That Make It Hard to Lose Weight, and What You Can Do To Combat Them
Do you ever feel like you exercise and eat well, but don’t see positive results? I feel you. I’ve been there! The problem may be with your genes. As scientists look into weight-loss genes, they have found that people with variations of certain genes are more prone to put on weight than others. I know, because I have nearly all of the bad variants! Thankfully, all is not lost: Small tweaks may make your genes work for you, rather than against you.
To date, scientists have discovered seventy-five gene alterations that increase the likelihood of obesity. These genes are usually involved in how the body breaks down food, stores fat, and sends signals to let you know you’re no longer hungry. Variations to these genes are known as polymorphisms.
As a result of genetic variation, two people could eat the same exact diet but put on vastly different amounts of weight. One theory is that people who gain more weight from eating the same amount of calories do so because it was once an evolutionary advantage. Thousands of years ago, food was often scarce, so being able to gain weight from very few calories could have meant the difference between life and death. Now, food is easy to come by. Still, these “thrifty-genes” persist in some people’s genomes.
Lifestyle Effects on Genes
The good news is that even if you have these genetic polymorphism, you can work to combat them with lifestyle practices. This is because DNA sequences are not the only way that can alter gene expression, rather, epigenetics also plays a role – meaning your lifestyle affects how genes turn on or off. Here is a list of the five key genes involved with weight gain, and some lifestyle habits that you can implement in order to combat their effects.
1) Food Intake: FTO
One of the most studied obesity genes is FTO (dubbed “Fatso”), which stands for Fat Mass and Obesity Associated. FTO seems to act as a “nutrient sensor,” affecting the amount of food a person wants to eat, and their hunger. Therefore, variations in the gene that encodes for FTO could affect the ability of FTO to regulate food intake and lower satiety. Scientists have found that people with certain variations in this gene have a higher BMI.
What to do?
Increased exercise could counteract the effects of the polymorphism of FTO. For example, the Amish have a high incidence of FTO—yet very few are obese. Why? Because each day, they labor on their farms for two hours or more. The hard physical labor keeps FTO from expressing obesity, making the Amish exemplify how an environmental trigger can modify gene expression. The good news is that you don’t necessarily need four hours of hard physical labor. Many of patients with this gene variant consistently exercise for 30 minutes, five days per week, and it keeps the gene turned off.
2) Fat metabolism: PPARG
Another gene affecting weight gain is the one that encodes for PPARG, a protein involved in fat metabolism. When activated, PPARG creates fat cells and helps with the uptake of dietary fats from your blood. Too much activation of PPARG can cause weight gain and increase the risk for heart disease, diabetes, and stroke. Obese individuals have much higher amounts of this protein in their fat tissue. Individuals with no PPARG have less fat tissue in their limbs and gluteal area. In addition, studies have shown that post-menopausal women who have a PPARG polymorphism gain more weight than those who don’t.
What to do?
When individuals with the PPARG polymorphism eat more unsaturated fats than saturated fats, they gain more fat tissue and have a higher BMI. By contrast, when they eat more saturated fats than unsaturated fats, the opposite is true—they are leaner. So here again we see how an environmental (meaning non-genetic) factor such as nutrition can trigger a gene and affect people’s weight.
3) Fat breakdown: ADRB2
The adrenergic beta-2 surface receptor gene (ADRB2) codes for a protein that plays an important role in the breakdown of fat. When the hormone epinephrine is released, it can bind to ADRB2 in order to increase energy by breaking down fat molecules. Certain variations are associated with an increased risk of metabolic syndrome in women, a cluster of risk factors that herald a six-fold risk of diabetes mellitus and two-fold risk of cardiovascular disease. Prevalence of metabolic syndrome is higher in middle-aged women than middle-aged men, as well as greater cardiovascular risk. (As a side note, this gene also plays a role in asthma, and response to asthma inhalers.) While more research still needs to be performed to understand its exact mechanism, it seems this gene could be another promising target for understanding the link between genetics and weight gain.
What to do?
I personally have the polymorphism of this gene, which gives me an increased risk of abdominal obesity. I have about double the difficulty with weight loss compared with people without this polymorphism because my fat mobilization and signal transduction for mobilizing fatty tissue is impaired. All the more reason to eat and exercise efficiently!
4) Efficient Functioning with Methylation (2 Genes): PGC1-alpha and Tfam
Methylation is a chemical process that helps your body to work optimally. Without a healthy rate of methylation, you are at risk for lower metabolism. Methylation is another example of an epigenetic effect in that it doesn’t alter its DNA sequence. Instead, it adds chemical groups to the genes PGC1-alpha and Tfam. In doing so, it changes the rate at which these genes are converted into protein and are involved in creating mitochondria, the powerhouse, energy-creating center of your cells. In these genes, methylation correlates with increased rates of obesity.
What to do?
Environmental factors such as age, sex, race, exercise, and diet can all produce epigenetic effects and change the amount of methylation in your body. While you obviously don’t have control over your age, race, and gender, here again you can make sure to live a lifestyle of optimal eating and exercise in order to try to combat suboptimal methylation in your body.
You Have the Power
Your genes can make losing weight more difficult—but not impossible. While researchers are still working on understanding the relationship between nutrition and genetics, much is currently known about how other factors like hormones and the microbiome affect weight loss. By living a lifestyle which triggers your body to work best, you can make up for a less-than-ideal genotype.
By
6 nutrients that help keep your brain young
Diet plays an enormous role in preventing dementia and keeping your brain young. Scientists have pinpointed certain nutrients that are associated with improved cognition. Here are 6 nutrients that can help keep your brain young:
Cocoa: The flavanols found naturally in cocoa and dark chocolate (not milk chocolate) are very beneficial. These flavanols can stimulate the dentate gyrus in brain—a region involved in memory function.
Omega-3 fatty acids: Plant-based foods rich in omega-3’s, such as flax seeds and walnuts, are not only good for your heart, they’re also good for your brain. They help with object recognition memory, spatial and localized memory, and aversion response retention.
Magnesium: Getting insufficient magnesium can lead to cognitive decline, accelerated brain aging, and ultimately dementia. Foods high in magnesium include pumpkins seeds, chard, spinach, almonds, black beans, avocados, figs, and dark chocolate.
Blueberries: Blueberries contain anthocyanins which are naturally occurring compounds with potent antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects. Anthocyanins can increase neuronal signaling in the brain’s memory areas.
Cruciferous vegetables: Eating a lot of vegetables can help prevent a whole host of chronic degenerative disease. Cruciferous vegetables in particular have been shown to reduce the rate of cognitive decline. Such vegetables include arugula, broccoli, brussels sprouts, cabbage, cauliflower, kale, radishes, and turnips.
Green tea: Green tea is good for so many things. With regards to brain health, green tea has been found to enhance your thinking process and working memory. Green tea also enhances the connectivity between the parietal and frontal cortexes of the brain.
Published March 19, 2018 by Dr. Daniel Thomas, DO, MS
What should you eat?
As a responsible and forward-thinking doctor, it is my job to stay abreast of the most effective ways to keep my patients healthy and strong. We know that food is the most powerful “drug” on the planet, possessing the power to cause, prevent, or reverse disease. Nowadays, the most health supporting diet is one that is low in lectins.
What in the world are lectins and why should you care? Lectins are toxic plant compounds that are part of a plant’s built-in defense mechanism against insects. Unfortunately, lectins can also cause trouble in humans. Many lectins are pro-inflammatory, immunotoxic, neurotoxic, and cytotoxic. Some lectins can increase blood viscosity, interfere with gene expression, incite immune hypersensitivity and trigger autoimmune disease, disrupt endocrine function, induce weight gain, promote cancer, increase the risk of cardiovascular disease and diabetes, and inflict damage to the gut (intestinal) lining and the kidneys.
Here’s why lectins are one of the most important health issues of our time: Lectins have always been in food. When they stay in the gut and get eliminated with defecation, there’s no problem. That’s what used to happen. Here’s what’s happening nowadays: On a daily basis, we are all being exposed to man-made chemicals that damage our gut lining that is normally impermeable to everything except nutrients.
The chemicals that damage the gut lining allow toxic lectins to gain access to our bloodstream, as well as gut bacteria and their toxic waste products called lipopolysaccharides (LPS). This modern-day medical condition is known as intestinal hyperpermeability. It is also known as leaky gut syndrome. The substances that are breaching our gut lining include:
- Broad-spectrum antibiotics. This includes not only what your doctor prescribes, but also what is found in animal products (meat, dairy, and eggs).
- Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) such as aspirin, Advil, Motrin, and Aleve.
- Stomach acid blockers. Also known as proton-pump inhibitors (PPIs). Examples include Zantac, Prilosec, and Nexium.
- Artificial sweeteners such as sucralose, saccharin, and aspartame.
- Endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs). These are man-made, estrogen-mimicking chemicals that are prevalent in food and food packaging, water, clothing, and everyday cosmetics and toiletries.
- Genetically-modified foods and exposure to the herbicide Roundup.
While you “may” be able to reduce your exposure to the above toxins, you cannot eliminate them entirely, as they are now present in tap water. They get into your body when your drink water and get absorbed through your skin and lungs when you shower. Thus, the reason to slash your exposure to lectins.
The foods highest in harmful lectins are grains, beans, legumes (including peanuts), and members of the nightshade family, including eggplant, potatoes, tomatoes, peppers, tomatillos, and goji berries. Avoiding these foods altogether can have a profoundly positive impact on your health and longevity! For more information, read The Plant Paradox by Dr. Steven Gundry.
Before we get to the list of foods you SHOULD eat, it is important to know what you should NOT eat. Here is the list of foods with the highest amount of health-damaging lectins (stay away from these foods):
Grains:
- Amaranth*
- Barley (including barley grass)
- Buckwheat*
- Bulgar
- Corn (including cornstarch, polenta, grits, corn meal, corn syrup, chips, and tortillas)
- Kamut
- Oats
- Popcorn
- Quinoa*
- Rice* (white, brown, wild)
- Rye
- Spelt
- Teff*
- Triticale
- Wheat (including bread, flour, pasta, cookies, crackers, bagels, pretzels, pastries, couscous, wheatgrass, etc.)
*Soaking in water with ½ teaspoon baking soda for 24 hours followed by thorough rinsing and pressure cooking can reduce (not eliminate) lectins in these non-gluten grains. To reduce the glycemic load, pressure cook with small amount of vinegar and sesame oil. After cooking, refrigerate overnight, then rewarm before eating.
Beans & Legumes**
- Adzuki beans
- Baked beans
- Black beans
- Black eye peas
- Cannellini beans
- Fava beans
- Garbanzos (including hummus)
- Great Northern beans
- Kidney beans
- Lentils
- Lima beans
- Mung beans
- Navy beans
- Peanuts (including peanut butter)
- Pigeon peas
- Pinto beans
- Red beans
- Soybeans (including tofu, tempeh, edamame, miso, soy sauce, soy protein, soy milk, etc.)
**Soaking in water with ½ teaspoon baking soda for 24 hours followed by thorough rinsing and pressure cooking can reduce (not eliminate) lectins in beans and legumes. To reduce the glycemic load, pressure cook with small amount of vinegar and sesame oil. After cooking, refrigerate overnight, then rewarm before eating.
Vegetables
- Bell peppers***
- Cucumbers***
- Eggplant***
- Green beans
- Hot peppers***
- Peas
- Potatoes (including french fries & potato chips)
- Pumpkin
- Snap peas
- Squash
- Tomatillos
- Tomatoes*** (including pasta sauce, salsa, ketchup, tomato paste, etc.)
- Zucchini***
***Removing the skin and seeds can reduce (not eliminate) lectins in these vegetables.
Fruit
- All fruit juices
- Melons
- Goji berries
Oils
- Canola
- Corn
- Cottonseed
- Grapeseed
- Partially hydrogenated
- Peanut
- Safflower
- Soy
- Sunflower
- Vegetable
Sweeteners
- Agave
- Artificial sweeteners
- Honey
- Sugar (sucrose)
Meat
- Pork
Nuts & Seeds
- Cashews
- Chia seeds
- Pumpkin seeds
- Sunflower seeds
Beverages
- Alcohol (including beer, wine, and hard liquor)
- Milk (cow, goat, soy, almond, coconut, rice)
- Soda (regular & diet)
Now to the foods you SHOULD eat. By selecting from the long list of foods and beverages below, not only will you slash your exposure to toxic lectins, you will enjoy a wider variety of foods and a greater abundance of nutrients, flavors, and textures:
Grains
- Millet
- Sorghum
Vegetables
Strive to eat 6-8 servings per day of different vegetables (a serving is ½-1 cup)
- Artichokes
- Arugula
- Asparagus
- Beets
- Bok choy
- Broccoli
- Broccoli sprouts
- Brussels sprouts
- Cabbage
- Carrots
- Cassava root (yuca)
- Cauliflower (including riced cauliflower available from Whole Foods and Trader Joe’s)
- Celery
- Chives
- Cilantro
- Collards
- Fennel
- Garlic
- Horseradish
- Jicama
- Kale
- Kimchi
- Kohlrabi
- Leeks
- Mushrooms
- Mustard greens
- Okra
- Onions
- Parsley
- Radicchio
- Radishes
- Red & green leaf lettuce
- Red chicory
- Romaine
- Rutabaga
- Sauerkraut
- Scallions
- Shallots
- Spinach
- Swiss chard
- Turnips
- Watercress
Fruit
- Except for avocados, lemons, and limes, limit your intake of fruit
- Apples
- Apricots
- Avocados
- Bananas (green only)
- Blackberries
- Blueberries
- Cherries
- Chokeberries
- Coconut
- Cranberries (unsweetened)
- Currants
- Elderberries
- Figs
- Grapefruit
- Kiwi
- Lemons
- Limes
- Mango (green only)
- Nectarines
- Oranges
- Papaya (green only)
- Peaches
- Pears
- Plantains (green only)
- Plums
- Pomegranate
- Raspberries
- Strawberries
Oils
- Avocado mayonnaise
- Avocado oil
- Caprylic acid MCT oil (#2 choice)
- Coconut oil (best for cooking)
- Flaxseed oil
- Macadamia oil
- Olive oil
- Perilla seed oil (#1 choice)
- Sesame oil
Sweeteners
Use sparingly
- Just Like Sugar (#1 choice)
- Monk fruit (#2 choice)
- Stevia
- Yacon syrup
Herbs & Spices
All except for chili pepper flakes
- Basil
- Black pepper
- Cayenne
- Celery seed
- Cilantro
- Cinnamon
- Cloves
- Coriander
- Cumin
- Curry powder
- Garlic
- Ginger
- Marjoram
- Mint
- Oregano
- Paprika
- Parsley
- Peppermint
- Rosemary
- Saffron
- Sage
- Spearmint
- Star anise
- Thyme
- Turmeric
Dairy Products
Limit to 1 oz. organic cheese per day or 4 oz. organic unsweetened yogurt per day
Eggs
Pastured only: Limit to 2 per day
Fish & Seafood
Wild-caught & low-mercury varieties only: Limit to 4 oz. per meal
- Alaska salmon
- Catfish
- Crab
- Croaker
- Flounder
- Haddock
- Mackerel
- Mullet
- Oysters
- Pollock
- Sardines
- Scallops
- Shrimp
- Trout
Meat
Grass-fed only: Limit to 4 oz. per meal
- Beef
- Lamb
- Wild game (bison, elk, venison, etc.)
Meat Substitutes
- Quorn Chicken Tenders (available from Whole Foods)
- Quorn Naked Chicken Cutlets (available from Whole Foods)
- Quorn Meatless Grounds (available from Whole Foods)
- Homemade hemp tofu
Poultry
Pastured only: Limit to 4 oz. per meal
- Chicken
- Duck
- Turkey
Pasta
- Cappello’s
- Miracle Noodles
- Pasta Slim
Breads
- Coconut wraps
- Flax crackers
- Siete tortillas
Nuts & Seeds
Limit to one-half cup per day
- Chestnuts
- Flax seeds (freshly ground)
- Hazelnuts
- Hempseeds
- Macadamias (#1 choice)
- Pecans
- Pistachios
- Walnuts (#2 choice)
Olives & Capers
All
Vinegar
All (without added sugar)
Dark Chocolate
90% or greater
- Chocolate bar (1 oz/day)
- Raw cacao powder
Flour
- Almond
- Chestnut
- Coconut
- Green banana
- Hazelnut
- Sesame
Beverages
Unsweetened only
- Purified water (6-8 glasses per day)
- Organic decaffeinated coffee (black only)
- Organic green tea
- Organic green rooibos tea
- Organic dandelion leaf & root tea
- Wildcrafted chaga tea
General Guidelines:
- Eat only foods that are labeled “USDA Organic” or “Non-GMO Project Verified.”
- Eat a vegan (plant-based) or mostly vegan diet. Animal protein should be considered a condiment and not the main course. If you do eat animal protein, limit your intake to 2-3 meals per week.
- Avoid excess protein: Consume 0.31 to 0.36 grams of protein per pound of body weight per day.
- Minimize carbohydrates and maximize healthy fats.
- Eat two meals a day plus a snack in between.
- Confine eating to an 8-hour window period. For example, if you eat breakfast at 8:00 am, have a snack around 12:00 noon and dinner at 4:00 pm. If you delay or skip breakfast, have the first meal of the day at 11:00 am, then a snack around 3:00 pm and dinner at 7:00 pm.
- Avoid eating within 3 hours of bedtime.
- Take a low-dose multivitamin/multimineral (for men: click here; for women: click here), omega-3 supplement, and probiotic. Depending on bloodwork results, you may need to add a separate vitamin B12 and vitamin D supplement.
Published June 18, 2017 by Dr. Daniel Thomas, DO, MS
Being a Better Consumer
Over the past several years my family has been touched by the dreaded “C” diagnosis. Yes that is cancer. Both my mother in law and mother have been diagnosed with colon cancer. It’s amazing how once you hear that someone close to you has been given a diagnosis like this you’re prospective on things changes. For example both these women were told that there cancer was not caused by flawed genetics, but that the likely cause was environmental. So since then I have spent more time investigating environmental causes of cancer.
What I have found is that many of the products we use contain chemicals that are not only harsh on germs but harsh on our bodies. For example look at this list of chemicals that are in the leading spray room freshener.
- 1,3-Dichloro-2-propanol – Linked to cancer
- Methyl pyrrolidone – Proven toxic to reproduction and development
- Gerinoil – Irritates skin, eyes and lungs
- Hexyl cinnamal – Is an allergen
- Propulene glycol – Causes cancer, causes allergies and is toxic to the immune system
- Ethyl acetate – Linked to neurotoxicity.
- Alcohol denatured – Known to cause organ system toxicity.
- Ethylhexanol – Irritates skin, eyes and lungs and is toxic to reproduction and developmental systems.
- Linalool – Is an immunotoxin
These are all in one of the most popular air fresheners used in almost every household. Now let’s combine it with all the other chemicals that we use on a weekly basis in our homes. It’s no wonder that we so many people suffer from diseases such as cancer.
It’s important as consumers that we investigate the products that we purchase for not only effectiveness but also for the safety for our bodies and our environment. The choices that we make on a daily basis will dictate how successfully we go through the aging process.
During my research into this area I found that there are several companies out there that have products that are bore more environmental and human friendly. In some cases the cost was the same as leading brands at the local grocery store or even cheaper. If you have any more interest on this subject matter or want to discover where you can buy healthier products please send me an email at drimhoff@back2basicschiropractic.com.
by Dr. Imhoff, DC