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Note from Jim LaValle
For years I've placed almost every patient on a probiotic supplement with the knowledge that gut health and integrity were central to overall health. In other words, at LMI probiotics is viewed as a basic supplement--kind of like a multivitamin - because having adequate amounts of beneficial flora is crucial for overall good health. Although in the past I was often ridiculed by conventional medicine practitioners for this view, the research is slowly validating it as it finds that gut flora balance is crucial for immune balance, digestive health and even mental health.
And now research shows that the make up of a person's intestinal bacteria significantly influences weight. In fact some newer research describes that certain types of gut flora may cause a person to extract more calories from their food. But does this mean that taking a probiotic could help with weight loss? While we have long suspected as much, until recently there were no studies to that effect. Read this month's main article to learn some of the recent discoveries on gut flora.
On that note I want to mention that we are now taking the Metabolic Minute in a slightly different direction. Since implementing our new format a few months ago, our articles have been like mini reviews on the key factors involved in one's Metabolic Code - stress, thyroid health, the effects of gut health and toxins, etc. Starting with this issue we intend to highlight scientific research and breakthroughs that are pertinent to each of these key areas that affect our metabolism and health. We are excited to find that as continued research comes in, most of it verifies and further explains the premises in my book Cracking the Metabolic Code and our approach to health at LMI. If anything contradicts a previous understanding, it is also good, because we are all about gaining a better understanding about metabolic health.
As far as this recent research on gut flora, of course we immediately jump to "How can I make sure I don't have too much of that one type of flora?" And the answer is - we don't know for sure. Not yet, anyway. But we can speculate that taking beneficial flora must help, because well . . . read on! (Please forgive the cliff hanger!)
Yours in Heath,
Jim
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Kyo-Dophilus 9
Kyo-Dophilus® 9 is formulated with three Lactobacilli strains and six Bifidobacteria strains.
This unique blend of nine probiotics contains specially cultured
human strains of friendly bacteria that are carefully processed to
retain viability at room temperature, insuring an adequate number of
cells for implantation in the intestine.
Click here to order,
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| Metabolic Code Assessment
Whether
your are looking for natural therapeutic solutions for joint pain,
fatigue, weight gain, poor sleep patterns, food cravings, headaches, or
other health issues or looking to maintain peak health the LMI Metabolic Code Assessment
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perform a comprehensive individualized evaluation and construct a step
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exercise, selection of natural products and evaluation of your current
drug therapy are all included.
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Got Bacteriodetes?
How is it that a skinny person can seemingly eat whatever he or she wants and not gain weight? On the other hand, couldn't you sometimes swear that you absorb more calories than other people? Is it our imagination or could this really be happening? Or just look at the gorilla for example--a muscle-bound mammal that's a vegetarian. How does such a creature bulk up on a nearly all plant-based diet? New research may have answers to these questions shedding a whole new light and giving us more hope for those who need to lose weight.
It appears that different species, including humans, get different amounts of calories from the same foods--something called "energy harvesting"-- and the missing link is the type of gut flora that lives in our intestines. And indeed, research is now clearly showing that gut flora is different in heavy versus lean animals, including humans.
One of the most recent studies was a study in mice which found that genetically obese mice had less of the bacteria family called Bacteriodetes and more bacteria from the Firmicutes family compared to their skinny siblings.(1) The bacteria imbalance (being higher in firmicutes) in the fat mice caused them to extract more calories from their food, while having less firmicutes prevented the skinny mice from getting too much energy from their food even when both groups ate the same amount and type of diet.
The researchers found that the balance of these two families of intestinal flora heavily influences the production of short chain fatty acids (SCFA's) but more importantly how the animals burned and stored those fatty acids. SCFA's help maintain healthy intestinal cells, however through a series of steps, the higher firmicutes mice were unable to burn those fatty acids, and therefore they were stored as fat.
From this study, one might conclude that it would be bad to have too many short chain fatty acids being produced. However another study found that when there was increased production of one short chain fatty acid called propionic acid, it improved leptin (a hormone that reduces appetite, improves energy expenditure and helps weight loss) and reduced the production of resistin (a hormone that causes insulin resistance (2)(3). These are extremely favorable effects that aid insulin sensitivity and weight loss.
The body produces short chain fatty acids by having enough beneficial flora to break down fiber in high fiber plant foods like vegetables and beans.
The studies so far are raising more questions than answers and so we don't yet have enough information to make recommendations on how to reduce fermicutes and increase bacteriodetes in humans to help a person lose weight. But we do know that we need beneficial flora and we do know that we need to eat plenty of dietary fiber, and the effects should be favorable for weight loss. In fact, past studies have already found that eating a diet high in fiber helps prevent insulin resistance and diabetes, and this propionic acid study just found some of the reasons why.
The studies are giving us hope that one day we will know how to shift the gut flora more specifically to aid weight loss. In the meantime one Japanese study found that when beneficial flora was given to obese individuals they lost more weight compared to those who weren't given the supplement. In the study 87 overweight people were randomly assigned to either a placebo group or test group. The test group received 200 grams fermented milk daily with added probiotics-- a Lactobacillus strain known as L. gasseri--for 12 weeks.
The results were surprising. Those that drank the probiotic milk daily had a 4.6% reduction in abdominal fat, and a 3.3% reduction in subcutaneous fat. Those in the control group did not have significant reductions.(4)
This is exciting news and you may be thinking that you need to run out and stock up on probiotic-enhanced fermented milk. However, this product is not yet commercially available and no doubt will need further studies to verify its effects. In addition, milk protein allergies could prevent many people from being able to drink it, even it is was available. It may be much healthier and simpler to find a probiotic supplement containing L. gasseri which is the same strain used in this study. One of the probiotics we carry at LMI - Kyodophilis 9 contains two strains of L. gasseri and it can be found at most health food stores.
When presented with either a skinny person who wants to gain weight or an overweight person who wants to lose weight, at LMI our approach with either condition has been to work to restore beneficial flora by giving probiotic supplements, while reducing factors that promote yeast overgrowth in the gut, high sugar diets for example. With this approach we found that skinny folks felt better and could gain weight and those who were overweight felt better and had an easier time losing weight.
With continued findings from research we may one day have a "weight loss specific" probiotic supplement. In the meantime, our probiotic supplements appear to help, and now we know some possible explanations as to why. In addition, we have a human study verifying the same effects we have seen here at LMI. That's exciting stuff! And we promise to keep you updated as research continues to come in on gut flora and its effects on metabolism.
(1) Turnbaugh PJ, et al. An obesity-associated gut microbiome with increased capacity for energy harvest. Nature 2006 Dec 21;444;1027-1031.
(2) Yumei X, et al. Short-chain fatty acids stimulate leptin production in adipocytes through the G protein-coupled receptor GPR41. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2004 January 27; 101(4): 1045-1050.
(3) Al-Lahham S. et al, Regulation of adipokine production in human adipose tissue by propionic acid. Eur J Clin Invest 2010; 40(5):401-407.
(4) Kadooka Y, et al. Regulation of abdominal adiposity by probiotics (Lactobacillus gasseri SBT2055) in adults with obese tendencies in a randomized controlled trial. European Journal of Clinical Nutrition, June 2010, 64(6):636-643.
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Greetings!
Welcome. We hope you find our new newsletter a valuable source of information that will help you in your journey to improved health and well-being. For further information we invite you to visit the LaValle Metabolic Institute.
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The LaValle Metabolic Institute is an interdisciplinary healthcare facility utilizing expertise from an experienced staff of medical doctors, registered nurses, registered dieticians, and a clinical pharmacist that uncover metabolic disruptions and reccommend proven therapies which improve our patients' health and well-being.
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Nutrition for your Healthstyle®
Homemade Sauerkraut
One way to get good bacteria into your gut is by eating lacto-fermented foods. Traditionally, many cultures have eaten fermented foods on a regular, sometimes daily, basis. With industrialization of foods, this practice has been lost in many cultures. Recent research suggests there are numerous health benefits from getting adequate beneficial flora, so perhaps this is one tradition we should get back to. This crunchy sauerkraut is so easy to make and is a great accompaniment to any meat dish.
Serves: 4
Time to Table: 4 days
Healing Nutrient Spotlight:
Excellent Source of Vitamin C &
Good Source of folate
Ingredients*
1 lb. shredded cabbage
½ T. sea salt
Preparation
Mix cabbage with salt. Pound cabbage with a meat pounder in large bowl until juices run from cabbage. Transfer cabbage to glass jar or crock and continue to press cabbage until juices run to the top and cover cabbage by ½ inch. Cover jar with lid and place on plate on your kitchen counter for four days. The lid may become loose during the fermentation process and juices may run out of the jar onto the plate-check the lid periodically and tighten as needed. Place in cool storage for up to six weeks to allow continued fermentation or serve immediately and store in refrigerator.
Nutrition:
27 calories, 1.4 g protein, 6 g carbohydrates, 3.5 g sugar, 3 g fiber,
280 mg potassium, 870 mg sodium
 LaValle Metabolic Institute |
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The Metabolic Code Diet ebook: Nutrition for your "Healthstyle"®
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Purchase from the LMI online store.
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