Chimichurri

We are home or the holidays!

Our daughter is expecting her first baby!a baby girl!

How exciting!

I am trying to make different foods for her to try that would be healthy and at the same time delicious.

I had heard of chimichurri during our visit to South America,a few years ago.

I am going to share the receipt I used with you all.

1/2 cup cilantro leaves

1/2 cup parsley

1/2 cup olive oil

1/4 tsp crushed pepper

1/2 tsp red wine vinegar

1 tsp lemon juice

1 tbs minced garlic

1/2 tsp of salt

1/2 tsp of black pepper  

1/2 tsp dried oregano

Blend all ingredients in food processor.

It is ready to be had with toasted bread or ciabatta bread slices with some small cubes of avocado

as Bruchetta.

Enjoy!

Chai Tea

Friends!

The cold weather is approaching fast.It is time for Soups and Teas.

Have you heard of Masala Chai tea?

Masala chai is the typical Indian name for hot tea.

Masala means spices.

The spices added to your tea could include one or all of the ollowing spices.

You can add dried ginger,black pepper,cinnamon powder,cardamom,cloves to call it masala chai.

An Indian grocery store in your town will have the above spices in appropriate proportions to make a cup of chai.

Just add 1/4 to 1/2 tsf of masala to a fresh brewed cup of tea,add milk to your liking,sweetener to your taste and you are ready to drink chai.

In case you do not have masala, you could just grate a 2 inches piece of ginger directly into the cup of tea along with 1/8 tsf of cinnamon and your tea will taste masLa like.

It's not just about taste but is healthy too.

Red meat and health

Do you know what is unprocessed red meat?

It is Beef,lamb,pork.

What is processed red meat?

It is hot dog,sausage,salami,cold cuts

All recent research and papers from our prestigious journals suggest that eating unprocessed red meat is associated with increased risk of colorectal cancer,breast cancer,heart disease,Diabetes,and all cause mortality from any disease.

The research also suggests that eating more fruits and vegetables along with unprocessed red meat does not negate or neutralize the high risk of cancer and other diseases caused by red meat.

It is recommended that unprocessed meat be eaten only once a week or so and the processed meat be eaten on special occasions only.

Zonulin

We in the last blog were talking about Dr Fassanos research.

He also discovered Zonulin which is a protein that modulates the permeability of the tight junctions between the cells that line our digestive tract.

Zonulin is a leak insets regulator and a biological door to inflammation and auto immunity.

In food poisoning,Zonulin is triggered via immune system by bad bacteria you ate promoting diarrhea to flush bacteria out.once bacteria are gone Zonulin levels decrease and intestinal junctions become tight and close.

Gluten or any of its 50 epitopes is a strong trigger of Zonulin

Nobody can completely digest gluten.Undigested gluten can trigger release of Zonulin.

Once gluten is removed from diet,Zonulin leve,s decrease and healing starts.

Other variables that increase Zonulin are ,

Parasitic infections

Bacterial or fungal dysbiosis

Small intestinal bacterial overgrowth( SIBO)

So to treat gut,

Remove foods and stress factors that damage gut.

Replace with digestive enzymes and healing foods

Repair with supplements

Rebalance with probiotocs

Autoimmune disease

Let us name some autoimmune diseases

Hashimoto's thyroiditis

Crohn's disease

Multiple sclerosis

Rheumatoid arthritis

Type 1 diabetes mellitus

Lupus

Sjögren's syndrome 

Dr Alessio Fasano PHD of Mass general hospital published a paper bringing in the concept that 3 things are necessary for autoimmune disease to develop.

1. Genetic susceptibility 

2. Environmental trigger

3.intestinal hyper permeability

He states genetic susceptibility is the gun,environmental triggers load the gun.

Intestinal hyperpermeability fires the gun.

Previously,it was thought that once autoimmune process was activated there were only relapse and remissions.

However Dr Fassanos research reveals the process can be modified and modulated by interrupting one of the triad.

The easiest to alter is the intestinal permeability.

The supplements that modify intestinal permeability are,

L glutamine

N-acetyl glucosamine

Mucilaginous herbs( fenugreek,licorice,marshmallow root,slippery elm.)

Direct acting antiinflammatory botanicals( oregano,berberine,artimesia)

Quercetin

Zinc carnosine

Omega3 fatty acids

Vitamin D

Digestive enzy

Digestive enzymes

Digestive enzymes are from 3 sources,

Animals,plants,microbes.

Animal sources include,

Pancreatic,pepsin,trypsin,chyme trypsin.

Pancreatic is most widely used and has most of the enzymes necessary for digestion in small intestine.

It has protease to breakdown proteins into aminoacids,amylase to to cleave complex carbohydrates to simple sugars,lipase to break down lipids.

Plant sourced enzymes

Bromelain( from pineapple)

Papain from papaya

Ficinfrom fig tree latex

Actinidin from kiwi fruit 

These are proteolytic enzymes which break down proteins

They also help reduce inflammation.

Papain is contraindicated in Pregnancy.

Microbial sourced enzymes

Usually from fungi and bacterial sources can be used by vegetarians,vegans.

They survive well in stomach.

The microbial enzymes include Amylase,glucoamylase,protease,lipase and various saccharidases.

The latter include lactase to digest lactose,Alfa- galactosidase ( for digesting beans,legumes,Cruciferous vegetables.

These also have cellulose to digest cellulose,along with hemicellulase ,xylanase,pectin apse imp 

for digesting plant components.

Formulas with high cellulose activity( 2000-4000CU is of big help in digesting legumes and high fiber 

plant foods.

FODMAPS

What are fodmap so anyway?

They are short chain carbohydrates.

Originally coined by researchers at Monash university,Australia.

These are natural components of many foods

Fodmap a are poorly absorbed.

The reason of poor absorption is related to reduced or absent digestive enzymes( hydrolases),

or to slow transport across intestinal mucosa.

Excess fodmaps in the distal small intestine and proximal colon exerts osmotic pressure,drawing more water in the lumen.

Fodmaps are rapidly fermented by colonic bacteria,producing gas,bowel dissension,altered motility.

Fructans are fructose polymers that are not absorbed in human intestines.

Most dietary fructans are consumed from wheat and onion.even if these do not have high amount of fructans,as people consume in higher amounts,it is a problem.

Galacto-oligosaccharides are available for colonic fermentation after eating due to lack of human alpha galactosidase.

Lactose is poorly absorbed in patients with lactase deficiency.It is mostly in dairy products,but also is 

added to breads,cakes.

Fructose is most abundant in Fodmaps.

It is present as a free sugar or generated from digestive breakdown of sucrose.

In the intestines this fructose is absorbed via a direct low capacity glucose transporter(GLUT) 5

and through GLUT -2 which is much efficient but needs the coexistence of glucose.

Because of this ,fructose is more likely to be malabsobed when present in excess of glucose

As in people with sucrose deficiency.

Main sources of fructose are fruits and fruit products,honey,foods with added high fructose sweeteners.

Polyols are sorbitol and mannitol are absorbed slowly by passive diffusion as they have no active transport system.They are in fruits and vegetables.

Sugar free chewing gum is high source of sorbitol.

www.med.monash.edu/cels/gastro/fodmap.

www.ibsfree.net/what-is-fodmap- diet.