Digestion Problems and Medications

Take the time to know about what medications you are taking. Many of them can be causing some of your intestinal problems. I'm not advocating that you stop your medications to see if they are causing the problem, but if you have followed this blog over the past few days, so the things I mentioned in those posts. If things do not improve, then see your doctor and talk to him about your medications and what other choices you may have.

Know that vitamins and supplements can also cause some intestinal issues. For example, calcium often causes constipation, gas and bloating. Magnesium and Vitamin C can cause loose stools or diarrhea. Some of the B vitamins can cause nausea. Consider taking a vitamin vacation to see if things improve. If they do, then consider changing your vitamins. Suffice it to say that not all vitamins are alike. Some of the cheaper ones may not have the quality controls that a more expensive brand has. You may need to change brands.

Quinoa - Super Grain?

Actually quinoa is not a grain at all, although many believe it to be one. Quinoa is the the seed from a leafy plant that is distantly related to spinach. What quinoa contains that most grains do not is the amino acid lysine. Lysine is an essential amino acid, however, we are dependent upon getting it from our food as the body is unable to produce it.

Lysine helps the body convert fatty acids into energy by helping to produce carnitine in the body. You can immediately get the point that if you have too little lysine, you don't produce enough carnitine and you can become fatigued. This is usually not a problem unless you are not eating any protein sources in your diet.

Back to quinoa, this seed contains lots of good nutrients like potassium, riboflavin, manganese, magnesium, vitamin B6, niacin, thiamin, folate, zinc and copper. This is an excellent protein source as well.

Walnuts

Walnuts are another super food with many benefits. Of course most of you probably know that walnuts are rich in omega 3, but there are many other benefits to walnuts. They are also a wonderful source of fiber. How many people out there do not eat nuts because they are "high in fat"? That is not the issue here. The fat in walnuts is good fat, omega 3. In addition, if you eat a handful or so a week it will help with constipation, one the biggest complaints of people over the age of 65. Walnuts are both a soluble and insoluble source of fiber. They bind with fatty acids, decrease the stomach emptying time and thereby decrease the speed at which sugar is absorbed into the blood stream. Diabetics out there, can you see how this might help you?

Walnuts are also a rich plant source of protein and besides the omega 3s, they are also have B vitamins and Vitamin E.

Walnuts have been shown to help protect against heart disease and they also have been shown to decrease C-Reactive protein. See my notes about C-Reactive protein on 11/20/08. This leads me right into my thoughts about anti-inflammatories which is the key to many diseases.

Pumpkin

Since Thanksgiving is upon us, I thought I would talk a little about pumpkin. Of course, we're all looking forward to pumpkin pie in a few days. But there are benefits to pumpkin that you may not be aware of.

If you have grown a pumpkin or buy a fresh whole pumpkin, when you take out the seeds, save them. These are an excellent treat just dry roasted in the oven on low heat. Pumpkin seeds are a great source of protein, phytosterols, zinc, magnesium, manganese, and phosphorus. The protein source in pumpkin seeds contains more tryptophan than milk. For more on tryptophan, see my posts starting on October 23. Just the seeds alone are great to boost the immune system and can also benefit the liver.

The pumpkin itself is rich in antioxidants. This will also boost the immune system. So that pumpkin pie you have on Thanksgiving is not bad. It has lots of great nutritional value!

Benefits of Chocolate

Some of the benefits of raw chocolate or cacao are the high levels of antioxidant and magnesium content. Raw cacao is the highest food source of antioxidant. It is higher than green tea or red wine. How great is that. You can protect your cells by eating raw cacao!! So chocolate in it's raw form is good for you!

The high levels of magnesium contained in raw cacao supports heart health, relaxes muscles and eases menstrual cramping, increases flexibility, and improves brain function.

The greatest benefit here is cacao's effect on the brain. It actually assists the body in the production of brain chemicals like serotonin, phenylethylamine, theobromine, and tryptophan. These brain chemicals are responsible for making us feel less depressed, less stressed, and less anxious. Bottom line, these chemicals help increase our pleasure and I sometimes referred to these as the feel good chemcals.