So Now It’s 10 Vegetables and Fruits Every Day? REALLY?!?

How many vegetables and fruits do you eat each day? Are you getting the maximum benefit from your food choices?

In the early 2000s, The World Health Organization (WHO) began a campaign to raise awareness of the connection between health and adequate fruit and vegetable consumption. The quality of health wasn’t the only issue. Mortality itself was measured in units of fruit and vegetable consumption.

WHO estimated 2.7 million lives could be saved each year if fruit and vegetable consumption was raised to a sufficient level. They stated that low consumption of fruits and vegetables was one of the top ten risk factors for global mortality. The recommendation equaled a minimum intake of 400g (14 ounces) of fruits and vegetables excluding potatoes and other starchy tubers. This is about 5 servings a day. This level of consumption reduced the risk of heart disease, cancer, and stroke.

The latest research says we should do better. Now the recommendation is 10 servings (800 grams or 28 ounces) of fruits and vegetables per day.

https://youtu.be/nT8d60XSaZc

The study conducted by scientists from the Imperial College London, analyzed 95 studies on fruit and vegetable intake. It included “up to 2 million people,” assessing “up to 43,000 cases of heart disease, 47,000 cases of stroke, 81,000 cases of cardiovascular disease, 112,000 cancer cases, and 94,000 deaths.” Their conclusion was an estimated reduction of 7.8 million annual premature deaths if everyone followed this dietary advice.

When compared to not eating any fruits and vegetables, ten servings a day was associated with:

  • 24 % reduced risk of heart disease
  • 33 % reduced risk of stroke
  • 28 % reduced risk of cardiovascular disease
  • 13 % reduced risk of total cancer
  • 31 % reduction in premature death

While we at OLM and many others promoting a plant-based diet agree with this conclusion, we believe there is more to healthy eating than the volume of vegetables. The study did say not all fruits and vegetable were equal, but it did not stress the need for a large variety of vegetables and fruits or to choose organic and mostly raw.

We’d also like to see five servings a day versus ten, and what about 15? When do the benefits wear off? Raw or cooked? Another question this raises for us is, are we needing to double our intake of produce because of nutrient depletion in our soil?

What we do know is that gut health provides the basis of our health. Gut health determines the strength and efficiency of our immune system, the intake of nutrients to fuel our entire body, the creation of many of our neurotransmitters, and the ability to detox. An unbalanced microbiome allows an overgrowth of one bacteria over others or an overgrowth of Candida or parasites. A leaky gut is like a sewer leaking filth and disease into the bloodstream.

We have always recommended a diet consisting of 80% raw, organic produce– a wide variety of vegetables and fruit, mostly vegetables. In addition, we recommend the elimination of all artificial colors, flavorings, and preservatives; refined sugar; trans fats; MSG; and GMOs. The perfect diet is all real food, with no packaged, processed concoctions added in. Real food doesn’t have an ingredient list. There are no added chemicals.

It is important that your vegetable and fruit consumption includes a wide variety. Every fruit or vegetable contains its own combination of nutrients. We need a variety to consume as many nutrients as possible. In addition, we don’t want to overfeed just one or a few of our friendly or not so friendly bacteria or yeast by favoring one food over others. We want to maintain balance in all ways. For instance, if all of our fruit choices are high sugar, Candida thrives. We need a diverse microbiome to fend off a wide array of pathogens and to achieve this, we need a wide variety of nutrients to feed a wide variety of helpful microbiome bacteria.

If you are ill or you don’t feel well, changing your diet will change your life. We’ve seen it over and over again. If we eat a perfect diet until all traces of disease are gone, we heal very quickly. No supplement can achieve the change of health we accomplish by eating one large, organic salad filled with 15 or more vegetables each day.

If you are ready to change your life, change your diet. Go for 10+ a day. And remember, variety is key! Check out the salad recipe in the first article below.

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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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Probiotics, Bacteria, and Our Health

The human body is home to over five hundred different strains of bacteria that serve specific functions. Even bacteria of the same name may function in different ways. For example, if a specific strain of Lactobacillus (a commonly studied probiotic strain) helps prevent an illness, that doesn’t mean that another strain of Lactobacillus would have the same effect. We have yet to discover all the effects that probiotics have on the body, but we do know that the right strains, cultured and processed the right way, offer the following six proven health benefits:

1. Probiotics Provide Energy

According to Gastroenterologist Matthew Ciorba, up to 10% of our daily energy needs are provided through the process of fermentation by our gut flora. By breaking down the components of food that we are unable to digest (like fiber), bacteria in our gut allow us to assimilate fatty acids, sugars, and amino acids that we would not have access to otherwise.

Related: How To Heal Your Gut

2. Probiotics Are Antioxidants and Anti-inflammatory

An excess of oxygen radicals in the gastrointestinal tract is a potential cause of chronic diseases. As these oxygen radicals accumulate in the intestinal tract, they can damage the intestinal lining and create a state of chronic inflammation. Strains of Bifidobacterium and Lactobacillus have been found to limit the accumulation of free radicals in the intestinal tracts of rats by acting as antioxidants. The end-products that gut bacteria produce, like the short-chain fatty acid called butyrate, also have antioxidant properties that help to reduce inflammation and heal the intestinal wall.

3. Probiotics Resist Infection

The fermentation end-product butyrate also supports regulatory T-cell functions in the gut and contributes to the integrity of the intestinal wall. This allows the body to prevent infectious pathogens from getting in while we let our immune system eliminate them from the body. Probiotics also prevent pathogenic bacteria like E. coli from being able to colonize our intestinal tract by out-competing them for food, using acids to change the environment, and creating anti-microbial substances that prevent the bad bacteria from thriving.

Product Recommendation: Syntol AMD – Arthur Andrew Medical

4. Probiotics Prevent Digestive Issues

We need bacteria to digest food. Probiotics help prevent digestive issues in many ways. They keep our intestinal wall from being oxidized by free radicals by acting as antioxidants and triggering the production of protective mucous. Probiotics also produce substances that provide the intestinal wall with what it needs to heal itself. Butyrate, for example, provides the components that the intestinal wall needs to form new cells while providing energy for existing cells. Butyrate has also been found to increase intestinal motility, which helps prevent constipation.

Recommended: How To Reverse Fatty Liver Disease (Diet Plan Included)

5. Probiotics Produce Vitamin K and B Vitamins

In addition to producing butyrate, probiotics have the capacity to synthesize seven different vitamins:

  • Vitamin B12: Vitamin B12 is required for proper red blood cell formation, neurological function, and DNA synthesis.
  • Vitamin B6: Vitamin B6 is involved in more than 100 enzyme reactions that are mostly concerned with protein metabolism.
  • Vitamin B5: Vitamin B5 is needed to produce red blood cells, manufacture sex and stress-related hormones, synthesize cholesterol, and maintain a healthy digestive tract.
  • Vitamin B3: Vitamin B3 helps the body make various sex and stress-related hormones, improve circulation, and suppress inflammation.
  • Biotin: Biotin metabolizes carbohydrates, fats, and amino acids and plays a role in preventing insulin resistance.
  • Folate: Folate is essential for proper cell division.
  • Vitamin K: Vitamin K is required for the synthesis of proteins involved in blood clotting and bone formation.

These vitamins are essential for processes that affect every cell in the body, but our needs for these vitamins are not met by our probiotics alone. We must consume adequate amounts of these vitamins to receive their benefits because it is unclear how much of these vitamins is produced by our probiotics.

6. Probiotics Help with Fat Loss

A few studies suggest that specific Lactobacillus strains have an impact on body fat, weight, and metabolic disorders. For example, the ingestion of Lactobacillus gasseri SBT2055 for 12 weeks reduced fat mass gain, body weight, and waist to hip ratio in overweight subjects when compared to a placebo. This may be due to the link between leptin and probiotics. Leptin is a hormone secreted by fat cells that lets the brain know when we are full. Probiotics indirectly affect our leptin response by promoting a state of low inflammation and allowing us to get more nutrition out of every calorie we eat. This creates the perfect environment for fat loss.

Attack of the Antibiotics

Antibiotics are designed to kill a broad range of bacteria in an effort to fight off infection. Unfortunately, antibiotics also destroy over one-third of the bacteria in our gut. This causes rapid shifts in our microbiome (intestinal bacteria) that leaves us vulnerable to harmful bacteria like Clostridium difficile and Salmonella typhimurium.

Even if the harmful bacteria do not infect our system, our intestinal tract will still be compromised. Without a proper balance of beneficial flora, our intestinal tract will become inflamed and leaky, letting pathogens through. We will also lack the Vitamin K and B vitamins that are normally produced by probiotics in the large intestine. This can lead to hormonal imbalance, a lack of energy, and an increased risk of disease.

With all of these negative effects, it becomes obvious as to why antibiotic use is associated with a large number of health problems and an increased susceptibility to infectious diseases. The health of our microbiome is essential for our health and well-being. Check out How to Detoxify From Antibiotics and Other Chemical Antimicrobials for more on this.

Related: Signs You Have Too Much Candida

Don’t Worry, Change Is Simple

Even if you have taken antibiotics recently, you can begin to counteract their negative effects immediately. According to David Relman, a microbiologist at Stanford University, the bacteria in our gut adapt quickly to what we eat. In an article in the Frontiers in Microbiology, M.P. Francino explains that our microbiome is “…capable of returning to a composition similar to the original one.”

This means that food can be our medicine if we eat the “right” foods.

What Are the “Right” Foods?

The “right” foods are prebiotic. Probiotics provide your gut with the beneficial bacteria it needs to thrive. Prebiotics provide your beneficial bacteria with what they need to survive and to provide you with all of the benefits mentioned earlier in this article. Think raw produce, herbs, and spices.

Many experts agree that one of the best ways to get probiotics in your diet is by eating fermented vegetables. Kim chi, sauerkraut, and pickles are fermented vegetables that contain different kinds of probiotics. These probiotics are already working to digest your meal before you eat it, which makes nutrients within the food more bioavailable. This is especially beneficial for those with digestive issues.

To ensure that you are eating the best fermented vegetables, check the label on the container. Look for the words “raw”, “unpasteurized”, and “naturally fermented.”  When looking at labels, smaller, local businesses are worth a close look, and anything national will most certainly be pasteurized in some way. Most of the probiotics are killed when the product is heated or pasteurized. Also, make sure there are no preservatives like sodium benzoate or sodium sulfite. The best fermented vegetables are made using organic vegetables and unrefined salt. Herbs, spices, and seeds are added for more flavor and nutrition.

Fermented vegetables also provide you with plenty of prebiotic material. As our bacteria enjoy their meal, they produce many highly beneficial end-products like butyrate.

Non-starchy vegetables like broccoli and artichokes, greens like kale and collards, and salad greens like spinach and arugula come with plenty of fiber to feed your probiotics and plenty of nutrients to feed your body.

After Dr. Mercola had his homemade sauerkraut tested in a lab, he reported that “…a 4-6 ounce serving of the fermented vegetables had ten trillion bacteria.” This means that 2 ounces of sauerkraut had more probiotics than a full bottle of 100-count probiotic capsules.

Michael Edwards, OLM’s Editor-in-Chief has an unusual opinion of fermented foods.

I love sauerkraut and I hope everyone reading this learns to make it. Fermented vegetables have many benefits (for instance, see the vitamins up at #5), but the bacteria itself doesn’t make my list. Our stomach acid kills most of it. That’s what stomach acid is designed to do.  I know some who swear they make such a potent product that much more of the bacteria makes it into the gut. After trying some of these products, I agree.

But, for anyone who is sick, and especially anyone who has an abundance of Candida, fermented vegetables cannot provide enough, or cannot provide a strong enough strain of bacteria to counteract a sick gut’s biofilm. I recommend a high qaulity, trusted probiotic supplement along with a prebiotic diet.”

What about Yogurt?

Dairy products, like milk, are commonly known as an essential part of our diet, so probiotic-rich yogurt should be called a “superfood”, right?

Unfortunately, some of the widely accepted beliefs about the benefits of dairy products, like the belief that dairy builds strong bones, have been disproven. Dairy has also been linked to various cancers, especially prostate and breast cancer. Combine these findings with the fact that conventional yogurt lacks beneficial prebiotics and contains high amounts of sugar, and it becomes clear why it may be best to limit the consumption of dairy. Due to the state of the dairy industry and how yogurt is processed, even plain, unsweetened conventional yogurt is more likely to feed pathogens than to be a source of probiotics.

The Dirty Truth about Supplements

Scientific literature is riddled with uncertainty regarding the effectiveness of probiotic supplements. For example, a Canadian study in 2004 measured the viable organisms in 10 brands of probiotic preparations and none matched the amount on their labels. Eight brands had only 10% of the stated number of probiotics and two of the brands had no viable probiotics at all.

Even if these probiotic supplements contained all of the viable probiotics that they promised, there would still be no guarantee that the probiotics would survive the journey to the intestinal tract.

Most probiotic supplements are also ineffectual for a multitude of reasons. It’s not just the probiotic count that matters; strain quality varies widely and are more often ineffectual. Of the ones I’ve tried (about 45) Bio-K, Abzorb, and FloraMend are three I know of that work. Most probiotic supplements are a waste of money, and many actually feed Candida and other non-benefical microflora.” – Michael Edwards

The Treacherous Journey of Probiotics

First, probiotics must survive the environment they are exposed to when they are outside of the body. Once the probiotics are ingested, they must survive the extreme acidity of stomach acid and bile acids. One study states that, “…survival rates have been estimated at 20–40% for selected [probiotic] strains.” According to the American Nutrition Association, Lactobacillus, Bifidobacterium, and Streptococcus probiotic strains can survive the journey through the stomach. However, L. bulgaricus and S. thermophilus, as well as Leuconostoc and Lactococcus species, cannot survive.

Even when the probiotics make it to the intestinal tract, they still have to attach to and colonize the intestinal wall. This is another uncertain aspect in consuming probiotics that is difficult to measure. Unfortunately, there is no way to guarantee that the probiotics in your sauerkraut, kim chi, or probiotic supplement will actually colonize your intestinal tract.

How to Make Probiotics Work for You

Even the best probiotic will do little to combat a poor diet. In fact, the best probiotic supplement is the “right” food. To improve your digestive health and receive all the benefits of probiotics, all you have to do is eat prebiotics and probiotics in the form of raw, unpasteurized fermented organic vegetables and organic non-starchy vegetables every day. With enough time on this kind of diet without processed and refined foods, almost anyone can improve their digestive system.

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The 10 Profound Effects Breathing Has on Our Body

How we breathe affects almost every process in our body from digestion to memory to exercise recovery. This is because breathing has a profound impact on our nervous system, which communicates directly and indirectly with every cell in our body. The message our nervous system communicates to our bodies depends on the messages that it receives from our internal and external environments. This is why we play one of the most important roles in determining the quality of our health.

When we breathe more than once every 4 seconds, we tend to experience more anxiety, stress, and pain. As the anxiety, stress, and pain increases, so does our breathing rate. This creates a repetitive cycle of chronic stress in the body.

Luckily, there is something we can take to reverse this process – a deep breath. To do this we start by letting go of as much air from our lungs as we can, inhaling to expand our lower abdomen and rib cage while our shoulders remain relaxed. This and many other controlled breathing patterns can create 10 profound effects in the body.

1.) Exercise Recovery

How we breathe has a substantial impact on our ability to recover from exercise. But before we can explore how breathing impacts recovery, we must first understand how our bodies respond to exercise.

When we exercise, our sympathetic nervous system activates to increase our breath rate and mobilize energy stores. This allows us to continue exercising by increasing the delivery of oxygen and energy to our tissues.

This is extremely beneficial during exercise, but if the sympathetic nervous system remains activated after exercise, recovery will take much longer. Shallow chest breathing is one way to keep the sympathetic nervous system activated. This breathing pattern tells the brain that we are still in a state of stress even when we are trying to recover.

With the sympathetic nervous system activated, your parasympathetic nervous system will struggle to do its job. And its job is to initiate recovery. Throughout our lives, our nervous system is switching between the sympathetic nervous system and parasympathetic nervous system depending on the demands we put on our bodies. In times of danger or activity, our sympathetic nervous system activates to meet the demand. When we are no longer active or in danger, we switch over to our parasympathetic nervous system to rest and digest.

To activate the parasympathetic nervous system and improve recovery from exercise, we can take deep diaphragmatic breaths into our lower abdomen. This type of slow controlled breathing can even illicit better recovery than just sitting and breathing normally.

Whim Hof has used these breathing techniques to withstand freezing temperatures without shivering or getting sick.

2.) Pain Sensitivity

Pain is a sensation that our brain creates to protect us from threats. Our initial response to a threat is to increase our breathing rate and muscular tension to protect ourselves and/or run away. We even increase our sensitivity to pain in anticipation of a perceived threat. The body’s ability to increase pain sensitivity serves as a protection mechanism to keep you safe from danger.However, our brains cannot tell the difference between a perceived threat and an actual threat.

We may not be able to keep real threats from happening, but we can control our body’s response to perceived threats. To do this we must activate our parasympathetic nervous system with slow controlled breaths. When we take slow controlled breaths, our bodies’ response to the perceived threat will decrease and our brain will reduce the amount of pain and tension in our bodies.

3.) Immune System Response

Although chronic shallow chest breathing can increase pain, stress, and tension, intermittent power breathing (Whim Hof breathing techniques) can be used to create an anti-inflammatory response.

Whim Hof has used these breathing techniques to withstand freezing temperatures without shivering or getting sick. He has even climbed Mount Everest while only wearing shorts. This doesn’t mean that we should sprint up a mountain naked, but it does exemplify the power that certain breathing techniques can have over our bodies.

These breathing techniques work by stimulating deep breathing in a controlled way that triggers the release of epinephrine and reduces our inflammatory response.

Two specific breathing techniques were studied that created these effects. The first technique is described as hyperventilation “…for an average of 30 breaths. Subsequently, the subjects exhaled and held their breath for 2–3 min (“retention phase”). The duration of breath retention was entirely at the discretion of the subject. Breath retention was followed by a deep inhalation breath, that was held for 10 s.”

The other breathing technique that was studied consisted of “deep inhalations and exhalations in which every inhalation and exhalation was followed by breath holding for 10 s, during which the subject tightened all his body muscles.”

4.) Memory

Stress stimulates the release of glucocorticoids that increase energy while they impair our ability to form memories and retrieve memories. This explains why we struggle to find the right answer when we are anxious during a test or a job interview.

Whether the stress is from a lion chasing us or a job interview, our bodies’ react in the same way every time by releasing glucocorticoids. These hormones prepare the body to fight or run, not to come up with the right answer to a question.

This is when deep breathing can save the day. When we are anxious, we can improve our brain function and reduce our anxiety by slowing down our breath. This lets our brain know that we are safe and our body can relax. In this relaxed state, we can easily access the answers we need and form new memories.

5.) Meditation

Meditation provides a plethora of benefits including increased prefrontal cortex thickness and function. But it is hard for most of us to simply sit and meditate. Our minds are flooded with thoughts, emotions, and things to do. Ten minutes feels like 100 minutes, but there is a way to make that 10 minutes into the most blissful experience of our day. We can do this by starting our meditation with controlled breathing.

When we concentrate on deepening our breath, we create a relaxed state. In this relaxed state, we will be able to dissociate from our thoughts and emotions. This allows us to meditate easily and reap the benefits of meditation.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=67SeR3LxtdI

6.) Digestive System Function

In a stressed state, all of our digestive processes are reduced. This is because our body is focused on removing the threat or removing ourselves from the threat. Once there are no threats, our brain will allow us to rest and digest. This means that when we rush through our meals, we will make it harder for our bodies to digest food.

Rushing through meals can cause stomach aches, nausea, and diarrhea in the short term. If we have prolonged stress, we can aggravate chronic diseases like irritable bowel syndrome, ulcerative colitis, and heartburn.

To improve our digestive function, we must activate our parasympathetic nervous system. One way we can do this is by taking deep breaths. This will send the message to our brains that we are ready to rest and digest.

7.) Joint Mobility

Some of the muscles that we use to breathe are also used during other movements. This means that when we breathe rapidly into our chest, we can alter the function of our postural muscles. The primary purpose of these muscles is to provide strength and stability to the bones and joints. When the postural muscles are recruited to take on the task of breathing as well, they become stiff due to being overworked. This will restrict joint motion in the joints that the overworked muscle(s) effects.

For example, during a shallow chest breath, a muscle called the trapezius may try to help expand the ribcage. If this is our most common breathing pattern then our trapezius will be chronically tight and pull the shoulders up toward the ears. This can cause neck tension that limits neck mobility.

By taking deep diaphragmatic breaths for a couple minutes before activity we can give the overworked muscles a chance to relax. This can decrease joint stiffness and improve function.

8.) Joint Stability

Many musculoskeletal injuries are caused by a lack of stability, especially in people with low back pain. Spinal instability is commonly the result of shallow chest breathing patterns. When we breathe into our chest, diaphragm, deep core muscles, and back muscles do not activate effectively. This creates instability of the spine that can lead to injury.

Ideally, our movements should be accompanied by diaphragmatic breaths. During inhalation, the diaphragm is designed to contract to bring air in, while it simultaneously creates spinal stability. During exhalation, the deep postural muscles of our back and core activate to create stability.

The stability we create with diaphragmatic breaths allows us to activate our postural muscles in the right way at the right times so that we can decrease the chance of injury and increase stability.

9.) Sensory acuity

The acuity of our senses changes throughout the day. One of the causes of the change in our sensory acuity is the state of our nervous system. When we are in a stressful state, we tend to overwhelm ourselves with past regrets and future concerns. This significantly reduces our sensory acuity.

Taking deep breaths will indirectly increase our sensory acuity by keeping our attention on the present moment. When we focus on something in the present moment like our breathing, we can bring ourselves back to what’s happening now instead of stressing about the past or future.

10.) Neck Issues

Neck pain is correlated with breathing dysfunction. It may seem strange to us at first, but with a deeper understanding of a dysfunctional breathing pattern we can easily find out why it correlates with neck pain.

Dysfunctional breathing is commonly characterized by a shallow inhale into the chest that causes the shoulders to raise toward the ears. During this type of breathing pattern, muscles around the neck, like the scalenes and sternocleidomastoid, activate to pull the shoulders up when these muscles would normally be relaxed.

According to the Cleveland Clinic, an average adult takes 12 to 20 breaths per minute. This equates to breathing between 17,280 and 28,800 times per day.

If our most common breathing pattern is to overuse our neck muscles, that means that these muscles are being used 17,000 or more times than they should be used throughout the day. Imagine all of the extra work that these muscles have to do. This is why dysfunctional breathing patterns are a major cause of chronic neck tension and pain.

When we take a breath, our lower abdomen should expand before the chest, and the shoulders should remain relaxed. This allows the neck muscles to take a break at the right time and function properly.

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Red Panax Ginseng – Amazing Herb Inhibits Chronic Inflammation and Pain

When naturally treating shoulder, knee, or chronic pain few people consider the wonder herb, ginseng (Chinese Panax Ginseng), and its ability to help with inflammation. This prized herb with its nutritious roots, which can live up to 100 years, has been used for centuries in Oriental medicine to alleviate numerous conditions.

Based on two-thousand-year-old writings, the Chinese believed ginseng helped supplement the spleen, calm nervous irritation, aid the heart, nourish the body, eliminate evil Chi energy, sharpen and quiet the mind, and prolong life. Throughout history, ginseng was so prized that it yielded a higher value than gold and was considered a most beneficial tonic and cure-all. During the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), ginseng was known as the herb that could restore the dying to health and restore the dead to life.[1]

Ginseng is an Ancient Remedy

According to Dr. Dharmananda, the use of ginseng in China, and throughout Asia, is based largely on the description in the ancient text, Shennong Bencao Jing (Classic Herbal of Shennong) written around 100 A.D.[2] This text mentions ginseng, also known by its two other names, renxian and guigai, and it describes in detail its nature, its sweet and cold taste, and its healing effects, but it never outlines a description of how to take the herb.

Chinese Ginseng and Korean Ginseng

Oriental ginseng can be divided into Chinese ginseng and Korean ginseng. Chinese Panax ginseng is grown in the Chiang Pai mountains, in the northeastern area of China (Manchuria) and is usually available as a tea or tincture. It is often white in color because the roots are dried in the sun, breaking down enzymes and therefore decreasing its potency. Chinese ginseng has milder energy boosting effects, so it is thought to be better suited for young children, the elderly, and the very ill as cited in “Chinese Herbal Medicine: Materia Medica.”[3]

Red Panax Ginseng is the Most Potent

Korean ginseng, or Red Panax ginseng, is considered the most potent and the most popular due to it being harvested after six years and undergoing steam harvesting before drying, thereby preserving its health benefiting ginsenosides.[4] This variety contains vitamins, antioxidants, amino acids, B-sisterol, panaxic acid, ginsenosides (0.7 -3%), and essential oils, which help in numerous areas including anemia, memory loss, depression, blood sugar and uric levels, promoting biosynthesis of RNA, cancer and influenza prevention, helping erectile dysfunction, enhancing sports performance, and aiding stress reduction by producing more endorphins in the brain.

Studies Show Ginseng Helps Chronic Inflammation and Pain

If ginseng is reported to help with such a broad spectrum of conditions, does ginseng also help with chronic inflammation and pain? Recent studies have confirmed the answer to be yes.  Allan Lau and his team of researchers from the University of Hong Kong have identified seven ginseng constituents or ginsenosides, which showed immune-suppressive effects. A. Lau said, “The anti-inflammatory role of ginseng may be due to the combined effects of these ginsenosides, targeting different levels of immunological activity, and in doing so, contributing to the diverse actions of ginseng in humans”.[5] A 2013 study conducted in Brazil has shown that Panax ginseng effectively promoted an improvement in pain in patients who suffer from fibromyalgia.[6] This research has shown ginseng’s steroid-like phytochemicals (ginsenosides) being adaptogenic and anti-aging.

The University of Maryland Medical Center mentions that the gnarled ginseng root has been traditionally used to treat fever, headache, infertility, and indigestion as well as being considered an all-around stimulant.[7] Ginseng has also been found to be helpful for treatment of postmenopausal symptoms and as a natural alternative to anabolic steroids for athletes and body builders.

Eastern vs Western Dosage

It is interesting to note that the usual recommended dosage of ginseng in Asia is around the range of 3-9 grams/day. By contrast, in the West, people are recommended to use far less, with amounts so low that they are deemed questionable in providing any of the desired ginseng health benefits.[8] Despite continental dosing differences, healing benefits are still believed to be present, and it is estimated that around 6 million people regularly take ginseng in the U.S.

How to Prepare the Best Ginseng

The key in taking ginseng is to ensure taking an all-natural and high-quality ginseng. The Dr. Shen clinic in California states that dried ginseng root tea is best. Use 3-9 grams per person. Slowly boil the sliced herb for about an hour, and drink the tea on an empty stomach.[9] The clinic goes on to state that, “Most Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) practitioners prefer whole herbs or simple water extractions over standardized extracts because extracts are often taken from herbs that have poor appearance, weak taste, and lower potency. Low-temperature water extracts, which have not been chemically manipulated in order to standardize ginsenocides, are more like the herb as it is found in nature.”[10]

So the next time you reach for something to help alleviate your pain and chronic inflammation, try some Red Panax ginseng and make it part of your natural medicine cabinet. For a specific recommendation on ginseng, visit almaholistichealth.com and contact us for more information.

Interesting fact: The Chinese Emperors used wild Manchurian ginseng.

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Migraines and Magnesium – Is this What Migraine Sufferers Are Missing?

Few things conjure up bigger grimaces and more dread than migraines. For sufferers, the effects are debilitating, the prevention is expensive and ineffectual, and pinpointing causality is very challenging.

What Is a Migraine?

Migraines are still being studied and aren’t fully understood. Originally thought to be a vascular condition, neuroscientists are now learning that it’s not quite that simple. Migraines seem to be more nervous system related than they originally thought. What scientists do know is that during the onset of a migraine, there are some electrical changes that take place across brain tissue.

First, there is an initial wave of excitation, which basically means that there’s an electrical wave that passes over the brain before the vessels begin to contract and then subsequently become inflamed. The rapid change in pressure is what causes unbearable pain.

This rapid contraction and inflammation of the blood vessels has been observed primarily in migraine patients who present with an aura and is believed to be strongly linked to those effects.

Migraines can last anywhere from 2 to 72 hours and typically present as an intense, pulsating pain on one side of the head. Symptoms vary wildly between patients, with sufferers experiencing intense symptoms often associated with strokes and seizures.

Migraines typically occur in stages. Long before the pain starts, many sufferers experience neck pain, tension, mood swings, and a general lack of focus. Without intervention, the migraine may progress to the aura stage, and then on to the pain stage, which can last for days.

What is a Migraine with Aura?

Migraines can either be a simple combination of nausea and intense pain, or they can include a series of symptoms characterized as “aura”. Migraines with aura may include any combination of the following symptoms:

  • Partial temporary loss of vision (blind spots, fuzziness)
  • Visual anomalies, like zigzag lines, white spots, and in some cases, colorful lines and spots
  • Numbness and tingling in the extremities
  • Dizziness and disorientation
  • Difficulty with speech and comprehension
  • Intense nausea and vomiting
  • Extreme sensitivity to light and sound

Migraines with aura present with a series of interesting neurological electrical patterns that scientists use to study them. Without an MRI, they can sometimes be confused with strokes or seizures. The symptoms are intense and often very alarming for the patient. Experiencing a migraine with aura can be terrifying.

The Difference Between a Migraine and a Headache

This is where things get a little grey. There is a simple distinction between migraines and headaches, and knowing the difference can help reduce their frequency.

Though tension and sinus headaches can concentrate in a certain part of the body, (like the neck, forehead, or sinuses), the pain of a migraine is almost always focused on one side of the head.

The Causes of Migraines

Common migraine triggers:

Conventional migraine treatment and prevention don’t consistently work. Prevention involves expensive daily medication, and the efficacy of these drugs vary wildly. The side effects of these drugs are often intense, and patients are faced with deciding whether the tradeoff is worth it.

Side effects can run the gamut from mild to pervasive and include everything from nausea to memory problems. Some report weight loss, weight gain, nausea, eyesight disturbances, and even numbness and a disturbing loss of motor function. In short, migraine prevention drugs are expensive, and generally not worth the side effects.

Magnesium – The Miracle Mineral

For many people, magnesium is the simple, cheap, and effective home remedy they’ve been looking for.

Magnesium is astounding in its importance in the human body. This mineral is used in more than 300 enzyme systems in the body that regulate everything from protein synthesis to blood pressure. Magnesium is required for bone development and structure and DNA and RNA synthesis. It even plays a crucial role in heart rhythm and muscle contraction.

Magnesium is arguably one of the most crucial minerals for our bodies’ health and well-being, and yet it’s estimated that 80% of Americans suffer from magnesium deficiency. The vast majority doesn’t even know it.

Magnesium deficiency is very common due to the increasingly processed diet so many people in the developed world consume. There’s plenty of magnesium found in nuts and greens but none found in potato chips and bread.

Why Magnesium Can Stop a Migraine in Its Tracks

So what makes magnesium one of the most effective ways to prevent and treat migraines? Though the evidence of users is still largely anecdotal, the consensus seems to be that it’s magnesium’s effect on the nervous system and the role it plays in muscle function that makes it such an effective migraine prevention and treatment.

Magnesium gets the body’s systems moving. It is frequently used as an anti-inflammatory treatment by athletes and is frequently recommended by physicians for conditions like restless leg syndrome.

Over the decades, only a few studies have been conducted to determine the efficacy of magnesium. Results have varied. Researchers have discovered that test subjects show low levels of magnesium during a migraine.

Salome Range, a certified holistic health coach says,

After looking into information about magnesium supplementation for my own health, I also read about how low magnesium levels can be linked to numerous ailments, including migraines and morning sickness. I happen to know many people affected by both and started offering a topical magnesium body butter which was received with high praise.”

Her custom butters take advantage of magnesium’s easy absorption into the skin.

The more and more people who come back to me and tell me it’s been a lifesaver convinces me of the efficiency and importance of magnesium. I have also experienced major relief from chronic pain with regular magnesium supplementation.”

Though more studies are needed to confirm the efficacy and effects of magnesium on sufferers of migraine attacks, regular use and application during a migraine headache have been reported to reduce and even completely stop migraines in their tracks. It’s definitely worth a try.

Using Magnesium for Migraine Prevention

Magnesium is available in several different mineral compositions and forms. As with most vitamins and minerals, the best way to get it into the body is through a healthy, balanced diet. Minerals in foods are usually accompanied by what the body needs to adequately absorb them. If not, other needed nutrients will be available through a wholesome, unprocessed diet.

Ditching the sweets and chips and reaching for salads and sprouted raw mixed nuts are good ways to increase magnesium intake. Greens, legumes, nuts, and seeds are good dietary sources of magnesium. A spinach salad with some garbanzo beans and walnuts makes a nutritious, magnesium-rich lunch. The benefit of getting magnesium from a variety of whole foods is that nutrients stay balanced. Foods contain all the cofactors and co-nutrients in the amounts for best digestion, assimilation, and optimal health. When you’re using supplements, you need to become a bit more savvy about how nutrients influence and synergistically affect each other.

Chlorophyll, which enables plants to capture solar energy and convert it into metabolic energy, has a magnesium atom at its center. Without magnesium, in fact, plants could not utilize the sun’s light energy. ” – The Need For Balance by Michael Spencer

Some Foods High in Magnesium: 

  • Seaweed, agar, dried (770 mg)
  • Coriander (dried) (694 mg)
  • Cocoa, dry powder, unsweetened (499 mg)
  • Flaxseed (392 mg)
  • Almonds (247mg)

Though choosing the “right” formulation of magnesium can certainly impact how well the body actually absorbs this mineral, studies have shown the greatest factor in mineral absorption varies with individual organ and body chemistry. Kidney function, for example, plays a tremendous role in how well the body stores and distributes magnesium. Since the body stores and redistributes magnesium as needed via the kidneys, so it makes sense for some to supplement when dietary intake cannot provide and maintain adequate levels.

In addition to oral supplementation, topical application of magnesium oil is a fast way to get magnesium into the body. Since magnesium is stored primarily in muscle tissue and bones, the best bet for immediate migraine relief is to rub magnesium directly into the closest available muscle tissue.

Using magnesium oil or magnesium butter on the neck is the most effective way to use magnesium to treat a migraine headache. It can also be rubbed into the scalp and forehead.

Magnesium injections are another alternative that some physicians offer. As regular readers know, OLM does not recommend this method.

Magnesium Supplementation

As a migraine sufferer, my M.O. with magnesium is to kick migraines in the teeth long before they become an issue. If you suffer from migraines and you know you’re not a salad munchin’, nut crunchin’ kinda person, start supplementing daily. I like this one. Before shopping, here’s what to know about picking the right kind:

If for whatever reason you decide you need a supplement, be aware that there are a wide variety of magnesium supplements on the market, which includes Magnesium glycinate, Magnesium carbonate, and Magnesium citrate. Courtesy of the fact that magnesium must be bound to another substance. There’s simply no such thing as a 100% magnesium supplement.  The substance used in any given supplement combination can affect the absorption and bioavailability of the magnesium, and may provide slightly different, or targeted, health benefits – Dr. Mercola

Magnesium glycinate is a chelated form of magnesium that tends to provide the highest levels of absorption and bioavailability and is typically considered ideal for those who are trying to correct a deficiency. Magnesium oxide is a non-chelated type of magnesium, bound to an organic acid or a fatty acid. Contains 60 percent magnesium, and has stool softening properties.
Magnesium chloride / Magnesium lactate contains only 12 percent magnesium but has better absorption than others, such as magnesium oxide, which contains five times more magnesium. Magnesium sulfate / Magnesium hydroxide (milk of magnesia) are typically used as a laxative. Be aware that it’s easy to overdose on these, so ONLY take as directed.
Magnesium carbonate, which has antacid properties, contains 45% magnesium. Magnesium taurate contains a combination of magnesium and taurine, an amino acid. Together, they tend to provide a calming effect on your body and mind
Magnesium citrate is magnesium with citric acid, which has laxative properties Magnesium threonate is a newer, emerging type of magnesium supplement that appears promising, primarily due to its superior ability to penetrate the mitochondrial membrane, and may be the best magnesium supplement on the market

The doc goes on to say that it’s important to maintain balance with magnesium, calcium, vitamin K2, and vitamin D.

For example,  Lack of balance between these nutrients is why calcium supplements have become associated with increased risk of heart attacks and stroke, and why some people experience vitamin D toxicity.”

I take it in conjunction with a whole-food multivitamin and an otherwise fairly balanced diet, and some vitamin D and calcium. If my diet is particularly crappy one week, I double up on my dose, but if I’m doing a good job of eating my vegetables, I may even be bold enough to skip a dose. To each their own.

When it comes to symptoms of an oncoming storm, immediate intervention is needed. I keep magnesium butter on hand that my good friend, Salome, concocted and massage it into the left side of my neck where the trouble usually starts. This always (knock on wood) stops migraines in their tracks.

Magnesium oil is a good way to get magnesium into the body fast. If you’re in a particularly tight spot and feel a migraine coming on, start working it into your scalp and even try for your forehead. Though these spots will be less effective, as long as you have adequate circulation, it should still help. Maximize the effect with a plunge into an icy shower to get your blood flow up. On that note, check out Hot and Cold Hydrotherapy.

A hot bath with bath salts detoxifies the body, and it’s a great way to destress. It’s also a great way to absorb lots of magnesium in your body. All natural bath salts contain magnesium and many other minerals, coupled with the benefit of your pores opening in the hot water which increases absorption into the blood stream. This is not the most bioavailable way to consume the mineral, but it is a good supplement to a broader supplementation routine and an enjoyable way to escape a migraine. It also makes sense to use oils and baths for those with impaired digestion, which is the case with most who suffer from migraines.

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Increase Libido and Treat Erectile Dysfunction with Natural Methods

There are a variety of things that can negatively impact a man’s sexual health. Stress, performance anxiety, relationship problems, health conditions, food consumption, and lifestyle choices are just a few. Erectile dysfunction and low libido are the most common sexual concerns. Fortunately, they also happen to be among the easiest conditions to address naturally with quick, simple, and effective methods.

1. Change of Diet

Food has a very powerful influence on our bodies. It can either help or hinder the body’s functionality.

When it comes to sex, there are a couple of significant ways diet impacts performance:

  • Blood flow – Erections depend on relaxed muscles that allow for greater blood flow to the penis. Therefore, it is important to look for foods that increase, not decrease, blood flow.
  • Testosterone – Testosterone is one of the primary ingredients in a man’s libido. Any foods that impact hormone levels will also impact sex drive.
  • Emotions: Stress and anxiety often inhibit libido. Foods that have a calming effect on the brain will improve the quality of sex.

Foods That Increase Libido

Food

How it Helps
Spinach Spinach has an abundance of magnesium.  Magnesium helps increase blood flow by decreasing blood vessel inflammation.
Peppers Spicy peppers increase metabolism, which makes the heart beat faster and pump more blood.
Ginger Ginger greatly improves artery health, improving blood flow.
Bananas Bananas are high in potassium. Potassium is needed to balance out an abundance of sodium, which decreases blood flow.
Potatoes Potatoes are another food with significant amounts of potassium, aiding blood circulation.
Fatty fish Omega-3 fatty acids, like those found in wild salmon, sardines, and tuna, increase dopamine production. Not only does dopamine improve circulation, it also increases relaxation, making sex more enjoyable.
Dark chocolate Dark chocolate increases levels of serotonin and dopamine, elevating mood and decreasing anxiety.
Pumpkin seeds The tryptophan in pumpkin seeds also increases serotonin production, making performance even better.
Oysters The zinc in oysters increases testosterone levels and enhances physical performance. The copper allows the body to absorb the zinc. On top of that, oysters have B12!
Pine Nuts Pine nuts are rich in testosterone-producing zinc.

Foods That Decrease Libido

Food

Why it’s Bad
Diet soda The aspartame in diet soda decreases serotonin production—and libido.
Microwave popcorn The acid found in the lining of  the popcorn bag can kill sex drive and cause long-term damage to the prostate.
Alcohol Alcohol is a well-known depressant that inhibits the ability to establish and maintain an erection.
Soy Soy can decrease sperm count and negatively impact libido.
Sugar Sugar can deplete testosterone levels, causing less interest in sex.
Licorice The glycyrrhizic acid in licorice decreases testosterone production.
Mint Menthol is another inhibitor of testosterone production.

A nutritious diet is essential for maintaining overall health, and sexual health is no exception.

2. Lifestyle

There are various life choices that can impact sexual health.

Exercise

Exercise improves overall health—including sexual performance. Not only will an increase in activity help prevent erectile dysfunction, exercise can also help reverse the condition. Exercise helps increase blood flow and improves blood pressure. Weightlifting increases the body’s natural production of testosterone, erectile strength, and libido.

Sleep

If the body doesn’t produce enough sex hormones, mainly testosterone, erectile dysfunction and low libido are likely. The body’s internal clock controls hormone secretions, and regulating that clock is dependent on healthy sleep patterns. The more regular the sleep cycle, the better equipped the body is to release hormones at the given time.

Smoking

Tobacco negatively impacts the entire body. When it comes to sexual health, its biggest influence is on circulation. Tobacco restricts blood vessels, including the extremely delicate vessels in the penis. Tobacco also decreases blood supply.

To quit smoking, consider one of these natural remedies.

Acupuncture

Acupuncture is known to increase blood flow, which can help reduce erectile dysfunction. While the available evidence hasn’t proved acupuncture as an absolute cure for erectile dysfunction, it has proven effective to reduce stress.

While some erectile dysfunction instigators are physical, others are mental and emotional. Acupuncture may or may not address physical issues, but it can help reduce anxiety and stress—which negatively impact both libido and performance.

Medications

Erectile dysfunction and low libido can be side effects of various medicines like high blood pressure medicines, antidepressants, beta-blockers, heart medications, cholesterol drugs, anti-psychotics, and treatments to address male pattern baldness. Switching to a different drug or, better yet, a natural solution may have a positive effect.

3. Try Herbal Remedies

There are a number of herbal remedies for erectile dysfunction that have been popular in Eastern medicine for decades. While some herbal remedies haven’t been proven effective yet, others have shown significant improvements.

Ginseng

Korean red ginseng is a popular treatment for erectile dysfunction, though it may cause insomnia.

Horny Goat Weed

Chinese medicine has relied on the extract from this plant for years to enhance energy levels and balance the entire body, which can improve libido. It may also treat erectile dysfunction.

Rhodiola Rosea

Referred to as the ‘golden root’, this natural medicine is a relatively new cure for erectile dysfunction. Russians have used this herb to increase endurance and sexual performance. New studies have found it also reduces feelings of exhaustion and symptoms of erectile dysfunction.

Improving Sexual Health Naturally

In many cases, low libido and erectile dysfunction can be reversed with simple, natural cures. Give these suggestions a try and come back to tell us what you found most successful.

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