What is HRT? HRT and Hormones Explained

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In this short video, Dr. Sophie Newton explains how menopausal HRT, sometimes called just MHT, is the use of exogenous (didn’t come from your body) to replace/supplement the endogenous hormones (made in your body) that aren’t being made in the quantities that would result in ideal health.

Bioidentical hormones are, as the name suggests, chemically identical to those made in the body; there is no difference, all the way down to the atomic structure.

People are understandably wary of “putting chemicals into the body”, but in fact, everything is a chemical and those chemicals are also found in your body, just not in the numbers that we might always like.

In the case of hormones, these chemical messengers are simply there to tell cells what to do, so having the correct amount of hormones ensures that all the cells that need to get a certain message, get it.

In the case of estrogen specifically, while it’s considered a sex hormone (and it is), it’s responsible for a lot more than just the reproductive system, which is why many people without correct estrogen levels (such as peri- or post-menopause, though incorrect levels can happen earlier in life for other reasons too) can severely feel their absence in a whole stack of ways.

What ways? More than we can list here, but some are discussed in the video:

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  • The Food Additive You Do Want

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    Q: When Is A Fiber Not A Fiber?

    A: when it’s a resistant starch. What’s it resistant to? Digestion. So, it functions as though a fiber, and by some systems, may get classified as such.

    It’s a little like how sucralose is technically a sugar, but the body processes it like a fiber (but beware, because the sweetness of this disaccharide alone can trigger an insulin response anyway—dose dependent)

    There may be other problems too:

    But today’s not about sucralose, it’s about…

    Guar gum’s surprising dietary role

    You may have noticed “guar gum” on the list of ingredients of all kinds of things from baked goods to dairy products to condiments to confectionary and more.

    It’s also used in cosmetics and explosives, but let’s not focus on that.

    It’s used in food products as…

    • a bulking agent
    • a thickener
    • a stabilizer

    Our attention was caught by a new study, that found:

    Resistant starch intake facilitates weight loss in humans by reshaping the gut microbiota

    Often people think of “fiber helps weight loss” as “well yes, if you are bulking out your food with sawdust, you will eat less”, but it’s not that.

    There’s an actual physiological process going on here!

    We can’t digest it, but our gut microbiota can and will ferment it. See also:

    Fiber against pounds: Resistant starch found to support weight loss

    Beyond weight loss

    Not everyone wants to lose weight, and even where weight loss is a goal, it’s usually not the only goal. As it turns out, adding guar gum into our diet does more things too:

    Resistant starch supplement found to reduce liver triglycerides in people with fatty liver disease

    (specifically, this was about NAFLD, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease)

    Digging a little, it seems the benefits don’t stop there either:

    Diet high in guar gum fiber limits inflammation and delays multiple sclerosis symptoms

    (this one was a rodent study, but still, it’s promising and it’s consistent with what one would expect based on what else we know about its function in diet)

    Should we just eat foods with guar gum in as an additive?

    That depends on what they are, but watch out for the other additives if you do!

    You can just buy guar gum by itself, by the way (here’s an example product on Amazon).

    It’s doubtlessly no fun to take as a supplement (we haven’t tried this one), but it can be baked into bread, if baking’s your thing, or just used as a thickener in recipes where ordinarily you might use cornstarch or something else.

    Can I get similar benefits from other foods?

    The relevant quality is also present in resistant starches in general, so you might want to check out these foods, for example:

    9 Foods That Are High in Resistant Starch

    You can also check out ways to increase your fiber intake in general:

    Level-Up Your Fiber Intake! (Without Difficulty Or Discomfort)

    Enjoy!

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  • Galveston Diet Cookbook for Beginners – by Martha McGrew

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    We recently reviewed “The Galveston Diet”, and here’s a cookbook (by a nutritionist) to support that.

    For the most part, it’s essentially keto-leaning, with an emphasis on protein and fats, but without quite the carb-cut that keto tends to have. It’s also quite plant-centric, but it’s not by default vegan or even vegetarian; you will find meat and fish in here. As you might expect from an anti-inflammatory cookbook, it’s light on the dairy too, though fermented dairy products such as yogurt do feature as well.

    The recipes are quite simple and easy to follow, with suggestions of alternative ingredients along the way, making for extra variety as well as convenience.

    If you are going to buy this book, you might want to take a look at the buying options, to ensure you get a full-color version, as recent reprints have photos in black and white, whereas older runs have color throughout.

    Bottom line: if you’d like to cook the Galveston Diet way, this is as good a way to start as any.

    Click here to check out the Galveston Diet Cookbook for Beginners, and get cooking!

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  • Eggplant vs Tomato – Which is Healthier?

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    Our Verdict

    When comparing eggplant to tomato, we picked the eggplant.

    Why?

    Both have their merits! But…

    In terms of macros, eggplant has nearly 3x the fiber, as well as slightly more carbs and protein, making it the most nutritionally dense option in the macros category.

    In the category of vitamins, eggplant has more of vitamins B1, B2, B3, B5, B6, B9, and choline, while tomatoes have more of vitamins A, C, E, and K. So, very different vitamin coverage from each one, and/but by the numbers, eggplant wins.

    When it comes to minerals, eggplant has more copper, magnesium, manganese, and selenium, while tomatoes have more calcium and iron. The margins of difference are very small in all cases, and they’re equal in phosphorus, potassium, and zinc. So this one’s very close, but by the numbers, eggplant scrapes a marginal victory.

    Looking at phytochemicals, they’re about equal on polyphenols, though it’s worth mentioning that tomatoes are a famously good source of lycopene, which isn’t a polyphenol, but it is a very beneficial carotenoid, so we’ll say tomatoes get the win this round.

    Adding up the sections, though, makes for an overall win for eggplant, but tomatoes are great too, and mostly in different ways than eggplant, which makes them extra good to enjoy together (salad, ratatouille, etc) for their very complementary health benefits!

    Want to learn more?

    You might like:

    Lycopene’s Benefits For The Gut, Heart, Brain, & More

    Enjoy!

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  • Why are people on TikTok talking about going for a ‘fart walk’? A gastroenterologist weighs in

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    “Fart walks” have become a cultural phenomenon, after a woman named Mairlyn Smith posted online a now-viral video about how she and her husband go on walks about 60 minutes after dinner and release their gas.

    Smith, known on TikTok as @mairlynthequeenoffibre and @mairlynsmith on Instagram, has since appeared on myriad TV and press interviews extolling the benefits of a fart walk. Countless TikTok and Instagram users and have now shared their own experiences of feeling better after taking up the #fartwalk habit.

    So what’s the evidence behind the fart walk? And what’s the best way to do it?

    CandyBox Images/Shutterstock

    Exercise can help get the gas out

    We know exercise can help relieve bloating by getting gas moving and out of our bodies.

    Researchers from Barcelona, Spain in 2006 asked eight patients complaining of bloating, seven of whom had irritable bowel syndrome, to avoid “gassy” foods such as beans for two days and to fast for eight hours before their study.

    Each patient was asked to sit in an armchair, in order to avoid any effects of body position on the movement of gas. Gas was pumped directly into their small bowel via a thin plastic tube that went down their mouth, and the gas expelled from the body was collected into a bag via a tube placed in the rectum. This way, the researchers could determine how much gas was retained in the gut.

    The patients were then asked to pedal on a modified exercise bike while remaining seated in their armchairs.

    The researchers found that much less gas was retained in the patients’ gut when they exercised. They determined exercise probably helped the movement and release of intestinal gas.

    Walking may have another bonus; it may trigger a nerve reflex that helps propel foods and gas contents through the gut.

    Walking can also increase internal abdominal pressure as you use your abdominal muscles to stay upright and balance as you walk. This pressure on the colon helps to push intestinal gas out.

    Proper fart walk technique

    One study from Iran studied the effects of walking in 94 individuals with bloating.

    They asked participants to carry out ten to 15 minutes of slow walking (about 1,000 steps) after eating lunch and dinner. They filled out gut symptom questionnaires before starting the program and again at the end of the four week program.

    The researchers found walking after meals resulted in improvements to gut symptoms such as belching, farting, bloating and abdominal discomfort.

    Now for the crucial part: in the Iranian study, there was a particular way in which participants were advised to walk. They were asked to clasp hands together behind their back and to flex their neck forward.

    The clasped hands posture leads to more internal abdominal pressure and therefore more gentle squeezing out of gas from the colon. The flexed neck posture decreases the swallowing of air during walking.

    This therefore is the proper fart walk technique, based on science.

    A woman walks with her hands clasped behind her back
    Could walking with your hands behind your back yield better or more farts? candy candy/Shutterstock

    What about constipation?

    A fart walk can help with constipation.

    One study involved middle aged inactive patients with chronic constipation, who did a 12 week program of brisk walking at least 30 minutes a day – combined with 11 minutes of strength and flexibility exercises.

    This program, the researchers found, improved constipation symptoms through reduced straining, less hard stools and more complete evacuation.

    It also appears that the more you walk the better the benefits for gut symptoms.

    In patients with irritable bowel syndrome, one study increasing the daily step count to 9,500 steps from 4,000 steps led to a 50% reduction in the severity of their symptoms.

    And just 30 minutes of a fart walk has been shown to improve blood sugar levels after eating.

    Two people go for a walk.
    Walking after eating can help keep your blood sugar levels under control. IndianFaces/Shutterstock

    What if I can’t get outside the house?

    If getting outside the house after dinner is impossible, could you try walking slowly on a treadmill or around the house for 1,000 steps?

    If not, perhaps you could borrow an idea from the Barcelona research: sit back in an armchair and pedal using a modified exercise bike. Any type of exercise is better than none.

    Whatever you do, don’t be a couch potato! Research has found more leisure screen time is linked to a greater risk of developing gut diseases.

    We also know physical inactivity during leisure time and eating irregular meals are linked to a higher risk of abdominal pain, bloating and altered bowel motions.

    Try the fart walk today

    It may not be for everyone but this simple physical activity does have good evidence behind it. A fart walk can improve common symptoms such as bloating, abdominal discomfort and constipation.

    It can even help lower blood sugar levels after eating.

    Will you be trying a fart walk today?

    Vincent Ho, Associate Professor and clinical academic gastroenterologist, Western Sydney University

    This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

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  • The Inflamed Mind – by Dr. Edward Bullmore

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    Firstly, let’s note that this book was published in 2018, so the “radical new” approach is more like “tried and tested and validated” now.

    Of course, inflammation in the brain is also linked to Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, and other neurodegenerative disorders, but that’s not the main topic here.

    Dr. Bullmore, a medical doctor, psychiatrist, and neuroscientist with half the alphabet after his name, knows his stuff. We don’t usually include author bio information here, but it’s also relevant that he has published more than 500 scientific papers and is one of the most highly cited scientists worldwide in neuroscience and psychiatry.

    What he explores in this book, with a lot of hard science made clear for the lay reader, is the mechanisms of action of depression treatments that aren’t just SSRIs, and why anti-inflammatory approaches can work for people with “treatment-resistant depression”.

    The book was also quite prescient in its various declarations of things he expects to happen in the field in the next five years, because they’ve happened now, five years later.

    Bottom line: if you’d like to understand how the mind and body affect each other in the cases of inflammation and depression, with a view to lessening either or both of those things, this is a book for you.

    Click here to check out The Inflamed Mind, and take good care of yours!

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  • How Internal Organs Can Be Affected By Spicy Foods (Doctor Explains)

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    Capsaicin has an array of health-giving properties in moderation, but consumed in immoderation and/or without building up tolerance first, can cause problems—serious health issues such as heart attacks, brain spasms, torn esophagus, and even death can occur.

    Heating up

    Capsaicin, the compound that gives peppers their “heat”, is a chemical irritant and neurotoxin that activates pain receptors (TRPV1) tricking the brain into sensing heat, leading to a burning sensation, sweating, and flushing. The pain signal can also trigger the fight-or-flight response, causing a surge of adrenaline. Endorphins are eventually released, creating a pain-relief effect similar to a runner’s high, and ultimately it reduces systemic inflammation, boosts the metabolism, and increases healthy longevity.

    However, in cases of extreme consumption and/or lack of preparation, woe can befall, for example:

    • A man ruptured his esophagus after vomiting from eating a ghost pepper.
    • A participant experienced severe brain blood vessel constriction (reversible cerebral vasoconstriction syndrome) after eating a Carolina reaper.
    • A 25-year-old suffered permanent heart damage from cayenne pepper pills due to restricted blood flow.
    • A teenager died after the “one chip challenge,” although the cause of death was undetermined.

    So, what does moderation and preparation look like?

    Moderation can be different to different people, since genetics do play a part—some people have more TRPV1 receptors than other people. However, for all people (unless in case of having an allergy or similar), acclimatization is important, and a much bigger factor than genetics. 

    Writer’s anecdote: on the other hand, when my son was a toddler I once left the room and came back to find him cheerfully drinking hot sauce straight from the bottle, so it can be suspected that genetics are definitely relevant too, as while I did season his food and he did already enjoy curries and such, he didn’t exactly have a background of entering chili-eating competitions.

    Still, regardless of genes (unless you actually have a medical condition that disallows this), a person who regularly eats spicy food will develop an increasing tolerance for spicy food, and will get to enjoy the benefits without the risks, provided they don’t suddenly jump way past their point of tolerance.

    On which note, in this video you can also see what happens when Dr. Deshauer goes from biting a jalapeño (relatively low on the Scoville heat scale) to biting a Scotch bonnet pepper (about 10x higher on the Scoville heat scale):

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    Want to learn more?

    You might also like to read:

    Capsaicin For Weight Loss And Against Inflammation

    Take care!

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