Photo by Mai Le.

Q: My son’s pediatrician just prescribed antibiotics for what she thought was bronchitis. I thought the antibiotic choice was strange since I was prescribed the same one weeks earlier for a stubborn urinary tract infection. I usually take herbs for infections and know that different herbs are used for different bacterias. Isn’t there a way to match antibiotics with particular bacterias as they differ? Jaycn L. Austin, Texas

A: Great question, the answer is yes! There is a procedure referred to as culturing bacteria for sensitivity that is employed in the lab to distinguish specific strains of bacteria from one another. Once the strain is determined, the proper antibiotic is administered to eradicate infection.

Culturing for bacteria takes time and has been criticized by some seasoned professionals as stalling treatment. The argument some clinicians make is that they’ve seen so many similar cases, why waste time when they can simply treat? The value of culturing however that is often overlooked is that it also rules out whether or not the infection is of bacterial or viral origin. Consider earaches for instance. Most earaches and ear infections are initially caused by a virus. The bacteria can come later, but doesn’t always. The point is to properly distinguish bacterias from viruses to ensure the most precise care.

Although compounding research reveals antibiotic resistance continues to grow, antibiotic overuse remains a serious public health issue. Usually patients visit their health care provider wanting immediate treatment and answers. In response to an ailing patient before them, health care providers often prescribe antibiotics based upon the clinical presentation of signs and symptoms without culturing. This quick-draw approach to antibiotic use however contributes to the still growing issue of anti-biotic resistance.

Being your own advocate is the best advice I offer patients on this hot-button topic. Give your naturopath or Chinese health care provider a call to see if antibiotic use can be avoided. If it is in fact necessary, insist your provider culture the bacteria to best match the medicine with the specific strain. Remember, by protecting yourself and your family, you’re playing a larger role in preserving community health!

Got a question for us? Drop your tricky, random, wacky or plain confusing health question into the Suggest-O-Matic, leave a comment, or tag your tweet questions with #wellwire and our team of experts will answer them in this weekly column.

Christine M. Dionese L.Ac. specializes in integrative medicine, medical journalism and was the VP of marketing at WellWire LLC. Visit her wellness and lifestyle blog, Reaching Beyond Now.

Photo by yummy-porky.

When you indulge in a wonderful cheese or splendid wine, think about what’s making it taste so good: it’s rotting. Of course, in the case of the cheese or wine, the rot has taken place in a specific manner, allowing us to control the flavors.

We’ve been fermenting foods since we’ve been cooking to prevent and minimize spoilage and extend the life of our foods. When food is fermented, a bacteria or fungus is involved in breaking down the complex carbohydrates and sugars into by-products that give the food item a much more complex flavor, yet are often much more easily digestible.

With proper preparation, milk can become a thick yogurt, a satisfying buttermilk, an effervescent Kefir, a cooling Lassi, or a salty Ayran. A common milk allergenic substance like lactose is fermented by a bacteria, lactobacillis, making milk more easily digestible, even by those who are lactose intolerant.

Many cultures fermented grains to make drinks like beer. Beer can be made out of any grain from wheat and barley to millet and sorghum. Beyond being an alcoholic drink, fermented grains give us wonderful items like sourdough bread. The benefits of eating whole grains are known to most modern nutritionist as a good source of vitamins and minerals. Fermenting grains before cooking eliminates much of the mineral binding phytic acid.

It’s not just about the delicious flavor though–there is increased nutrient availability when legumes are fermented. Like grains, legumes contain many vitamins and minerals. But unlike grains, legumes also contain the essential omega 6 and omega 3 fatty acids. Many of us have repeated the childhood rhyme about the magical fruit (the more you eat, the more you toot). But if beans are prepared correctly through a soaking and fermentation process, gas is decreased.

Asian cultures most famously prepare the soybean through fermentation. From this process, tempeh, miso, and natto is made. Tempeh has a complex nutty flavor and can be grilled. Miso can be used for as a base for the traditional miso soup, or added to a marinade for your favorite fish. Natto has a very unique flavor that can take some getting used to, but it contains many beneficial substances like the clot busting nattokinase.

Vegetables are another category in which food is fermented. Most are familiar with sauerkraut’s astringent sour and crunchy texture. Some may have tried the pungent and spicy Korean kimchi. Both of these dishes are based on cabbage (which when eaten raw, tend to give people gas). When fermented, cabbage increases the gut nourishing amino acid, glutamine.

Although fermenting foods used to be a necessity, it is became an almost a lost art as food sterilization and refrigeration methods were developed. Today food fermentation is back as science has revealed the health benefits from more highly available nutrients, to the beneficial probiotics, and the more satisfying and appetite curbing fifth taste.

To find out more about how to become more involved in food fermentation you can:

• Join in on a community food fermentation class or club.
• Subscribe to a Tribe, Yahoo or Google Group.
• Pick up a copy of a Wild Fermentation or Nourishing Traditions cookbooks that contain lots of fermented food recipes.
• Purchase cultures to start making your own fermented foods.

Photo by auntjojo.

Many of my patients have good diets and pride themselves on eating healthy, but are unaware that something they are eating might be causing seemingly unrelated symptoms. We all know about food allergies, right? Like your cousin who is allergic to peanuts, or a friend of a friend that breaks out into a rash if she eats shellfish. But what about the more subtle food sensitivities that may not be as obvious and generally go undiagnosed?

Food allergies and food sensitivities are not the same thing.

• A food allergy is an immediate reaction where the offending food causes the IgE immune cells to respond immediately causing urticaria (hives), anaphylactic shock (an emergency situation where the windpipe closes), rhinitis (runny nose) and stomach problems.

• A food sensitivity is a delayed reaction where the offending food causes IgG immune cells to react and may take up to 3-7 days for your body to feel the effects.

When your immune system reacts to a food sensitivity, it creates a whole cascade of immune responses and inflammation in the body and can result in the following symptoms. This is by no means an exhaustive list, just the most common.

• migraine headache
• neurological disturbances
• eczema
• acne
• arthritis
• chronic inflammation
• joint pain
• systemic lupus erythematosus
• inflammatory bowel disease
• gall bladder disease
• asthma
• irritable bowel syndrome
• childhood hyperactivity
• behavioral disturbances in children
• sinus congestion
• indigestion
• intestinal gas
• diarrhea/constipation
• general fatigue.

How to test for food sensitivities
There are many ways to test for food sensitivities and everyone has different tests that they favor. I’ve listed the 3 which I use and feel are the best ways to identify a food sensitivity. Talk to your Naturopathic Doctor or health care practitioner to get guidance with the following techniques.

• Enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) test. The ELISA is the most popular (conventional) blood test to detect food sensitivities, and is considered safe, economical, and highly sensitive.  It uses an enzyme bonding process to detect antibody levels measuring IgE, IgG, IgG4 and IgA antibodies, and so identifies both food allergies and food sensitivities. Basically at the end of the day you get a nice handout showing the majority of foods and how strongly your body reacts to them on a graded scale. It’s visual, clear and easy to follow.
• EAV (vega testing). This electro-acupuncture diagnostic method out of Germany uses a galvanometer designed to measure the skin’s electrical activity at designated acupuncture points in response to specific foods. This technique purports to measure both general allergic pathology and specific food sensitivity.  In order for this technique to gain wider acceptance, more research and clinical trials will have to be conducted, and a scientifically satisfactory explanation of its mode of operation will have to be developed.
• Elimination/challenge diet. The most low tech solution and probably my favorite. The elimination and challenge diet is designed to omit suspected food intolerance’s and irritants from the diet for 7 to 14 days.  Once this is done, it is possible to introduce certain suspected food irritants or intolerances one at a time back into the diet, while checking for adverse reactions.  Ideally, the diet should be set up so that foods in the same family are not repeated within a 3-day period.

I promised my long distance patients some guidelines of how to go through an elimination diet. So, download the elimination diet handout and tape it to your fridge; have your last supper then go for it! Patients, definitely email me if you have any questions or need help getting through it.

Dr. Nishant Rao is a co-founder of WellWire.com. He is a well-traveled naturopathic doctor and new father, practicing an integrative approach to create wellness in and around Los Angeles. Become a patient or discover his practice.

Photo courtesy of food inc.

If you haven’t seen Food Inc, you should. The documentary was featured on Oprah this week and on Oprah.com last year. The film is powerful, and guaranteed to change the way you shop and look at food forever. Here’s what one of our followers on Twitter, @ginarau said about the movie:

“Food, Inc was brilliant, horrific, inspiring, frustrating, moving…overall an emotional experience that I hope non-foodies see”

So, here’s 10 simple things you can do to change our food system:

1. Drink fewer sodas and sweetened beverages.
2. Eat at home more often, instead of eating out.
3. Support the passage of state and local laws to require chain restaurants to post calorie information on menus and menu boards.
4. Tell schools to stop selling sodas, junk food and sports drinks.
5. Meatless Mondays or Meatless Wednesdays. Go without meat one day a week!
6. Buy organic or sustainable foods with little to no pesticide use.
7. Protect family farms; visit your local farmer’s market.
8. Make a point to know where your food comes from (read labels!)
9. Tell Congress that food safety is important to you.
10. Demand job protection and fair wages for farm workers and food processors.

In Food, Inc., filmmaker Robert Kenner lifts the veil on our nation’s food industry, exposing the highly mechanized underbelly that has been hidden from the American consumer with the consent of our government’s regulatory agencies, USDA and FDA. Our nation’s food supply is now controlled by a handful of corporations that often put profit ahead of consumer health, the livelihood of the American farmer, the safety of workers and our own environment. We have bigger-breasted chickens, the perfect pork chop, herbicide-resistant soybean seeds, even tomatoes that won’t go bad, but we also have new strains of E. coli—the harmful bacteria that causes illness for an estimated 73,000 Americans annually. We are riddled with widespread obesity, particularly among children, and an epidemic level of diabetes among adults.

Dr. Nishant Rao is a co-founder of WellWire.com. He is a well-traveled naturopathic doctor and new father, practicing an integrative approach to create wellness in and around Los Angeles. Become a patient or discover his practice.

Photo by hshap.

Did you know that creator of Dannon yogurt, Daniel Carasso, died in May of 2009 at the age of 103? Find out why you should play in the fermented milk pantheon and how to make smarter probiotic purchases with Dr. Kassam.

Dr. Natasha Kassam is dedicated to facilitating the healing and wellbeing of her patients. Her passion is cardiovasular and pulmonary medicine. She practices at Bloom Natural Healthcare in NE Portland Oregon and is the host of askdrkassam.com.

Photo by RRB62.

One of my patients used to joke that the only thing nutritional supplements offered him was really expensive pee. But a well designed nutraceutical program will compliment and enhance a balanced diet if you follow these simple rules.

The rule of all rules when it comes to nutritional supplements is developing a thorough understanding of what you’re taking so you know when to take it. Our ability to absorb nutritional supplements completely relies on each of these important factors: time of day, with food, between meals, and how soon after eating.

Fat Soluble Vitamins

Vitamins A, D, E, and K are fat soluble. In supplemental form they must be ingested along with a meal or food containing some type of fat (preferably non-saturated and essential). Why? The body can absorb the highest amount of the nutrients possible in the small intestine if it rides along the GI tract with a little fat. I suggest a piece of toast with nut butter, or about 3 ounces of meat. Skipping the fat and swallowing the nutrients alone, makes my patient’s joke true!

Water Soluble Vitamins

Unlike the others, both vitamins B and C are soluble in water. Although it is just fine to take these two with food, it isn’t necessary for maximum absorption. Because neither of these are stored in the body, it’s necessary for you to seek your daily source from food or supplementation. Water soluble vitamins are also a touch more sensitive to temperature and light than fat soluble so be sure to store these supplements in a cool dark area.

Tip

Noticing you’re under a lot of stress or feeling a bit of anxiety? Because water soluble vitamins need replenishing on a daily basis, if you’re not eating a well balanced diet, you may be experiencing a deficiency. The nervous system heavily relies on a steady stream of B vitamins to carry out it’s job; it’s biggest of which is helping you achieve a sense of overall well-being. Consider a high quality B complex if you’re under a lot of stress while incorporating a variety of foods packed with vitamin B such as leafy greens, eggs, berries, and brown rice.

Digestive Enzymes

These specialized enzymes help us feel better after eating. Not only do they come to the rescue after eating a large meal, they also enhance nutrient delivery from our food to our bodies. Because the digestive process begins the moment we get a whiff of something delicious on the stove, digestive enzymes are generally best taken just before you sit down to eat.

Minerals

Size is the issue with mineral supplementation. Ever stand before the mineral section in the health food store wondering which of the six calciums is right for you? When it comes to mineral absorption, the smaller the mineral, the better your chances of absorbing it. We absorb nutrients in the small intestine through little finger-like projections barely detectable by the human eye. Now picture trying to squeeze a golf-ball through a straw. Same goes for minerals if they’re too large. Large molecules simply pass by the small intestine, missing their chance for absorption.

Calcium is one the best examples. If you turn to the label located on the back of those calcium supplements you’ll notice something written in parentheses. For maximum absorption, consider choosing a calcium that’s been prepared as an aspartate or citrate. These smaller molecules are easily grabbed by those fingers offering you the best results!

Tip

Nutritional supplements that concentrate on supplying vitamins and minerals are generally best absorbed when ingested in divided doses throughout the day with your meals. Know how you feel tired after devouring a huge meal? Well, your bod is tired on the inside too! If you’ve just eaten a huge meal and try throwing a handful of vitamins down your gullet, chances of maximum absorption are decreased by over half. This is due to certain enzymatic processes kicking in to digest the big heap of food you’ve just dumped in. Just another of the many reasons to treat your body better with smaller more frequent meals!

Smaller, more frequent meals allow the body to absorb more nutrients from your food overall. The benefits of well balanced, smaller meals means increased energy, less fatigue, and fewer nutritional supplements for you! At your next visit to the naturopath or Chinese medical provider’s office, discuss if the nutritional supplements you’re taking are the most absorbable and best suited to your needs!

Christine M. Dionese L.Ac. specializes in integrative medicine, medical journalism and was the VP of marketing at WellWire LLC. Visit her wellness and lifestyle blog, Reaching Beyond Now.

Photo by John1710.

If you’ve read this you might want to go vegetarian. We are what we eat so how about the animals we eat?

When cattle is raised on grains and pumped full of antibiotics, it changes the overall health of the animals, obviously. Because cows were designed to chew the cud (grass!) grain-fed cattle have much more disease, which large farms treat with antibiotics. The animal fat in cattle develops into the artery clogging, saturated fats. On the other hand, when gorging themselves on a a natural diet of fresh grass, cattle have a much higher ratio of essential fatty acids, like omega 3′s, making a burger or steak almost equal in healthy fats to a piece of salmon or cod. All those colorful blades of grass also increase the amount of healthy and cardiovascular protecting carotenoids like beta-carotene. For me, the choice is clear.

You’ve heard that salmon is good for your heart. Degradation of those benefits occurs when salmon, like feed-lot raised cattle, are farm-raised. Why? In these pens, salmon are fed the equivalent of grain diet. The grains, like in cattle, change the good fat, bad fat ratio to the bad side of the spectrum. Farm raised salmon also has very low amounts of those anti-oxidant pigments making their flesh so gray and discolored that food coloring is added to the feed. In addition any toxins like dioxins and PCBs that are in these grain diets, accumulate in the fish, making them sometimes much more dangerous to your health than tuna.

All this makes shopping for beef and salmon much more complicated. Here are my tips:

• Make sure the beef you buy is not only grass-fed but also grass-finished. The label grass fed means very little health-wise if the rancher sends the cattle to the feed-lot to finish and fatten them up before selling them.

• Make sure you salmon is labeled wild salmon and if being sold fresh, that it’s in season. Wild salmon is caught between May and October. If you see fresh salmon for sale in December, it probably isn’t wild. If it’s not labeled wild you should assume it’s farmed. Look for the designation.

Dr. Gibran Ramos completed his six year training and internship in Naturopathic and Chinese Medicine at National College of Natural Medicine. Dr. Ramos helps patients transform their lives and optimize their well-being at a private practice in Portland, Oregon.

Photo by Vali.

In 2003, the average American consumed 44 teaspoons of sugar a day. That translates to 142 pounds of sugar annually. That’s more than 7 times the recommended maximum intake of 6 teaspoons daily.

Chronic ailments like diabetes and obesity result from sugar over-consumption. Many people have turned to other sweeteners. The following is your guide to the most common alternatives:

Artificial sweeteners

Aspartame is the active ingredient in NutraSweet® and Equal®). Aspartame is 200 times sweeter than sugar and made by combining two amino acids (aspartic acid + phenylalanine) with the alcohol methanol. Alone, the two amino acids are harmless, but when transformed chemically by the toxic wood alcohol, the resultant artificial sweetener’s safety is questionable. Author and neurologist Russel L. Blaylock, states that metabolized Aspartame overexcites the brain’s neurons. This can lead to neuronal death, seizures, alzheimer’s and Lou Gehrig’s Disease (ALS). Some scientists have found that aspartame breaks down into formaldehyde (used to embalm cadavers) and accumulates in the body. NutraSweet® is found in over 5,000 products so read your labels.

Saccharin is found in such sugar alternatives such as Sweet’ N Low®. Saccharin is known by the chemical name benzoic sulfinide and is derived from coal tar. There are no calories or food energy obtained from saccharin because it can’t be metabolized by the body. Its super-sweet (200-700 more sweet than sugar) taste can induce insulin release by the pancreas and wreak havoc on blood sugar. Saccharin’s safety came into question the 1970s when male rats ingested large quantities. They formed toxic silicate crystals and developed bladder cancer.  Since 2000, the US government has removed saccharin from a list of potential cancer causing substances. Center for Science in the Public Interest immediately posted a press release that calls into question the delisting.

Sucralose is found in artificial sweeteners such as Splenda®. It is extremely sweet- an estimated 600 times more so than sugar. Sucrolose is manufactured by adding chlorine to sucrose (table sugar). Like aspartame and saccharin, sucralose is not metabolized into energy and thus makers of Splenda label it as a no calorie sweetener, it actually contains 3.31 calories per gram or 96 calories and 32 grams of carbohydrates per cup because of the added bulking agents dextrose or maltodextrin. The concern with sucralose comes from the chlorine that is added to the sucrose. This combination was discovered when trying to formulate a new pesticide. Long-term studies have not been done on the safety of sucralose yet chloride based organic compounds, like DDT, are considered dangerous.

Natural alternative sweeteners

Agave syrup (aka Agave necter) is a naturally heated and concentration of aguamiel in the sap of the Agave plant. This syrup is 1.5 times sweeter then sugar and contains magnesium, iron, calcium and potassium and can be used to sweeten recipe.  Agave has a low glycemic index and glycemic load. This is because it is composed of 90% fructose and 10% glucose. Of this, only glucose is measured in the rating system. This can make agave tricky for diabetics to use. The only other product in which fructose is this high is in high-fructose corn syrup. Additionally, most agave is produced in Mexico and before being shipped to the US it is sometimes diluted with corn syrup to increase the volume. Make sure you’re buying high quality agave. High fructose consumption is associated with reduced insulin receptor sensitivity, fatty liver disease, liver cirrhosis and oxidative cellular damage. Be cautious- even with this natural sweetener.

Stevia goes by the chemical name of stevioside (rebaudioside A) and is extracted from the stevia plant. Stevia is about 250 times more sweet than sugar. Stevia can be used by diabetics and those on a low carbohydrate diet  as it does not greatly affect blood glucose. It  also enhances glucose tolerance. This alternative sweetener can also be used to treat obesity and hypertension, but keep in mind it’s not completely safe. Like anything in excess, high doses of stevia have been associated with decreased sperm counts in men and interference of proper carbohydrate metabolism.

So what’s the smartest choice? Next time you bake a tray of cookies, try an alternative recipe that uses a natural sweetener. It’s healthy to return to the basics and eat whole foods. Stick to the natural concentrations of sugars found in fruits and vegetables. When consumed as whole food, sugars are absorbed slowly due to the high fiber content.

Dr. Gibran Ramos completed his six year training and internship in Naturopathic and Chinese Medicine at National College of Natural Medicine. Dr. Ramos helps patients transform their lives and optimize their well-being at a private practice in Portland, Oregon.

Photo by the half blood prince.

Antacids may be hurting you more than you think.

Heartburn, Reflux, GERD, dyspepsia. It’s a common symptom but a poorly understood process. With products like Tums at our disposal (which work by masking what is really happening) it is no wonder this simple information isn’t more widespread.

When most people think reflux the first thing that comes to mind is acid.  Stomach acid, or HCl (hydrochloric acid) is truly caustic stuff with a pH of around 2.  Most peoples’ solution to heartburn is to take Tums, or worse, strong proton pump inhibitors (such as prilosec) which only shuts down the digestive system even further. But there is a lot more to this equation than heart burn + tums = relief.

The first misunderstanding is that the main cause for reflux is an overabundance of stomach acid.  Understand that having adequate stomach acid in the first place is one of the foundational components of good digestion. It is not strictly the quantity of acid which contributes to reflux.

In fact, adequate acid levels are what keeps the LES (lower esophageal sphincter, also called cardiac sphincter) taut thus preventing the acid reflux, while lower acid levels make the LES loose, hence more of the acid reflux.  The reality is that the majority of people have low stomach acid, and prilosec and other antacids are over-prescribed which only further lowers acid that is already too low.  An unfortunate vicious cycle.

I am going to touch on the concept of cause vs symptom here because it is very relevant in this case.  The symptom under investigation is the simple but terrible burning you feel in your chest.  The cause is a complicated beast.  To understand the cause we need to look at several variables.  There are three  mains components as follows:

• The LES, which is supposed to keep the contents of your stomach in place, is weakened.  The LES works as a one way valve allowing food into your stomach.  During digestion the valve should be shut, keeping the stomach contents and acid in place.  This is the primary physiology of reflux, NOT an overabundance of stomach acid.  How does the LES weaken? Read on.
• Weak LES function can be due to sluggish digestion, being overweight or pregnancy.  One component of sluggish digestion is that the pH of the stomach can change to 3-4.  This is a huge difference from a pH of 2 (due to complex logarithmic math) and is absolutely not ideal for digestion.
  • An acid of pH 3-4 will still burn like fire to your esophagus.  It is very important that you understand this because a sluggish digestion is one of the causes of reflux which is characterized by low pH HCl.
  • When you body is not in digestion mode, the LES relaxes, and this low pH stomach acid creeps up giving you heart burn.
• Weak LES function can also be linked to a lack of parasympathetic (feed and breed) nervous tone during eating.  This can be due to eating on the go, chronic stress and the ensuing weak adrenal system
• Avoid the following foods because a weakened LES will be more likely to react to the following irritating foods
  • Caffeine
  • Nicotine
  • Alcohol
  • Chocolate
  • Citrus fruits
  • Fatty or fried foods
  • Garlic
  • Onions
  • Mint flavorings
  • Spicy foods
  • Tomato based foods

If you have been with me so far you’ll understand the problem is not the quantity of acid itself, but the system within which it is functioning.  The lower esophageal sphincter is the problem here which you now know is linked to the process of digestion.  The treatment then has to focus not on the symptom of heart burn, but on the multifactorial reasons contributing to it. Elementary, my dear Watson.

What can you do? Try these basic food eating principles:

Dr. Nishant Rao is a co-founder of WellWire.com. He is a well-traveled naturopathic doctor and new father, practicing an integrative approach to create wellness in and around Los Angeles. Become a patient or discover his practice.

Photo by slj tribe.

The following six simple rules apply to heart burn and can help with other digestive complaints too:

• Rule #1:  Don’t rush your meals! Take the time to prepare your food and don’t eat while driving or walking. Your digestion is a complicated process and involves more that just stuffing your face. Digestion starts with the actual aromas of food. Taking the time to cook your own meals allows for this phase of digestion called the gastrocephalic (literally digestive-head) phase. You have probably experienced this when you notice yourself salivating when you smell something delicious. If you make your own food this automatically happens. Physiologically your stomach starts secreting acid and digestive enzymes as does your saliva. When giving in to fast food, you are skipping this vital part of digestion.
• Rule #2: Take 10 slow breaths before eating, 3 seconds in, 6 seconds out. Many people don’t come down from their stressful lives when they eat. This also stunts your digestion and places you in a sympathetic dominant nervous tone. This is the part of your nervous system which deals with stress, bring your body back to the relaxed parasympathetic phase by doing this breathing exercise.
• Rule #3:  Take 1 tablespoon of apple cider vinegar in water 20 minutes before meals. This will help jump start your digestion and improve the overall assimilation of nutrients.
• Rule #4:  Manage your stress
• Rule #5:  Enjoy your food!
  
• Rule #6: Eat the Rainbow eating a variety of foods helps reduce the likelihood of food sensitivities.

Dr. Nishant Rao is a co-founder of WellWire.com. He is a well-traveled naturopathic doctor and new father, practicing an integrative approach to create wellness in and around Los Angeles. Become a patient or discover his practice.

Photo by sarahheiman.

I’m in the US for a few days this week visiting my in-laws and just realized it’s labor day weekend! You know what that means: hot dogs!

The problem is that eating a lot of hot dogs can equal cancer of the colon, pancreas and COPD. It’s not the hot dogs themselves of course, it’s the cancer-causing sodium nitrite, a food preserving chemical that should have been, and almost was, banned in the 1970s by the USDA.

But hey, it’s labor day and I’m definitely going to eat a hot dog or two. Or three. Soon I’ll be back in Thailand and who knows when I’ll see another hot dog? I’ve made a list of alternative healthy dogs and condiments that we’ll have at our table this weekend because they don’t have to be unhealthy:

• Nitrite-free hot dogs like Applegate Farms
  
• Raw sauerkraut
• Grainy mustard
• Some home made ketchup sauce 
• Local arugula
• A toasty sprouted bun or a corn tortilla if you’re feeling really daring
• A gluten free beer

It’s good to be back in the US this weekend. A happy labor day weekend everyone and let us know what you’re grilling in the comment section!

Dr. Nishant Rao is a co-founder of WellWire.com. He is a well-traveled naturopathic doctor and new father, practicing an integrative approach to create wellness in and around Los Angeles. Become a patient or discover his practice.

Photo by darkpatator.

When it comes to staying hydrated, you have three options:

1. Tap/well water
2. Bottled water
3. Filtered water

To make a long story short, your tap water is a mess. In a national assessment of tap water quality by the Environmental Working group of 42 states in the U.S., 260 contaminants were found in the tap water including:

• Volatile organic chemicals (51 pesticides, chemicals, herbicides): VOC’s are found in urban areas due to industrialization and rural areas due to agriculture. Health effects include cancer, nervous system damage, liver and kidney damage, and reproductive system damage.
• Disinfection by-products (trihalomethanes, chloropicrin, haloacetonitriles, haloketones, tribromoacetic acid): These are the by-products that are created when chlorine is added to tap water.  Health effects include rectal and bladder cancer, liver and kidney damage, and reproductive damage.
• Endocrine disruptors (PCBs, chlordane, toxaphene): These are industrial chemicals that are dumped into our ecosystem. They are thought to interfere with and damage the hormonal system which can cause a wide range of problems including cancer, birth defects, fertility issues, endometriosis, damage to the immune system and lowered IQ.
• Heavy metals (lead and mercury): Health effects includes damage to the kidneys, liver, nervous system, reproductive system, cardiovascular system, gastrointestinal system and damage to developing fetuses. Lead is highly toxic to infants and pregnant women causing many problems including reduced weight, damage to hearing, hyperactivity, lower IQ, learning disabilities and restlessness.

Bottled Water

Unfortunately, we are under the assumption that we’re paying for bottled water because it must be cleaner than our tap water. That is not always true. The FDA regulates bottled water and they use almost the same standards set by the USEPA for tap water. This means bottled water is often not much different from tap water. In fact, 25% of the time, bottled water is taken from a municipal source which means it’s coming from the same place as tap water.

Another pretty annoying thing about bottled water is that all the plastic leaches into the water in the form of phthalates that wreak havoc on your hormonal system, similar to the endocrine disruptors listed above.

Not only is bottled water bad for your body, but all of these plastic bottles are littering the oceans and clogging our landfills. Go to Natural Resource Defense Council to get more info on bottled water.

Filtered water

I think filtering your own tap or well water is the best way to go. It’s better for your health, the planet and your wallet.

Here’s how to choose a filter:

• Solid Carbon Block- The filter that I use and recommend to patients, friends and family is the Multi-pure solid carbon filter.  Solid carbon doesn’t remove the beneficial minerals (calcium, magnesium, potassium), doesn’t add salt of silver to the water, doesn’t waste water and doesn’t require electricity. These are fairly easy to install under or above the sink and the cartridge is changed infrequently so it can be quite economical in the long run as you save money on replacement cartridges.
  • How does it work? The solid carbon block filter is tightly packed carbon that physically filters as well as electrokinetically absorbing particles so it is able to filter out the widest range of contaminants of all filter technologies.
    
  • What does it reduce?
    • VOCs
    • Microscopic cysts
    • lead
    • mercury
    • disinfection by-products
    • endocrine disputers
    • arsenic
    • asbestos
    • chlorine
    • particulate matter
    • cholamines

• Granular Activated Carbon (GAC) - Brita is the most commonly used brand. These filters mostly work to make the water taste and look better.  Since the water can form channels around the loose carbon, this technology is fairly limited and is not effective at reducing VOCs, disinfection byproducts, endocrine disruptors, or heavy metals.  They can be cheap initially, but the cartridges usually require frequent replacement, which ends up being more expensive than other technologies in the long run.
  • How does it work? These are used in the more popular carafe filters, faucet attachments and refrigerator filters.  Water passes through a loose bed of carbon which traps contaminants.
  • What does it reduce?
    • particulate matter
    • chlorine

• Reverse Osmosis (RO) RO is usually paired with granular activated carbon to remove chlorine. This system is slow and wastes a considerable amount of water. It has multiple cartridges which need to be replaced and does not reduce VOCs, disinfection by-products and endocrine disrupters.
  • How does it work? This technology is a semipermeable membrane that separates impurities from water.
  • What does it reduce?
    • Microscopic cysts
    • Heavy metals
    • Arsenic
    • Asbestos
    • Particulate matter
    • Calcium, Magnesium, Potassium (beneficial minerals)

• Distillation This is slow and uses a lot of electricity.  It does not reduce many chemicals including VOCs, disinfection by-products, or endocrine disrupters.
  • How does it work? This technology basically boils water and then re-condenses the steam.
  • What does it reduce?
    • Heavy metals
    • Arsenic
    • Particulate matter
    • Calcium, Magnesium, Potassium (beneficial minerals)
    • Distillation is slow and uses a lot of electricity.
    • It does not reduce many chemicals including VOCs, disinfection by-products, or endocrine disrupters.

• Ceramic Filter - Ceramic Filters are unable to filter many chemicals including VOCs, disinfection byproducts, endocrine disrupters or heavy metals.
  • How does it work?  Water is mechanically filtered as it is forced through the pores of a ceramic media.
  • What does it reduce?
    • Microscopic cysts
    • Asbestos
    • Particulate matter

• Ultraviolet treatment- UV radiation is only able to kill certain bacteria and microorganism and is not effective at reducing any other types of contaminants.
  • How does it work?  Water passes through a chamber and is exposed to ultraviolet light.
  • What does it reduce?
    • Parasites
    • Bacteria

• Water Softeners – Water softeners do not filter or purify water.
  • How does it work?  Via ion exchange, puts sodium in the water to take out calcium and magnesium, hence “softening” hard water.
  • What does it reduce?
    • Calcium and Magnesium which forms mineral deposits in plumbing fixtures.

What questions should I ask when shopping for a water filter?

1. Is the filter certified by NSF? NSF is a not-for-profit third party testing organization that basically makes sure that the filter actually does what the company claims.  Without this certification, you cannot be sure that the company’s contaminant reduction claims are true.
2. Is the system certified by NSF to reduce the following contaminants? Ask for the product performance data sheet.  This is required to be provided to all customers.
3. Is there a warranty on the filter housing?
4. How long has the company been in business?
5. How often does the replacement cartridge need to be replaced?
6. What is the cost of replacement cartridges?
7. Are the cartridges easy to replace?
8. What is the flow rate? You want to make sure your filter isn’t a slow poke.  A good flow rate is 0.75-1.0 gallon per minute.

Well there you have it.  I know your head may be spinning by now, so just relax and let your brain slowly digest all of this info, and good luck with your quest for clean water for you and your family.

Dr. Nishant Rao is a co-founder of WellWire.com. He is a well-traveled naturopathic doctor and new father, practicing an integrative approach to create wellness in and around Los Angeles. Become a patient or discover his practice.