Microbiome Testing: Another Marker Of Your Health

Guest Post Article By:

Richard Lin
Founder / CEO
www.thryveinside.com

 

As our “Father of Medicine,” Hippocrates said, “All disease begins in the gut.” Yet, the precursor to all disease is inflammation. Since our immune system is responsible for inflammation, there must be a tie between our gut health and our immune system. Well, there is! In fact, up to 80% of our immune cells reside in our gut. That’s why the key to a strong immune system is to improve your gut health!

What Causes Chronic Inflammation?

There are many triggers that set off an immune response in our system. Perhaps none are greater than our food sources. Many of the foods we eat are deficient in nutrients. They are fried in unhealthy fats, preserved with artificial ingredients, and sweetened with refined sugars. 

Many of these foods are made of ingredients that our healthy bacteria don’t enjoy. Therefore, solid food particles and artificial molecules remain in the body. So, our immune system kicks in to eliminate these potential hazards by causing inflammation. Once the threat is eliminated from the system, inflammation ceases. All is merry again.

Unfortunately, our round-the-clock diets have evolved to include a lot of inflammatory foods. From GMOs to increased sensitivity towards allergens to the use of pesticides, our food supplies set us up for a lifetime of inflammation. 

How Chronic Inflammation Ruins Gut Health

Our body is composed of trillions of microbes that range from bacteria to fungi to viruses. We depend on our gut bacteria to help keep a lot of these other microbes in check. All the while, we also depend on our gut bacteria to break down food, help create energy, and boost nutrient absorption. That’s a lot of burdens!

For our gut bacteria to work optimally, we must feed them a diet rich in fiber. Unfortunately, a vast majority of us don’t get enough fiber. So, over the course of this lifetime, we end up starving out our healthy bacteria.

Even worse, the immune system doesn’t have an ally that can help modulate inflammation. In turn, inflammation becomes chronic. As a result, immune cells and beneficial gut bacteria start to die off. 

Without healthy gut bacteria, the body is susceptible to viral, bacterial, and fungal attacks. When this happens, we can develop a litany of life-threatening illnesses, including cancer. 

How to Improve Gut Health and Immune System

Everyone’s body is different. Therefore, we all have different ratios of gut bacteria in the body. The key to fixing your gut health and immune system is to get a gut health test kit.

Microbiome testing company, Thryve, sends you everything you need to collect a sample from your toilet paper safely and mail it to their laboratory. Their specialists will analyze your DNA and give you an in-depth report of bacteria living in your gut.

Even better, they offer custom probiotics to help bring balance to your system. In turn, your immune system will have the backup necessary to help control chronic inflammation that can cause many chronic life-threatening conditions, including cancer. 

 

James Maskell

This Week on The Health Hub…Community Based Medicine with James Maskell

With the soul of an advocate and the mind of an entrepreneur, James Maskell has spent the past decade innovating at the cross section of functional medicine and community. To that end, he created the Functional Forum, the world’s largest integrative medicine conference with record-setting participation online and growing physician communities around the world. His organization and best-selling book of the same name, Evolution of Medicine, prepares health professionals for this new era of personalized, participatory medicine. His new book is called “The Community Cure”. He is an in demand speaker and impresario, being featured on TEDMED, HuffPostLive and TEDx, as well as lecturing internationally. He lives in Sacramento, CA with his wife and daughter.

 


Learning Points:

  • What is the functional medicine model?

  • What are community medical/health visits?

  • How does the community model address challenges currently facing healthcare?

Social Media


Listen live or catch the podcast on iTunes and SoundCloud!

Every Tuesday from 11am -12pm I host The Health Hub, an interactive, forward thinking talk show on Radio Maria Canada.   Call, tweet or email your questions as together we explore health issues that are relevant to you from new and innovative points of view.


TheHealthHub is now on iTunes!

Subscribe and don’t miss a single episode!


Follow us on Social Media

We are @thehealthhubrmc on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook


How To Listen Live

Visit our website and learn how to listen live to our show each week. http://www.radiomaria.ca/how-to-listen

Let us know!


If you have a health topic that you would like us to discuss or are a health care specialist who wants to be a guest on our show let us know!

Here is our email.  We would love to hear from you! thh@radiomaria.ca

 

 

This Week on The Health Hub… Intermittent Fasting: It’s More Than Just A Weight Loss Tool with Cynthia Thurlow

Cynthia Thurlow is a sought after successful entrepreneur, nurse practitioner, intermittent fasting & nutrition expert, founder of Cynthia Thurlow, LLC, co-author of Primal Eating and co-host of Everyday Wellness podcast. As an advocate for living a fulfilled, healthy and well-balanced lifestyle, Cynthia has committed her career to serving women coming of age. She is disrupting the notion that “this is just how it is, now settle and accept it” and is leading the way for change. As part of that endeavour, Cynthia brings over 20 years of medical experience, combined with current and progressive nutritional perspectives/approaches to truly serve those in need. She provides hope and customized programs that work. She selflessly and transparently shares her own personal experiences through navigating the journey through hormonal imbalances, peri-menopause and all of the symptoms that plague so many women as a means to connect and relate to her clients in a raw and authentic way. Cynthia is a 2 time TEDx speaker.  Her second talk on Intermittent fasting has had more than 5.3 million views Cynthia has been a guest on numerous podcasts and has been featured on ABC, Fox5, KTLA, PIX11 and Medium & Entrepreneur


Learning Points:

  • Why intermittent fasting is more than just a weight loss tool
  • Who should avoid intermittent fasting
  • How to start an intermittent fasting plan

Social Media


Listen live or catch the podcast on iTunes and SoundCloud!

Every Tuesday from 11am -12pm I host The Health Hub, an interactive, forward thinking talk show on Radio Maria Canada.   Call, tweet or email your questions as together we explore health issues that are relevant to you from new and innovative points of view.


TheHealthHub is now on iTunes!

Subscribe and don’t miss a single episode!


Follow us on Social Media

We are @thehealthhubrmc on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook


How To Listen Live

Visit our website and learn how to listen live to our show each week. http://www.radiomaria.ca/how-to-listen

Let us know!


If you have a health topic that you would like us to discuss or are a health care specialist who wants to be a guest on our show let us know!

Here is our email.  We would love to hear from you! thh@radiomaria.ca

 

 

Apps to Help Lessen Anxiety and Stress

I have witnessed countless acts of kindness throughout this difficult time including wonderful trainers and gyms offering ways for us to keep physically active and motivated while staying home.

But along with taking care of our physical needs we must also nourish our mental self.

There are many strategies that we can employ.  One arena to play in are the many apps that have been developed for just this purpose.

There really are so many terrific apps available to help us strengthen and maintain our mental health but I want to highlight 3 that I use personally.

𝗠𝗶𝗻𝗱 𝗦𝗵𝗶𝗳𝘁

Developed by Anxiety Canada, Mind Shift is an app that is designed to help you cope with mild to moderate anxiety aiming to change how you think about anxiety.

It is based on proven scientific strategies helping you to engage in healthy thinking. You check in each day to track your anxiety and work with tools in the app.

This is a free app.

𝗖𝗮𝗹𝗺

In 2017 Calm was named iPhone App of the Year. Calm is a wonderful app for everyone including those experiencing stress and anxiety.  The App offers daily Calm sessions and guides you through meditations, sleep stories and breathing programs.

There is a free version and a paid version.

𝗚𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝘁𝘂𝗱𝗲 𝗛𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗝𝗼𝘂𝗿𝗻𝗮𝗹

Daily recording of gratitude has been shown to increase happiness and improve mood.

As the Gratitude Happiness Journal app description states:

the app was built out of a personal need to cope with anxiety & depression

This app offers unlimited journal entries and affirmations.

There is a Pro version but I have been using the free one and I love it!


RECIPE

Ashwagandha Milk Tea

(I have published this recipe before and have had many positive feedbacks from it)

Ashwagandha (Withania Somnifera) is an Ayurvedic adaptogenic herb.  An adaptogen helps to bring balance and stabiliziation. Ashwagandha is best known for its stress-lowering effects.

 

Ingredients:

  • 1/2 cup milk
  • 1/2 cup water
  • 1 tsp Ashwagandha Powder
  • 1 date
  • 10 Goji Berries
  • 4-5 cardamom buds

Directions:

  1. Add milk, water, Ashwagandha powder, date and Goji Berries to a small saucepan and bring to a boil
  2. Once reduced to about half strain in to a teacup, add cardamon buds and enjoy!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dr. Patrick Quillin is director of nutrition for Cancer Treatment Centers of America in Tulsa, OK.

“Of the 4 million cancer patients being treated in America today, hardly any are offered any scientifically guided nutrition therapy beyond being told to “just eat good foods.” Most patients I work with arrive with a complete lack of nutritional advice.... Controlling one’s blood-glucose levels through diet, supplements, exercise, meditation and prescription drugs when necessary can be one of the most crucial components to a cancer recovery program.”

Dr. Patrick Quillin is director of nutrition for Cancer Treatment Centers of America in Tulsa, OK.

“Of the 4 million cancer patients being treated in America today, hardly any are offered any scientifically guided nutrition therapy beyond being told to “just eat good foods.” Most patients I work with arrive with a complete lack of nutritional advice…. Controlling one’s blood-glucose levels through diet, supplements, exercise, meditation and prescription drugs when necessary can be one of the most crucial components to a cancer recovery program.”