Breathe Easy - Fiber is Key in Easing Asthma

By Alex White, MD

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Asthma sufferers are all too familiar with the onset of the debilitating condition.  Characterized by a sudden shortness of breath, wheezing, and a coughing spell that just won’t quit, asthma is a serious condition that affects more than 32 million people in the US.  More importantly, asthma causes almost a half million trips to the ER each year, as well as 5,000 deaths.  More frightening still is the fact that since 1980, the prevalence of the condition in children has risen by a staggering 25%.  While the medical profession dispenses rescue inhalers like candy, what medical researchers should really be doing is identifying and rectifying the underlying causes of asthma.

In my recent blog, “Nothing to Sneeze About,” I wrote about the rise in allergies in the developed world.  While there are many factors involved in allergic reactions, one of the most telling is the connection between a low-fiber diet and allergies.  I also pointed out the fact that the reason our forebears had a much lower incidence of allergies had a lot to do with what they ate.  In today’s blog, I would like to explore the evidence that points to diet as being one of the keys to that other pulmonary problem: Asthma.

The Big”C” - Can Fiber Beat Back Cancer?

By Alex white, MD

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We all know that fiber plays a very important role in our diets, but what most people don't realize is that getting enough fiber in their diet is essential to more than their digestive system. Many nutritionists, doctors and medical specialists claim that high-fiber diets can do everything from helping people lose weight, to regulating blood sugar levels.   There is even evidence that a high-fiber diet can help reduce the incidence and severity of allergies and asthma.  But what about other conditions and ailments?  Can fiber help fight cancer?

Although there is no conclusive evidence that fiber can cure cancer, there is evidence that fiber can assist in maintaining a healthy body that is better able to ward off the “Big C”. For more than 60 years, clinicians have realized that people who ingested a lot of fiber had a lower incidence of cancer. 

Nothing to Sneeze About - Fiber Fights Allergies

By Alex White, MD

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You know the symptoms, wheezing, runny nose and itchy eyes that herald the onset of an attack.  The causes can be everything from pollen and dust to pet dander.  Regardless, all you know when an allergy rears its ugly head is that you can’t reach for the antihistamines fast enough.

Or, you might be one of countless individuals who are afflicted with potentially deadly food allergies, where contact with nuts, dairy products, soy, or shellfish could put you into anaphylactic shock.  While no pill can cure a food allergy, many people who have them carry epinephrine pens that can be used to counteract the worst of the symptoms in a crisis. 

Have a Heart - How a High Fiber Diet Improves Cardiovascular Health

By Alex White, MD

Image courtesy of Pixabay.com

When most people think about fiber, they associate it with keeping their digestive tract moving along.  Aside from keeping you regular, diets high in fiber can also help your body do so much more.  Most doctors recommend foods high in dietary fiber as a way of improving cardiovascular health.  It is now known that high fiber diets can help reduce risk factors linked to coronary heart disease. 

While there are drugs on the market that can be prescribed to deal with the onset of heart disease, there are several reasons why a change in your diet is a better way to go. 

MicrobeFiber™ Cures Tina’s Tummy Troubles

By Alex White, MD

Image courtesy of MicrobeFiber.com

For the past few blogs I have been extolling the values of adding fiber to your diet.  I have also told you about the many ways in which fiber can aid everything from digestion, to weight loss.  I have also shown you how using an FDA-approved fiber supplement like MicrobeFiber™ can make the process of adding fiber to your diet quick and easy.   For today’s blog, I would like to do something a bit different.  Instead of explaining yet more reasons to jump on the fiber band wagon, I thought I would allow one of my patients to tell you about her experience.

My name is Tina and I started taking Microbefiber 6 months ago.  About 7-8 years before that, I had a lap band surgery done to help me lose weight.  I lost over 100 pounds, which thrilled me, until the band slipped and I was forced to take more than 20 pills per day to deal with the complications and the pain. It was to the point where I started to regurgitate my food every time I ate.  I only found out after the fact that what happens when your lap band slips is that it can be difficult to pass any food through to your digestive tract. 

Don't Be a Turkey

By Alex White, MD

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The Pilgrims started off the tradition of Thanksgiving back in 1621.   Evidence suggests that the 1st Thanksgiving dinner offered everything from deer and duck, to squash, carrots, beans, spinach and mussels.  (Nobody is sure if turkey was included.) While there was no cranberry sauce, the feast surely featured wild blueberries, gooseberries and grapes.

Far from having pumpkin pie, the settlers had not yet built an oven.  However, according to some accounts, early English settlers improvised by hollowing out a pumpkin, before filling the shell with milk, honey and spices to make a custard by roasting the gourds in hot embers.  Yum!

You're Only Human

By Alex White, MD

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They look like alien lifeforms straight out of a sci-fi movie.  Hideous creatures sporting huge teeth or covered with slime, that slither or lurch through dark corridors that never see the light of day.  They’re the stuff of our nightmares and yet they are all too real.  Living inside all of us is a zoo of microscopic organisms that call our body home.

More than 100 trillion tiny creatures inhabit each and every one of us, going about their business without our knowledge.  There isn’t a place in us or on us that these critters don’t inhabit.  A number of them like the view from our eyebrows and eyelashes.  Some prefer to spend their days burrowed head first in your skin pores, while others live in the depths of your bowels.  I know what you’re thinking…Ewwww!

Beat the Bloat

By Alex White, MD

You know the uncomfortable feeling when your belly suddenly balloons out as though you have just finished eating a 5-course meal, even though you haven’t had a bite to eat.  Suddenly, your pants seem to be too tight and you want to let out a window rattling burp.  That’s when you know that the bloat is back.

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Like one of those creatures that you see on sci-fi flicks, once unleashed, the bloat is hard to kill.  If you regularly experience the gas and discomfort that are brought on by bloating, fear not, because unlike Jason in Friday the 13^th, with a little knowledge you can beat the bloat.

How Sweet It Is – Fiber Helps Combat Diabetes

By Alex White, MD

Image courtesy of en.wilipedia.org

Everyone knows the importance of getting enough fiber in their diet.  Fiber has been proven to help with everything from heart health to weight loss.  Research has shown that for every 7 grams of fiber that is consumed on a daily basis, you reduce your risk of stroke by 7%.  It is also a terrific way to improve digestive health and reduce the risk of kidney stones.  This means getting enough fiber in your diet is important to your overall health.  If you suffer from diabetes or have a family history of diabetes, fiber can also help you regulate your blood sugar. 

Take a Load Off – Lose Weight by Eating More Fiber

By Alex White, MD

Image courtesy of Pixabay.com

When most people think about dieting, they think about eating less.  This is due to the fact that traditional diets work by reducing the number of calories you consume.  The thinking is that by reducing caloric intake, the body will naturally have less fuel to burn.  Once it runs out of food, it will then begin to burn fat.  The problem with this philosophy is that modern science has proven this tenet to be in error. 

Gut Bacteria: The Good, the Bad & the Ugly

By Alex White, MD

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Mention the word “Bacteria” and most people associate it with sickness and disease.  Yet the fact of the matter is that if it were not for bacteria, we would not be able to function.  Believe it or not, everyone of us carries in our gut around 1,000 species of bacteria.  They do everything from help us digest food, to regulating blood sugar, to keeping our heart healthy.  In fact, there is a lot of evidence that suggests that a person’s health is in large part determined by the health of their body’s gut bacteria.