Health News (Week 26 – 2017)
By Robert Redfern
Old People’s Diseases
When most people hear of Liver Diseases they usually think of older people abusing their liver for many years with a few alcoholic drinks too many. I have written for many years that old people’s diseases are not really the domain of getting older.
Rather it is more noticeable in older people because they have spent many more years following an unhealthy lifestyle.
Everyone thinks their lifestyle is relatively healthy but the doctor’s surgeries and hospitals tell a different story. The medical budgets of most western countries are leading to a massive drain on the economy.
Young People
For many years I have been reading that liver diseases are increasing in young adults which has been wrongly attributed specifically to the alcohol drinking culture. While I agree alcohol is part of the problem it is not the main factor.
Even Younger People…
Now paediatric endocrinologists that test the liver of children are finding early signs of liver disease. This is crazy and what sort of a future will our children and grandchildren have if they are starting their life with so-called, ‘Old People’s Diseases’?
Liver Disease was Never an Alcoholic’s Disease
Sure, some alcoholics get liver diseases but there are almost no studies into their diet and previously no long-term studies into other factors that cause liver diseases.
Most studies into nutrition are financed by the same food industry that many doctors are now denouncing as the cause of the diseases they see daily. However, it is all changing and independent studies are now influencing doctors to identify sugar as a serious toxin.
Most senior doctors (not in the pay of food or drug companies) are now clear that sugar is the cause of many diseases including liver disease and even dementia. Sugar and its evil friend, fructose, are stealing our lives and the future lives of our young people. (NB Pharma Drugs can also damage your liver, Google them).
Yes, a little less alcohol is good for the liver but it is a whole lot less sugar for all of us and our children who over-indulge. It’s now time for us all to ‘love your liver’.
We should appreciate the liver and its critical role in our health. It is one of the hardest working organs in the body responsible for so many jobs.
Just a few of them include: detoxification (including alcohol), regulating blood sugar, essential cholesterol production, storing essential vitamins, protein and amino acid synthesis, helping digestion, regulating red blood cells, regulating insulin and other hormones, producing anti-ageing IGF-1 factors (hopefully) and many MANY more.
You may recognise many symptoms of an overworked liver and they include:
Allergies in everyone at any age, fatigue, acne, boils, rashes, facial or chest breakouts, unexplained anger or other overwhelming moods or emotions, bruising, swelling of abdomen/ankles/feet, dark urine, nose/sinus or chest congestion, gallbladder flare-ups or issues, insomnia, restless or rough sleep, right shoulder stiffness, fuzzy or foggy vision, and headaches.
Now you see why your liver is critical and needs more than a little love!
The simplest thing to do is stop all starchy carbs, high sugar foods, high sugar drinks and alcohol of course.
In a couple of months or so it will sorted itself out. That is one of the amazing things – that it can regenerate itself as long as we keep off the stuff that damaged it. You will soon feel the benefits which include:
- Better memory and attention
- Healthier looking skin
- Improvement in those aching muscles
- More energy
How much sugar are you consuming?
Putting Sugar In Perspective
If you have never taken the time to examine sugar and carbohydrates in your diet, you may be shocked. You may be eating what many consider a healthy diet, but carbohydrates are filling your body full of unnecessary sugar that can quickly lead to toxicity. This is the ultimate sugar trap.
Here are some examples of hidden sources of sugar in the diet:
- 1 cup of milk – 2 teaspoons of sugar
- 1 bowl of breakfast cereal with milk – 8 teaspoons of sugar
- 1 cup of cooked rice – 9 teaspoons of sugar
- 1 banana – 5 teaspoons of sugar
- 1 baked potato without skin – 7 teaspoons of sugar
- 1 sweet potato – 8 teaspoons of sugar
- 2 slices of bread – 4 teaspoons of sugar
- 1 cup of strawberries – 2.5 teaspoons of sugar
- 1 soft drink – 8 teaspoons of sugar
It’s clear to see that empty carbohydrates in the diet should be avoided. This includes processed foods, white rice, potatoes, pastas, breads, cereals, soft drinks and pastries.
Use the Glycaemic index (not the Glycaemic Load) to follow a ketogenic diet for 30 days and only consume foods that are less than 25 on the scale.
You can help speed up this recovery with various nutrients, some of which you may already take:
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Curcumin – helps an inflamed liver, aids digestion and improves bile production to clear out excess fats. To find out more about how Curcumin can help your liver (and health in general) click here for a free download of my Curcumin Book. Curcumin has been proven in studies to help support the liver.
Alpha Lipoic Acid-R – Is nature’s best detox and a remarkable antioxidant which breathes new life into the vitamin(s) stores in your liver. Better still it supports glutathione, the heavyweight champion of antioxidants. ALA-R has been proven in studies to help support the liver.
Liver Balance Formula – Is the ‘ultimate’ botanical support for your liver.
SAM-e Plus – is a completely natural product and has the added benefits of magnesium, 5-htp, milk thistle extract and chamomile flower extract. In case of liver disorders it takes care of the faster destruction and elimination of the toxins. SAM-e supports the repair of cells.
If you have any questions about your liver, these products or just your health in general feel free to contact me at the top.
Look after your liver!
Remember:
A Strong Healthy Body come from a Healthy Lifestyle – Look after your liver and it will look after you.
Don’t forget to include milk thistle for liver health!!!!
Chemist ..betsy
The recommended diet for those who have been hungry for sweets is too extreme. Not everyone (liver problems or not) can follow this. Anyone who can follow the ketogenic diet – you are lucky and nothing more. Those persons who cannot eat such a restricted diet – they are not moral failures.
We are not just a bunch of machines that you pour the necessary fuels and lubricants into and then we’re good to go. We are human beings – with a genetic history, with cravings, with metabolisms that are not like the next guy’s. What is my point? My point is that some things need to be treated with medicine/supplements + adding good things to the diet instead of just constantly restricting restricting restricting. Some people will ultimately rebel and go back to their former diet of excess. We need some sort of balance. Also, referring to the carbohydrates in milk, rice or potatoes as “sugar” is not correct.
I would add MSM, a source of sulfur, to any diet.
Thank you for considering my viewpoint.
Hi Wyandotte, thank you for your comments. Yes it can be difficult to make significant changes to the diet, but when chronic diseases are in question the ketogenic diet, for example, can be the quickest short term approach to kick start the metabolic changes. It isn’t intended, for most people, as a long term dietary approach. Not all sugars act the same in the body, but the body does turn all carbohydrates into glucose, which in turn has an effect on our blood sugar levels.