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The New Fat Flush Plan book, poor bile production and anxiety

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fat-flush-plan

A new book by Ann Louise Gittleman, Ph.D., C.N.S., The New Fat Flush Plan, has just released and already it’s a New York Times bestseller. The first edition of this book was an all-time favorite with me and my clients when I first started working as a nutritionist. I’m really pleased to see she has a new edition and I am loving the updates.

I especially enjoy the new sections that address the Top 10 Hidden Weight Gain Factors (the notes in parentheses after each hidden factor are mine):

Hidden Factor #1: Your Tired, Toxic Liver (she has always been an expert on this topic)

Hidden Factor #2: False Fat (this one is intriguing, isn’t it?)

Hidden Factor #3: Fear of Eating Fat (I’m constantly amazed this fear still exists)

Hidden Factor #4: Insulin Resistance and Inflammation (a big factor in so many diseases)

Hidden Factor #5: Stress as a Fat Maker (we know all about this one, don’t we?)

Hidden Factor #6: Messy Microbiome (we’re seeing so much new research on this topic)

Hidden Factor #7: Poor Quality Bile (we don’t hear much about bile so I’m going to share more on this topic – I shared some of it from the Medicinal Supplements Summit here)

Hidden Factor #8: Tuckered Out Thyroid (more and more people are experiencing thyroid issues)

Hidden Factor #9: Hidden Hitchhikers – Parasites (you heard her share her expertise on this topic in our Parasite-Anxiety interview on the Anxiety Summit)

Hidden Factor #10: Missing Magnesium (this one is also a big factor for anxiety)

As you can see much of the above applies to both weight-gain and anxiety. I’d like to share some of the excellent information on poor quality bile because it’s not something we hear much about. Because it’s tied to fluctuating blood sugar levels, toxins and fat digestion, it has a direct impact on anxiety.

If you’ve been taking or are currently taking prescription anxiety or depression medications (SSRIs or benzodiazepines) or other medications then there is also the need for more liver and gallbladder support.

Let’s start with the function of bile:

Made from lecithin, cholesterol and bilirubin, your bile has two jobs. First it emulsifies and digests fat, breaking it down into small particles so that your intestines can absorb them. Second, it helps escort toxins that your liver has removed out of the body.

Ann Louise shares how bile deficiency affects your overall health, prevents weight-loss and encourages weight gain:

You know that erratic blood sugar levels, haywire hunger hormones, a tired toxic liver, and poor detoxification prime the body to accumulate excess fat.

What she shares next is very interesting:

Each of these factors are rooted to some degree in low quality bile as well as other causes. As a matter of fact, bile has such an important role in weight regulation that improving bile quality has been shown to increase metabolism by 50 percent. If you thin the bile you thin the body. Period.

I really enjoy the signs and symptoms she shares in the book. Here are some of the signs and symptoms of low quality bile:

  • Queasiness after a fatty meal (impaired bile flow)
  • Light-colored or floating stools (lack of bile output)
  • Nausea (not enough bile)
  • Dry skin and hair (lack of essential fatty acids)
  • Constipation (inadequate bile for lubrication)
  • Constant feeling of fullness
  • Inability to lose weight
  • Pain under the right rib cage (reflective pain from the gallbladder)
  • Hemorrhoids (congested liver)
  • Varicose veins (pressure from constipation due to thickened bile)
  • Pain between the shoulder blades (reflective pain from the gallbladder)
  • Bloating or gas
  • Headache over the eyes (gallbladder meridian passes over this region)
  • Bitter taste in the mouth after meals (sign of bile regurgitation)
  • History of prescription or recreational drug use (need for more liver and gallbladder support)
  • Sensitivities to chemicals
  • Easily intoxicated (need for more liver and gallbladder support)
  • Fibromyalgia (sign of liver and gallbladder overload)
  • Hypothyroidism (sign of deficient bile to stimulate active thyroid hormone in fat cells)

Here is a quick summary of the advice she offers to improve bile production:

  • Elimination of food allergies
  • Addressing low levels of hydrochloric acid or stomach acid
  • Controlling stress
  • Adding bitter greens to the diet
  • Hot lemon water in the morning (a favorite of the original Fat Flash Plan)
  • Adding non-GMO lecithin from soy and sunflowers to your morning smoothie
  • Using castor oil packs
  • Using a bile building formula that contains choline, taurine, beet root and pancreatic lipase

Here is the link to the New Fat Flush Plan on Amazon so you can check out the bile chapter in detail and read about all the other hidden factors and tools for weight-loss and overall health.

Get a copy for yourself as a gift or get a copy for a friend or sister or other family member. And let us know what you think? And how you do with improving your bile production?

I’m going to work on improving my bile production and I’ll keep you posted on my progress.

Sugar vs fat, BPA in cans, PCOS awareness month: in the news

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sugar-vs-fat

Sugar vs fat, BPA in cans, and PCOS awareness month are all in the news this month so here are some links to more information on each of these topics.

This shocking NPR article covers this new paper about the sugar vs fat debate: 50 years ago, sugar industry quietly paid scientists to point blame at fat

In the 1960s, the sugar industry funded research that downplayed the risks of sugar and highlighted the hazards of fat, according to a newly published article in JAMA Internal Medicine.

The article draws on internal documents to show that an industry group called the Sugar Research Foundation wanted to “refute” concerns about sugar’s possible role in heart disease. The SRF then sponsored research by Harvard scientists that did just that. The result was published in the New England Journal of Medicine in 1967, with no disclosure of the sugar industry funding.

It’s hard to believe that researchers would do this! The worst part is that this type of thing is still happening. You can read some of Marion Nestle’s commentary at the end of the above article.

At least now research sponsors do have to be disclosed so we are hopefully getting better at preventing this type of thing. We must always look at who funds a paper.

canned-foods

A CNN article, Canned foods linked to BPA risk in new study reports:

A study published in the journal Environmental Research on Wednesday not only reveals that consuming canned foods can expose our bodies to BPA, it pinpoints the worst offenders.

The study suggests that canned soups and pasta can expose consumers to higher concentrations of BPA than canned vegetables and fruit – and although those foods are tied to BPA concentrations, canned beverages, meat and fish are not.

BPA stands for bisphenol A, it’s a chemical that is found in plastics and it behaves in a very similar way to estrogen in the body. Because of this it’s called an endocrine disrupter and has an impact on depression, ADHD and anxiety.

An animal study published in 2015, Hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis hyperactivity accounts for anxiety- and depression-like behaviors in rats perinatally exposed to bisphenol A reports

hyperactivity of the HPA [hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis] is an important link between perinatal BPA exposure and persistent potentiation in anxiety and depression

It’s unfortunate they didn’t get a commentary from the Environmental Working Group which has a great short Guide to BPA.

pcos-yoga

September is PCOS awareness month and here is some wonderful information on yoga for anxiety and PCOS, from my friend and PCOS expert Amy Medling at PCOS Diva. I’m such a big fan of yoga for stress and anxiety but had no idea it could improve these PCOS symptoms:

Yoga can reduce anxiety symptoms, reduce mFG score for hirsutism, improve menstrual frequency, insulin values and more according to a 2012 study. For more about the benefits of yoga for women with PCOS check out this blog post: 5 Reasons Why Yoga is Beneficial for PCOS

In case you’re not familiar with PCOS, Amy shares this overview on her site

PCOS Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS) is one of the most common endocrine disorders found in women, affecting approximately 10% of women worldwide, with less than 50% of them diagnosed. The syndrome is present throughout a woman’s life from puberty through post-menopause and affects women of all races and ethnic groups. Women with PCOS wrestle with an array of possible symptoms including obesity, irregular menstrual cycles, infertility, depression [and anxiety], acne, and hair loss. Far reaching health implications such as increased risk of cardiovascular disease and diabetes make these already stressful symptoms even more daunting.

What do you think? Are you shocked about the sugar study discovery? Do you already avoid BPA? Do you have PCOS or know someone who has PCOS?

Anxiety and Hypoglycemia Symptoms Improve with Diet Modification

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strawberry-smoothie

A paper published by the Canadian College of Naturopathic Medicine last month supports what I see with my clients on a daily basis: when it comes to anxiety caused by low blood sugar (or hypoglycemia) the correct diet can have a huge impact. And this means is the inclusion of enough protein, fats and fiber, especially at breakfast.

Here is the abstract from the paper: Generalized Anxiety Disorder and Hypoglycemia Symptoms Improved with Diet Modification

Observational evidence suggests that a relationship may exist between high glycemic index diets and the development of anxiety and depression symptoms; however, as no interventional studies assessing this relationship in a psychiatric population have been completed, the possibility of a causal link is unclear.

AB is a 15-year-old female who presented with concerns of generalized anxiety disorder and hypoglycemia symptoms. Her diet consisted primarily of refined carbohydrates. The addition of protein, fat, and fiber to her diet resulted in a substantial decrease in anxiety symptoms as well as a decrease in the frequency and severity of hypoglycemia symptoms.

A brief return to her previous diet caused a return of her anxiety symptoms, followed by improvement when she restarted the prescribed diet.

This case strengthens the hypothesis that dietary glycemic index may play a role in the pathogenesis or progression of mental illnesses such as generalized anxiety disorder and subsequently that dietary modification as a therapeutic intervention in the treatment of mental illness warrants further study.

Here are some details about this case report for AB, who was a 15-year-old female student of south-Asian descent:

  • she had anxiety (rated as 8/10 with 10 being the highest level of anxiety), worried excessively, experienced heart palpitations, shakiness, discomfort in her stomach, and muscle tension and often missed school because of how she felt
  • she experienced symptoms of hypoglycemia/low blood sugar and when her blood sugar dipped too low she experienced muscle weakness, headaches, nausea, anxiety, and poor concentration
  • when she felt anxious she would eat she would eat chocolate, chips, fruit and when her blood sugar dipped she would eat a granola bar

As you can see from her typical daily diet she was eating mostly carbohydrates, with very little protein, fat or fiber:

  1. Breakfast: fruit smoothie containing fruit, fruit juice, and water.
  2. Morning snack: bagel with margarine.
  3. Lunch: pasta or white rice with vegetables.
  4. Afternoon snack: granola bar or cookies or gummy candies.
  5. After school meal: white pasta; it may include meat.
  6. Dinner: white rice or spaghetti; it may include meat.
  7. Evening snack: cookies and toast.
  8. Beverages: 2 liters of water, 1 cup of juice, 1 cup of lactose-free milk, and 1 cup of tea.

She made the following changes in her diet adding protein at breakfast, lunch, dinner and at snack time, and adding healthy fats like flax seeds, olive oil and nut butters:

  1. Breakfast: includes a smoothie containing fruit, water, 1 scoop of protein powder, and 1 tablespoon of flax seeds or olive oil.
  2. Lunch and dinner: include a serving of protein (meat, legume, and soy) and a serving of vegetables.
  3. Snacks: include protein when possible (e.g., apple with sunflower seed butter, vegetable sticks with hummus, and pumpkin seeds).
  4. Continue to eat carbohydrate-containing snacks as needed for the management of hypoglycemia symptoms.

Over a 4-week period she made a few simple dietary changes and saw profound results: her anxiety decreased significantly from 8/10 to 4 or 5/10, she had more energy, she had fewer headaches, better concentration and improved mood.

The interesting factor is that when she slipped up for a week and went back to her old diet she felt more anxious within a day, but felt better within 2 days of adding back protein, fats and fiber.

These results are very typical with my clients and getting a handle on stabilizing blood sugar is the first thing I do with all my clients. Believe it or not, for some people this is ALL they need to do. I would add that I recommend making these changes in conjunction with the removal of gluten and caffeine.

I also like to see animal protein (and fat) as part of the snacks: like grass-fed beef jerky, grass-fed beef sticks, boiled eggs or pemmican. AB was allergic to eggs, nuts, and fish so these were not an option for her. Soy is often as issue so would need to be watched.

So this case study supports the fact that we must not forget the basics like blood sugar control. It’s very common for me to get questions like this on my blog: “I’m anxious, which amino acid should I use?” I always reply: focus first on real whole food and eating to balance blood sugar, remove sugar, gluten and caffeine, and then look at doing a trial of one or more of the amino acids

I do like to make things easier for my clients and this is where an amino acid like glutamine is very helpful in terms of providing added blood sugar stability, a calming effect and help with gut healing

Adding the glutamine and also doing a trial of an amino acid like GABA Calm may get the anxiety down a few more notches because we are always aiming for zero.

Addressing adrenal issues (which are closely related to blood sugar issues), and of course addressing all the other possible factors like thyroid health, gut health, other food sensitivities and so on would be the next step.

Have you see the positive impacts of keeping your blood sugar stable? What makes the most impact for you?

If you are a practitioner, how do you help your clients or patients address blood sugar issues?

The Anxiety Summit – Anxiety: the role of fats, turmeric and wheat

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 Cyndi O’Meara_Anxiety4

Cyndi O’Meara, Nutritionist, founder of Changing Habits, was interviewed on the Anxiety Summit by host of the Anxiety Summit, Trudy Scott, Food Mood Expert and Nutritionist, author of The Antianxiety Food Solution.

Anxiety: the role of fats, turmeric and wheat

  • Oils ain’t oils and fats ain’t fats: the danger of vegetable oils
  • The benefits of butter and other healthy fats
  • The impact of wheat on anxiety and depression
  • Turmeric for detoxification, inflammation, depression and anxiety
  • How to get the most out of consuming turmeric

Here are some gems from our interview:

The healthy fats for me are any fat that nature has made.  So that could be a saturated fat in a plant based oil such as coconut oil or it could be a saturated fat in animal fats.  So in the winter there would not be a lot of saturated fat around.  It would be more in the summer. 

And in culture and traditions we ate seasonal foods.  So when the animals were fat they had saturated fat on them and we would consume those fats.  If they were producing dairy which would usually be in the spring and right through the summer we might eat that and that had saturated fat in it.  So we would have these types of fats in the summer.  In the winter we had lean meats because the animals were lean.  They didn’t have stored fats on them.  Neither did we.

I look at the morphing of margarine and the fact that it’s been seen as a healthy fat and it’s not a healthy fat.  It’s a chemicalized, manmade, manufactured, polyunsaturated fat that is normally liquid at room temperature that becomes solid because of what they do.

We also discuss inca inchi oil, a plant-based oil:

Inca inchi is very high in vitamin A and vitamin E – inca inchi seed oil is one of the most amazing plant based oils.  It’s also called sacha inchi, so it’s a South American seed and it’s 86 percent essential fatty acid and 48 percent omega-3 which means that we can make our EPAs and our DHAs with it.  So it’s a more sustainable omega-3 base as opposed to fish oil.  And it’s one of my favorite oils and it’s got a profile that’s similar to flaxseed oil and I can use it to make my mayonnaises, my pestos.  I can make all beautiful salad dressings with it.  I can drizzle it over some fresh vegetables that I’ve just steamed.

We talk about Roundup/glyphosate being sprayed on wheat and canola and the research work of Stephanie Seneff (interviewed in season 1 of the Anxiety summit): looking at the effects on the gut bacteria, the shikimate pathway and hence serotonin and anxiety, depression and autism.

Here is the TEDX talk that Cyndi recommended – Jeff Iliff: One more reason to get a good night’s sleep

And a recent study on camu camu – Antioxidant and associated capacities of Camu camu (Myrciaria dubia): a systematic review.

A program to increase the visibility of camu camu can contribute substantially not only to the management of inflammatory conditions and its positive contribution to overall good health but also to its potential role in many disease states.

Here is Cyndi’s book: Changing Habits, Changing Lives

cyndi changing habits

 

Here is a digital gift from Cyndi: Depression e-report and Changing Habits Changing Lives audio book 

Here is the link to learn more about the new wheat documentary (online screening June 24-30): What’s With Wheat.

whats with wheat

If you are not already registered for the Anxiety Summit you can get live access to the speakers of the day here: www.theAnxietySummit.com

Missed this interview or can’t listen live? Or want this and the other great interviews for your learning library? Purchase the MP3s or MP3s + transcripts and listen when it suits you.

You can find your purchasing options here: Anxiety Summit Season 1, Anxiety Summit Season 2, Anxiety Summit Season 3, and Anxiety Summit Season 4.