The Gut-Brain Connection – How it Affects Your Life

Your brain is the commander-in-chief of your body. It constantly receives information from your internal and external environment and decides the best course of action to take for your survival. The brain carries out this action by sending messages through the nerves of the nervous system to the appropriate parts of the body.

For example, when the sympathetic nervous system is activated, it will help simultaneously change the behavior of the heart, lungs, eyes, brain, digestive system, adrenal glands, bladder, and skeletal muscles. All of this is done to achieve one goal – survival. On the other hand, the parasympathetic branch of the nervous system stimulates digestion, recovery, and rest throughout the organs of the body when we are not faced with a threat.

These two branches of the autonomic nervous system help us explain how our brain controls our body, but can our body control our brain?

You are the Sum of Your Neurobiology

In his book, Incognito: The Secret Lives of the Brain, Neuroscientist David Eagleman explains:

…who you are depends on the sum total of your neurobiology.”

Neurobiology is dictated by more than just the brain. Just like any government, even a dictatorship, the leader is influenced by other members of the governing body. Even though the brain can affect every organ in the body through the sympathetic and parasympathetic branches of the nervous system, the brain cannot veto the power of the gut.

Other common diseases like Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s may actually start in the gut.

Our Second Brain

The gut is sometimes known as our second brain. In fact, it has its own branch of the nervous system called the enteric nervous system that can function on its own, even if it is disconnected from the brain.

The enteric nervous system also resembles a brain because it:

  • has glial cells to support the neurons in the gut
  • contains 500 million neurons
  • uses 40 (and possibly many more) neurotransmitters
  • produces 50% of the body’s dopamine (important for motility)
  • produces 95% of the body’s serotonin (important for the enteric nervous system’s growth & cell protection)
  • has a barrier that resembles the blood brain barrier
  • may even have its own memory

How the Gut Influences the Brain

The brain and gut are intimately connected by the vagus nerve. The vagus nerve connects with most of the organs and plays a prominent role in activating the parasympathetic nervous system.

Around 90% of the signals passing along the vagus nerve come not from the brain, but from the enteric nervous system to the brain. This is because one of the brains most effective ways of learning about its environment is through the gut, and this relationship starts before we are even exposed to the outside environment.

The Development of the Brain & Gut Connection

When we were in the womb, we were constantly picking up signals about the outside environment.

Is there enough food?

Is it safe out there?

What adaptions will I need now to ensure survival?

All of these questions were answered by the chemical signals that we received from our mothers through the umbilical cord, and the development of our brain and gut depended heavily on these signals. For example, if there was a lack of nutrition in our mother’s diet, we may be predisposed to obesity due to altered metabolic function.

What we are feed in our youth also greatly impacts the development of our gut and its enteric nervous system. Breastmilk is essential because it promotes oxytocin and serotonin release, which promotes gut growth and the development of a healthy gut microbiome. When the gut is able to develop with a healthy gut microbiome, the risk of food allergies and gut issues later on in life is greatly reduced. A damaged gut, on the other hand, increases the risk of obesity, depression, anxiety, autism, multiple sclerosis, and cardiovascular disease.

Other common diseases like Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s may actually start in the gut. For example, in people that died from Parkinson’s disease, scientists found the same protein clumps that damage dopamine-producing neurons in the gut as they did in the brain. The same phenomenon exists in people with Alzheimer’s disease. Plaques and tangles that form in the brain of people with Alzheimer’s disease also form in their gut. This means that we may be able to use gut biopsies to diagnose and treat these conditions before they take hold of the brain.

Stress and the Gut

When we are stressed our sympathetic nervous system is activated to prepare our body for survival. At the same time, the hormone Ghrelin is released from our stomach. Ghrelin is known as our hunger hormone because it stimulates appetite and promotes fat storage. This explains why when we are stressed we may feel the compulsive need to eat.

Ghrelin also inhibits serotonin activity, which leads to digestive issues and increased anxiety and depression over time. Anxiety leads to more ghrelin production, and this starts a vicious cycle of stress that may have been triggered by a stressful fetal or neonatal environment.

Recommended Reading: How Candida Leads to Depression, Anxiety, ADHD, and Other Mental Disorders

Irritable Bowel Syndrome – When Gut & Brain Disharmony Becomes Chronic

Stress also increases the risk of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), a digestive disorder that affects 10-15% of the world population. IBS  is what happens when the enteric nervous system, gut, gut microbiome, and brain are in disharmony.

It usually begins with a stressful childhood. Traumatic events, like maternal separation, can lead to a dysfunctional connection between the brain and gut. If these children are also feed the wrong food, their gut microbiome will not develop correctly. This establishes a dysfunctional gut microbiome that does not produce the substances needed for a healthy gut and a healthy enteric nervous system.

If the child continues to be deprived of nutrient dense food and human connection, their immune system will become hyperactive, leading to food allergies and a chronic state of stress. This vicious cycle of brain, gut, and gut microbiome disharmony continues into adulthood until it is defined as IBS.

Recommended Reading: Gluten, Candida, Leaky Gut Syndrome, and Autoimmune Diseases

The Gut, Brain, and Behavioral Disorders

The enteric nervous system, gut, gut microbiome, and brain disharmony play an essential role in the development of neurological/behavioral disorders like autism, ADHD, and various mood disorders. Antibiotics, environmental, infectious agents like vaccines, and other forms of neonatal stress create gut dysbiosis (imbalance in gut bacteria) and vagus nerve dysfunction. These two factors set the stage for neurological/behavioral disorders by stimulating an already hyperactive immune system and sympathetic nervous system that causes children to be extremely impulsive and in a state of persistent hyper-arousal. If these children are then fed a highly refined diet that keeps their blood sugar levels high, their symptoms will continue to get worse.

You may have actually experienced a small taste of what it’s like to have ADHD or autism the last time you ate processed foods filled with toxins. When you eat highly refined, toxin laden foods, your body must fire up its immune system and sympathetic nervous system to protect you from the threat. This will cause blood flow to be directed away from your prefrontal cortex while your blood sugar rises. When your blood sugar is high, it creates plaque build up in the brain and impairs blood vessel function, which reduces  your cognitive abilities. Combine that with the lack of activity in your prefrontal cortex, and you will feel impulsive and anxious and make illogical decisions.

When you add stress and poor food choices together, it creates a cascade of negative effects in the gut microbiome, gut, enteric nervous system, and the brain that lead to poor decision-making, a greater incidence of pain, more allergies, and more disease.

But don’t worry, even if your environment was filled with stress and poor food options from the womb to adulthood, even if you were diagnosed with ADHD, IBS, autism, depression, chronic pain, Parkinson’s disease, and/or Alzheimer’s disease, you can still restore the harmony between your gut, gut microbiome, enteric nervous system, and brain.

Synchronizing the Gut and Brain

One of the most effective ways to improve your health is by starting with what you put in your body. When you feed your body what it needs while eliminating the foods that cause issues, you will establish a healthy gut microbiome, heal your gut lining, and improve the function of your enteric nervous system. This will send the message to the brain that you are not under attack, the immune system will calm down, and your body will be able to rest and reverse disease.

Improving Brain Health with the Gut

Limit Your Consumption of FOD MAPs

FOD MAPs is an acronym that stands for:

  • Fermentable – meaning they are only broken down through fermentation
  • Oligosaccharides – made up of individual sugars joined together in a chain
  • Disaccharides – a double sugar molecule
  • Monosaccharides – a single sugar molecule
  • And Polyols – sugar alcohols

These are short-chain carbohydrates that tend to be poorly digested by those with digestive issues like IBS. This is because when the FOD MAPs make their way through the digestive tract, they draw water into the large intestine from surrounding areas, which leads to bloating. Simultaneously, the bacteria in the large intestine starts digesting the FOD MAPs and producing gas which builds up along with the water. The intestines expand, the message is sent to the brain, and it responds with more pain, discomfort, and stress.

Eating a low FOD MAP diet has showed promising effects in treating people with IBS and may transfer to others with a comprised digestive system. It is commonly suggested to limit the consumption of  FOD MAPs for 3-8 weeks to help balance the gut microbiome, heal the gut, and reduce symptoms. After that time, it is best to slowly re-introduce high FOD MAP foods into your diet to see which ones are safe to eat and which ones cause the most issues for you.

Recommended Reading: Detox Cheap and Easy Without Fasting - Recipes Included

Eliminate Foods that Cause Problems for You

Food sensitives and allergies are becoming more and more common and the link between stress, the immune system, and the gut is mostly to blame. When the body is in a stressed and inflamed state, your immune system and gut may react to previously harmless foods as if they are a threat to the body.

To reduce your food sensitives and allergic reactions, start by eliminating these common, allergy-causing foods from your diet:

  • Milk
  • Eggs
  • Peanuts
  • Tree Nuts
  • Soy
  • Grains with gluten in them (wheat, barley, rye, and oats)
  • Fish
  • Shellfish

When you eliminate some of these foods from your diet, you may notice that you have more energy and less stress. This is a sign that you may be sensitive or allergic to one or more of the foods that you eliminated. Keep in mind that almost any food can trigger an allergy. If a certain food item always makes you feel worse after eating it then it is safe to say that you should eliminate it from your diet.

Think of this approach as a temporary experiment designed to see what the ideal diet is for you. After a couple weeks of eliminating a specific food from your diet, try periodically reintroducing that food back in. You may find that you can eat eggs or almonds again, and they make you feel energized now!

Recommended Reading: Increase your IQ with the Right Foods, Herbs, Vitamins, and Exercises for Your Brain

Increase Your Fiber Intake

Fiber cannot be broken down by the body, so bacteria in the intestines feast on it. As a result, the bacteria produce butyrate. This short chain fatty acid helps to improve the function of the digestive tract and protect and enhance brain function.

Supplement with Probiotics

Probiotics have been found to reduce anxiety and depression. In studies done on mice, the amount of lactobacillus in their gut effected the amount of a metabolite in the blood called kynurenine, which has been shown to drive depression. Probiotics also help produce serotonin in the gut, which has protective effects against irritable bowel syndrome, cardiovascular disease, and osteoporosis.

Recommended Reading: Probiotics, Bacteria, and Our Health

Make Sure You Consume Enough Folate and Vitamin B12

Folate and Vitamin B12 are essential for brain health, nervous system function, and overall health. They also help to prevent depression and heart disease. On its own Vitamin B12 decreases the loss of brain volume with age, while increasing cognitive function.

Although these vitamins are produced by the gut microbiome, we are not sure how much is actually made and absorbed by the body. It’s best to make sure you are consuming animal products like pasture raised eggs for Vitamin B12 and plenty of organic dark leafy green vegetables for folate.

Increase Your Intake of Omega 3s and Decrease Omega 6s

The omega 3 fatty acids, DHA and EPA, are effective at reducing the symptoms of depression, and positive effects may carry over to other neurological disorders as well. This is partly due to the decrease in inflammation that is associated with diets that are lower in omega 6s and higher in omega 3s.

To decrease the amount of omega 6s in your diet, replace vegetable, seed, and soybean oils with highly saturated fats like coconut oil, butter, ghee, and tallow. If you need a liquid oil for salad dressing use avocado oil or olive oil.

Omega 3s are best when consumed as minimally cooked and processed as possible. Wild caught salmon, sardines, mackerel, and oysters are great sources of DHA and EPA.

Before You Eat, Improve Your Gut with Your Mind

Before you take the first bite of food from your brain and gut revitalizing meal, take a deep diaphragmatic breath. This will stimulate your vagus nerve and prepare your body to digest your food. Chew each bite thoroughly, enjoy every flavor, and take at-least one deep breath after every couple of bites.

Use your brain to improve your gut and your gut to improve your brain. If you apply this advice to your life, you will replace the vicious cycle of disease with a nutritious cycle of vitality.

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Vaccine Schedule – Why the FDA Ignored Mercury Issues For So Long

Regulatory agencies like the FDA and CDC agree with the classification on mercury as a neurotoxin. But it took until 1997 for the Food and Drug Administration, at the prompting of Congress, to finally tally up the total amount of mercury a six-month-old would be exposed to if the 1997 vaccine schedule was followed. The results of that calculation found that the average six-month-old had the potential to be injected with a total of 187.5 micrograms of mercury. In contrast, the FDA’s daily acceptable intake of mercury for an adult is 0.4 micrograms per kilogram of bodyweight. The FDA has known about the cumulative levels of mercury in childhood vaccines for over 20 years, and yet they still acknowledge that many childhood vaccines contain trace amounts (less than 1 microgram) of thimerosal, and certain inactivated influenza vaccines can contain up to 50 micrograms of thimerosal.

What You Do When You Realize Something Wrong

By any calculation, the level of mercury in childhood vaccines is too high. So why hasn’t it been removed from vaccines? New documents from FDA officials have discovered that the justification for the continued presence of thimerosal has less to do with safety and more to do with image. In an email from Dr. Peter Patriarca, Director, Division of Viral Products, Food and Drug to an official at the CDC, he discussed the impact of removing thimerosal from vaccines in a timely fashion, saying it would:

…raise questions about FDA being ‘asleep at the switch’ for decades by allowing a potentially hazardous compound to remain in many childhood vaccines, and not forcing manufacturers to exclude it from new products.

It will also raise questions about various advisory bodies regarding aggressive recommendations for use. We must keep in mind that the dose of ethylmercury was not generated by “rocket science.” Conversion of the percentage of thimerosal to actual micrograms of mercury involves ninth grade algebra. What took the FDA so long to do the calculations? Why didn’t the CDC and the advisory bodies do these calculations when they rapidly expanded the childhood immunization schedule?”

Equally as distressing as the FDA’s decision to hide culpability is what they’re sacrificing in pursuit of that decision. A press release in 1999 maintained that there wasn’t evidence that vaccines containing thimerosal caused any harm. It also maintained there was no reason to measure mercury exposure in children who received those vaccines, effectively ensuring that that evidence would not materialize anytime soon. In additional justification, public documents released by the FDA measured mercury exposure as if children were only exposed to a small amount of mercury each day through vaccines.

This is in stark contrast to the reality of the situation, where mercury exposure spikes at four specific times: at birth and at well baby (oh the irony!) check-ups at 2, 4, and 6 months. Since that release in 1999, the FDA has made an effort to lower the levels of thimerosal in childhood vaccines. Many still contain trace amounts, though, and the flu vaccine, recommended annually starting at 6 months, seems to be exempt from these reduction efforts thus far.

When Safeguards Are Not Safe

Vaccines are often sold as the best thing you can do for your baby. Yet the people who regulate these vaccines are not inclined to look at them critically. It took Congress requiring a list of intentionally introduced mercury compounds before the organization that regulates them took stock of exactly how much mercury children receive through childhood vaccines. The FDA then presented the data on a six-month average, instead of the four one-time spikes that actually occur and specifically said that testing mercury exposure is not necessary. Why are the vaccines considered necessary when safety checks and studies are not?

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Lawsuit Alleges that Monsanto Influenced the EPA’s Classification of Glyphosate

In 2015, the World Health Organization categorized glyphosate as a probable human carcinogen. A new lawsuit, filed on behalf of cancer victims, claims the Environmental Protection Agency had the information to label glyphosate as carcinogenic two years earlier and instead chose to claim glyphosate was “not likely to be carcinogenic to humans.”

Marion Copley, now deceased, was a toxicologist at the EPA for 30 years. In 2013, she wrote a letter to Jess Rowland, the chair of the EPA’s Cancer Assessment Review Committee (CARC), listing 14 reasons to classify glyphosate as carcinogenic. Copley also alleged that Rowland and other select colleagues changed important reports to benefit companies like Monsanto.

The lawsuit is demanding the release of Jess Rowland’s communications with Monsanto during his time on the CARC and his involvement with the release of the EPA’s memo declaring glyphosate is “not likely to be carcinogenic to humans.”

Something Isn’t Adding Up

This is not the first time there have been questions surrounding the EPA and their treatment of glyphosate. A glyphosate risk report that found glyphosate was not likely to be carcinogenic to humans, a direct contrast to the WHO report, was released in 2016 on the EPA website on April 29, only to be taken down four days later. This is not the first time two different groups of scientists (the IARC and CARC) have taken a look at the same problem and come up with conflicting views. But the EPA sent officials to help conduct the IARC study. The discrepancy in results was enough for the House of Representatives Science Committee to request interviews with four different EPA officials, including Jess Rowland. While it makes sense for the chair of the CARC to be mentioned, the letter from Marion Copley makes the EPA’s findings seem more like a dictate from private interests than an independent government report.

Where is Monsanto in All of This?

It goes without saying that Monsanto is deeply invested in keeping glyphosate from being labeled as a health hazard. It’s easy to sound like a conspiracy theorist, accusing the EPA of being in Monsanto’s back pocket, that EPA scientists collaborated with the scientists who found that glyphosate was a probable carcinogen and then walked it back. Monsanto is now using the EPA’s official report to dispute the study that the found that glyphosate was harmful. In that light, Marion Copley’s allegations of changing study findings to favor industry are not so outlandish. Until we have a transparent system, we have to trust that government science has our best interests at heart. Do we matter more than Monsanto?

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Google Removed Natural News – Is This Alternative News Censorship?

Google has wiped NaturalNews.com and its published articles off its proverbial map. If you google Natural News the website does not come up in a search and neither do an estimated 140,000 articles published by the organization (as of 2/27/2017).

NaturalNews.com is not a small, inconsequential site. It is a website visited by an average of 7 million individuals a month. Yes, 7 million unique readers visit the website each month and 2 million have “liked” Natural News on Facebook.

Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, is a well-known proponent and purveyor of “alternative” news. His site, NaturalNews.com, promotes alternative health care, nutrition, natural healing, and supplementation. He has taken a clear stand against vaccines, GMOs, fluoride in drinking water, environmental toxins, and the chemicals we put in our food.

Adams also freely shares his views on politics and daily life. He is a staunch conservative who denies manmade climate change and supports President Trump, the right to bear arms, and a prepper lifestyle. Recently, he has also been warning his readers about fake news and impending censorship of sites such as his.

On February 16th, he reported the following:

FULL DISCLOSURE: I am being threatened with the complete destruction’of my reputation, my brand and my character by left-wing media operatives who have issued a new threat this week: ‘Destroy Alex Jones or we will destroy YOU.’

Alex Jones, of course, is the founder of InfoWars.com, one of the most popular multi-media publishers of pro-America news, videos and radio broadcasts in the world.

The warning implies that a barrage of left-wing media stories will target me personally — obviously spreading “fake news” lies — unless I agree to go public with “opposition research” targeting Jones that was previously delivered to me on a physical thumb drive.”

Adams also believes his support of President Trump has made him a target.

Malicious effort now under way to take out prominent Trump supporters and silence their support of our President.”

Google Wipes Out Natural News Content

On February 22, Natural News was “blacklisted” with no prior warning. All of its content is gone from the search engine. Adams states:

Some of the news now being censored by Google includes our laboratory testing of the U.S. water supply, where we conducted laboratory testing to discover that 6.7% of municipal water is contaminated with toxic metals. Google has also blacklisted our announcement of free laboratory testing services for Native American water supplies impacted by oil pipeline leaks. Also blacklisted is our exclusive coverage of the GlaxoSmithKline criminal indictment by the U.S. Justice Dept. and our interview with the whistleblower who helped achieved a record $3 billion settlement with the criminal drug company.”

No Response From Google

We emailed Google through the proper channels (the contact email reserved for media) on February 23rd.  They did not respond to our inquiry.

The question is, why did Google do this? Was it because Adams supports Trump? Denies climate change? Exposes vaccines? Highlights fake mainstream news?

Two days after the event, Google sent an email to Mike Adams. Mike Adams told us,

Google is now citing a bullshit technical reason that was only concerning a dozen blog pages posted in 2013 – 2014.”

In an article, he wrote the following explanation about the email he received:

…a Google techie found an obscure third party advertising script running on a tiny number of articles published 3+ years ago under the blogs.naturalnews.com subdomain, where content is posted by outside bloggers. (Many websites host similar blogs, including the NY Times.) Google has so far provided us with ONE URL that they claim is a violation. (Yet they banned 140,000+.)”

This action by Google not only shuts down traffic driven to the Natural News website through web searches for specific words or information, it also will result in a loss of income. Mike Adams told us,

They shut this down without any warning, it silenced about 1.8 million clicks a month, at least.”

Search Engine Land Reported:

Google has confirmed the site was not removed for its political views but rather because of a webmaster guidelines violation. A Google spokesperson told Search Engine Land…” and they qouted Google:

We don’t comment on individual sites, but if we find that a site violates one or more of our Webmaster Guidelines we may take manual action against it. For webmasters who have questions about their own sites, our Webmaster team provides support through platforms such as the Webmaster Forums. Once a site has remedied the problem, the webmaster can submit the site for reconsideration.”

 

Mike is determined to win this fight. He says, “We will prevail!”

We, at OLM, do not always agree with Mike Adams. Most of us as the office today identify as progressive, not conservative or liberal. We supported Bernie Sanders, not Donald Trump. We do believe in manmade climate change and we aren’t so convinced that there is a shadow government planning a coup.  On the other hand, we don’t know who really killed President Kennedy or the full story on 9/11. The mainstream media doesn’t show us what’s actually going on. We need alternative media. We need people like Mike Adams on both sides.

FYI: While they disagree politically, Michael Edwards considers Mike Adams a friend. This is not a title he bestows on many.

What we do know for sure is that censorship is dangerous. And while Mike Adams is very happy with the current administration, we grow increasingly concerned over censorship. And not only by government, but as we can see, big business has the ability to do massive damage to an organization like Natural News.

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Gluten-Free Eaters Have Higher Levels of Arsenic and Mercury

The number of people with celiac disease or gluten sensitivity is on the rise. When they eliminate wheat and other gluten containing grains from their diet, they usually significantly increase their consumption of rice. Unfortunately, as it is growing, rice soaks up heavy metals like arsenic, mercury, and cadmium from the soil and water. According to a new study,  researchers found those who have been on a long-term, gluten-free diet have double the amount of arsenic in their systems and 70% more mercury than their gluten eating counterparts.

The Metal Sponge

Why does rice suck up arsenic and other heavy metals? Rice is flooded while it’s growing, in part to keep weeds in check and to discourage pests. Water enables the rice’s root system to draw in more nutrients from the soil. As it draws up nutrients, it also sucks up other things in the soil, like mercury, cadmium, arsenic, and tungsten.

Most of the rice in the U.S. is grown in Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Texas, and California on farmland that was formerly used to grow cotton. Arsenic-based pesticides were used on much of the land to combat boll weevils. Combine those specific pesticides with rice’s extraction abilities, and high levels of heavy metals are the result.

What to Look For in Rice

This does not mean a gluten-free diet dooms you to heavy metal poisoning. With some smart planning and healthy choices, a gluten-free diet can leave you feeling great.

Not all rice is created equal. Though organic rice still has arsenic in it, it’s the best choice to avoid excessive pesticides on top of the metals naturally found in the rice. Brown rice has higher levels of arsenic than white rice. The hull or bran of the rice that gives brown rice its’ higher levels of magnesium, fiber, zinc, and folate also stores arsenic. Of the places where rice is grown, Basmati rice that is grown in California, India, and Pakistan contains less inorganic arsenic.

Variety is the Spice of Life

Another answer to the rice problem? Eat less rice and a greater variety of gluten-free grains. Rotating rice with grains like quinoa or millet will both decrease arsenic exposure and increase your body’s exposure to another nutritional profile. The same rotation can be applied to alternate flours. If you chose processed or pre-made foods, look for ones with alternative flours like chickpea or coconut. Switching up the type of flour you use at home can also limit your arsenic intake.

Get Them Out!

There are also foods that pull heavy metals from the body. Garlic, onions, and cilantro all help detox heavy metals and add extra flavor to food. Other edibles like chlorella, spirulina, and activated charcoal are also great at attracting heavy metals and helping the body process them out. Learn about Diatomaceous Earth, Total Nutrition, and read Top 5 Foods that Detox Heavy Metals and Toxins – With Protocol.

A Healthy Diet is The Best Defense

Someone on a gluten-free diet is more likely to eat rice and foods made with rice flour. The trade-off for this is higher levels of arsenic and mercury. This doesn’t negate the benefits of a gluten-free diet. It can even be seen as a motivation to incorporate new foods and grains into your diet. And check out How To Reduce the Arsenic in Your Rice by 80%.

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How To Reduce the Arsenic in Your Rice By 80%

In the past year, many articles have been published to raise concern about the alarming levels of arsenic found in rice. Although arsenic levels should be a health concern for anyone who consumes rice, it is certainly more of a concern for those who eat rice frequently or on a daily basis.

High levels of arsenic are toxic to humans, and arsenic is associated with cancer, heart problems, developmental problems, and diabetes.

The Telegraph has published an interesting article about the safest way to prepare rice to eliminate most of the arsenic. Andy Meharg, a much-published scientist and a professor at the school of Biological Sciences, Queens University Belfast, conducted an experiment comparing methods to cook rice. The telegraph article outlines the following methods:

  1. Cook with 2 parts water to 1 part rice. Water is “steamed out” during cooking.
  2. Cook with 5 parts water to 1 part rice. Excess water is washed off.
  3. Soak rice overnight, then thoroughly rinse before cooking.

The article, which is sourced below, reported the results incorrectly. The article stated that choice #2 removed close to 50% of the arsenic while soaking (#3) removed 80%.

I was curious as to what percentage would be removed if the rice were soaked and it was cooked with a 5:1 water ratio so I questioned Professor Meharg directly. He stated that soaking and cooking with 5 parts water removed 80% of the arsenic (a combination of #3 and #2) was the action that resulted in the 80% reduction. He said he couldn’t tell me what soaking alone would do to reduce arsenic as that particular test was not conducted. He stated, “We did not check the intermediate stage, primarily as we were concerned with levels in the final product.” 

I’ve asked him to please let us know if he ever does test the arsenic levels after soaking before cooking. In the meantime, if we want to remove 80% of the arsenic, we need to do the following:

  • Soak rice overnight and rinse thoroughly until the water runs clear.
  • Cook with 5 parts water and pour off the excess water after the rice is done.

There you have it: an 80% reduction in arsenic.

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The Alzheimer’s Aluminum Connection

In 1982, I was a psychology major attending Georgia State University. One of my favorite professors told us, “If you don’t want to get Alzheimer’s, avoid aluminum. When the brains of Alzheimer’s victims were studied post mortem, the one thing they all had in common was aluminum in their brain tissue. Don’t drink from aluminum cans. Stop buying canned food. And stop cooking in aluminum pans.”

I went home and threw out all of my aluminum pots and pans. I had quite a few. And I took the rest of his advice to heart. From that day forward, I bought drinks in glass bottles and avoided canned foods.

I always imagined the aluminum connection was common knowledge, at least in scientific circles. But in recent years, I discovered there was no general consensus regarding the aluminum, Alzheimer’s connection. As a matter of fact, it seems to have been an issue of debate. But isn’t that always the case when big business is involved? If we malign the aluminum soda can and all that canned food, if we stop wrapping our food in aluminum foil, businesses will lose a lot of money.

A quick internet search revealed the Alzheimer’s Association’s stance. Their website shows the following:

Myth 4: Drinking out of aluminum cans or cooking in aluminum pots and pans can lead to Alzheimer’s disease.

Reality: During the 1960s and 1970s, aluminum emerged as a possible suspect in Alzheimer’s. This suspicion led to concern about exposure to aluminum through everyday sources such as pots and pans, beverage cans, antacids, and antiperspirants. Since then, studies have failed to confirm any role for aluminum in causing Alzheimer’s. Experts today focus on other areas of research, and few believe that everyday sources of aluminum pose any threat.

And yet, recent studies have refuted the claim that there is no link between aluminum and Alzheimer’s. Aluminum accumulates in the body. We are not only exposed through cans and cookware, we accumulate aluminum through cosmetics, antiperspirants, medications, and vaccines.

In Professor Chris Exley’s article published by The Hippocratic Post he states, “ In my view, the findings are unequivocal in their confirmation of a role for aluminum in some if not all Alzheimer’s disease.”

The following quotes reiterate what my professor told us in the 1980s.

We already know that the aluminum content of brain tissue in late-onset or sporadic Alzheimer’s disease is significantly higher than is found in age-matched controls.”

“Individuals who develop Alzheimer’s disease in their late sixties and older also accumulate more aluminum in their brain tissue than individuals of the same age without the disease.”

Why would the Alzheimer’s Association say “…few believe that everyday sources of aluminum pose any threat.”?

Professor Exley concludes, “We should take all possible precautions to reduce the accumulation of aluminum in our brain tissue through our everyday activities and we should start to do this as early in our lives as possible.”

One thing is certain – aluminum is a neurotoxin that should not be injected into our children’s bodies through dozens of vaccines. Check out How To Detoxify and Heal From Vaccinations – For Adults and Children.

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