Drugs that cause obesity (and nutrients that fight it)

I think it’s safe to say that we are dealing with one of the greatest, most complex and wide-ranging health crises ever in our existence.

Obesity.

When the rate of ANY health condition doubles in three decades, alarm bells should be clanging.

Although many factors have been identified as playing a role in our obesity crisis—including fast/junk food, soda, sedentary lifestyles and lack of exercise, and even more recently gut bacterial imbalances, food sensitivities, and chronic inflammation—there’s still more to it than that.

And one of the big players that is largely being ignored is medications.

A good number of commonly prescribed medications interfere with your body’s use and absorption of nutrients that are critical to proper metabolism—so the end result is weight gain!

Considering that seven out of 10 of us take at least one prescription medication each day, that’s a good number of people for whom the pharmacy is helping to widen their backsides.

Here are some of the guilty parties:

Common medications that interfere with nutrients and cause weight gain

Medication                                         Nutrient(s) it interferes with

Coumadin                                                           Vitamin K; lutein

Antibiotics                                                           Vitamins K and B

Corticosteroids                                                  Calcium; vitamin D; chromium

Orlistat                                                                 Fat-soluble vitamins A, D, E, and K

Diuretics                                                              Magnesium; zinc

Digoxin                                                                Calcium; magnesium

Beta blockers                                                      Coenzyme Q10

Biguanides (like Metformin)                              Vitamin B12

H2 blockers and proton pump inhibitors        Vitamin B12; calcium, protein

NSAIDs                                                                   Folate

Anticonvulsants                                                    Vitamin D; folate; L-carnitine

If you are on any of these medications and are struggling with excess weight or obesity, talk to your doctor about alternatives.  It’s pretty tough to justify the benefit of exchanging one health condition for another, especially one as devastating and far-reaching as obesity.

The other side—nutrients that fight obesity
Here are some nutrients that help in the fight against obesity and are good contenders for which to consider supplementation:

Chromium:  Chromium helps encourage glucose uptake by your muscles, helping to encourage healthier blood sugar levels, plus it also curbs food cravings.

Magnesium: Magnesium lowers blood glucose levels.

Biotin:  Biotin is key to a strong metabolism, helping with the proper breakdown of carbohydrates into glucose, fats into fatty acids and protein into amino acids.

Vanadium: Vanadium also pitches in with biotin and chromium to help get proper amounts of glucose into your body’s cells.

Alpha-lipoic acid: Alpha-lipoic acid is an antioxidant that assists your body in using glucose.

Iodine:  Iodine helps support healthy thyroid function, which is vital for your metabolism.

A high-quality multi-vitamin and mineral formula can help provide health supporting doses of ALL of these metabolism-crucial nutrients.

Also important in the fight against obesity are Omega-3 essential fatty acids, especially Eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and Docosahexaenoic acid (DHA).  These help to increase the flexibility of your cell membranes (so nutrients can get in and wastes can get out) and fight inflammation.  Fish oil supplementation can help ensure that your body has enough of these crucial fats.

Obesity is a complex issue for which there is no one easy answer.

But you can help stack the deck in your favor by engaging the power of nutrition and ensuring your body has what it needs to support a healthy metabolism!

Why calorie cutting doesn’t work for weight loss

I had a client who lost 40 pounds on a 1,200 calorie diet, but then she hit a brick wall and her scale froze.

She was surprised when I told her the reason her weight loss came to a screeching halt was her 1,200 calorie diet.

Here’s why—let’s start by taking a look at…

How we’ve gotten fat
Over the past 50 years or so, we have been very efficient at creating overweight and obesity.
Our belief that high-carb, low-fat diets are “healthy” and saturated fat is the devil has created a population of people whose bodies are brimming with glucose, suffering from insulin resistance, storing massive amounts of fat and living their days in cycles of sugar spikes and crashes.

In addition, since sugar is an abrasive, inflammation-stirring substance, inflammatory conditions such as heart disease, cancer, arthritis and autoimmune diseases also continue to be our companions and are affecting us at younger and younger ages.

The chemicals in processed, refined foods play a role too.  Chemicals increase food cravings, lead to water retention and actually cause weight gain.

At the same time, our bodies have lacked the fats that they so desperately need, which impairs our brain and nervous system function, compromises the integrity of our cell walls, creates hormonal imbalances and leads to nutritional deficiencies, especially in the fat-soluble vitamins A, D, E and K.

And of course during all of this, the drug industry has been more than happy to make an array of products available to mask your pain, reduce your blood pressure or blood sugar, lull you to sleep, perk you up, stop your heartburn, make you happy and shut down your immune system.

So we have become a society of sick, over-drugged, overweight, undernourished people.

Why cutting calories doesn’t work
When you drastically reduce calories, at first you will most assuredly lose weight.  It’s a matter of simple math—taking fewer calories in means your body will resort to its own stores for energy.
But then the game changes.

Your body eventually goes into starvation mode, thinking that food has become scarce.  It tries to conserve energy for you so you don’t keel over.  In its efforts to save calories, it increases your hunger and S-L-O-W-S your metabolism.

And that eventually results in many a “frozen scale.”

Now when this happens, what do many people do?

Cut calories even MORE, that’s what!

But that merely perpetuates the starvation cycle and makes the situation even worse.

Don’t cut calories—nourish your body instead!
What matters far more than cutting calories is nourishing your body with wholesome real foods.  This will help reduce your insulin levels, even out your blood sugar and keep you satisfied longer.

Go organic as much as possible to avoid the chemicals, pesticides, herbicides, hormones and antibiotics used in traditionally raised foods, as well as to steer clear of genetically modified foods.
Avoid all highly processed carbohydrates (including soda!) as much as possible—let beans, fresh vegetables and fruits be your primary carb sources instead.

Get healthy sources of proteins--organic meats and poultry and wild-caught fish are your best bets.

And most importantly, DO NOT shun fats.  About 30 percent of your daily calorie intake should be fats, with a fair representation of saturated, monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats.

Here are some wise fat choices to make sure your body is getting what it needs:

• Good for cooking:  Real butter (both salted and unsalted), lard, tallow, coconut oil, peanut oil, palm oil and olive oil.  These are stable fats that won’t oxidize when heated.
• Good for salads, cold dishes: Olive oil, organic nut oils. 
• Food sources of fats: Red meat, eggs, butter, avocado, nuts, olives and wild-caught fish.
• Consider supplementing: Omega-3 essential fatty acids (fish oil)—because our food supply does not contain the levels of these natural anti-inflammatories like it used to.
• Avoid at all cost:  Trans-fats (commonly referred to as hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated oils), highly processed vegetable oils, margarine.

Another key to weight loss—sound digestion
Another key to successful weight loss is to have efficient digestion, because if your body is not digesting your foods properly, you are not deriving the full nutritional benefit from them and not eliminating wastes like you should.

Keep your meals simple and make your stomach’s job easier.  Avoid eating animal proteins and starches together, because combinations like that are very taxing on your system.  Strive to make most of your meals proteins, vegetables and fats.

If you’re prone to constipation, probiotics can help by repopulating your supply of beneficial intestinal bacteria.  These helpful good guys help you digest carbs and fiber and keep your BMs running along more like they should.

Digestive enzyme supplements can also help, especially if you’re an acid reducer disciple, are elderly or have had gastric surgery.

See what a difference it can in reaching your weight loss goals when you nourish your body and support better digestion!

To your health,

Sherry Brescia

Watch out for the 6 biggest diet mistakes

Here are the six biggest sources of dietary mis-information that have not only not made Americans any healthier, but they’ve added to our rates of chronic disease and our widening backsides.

Mistake #1: Avoid saturated fats to prevent heart disease
Please get this through your head right now: Your body must have saturated fats. 
Saturated fats are needed by your body to protect your nerve cells, produce hormones, keep your cell membranes healthy, help your body assimilate the fat-soluble vitamins A, D, E and K and help your brain and nervous system with transmitting nerve impulses.
The average person needs about 30 percent of their daily calories to come from fats, and about one-third of those should be saturated fats.
Good sources of saturated fats include fats from animal sources (meat, butter, lard, suet, milk, eggs and cheese)--preferably organic, as well as avocados.
What you SHOULD avoid at all cost are trans-fats.  They are the fats that will guarantee a trip to the cardiologist for you.

Mistake #2: Having a low-cholesterol diet helps reduce your cholesterol
Only 25 percent or less of the cholesterol in your body is from your food--your liver and other cells produce the vast majority (at least 75 percent) of it.
The true relationship between your diet and cholesterol pertains to your LIVER.
Your diet has a huge impact on the health of your liver, and it’s your liver that monitors your cholesterol level and eliminates old, worn-out cholesterol from your body.
Plus digestion is key here too.  When you have poor digestion and/or chronic constipation, old cholesterol that your liver is trying to discard can instead get reabsorbed back into circulation and raise your cholesterol level.
The health of your arteries also plays a role.  When you have inflammation in your blood vessels, this triggers your liver to summon cholesterol to the scene as a healing salve.
Chronic inflammation in your blood vessels is frequently caused by high glucose levels resulting from a large intake of refined carbs.  Refined carbs turn to sugar upon digestion, and sugar is very abrasive to your arterial walls. 
So if you’re really worried about cholesterol, ditch the refined carbs and concentrate on healthful real foods.

Mistake #3:  Artificial sweeteners help you lose weight
I can't tell you how many overweight or obese people I’ve met that regularly drink diet soda.
See anything wrong with that picture?
The fact is, the aspartame (aka Equal® or NutraSweet®) used in sugar-free foods may have zero calories, but your body isn't fooled.
When it gets a tease of a "sweet" taste, it expects calories to follow.  And when this doesn't occur that leads to distortions in your biochemistry that actually lead to weight GAIN as well as increase your cravings for sweets.
Stay away from artificial sweeteners at all cost.

Mistake #4: Whole grains are always good for you
Although they are more nutritious than highly refined grains (like white bread and pasta), whole grains are still starches which are converted to sugar upon digestion.
So they can contribute to weight gain and insulin resistance, and also put you in trouble for arterial inflammation.
Although an occasional plate of whole-grain pasta or soup with whole grain bread is fine, the best go-to choices for carbohydrates are vegetables and legumes.

Mistake #5:  Fish is a better choice than red meat
Saturated fats in moderation are needed by your body—and by moderation I mean things like butter on your toast or vegetables or a 4-ounce serving of beef (preferably organic).
Although fish can be very good for you, much depends on what kind you’re choosing.
Farm-raised fish are given antibiotics to stave off diseases that result from inhumanely crowded conditions and are also treated with pesticides to combat sea lice—and whatever is in the fish becomes a part of YOU.
Plus farmed fish has fewer usable Omega-3 EFAs than wild-caught fish and a higher concentration of Omega-6 EFAs.  So it can contribute to an inflammation-causing imbalance of Omega-6: Omega-3 essential fatty acids.
Farmed fish has also been found to have a 20 percent lower protein content than wild-caught fish.
In addition, studies have found that cancer-causing polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) exist in farm-raised salmon at 16 times the rate of wild salmon.
There’s no wiggle room here: If you want fish, buy only fresh wild-caught varieties.

Mistake #6: A low-salt diet always helps with high blood pressure
A high sodium diet can lead to increased water and blood volume and drive up blood pressure. 
But just as much of a hypertension concern is too little potassium—in other words, a sodium/potassium imbalance. 
Sodium and potassium work together as a team in the “sodium-potassium pump” which helps control calcium levels in your cells. 
But when you have too little potassium, this pump doesn’t work properly.  That can drive up cellular calcium levels which can cause the smooth muscle cells in your arteries to contract, driving up your blood pressure.
So while it’s wise to avoid processed foods (which are the leading cause of excess sodium in most people’s diets) at the same time, don’t forget about potassium. 
Dietary sources of potassium include: Greens, spinach, winter squashes, cantaloupe, Brussels sprouts, green beans, tomatoes, broccoli and carrots.

Stop dieting and start losing weight!

Announcing our brand-new “Weight Loss Support” bundle of products!

Save $25 now and give your body the weight loss support it’s been missing!

Here are an interesting couple of facts:

There are over 30,000 diets in existence and at the same time, two out of threeof us are overweight.

I think it’s pretty safe to conclude that dieting doesn’t work!

Now, you may be saying, “You’re wrong, Sherry.  I did XYZ diet and lost 20 pounds.”

Yes, and I bet you put it all back on and then some.  Otherwise you wouldn’t be reading this right now.

Well, today is your lucky day because I am going to give you the straightforward advice you need to successfully lose weight AND maintain your new slender, healthy bodyweight.

1- Ditch the fancy diets
Instead just concentrate on real foods (fresh fruits, vegetables, meats, eggs, dairy and healthy fats) and stay away from processed, packaged items, fast food and soda. 

Plus keep your meals simpler to make them less taxing on your digestive system, as sound digestion is crucial to weight loss.  Check out Great Taste No Pain or Great Taste No Gluten for some handy meal tips and delicious recipe ideas.

2- Get regular exercise
In addition to helping the pounds melt away, regular exercise also lowers your risk of chronic disease and encourages strong bones, joints and muscles. 

Get your doctor’s stamp of approval and start moving.
And most importantly….

3- Engage the power of our Weight Loss Support collection of supplements (They're $25 off now!)
Our new Weight Loss Support bundle of products (Super Core, Super Shield and VitalMega-3) can give your body the underlying help it desperately needs to once and for all shed the pounds and keep them off!
Here’s how these three outstanding nutritional supplements can help you finally achieve your weight loss goals:

Super Core multi-vitamin and mineral formula
Your level of hunger is a function of how well your body is nourished, and if you’re lacking in core nutrients, your inner dinner bell will ring (and you will be far more likely to overeat). 

Problem is, even the healthiest diet probably can’t provide everything you need.  That’s because our food is inherently less nutritious than it once was, plus many of us take medications which impair nutrient absorption, and our high stress levels cause nutrients to be burned away at an alarming rate.

So the best way to make sure all your nutritional bases are covered is to supplement with a high quality multi formula like Super Core.

Super Shield multi-strain probiotic formula
Your friendly intestinal flora plays a HUGE role in weight loss.

First, these good guys encourage efficient digestion, waste elimination and nutrient absorption, all of which are essential to losing weight. 

Plus they keep harmful yeasts and bacteria in check.  If allowed to grow out of control, yeasts in your gut can make you crave refined carbs and sugars—which are their favorite food and which pack the pounds on YOU.

The smartest way to support a healthier flora balance is to help repopulate your “army” of protective bacteria with a top-shelf multi-strain probiotic formula likeSuper Shield.

VitalMega-3 fish oil formula
Inflammation is a significant factor behind most chronic diseases and illnesses, and you can add overweight and obesity on to the list. 

When your body is in a state of inflammation, it can’t use nutrients like it should (which in turn can drive up your hunger level). 

Plus it can impair your body’s ability to lose fat and build muscle, and it can make exercising extremely uncomfortable to downright painful!

This is another area where our diets fail us.  Our food supply doesn’t contain a fraction of the naturally occurring, anti-inflammatory Omega-3 essential fatty acids that it used to, and this is a major driving factor behind our rampant levels of chronic inflammation.

So supplementation with a pharmaceutical grade Omega-3 fish oil formula likeVitalMega-3 is not only a good idea but practically a must to help keep inflammation low.

Now is the perfect time to put the power of these three outstanding supplements to work for you because the Weight Loss Support bundle is $25 off for a limited time!

Make 2016 the year you finally take off the weight for good.
And when you do, please write and tell us about your success!  We’d love to hear from you.

To your health,

Sherry Brescia

A water balloon for weight loss?

Testing is currently underway to assess the potential of a device called “Elipse” as a viable method to lose weight…and it’s not necessarily for the faint of heart.

Elipse is a balloon that's crammed inside a typical-sized medication capsule which is attached to a tiny catheter. 

Once it’s swallowed and reaches the stomach, the capsule dissolves and releases the balloon. Then the balloon gets pumped up with distilled water through the catheter.  When the balloon is full, the catheter is pulled out through the mouth.

What results is a grapefruit-sized (about 19 ounces) water balloon that fills the stomach and significantly reduces the amount of food someone can eat before feeling full.

After four months, the balloon automatically deflates, at which point it makes its way through the intestinal tract and is eliminated when Nature calls.

Success!  Or maybe not

By dramatically reducing their intake of food, people that use Elipse (once it’s approved by the FDA) will most assuredly lose weight. 

Taking in less food always means your body must begin to rely on its own fat reserves and hence you lose weight.

But the same can be said for any diet that significantly reduces intake! 

And the real issue is: What happens once the citrus fruit-sized water balloon is no longer a part of your gullet?

You guessed it—all of a sudden you have more room again in your stomach and don’t get full as fast anymore.

Watch the tide roll in.

Now, the developers of Elipse are optimistic that people will learn portion control during the four months that the balloon is taking up residence in their stomach, and these newly formed habits will continue once it goes on its merry way.

Well, all I can say is while this new “stomach shrinking” method has not been approved yet, I have yet in my health career to see a single case of bariatric surgery where the person successfully kept ALL the weight off, so I can’t imagine this being dramatically different.

What’s wrong?

The glaring boo-boo here is this: 

You can follow a severely restrictive diet, you can have your stomach stapled, you can inflate a gastric water balloon or even swallow an old sock to fill up your stomach if you’re so inclined, but none of that changes the fact that losing weight and keeping it off is not simply a matter of portion control!

And that’s why these weight loss measures are merely temporary at best.

Losing weight and keeping it off are instead a function of these three factors:

1. What you eat
2. How efficient your digestion is
3. How much you move

What you eat is arguably far more imperative than portion control and here’s why:  When you concentrate on real, whole foods like vegetables, fruits, meats, poultry, fish, dairy, eggs and healthy fats (like butter and olive oil) your body gets properly nourished and you stay satisfied longer—which greatly reduces your chances of overeating, binging or snacking.  Plus whole foods are inherently lower in calories than processed foods, so you naturally reduce calorie intake without deprivation or starving yourself!

Efficient digestion is a must.  If your body can’t properly assimilate and absorb nutrients from your foods and/or eliminate wastes due to poor digestion, forget it.  There’s no way you’ll be able to lose weight since you’ll be constantly hungry (due to poor nutrition) and constantly constipated (due to inefficient breakdown of your foods).  So if your digestion is not going along so well and/or you find yourself relying on acid reducers, you can help turn that around by:

• Making your meals simpler and easier for your system to tackle—and the Great Taste No Pain health system can show you exactly what to do. It’s easy—it just involves a few simple changes to how your structure your meals and can make a world of difference in how your body accomplishes digestion. 
• Giving your body digestive enzyme support if needed with Digestizol Max enzyme formula. People most in need of digestive enzyme supplements include the elderly, people who use acid reducers, people who have had gallbladder surgery or people who have had a long history of a junk food diet.

Moving on a regular basis is essential too.  Regular physical activity helps to increase muscle mass and decrease body fat, both of which are crucial to weight loss and management.  Plus you’ll also be decreasing your risk of heart disease, cancer, high blood pressure, Type 2 diabetes, osteoporosis, back pain and even depression!  Get your doctor’s nod of approval, get some sneakers and get going!

Losing weight and keeping it off doesn’t have to be rocket science and it certainly doesn’t require water balloons. 

Eat the right foods, keep digestion humming and break a sweat on a regular basis and I’m sure you’ll love the results!

Hit a diet brick wall? How to blast through

Here’s a very common and frustrating phenomenon that very familiar to countless people:

You decide you want to lose 20 pounds.  So you start eating better and exercising and lo and behold, the pounds start to come off.

People start noticing and saying you look great. 

Then your clothes start getting loose and you need to buy new ones in a smaller size. This fuels your determination even more.

Then BAM!

The weight stops coming off and you’ve hit a diet brick wall.
What happened?

Well, here are 6 possible reasons why you can hit a brick wall when trying to lose weight and more importantly, how to blast through them and get back on track.

6 common causes for hitting a diet brick wall

1)Your thyroid is sluggish
Your thyroid stimulates your cell metabolism and regulates your metabolic rate—in other words how efficiently you create and burn energy.

And if it slows down, trust me, so will your weight loss.

A very accurate and sensitive test that assesses thyroid health is the "TRH challenge test" (also called the “TRH stimulation test”) so ask your doctor to do that test instead of or in addition to the typical TSH test (which isn’t as accurate).

If your thyroid is sluggish, once you get treated appropriately it can make all the difference in the world.

2)Your meds are sabotaging you
In addition to numerous other side effects, many of the most popular prescription drugs also cause weight gain.  These include:

• Antidepressants
• Steroids
• Antihistamines
• Type 2 diabetes drugs (including Insulin)
• High blood pressure medications
• Birth control pills

If you are on any of the above types of drugs, talk to your doctor about alternatives.

3)You’re a pear or lack muscle
Studies have shown that people who are pear-shaped (have a greater concentration of fat in the hip and thigh area) burn fat less efficiently than those with an apple shape (with most of their fat around their middle).

The reason is extra fat around the gut is more actively recruited during times of energy need and thus can be easier to lose than fat on the legs and hips.

Plus if you don’t have a lot of muscle that can bring your weight loss to a snail’s crawl too since muscle burns more energy than fat.

In either case, you can help jump start things again by working in some strength training into your exercise routine (with your doctor’s OK).

You don’t need to become a bodybuilder or invest in expensive equipment.  Just simply holding on to light hand weights (1-2 pounds) while using the treadmill or moving your own bodyweight (such as with push-ups, arms dips or crab-walking) can make a big difference.

4)You have other hormone imbalances
High estrogen, low testosterone, low DHEA (a hormone of the adrenal glands), high insulin and high cortisol can also bring your dietary success to a screeching halt.

If you get tested and find you’re hormones are off, as an alternative to traditional synthetic medications, explore bio-identical hormone replacement.  

Unlike synthetic hormones, the body typically has an easier time assimilating bio-identical hormones because they are identical in molecular structure to the hormones made by your body.

5)Your body has gotten smarter
If your exercise efforts started out as, say, walking for 30 minutes 4 times a week, chances are excellent that was enough to help start your mass exodus of fat.

But lo and behold, things change.

Your body becomes smarter and your muscles develop memory when you repeat the same activity over and over.  That means that eventually you might not get as much benefit from the same exercise routine anymore…and the weight loss may stop as a result!

The answer to that is: Step it up and switch it up!
It can make a huge difference to either increase your exercise time (such as from 30 to 45 minutes) and/or change up your routine (like incorporating swimming and bicycling into your activities instead of just walking).

The more you can challenge and surprise your body with your physical activities, the more you will see that fat roll off.

Just be sure to get your doctor’s OK, especially if you are just starting an exercise program.

6)You have poor digestion
If your foods are not being broken down like they should be, you're not getting the maximum nutrition from them.  This can cause your cells, tissues and organ systems to slow down, be stressed, not use energy as efficiently and eventually build up wastes and toxins.

Plus lacking nutrients causes feelings of hunger which leads to eating more than you should without even realizing it. 

And I think you can guess what that means!

Accomplishing better digestion isn't hard--it's just is a matter of eating foods that break down more easily together, and giving your body a little assistance if needed.

In the Great Taste No Pain system, you’ll learn what foods to eat and how to structure your meals so you can help encourage more efficient digestion and more regular BMs.

That will help you take off those excess pounds until you reach your goal weight and most importantly, keep them off!

Plus many people’s bodies reach the point where they have trouble producing adequate enzymes for digestion—that’s especially true if you’ve eaten lots of fast/processed foods, take acid reducers, have had gastric surgery or are over 50.

So you may need a little boost—with an enzyme supplement like Digestizol Max.

Digestizol Max helps your body break down a variety of foods--proteins, fats, carbs, fiber, etc.--and helps conserve your body’s enzyme resources. 

This can help support more complete digestion as well as reduce GI issues like gas and heartburn!

If you’ve hit diet brick walls in the past, now is your time to take the weight off, reach your goal weight and keep it off for good!

When you take the proper measures to address any possible factors that may be holding those pounds on you, a whole new slim existence can be yours for the taking.

To your health,

Sherry Brescia

PS:  Our new multi-vitamin formula Super Core will be coming soon!  I’ll announce when it’s available!

An often overlooked cause of weight gain

Since two out of three of us are overweight or obese, it’s safe to say many of us have overindulged in the food department and have become BFFs with the sofa.

But in many cases, we’ve had help with our weight gain.

As a matter of fact, in addition to weight gain, ALL of these symptoms can all be caused by the malfunctioning of one tiny body part.  Can you guess what it is?

• Fatigue, sluggishness or weakness 
• Dry skin 
• Brittle nails 
• Hair loss and/or coarse or dry hair 
• Increased sensitivity to cold 
• Constipation 
• Memory problems or having trouble thinking clearly 
• Heavy or irregular menstrual periods 
• Swelling of the arms, hands, legs, and feet
• Hoarseness 
• Muscle aches and cramps 
• Low blood pressure 
• Infertility 
• Sleep irregularities 
• Depression
• Give up?

It’s your thyroid gland.

Let's take a closer look at this small but powerful gland, why problems with it are often missed, and natural ways to help keep yours healthy.

The ULTIMATE power…in an itty bitty living space

Your thyroid is a butterfly-shaped gland that sits in in front of your neck just above your collarbone and wraps its "wings" around your larynx (voice box).

Thyroid hormones are used by EVERY SINGLE CELL in your body, so if it isn't working right, it can affect you from head to toe.  That's why you see such a wide variety of symptoms in the list above--ANYWHERE in your body is fair game.

Here are just some of your thyroid’s jobs:

• Regulate your metabolism
• Stimulate the absorption of glucose into your cells
• Help with nutrient absorption
• Prevent the release of calcium from your bones
• Regulate your heart rate and muscle function
• Keep your stomach acid at a healthy level
• Help your liver excrete the toxins that it filters out of your bloodstream

An expertly designed system

Your thyroid operates under a very efficient system, working with your hypothalamus and pituitary glands.

Your hypothalamus is like a security system, monitoring your body's functions and conditions like your temperature, whether you’re stressed, etc.

When it senses some tweaking in your body functions needs to take place, it alerts the pituitary to "pass the message" on to the appropriate gland to make sure the proper hormones are released to get your body back into balance.

When the needed hormones must come from your thyroid, your pituitary releases thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) which triggers the thyroid into action.

Then your thyroid releases thyroxine (T-4) and sends it into the bloodstream.  When the T-4 finds where it needs to go, it’s converted to its active form T-3 (triiodothyronine).  Then it delivers the message to your cells and your body function gets restored.

Too high or too low?

The thyroid can malfunction by either working too much (HYPERthyroid) or not enough (HYPOthyroid). 

1- Hyperthyroid

Hyperthyroid is when there is an overproduction of T-3. 

People who are hyperthyroid are often irritable, have rapid heartbeat, hand tremors, hair loss, nervousness, sleeping problems, increased perspiration and protruding eyeballs.

One of the common causes of hyperthyroid is an autoimmune condition called Graves’ disease.

2- Hypothyroid

On the flip side, hypothyroid is when the thyroid is not producing enough T-4. 

People with hypothyroidism often gain weight despite dieting, have increased allergic reactions, suffer continuous fatigue--often waking up just as tired as before they went to sleep, brittle nails, dry skin and lowered sex drive.

Hypothyroid can be caused by nutrient deficiencies--especially iodine, zinc, selenium, vitamin A and magnesium.

Low functioning thyroid can also be the result of an autoimmune disease--known as Hashimoto's thyroiditis.

In addition, hypothyroidism can stem from hyperthyroidism.  When someone's thyroid is working in overdrive (hyper) for long enough, eventually it can become exhausted and crash into a low functioning hypothyroid.  

It's often missed

Typically most mainstream doctors don't do enough tests to detect thyroid malfunction, so it can frequently be missed.

When assessing thyroid function, many doctors will do only a TSH test.  But since TSH is secreted by the pituitary, that test primarily assesses the functioning of your pituitary—not necessarily your thyroid! 

Plus the TSH test measures your blood level of thyroid hormone at that one moment in time when your blood is drawn. 

But your thyroid hormone levels are constantly changing—so a “snapshot” blood test is not always an accurate picture of what’s really going on 24/7 with your thyroid.

A far more accurate and sensitive test that assesses thyroid health is the "TRH challenge test" also known as the “TRH Stimulation test.”  Be sure to ask your doctor to include this test in your workup.

Pamper your thyroid

Since your thyroid literally affects your health from head to toe, it’s crucial to make your body a more supportive home for it and take in the nutrients to keep it healthy.

The best way to do that is to have a healthful diet of real foods and ensure proper digestion so you can better absorb needed nutrients.

The Great Taste No Pain eating system can help you with this important goal.

In Great Taste No Pain, you will learn the best foods to pair together for more efficient digestion and assimilation of nutrients. 

Plus it really delivers on the great taste promise—you’ll get a collection of easy recipes featuring nutritious real foods that are lip-smacking delicious and good for you too!

Having a diet of real foods will help prevent nutritional deficiencies in the minerals like iodine, zinc and magnesium that are so crucial to proper thyroid function. 

Note:  If you also have a gluten challenge, Great Taste No Gluten is your ticket instead.  

You’ll get the same food pairing advice as in Great Taste No Pain, plus guides for living a gluten free lifestyle and a collection of tasty gluten free recipes.

Address the immune piece too

Both hyperthyroid and hypothyroid can be caused by improper immune responses--known as an autoimmune disorder. 

So a wise approach for anyone possibly fighting an autoimmune disease is to come head to head with the culprit that's causing the problem to begin with -- the immune system.

That's where probiotics may be a big help and here’s how:

Your immune system has two types of T-cells--Helper T cells and Regulatory T cells.

Helper T cells patrol your body, looking for dangerous invaders. Once they detect a real or perceived threat, they multiply themselves and attack, stirring up inflammation.

Regulatory T cells tell Helper T cells to calm down, so they help stop inflammation and keep your harmless tissues safe.

Probiotics can help to encourage more of your immune system’s Regulatory T cell to form, which naturally fight inflammation and help “tame” the Helper T Cells.

And unlike the immune-suppressive drugs typically prescribed for autoimmune conditions, probiotics can help work with your immune system to address its mixed-up responses--without the drug side effects! 

Super Shield probiotic formula was designed to be a potent and effective helper for a wide variety of health challenges, including autoimmune diseases.

One of Super Shield's strains, Lactobacillus Rhamnosus, helps to strengthen your gut-barrier function and has been shown to have a beneficial impact on autoimmune conditions as well as constipation (which is a typical hypothyroid concern). 

Additionally, Super Shield's 12 other potent strains will help keep your gut flora in proper balance, support the health of your immune system overall.

Help support the health of your thyroid and I’m sure you’ll see a difference in how you feel (and in your weight!) very soon.

To your health,

Sherry Brescia

My opinion of the Paleo diet

One of the most common questions I get asked as a nutritionist is what I think of a certain popular diet.

Generally speaking, most diets have their positive points and there will always be some people who will have success with it.  As long as a diet provides proper nutrition and enough calories for your body’s needs, and is centered on real (not processed) foods, if it’s something that works for you, great.

Now, the latest buzz in the diet world is…

The Paleo Diet

The Paleo Diet centers on the types of foods presumed to have been eaten by our caveman ancestors, consisting mainly of meat, fish, vegetables and fruits, and excluding dairy, legumes, sugars, starches (except for an occasional potato or yam), grain products and all forms of processed food. 

Paleo enthusiasts contend that eating in this manner reflects the evolution that shaped our current biology—in other words, our systems originated in an environment where things like milk, grains and packaged foods were not eaten and/or non-existent, and this is the “mold” from which our modern-day bodies developed.

Since this is how we started out tens of thousands of years ago, eating this way is beneficial to our health and well-being, according to Paleo fans.

A lot of people have enjoyed tremendous benefits from the Paleo Diet, but at the same time, just as many others feel fine eating reasonable amounts of grains (not to excess and not refined) or drinking milk, which provide nutritional benefits of their own.

Here are some other diets that some people have sworn by, yet others have sworn at!:

The Zone Diet

The Zone Diet is based on hormonal responses that are generated by eating certain types of foods and stresses proteins and healthy fats.  It limits high-glycemic carbohydrates like grains, pasta, breads, rice and other starches, as well as proteins rich in arachidonic acid like egg yolks, fatty red meats and organ meats.

Over the long term, this diet can be acid-forming and contribute to constipation.

The Atkins Diet

Atkins is similar to the Zone Diet—high in protein and fat and low carbohydrate (mainly vegetables and occasional fruit).  Constipation can be an issue during the early phases of the diet when carbohydrate consumption is extremely limited.

The Blood Type Diet

The Blood Type Diet is based on the theory that certain types of proteins (lectins) in foods will either be accepted or rejected by each of the blood types, and each blood type has certain foods that should be avoided.

The same reasoning applies to securing blood for a transfusion.  You can’t receive transfused blood with a blood type different from yours because your body will reject the lectins in the “mismatched” blood to the point where it can actually kill you.

This diet has had mixed results with some people feeling great, others having bad reactions, and some seeing no change at all.

The Mediterranean Diet

The Mediterranean Diet stresses fresh, local foods in season and includes meat, fish, vegetables, grains, nuts, seeds and fruits, with the fat of choice being olive oil.

It has pretty consistently been touted as a very healthy diet, and certainly the variety of foods in their freshest states contributes to that.

Vegetarian Diet

The term “vegetarian” can have a variety of meanings. 

Most vegetarians either completely avoid or severely restrict their intake of meat.  Some define vegetarianism as eating fish and/or poultry, but no red meat.  Some eat non-flesh proteins (like dairy and eggs) but no flesh of any kind.

The more strict level of vegetarianism (vegan) avoids all animal-derived products, including meat, poultry, fish, eggs, dairy and even honey in many instances.

With any level of vegetarianism, two of the main concerns are getting adequate protein and a possible vitamin B12 deficiency.  It requires good planning to ensure nutritional needs are met.

Raw Food Diet

This involves eating foods that are uncooked—sometimes including meat and fish.  Grains and beans must be sprouted before eating.

People living in warmer climates do better on this diet than those in sub-freezing temperatures, as there is less warmth generated from eating raw plant foods. 

The Ornish Diet

This is a very high plant- and grain-based diet, with almost no animal foods, and fats are limited to 10 percent of total intake or less. 

Inadequate fat intake is the primary concern here—fats are crucial to the nervous system (including your brain), and are necessary to make hormones, so endocrine disruptions can be an issue.

Which one is BEST?

The answer to that question is: It depends on what’s called your biochemical individuality.

Even though we humans are all put together very similarly, our bodies are also uniquely different—some of us require more of certain nutrients or types of foods than others.

That’s why NO ONE DIET is 100 percent perfect for everyone across the board.

The best diet for you is the one that makes you feel good and have enough energy, and allows you to control your weight.

As long as it provides a variety of nutrients, emphasizes real foods and limits processed, refined and fast foods, you’re on the right track.

What CAN help just about everyone

Having the best diet that works for you is only half of the nutrition picture.

The other half is making sure that your digestion is efficient so you’re actually absorbing and assimilating the nutrients you’re taking in, as well as curbing gas, bloating, heartburn and constipation.

There are two keys to efficient digestion:

1- Structuring your meals so your body can more easily break them down and

2- Giving your body some enzyme help if needed

The Great Taste No Pain health system can guide you on how to construct meals that are much easier for your system to digest.

Great Taste No Pain is NOT a diet—it is based on the dietary science of food combining which recognizes that different foods require different types of enzymes to be broken down…and when opposing enzymes (acid and alkaline) are present in the stomach together, they can weaken and neutralize each other.

When the initial phase of digestion isn’t accomplished by the stomach like it should be, this sets the stage for poor digestion through the whole GI tract.

Great Taste No Pain is versatile and can be used alongside virtually ANY kind of diet!  There are just a few meal-structuring points to remember, and what a difference it can make in how you feel after eating when you help your digestion to get off to a good start!

Now, if you’ve been suffering with digestive problems for a while, chances are good that your body may have expended a lot of enzymes trying to get the job done day in and day out.

Unfortunately, your enzyme resources are limited…and eventually you can reach the point where your body has trouble producing enough for your needs.

That’s when an enzyme boost from a supplement like Digestizol Max can make all the difference.

Digestizol Max contains a variety of 15 different plant-based enzymes (so it’s appropriate for meat eaters and vegetarians alike!) that can give your body some much-needed help in breaking down all of your meals and paving the way for smoother digestion.

Remember—no diet is one-size-fit-all.  Experiment and see what works best for you.

Just make sure your digestion is efficient so you’re deriving all of the awesome health benefits from the diet that’s right for you!

To your health,

Sherry Brescia