As Damaging As A Spear, And As Slow As A Tortoise

Hey everyone, in 5 minutes or less you will learn:

1. How Gluten Intolerance Affects Breathing

2. How Gluten Intolerance Affects Your Skin

3. The ‘Stats’ on the Obesity Epidemic

4. BONUS: How to Create Your Own Blueprint

How Does Gluten Intolerance OR Digestive issues Affect Your Breathing?

Well the basic understanding is that when you have damaged your intestinal value through:

• Harmful foods (unknowingly)

• Surgery

• OR accidental harm through physical trauma such as a work-related accident, or car crash

The first one s actually the MOST common, because people aren’t taught what the ‘BAD’ foods are or how it harms them. Take ‘THE RED MEAT CONTROVERSY’ for example. How often has red meat been villainized as ‘The Anit-Christ’ by large cooperations (The World Health Organization actually being on of them - Cancer: Carcinogenicity of the consumption of red meat and processed meat (who.int)). They even put red meat in he same category is tobacco smoke!

Well as it turns out, in a study looking at the ‘Association Between Red Meat Consumption and Cancer Risk’ Boskovic and Baltic (2016) found that its the chemical substance that’s created by different types of cooking (e.g. grilling, barbecuing, frying), the temperature which the food is cooked, and the type of meat (Jagerstad and Skog, 2005; Badry, 2010; Aaslyng et al, 2013; Berjia et al, 2014; Boskovic et al, 2015). I’d also like to make everyone aware that the term ‘association’ does not mean ‘Causation’, it’s not an absolute certainty when an organisation, or anyone for that matter, mentions an ‘association’. A lot of epidemiological (aka. observational) studies can only use associations, because it is not a clinical trial, or done in a lab, where they can control all of the conditions of the study.

The above is furhter backed up in Dr. Wallach’s book ‘Epigenetics: The Death of the Theory of Genetic Disease Transmission’ where we talks about how frying food damages your DNA (Wallach, Lan, and Schrauzer, 2014). Also, I think it’s worth mentioning here that food items such as pastries are harmful for people with breathing problems, as people have described it to me, ‘it feels like it sticks to your lungs’. An example of this is through a study conducted by the Egyptian Journal of Chest Diseases and Tuberculosis, that examined the ‘Effects of exposure to flour dust on respiratory symptoms and pulmonary function of mill workers’, found that ‘occupational exposure to flour dust could cause respiratory irritation and sensitization’ (Mohammadien, Hussein, and El-Sokkary, 2013).

Okay, so we’ve looked at an example of a food that could harm your health in terms of your DNA and breathing through inhalation and digestion. And if you recall, on one of my previous newsletters I talked about the intestinal vili and illustrated the damage to it once caused. But let’s move onto ‘how’ this can effect your skin, because a lot of people care about how they look, right? You care about how you look, I care, everybody cares. So let’s delve into what the research has to say about gluten/harmful foods, and skin.

How Does Gluten Intolerance Effect Your Skin?

Now, we have already covered some of the harmful foods that effect breathing, and how it can effect breathing, and it comes down to digestion - an efficient digestive system can break down the proteins, carbs, and fats, with ease,… but what if it couldn’t? And how does that effect your skin? Let’s find out…

First and foremost the skin is an organ that is part of your immune system and is necessary for the protection of your body. And, your gut microbiome is quite diverse and shares many similarities with your skin (Breton, 2021), for example, both the gut microbiome and the skin are covered in epithelial cells (cells that form the outer layer of these organs), which provide a direct link between the outside enviroment and our body’s interior (Shaykhiev, Bals, 2007). How this effects the formation of diseases is that the epithelial cells can act as a portal for harmful bacteria or pathogens; “it can also act as a source of various signals, which constitute a disease-specific tissue microenvironment effecting the biology of many cells of the immune system”(Shaykhiev, Bals, 2007). Elaborating, both the tissues of the skin and the gut are highly responsive to stress and anxitey; as stated in the journal ‘Microorganisms’ …”diseases such as inflammatory bowel disease and psoarisis comprise an epithelial barrier dysfunction and an increased epithelial turnover rate” (Breton, 2021), meaning that they react similarly to one another to inflammation caused by the bad foods or bad hygeine.

I have put the link to a table containing the diseases linked to the skin-microbiome: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7916842/table/microorganisms-09-00353-t001/

This will illustrate them for you in a more organised manner.

Additionally, I’d like to add that this link between the microbiome and other organs also effects the lungs as well as the skin, and it is absolutely essential that you look after your health through choosing the correct lifestyle choices for yourself!

The Stats: Obesity Epidemic

According to the WHO, “worldwide obesity has nearly tripled since 1975”, and according to The Global Burden of Disease (2019), the rate by which obesity, and the deaths from obesity and related symptoms, increased in the 100,000’s had risen exponentially, see the data below…

In a study conducted by the Journal ‘Metabolism’ Boutari and Mantzoros (2022) examined the update on the epidemiology of obesity (Boutari and Mantzoros, 2022)…

So how do combat this? How do we get better at staying healthier than what this data has shown us, and get the energy we need to go to work, spend time with our kids, and do our daily house work?

BONUS: How to Create Your Own Blueprint

To start we can use a notepad and pen to use as a food diary and note what individual foods are harming us 24, 48, and 72 hours after consuming it. Below is a list of common foods:

• wheat products

• barley products

• milk/dairy

• nuts

• eggs

• strawberries

• kiwi

• soy

• crustaceans

• celery

Once you have noted any symptoms you know that food is causing those symptoms. It is IMPORTANT that you consume individual foods at a time, and yes, it takes time, but you are teaching yourself a valuable skill - the ability to become your own healthcare provider.

Using the food diary alone, however, will not be enough, you must use the ‘Pulse Test’ with the food diary to better determine what allergies may or may not he causing symptoms.

While you’re doing this, look after the ‘essentials’ - SLEEP, HYDRATION, and HYGEINE. Now, I know that this audience looks after their own hygeine because I’ve met you all individualy, and you are all meticulous! However, we all (including me) seem to struggle with the first two from time to time, and let’s face it, with the use of technology increasing, according to Statista, who looked at the ‘Number of internet and social media users worldwide as of April 2023’, it has become increasingly difficult to ‘hit the pillow’ with a more peaceful mind.

See link for technology and social media use: Internet and social media users in the world 2023 | Statista.

Why is sleep important? In a journal published in the ‘British Journal of Sports Medicine’ where the examined ‘Sleep and the Athlete’ Walsh, Halson, Sargent et al (2021) stated: “Candidate risk factors for sleep inadequacy in elite athletes also include many of those factors commonly considered to influence sleep in non-athletic individuals. These include female gender, spinal cord injury, increasing age and poor mental health (eg, traits of neuroticism, maladaptive perfectionism and hyperarousal, and the pervasive influence of psychological stress and anxiety (rumination or worry))” (Walsh, Halson, Sargent et al, 2021).

We CAN conquer this by having a bit of disciplone (aka ‘self love’), and turning off all bluelight 30-60 minutes before bed. To replace the bluelight we can write notes, write a list in our notebook of what we need to to the next day, play board games like monoply, ludo, UNO Flip, we can do crossword puzzles and wordsearches, or spend time with your loved ones and listen and share stories. There are loads of ways you can achieve this.

Okay, hydration! I strongly recommend you keep a digital or written log of how much water you drink per day, and most importantly, you set yourself a daily target, for example, ‘I will drink 2 litres of water today’ and stick to it. make sure you get the first 500ml-600ml water first thing in the morning. Why is hydration important for our bodies? In a study published in the journal ‘Nutrients’, that reviewed ‘Interventions to Improve Hydration in Older Adults’ Bruno et al (2021) stated: “…lower hydration levels are associated with incidents of cute confusion, constipation, urinary tract infections, ehaustion, falls, and delayed wound healing” (Bruno et al, 2021). Now I know that some of us have not yet reached the ‘older adult’ stage, however, think about it for a moment… How many of us of experienced exhaustion, impaired wound healing a constipation-like symptoms and felt better after we drink some water? I know I have! And I’m in my early 30’s.

Now that we’ve talk about the improtance of water and sleep and how to combat this, let’s move on to ‘what’ to replace those bad foods with….

The BAD Foods ‘Rehash’

• wheat

• barley

• rye

• oats

• fried food

• oil in a bottle

• nitrates/nitrites in meat

• skins of baked potatoes, yams & sweet potatoes when they’re crispy

• carbonated drinks

• well done meat

• soy

• corn

List above sourced from: Glidden (2017), 12 Bad Foods by Dr Peter Glidden, ND - YouTube

The GOOD foods:

• rice, millet, buckwheat (not actually wheat), quinoa

• rice noodles, rice cakes, etc.

• nuts & seeds (be wary of allergens)

• fish

• red meat (medium, medium-rare)

• eggs

• poultry

• fruit & veg

• beans

• other pulses and lentils

• dark chocolate (60%+ preferably=antioxidants)

• tea & coffee

• herbs, spices & condiments

Methods of Cooking:

1. stewing

2. baking

3. steaming

4. boiling

5. making soups

6. making smoothies

In conclusion, there a lots that you can do for yourself, your family, and your friends. And when you begin to do the above, and add exercise to it, you need to develop persistence to maintain a healthier, more energetic life until it becomes second nature to you, just like driving a car, or riding a bike.

And remember, exercise is relative to the person.

Thank you so much for your support, your patience, and your genuine interest. I love providing this service for you, and sorry this one took a little longer, I wanted to give you more information this time, and deliver something better for you.

NEXT TIME …

1. Stiff Leg deadlifts’ functioning and benefits, inc. flexibility

2. Resistant Bands to help you develop power!

3. (a juicy) BONUS

Resources:

The World Health Organization. ‘Cancer: Carcinogenicity of the consumption of red meat and processed meat’. Cited: Cancer: Carcinogenicity of the consumption of red meat and processed meat (who.int). Accessed: Monday 17/07/2023.

The Worl Health Organization. ‘Obesity and overweight’, 9th June (2021). Cited: Obesity and overweight (who.int). Accessed: Sunday 23/07/2023.

Glidden P, (2017). “The 12 BAD Foods”. Cited: 12 Bad Foods by Dr Peter Glidden, ND - YouTube. Accessed: Sunday 23/07/2023.

References:

Aaslyng MD, Duedahl-Olesen L, Jensen K, and Meinert L (2013). Content of heterocyclic amines and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in pork, beef and chicken barbecued at home by Danish consumers. Meat Science; 93: 85–91

Badry, N. E. L. (2010). Effect of household cooking methods and some food additives on polyaromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) formation in chicken meat. World Applied Sciences Journal; 9: 963–974.

Berjia FL, Poulsen M, and Nauta M (2014). Burden of diseases estimates associated to different red meat cooking practices. Food and Chemical Toxicology; 66: 237–244.

Boskovic M, Baltic MZ, Ivanovic J, Djuric J, Dokmanovic M, Markovic R, Sarcevic D, and Baltic T (2015). The impact of pork meat and lard on human health. Tehnologija Mesa; 56 (1): 8−15.

Boskovic M, and Baltic MZ (2016). Association between red meat consumption and cancer risk. Meat Technology; 57(2): 81-88.

Boutari C, Mantzoros CS, (2022). A 2022 update on the epidemiology of obesity and a call to action: as its twin COVID-19 pandemic appears to be receding, the obesity and dysmetabolism pandemic continues to rage on. Metabolism;133:155217. doi: 10.1016/j.metabol.2022.155217. Epub 2022 May 15. PMID: 35584732; PMCID: PMC9107388.

Bruno C, Collier A, Holyday M, Lambert K, (2021). Interventions to Improve Hydration in Older Adults: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Nutrients;13(10):3640. doi: 10.3390/nu13103640. PMID: 34684642; PMCID: PMC8537864.

De Pessemier B, Grine L, Debaere M, Maes A, Paetzold B, Callewaert C, (2021). Gut-Skin Axis: Current Knowledge of the Interrelationship between Microbial Dysbiosis and Skin Conditions. Microorganisms;9(2):353. doi: 10.3390/microorganisms9020353. PMID: 33670115; PMCID: PMC7916842.

Jägerstad, M. and Skog, K. (2005). Genotoxicity of heat-processed foods. Mutation Research; 574 156–172

Mohammadien HA, Hussein MT, and El-Sokkary RT (2013). Effects of exposure to flour dust on respiratory symptoms and pulmonary function of mill workers. Egyptian Journal of Chest Diseases and Tuberculosis; 62(4): 745-7

Ritchie H, and Rose M, (2017). “Obesity”. Published online at ‘OurWorldInData.org. Retreived from https://ourworldindata.org/obesity. (Online Source). Cited: Obesity - Our World in Data. Accessed: Sunday 23/07/2023.

Shaykhiev, R. and Bals, R. (2007), Interactions between epithelial cells and leukocytes in immunity and tissue homeostasis. Journal of Leukocyte Biology, 82: 1-15. https://doi.org/10.1189/jlb.0207096.

Statista, (2023). ‘Number of internet and social media users worldwide as of April 2023 (in billions)’. Cited: Internet and social media users in the world 2023 | Statista. Accessed: Sunday 23/07/2023.

Wallach JD, Lan M, and Schrauzer GN (2014). EPIGENETICS: The Death of the Theory of Genetic Disease Transmission.

Walsh NP, Halson SL, Sargent C, et al (2021). Sleep and the athlete: narrative review and 2021 expert consensus recommendations. British Journal of Sports Medicine;55:356-368.