We like to stay on top of the latest news in functional medicine and nutrition. If you do too, you’ll find our monthly, easy-to-digest compilation of research and news articles right here. Check back regularly to find updates, or follow us through our newsletters and social media to ensure you don’t miss any.
Benefits of Ketogenic Diet Depend on Microbiome
Connecting Gut Microbiome SCFAs with Endogenous Insulin Production
Ketogenic Diet for Atrial Fibrillation?
Sleeping in Darkness May Improve Insulin Resistance
Simple But Effective – Baking Soda For Immune Flares
Probiotics Acting Like Vaccines Against Infectious Agents
Button Battery Ingestion – Honey Reduces Harmful Effects
Exercise Changes Genetic Propensity to Obesity
Benefits of Ketogenic Diet Depend on Microbiome
Don’t miss this incredibly important recent study, showing that certain benefits of the ketogenic diet are mediated via the MICROBIOME. In fact, in the treatment of epilepsy, the ketogenic diet ONLY WORKS if there are certain microbial groups present in the microbiome of the individual undergoing that dietary therapy. These bacteria alter the brain’s levels of GABA relative to glutamate. This understanding of a gut microbiome connection is ground breaking and potentially highly relevant for other therapeutic applications of the ketogenic diet.
Connecting Gut Microbiome SCFAs with Endogenous Insulin Production
Beneficial gut microbes produce compounds called short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) that are known to be a major source of energy for our own intestinal cells. These molecules are also absorbed into circulation and have effects at other sites in the body. One recently-uncovered, and important, example is their potential signaling effects on pancreatic beta-cells, our own insulin-producing cells which play a critical role in blood glucose management. Newly-discovered SCFA receptors on beta-cells are thought to play a role in signaling pathways that affect not only insulin secretion but also beta-cell health and survival. This has important implications for both type I and type II diabetes. We can encourage production of SCFAs in the intestine by consuming a clean diet, rich in prebiotic and probiotic foods.
Ketogenic Diet for Atrial Fibrillation?
In my opinion, a carefully-implemented ketogenic diet is worth trying for atrial fibrillation. New research shows that a particular inflammatory signaling pathway (the NLRP3 inflammasome) is involved in creating abnormal electrical patterns in the heart. Previous research has shown that ketone bodies can inhibit that same NLRP3 inflammasome.
Sleeping in Darkness May Improve Insulin Resistance
Do you sleep in total darkness? This may be important for keeping your blood sugar levels in check. It turns out that light exposure during sleep, even just for one night, may negatively impact your blood sugar metabolism and increase measures of insulin resistance.
Simple But Effective – Baking Soda For Immune Flares
An age-old naturopathic remedy that we use in our clinic for immune flares (autoimmune and mild allergy/histamine symptoms) is baking soda; ¼ tsp dissolved in a glass of water, taken every 15 minutes as needed up to a total of 1 tsp/d. Cheap, no frills, effective. Now, new animal + human research published in The Journal of Immunology provides some (more) evidence about why this works—baking soda appears, in part, to temper the response of mesothelial cells, little ‘sentinel’ cells that sense environmental stimuli and provide instructions to immune cells, and shift activity from pro- to anti-inflammatory via the spleen. In the study, human subjects were administered 0.43 tsp baking soda in 250 mL water, just shy of our typical dosing above. One caveat – don’t overuse, since baking soda blocks stomach acid activity, and adequate stomach acid is an important factor in a healthy gut and helps prevent histamine and food sensitivities from developing. Short term administration may increase stomach acid secretion, however.
Probiotics Acting Like Vaccines Against Infectious Agents
Are you unconvinced about the powerful effects that probiotics can have on your own health? This latest (pretty remarkable) research may just nudge you along… researchers at Harvard Medical School have produced a ‘safe’ version of the strain of cholera behind the 2010 Haiti outbreak, and have shown in animals that administration of this ‘probiotic’ strain prompts an adaptive immune response that protects against the pathogenic cholera strain. Just like a vaccine. Other animal research has shown that another probiotic, Lactococcus lactis, also has a protective effect against cholera. Not only is this a major potential advance in cholera prevention, but also teaches us about how probiotic microorganisms ‘train’ our immune systems to increase resilience.
Button Battery Ingestion – Honey Reduces Harmful Effects
Battery ingestion is becoming more common and dangerous, due to the increase in use of small electronics and because batteries are increasingly powerful. New research from the renowned Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia shows that lowly honey is especially helpful for reducing the caustic effects of battery ingestion (including esophageal perforation and ulcers), and should be “given as soon as possible and frequently after a battery has been swallowed,” and while seeking appropriate emergency medical care. 2 teaspoons every 10 minutes was the dosage used in their study.
Exercise Changes Genetic Propensity to Obesity
Being active for more than 150 minutes per week reverses a genetic propensity to weight gain and obesity in elderly women, according to genetic study data from the Women’s Health Initiative. As the authors state, “genetic predisposition to obesity is not wholly deterministic.” This is profound, and the basis for our work on the Methylation Diet and Lifestyle – that genes are not our destiny, and that epigenetic modulation (through methylation balance) optimizes healthy outcomes.
