adamfinchley

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THE SUNSHINE VITAMIN AND THE BISCUIT EXPERIMENT

The message seems to be getting through to most of us that ultra processed food is generally bad for our health. 

This is most of the stuff you find on supermarket shelves. It’s products that have too much salt, sugar, and emulsifiers, not to mention a dozen or so extras that begin with the letter E. 

Men and women in white coats with degrees in chemistry, nutrition and psychology work in the food business, They are looking for ways to prolong shelf life and optimise taste. 

It turns out that many of these scientists are often the same ones that worked in the tobacco business. Just as they were denied for many decades the obvious truth about cancer and cigarettes, so they are doing again with ultra processed foods. 

Presumably, when you get paid big bucks, you’re not going to kill the golden goose paying big salaries. 

Food production has become a science, and a lesson in getting people addicted, in much the same way as cigarettes used to, before someone pointed out that smoking is a killer. 

A few years ago, a chance meeting with someone in my local pub led to an invitation to a food laboratory the next day at his place of work.

He was one of these food scientists and it was a fascinating experience. There were about twenty of us human guinea pigs and we were being tested on a possible new  product launch.

There had to be no talking and no distraction so we all sat in our own tiny white cubicle facing our own small hatch. The hatch suddenly opened and very quickly, a small white plate slid out with a small biscuit on it. 

We had just ten seconds to take a bite and record a mark from one to ten on a pad we each had. The hatch opened and a hand grabbed the plate whilst pushing another out. 

This procedure was repeated about twenty times. The hatch was very small so you never saw the person presenting the biscuit. 

Suddenly, we were told the experiment was over. In every case, the biscuit was identical and mostly seemed to taste the same. 

These experiments are carried out every day all over the country. The food companies sponsor these sites and presumably, food scientists and marketing supermarket suits analyse the results. 

Although all the biscuits tasted much the same, I did mark number seven and twelve a little higher by just one point. Later I was told that when twenty thousand other people around the country had been tested, perhaps just one biscuit may have passed out top, and that would be the chosen one. Or maybe, none at all would be chosen.

Just stick to natural healthy foods and you should get the essential thirteen vitamins and fifteen minerals needed for good health. 

Sometimes a supplement may be needed. B12 is one and vitamin D3 another. 

Vitamin D3 is sometimes known as the sunshine vitamin. We can absorb this vitamin from sunshine, but in English winters with short cloudy days, we don’t always get this vitamin that is important in helping us absorbing calcium.

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OUR ESSENTIAL GUT BACTERIAAND USEFUL OXYGEN CLEAN

Every child goes through a period of dreaming about growing up and guessing their future. For many generations, boys wanted to be train drivers, tractor drivers or firemen. 

Very few end up fulfilling those dreams. And unfortunately, few end up with anything other than far less exciting jobs. But then again, most people end up in work they never expected and actually enjoy. 

An acquaintance has become a very successful gastroenterologist and this has led to a further career in bacteriology. Bacteriology is unlikely to have been any small child’s dream job. They would most likely have had no clue as to what it entails.

It is only in recent years that a very close link between gastroenterology, bacteriology and neuroscience has been established. It is an area of research that many in this field claim to be making some of the most exciting medical discoveries of this century so far. 

The health of the gut is becoming more obviously linked to the health of our mental state. Those two kilos of microorganisms in our intestines are closely linked to the brain, and if one or other is unwell, the other is likely to show signs that something is out of balance.

This makes diet more important than we ever thought. It’s incredibly important that we understand the need to eat healthily. Modern ultra processed food is doing all of us a lot of harm. 

Too much junk food has led to the modern curse of obesity and the aftermath of diabetes, vascular difficulties and heart attack are all a result of a lifetime eating unhealthy food.

Understanding the importance and source of both probiotic and prebiotic food helps. This means food with good live gut bacteria and food like greens and fruit, grains, and cereals for essential fibre. 

Think about food for the benefit of our gut intestinal bacteria, and not for the stomach, and it helps. When we crave food and talk about hunger pangs, this is driven by the brain, via the bacteria, and not the stomach. 

Food is only in the stomach for half an hour or so, the main journey over the next twenty-five hours plus, is along the intestines. 

Once the food reaches the last stages through the large intestines, that’s when the bacteria communicates with the brain and asks for a refill. 

Since ancient Greek and Roman times, people have sought ways to clean the colon. This was probably thought of as a way to shift constipation and other types of intestinal discomfort. 

Colonic irrigation is still practised by some whilst others prefer probiotic supplements including oxygen boost with Oxyanion or other similar agent. 

Oxysan is one way to deliver an extra boost of oxygen molecules into the intestines. Oxygen is a powerful and natural agent that every single living cell in our body needs constantly. 

Delivered directly to the intestines it can help shift any compacted waste and help loosen blockages that could become toxic.

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THE BRISTOL STOOL FORM SCALE AND MY SICK CAT

A couple of weeks ago I took my cat to the vet as it was constantly sick. He asked me what had I been feeding the cat, and then a few other probing questions.

Finally, he pointed to a wall chart on the wall and asked me to indicate the type of stool my cat had been dropping. I couldn’t help with that question without going back to my house and knocking on my irate neighbours front door.

The chart however, called for further examination. It’s known as the BSFS chart and I later found out from a nursing friend that it was originally designed for medical students, and not really for cats and dogs, although it does seem to apply.

The BSFS stands for Bristol Stool Form Scale. It shows pictures of seven different piles of crap from number one being a rock hard lump, through to number seven that looks as runny as gravy. 

Later, I obtained one of these charts and sent it by post to an alcoholic friend of mine as a birthday present.

With few exceptions, most animals are just like humans in their digestive systems. We may eat different foods and some are exclusively vegetarian and others carnivorous. We humans like a mixture of both. So it stands to reason that most creatures will share the same sort of stool scale.

Without doing some research, which I have no particular desire to do on the matter, I seem to remember that cows have three stomachs, and as they also only eat grass, their stools are consistently number 6 or 7 on the Bristol scale.

We British can be a bit queasy or Victorian on the subject, but in some countries, the toilet bowls look different to ours. They have a shelf where the solids drop, enabling the flusher to make a cursory inspection before pulling the chain.

A great deal can be gleaned from the condition of the offerings. The most obvious is the fibre content. But there is a great deal more that a sample can reveal about our medical health. 

Stool samples can reveal everything from bowel cancer to a number of different infections. Stool samples can also reveal the health of our gut microbiome. There is increasing use of microbiome transplanting techniques being carried out. 

Trillions of bacteria and some other organisms live in our gut, mostly in the colon. Numbers of the most useful have been identified and their specific purpose revealed. Some can be helpful when reproduced and taken orally as supplements. 

Fivelac contains five known good gut bacteria and this is a well established probiotic that helps clean the colon. 

Fivelac is one of a handful of probiotics that should be taken over a good period of time in order to get the best results. But don’t forget, a good balanced diet that includes a mixture of prebiotic as well as probiotic food, will always keep you on the right Bristol number.

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IT’S NOT JUST HUMANS THAT HAVE A UNIQUE MICROBIOME

For every body cell we have, there are about ten microbes of bacteria, archaea, fungi and viruses. It stands to reason that with so many trillions of these single cell creatures, that none of us are likely to have the same collection.

Most of the microbes live in our gut lining, particularly in the colon. They help define our unique DNA and an immune system, that is stronger in some people than others. 

We all know people that seem constantly to be ill with colds, flu and other virus attacks. And other annoying people that never suffer at all. The same may be said about those with high and low metabolisms, that seems some can eat massive amounts at mealtimes, and still put on no extra weight. 

Just as our microbes living inside and on us makes each of us unique, it may come as a surprise that the same can be said for inanimate objects.

Every year, on the 21st June, a little known event called global city sampling day takes place. On this day, around many cities throughout the world, groups of researchers go about collecting samples of bacteria and other microbes from all sorts of objects. 

This includes swabs from outside walls of public buildings, public transport, handrails, pavements and hundreds of other surface areas. It’s also referred to as ‘global metagenomic study of microbes’ and when analysed, DNA and RNA and common or less common microbial similarities are compared. 

It seems that cities have their own unique characteristics. Also called a microbial climate, the main influences comes from geography, climate, construction material, design and ventilation. 

One of the fascinating other influences involves disinfectant agents used to clean things like handrails and other surfaces. Different types of cleaning agents are used around the world and just like antibiotics used for our health, there is reason to think that some bacteria is growing resistant to some cleaning agents. 

The study of microorganisms only started with the invention of a microscope capable of seeing them just three hundred and fifty years ago. And after that, it took a couple of hundred years before they were starting to get a better understanding. 

Before then, they were all looked at in a bad light. They were considered to all be bad news. Today, the study of bacteria and other microorganisms is one of the most exciting areas of medical research. 

It’s our gut bacteria that seems to be the most interesting area. Only thirty years ago, the importance for digestion of certain types was identified. Grown in laboratory conditions, products like the supplement Threelac harnessed three of the most useful types of gut bacteria. 

Threelac is one of a number of probiotics that help boost and cleans the colon. It needs to be taken over a good period of time to feel the full effects. Probiotics can also be found in certain types of natural foods and prebiotics are mostly fibre filled foods that help feed existing good gut bacteria

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WHEN DEATH IS IN DISGUISE AND THE TRUTH IS OBSCURED

Is it just a particular trait of the English to use so many different euphemisms for death, or is it common in other parts of the world?

We tend not to mention the death word and instead say things like he’s passed away. Or, he is no longer with us. Maybe, he’s gone to a better place. 

We all know that the fact we are alive, means we will one day have to die. Or as some wit said the only two certainties in life are tax and death. 

During the Covid crisis, we were constantly told that thousands of people were dying by the hour. Emergency giant warehouse centres the size of football pitches, filled with row upon row of beds, were opened. Though to my recollection, were never used. 

Many years earlier, when AIDS was discovered, a nursing sister told me that this was the end of mankind. The same kind of panic happened with Covid and yet, here we all are. 

In both the above examples, many people were incorrectly using the term pandemic. Goodness knows how they would have coped with the Black Death, or the equally lethal Spanish flu in the first quarter of the last century. 

Modern medicine is constantly developed to deal with most types of illness and although people generally are living longer, a recent paper suggests that human cells will never live beyond a maximum one hundred and twenty years. 

We are just organic material with the inevitable dust to dust. We even have decay living inside our gut in the form of bacteria and fungi as well as viruses. Our whole being is more alien microorganisms than human cells by ten to one. 

It is becoming increasingly obvious that there is a very close connection between our collective gut microbiome and our brain. 

There is a [powerful nerve system between the two areas of our anatomy and bacteria will be cultivated to provide help in much the same way as organ transplant. 

Humans have been on planet Earth for an extraordinarily short period compared with creatures such as fungi, bacteria and many insects. The age of the dinosaur ended sixty five million years ago, and that is around two million years before we ever showed are faces other than in monkey form.

A healthy digestive system is clearly most important, and if we listen to our brain and gut, we should be eating a healthy mix of probiotic and prebiotic food. 

It’s not our stomach that craves particular food, but our gut bacteria via messages to the brain. 

Unfortunately, we often ignore the signals in favour of a desire to fill our stomach with junk over-processed foods. 

Sometimes it helps to think about the difference between pro and pre biotic food. And sometimes it helps unblock the whole system with a probiotic such as Oxy Powder that introduces a boost of nascent oxygen into the colon. 

Oxy Powder delivers an oxygen boost that can help clear blockages and other mild digestive problems.

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OUR MICROBIOME AND HOW TO KEEP IT HAPPY

I’ve just been reading an article in my newspaper about our microbiome and what are the main features that affect its efficiency. 

The article goes on about our genetics, any drugs including antibiotics we may take, our personal hygiene, physical activity and diet. 

It doesn’t mention the importance of oxygen in the process and although the article goes into some more detail about the above, it seems to put little emphasis on the type of food we eat. 

Understanding the difference between probiotic and prebiotic food is important. Probiotics are foods that contain good live gut bacteria and prebiotic foods are things like fresh fruit, vegetables, nuts and whole grains. 

In other words, prebiotic food is designed to satisfy not just our hunger, but to keep our existing gut bacteria happy as well. There are certain types of bacteria that live in our intestines that look forward to a meal as much as we do. 

In so doing, they are like any other form of bacteria that exist on rotting organic matter, and reduce the mass to worthless waste. In our gut this munching away by bacteria means we benefit with the nutrients it releases that our gut lining then absorbs.

The intestines is an aerobic atmosphere and so is the vast majority of our bacteria. Other microorganisms also live here. Fungi in the form of candida lives inside us. Usually it remains in a small enough number not to cause any problem.

But it can sometimes create a problem we call thrush and this can usually be eliminated with an oxygen agent such as Oxysan. 

Candida doesn’t like oxygen and this makes it quite rare. When the world began, it is safe to speculate that the first living organisms on the planet, four and a half billion years ago, were creatures such as this. And when mankind blows himself to oblivion, they’ll be one of the few things left alive. 

Since our gut bacteria has been on Earth longer than we humans have existed, it’s almost worth considering that as they were the first, we are the aliens. 

Like all symbiotic relationships, we cannot exist without some bacteria, and our gut bacteria would struggle to thrive without us. 

Any of the oxygen based supplements such as Oxysan may be considered as colon cleansers. The extra boost of oxygen agitates good gut bacteria helping to shift any sticky compacted waste. 

Junk food that often contains strange additives, may stick on the gut lining and result in many minor problems such as constipation, bloating, and other discomforting conditions. 

In Victorian times, colonic irrigation was all the rage. Spa towns like Harrogate did a roaring trade in this, and continues to a slightly lesser degree today. 

Most people don’t have the time or the inclination for the Harrogate lavage. And Oxysan seems a much kinder and cheaper method of colon cleansing.

[adamfinchley]

LISTEN TO YOUR STOMACH BEFORE PREPARING A MEAL

It’s annoying when some TV producer comes up with an idea for a new show and it becomes so successful that it spawns a load of copycats.

A classic example of this is an Antique program that began in 1977 and has been running weekly ever since. 

The program has lost a lot of its appeal because the internet makes it easier for guests to have done their own research before appearing. It means there are fewer genuine surprise reactions.

Anyway, this program has led to plenty of similar antique shows, although you can replace antique with the word junk now.  

The same problem has happened with cookery shows. There are far too many of them and it seems everyone that appears is an expert mostly repeating variations of the same recipes. 

One of these cookery programs seems to have disappeared. This is a shame for me and many others as it seemed just that little bit different. 

Guests were presented with a number of seemingly unconnected ingredients and they had to find a way of putting them together and producing a tasty dish. This is just the way I like to cook, and I believe many others also like to cook this way.

I also have a theory that this creative cooking is a great way to have a good variety of healthy meals. I also believe that you can listen to your gut and it will tell you what is good for you. 

Many years ago when I suggested this to a friend, he thought I was clearly mad. But now, there is much evidence that our brain health and gut health is more closely connected than ever thought before. 

It is also becoming clear that variety is the best way to good health. Our gut bacteria needs to be fed, and it likes nothing better than prebiotic products it can all feast upon. 

Modern thinking is that at least a third of our daily food intake should consist of of fresh fruit and vegetables. 

Good food should keep us regular and prevent any blockages that leads to constipation and other digestion problems. If this occurs, there are supplements such as Oxysan that is one of the best natural ways to move things along. 

Some newspaper recently revealed the order a chef and nutritionist put in for the main diet of the England Rugby team, for one week at their training ground.

It included 100Kg of berries, 200kg of bananas, 150kg of potatoes, 25kg of pasta, 50 litres of milk per day, and 2,000 eggs. 

There was plenty of sushi, not on the list as this was consumed fresh at a Japanese restaurant. Such a diet should preclude the need of Oxysan.

Compare this list with the average family supermarket shopping that mostly consists of ultra processed foods. There’s no fat on those rugby players, just plenty of muscle and a diet that has plenty of collagen protein that helps repair soft tissue damage as quickly as possible.

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BRAIN AND GUT WORK IN UNISON TO KEEP US WELL

We use the expression of going with your gut, and it seems there is evidence that this has a serious primal truth to it. The connection between gut and brain is now a proven fact.

The expression of neurodevelopmental psychiatric disorder, may not roll off the tongue so easily for most of us, but medical science is constantly revealing remarkable connections between good diet and gut bacteria, in relation to brain health.

It has been discovered that the greater the diversity of gut bacteria in children, the more likely it is of an increased learning ability.

It’s strange isn’t it that we get urges for certain foods and this particularly with women in pregnancy. We should listen to our gut. It may be warning us that we are low on a certain vitamin or mineral.

On the other-hand, we should not always listen to our gut when it craves ultra processed foods like frozen pizzas or constant burgers. The same with sweet sugary food, as the latter may be a sign of early diabetes. 

Ultra processed foods are laced with additives that are designed to create craving for more. Many of these processed foods are by definition, low in fibre. Low in fibre diet means our gut bacteria isn’t getting enough to eat. 

This in turn, means the brain gets the message that more food is required and this eventually leads to obesity.

Obesity is a modern problem and there is no doubt it can be mostly attributed to over-eating of low fibre, highly processed food. 

The UK Heart Association sets out a table of recommended daily safe amounts of sugar, sodium, and some other common food additives. 

Sodium is added to white processed bread to act as a stabilizer as well as a preservative, and additionally, to add flavour. Just two thin slices of this bread provides over a third of the recommended daily maximum amount we should take of sodium.

The USA has an even worse obese condition than the UK. And in the US, it has been found that the average adult intake of sodium today is 3.400 milligrams a day when the recommended maximum is 500. 

Bacteria of any kind does not thrive well on salt, or sodium. And our gut bacteria is responsible for the final stages of food digestion and deserves to be looked after.

Bacteriology is a fairly new science not least because it took the invention of the microscope to view them. 

Around twenty years ago a handful of the most common and useful gut bacteria were identified. The are reproduced in laboratory conditions and sold as supplements such as the popular Fivelac.

As the name suggests, Fivelac contains five of these bacteria types and the boost they give us results in a colon cleanse. 

Any type of colon cleanse is good for our system. Back in my rugby playing days, a few pints of stout and a vindaloo seemed to do the trick, but Fivelac is a safer and gentler option.

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BLOOD TESTING AND THE FUTURE OF STOOL TRANSPLANTS

In some countries a visit to hospital as an outpatient automatically begins with a blood test. This is true in Turkey when a friend was visiting a private hospital with some worry-some pain in their chest.

After a brief talk with the heart specialist, he was directed to the blood station where the phlebotomist took a couple of syringes of blood. 

He was told to amuse himself for a couple of hours and return for the results. This was no hardship as the hospital was on the waterfront of a tourist part of town, and there were several coffee bars to while away the hours. 

On return to the hospital blood station, a folder was handed to him with a sheet of paper detailing the twenty or more blood results. Things like cholesterol, iron, sugar and so on. Like me, he didn’t know more than twenty different tests were available so quickly.

Additionally, besides each count was another column revealing an acceptable range of the ideal counts. 

He was shown into the consultants office where the same results were already revealed on a large flat wall mounted TV screen. The consultant ran through the highlighted, and relevant to his condition, results. 

As it happened, after an ultrasound and ECG, he was released without further ado. The efficiency of the whole procedure was impressive. As is the custom in Turkey, he was given a file with a record of everything for him to keep. 

Later, someone told him that they had a colonoscopy procedure at another private hospital and when they left, they were given a CD of the procedure to watch in the comfort of their own home. Imagine mixing that up with your holiday snaps to show the in-laws. 

Where these blood tests are the norm, there is a real possibility that sometime soon in the future, hospitals will take a stool sample to discover many other secrets of our health. 

This procedure is already in operation for men over sixty in the UK to test for early onset colon cancer. But in future it may be used for many other tests. 

The state of our colon gut bacteria, or microbiome, can reveal a great deal. A healthy gut should be easy to maintain as long as we eat a healthy diet. Our gut needs a balance of both prebiotic and probiotic foods. 

Sometimes it also helps to take a supplement like Threelac that boosts good bacteria and helps counter candida along with other toxic waste. 

Threelac is one of the original probiotic supplements that was developed just over twenty years ago. The fact that it is still a worldwide best seller after all these years, confirms its usefulness. 

Donating blood is a selfless and harmless procedure that we should all consider doing regularly. But believe it or not, there is already research into the likelihood that stool transplant will become another normal medical procedure.

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A PIE A DAY KEEPS THE DIET AWAY AND OTHER TALES

Before we look at the microbiome and the workings of our digestion, I am reminded of the expression a fat friend of mine uses. 

Instead of the old saying that an apple a day keeps the doctor away, he used to say to me, a pie a day keeps the diet away. 

Other expressions such as salad dodger, gives you an idea of the shape of the man. 

A huge amount of our overall mass is dedicated to digestion of food and drink. The purpose of eating is to convert food into energy. There are thirteen essential vitamins we need to have in our diet, and fifteen minerals.

Surprisingly, all the vitamins were only formally categorised and given names or numbers, in the twentieth century. Before then, humans had worked out that certain foods were good for health. An obvious example of this was lime and lemon juice to drastically reduce the chances of sailors getting scurvy.

Our digestive system is obviously extremely clever at extracting all these vitamins and minerals, and the best way to ensure we get them all is to eat a great variety of food. 

It’s only in recent years that nutritionists and others in similar fields of study, have come to the conclusion that ultra processed food is in the most part, not helpful as part of a healthy diet. 

Other revelations are that there should be a good mix of probiotic and prebiotic foods. Probiotics are foods like live yoghurt and any other type of food or drink that contains good live digestive microorganisms. 

This is adding to the existing trillions that live in our gut, boosting their numbers. Prebiotics are foods that we used to call roughage. Green leaf vegetables, whole grain and nuts, and anything else that our gut bacteria like to chew on. 

Eating well is also primarily about feeding the brain. The brain is perhaps the most active muscle in the body. It needs a constant supply of enriched blood to keep it active. 

In what is considered by many to be the greatest discovery of this century so far, the connection between gut and brain is the most exciting. 

The connection between these two parts of the body even has its own set of direct nerve communicating neurons. When one part suffers in any way, the other also may have problems.

There is another crucial element that is essential for the life of the healthy gut and brain, and every single other body cell. This is oxygen and when there is a minor gut problem such as constipation, bloating or other irritation, a boost in the form of the supplement Oxy Powder may help. 

Oxy Powder uses magnesium oxide and citric acid that is designed to release nascent oxygen into the bowels. This should help liquefy any compacted faecal matter. 

It’s designed to remove any other toxic waste and help to rebalance the digestive system.

[adamfinchley]

THE SUNSHINE VITAMIN AND THE GOOD LIFE

There is more than one series of programs running on daytime television about people from Britain moving to remote parts of France, Italy, Romania and Spain, and renovating derelict old properties.

In some cases, this might be the whole of one deserted hamlet or village. Usually, though not always, these are young couples with a romantic notion of getting back to a simpler and more satisfying way of life than city or urban Britain.

Their enthusiasm and hard graft is to be admired. And one thing they all share is a desire to grow their own fruit and vegetables and sometimes, keep their own livestock.

It takes me back to a quirky television series many years ago about two suburban neighbouring couples. One couple suddenly decided to get out of the rat race and boring jobs in the City, and concentrate on digging up their nice neat garden to grow vegetables and anything else they could think of to become self sufficient.

They were thought of as cranks. But looking back today, they were probably the sanest people on the planet.

Two newspaper articles grabbed my interest today. Both are just about related. The first was a story about sourdough bread and supermarkets cynical ploy to convince customers, that if they eat their version, they are looking after their gut.

They aren’t. If they are lucky enough to find a true artisan baker somewhere in their town or village, they may well be looking after their gut. Better still, we should all look to baking our own version.

Food manufacturing along with the big four or five supermarket chains in the UK, have become a monstrous industry centred on shareholder profit, and little concern for our health.

A decade or so ago, few people were aware of the benefits of home-made sourdough bread. Classes sprang up around the country teaching people how to make it. There are just three ingredients; flour, water and salt. It also takes time and patience.

Supermarkets arrived late in the game but realised the potential to make profit. So they made their own sourdough and used a number of tricks to make it appear that real bakers were making it in store.

They aren’t. It is palmed off as sourdough and sold in plastic. It contains commercial yeast, that is never used in the original, it and has emulsifiers and flavourings to fool the public.

The article in the paper today reveals some new research on the harm emulsifiers can do to our gut, and the possible connection with bowel cancer.

The best sourdough that presents the highest fibre and B vitamin, is with the use of spelt or rye grain.

White bread has little fibre and no useful quantity of any vitamins.

If we eat well we should get all are nutrients. There are a couple of odd exceptions and vitamin D3 is the most obvious.

A vitamin D3 supplement is widely available and along with B12, particularly good for firm and elderly.

[adamfinchley]

THE SUNSHINE VITAMIN MISSING IN A BRITISH WINTER

In a good healthy diet, variety is key to getting the full number and quantity of essential vitamins and minerals.

There are reckoned to be thirteen vitamins and fifteen minerals that we should be getting. There is also a need for a mix between prebiotic and probiotic types of food. 

The thinking is that our gut microbiome, are mostly hungry little creatures that need to munch on fibre in our food. This is the reason nutritionists keep going on about our aim to consume five fruits or vegetables a day. 

In conjunction with research into the powerful nerve connection between the gut bacteria and our brain, it seems that our hunger pangs and cravings for certain nutrients is driven by our brain. 

The brain is told by the gut that there is a need for certain extra minerals or vitamins. Our hunger is not those stomach pangs or cravings for certain food. After all, food passes through our stomach in a relatively short passage of time. And we don’t crave more, immediately after a meal.

Throughout history, humans have slowly learnt that certain foods give particular health benefits. 

The obvious one is the story of vitamin C in the search for a cure, or prevention of the spread of scurvy, suffered by many sailors on long journeys in the great age of sea exploration.

This was during the eighteenth and nineteenth century. When on-board fresh produce, such as green vegetables and fruit, ran out, a naval doctor called John Lind, loaded up the ship with fresh limes when in a West Indies port. 

With every sailor invited to suck on a whole lime each every day, it not only prevented scurvy, but in one month, reversed it dramatically. 

With many similar examples throughout history of observation that certain foods helps with certain medical conditions, a catalogue of foods and benefits was built.

But it wasn’t until the first half of the twentieth century that science was able to explain the reason, and to build a table of vitamins.  

As we reach old age, there are two vitamins that we should be thinking about taking as a supplement. Vitamin B12 is one of these and perhaps even more importantly, Vitamin D3. 

Vitamin D3 is a commonly taken supplement particularly in our long dark winters. This is because the best source is from sunlight. Our skin only needs exposure to the sun for twenty minutes a day to be able to absorb enough. 

Many elderly people don’t necessarily get out much in the cold, and even when they do, in winter, they are likely to be fully covered up. 

The best source of vitamin D3 other than the sun, is oily fish. For what ever reason, British people seem to eat little fish these days. 

Another source of vitamin D3 is through milk. Cows milk is the best, although if you read the label, the milk we drink today, has this vitamin added. The reason is probably a sorry sign of the times that nutrients in soil is sadly, depleted.

[adamfinchley]

WORLD TESTING OF BACTERIA IN JUNE OF EVERY YEAR

For some microbiologists around the world, June 21st is a special day. Not a lot of people know that. 

It’s the global metagenomic study of microbes. On this day in June, you should not be surprised to catch sight of the odd character swabbing all sorts of common street furniture in public places. 

This may be in a library, a bus station, airport, any type of public handrail, and a hundred other common places in the city. They are collecting a random set of DNA, RNA, and other microbes that live in all these hundreds of cities around the world. 

There are many common microbes in all these cities, but sometimes there are intriguing variations. It is thought these differences are caused by climate, geography, weather, altitude, building design and ventilation. 

The over all objective is to build a microbial landscape and find any pattern between human health and habitat.

We think of humans having their own unique gut microbiome but any environment that contains bacteria will also have a unique combination. Other animals have their own microbiome so why not cities?

The common complaint sometimes called travellers’ tummy, that many people getting when going abroad for business of holiday, may be directly caused by being in an unfamiliar environment. 

This does not just mean a different diet, but air borne and contact with new strains of microorganisms. 

The importance of diet for physical and mental health can never be exaggerated. But weirdly, we should also consider the health of our gut bacteria. These trillions of little creatures like specific prebiotic foods to munch onto.

In so doing, they help complete the final part of digestion by releasing nutrients from our food into the lining of our gut. 

The purpose of eating is to get energy through thirteen vitamins and fifteen minerals. It may sound repetitive, but the goal of thirty portions a week of fresh fruit, vegetables, nuts and grain, is the best way we can achieve this.

Ultra processed food we typically buy in supermarkets, along with heavily processed takeaway meals, rarely gives us enough fibre. 

The simple test is to eat a couple of slices of white processed bread and usually still feel hungry. Try the same with some good quality whole grain like sourdough, and our hunger is better satisfied. 

And the white bread usually contains an unhealthy amount of salt or sodium used as a preservative, and extremely bad for long term health. 

Another important part of a good diet is probiotic foods. Normally we think of fresh raw yoghurt, kefir, some soft cheeses, sauerkraut and so on, but supplements like Oxysan can also help.

Oxysan introduces another essential part of our diet onto our bowel and helps clear any compacted waste. This is oxygen that along with hydrogen, is impossible to live without.     

The common complaint of traveller's tummy that many people get when they travel abroad for business or pleasure, may be directly because of a different set of bacteria in food, water, or air.

[adamfinchley]

MICROBIOME AND GLOBAL CITY SAMPLING DAY

We read a lot these days about the gut microbiome, our health, and the connection with our brain. 

But the term microbiome does not apply exclusively to our gut. It means a mix of microorganisms that exist in specific places. Our gut contains a certain set of these single cell archaea along with fungi, bacteria and viruses.

A completely different mix of those might exist at the top of a mountain, the bottom of a pond, or any other place. 

It’s safe to assume the mix found in different animals will be unique on account of genetic differences, diet and other factors.

It should therefore come as little surprise that there is currently a study into the microbiome of cities around the world. Global city sampling day exists on the 21st June every year by teams of researchers all around the world.

If you live and work in London, your microbiome in and on you, is not likely to be the same as someone that lives in Tokyo, or any other city.

People’s microbiome is influenced by geography, altitude, climate, design and build of buildings, and ventilation. Perhaps this is the reason some travellers get stomach bug abroad. 

On the 21st June, teams of research assistants take swabs from surfaces in libraries, rail stations, parks, subways, buses, trains, and many other common places. 

To give it the proper name, this study is all collated and called the global metagenomic study of microbes. 

It is already throwing up some fascinating early results. DNA and RNA is all part of the research and since the project has been running, some sites have claimed to find that some bacteria is growing resistant to certain cleaning materials. 

For many years, end of the day cleaners have used the same wipes on surfaces. Those surfaces are showing signs of the an increase of microbes as that resistance grows. 

Our own gut microbiome is created by genetics, our surroundings, and our diet. Because we have so many trillion in our gut, it means we are unique. No two people will have the same. 

There are a great number of common digestive bacteria types that decades ago were properly identified. Cultures are grown in laboratories and developed into probiotic powders such as Fivelac.

As the name implies, Fivelac contains five of the most common bacteria and when released in the bowel, helps with many minor gut problems. At the very least, it acts like a mild colon cleanser and can ease bloating, constipation, and other complaints.

The global research in our urban and city environments is helping understand the possible health differences between some parts of the world. But It’s never quite that simple. 

We inherit our genes from our parents and our health is not just all about those trillions of creatures that live in and on us. It’s also all those other influences stated above. 

And perhaps most importantly, health has a great deal to do with our diet, and that includes the food we feed our gut microbiome.

[adamfinchley]

LOOKING FOR THE PERFECT DIET TAKES US BACK TO BASICS

Some smart person has worked out that since nutritionists have discovered the perfect balance of nutrients to live, why not just produce a slushy with all of them in the mix.

It includes the right balance of protein, carbs, essential fats and fibre. Additionally, there should be the right mix of the essential twenty-six vitamins and minerals. 

As a consequence, the slushy drink has been made. It’s available in half a dozen different flavours from banana to cinnamon. 

Several people are fixed on such a juice, but fortunately, there are a couple of side-effects that should prevent sane people from risking such a strange diet. Gout is one problem, and excess wind is another. 

But the main problem seems to me to be the fact that we have a thirty foot digestion system with multiple organs and glands they find themselves redundant. And the other problem is that for many people there is much pleasure in eating well.

Social gatherings such as Christmas around the dinner table, would not quite be as enjoyable and entertaining if instead of a plate of turkey and all the veg and trimmings, we were presented with a glass of slush. 

Not long ago, a newspaper ran a story about the English rugby fifteen touring side to Australia. For their training week, a food order was placed with a wholesaler that included the following:-

One hundred kilos of fresh berries. Two hundred kilos of bananas. Twenty-five kilos of pasta along with various mixes as chosen by individual players. Fifty litres of milk per day. Two thousand eggs. 

There was also plenty of fresh fruit and vegetables but these were bought fresh every day so the amount was unclear. 

The article didn’t fully explain the reason for this but during the couple of days before departure, plenty of sushi dishes were ordered. 

One point that all nutritionists seem to make today, is the importance of fibre in diet. And the other golden rule is to have variety. 

Fibre and variety is most easily obtained through fruit and vegetables. We need to keep our gut microbiome happy and it is important to recognise that different bacteria likes different fibre to chew on. 

The simple equation is that good nutrition feeds the gut microbiome that in turn equals good health and immune system. It also feeds our brain.

It is increasingly obvious that gut health and brain are very closely connected. They have nerves that communicate with one another to a point where many professionals believe the two may be considered and treated as one organ. 

Some thirty years ago a number of the most common good gut bacteria were identified and can be cultured in laboratory conditions. Three were produced into a supplement that has over the years proved very popular and effective for good gut health. 

The supplement is called Threelac and the fact it has been going for such a long period suggests it is most effective. Threelac may be considered as a probiotic as well as a colon cleanser.

[adamfinchley]

HEART REPAIR AND DIGESTION PROBLEMS

Just like a well-known television presenter and game show host, I very recently had a life-saving heart procedure that involves a stent implant. 

In my case, it was two stents, each in different parts of the same artery. In the press it was reported that the presenter had received emergency heart surgery. But it’s not as dramatic as opening the chest cavity and exposing the heart. 

When revealing your heart operation scars after this procedure, all you can show is a pin prick on the wrist, little more than the size of a small pimple. 

This is the entry point for the tube that is pushed all the way to the heart. When this fine tube reaches the blocked artery, a balloon is inflated to allow the stent to be positioned. 

I’m now a great fan of this type of micro-surgery that has given me another shot at life. In the presenter’s case his symptom was a needle and pins in his arm. In my case it was the gradual loss of feeling in the lower leg and an increasingly annoying shortage of breath. 

The difference is staggering. And when I returned home the next day, my wife told me that I must forever onwards be more careful about my diet. But then this advice seems about as useful as the advice she gave me as I was being led into the angiogram clinic. The advice then was to be careful. 

When I thought about that, I realised she should be directing that advice toward the surgeon and not me. 

And as for the advice about future diet, I am not obese and the clogged up artery probably has little to do with my previous eating habit but more to do with some hereditary problem. 

We humans are born with a unique genome system that changes with our gut microbiome, our lifestyle, medication we may be on, and the immune system we have built up during our life. 

High cholesterol and too much iron stored in our liver, along with heavy smoking, doesn’t help with angina, but like so many illnesses, most of us born with a greater susceptibility to certain health problems than others.

We can have the best healthy eating habit imaginable, but it doesn’t mean we wont suffer some chronic health problem at some point in our life. Death, after, has to claim us all at some time. 

Intestinal problems are common to us all. It may be minor and it could be lethal. There’s a big difference between constipation, piles and colon cancer. 

Keeping the colon clear helps prevent many problems. Food goes through our whole system usually in around thirty something hours. A new trend is with us called the five-two diet. 

This means eating five days and not eating the next two. This kind of fasting should mean the digestive system is completely empty for the best part of a day. Other methods include supplements such as Oxy Powder that releases nascent oxygen through the medium of magnesium oxide and citric acid.

You don’t even need to try the five-two diet to enjoy the cleansing benefit of Oxy Powder that brings relief from many minor gut problems.

[adamfinchley]

THE SUNSHINE VITAMIN WE ALL MISS IN THE WINTER

Societies through the Ages, all the way back to Ancient Egypt and probably before, knew that certain plants were useful in combating illness. 

They just never had the science to explain the reason. As recently as the nineteenth century, physicians discovered that lime and other citrous fruit, could prevent and even heal scurvy.

This was because the juice contains ascorbic acid, but back then, they didn’t understand this. 

A similar example of the same period involved an illness called beri-beri. And like the observation of scurvy amongst seamen, this was cured by observation of the predominant food of the sufferers.

Both beri-beri and scurvy are extremely easy to prevent with the right common vitamin, and both are extremely unpleasant ways to die untreated. Beri-beri causes people to look skeletal as the waste away with the inability to make collagen. 

In the Dutch colony of Indonesia, a doctor noted that the natives on a simple diet containing plenty of rice did not suffer beri-beri. But many others preferred the clean and washed white rice, the Dutch preferred. 

The difference with the Dutch, is that they could afford protein rich food like fish, poultry, beans, peas, eggs, and leafy green vegetables.  

Washed rice has had the husk removed and this is where the essential vitamin B1 is stored. A lack of B1 results a thiamine deficiency that cell metabolism and red blood cell production.

The importance of what we eat cannot be over-emphasised. We need a regular supply of thirteen different vitamins and fifteen minerals. A few of these are stored in various organs, most noticeably in the liver. 

Although it is impossible to take too many vitamins since most cannot be stored, one or two minerals can be a health problem when we have too many. The most common of these is iron. 

Iron is stored in the liver as ferritin and too much can cause hyperthyroidism. This can upset metabolism amongst other problems.

There are two vitamins that medical professionals are often keen for many older people to take. One of these is vitamin B12 that can help with cognitive ability amongst other problems.

It’s also one that vegans should certainly be considering as the greatest source of this vitamin comes from meat and dairy and does not appear in any vegetables. 

The other vitamin is one that can be obtained from direct sunlight. It only takes twenty minutes a day of direct sunlight but in British winters, this is not always possible to enjoy. 

Vitamin D3 is the supplement in question and along with B12, it is worth considering for many people over the age of sixty. 

In some countries, B12 is prescribed as standard for everyone over the age of sixty. Where I live in the East Mediterranean it is certainly recommended. On the other hand, with three hundred and twenty days a year of sunshine, there’s not much call for Vitamin D3.