#Agave Pediatrics

[agavepediatrics]

What to Expect at Your Child’s First Well-Child Visit in Phoenix

A child’s first well-child visit is an essential milestone, marking the beginning of their journey toward lifelong health and wellness. For new parents in Phoenix, understanding what to expect during this first checkup can make the experience smoother and help you feel prepared. Here’s an overview of the checkup process, screenings, and some Phoenix-specific health tips to keep in mind.

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Why Well-Child Visits Are Important

Well-child visits allow pediatricians to closely monitor your child’s health, growth, and development at critical stages. During these checkups, your pediatrician can catch potential issues early, address any questions or concerns, and provide preventive care recommendations. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends several well-child checkups within a child’s first year, followed by annual visits as they grow older. If you’re planning your first well child check in Arizona, understanding the process is key to making the most of this important visit.

Preparing for the Visit

Preparing for a well-child check in Phoenix begins with scheduling. Your pediatrician’s office can provide you with information on the well child check schedule in Arizona, including when to bring your child in for the first time. To make the visit as smooth as possible, bring along the following:

Your child’s birth records and any hospital discharge paperwork.

A list of any medications your child may be taking.

Any specific questions or concerns about feeding, sleep, or general health.

Phoenix parents should also keep in mind the importance of hydration and sun safety, as these are crucial aspects of child health in Arizona’s unique climate.

What Happens During a Well-Child Checkup

A well child check Phoenix appointment typically involves a thorough review of your child’s overall health, growth, and developmental milestones. Here are some of the core components of a typical checkup:

1. Physical Examination

The visit usually starts with a comprehensive physical examination. Your pediatrician will examine your baby’s weight, length, and head circumference, which are tracked on a growth chart to assess their physical development relative to age standards. Your doctor will also look at your child’s heart, lungs, and reflexes, and check for any irregularities.

2. Developmental and Behavioral Screenings

A critical part of the visit involves checking developmental milestones. The doctor may ask about your child’s sleep patterns, feeding habits, and interactions to ensure they are reaching expected milestones. If there are any developmental concerns, your pediatrician may discuss additional resources or follow-up assessments.

3. Immunizations

The first well-child visit might include certain vaccinations, as per the national immunization schedule. Arizona follows the CDC’s recommended immunization schedule to protect children from diseases like measles, polio, and hepatitis. Vaccinations are essential to building immunity early on and are a major component of each well child check Arizona parents attend.

4. Vision and Hearing Screenings

In some cases, especially as children grow older, screenings for vision and hearing may be conducted to identify any sensory issues that might affect learning and development. Early detection is key to addressing these potential concerns.

5. Nutritional and Feeding Guidance

For newborns and infants, nutrition and feeding are crucial topics covered at each well-child visit. Your pediatrician can offer tips on breastfeeding, formula feeding, and introducing solid foods at the appropriate time. In a desert climate like Phoenix, hydration is even more essential. The pediatrician will guide you on when and how to introduce water to your child’s diet safely, especially as they start spending time outdoors in Arizona’s heat.

Health Tips Specific to Phoenix

Living in Phoenix means keeping unique health concerns in mind, especially for young children. Here are some Phoenix-specific tips that might come up during a well child check Phoenix visit:

Sun Safety: Arizona experiences intense sun exposure, making sunscreen, hats, and lightweight protective clothing vital. Pediatricians often recommend keeping infants out of direct sunlight and using high-SPF sunscreen for older babies and toddlers.

Hydration: The dry heat in Arizona can lead to dehydration more quickly than other climates. Parents should be mindful of their child’s fluid intake, especially if the child is spending time outdoors. As children age, teaching them about the importance of hydration becomes essential.

Air Quality: Phoenix occasionally experiences high pollution days, which can be tough on young lungs. Monitoring air quality and minimizing outdoor activities on poor air quality days can be helpful, especially if your child has any respiratory sensitivities.

How Agave Pediatrics Can Support Your Child’s Health Journey

At Agave Pediatrics, we pride ourselves on offering comprehensive, personalized care tailored to each child and family. Our experienced pediatricians and dedicated staff offer a range of services beyond routine well-child visits to meet the diverse needs of families in Arizona. As the best pediatrician in Arizona, we emphasize holistic approaches that consider all aspects of a child’s health. Our team can address various health concerns, including providing lactation consulting services to support breastfeeding mothers and helping families navigate early feeding challenges. We understand that health concerns can arise unexpectedly, which is why we offer same day sick visits Arizona to provide care when you need it most. Additionally, our Tongue tie Specialist services can assist infants with feeding difficulties, offering expert guidance and care. Agave Pediatrics is here to support your family every step of the way.

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Questions You May Want to Ask During Your Visit

A well-child visit is an excellent time for parents to bring up questions or concerns. Consider asking about the following:

How can I support my child’s sleep and feeding habits?

What immunizations are recommended at this age?

Are there any developmental milestones we should watch for in the coming months?

What should we know about sun safety and hydration in Arizona?

Your pediatrician can offer valuable guidance and reassurance on these and other topics.

How to Make the Most of Future Well-Child Visits

As your child grows, regular well-child visits will become part of your family’s health routine. Familiarizing yourself with the well child checks in Arizona schedule and keeping a record of your child’s medical history can help you prepare for each appointment. Remember, the goal of these visits is not only to address physical health but also to nurture your child’s mental and emotional well-being. Pediatricians work closely with parents to build healthy foundations, so take advantage of the expertise available to you at each visit.

In summary, your child’s first well-child visit is a unique opportunity to lay the groundwork for their lifelong health. By understanding what to expect and preparing in advance, Phoenix parents can feel confident and empowered throughout the process. With the support of your pediatrician and a proactive approach to health, your child is set for a happy, healthy future in the beautiful Arizona sunshine.

[paleorecipecookbook]

RHR: The Health Benefits of Bee Products, with Carly Stein

In this episode, we discuss:

What the research says about bee products

How Carly created Beekeeper’s Naturals

The health benefits of honey

What you should know about propolis, bee pollen, and royal jelly

Why global bee populations are in trouble—and how you can help

How you can get a 25 percent discount at Beekeeper’s Naturals

Show Notes:

Beekeeper’s Naturals

Forbes 30 under 30 2019

“What Treatments Are Effective for Common Cold in Adults and Children?” published in BMJ

“Effect of Honey, Dextromethorphan, and No Treatment on Nocturnal Cough and Sleep Quality for Coughing Children and Their Parents,” published in JAMA

“Effect of Honey on Nocturnal Cough and Sleep Quality: A Double-Blind, Randomized, Placebo-Controlled Study,” published in Pediatrics

UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology Harry H. Laidlaw Jr. Honey Bee Research Facility

Canadian Bee Research Fund

“More than 75 Percent Decline over 27 Years in Total Flying Insect Biomass in Protected Areas,” published in PLoS One

[smart_track_player url="https://ift.tt/2PxMMbF" title="RHR: The Health Benefits of Bee Products, with Carly Stein" artist="Chris Kresser" ]

Hey, everybody, it’s Chris Kresser. Welcome to another episode of Revolution Health Radio. This week I'm really excited to welcome Carly Stein as my guest. Carly is the founder and CEO of Beekeeper’s Naturals, a natural health product company developing innovative bee-made nutraceuticals to provide effective natural solutions to modern health problems. Carly is committed to using her company as a platform to raise awareness and funding for the bee cause and promoting sustainable practices and pesticide-free beekeeping.

Carly was recently named on the Forbes 30 under 30 list, which recognizes young entrepreneurs. Before founding Beekeeper's Naturals, Carly worked as an analyst at Goldman Sachs in their securities division and spent time working at the William J. Clinton Foundation.

So I have had a long interest in hive products like honey and propolis, bee pollen, and royal jelly. They are incredibly potent natural substances with a variety of healing properties, which can often be as effective or more effective than conventional alternatives with far fewer side effects.

So if you've been following my work for some time, you know that I have often recommended raw honey, unpasteurized honey, for everything from upper respiratory infections to wound healing, including staph infections on the skin, and even hospitals now are using honey for this purpose. And these products from the hive are just pretty amazing, and when you understand the bees and bee colonies and behavior, it makes it even more fascinating.

So I'm excited to dive into this conversation with Carly and talk about these hive products, how they can support our health, and then how we can work toward creating healthier bee ecosystems so we can continue to enjoy these hive products. So hope you enjoy the conversation. Let's dive in.

Chris Kresser:  Carly, thanks for being here. I’ve been really looking forward to this.

Carly Stein:  Thank you so much for having me.

What the Research Says about Bee Products

Chris Kresser:  So I recently came across a really interesting study, 2018 in BMJ, and it was looking at what treatments are effective for common cold in adults and children. And they found very little evidence to support the use of over-the-counter cough and cold medicines. And more specifically, they found that cough suppressants don't really help children cough less and antihistamines and decongestants don't really help them sleep better. And they also found clear risk for using these medications in young children, especially under two years old, but even all the way up to six years of age. And the effects range from hallucinations to cardiac arrhythmias to depressed levels of consciousness.

They improve wound healing, have antioxidant properties, and can boost your immune system during flu season—bee products can do it all. Check out this episode of RHR for more health benefits of honey, bee pollen, royal jelly, and propolis. #healthylifestyle #chriskresser 

What I found especially interesting was that these same researchers who did this paper had done previous papers—one in 2007 where they found that honey was more effective than placebo, and dextrose, which is basically just sugar water, for cough and associated insomnia. And then there's been several other studies since then, one that found that honey was more effective than agave syrup. So that was indicating that it’s not just giving kids a sugary something; there’s something unique to honey that actually is doing this. And then in 2012, an RCT that found that honey was more effective than a date-extract placebo on nighttime cough and difficulty sleeping in kids with an upper respiratory infection.

So, I mean, the honey part didn’t surprise me, because as as you know, I've been using honey for many years both prophylactically and therapeutically for colds and flus with myself and with my whole family. But I thought this was a really fascinating study to kick off our discussion because these OTC cough and cold medicines are so common. So many people use them and I think the assumption is just that they work. And yet this study showed that not only do they not work, they’re potentially dangerous, and we have this amazing natural substance, honey, that is more effective.

Carly Stein:  Yeah, it’s really interesting. There was actually some research looking at a specific  honey varietal, buckwheat honey, and comparing it to dextromethorphan, which is the active ingredient in a lot of the OTC cough and cold medicines, and it was also compared against a placebo, and they were looking at kids with upper respiratory tract infections. And they found that the buckwheat honey consistently scored the best in reducing cough frequency. It was most healthful to help kids sleep through the night, and it was rated most favorable by parents.

So honey is definitely an amazing alternative, and just kind of like what you were saying with the cold and flu medication, there’s so much out there that we are told to take that people are just kind of not really second guessing. And there’s natural options that are so much more effective and treat the more holistic picture of health.

Chris Kresser:  Yeah, I think we have this mistaken notion, unfortunately, that's just really been drilled into us for many years, not just us, but our parents and our parents’ parents, that medications are more effective, stronger, more powerful, pharmaceuticals, I mean, than natural substances. And it's almost like the only reason that you don't take a medication is because you're trying to avoid the potential side effects or risks and/or you just are the type of person who prefers natural substances. But I’m constantly reminding my patients that, no, actually, in some cases natural substances are far more effective than the medications that you could take as an alternative. And that's what we’re seeing here in this data with the OTC cough and cold medicines.

Carly Stein:  Absolutely, and it’s so interesting, particularly when you look at bee products. I mean, of course, I’m deep into all the bee products, but the healing history. Before the advent of all of this sort of modern medicine, people were using these different bee products to treat issues that we still deal with today. And if you look at it across cultures, it's just really interesting seeing what was done. So propolis, for example, there is history of the Incas drinking propolis to reduce fever.

Chris Kresser:  Right.

Carly Stein:  The first recorded human use of propolis actually dates back to 300 BC. It’s said that ancient Egyptians used propolis. Hippocrates was a big fan of propolis, and Aristotle actually coined the term “propolis,” which means defender of the city. So all these different … in the Boer War they used propolis and honey to dress wounds. In the 17th century the London pharmacopoeia actually listed propolis as an official drug. So in my eyes, propolis is sort of the original antibiotic, and all of these bee products have played such an impactful role in human health before we had these sort of man-made and women-made substances.

How Carly Created Beekeeper’s Naturals

Chris Kresser:  Right. You are the bee lady now, perhaps, or the honey lady. But you weren’t always the bee lady, right? You were an analyst at Goldman Sachs in their securities division. So how the heck did you go from Wall Street to bees?

Carly Stein:  Yeah, not your typical trajectory. Yeah, so I used to work in finance, but growing up, I struggled with an autoimmune condition. I have arthritis, and a little bit of psoriatic arthritis, as well. And so I was just kind of dealing with some pretty intense inflammatory conditions, and then beyond that, I was always sick. I had a really weak immune system, and I was just always under the weather. And then for me, antibiotics and a lot of over-the-counter medicines would trigger my psoriasis. So when I did get sick, I didn’t really have any traditional healing options. And that sort of pushed me to start exploring the world of natural health because I was just really searching for a cure. And I ended up just trying to solve my own problem doing a ton of research and kind of really falling in love with this space.

But I found myself very frustrated with the products that were available, especially on the immune-boosting side. Because there was a lot of interesting products out there that were nicely branded and heavily marketed, but they just weren’t effective enough to help me really heal and recover. And so I was in love with the natural world but sort of disillusioned with the natural products. And that was just sort of the space I existed in. So I’ve always had this passion for natural health, but I just didn't know I could make a career out of it. And how the bees kind of came into play, when I was in college I did a semester abroad, and I got really, really sick. I had really severe tonsillitis and I was going to have to come home and have surgery.

And I was looking for anything to keep me out there, and I went into a pharmacy in Florence, Italy, and the pharmacist gave me this stuff called propolis. I had no idea what propolis was at the time, and I didn’t know that bees did anything beyond honey, but I was desperate. So I tried it, and not only did I not have an adverse reaction to it, but I made a full recovery. And for me, propolis really functioned in my body the way antibiotics do for most people struggling with any sort of viral issue. It was … I think it took me about a week to recover, but I experienced recovery, and that was just so new for me. And I was able to continue my studies abroad, and it just sparked this interest and this kind of obsessive fascination with bee products. And it was really interesting as well—Europe’s a little bit more progressive with natural health.

Chris Kresser:  Yes.

Carly Stein:  And it was like in pretty much everywhere I traveled. From Copenhagen to Barcelona, I could find propolis and royal jelly and pollen at corner stores, in many cases. And so I was, I was personally experiencing the benefits and then just kind of struck by the fact that this stuff is so widely accepted and accessible all across Europe, yet I'm pretty well researched when it comes to natural staff and I haven't even come across this in North America.

So I was really just obsessed with these products as a consumer healing myself. And then when I came home I couldn't find bee products, I couldn’t find propolis and royal jelly anywhere. And then when I did, it was at farmers markets, and no individual could really speak to me about pesticide exposure. And that's another thing I have to be really careful of, with what I put in my body, just with all my autoimmune stuff. So because nobody could guarantee a pesticide-free source and it was pretty limited in terms of finding anything beyond honey to begin with, I was just, like, okay, I guess I have to start beekeeping and do this myself. And that's how it started.

And the second I started beekeeping, my obsession grew. I just love working with the bees. It’s just kind of like this endless world to discover. There’s so many medicinal applications to the different bee products, and the bees themselves are just such an important creature to our ecosystem, and I really just completely fell in love with it. And it became this, like, weird, quirky hobby of mine. And I had dreams of doing something in that area, but I graduated college and I got a job at a hedge fund out of school, and that sounds a lot better to your family and friends than starting a bee product company. So I did that.

I didn’t really have the confidence to start a company at that time, and I was kind of following a more traditional trajectory. And so I go into finance and I end up at Goldman and I’m working insane hours. I learned a lot, but it just, it wasn't for me. The work I was doing wasn’t the sort of work that I personally care about, and I ended up becoming really depressed. And so then I sat down with myself because depression is not sustainable, and I made a spreadsheet about happiness and what I can do to get there and when I’ve been the happiest in my life. And the thing that I kept coming back to was working with the bees and making bee products. And it became really clear, that's just what I have to do.

So I kind of picked up my hobby again, and I was like, “You know, I’m not going to do anything crazy. I still have my day job. This will just be a sort of weekend and evening affair.” And I started making bee products. And I would stand at farmers markets on weekends and sell them, and all my friends thought I was completely insane, but I loved it. And because … so, I started off really kind of catering to the autoimmune protocol community because it's the community I’m a part of, where there's not many options available. And we really gained traction. People would buy my products that I would make in my apartment at the farmers market and then start sending it to their friends and family around the country. And before I knew it, I had to set up a website, and I was shipping all over North America, and then stores starting approaching us in Canada. I'm from Canada originally.

And it got to a point where we were in over 500 stores across Canada and shipping internationally. And I was still working this, like, crazy 16-hour day on the trading floor. And I was like, “Okay, someone’s gotta run this thing, and it’s gonna be me.” So I finally left my stable job at the end of 2016 to go full time at Beekeeper's Naturals, and that’s kind of how it happened. So it’s a cool story, I think, because it wasn’t like I found something interesting and saw an opportunity in the market. It was just this really organic journey of healing myself and then sort of beginning to share that, and then ending up healing myself in every way possible.

Chris Kresser:  Wow. Yeah, that is a fantastic story. I have a similar story, of course, and when the work that we do comes out of our own journey back to health, I think it’s, there’s such a richness there and such a commitment and a passion for what you do when you’ve experienced those benefits yourself personally.

Carly Stein:  Yeah, absolutely. It’s really special when it comes from such an authentic and personal place. And, I mean, that definitely frames our company and our culture. And the team we’ve built, they all have a unique story and unique reason why they love bee products and care about the bees. And it’s just really beautiful to see a team that comes at it from that angle and is sort of aligned on values to create things.

The Health Benefits of Honey

Chris Kresser:  So let’s talk a little bit more about hive products, starting with honey. Up until relatively recently—and it’s not uncommon now to see raw honey and wild honey in health food stores—but certainly growing up, my experience of honey was the little plastic bear bottle as something you put on, like, a peanut butter sandwich or something like that. But there's so much more to honey than that.

Carly Stein:  Absolutely.

Chris Kresser:  And I would love to talk a little bit more about some of its properties. Antimicrobial, expectorant, antioxidant, and then some of its wound-healing properties, which I have some personal experience with that I”ll share as well.

It’s Full of Good Bacteria (When It’s Unpasteurized)

Carly Stein:  Amazing, yeah. So first of all, the squeezy-bear honey. I used to eat those too, and that’s actually not really honey because it’s pasteurized. And that’s something that, that’s kind of the place I like to start when people dig into the health benefits of honey—it’s that you really need to make sure that it’s raw and unpasteurized. Because the process of pasteurization, it just cooks all of the nutrients out. You’re heating it to a pretty high degree and you’re left with sugar water. And the reason that people will pasteurize honey is because it doesn't crystallize. So it stays liquidy in the squeezy bear.

But raw honey will crystallize over time, it will harden, and that does not mean that it's bad. That's a totally natural process, and you can still, I have crystallized honey in my tea right now. And if you want to change the consistency because you’re cooking with it, what I typically do is I’ll just boil a pot of water and I’ll throw the jar into the pot and I’ll let the honey soften a little bit. That’s not going to pasteurize the honey. You still kind of cook it to do that. But that's a great way to soften it if you do need it for a specific recipe. But I’ve heard people get confused when honey gets hard and crystalized thinking it’s bad, when the reality is honey’s actually the only food on the planet that never expires. We’ve found honey in Egyptian tombs that was still nutritionally intact, and that’s an amazing testament to its nutritional profile and its enzyme content.

Chris Kresser:  Yeah, we have to correct some of our misperceptions. It’s like most people’s experience of sauerkraut growing up might have been stuff that was in a jar in the condiment section of the grocery store, which was pasteurized and totally devoid of the healing benefits of the bacteria that it contains. So it’s always good to correct those perceptions because, as you said, like, that's where all of the human benefit comes from, that non-pasteurized honey. What about the … some people, I think when they think about pasteurization, they think, “Oh, well, you know that's also to keep us safe from any particular bacteria or things that might be in a raw, live product.”

Carly Stein:  Yeah, so I mean it's the same as most raw foods. You want that good bacteria. The only time when I tell people to stay away from honey is when giving it to babies. You don’t want to give honey to kids under one years old just because they don’t have a fully formed digestive tract and it can be, botulism is a risk. That being said, for pregnant moms or breast-feeding moms, mothers have stomach acidity that can kill any potential germs or bacteria. So it’s totally fine for moms to eat raw honey. It’s just, don’t give it to your baby before they turn one.

It Has Wound-Healing Properties

Chris Kresser:  Right. So we know honey is antimicrobial, antiviral, perhaps. We know it can be an expectorant, it's an antioxidant, it’s has been shown to be helpful in upper respiratory infections, or other viral infections, and then it has some remarkable properties for wound healing.

So my story around that, I have several, actually, with patients. But our daughter, when we were out staying in Point Reyes for a weekend—this is when she was only two, I think, maybe a little over two years old, and she had a mosquito bite on her face. And being only two years old, she couldn't help scratching it. And it got really … she opened up a wound and then developed a staph infection on her face, which can be quite serious, of course.

And the standard thing there would be to take antibiotics or use antibiotic ointment. But I knew about the wound-healing properties of honey and that it’s actually being used in some hospitals for this purpose. And so we applied … I made a poultice with the honey and also some herbs, some antimicrobial herbs that are really powerful and can be effective against staph, and we just started applying it. And within a couple of days, I mean, it was significantly better. And I think after four to five days, it was completely gone. It was miraculous to see that. Even though I believed in it and I have had other experiences in the past, when it’s my two-year-old daughter and a serious, potentially life-threatening infection, it is a whole other story, level of commitment to that belief system.

Carly Stein:  Absolutely, yeah.

Chris Kresser:  And so it was just incredible to see that. And since then I've suggested it with many patients who’ve had wounds from any number of causes, injuries, trauma, etc., and the results have always been phenomenal. So it's just, it's amazing to me that we have this, again, abundant and although under threat substance, which we’ll be talking about later, that they can safely heal these wounds. And yet until very recently, we haven’t been utilizing it.

Carly Stein:  Yeah. Honey really is amazing for skin healing, and I like to take it one step further. I use propolis, actually, topically all the time. It’s so powerful for burns, and there's also a lot of interesting studies on propolis and its ability to heal the skin. I came across a study and it found that propolis really decreased free radical activity in healing the wound beds, which supported the repair process. And propolis also shows positive collagen metabolism in the wound during the healing process. So it increases the collagen and content of tissue.

So a lot of cool stuff with propolis, and it's also an anti-inflammatory agent. But, I mean, raw honey, of course, has trace amounts of propolis in it and has antiviral and antibacterial properties and antioxidants. So yeah, both of them are really fantastic for topical use.

It Can Help You Hack Your Sleep

One of my favorite things for honey as well—and this is one that not everybody knows about, so I always like to share—is using honey to hack my sleep. I don’t know if you’ve tried that at all, Chris.

Chris Kresser:  Tell us more about that.

Carly Stein:  Yeah, so I do a teaspoon of honey every night before bed, and I do it because when you have honey, it allows for a slow steady rise in insulin and it allows the tryptophan to cross the blood–brain barrier and then convert it into serotonin and then melatonin in the dark. So you’re kind of naturally supporting your body in that way. And then it can also be really helpful to regulate your sleep–wake cycle. Sometimes this happens, typically with women as they’re aging, but what happens, these times their glycogen levels will get depleted and it will cause them to wake up in the middle of the night. And honey, because of the slow release, it allows the glycogen to be, glycogen stores to be just sort of filled up in the liver and it allows for a more restful sleep.

Chris Kresser:  Yeah, we will sometimes use a little bit of honey before bed and have found that it’s helpful that way, particularly for my daughter. But that's interesting; I haven’t heard that as much before.

We had … so, earlier in the summer I had a crazy experience where my wife and I contracted a parasite from food, an outbreak in Berkeley, of all places. A bug called Cyclospora, which is a parasite that’s more common in South America. It was, like, some basil from Guatemala that had been washed in water that was contaminated and then was transported up here and distributed to a bunch of different restaurants in the Bay Area, particularly Asian restaurants. And we had eaten some pho at a Vietnamese restaurant with this basil. And so this parasite’s particularly difficult to treat.

We tried herbal approaches and it wasn't effective, and then we ended up taking a drug called Alinia, which was effective, but then towards the end of my course of that, I developed an allergic reaction to the drug. Which has never happened to me before. And that allergic reaction is something called toxic epidermal necrolysis. So if you look it up, it's pretty scary. It’s like 60 percent mortality rate, or something, 20 to 50 percent mortality rate. But my version, I think, was milder. I went to see the dermatologist, and he was like, “I don’t see many people walking around with this outside of hospital.” And so among … it almost manifests like burns on the body. And he suggested, gave me some steroid types of creams and other creams. And I was like, “Well, I want to see how some of this other, these other natural remedies that I’ve used for this kind of thing in the past, work.”

And so I got out the honey and was using honey and also CBD, mixing them together. I didn't think to use propolis at the time, but the honey was amazing, again. Usually these sores can take a long time to heal, and they took awhile for me, and I did use other things. But every time I put the honey on, I felt immediate relief, and the itching was significantly decreased. So it was pretty amazing.

I’ve had so many of these kinds of experiences, either personally or with patients now, that I am definitely a true believer. Somebody asked me—I was doing a Q&A with the clinician training program that I do—and someone asked a kind of unusual question. They said, “If you could only choose two to four supplements or superfood kind of products to take with you in a crisis situation, like an earthquake or something like that, what would you choose?” And honey was definitely one of the four that I listed.

Carly Stein:  I mean, that’s a great one because it never goes bad and it has all the antibacterial healing properties.

Chris Kresser:  Exactly. And you can eat it.

Carly Stein:  Yeah, exactly.

Chris Kresser:  If things get bad, it’s a source of calories, right?

Carly Stein:  Why I’m always carrying around my bee products, just in case.

Chris Kresser:  I never would’ve thought of that, but when he asked me that question, I was like, yeah, absolutely. Honey would be on that list. It’s amazing.

Carly Stein:  It’s really interesting, exploring the topical benefits. And what you were just saying about the honey with the CBD, we actually had a customer write in the other day who has very severe eczema, like, very, very painful. And we actually make a CBD honey called B. Chill and what he was doing is he was taking the B. Chill honey, spraying in propolis, and then mixing it with a carrier oil and using that. And it’s, like, really cleared up his eczema. He sent in pictures and everything. It’s pretty amazing.

Chris Kresser:  Yeah. The only problem I have with that treatment, with the honey treatment is, my dog was following me around licking me. That’s a small side effect, I think.

Carly Stein:  Yeah.

Chris Kresser:  If that’s the worse thing that happens, I can live with it.

Carly Stein:  You mean, if the side effect is dogs following me around, I will take that drug.

Chris Kresser:  That’s right. Absolutely. She licks me anyways, but with the honey it was particularly intense.

So, yeah, let's talk a little bit more about some of the other hive products that I think people are less familiar with. We touched on propolis and its antimicrobial properties. I’d love to hear a little bit more about that, and then, of course, there's bee pollen and royal jelly. And I've been using some of these more often too. Particularly, I think, it's the B. Powered, which is the honey and bee pollen and royal jelly together.

And when we feel like we’re getting sick or fighting something around here, our routine will typically be to use the propolis spray in our throats and then have some of the B. Powered. And it's almost December. There's been a lot going around and we’ve stayed remarkably healthy throughout the flu season. And that’s—and people are always asking me, “What do you do to stay healthy and what are your top remedies?” And I’m always kind of trying new things, but these honey products, or hive products, have been pretty amazing for us. And they’re really easy to get kids to take too, I have to say.

Carly Stein:  Yeah, no, I’m so happy to hear that, and it’s true, the substance from the hive has such incredible healing benefits. And just back to the study we kind of spoke about in the very beginning, with honey for chronic pediatric coughs and the fact that buckwheat honey was the specific type to be found effective. All honey is fantastic, but just in that study, buckwheat was found to be very effective. And we also know that buckwheat honey has some of the highest antioxidants of any honey varietal, and so we actually made this product for kids.

We combined our propolis with buckwheat honey, and we just came out with a throat spray for kids. And so for anybody who’s got a coughing little one who’s kind of struggling to take medicine, the propolis with buckwheat honey tastes pretty fantastic, and it is … it’s pretty easy to get people to try out. And that’s just a product I’m really excited about because it’s combining these different superfoods, and I love combining the different hive products like we do with the B. Powered. Because—and we’ll dig into all the benefits of the individual products—but one thing that’s really interesting that I’m constantly learning about with bee products is their synergistic effects.

So, for example, when you combine raw honey with royal jelly, it actually becomes a source of Bifidobacteria, and then propolis is prebiotic. And so with the B. Powered combination, which has all the hive superfoods in one, you’re getting a probiotic, a prebiotic, you’re getting all the immune-boosting properties. And it’s just really cool the way that bee products interact with one another.

Chris Kresser:  Yeah. That’s true of herbs too and natural medicines, and it’s one of the reasons why it’s … In the conventional model, the idea is always to extract what they call the “active ingredient” and really just amplify that. But that’s often not as effective as taking the whole food or the whole plant and using the whole plant. So it’s always good to keep that in mind because there’s so much we still don’t even understand about how all these things interact and support each other and have a synergistic relationship.

What You Should Know about Propolis, Bee Pollen, and Royal Jelly

So, yeah, let's dive in a little bit to the individual hive products like bee pollen and royal jelly and anything else you want to add about propolis. When would you think that using each of these? What are their various properties?

Carly Stein:  For sure. So maybe I should start as well just by letting people know what these different things are.

Chris Kresser:  That would be good.

Propolis Is Nature’s Antibiotic

Carly Stein:  Because often, people think propolis is a honey derivative and it’s kind of a different thing. So in the hives, the honey is the bee’s carbs, it’s their source of fuel, their energy. And what honey is made from, it’s made from floral nectars, whereas propolis in the hive, it’s very much used as the medicine or the immune system of the hive and it’s made from plant and tree resins. So to make propolis, bees will collect plant and tree resins, put it through their enzymatic process, and then they get this sticky amber-colored substance and they use it to line the hive and keep it germ free. And they even line the walls of the cells for the newborn baby bees to create a sterile environment for newborns.

And one really interesting thing about propolis in the beehive is, let's say an intruder gets into the hive or a predator, like a mouse. It happens all the time. There’s honey and good stuff in there, a mouse will get in and what happens is the bees can sting the mouse and kill it. But they can’t physically pick up a dead rodent and carry it out of the hive. And just like with humans, having a cadaver in our living room would make us pretty sick. So decaying rodents in the middle of the hive would hypothetically kill everything. But what the bees will do is they’ll mummify the dead rodent in propolis, and the propolis is that powerful of a protective substance that it protects the entire hive from this decaying rodent in the middle of the hive.

Chris Kresser:  Wow. It’s so amazing to learn about bees like that.

Carly Stein:  It’s so cool.

Chris Kresser:  Their culture just blows me away. I mean, I’ve not gone as deep into the hive, I guess you could say, as you have. But just, their social organization and cohesion and the way that they work together and the strategies that they've come up with for working together as a colony just is amazing.

Carly Stein:  It’s so fascinating.

Chris Kresser:  It’s almost hard to understand. There's an intelligence there that we do not really … can’t get our heads around, I think.

Carly Stein:  I totally agree. Yeah, it’s so interesting. They even make propolis mats at the front entrance of the hive so that the bees can disinfect as they come in.

Chris Kresser:  Wow.

Carly Stein:  Yeah, all these things they do with propolis, it’s so interesting. And for humans, propolis functions in very much the same way. Like I was saying before, I kind of call propolis nature’s antibiotic. It’s just a really natural, nourishing, protective substance. So propolis is:

Antiviral

Antifungal

Antimicrobial

Antibacterial

Anti-inflammatory

So it’s really amazing for combating cold and flu. I use it both preventively, and then I also use it to recover.

So for me, I take propolis every single day, and it’s really helpful for me as well for fighting inflammation. And then if I’m feeling run down or I’m traveling or it’s cold and flu season, any situation where my health is just a little bit in high risk, I basically just double dose. So I’ll spray 10, sometimes 20 sprays a day if I’m feeling rundown.

Chris Kresser:  Yeah.

Carly Stein:  But normal day to day, I’ll just do, like, three to five sprays. One of my good friends is a flight attendant, and she sprays it into her water bottles before she flies.

Chris Kresser:  I bet.

Carly Stein:  With the recycled air and all the free radical damage.

Chris Kresser:  Yeah. I take it on flights too, I have to confess. I’m that guy who’s sitting there spraying it on the plane because I’m always a little reluctant to fly at this time of year because there’s just people hacking and coughing all around you. There's nowhere to escape. So propolis is my friend.

Carly Stein:  Oh, yeah. And then also just the free radical damage. We’re exposed to so much radiation when we fly, and there was actually a study done and it looked at, I mean, this was a little bit different, but it was looking at competitive cyclists. And it was looking at propolis and its ability to combat oxidative stress that’s exercise-induced. So, like, the free radical damage you get from exercising. And it found that propolis was really effective at combating that kind of damage. So it’s really great. It’s really high in antioxidants, and it’s really great at just kind of combating free radicals and acting as an all-around protector.

Bee Pollen Is an Excellent Source of Protein

Chris Kresser:  Cool. So let's move on to bee pollen. I think maybe some people may be a little more familiar with bee pollen. I remember, even, health food stores that I went into as a kid would sometimes have bee pollen. And I think the association there was with energy.

Carly Stein:  It’s so funny. Bee pollen is something that people have been taking for years and years and years while having no idea what it does.

Chris Kresser:  Exactly, yeah.

Carly Stein:  But it’s no complaints. It’s fantastic for you. So in the beehive, bee pollen is the bee’s main protein source. The bees will fly from flower to flower collecting pollen, and they mix it with their enzymes to pack it, and they bring it back, and it’s the protein source of the hive. It’s really fantastic for energy.

And then for humans, it’s really one of nature’s most completely nourishing foods. It contains nearly all nutrients required by humans and it’s really rich in protein. It’s over 40 percent protein; it’s full of free-forming amino acids; vitamins including B-complex vitamins, which helps with energy levels, has folic acid.

So, yeah, bee pollen is, it’s just, in my mind bee pollen is kind of like an all-natural food-based bioavailable multivitamin. And that’s really how I use it. I do a teaspoon on whatever I’m eating every morning, whether it’s putting it in my smoothie or topping toast or I’ll put it on salads. But it’s just a really great nutrient boost to whatever you’re having. And because it’s full of, especially if you’re having raw bee pollen, it’s full of the live enzymes. And so it’s really easily digested. And so it’s great for people with nutrient deficiencies as well.

Royal Jelly Is a Superfood

Chris Kresser:  And then royal jelly. This maybe the least familiar hive product, I think.

Carly Stein:  Yeah, royal jelly is the coolest. So royal jelly, you can think of royal jelly as the secret food of the hive. So just to break it down again for all the new bee product lovers out there, honey is the bee’s energy source; it’s their carbs. Propolis is their medicine, it’s the building blocks of their immune system. Pollen is their protein, vitamins, their energy-boosting food. And royal jelly is their superfood. Royal jelly is literally the substance used to create a queen bee.

So what happens with bees is for the first three days of development, all newborn baby bees are fed royal jelly, and then after the first three days they’re taken off their exclusive royal jelly diet and they move on to a more standard diet of pollen and honey. But the bee who is to become queen, the larva who is destined to be queen, she continues eating her diet of royal jelly. And how she evolves on this diet is pretty interesting. Because the queen bee … so she grows to a very different size than the regular worker bees. She’s much more robust.

The queen bee can lay up to 1,500 babies a day, whereas regular female bees don’t even have reproductive organs. And then the queen bee lives three to five years versus a regular bee, during foraging season, who lives six to eight weeks. So pretty amazing what’s happening there.

Chris Kresser:  She’s living exclusively on that royal jelly.

Carly Stein:  Exactly, yeah. So in the hive really interesting. And then for humans, royal jelly is one of those awesome superfoods that has been used across cultures. And we have a lot of anecdotal evidence pointing to different things. So people, like, for example, in traditional Chinese medicine, royal jelly is well-regarded as a substance to boost fertility and balance hormones.

So I see a lot of TCM practitioners who are giving royal jelly to their patients who are kind of coming off birth control, who are working on getting pregnant. For men and women, actually, it’s looked at as a fantastic hormone stabilizer and fertility tonic. And then royal jelly has great immune boosting and immunomodulatory properties. So it’s awesome for people who are autoimmune, such as myself. But in Western medicine, most of the studies have been pretty focused on royal jelly’s effects on the brain, and that’s really what we kind of spend a lot of time at Beekeeper's Naturals researching with royal jelly.

So royal jelly is one of the only natural products to contain actual acetylcholine. So a lot of the products on the market, they contain choline, which is a precursor to acetylcholine, but royal jelly is the only source of actual acetylcholine, which is pretty awesome because acetylcholine is great for basically stimulating your—

Chris Kresser:  It’s neurotropic.

Carly Stein:  Yeah, exactly, for helping a healthy brain, for reducing your odds of neurodegenerative conditions, for brain healing, for focus, memory, concentration, acetylcholine is really important. And with royal jelly you’re getting a pretty high concentration of pure acetylcholine.

Chris Kresser:  Yeah, that’s the only neurotropic that I’ve actually found makes a difference for me. And I’ve tried a lot, and it’s pretty amazing. Yeah, and a lot of my patients have had the same experience. It’s really, there are a lot of those products in my experience that either don’t really move the needle for most people or they produce a lot of uncomfortable side effects. It’s like plugging yourself into a socket. And you might have more your productivity or mental clarity, but you're also bouncing off the walls and you feel really uncomfortable. But acetylcholine doesn’t tend to have that effect for most people.

Carly Stein:  Yeah, and it’s something that even if you’re not, it’s great because it will give you sort of the desired outcome of boosting memory and focus, but we have lots of customers who are members of the aging population who aren’t necessarily looking to increase their productivity. But they’re looking to just help their brain age in a healthy way and reduce their odds of these different things.

And so it’s something that, really that’s what we do with all of our products. We’re trying to really take that 360 approach and not just look at the symptom and how we can solve a sore throat or boost your mental clarity. We’re looking at how can we make your brain healthier on a holistic level and then have the outcome of that increased health and vitality be better memory, stronger ability to focus. And I think that’s a really important place to come at all these things from.

Why Global Bee Populations Are in Trouble—and How You Can Help

Chris Kresser:  Wow, just so fascinating. We could go on forever. We’ve got about 10 minutes left, and I want to talk a little bit about the bees and why bee colonies and ecosystems are so important and what’s happening right now in the world around that. I’m sure a lot of people have heard that bees are struggling. And I want to hear a little bit about just the landscape there and then what you're doing to work towards healthier bee ecosystems.

Carly Stein:  Yeah, this is so important, Chris. So, I mean, bees are, honey bees are the world's most important pollinators. There's a lot of, a lot of the food we eat and flowers that cover our grounds, they can't self-pollinate. They can't reproduce on their own, and they actually rely on other creatures to help with pollination. So, some examples of this are almonds. Almonds, they can't self-pollinate, they rely on bees to transfer the pollen. And there’s 70 of the world’s 100 most important food crops are actually bee pollinated. So, literally, these food crops cannot grow without the bees. So the bees are literally supplying our food for us. And the bees have been dying out in recent years.

And starting in 2006, when DDT was taken out of the game, it was replaced with a pesticide called neonicotinoids (or neonics). And neonics, they affect the bees’ spatial reasoning, and they’re pretty toxic to bees and probably to us. We just haven't seen any strong studies there yet. They’re water-soluble, they’re degrading our soil, getting into our water supply, and that’s one of the many factors that’s really kind of causing bee decline.

Another big issue is global warming. Climate change is really kind of throwing bees off, and they’re losing their ability to hibernate over winter and come out at the right time. And things like mites, all of these factors together will reduce the bees’ immune system and make them susceptible to things like mites and different parasites, and then also just urbanization. We’re losing green space, and our green space, unfortunately, a lot of it is sort of, like, mass agro crops that are covered in pesticides and sort of done factory style.

So our environment has just really not been conducive to bee health. And because of that, the bees are in decline. And we cannot afford to lose the bees because like I said, they pollinate nearly one-third of our food supply and they also pollinate all of these different wildflowers and wild plants that other creatures rely on. For example, they’ll pollinate clover and alfalfa, which cattle graze on. So just the ripple effect of losing the bees on our ecosystem, it’s devastating. And like I said, we’ve seen year-over-year decline, which is really scary. So with Beekeeper’s Naturals, I’m a beekeeper first, and our team is very passionate about this. We’re a benefit corp. And we are really looking to start the conversation about the important role that bees play and also just kind of change the model of how bees are treated.

So we practice sustainable beekeeping. Everything we do is pesticide-free and we work with a third-party lab to do pesticide testing on all of our raw product. That, of course, makes it accessible to people with autoimmune and sensitive systems. And by the way, I kind of feel like all products should be third-party pesticide tested, but that’s a whole other argument. But in doing that, beyond the effects it has on the product quality, that’s how we can really ensure that we’re exposing bees to clean foraging grounds and giving bees actual clean green space that’s not coated in pesticides and see how they do. And what we’ve seen is our hives have done really well year over year. We’ve seen a lot of growth from our hives, contrary to population trends.

So on the production level, we work really hard to just keep that quality and keep it pesticide free to ensure our bees have clean food. And then we also do a lot on the awareness side, and we work with some different incredible organizations. We work with UC Davis bee research in the US and the Canadian Bee Research Fund in Canada. And we run different campaigns with them throughout the year. And, yeah, we’re just looking to really educate people right now and get people to start making a difference on the consumer level because I think that’s where it needs to begin. Unfortunately, big pesticide companies are not really going away right now in the US. There’s been some positive momentum in other parts of the world.

So, in Canada, for example, Ontario was the first province to institute a partial ban on neonics. There’s been some bans in Europe, but I mean it doesn’t seem to be around the corner, unfortunately, right now in the US.

So what I like to encourage people to do is do their part to create a bee-friendly environment and support clean food production. And it sounds pretty simple, but it really does make a big difference. Just creating a bee habitat in your lawn, even if you have a small space. I live in an apartment, and my balcony is just covered in flowers. Same with my window sill. Because everything is so coated in pesticides, giving the bees access to clean foods or just buying seeds or plants that are organic, untreated, pesticide free and placing them out there, it really makes a difference to our bees.

Chris Kresser:  Our front yard is swarming with bees and our backyard too. We have a lot of flowers and plants that we specifically planted for that reason. And a kind of a permaculture set up, and it’s just amazing to see how many bees will find their way to those sources of pollen.

Carly Stein:  It’s awesome. And it also helps your garden. I mean they pollinate it, they make it grow, and they make it beautiful.

And another thing to do to the extent you can, and I know this isn't always an option, but I try really hard for the most part to be aware of the produce I’m buying. I really try to purchase pesticide free. And I do a lot of shopping at farmers markets. I know not everybody has that accessible, but if you can do your best to support growers who are growing things in the right way, it makes a really big difference.

And then just if you want to upgrade your bee habitat even more, a nice thing to do if you live in a place that gets hot is put out a little bee bath. Just like the birds, the bees get thirsty too, especially in the hot summer months. And so taking a little bowl, filing it with water and putting some mulch and rocks for the bees to perch on, really great way to help support them when it’s really hot out. Just because we don’t live in environments where there’s rivers around and all that stuff.

Chris Kresser:  Yeah. It’s so important. I mean, I'm sure you saw this article in the New York Times a few days ago called “The Insect Apocalypse Is Here.” And they were talking about a German study that found in a nature reserve there that the overall abundance of flying insects has decreased by 75 percent over just 27 years. And if you looked at the midsummer population peaks for insects, it was 82 percent drop.

That's pretty apocalyptic. I didn't have a good feeling when I got to the end of that article and just felt really motivated to see what I could do, we could do as a community, to raise awareness around this. What are the organizations that you think—if someone wants to go beyond planting a garden, which is an awesome first step and super important—but if they want to get involved or either contribute their time or money to an organization, what would you suggest?

Carly Stein:  So, first of all, if they want to get involved and start beekeeping, backyard beekeeping is an amazing way to create more of a bee-friendly environment and pick up a really cool hobby. And we have tons of information about that on our blog. We actually do a series on our blog called Unveiled—when you’re beekeeping, you usually wear a veil—where we unveil sustainable beekeepers from around the world just to kind of share good practices and encourage new beekeepers to come onto the scene, whether it’s having a hive in your backyard that someone else manages or getting really into it yourself.

And then you can also donate through our site. So we link to our charity partners. It’s all accessible at BeekeepersNaturals.com on the mission page. And with our apparel line as well, if you want to kind of rock the cause a little bit, we sell these different tees and hats, and we give a portion of proceeds back to our charity partners. And they say things like “Save the Bees” and “No Honey. Mo Problems.” And they’re good conversation starters about the cause.

How You Can Get a 25 Percent Discount at Beekeeper’s Naturals

Chris Kresser:  Cool. Well, I want all of you to get a chance to try some of these amazing products and benefit from them as much as we have. And Carly and her generous team over at Beekeeper's have put together a bundle of some of my favorite products. This includes four of them: the bee propolis spray, which is great for immune support, scratchy throats, everything we talked about; the B. Powered, which is this super honey with royal jelly, bee pollen, bee propolis for immune support and energy—this is what we take if we feel like something is, like we’re getting a viral upper respiratory thing; the B. Chill hemp honey sticks—so this is a high-potency CBD oil, which you heard me talk all about the benefits of CBD, and then in an emulsion of MCT oil for bioavailability, so it’s great for sleep or stress or inflammation; and then the B.LXR Brain Fuel, which is a combination of royal jelly, ginkgo, and Bacopa, which are also neurotrophic substances, herbs. It’s great for memory and focus, brain health. If I have to sit down and write an article or create a presentation or something like that, I’ll just pop one of these and it just gives me a nice little boost in terms of mental clarity and ability to focus.

And they have generously offered a 25 percent discount for anybody that orders. So you can check this out at ChrisKresser.com/hive, h-i-v-e. And I want to give you a disclaimer that I am an investor in Beekeeper’s Naturals. You know that I’ve talked about other investments that I’ve made in the past on this show, and my strategy and philosophy in terms of investment is only to invest in companies that either I use their products myself, I use them with my patients, they have to have a strong social mission and be contributing to society and not just interested in growing their company themselves. And they really have to have a strong vision for how to make the world a better place.

So it’s a pretty high bar that I set for any investment that I make. And I was really excited when I learned about the Beekeeper’s opportunity. And I want to do everything I can to help support the company and their mission, in addition to just being an avid consumer of their products myself. So hope you enjoyed them as much as I have. ChrisKresser.com/hive, and Carly, thank you so much for joining us. It’s been a fascinating conversation. And I hope we can have you back in the future to talk about the next generation of what you guys are up to.

Carly Stein:  Amazing. Thank you so much for having me, Chris.

Chris Kresser:  Okay, take care.

Carly Stein:  You too. Bye.

Now, I’d like to hear from you. Do you use any bee products in your day-to-day life? Are you planning to give Beekeeper’s Naturals a try? Comment below and let me know!

The post RHR: The Health Benefits of Bee Products, with Carly Stein appeared first on Chris Kresser.

Source: http://chriskresser.com December 11, 2018 at 03:51PM

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Medication Selection For Patients On Ketogenic Diets

Sandhoff's infection is an uncommon innate lipid stockpiling sickness that steadily harms nerve cells in the cerebrum and spinal line. Seizures are an ordinary Sandhoff's concern and are treated with a ketogenic diet. As per dietary patterns, numerous fluid drugs are changed over into tablet dose structures to restrict the number of sugars. SK is a solution glycerin suppository needed for the stoppage. Be that as it may, glycerol is not suggested for patients on a ketogenic diet.

Sandhoff Disease

Sandhoff's illness is an uncommon lysosomal stockpiling infection; it is a genetic lipid stockpiling sickness portrayed by harm to nerve cells, which in the long run makes the focal sensory system dysregulated. It prompts thinking and development issues. In particular, "Sanhoff's sickness" is an autosomal latent hereditary infection. This is brought about by destructive changes in the HEXB quality. The injurious change in this quality prompts a lessening in the quantity of two chemicals in the cell reusing focus (lysosome). This hereditary irregularity prompts hexosaminidase An and B insufficiency. This causes fats (lipids) called GM2 gangliosides to be stored in neurons and different tissues. Sandhoff's infection is clinically the same as Sachs' sickness.

Kinds Of Sandhoff's Disease

There are three kinds of Sanhoff's illness:

·       Exemplary infant

·       Adolescent

·       Late grown-up

Each structure is grouped by the seriousness of manifestations and the age at which side effects show up.

Sandhoff's sickness is the most widely recognized illness, which causes a fast decrease in babies' psychological and athletic capacities. . The pervasiveness of Sanhov's infection changes from one populace to another. Sandhoff's infection in youths and grown-ups is inconsistent and limits the future. During the initial half-year of life, children with Sandhoff's illness become powerless. They will lose abilities, for example, turning over, sitting, and creeping. As the infection advances, they may have the accompanying issues.

·       Eruption Sudden sound

·       Voice delay

·       Early visual deficiency

·       Seizures

·       Heart mumble

·       Trouble eating

·       Continually fix the muscles (fits)

Some wiped out kids have broadened liver and spleen, regularly with respiratory contaminations or skeletal anomalies. Children with this illness for the most part create at 3 to a half years old enough, gradually developing and debilitating the muscles utilized for work out.

Sandhoff's sickness in young people and grown-ups is uncommon and limits the future. The pervasiveness of Sanhov's illness shifts from one populace to another. It is by all accounts more normal to coming up next populace's Creole individuals in northern Argentina, Metis Indians Lebanese in Saskatchewan, Canada.

There is no solution for Sandhoff's illness, and the guess is poor. The current focal point of treatment is steady measures. Anticonvulsants are utilized for epileptic seizures and the treatment of related respiratory contaminations. Influenced youngsters generally simply live to 3-4 years of age, and most of them bite the dust because of respiratory contaminations.

Ketogenic Diet

The ketogenic diet is a high-fat, low-starch dinner plan wealthy in protein. In the ketogenic diet, the utilization of carbs is purposely confined. Rather than changing over sugars into glucose, the liver believers fats into unsaturated fats and ketone bodies. In a typical eating routine, sugars are changed over into glucose, which gives fuel to mind work and turns into a fuel source. It was figured in 1924 by Dr. Russell Wilder of the Mayo Clinic. It drastically restricts the admission of starches and replaces them with fat. The decrease of starches will make the body enter a metabolic state.

The ketogenic diet isn't adjusted, and numerous nutrients should be enhanced misleadingly. The ketogenic diet is exceptionally individualized and ordinarily begins under clinical watch in a clinic. How the ketogenic diet controls epilepsy isn't completely perceived. Notwithstanding, an arising concentrate from Emory University School of Medicine shows that "diet changes the qualities associated with energy digestion in the cerebrum, subsequently assisting with balancing out openness to neurons that test cell work. Nerves. Seizures."

Regular food sources in the ketogenic diet incorporate

·       Eggs

·       Full-fat cheddar

·       Meat

·       Nuts

To build the fat substance in the eating regimen, substantial cream, margarine, and oil is regularly utilized in cooking. Food sources to keep away from incorporate all grain items, for example, (Bread, rice, pasta), soda, organic product juice, sugar, and desserts (cakes, frozen yogurt, chocolate). Rigorously estimating and changing the site may make diet inadmissible. For an illustration of a ketogenic diet menu, kindly visit the Boston Children's Hospital site

Results of the ketogenic diet

·       Feeling dull after beginning to eat.

·       Gastrointestinal distresses, like queasiness/retching, the runs, and obstruction

·       Moderate development or weight reduction

·       Kidney stones

·       Drying out

The Method Of Kinetic Control Diet Success

The ketogenic diet is normally used to treat pediatric patients with headstrong or drug-safe epilepsy and is characterized as two reasonable anticonvulsants that are incapable at the suggested portion. Despite anticonvulsants, upwards of 30-40% of epilepsy patients keep on having seizures. 8 The ketogenic diet was the norm of care for seizure control during the 1920s until anticonvulsants turned into the standard in the following decade. This eating regimen is for Hollywood maker J.J. Abrams. Abrams' child experienced epilepsy and was alleviated by a ketogenic diet. Abrams kept on building up the Charlie Foundation to advance the part of the ketogenic diet in the treatment of obstinate epilepsy.

Planned examinations on kids have shown that about half of kids will keep on eating for at any rate one year, and 40-half of them will have under half of the epileptic seizures inside a year in the wake of beginning to eat. 7,9,10 An examination distributed in March 2017 showed that patients halted the ketogenic diet because of consistency, results, and viability issues. 10 Studies have shown that gastrointestinal results are more articulated than "routine consideration" at four months in the wake of beginning the eating regimen. Patients on a ketogenic diet at 16 months are more helpless to conduct/peevishness, development issues/coordination, and magnificence. There are fewer grumblings about dermatological issues. For seizure control for a very long time, specialists may consider an eating routine test-this is like regular treatment with medications to survey whether the control can be kept up without mediation. Youngsters who leave the ketogenic diet for the most part keep on taking anticonvulsants.

Albeit a few groups can take lower dosages or potentially fewer medications. After halting the eating regimen, 80% of kids still presently don't have seizures in the wake of accepting the ketogenic diet treatment. 7 Most investigations have zeroed in on pediatric patients. Diet might be compelling for grown-ups, yet controlled examinations are required. In principle, the prohibitive idea of diet fends numerous grown-up patients off. In one examination, just 18 of 130 qualified grown-ups consented to begin eating.

The Considerations For The Hospice Population

Keeping up ketosis implies that patients should stay away from starches in their eating routine and meds. Fluid prescriptions are especially dangerous because numerous medications contain tasteful sugars, which increment the substance of starches. Holding fast to a ketogenic diet represents a test for patients with terminal hunger misfortune. Urge numerous hospice patients to eat by picking their #1 food varieties (generally "solace food sources" with high carbs). These patients may likewise experience issues gulping, so fluid prescriptions should be utilized. It is essential to be comfortable with low-sugar or no-carb medications. Coming up next is a rundown of normal starch and non-sugar fixings in medications.

Carb Composition

·       Glycerin

·       Maltodextrin

·       Natural Acids – Ascorbic corrosive, citrus extract, lactic corrosive, propylene glycol

·       Sugars – Glucose-Fructose, dextrose, lactose, sucrose, sugar, palm sugar, agave nectar, sucrose syrup, stick juice, corn syrup, nectar

·       Sugar Alcohols – Erythritol, isomalt, glycerol, mannitol, maltitol, sorbitol, xylitol

·       Starch – Corn starch, hydrogenated starch hydrolysate (HSH), pregelatinized starch, sodium starch glycolate

Non-Carbohydrate Ingredients

·       Aspartame

·       Potassium Nitrosamine (AceK)

·       Carboxymethyl Cellulose

·       Progressed

·       Stevia (rebiana)

·       Hydroxymethyl cellulose

·       Magnesium stearate

·       Microcrystalline Cellulose

·       Polyethylene Glycol saccharin

Drug Specialist Assessment

SK is right now utilizing glycerin suppositories. As the name proposes, glycerin is a functioning fixing and sugar. Different intestinal medicines reasonable for a very long time old enough incorporate docusate sodium, senna, bisacodyl, lactulose, and Miralax®. In the wake of auditing these intestinal medicines, bisacodyl suppositories, Miralax and senna leaf arrangements contain dynamic and latent fixings and contain no or low starch content.

Ideas

Miralax is suggested as the most ideal decision. The suggested introductory portion is 0.4 g/kg/day. 11SK has been settled in Miralax 8.5 grams (estimated by the half-line.

[luv-engineering]

5.0 out of 5 stars Life changing nutritional education

4.0 out of 5 stars A book that might change how you eat! I devoured this book.Lustig, a pediatric endocrinologist at UCSF whose "Sugar: The Bitter Truth" lecture video got lots of hits on YouTube, has been watching the rise of obesity and its attendant ills in his practice over the last umpteen years. While not every obese person is unhealthy (and many people with acceptable BMIs still suffer from metabolic syndrome), obesity frequently brings in train "the cluster of chronic metabolic diseases...which includes...type 2 diabetes, hypertension (high blood pressure), lipid (blood fat) disorders, and cardiovascular disease," along with "co-morbidities associated with obesity, such as orthopedic problems, sleep apnea, gallstones, and depression." Lustig even mentioned the increase of dementia as tied to this whole mess, as insulin resistance leads to dementia!Consider some of his alarming statistics:- 1/4 of U.S.Read more › Go to Amazon

4.0 out of 5 stars Well credentialed physician provides valuable insight into major problem As a health and fitness researcher and reviewer, I have a keen interest in why people get sick and how we can stay healthy. There is so much clutter out there. So much half-baked information, little of which is based on science.The author tells us upfront, "I'll make a promise to you right now: there is not one statement made in this entire book that can't be backed up by hard science."And so, it was with great pleasure that I read this book by a doctor who understands the problem of sugar in the diet on all levels. My only real disappointment was that he is a pediatrician and an awful lot of what he writes is about children and their problems. While this is of great importance, I prefer to read about mature people and their problems. Having said that, sugar is a problem for us all.The parts in the book about the government and its relationship with the food industry is all well-known and you can just pass over this part if you already know it. And, a lot of it is available in his YouTube video. But, if you're unfamiliar with the topic, you may find it fascinating.But you will find how to read a food label. I find this really an eye-opener. I sort of knew what to look for but not totally. This book filled the gap for me.The author believes that all sweeteners are bad. But, he lays it out in a way that is most persuasive. He says, "All caloric sweeteners contain fructose: white sugar, cane sugar, beet sugar, fruit sugar, table sugar, brown sugar, and its cheaper cousin HFCS. Add to this maple syrup, honey, and agave nectar. It's all the same. The vehicle is irrelevant; it's the payload that matters."The book starts out with a lot of high-toned medical jargon that really should have been eliminated for the layperson.Read more › Go to Amazon

[tamarcohen510]

Is Sugar Bad for You?

Is Sugar Bad for You?

  There’s a lot of recent talk about the dangers of consuming sugar. Is sugar bad for you? Does sugar make you gain weight? Does sugar make you fat? Are all types of sugars and carbohydrates the same? Does the body metabolize all sugars the same way? To find the answers keep reading…

It has become evident that sugars are the primary cause of obesity and diabetes. Many other inflammatory diseases and health conditions are also a result of too much sugar consumption. All sugars, even the ones found in fruit may derail your weight loss efforts. However, some types of sugars are worse than others. I’m not talking about the natural sugars in broccoli or cabbage, or even in some fruit. I’m talking about added sugars even in the form of so-called healthy alternatives, like honey, maple syrup, agave nectar and the like. 

  Sugar: the Bitter Truth

In Sugar: The Bitter Truth, a YouTube segment, Robert H. Lustig, M.D Professor of Pediatric Division of Endocrinology, University of California San Francisco, highlights what happens when you consume glucose, fructose and ethanol (alcohol).

A much larger portion of the calories is converted into fats when you consume fructose and alcohol as compared with glucose. Dr. Lustig goes into the exact number of calories your body converts into fats when you consume each one of the above components.

The YouTube is worth well watching. It is packed with information that may be the answer to why you are having issues losing weight even if you cut down on calories.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dBnniua6-oM

So what do you do?

A great way to embark on removing or reducing sugar from the diet is with the help of a sustainable, sensible easy to follow program that will address your sugar cravings without feeling deprived. Sounds good?

If you have decided that 2019 is a great time to cut the sugar then keep reading….In January 14th I am launching my new online program that will help you kick the sugar cravings, help you drop some weight, get your mojo back and. It’s designed for busy women who do not want to spend much time shopping, prepping and figuring out what to eat.

This innovative program is ideal for anyone who is worried about what to eat, how much to eat, and are struggling with extra weight, low energy, sugar cravings and holiday over-eating. It’s online and accessible to anyone with a computer and willingness to get healthy in January. What do you have to lose?

During the program you will develop healthy eating habits, and a plan for sustainable weight loss. You will feel motivated, supported and energized. The guesswork of what to buy, and eat, and how much to eat will be gone. And you will gain extra time on your hands to spend on things you care about more than worrying about your food.

This program includes weekly online coaching sessions, meal plans, quick delicious recipes, easy to follow shopping lists, meal prep day by day guides and a private Facebook support group, all at a low cost of $99 for the 2-week program.

So sign up now for the 14-Day Post-Holiday Reset Program for Busy Women! The price is $99.00 

    The post Is Sugar Bad for You? appeared first on Tri Holistic Nutrition.

[batsonalisharma-blog]

Fermented Sweeteners Market Value Share, Analysis and Segments 2017 - 2027

Fermented Sweeteners Market Outlook Nowadays, sugar-free food products are garnering attention in developed countries due to their low-calorie content, and the sweeteners that facilitate their production are the most noticeable ingredients in the food industry. Thus, various food ingredient manufacturers are using fermented sweeteners with low-calorie content instead of high-calorie sugar. Numerous scientific researches have proved the safety of low-calorie sweeteners used in the food industry in the U.S., namely acesulfame K, neotame, sucralose, saccharin, and aspartame. Fermented sweeteners offer excellent taste with better sweetness intensity, enhanced sweetness quality without the off-note bitterness aftertaste, which is common with other sweeteners. Low-calorie fermented sweeteners help in weight management. Obesity is a growing problem globally and the most severe problem among small children. According to an independent study published in the Journal of Pediatrics, there is a substantial increase in the severe obesity among children aging 2 to 5 years. The survey from 1999 to 2016 among 3,000 children showed that the obesity rate among kids aged 2 to 5 years rose from 9% to 14% in 2016.

Request Report Sample @ https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/sample/rep-gb-6648

Fermented Sweeteners Market: Reasons for Covering This Title

Nowadays, consumers are demanding naturally-sourced plant-based food ingredients and non-GMO products, owing to their health benefits and the rise in consumer spending on food products, which is fuelling the growth of the food industry. The increasing prevalence of obesity and diabetes among the population and the intensifying demand for fortified products and packaged foods along with the growing demand for re-formulated products with low-calorie fermented sweeteners are some of the leading factors for companies in fermented sweeteners market to focus on. However, currently, the setup cost of a fermentation-based production facility is higher than increasing new farming area with similar stevia production capacity in developing countries, such as India, Africa, and other countries in Asia, may hamper the growth of the fermented sweeteners market.

Global Fermented Sweeteners: Market Segmentation

On the basis of the product type, the global fermented sweeteners market can be segmented as:

Natural Sweeteners

Artificial Sweeteners

Maple Syrup

Stevia

Molasses

Coconut Sugar

Agave Nectar

Xylitol

Others

Nutritive Sweeteners

Non-nutritive Sweeteners

On the basis of the source, the global fermented sweeteners market can be segmented as:

Organic

Conventional

On the basis of the application, the global fermented sweeteners market can be segmented as:

Food & Beverages

Pharmaceuticals

Others

Bakery Goods

Sweet Spreads

Confectionery and Chewing Gums

Alcoholic

Non-Alcoholic

Others

Market Growth of Fermented Sweeteners Market by Product Type, 2017

Global Fermented Sweeteners Market: Key Players

Some of the prominent players operating in the global fermented sweeteners market are Koninklijke DSM N.V., Evolva Holding Company, PureCircle Ltd., Ingredion Incorporated, Cargill Inc., Sweet Green Fields LLC, Holland Sweetener Company, Ajinomoto Co., Inc., T. Hasegawa USA, The Truvía Company LLC, The Archer Daniels Midland Company, GLG Life Tech Corporation, Kerry Group, Senomyx, Inc., E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Company, Sweet Additions LLC, FlavorHealth, Changzhou Niutang Chemical Plant Co., Ltd., HYET Sweet B.V., Florida Crystals Corporation, and others.

Region-Wise Market Presence of Key Manufacturers in Global Fermented Sweeteners Market

Manufacturers are drastically shifting from the reduction of sugar to fermented sweeteners for formulations. The rise in demand for plant-based ingredients, growth in the food and beverages industry, and improvement in the fermented sweeteners extraction process are some of the leading factors driving the growth of the global fermented sweeteners market. Moreover, there is keen interest and competition among prominent players to commercialize fermented sweeteners based on steviol glycosides, owing to the widespread adoption of stevia as well as the ease of obtaining regulatory approval due to its natural origin which provides an incentive to allow manufacturers to include “all-natural” claims to their products.

Buy This Report@ https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/checkout/6648

Fermented Sweeteners Market Key Developments

In 2018, Evolva Holding Company, in partnership with Cargill Inc., planned to introduce the novel fermented steviol glycosides ‘EverSweet’, a hotly-anticipated next generation Reb B and Reb M sweetener, to expand its presence in the next-generation stevia market

In 2017, Koninklijke DSM N.V. focused on receiving government approval to sell fermented sweeteners ‘stevia glycosides’ in the European market. Through fermented stevia, the company will develop a sweetener using best-tasting molecules without any metallic and bitter aftertaste and allow food and beverage companies to reduce sugar in their food ingredient formulations. This will also strengthen the company’s market position by providing sustainable, consistent, excellent tasting, and cost-effective fermented sweeteners. Koninklijke DSM N.V. is the first company to seek European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) approval

In 2016, Evolva Holding Company was recognized with a European patent for its novel technique for developing fermentative stevia. Since 2013, the company was working with Cargill Inc. on the fermented stevia ‘EverSweet’

Opportunities for Fermented Sweeteners Market Participants

Companies are focusing on receiving government approvals, such as EFSA and FDA approvals, to enter into new markets and on developing new production processes to bring down production costs. This, coupled with the rising demand for GMO-free products, is estimated to provide a surge in revenue and drive the fermented sweeteners market at a rapid growth rate over the forecast period. Additionally, expanding research and development activities, rise in the demand for low calorie natural sweeteners, increasing health concerns among people, and new product development, such as fermented steviol glycosides, are some of the other factors fueling the growth of the fermented sweeteners market.

[shapesnnsizes]

RHR: The Health Benefits of Bee Products, with Carly Stein

In this episode, we discuss:

What the research says about bee products

How Carly created Beekeeper’s Naturals

The health benefits of honey

What you should know about propolis, bee pollen, and royal jelly

Why global bee populations are in trouble—and how you can help

How you can get a 25 percent discount at Beekeeper’s Naturals

Show Notes:

Beekeeper’s Naturals

Forbes 30 under 30 2019

“What Treatments Are Effective for Common Cold in Adults and Children?” published in BMJ

“Effect of Honey, Dextromethorphan, and No Treatment on Nocturnal Cough and Sleep Quality for Coughing Children and Their Parents,” published in JAMA

“Effect of Honey on Nocturnal Cough and Sleep Quality: A Double-Blind, Randomized, Placebo-Controlled Study,” published in Pediatrics

UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology Harry H. Laidlaw Jr. Honey Bee Research Facility

Canadian Bee Research Fund

“More than 75 Percent Decline over 27 Years in Total Flying Insect Biomass in Protected Areas,” published in PLoS One

[smart_track_player url="http://traffic.libsyn.com/thehealthyskeptic/RHR_-_The_Health_Benefits_of_Bee_Products_with_Carly_Stein.mp3" title="RHR: The Health Benefits of Bee Products, with Carly Stein" artist="Chris Kresser" ]

Hey, everybody, it’s Chris Kresser. Welcome to another episode of Revolution Health Radio. This week I'm really excited to welcome Carly Stein as my guest. Carly is the founder and CEO of Beekeeper’s Naturals, a natural health product company developing innovative bee-made nutraceuticals to provide effective natural solutions to modern health problems. Carly is committed to using her company as a platform to raise awareness and funding for the bee cause and promoting sustainable practices and pesticide-free beekeeping.

Carly was recently named on the Forbes 30 under 30 list, which recognizes young entrepreneurs. Before founding Beekeeper's Naturals, Carly worked as an analyst at Goldman Sachs in their securities division and spent time working at the William J. Clinton Foundation.

So I have had a long interest in hive products like honey and propolis, bee pollen, and royal jelly. They are incredibly potent natural substances with a variety of healing properties, which can often be as effective or more effective than conventional alternatives with far fewer side effects.

So if you've been following my work for some time, you know that I have often recommended raw honey, unpasteurized honey, for everything from upper respiratory infections to wound healing, including staph infections on the skin, and even hospitals now are using honey for this purpose. And these products from the hive are just pretty amazing, and when you understand the bees and bee colonies and behavior, it makes it even more fascinating.

So I'm excited to dive into this conversation with Carly and talk about these hive products, how they can support our health, and then how we can work toward creating healthier bee ecosystems so we can continue to enjoy these hive products. So hope you enjoy the conversation. Let's dive in.

Chris Kresser:  Carly, thanks for being here. I’ve been really looking forward to this.

Carly Stein:  Thank you so much for having me.

What the Research Says about Bee Products

Chris Kresser:  So I recently came across a really interesting study, 2018 in BMJ, and it was looking at what treatments are effective for common cold in adults and children. And they found very little evidence to support the use of over-the-counter cough and cold medicines. And more specifically, they found that cough suppressants don't really help children cough less and antihistamines and decongestants don't really help them sleep better. And they also found clear risk for using these medications in young children, especially under two years old, but even all the way up to six years of age. And the effects range from hallucinations to cardiac arrhythmias to depressed levels of consciousness.

They improve wound healing, have antioxidant properties, and can boost your immune system during flu season—bee products can do it all. Check out this episode of RHR for more health benefits of honey, bee pollen, royal jelly, and propolis. #healthylifestyle #chriskresser 

What I found especially interesting was that these same researchers who did this paper had done previous papers—one in 2007 where they found that honey was more effective than placebo, and dextrose, which is basically just sugar water, for cough and associated insomnia. And then there's been several other studies since then, one that found that honey was more effective than agave syrup. So that was indicating that it’s not just giving kids a sugary something; there’s something unique to honey that actually is doing this. And then in 2012, an RCT that found that honey was more effective than a date-extract placebo on nighttime cough and difficulty sleeping in kids with an upper respiratory infection.

So, I mean, the honey part didn’t surprise me, because as as you know, I've been using honey for many years both prophylactically and therapeutically for colds and flus with myself and with my whole family. But I thought this was a really fascinating study to kick off our discussion because these OTC cough and cold medicines are so common. So many people use them and I think the assumption is just that they work. And yet this study showed that not only do they not work, they’re potentially dangerous, and we have this amazing natural substance, honey, that is more effective.

Carly Stein:  Yeah, it’s really interesting. There was actually some research looking at a specific  honey varietal, buckwheat honey, and comparing it to dextromethorphan, which is the active ingredient in a lot of the OTC cough and cold medicines, and it was also compared against a placebo, and they were looking at kids with upper respiratory tract infections. And they found that the buckwheat honey consistently scored the best in reducing cough frequency. It was most healthful to help kids sleep through the night, and it was rated most favorable by parents.

So honey is definitely an amazing alternative, and just kind of like what you were saying with the cold and flu medication, there’s so much out there that we are told to take that people are just kind of not really second guessing. And there’s natural options that are so much more effective and treat the more holistic picture of health.

Chris Kresser:  Yeah, I think we have this mistaken notion, unfortunately, that's just really been drilled into us for many years, not just us, but our parents and our parents’ parents, that medications are more effective, stronger, more powerful, pharmaceuticals, I mean, than natural substances. And it's almost like the only reason that you don't take a medication is because you're trying to avoid the potential side effects or risks and/or you just are the type of person who prefers natural substances. But I’m constantly reminding my patients that, no, actually, in some cases natural substances are far more effective than the medications that you could take as an alternative. And that's what we’re seeing here in this data with the OTC cough and cold medicines.

Carly Stein:  Absolutely, and it’s so interesting, particularly when you look at bee products. I mean, of course, I’m deep into all the bee products, but the healing history. Before the advent of all of this sort of modern medicine, people were using these different bee products to treat issues that we still deal with today. And if you look at it across cultures, it's just really interesting seeing what was done. So propolis, for example, there is history of the Incas drinking propolis to reduce fever.

Chris Kresser:  Right.

Carly Stein:  The first recorded human use of propolis actually dates back to 300 BC. It’s said that ancient Egyptians used propolis. Hippocrates was a big fan of propolis, and Aristotle actually coined the term “propolis,” which means defender of the city. So all these different … in the Boer War they used propolis and honey to dress wounds. In the 17th century the London pharmacopoeia actually listed propolis as an official drug. So in my eyes, propolis is sort of the original antibiotic, and all of these bee products have played such an impactful role in human health before we had these sort of man-made and women-made substances.

How Carly Created Beekeeper’s Naturals

Chris Kresser:  Right. You are the bee lady now, perhaps, or the honey lady. But you weren’t always the bee lady, right? You were an analyst at Goldman Sachs in their securities division. So how the heck did you go from Wall Street to bees?

Carly Stein:  Yeah, not your typical trajectory. Yeah, so I used to work in finance, but growing up, I struggled with an autoimmune condition. I have arthritis, and a little bit of psoriatic arthritis, as well. And so I was just kind of dealing with some pretty intense inflammatory conditions, and then beyond that, I was always sick. I had a really weak immune system, and I was just always under the weather. And then for me, antibiotics and a lot of over-the-counter medicines would trigger my psoriasis. So when I did get sick, I didn’t really have any traditional healing options. And that sort of pushed me to start exploring the world of natural health because I was just really searching for a cure. And I ended up just trying to solve my own problem doing a ton of research and kind of really falling in love with this space.

But I found myself very frustrated with the products that were available, especially on the immune-boosting side. Because there was a lot of interesting products out there that were nicely branded and heavily marketed, but they just weren’t effective enough to help me really heal and recover. And so I was in love with the natural world but sort of disillusioned with the natural products. And that was just sort of the space I existed in. So I’ve always had this passion for natural health, but I just didn't know I could make a career out of it. And how the bees kind of came into play, when I was in college I did a semester abroad, and I got really, really sick. I had really severe tonsillitis and I was going to have to come home and have surgery.

And I was looking for anything to keep me out there, and I went into a pharmacy in Florence, Italy, and the pharmacist gave me this stuff called propolis. I had no idea what propolis was at the time, and I didn’t know that bees did anything beyond honey, but I was desperate. So I tried it, and not only did I not have an adverse reaction to it, but I made a full recovery. And for me, propolis really functioned in my body the way antibiotics do for most people struggling with any sort of viral issue. It was … I think it took me about a week to recover, but I experienced recovery, and that was just so new for me. And I was able to continue my studies abroad, and it just sparked this interest and this kind of obsessive fascination with bee products. And it was really interesting as well—Europe’s a little bit more progressive with natural health.

Chris Kresser:  Yes.

Carly Stein:  And it was like in pretty much everywhere I traveled. From Copenhagen to Barcelona, I could find propolis and royal jelly and pollen at corner stores, in many cases. And so I was, I was personally experiencing the benefits and then just kind of struck by the fact that this stuff is so widely accepted and accessible all across Europe, yet I'm pretty well researched when it comes to natural staff and I haven't even come across this in North America.

So I was really just obsessed with these products as a consumer healing myself. And then when I came home I couldn't find bee products, I couldn’t find propolis and royal jelly anywhere. And then when I did, it was at farmers markets, and no individual could really speak to me about pesticide exposure. And that's another thing I have to be really careful of, with what I put in my body, just with all my autoimmune stuff. So because nobody could guarantee a pesticide-free source and it was pretty limited in terms of finding anything beyond honey to begin with, I was just, like, okay, I guess I have to start beekeeping and do this myself. And that's how it started.

And the second I started beekeeping, my obsession grew. I just love working with the bees. It’s just kind of like this endless world to discover. There’s so many medicinal applications to the different bee products, and the bees themselves are just such an important creature to our ecosystem, and I really just completely fell in love with it. And it became this, like, weird, quirky hobby of mine. And I had dreams of doing something in that area, but I graduated college and I got a job at a hedge fund out of school, and that sounds a lot better to your family and friends than starting a bee product company. So I did that.

I didn’t really have the confidence to start a company at that time, and I was kind of following a more traditional trajectory. And so I go into finance and I end up at Goldman and I’m working insane hours. I learned a lot, but it just, it wasn't for me. The work I was doing wasn’t the sort of work that I personally care about, and I ended up becoming really depressed. And so then I sat down with myself because depression is not sustainable, and I made a spreadsheet about happiness and what I can do to get there and when I’ve been the happiest in my life. And the thing that I kept coming back to was working with the bees and making bee products. And it became really clear, that's just what I have to do.

So I kind of picked up my hobby again, and I was like, “You know, I’m not going to do anything crazy. I still have my day job. This will just be a sort of weekend and evening affair.” And I started making bee products. And I would stand at farmers markets on weekends and sell them, and all my friends thought I was completely insane, but I loved it. And because … so, I started off really kind of catering to the autoimmune protocol community because it's the community I’m a part of, where there's not many options available. And we really gained traction. People would buy my products that I would make in my apartment at the farmers market and then start sending it to their friends and family around the country. And before I knew it, I had to set up a website, and I was shipping all over North America, and then stores starting approaching us in Canada. I'm from Canada originally.

And it got to a point where we were in over 500 stores across Canada and shipping internationally. And I was still working this, like, crazy 16-hour day on the trading floor. And I was like, “Okay, someone’s gotta run this thing, and it’s gonna be me.” So I finally left my stable job at the end of 2016 to go full time at Beekeeper's Naturals, and that’s kind of how it happened. So it’s a cool story, I think, because it wasn’t like I found something interesting and saw an opportunity in the market. It was just this really organic journey of healing myself and then sort of beginning to share that, and then ending up healing myself in every way possible.

Chris Kresser:  Wow. Yeah, that is a fantastic story. I have a similar story, of course, and when the work that we do comes out of our own journey back to health, I think it’s, there’s such a richness there and such a commitment and a passion for what you do when you’ve experienced those benefits yourself personally.

Carly Stein:  Yeah, absolutely. It’s really special when it comes from such an authentic and personal place. And, I mean, that definitely frames our company and our culture. And the team we’ve built, they all have a unique story and unique reason why they love bee products and care about the bees. And it’s just really beautiful to see a team that comes at it from that angle and is sort of aligned on values to create things.

The Health Benefits of Honey

Chris Kresser:  So let’s talk a little bit more about hive products, starting with honey. Up until relatively recently—and it’s not uncommon now to see raw honey and wild honey in health food stores—but certainly growing up, my experience of honey was the little plastic bear bottle as something you put on, like, a peanut butter sandwich or something like that. But there's so much more to honey than that.

Carly Stein:  Absolutely.

Chris Kresser:  And I would love to talk a little bit more about some of its properties. Antimicrobial, expectorant, antioxidant, and then some of its wound-healing properties, which I have some personal experience with that I”ll share as well.

It’s Full of Good Bacteria (When It’s Unpasteurized)

Carly Stein:  Amazing, yeah. So first of all, the squeezy-bear honey. I used to eat those too, and that’s actually not really honey because it’s pasteurized. And that’s something that, that’s kind of the place I like to start when people dig into the health benefits of honey—it’s that you really need to make sure that it’s raw and unpasteurized. Because the process of pasteurization, it just cooks all of the nutrients out. You’re heating it to a pretty high degree and you’re left with sugar water. And the reason that people will pasteurize honey is because it doesn't crystallize. So it stays liquidy in the squeezy bear.

But raw honey will crystallize over time, it will harden, and that does not mean that it's bad. That's a totally natural process, and you can still, I have crystallized honey in my tea right now. And if you want to change the consistency because you’re cooking with it, what I typically do is I’ll just boil a pot of water and I’ll throw the jar into the pot and I’ll let the honey soften a little bit. That’s not going to pasteurize the honey. You still kind of cook it to do that. But that's a great way to soften it if you do need it for a specific recipe. But I’ve heard people get confused when honey gets hard and crystalized thinking it’s bad, when the reality is honey’s actually the only food on the planet that never expires. We’ve found honey in Egyptian tombs that was still nutritionally intact, and that’s an amazing testament to its nutritional profile and its enzyme content.

Chris Kresser:  Yeah, we have to correct some of our misperceptions. It’s like most people’s experience of sauerkraut growing up might have been stuff that was in a jar in the condiment section of the grocery store, which was pasteurized and totally devoid of the healing benefits of the bacteria that it contains. So it’s always good to correct those perceptions because, as you said, like, that's where all of the human benefit comes from, that non-pasteurized honey. What about the … some people, I think when they think about pasteurization, they think, “Oh, well, you know that's also to keep us safe from any particular bacteria or things that might be in a raw, live product.”

Carly Stein:  Yeah, so I mean it's the same as most raw foods. You want that good bacteria. The only time when I tell people to stay away from honey is when giving it to babies. You don’t want to give honey to kids under one years old just because they don’t have a fully formed digestive tract and it can be, botulism is a risk. That being said, for pregnant moms or breast-feeding moms, mothers have stomach acidity that can kill any potential germs or bacteria. So it’s totally fine for moms to eat raw honey. It’s just, don’t give it to your baby before they turn one.

It Has Wound-Healing Properties

Chris Kresser:  Right. So we know honey is antimicrobial, antiviral, perhaps. We know it can be an expectorant, it's an antioxidant, it’s has been shown to be helpful in upper respiratory infections, or other viral infections, and then it has some remarkable properties for wound healing.

So my story around that, I have several, actually, with patients. But our daughter, when we were out staying in Point Reyes for a weekend—this is when she was only two, I think, maybe a little over two years old, and she had a mosquito bite on her face. And being only two years old, she couldn't help scratching it. And it got really … she opened up a wound and then developed a staph infection on her face, which can be quite serious, of course.

And the standard thing there would be to take antibiotics or use antibiotic ointment. But I knew about the wound-healing properties of honey and that it’s actually being used in some hospitals for this purpose. And so we applied … I made a poultice with the honey and also some herbs, some antimicrobial herbs that are really powerful and can be effective against staph, and we just started applying it. And within a couple of days, I mean, it was significantly better. And I think after four to five days, it was completely gone. It was miraculous to see that. Even though I believed in it and I have had other experiences in the past, when it’s my two-year-old daughter and a serious, potentially life-threatening infection, it is a whole other story, level of commitment to that belief system.

Carly Stein:  Absolutely, yeah.

Chris Kresser:  And so it was just incredible to see that. And since then I've suggested it with many patients who’ve had wounds from any number of causes, injuries, trauma, etc., and the results have always been phenomenal. So it's just, it's amazing to me that we have this, again, abundant and although under threat substance, which we’ll be talking about later, that they can safely heal these wounds. And yet until very recently, we haven’t been utilizing it.

Carly Stein:  Yeah. Honey really is amazing for skin healing, and I like to take it one step further. I use propolis, actually, topically all the time. It’s so powerful for burns, and there's also a lot of interesting studies on propolis and its ability to heal the skin. I came across a study and it found that propolis really decreased free radical activity in healing the wound beds, which supported the repair process. And propolis also shows positive collagen metabolism in the wound during the healing process. So it increases the collagen and content of tissue.

So a lot of cool stuff with propolis, and it's also an anti-inflammatory agent. But, I mean, raw honey, of course, has trace amounts of propolis in it and has antiviral and antibacterial properties and antioxidants. So yeah, both of them are really fantastic for topical use.

It Can Help You Hack Your Sleep

One of my favorite things for honey as well—and this is one that not everybody knows about, so I always like to share—is using honey to hack my sleep. I don’t know if you’ve tried that at all, Chris.

Chris Kresser:  Tell us more about that.

Carly Stein:  Yeah, so I do a teaspoon of honey every night before bed, and I do it because when you have honey, it allows for a slow steady rise in insulin and it allows the tryptophan to cross the blood–brain barrier and then convert it into serotonin and then melatonin in the dark. So you’re kind of naturally supporting your body in that way. And then it can also be really helpful to regulate your sleep–wake cycle. Sometimes this happens, typically with women as they’re aging, but what happens, these times their glycogen levels will get depleted and it will cause them to wake up in the middle of the night. And honey, because of the slow release, it allows the glycogen to be, glycogen stores to be just sort of filled up in the liver and it allows for a more restful sleep.

Chris Kresser:  Yeah, we will sometimes use a little bit of honey before bed and have found that it’s helpful that way, particularly for my daughter. But that's interesting; I haven’t heard that as much before.

We had … so, earlier in the summer I had a crazy experience where my wife and I contracted a parasite from food, an outbreak in Berkeley, of all places. A bug called Cyclospora, which is a parasite that’s more common in South America. It was, like, some basil from Guatemala that had been washed in water that was contaminated and then was transported up here and distributed to a bunch of different restaurants in the Bay Area, particularly Asian restaurants. And we had eaten some pho at a Vietnamese restaurant with this basil. And so this parasite’s particularly difficult to treat.

We tried herbal approaches and it wasn't effective, and then we ended up taking a drug called Alinia, which was effective, but then towards the end of my course of that, I developed an allergic reaction to the drug. Which has never happened to me before. And that allergic reaction is something called toxic epidermal necrolysis. So if you look it up, it's pretty scary. It’s like 60 percent mortality rate, or something, 20 to 50 percent mortality rate. But my version, I think, was milder. I went to see the dermatologist, and he was like, “I don’t see many people walking around with this outside of hospital.” And so among … it almost manifests like burns on the body. And he suggested, gave me some steroid types of creams and other creams. And I was like, “Well, I want to see how some of this other, these other natural remedies that I’ve used for this kind of thing in the past, work.”

And so I got out the honey and was using honey and also CBD, mixing them together. I didn't think to use propolis at the time, but the honey was amazing, again. Usually these sores can take a long time to heal, and they took awhile for me, and I did use other things. But every time I put the honey on, I felt immediate relief, and the itching was significantly decreased. So it was pretty amazing.

I’ve had so many of these kinds of experiences, either personally or with patients now, that I am definitely a true believer. Somebody asked me—I was doing a Q&A with the clinician training program that I do—and someone asked a kind of unusual question. They said, “If you could only choose two to four supplements or superfood kind of products to take with you in a crisis situation, like an earthquake or something like that, what would you choose?” And honey was definitely one of the four that I listed.

Carly Stein:  I mean, that’s a great one because it never goes bad and it has all the antibacterial healing properties.

Chris Kresser:  Exactly. And you can eat it.

Carly Stein:  Yeah, exactly.

Chris Kresser:  If things get bad, it’s a source of calories, right?

Carly Stein:  Why I’m always carrying around my bee products, just in case.

Chris Kresser:  I never would’ve thought of that, but when he asked me that question, I was like, yeah, absolutely. Honey would be on that list. It’s amazing.

Carly Stein:  It’s really interesting, exploring the topical benefits. And what you were just saying about the honey with the CBD, we actually had a customer write in the other day who has very severe eczema, like, very, very painful. And we actually make a CBD honey called B. Chill and what he was doing is he was taking the B. Chill honey, spraying in propolis, and then mixing it with a carrier oil and using that. And it’s, like, really cleared up his eczema. He sent in pictures and everything. It’s pretty amazing.

Chris Kresser:  Yeah. The only problem I have with that treatment, with the honey treatment is, my dog was following me around licking me. That’s a small side effect, I think.

Carly Stein:  Yeah.

Chris Kresser:  If that’s the worse thing that happens, I can live with it.

Carly Stein:  You mean, if the side effect is dogs following me around, I will take that drug.

Chris Kresser:  That’s right. Absolutely. She licks me anyways, but with the honey it was particularly intense.

So, yeah, let's talk a little bit more about some of the other hive products that I think people are less familiar with. We touched on propolis and its antimicrobial properties. I’d love to hear a little bit more about that, and then, of course, there's bee pollen and royal jelly. And I've been using some of these more often too. Particularly, I think, it's the B. Powered, which is the honey and bee pollen and royal jelly together.

And when we feel like we’re getting sick or fighting something around here, our routine will typically be to use the propolis spray in our throats and then have some of the B. Powered. And it's almost December. There's been a lot going around and we’ve stayed remarkably healthy throughout the flu season. And that’s—and people are always asking me, “What do you do to stay healthy and what are your top remedies?” And I’m always kind of trying new things, but these honey products, or hive products, have been pretty amazing for us. And they’re really easy to get kids to take too, I have to say.

Carly Stein:  Yeah, no, I’m so happy to hear that, and it’s true, the substance from the hive has such incredible healing benefits. And just back to the study we kind of spoke about in the very beginning, with honey for chronic pediatric coughs and the fact that buckwheat honey was the specific type to be found effective. All honey is fantastic, but just in that study, buckwheat was found to be very effective. And we also know that buckwheat honey has some of the highest antioxidants of any honey varietal, and so we actually made this product for kids.

We combined our propolis with buckwheat honey, and we just came out with a throat spray for kids. And so for anybody who’s got a coughing little one who’s kind of struggling to take medicine, the propolis with buckwheat honey tastes pretty fantastic, and it is … it’s pretty easy to get people to try out. And that’s just a product I’m really excited about because it’s combining these different superfoods, and I love combining the different hive products like we do with the B. Powered. Because—and we’ll dig into all the benefits of the individual products—but one thing that’s really interesting that I’m constantly learning about with bee products is their synergistic effects.

So, for example, when you combine raw honey with royal jelly, it actually becomes a source of Bifidobacteria, and then propolis is prebiotic. And so with the B. Powered combination, which has all the hive superfoods in one, you’re getting a probiotic, a prebiotic, you’re getting all the immune-boosting properties. And it’s just really cool the way that bee products interact with one another.

Chris Kresser:  Yeah. That’s true of herbs too and natural medicines, and it’s one of the reasons why it’s … In the conventional model, the idea is always to extract what they call the “active ingredient” and really just amplify that. But that’s often not as effective as taking the whole food or the whole plant and using the whole plant. So it’s always good to keep that in mind because there’s so much we still don’t even understand about how all these things interact and support each other and have a synergistic relationship.

What You Should Know about Propolis, Bee Pollen, and Royal Jelly

So, yeah, let's dive in a little bit to the individual hive products like bee pollen and royal jelly and anything else you want to add about propolis. When would you think that using each of these? What are their various properties?

Carly Stein:  For sure. So maybe I should start as well just by letting people know what these different things are.

Chris Kresser:  That would be good.

Propolis Is Nature’s Antibiotic

Carly Stein:  Because often, people think propolis is a honey derivative and it’s kind of a different thing. So in the hives, the honey is the bee’s carbs, it’s their source of fuel, their energy. And what honey is made from, it’s made from floral nectars, whereas propolis in the hive, it’s very much used as the medicine or the immune system of the hive and it’s made from plant and tree resins. So to make propolis, bees will collect plant and tree resins, put it through their enzymatic process, and then they get this sticky amber-colored substance and they use it to line the hive and keep it germ free. And they even line the walls of the cells for the newborn baby bees to create a sterile environment for newborns.

And one really interesting thing about propolis in the beehive is, let's say an intruder gets into the hive or a predator, like a mouse. It happens all the time. There’s honey and good stuff in there, a mouse will get in and what happens is the bees can sting the mouse and kill it. But they can’t physically pick up a dead rodent and carry it out of the hive. And just like with humans, having a cadaver in our living room would make us pretty sick. So decaying rodents in the middle of the hive would hypothetically kill everything. But what the bees will do is they’ll mummify the dead rodent in propolis, and the propolis is that powerful of a protective substance that it protects the entire hive from this decaying rodent in the middle of the hive.

Chris Kresser:  Wow. It’s so amazing to learn about bees like that.

Carly Stein:  It’s so cool.

Chris Kresser:  Their culture just blows me away. I mean, I’ve not gone as deep into the hive, I guess you could say, as you have. But just, their social organization and cohesion and the way that they work together and the strategies that they've come up with for working together as a colony just is amazing.

Carly Stein:  It’s so fascinating.

Chris Kresser:  It’s almost hard to understand. There's an intelligence there that we do not really … can’t get our heads around, I think.

Carly Stein:  I totally agree. Yeah, it’s so interesting. They even make propolis mats at the front entrance of the hive so that the bees can disinfect as they come in.

Chris Kresser:  Wow.

Carly Stein:  Yeah, all these things they do with propolis, it’s so interesting. And for humans, propolis functions in very much the same way. Like I was saying before, I kind of call propolis nature’s antibiotic. It’s just a really natural, nourishing, protective substance. So propolis is:

Antiviral

Antifungal

Antimicrobial

Antibacterial

Anti-inflammatory

So it’s really amazing for combating cold and flu. I use it both preventively, and then I also use it to recover.

So for me, I take propolis every single day, and it’s really helpful for me as well for fighting inflammation. And then if I’m feeling run down or I’m traveling or it’s cold and flu season, any situation where my health is just a little bit in high risk, I basically just double dose. So I’ll spray 10, sometimes 20 sprays a day if I’m feeling rundown.

Chris Kresser:  Yeah.

Carly Stein:  But normal day to day, I’ll just do, like, three to five sprays. One of my good friends is a flight attendant, and she sprays it into her water bottles before she flies.

Chris Kresser:  I bet.

Carly Stein:  With the recycled air and all the free radical damage.

Chris Kresser:  Yeah. I take it on flights too, I have to confess. I’m that guy who’s sitting there spraying it on the plane because I’m always a little reluctant to fly at this time of year because there’s just people hacking and coughing all around you. There's nowhere to escape. So propolis is my friend.

Carly Stein:  Oh, yeah. And then also just the free radical damage. We’re exposed to so much radiation when we fly, and there was actually a study done and it looked at, I mean, this was a little bit different, but it was looking at competitive cyclists. And it was looking at propolis and its ability to combat oxidative stress that’s exercise-induced. So, like, the free radical damage you get from exercising. And it found that propolis was really effective at combating that kind of damage. So it’s really great. It’s really high in antioxidants, and it’s really great at just kind of combating free radicals and acting as an all-around protector.

Bee Pollen Is an Excellent Source of Protein

Chris Kresser:  Cool. So let's move on to bee pollen. I think maybe some people may be a little more familiar with bee pollen. I remember, even, health food stores that I went into as a kid would sometimes have bee pollen. And I think the association there was with energy.

Carly Stein:  It’s so funny. Bee pollen is something that people have been taking for years and years and years while having no idea what it does.

Chris Kresser:  Exactly, yeah.

Carly Stein:  But it’s no complaints. It’s fantastic for you. So in the beehive, bee pollen is the bee’s main protein source. The bees will fly from flower to flower collecting pollen, and they mix it with their enzymes to pack it, and they bring it back, and it’s the protein source of the hive. It’s really fantastic for energy.

And then for humans, it’s really one of nature’s most completely nourishing foods. It contains nearly all nutrients required by humans and it’s really rich in protein. It’s over 40 percent protein; it’s full of free-forming amino acids; vitamins including B-complex vitamins, which helps with energy levels, has folic acid.

So, yeah, bee pollen is, it’s just, in my mind bee pollen is kind of like an all-natural food-based bioavailable multivitamin. And that’s really how I use it. I do a teaspoon on whatever I’m eating every morning, whether it’s putting it in my smoothie or topping toast or I’ll put it on salads. But it’s just a really great nutrient boost to whatever you’re having. And because it’s full of, especially if you’re having raw bee pollen, it’s full of the live enzymes. And so it’s really easily digested. And so it’s great for people with nutrient deficiencies as well.

Royal Jelly Is a Superfood

Chris Kresser:  And then royal jelly. This maybe the least familiar hive product, I think.

Carly Stein:  Yeah, royal jelly is the coolest. So royal jelly, you can think of royal jelly as the secret food of the hive. So just to break it down again for all the new bee product lovers out there, honey is the bee’s energy source; it’s their carbs. Propolis is their medicine, it’s the building blocks of their immune system. Pollen is their protein, vitamins, their energy-boosting food. And royal jelly is their superfood. Royal jelly is literally the substance used to create a queen bee.

So what happens with bees is for the first three days of development, all newborn baby bees are fed royal jelly, and then after the first three days they’re taken off their exclusive royal jelly diet and they move on to a more standard diet of pollen and honey. But the bee who is to become queen, the larva who is destined to be queen, she continues eating her diet of royal jelly. And how she evolves on this diet is pretty interesting. Because the queen bee … so she grows to a very different size than the regular worker bees. She’s much more robust.

The queen bee can lay up to 1,500 babies a day, whereas regular female bees don’t even have reproductive organs. And then the queen bee lives three to five years versus a regular bee, during foraging season, who lives six to eight weeks. So pretty amazing what’s happening there.

Chris Kresser:  She’s living exclusively on that royal jelly.

Carly Stein:  Exactly, yeah. So in the hive really interesting. And then for humans, royal jelly is one of those awesome superfoods that has been used across cultures. And we have a lot of anecdotal evidence pointing to different things. So people, like, for example, in traditional Chinese medicine, royal jelly is well-regarded as a substance to boost fertility and balance hormones.

So I see a lot of TCM practitioners who are giving royal jelly to their patients who are kind of coming off birth control, who are working on getting pregnant. For men and women, actually, it’s looked at as a fantastic hormone stabilizer and fertility tonic. And then royal jelly has great immune boosting and immunomodulatory properties. So it’s awesome for people who are autoimmune, such as myself. But in Western medicine, most of the studies have been pretty focused on royal jelly’s effects on the brain, and that’s really what we kind of spend a lot of time at Beekeeper's Naturals researching with royal jelly.

So royal jelly is one of the only natural products to contain actual acetylcholine. So a lot of the products on the market, they contain choline, which is a precursor to acetylcholine, but royal jelly is the only source of actual acetylcholine, which is pretty awesome because acetylcholine is great for basically stimulating your—

Chris Kresser:  It’s neurotropic.

Carly Stein:  Yeah, exactly, for helping a healthy brain, for reducing your odds of neurodegenerative conditions, for brain healing, for focus, memory, concentration, acetylcholine is really important. And with royal jelly you’re getting a pretty high concentration of pure acetylcholine.

Chris Kresser:  Yeah, that’s the only neurotropic that I’ve actually found makes a difference for me. And I’ve tried a lot, and it’s pretty amazing. Yeah, and a lot of my patients have had the same experience. It’s really, there are a lot of those products in my experience that either don’t really move the needle for most people or they produce a lot of uncomfortable side effects. It’s like plugging yourself into a socket. And you might have more your productivity or mental clarity, but you're also bouncing off the walls and you feel really uncomfortable. But acetylcholine doesn’t tend to have that effect for most people.

Carly Stein:  Yeah, and it’s something that even if you’re not, it’s great because it will give you sort of the desired outcome of boosting memory and focus, but we have lots of customers who are members of the aging population who aren’t necessarily looking to increase their productivity. But they’re looking to just help their brain age in a healthy way and reduce their odds of these different things.

And so it’s something that, really that’s what we do with all of our products. We’re trying to really take that 360 approach and not just look at the symptom and how we can solve a sore throat or boost your mental clarity. We’re looking at how can we make your brain healthier on a holistic level and then have the outcome of that increased health and vitality be better memory, stronger ability to focus. And I think that’s a really important place to come at all these things from.

Why Global Bee Populations Are in Trouble—and How You Can Help

Chris Kresser:  Wow, just so fascinating. We could go on forever. We’ve got about 10 minutes left, and I want to talk a little bit about the bees and why bee colonies and ecosystems are so important and what’s happening right now in the world around that. I’m sure a lot of people have heard that bees are struggling. And I want to hear a little bit about just the landscape there and then what you're doing to work towards healthier bee ecosystems.

Carly Stein:  Yeah, this is so important, Chris. So, I mean, bees are, honey bees are the world's most important pollinators. There's a lot of, a lot of the food we eat and flowers that cover our grounds, they can't self-pollinate. They can't reproduce on their own, and they actually rely on other creatures to help with pollination. So, some examples of this are almonds. Almonds, they can't self-pollinate, they rely on bees to transfer the pollen. And there’s 70 of the world’s 100 most important food crops are actually bee pollinated. So, literally, these food crops cannot grow without the bees. So the bees are literally supplying our food for us. And the bees have been dying out in recent years.

And starting in 2006, when DDT was taken out of the game, it was replaced with a pesticide called neonicotinoids (or neonics). And neonics, they affect the bees’ spatial reasoning, and they’re pretty toxic to bees and probably to us. We just haven't seen any strong studies there yet. They’re water-soluble, they’re degrading our soil, getting into our water supply, and that’s one of the many factors that’s really kind of causing bee decline.

Another big issue is global warming. Climate change is really kind of throwing bees off, and they’re losing their ability to hibernate over winter and come out at the right time. And things like mites, all of these factors together will reduce the bees’ immune system and make them susceptible to things like mites and different parasites, and then also just urbanization. We’re losing green space, and our green space, unfortunately, a lot of it is sort of, like, mass agro crops that are covered in pesticides and sort of done factory style.

So our environment has just really not been conducive to bee health. And because of that, the bees are in decline. And we cannot afford to lose the bees because like I said, they pollinate nearly one-third of our food supply and they also pollinate all of these different wildflowers and wild plants that other creatures rely on. For example, they’ll pollinate clover and alfalfa, which cattle graze on. So just the ripple effect of losing the bees on our ecosystem, it’s devastating. And like I said, we’ve seen year-over-year decline, which is really scary. So with Beekeeper’s Naturals, I’m a beekeeper first, and our team is very passionate about this. We’re a benefit corp. And we are really looking to start the conversation about the important role that bees play and also just kind of change the model of how bees are treated.

So we practice sustainable beekeeping. Everything we do is pesticide-free and we work with a third-party lab to do pesticide testing on all of our raw product. That, of course, makes it accessible to people with autoimmune and sensitive systems. And by the way, I kind of feel like all products should be third-party pesticide tested, but that’s a whole other argument. But in doing that, beyond the effects it has on the product quality, that’s how we can really ensure that we’re exposing bees to clean foraging grounds and giving bees actual clean green space that’s not coated in pesticides and see how they do. And what we’ve seen is our hives have done really well year over year. We’ve seen a lot of growth from our hives, contrary to population trends.

So on the production level, we work really hard to just keep that quality and keep it pesticide free to ensure our bees have clean food. And then we also do a lot on the awareness side, and we work with some different incredible organizations. We work with UC Davis bee research in the US and the Canadian Bee Research Fund in Canada. And we run different campaigns with them throughout the year. And, yeah, we’re just looking to really educate people right now and get people to start making a difference on the consumer level because I think that’s where it needs to begin. Unfortunately, big pesticide companies are not really going away right now in the US. There’s been some positive momentum in other parts of the world.

So, in Canada, for example, Ontario was the first province to institute a partial ban on neonics. There’s been some bans in Europe, but I mean it doesn’t seem to be around the corner, unfortunately, right now in the US.

So what I like to encourage people to do is do their part to create a bee-friendly environment and support clean food production. And it sounds pretty simple, but it really does make a big difference. Just creating a bee habitat in your lawn, even if you have a small space. I live in an apartment, and my balcony is just covered in flowers. Same with my window sill. Because everything is so coated in pesticides, giving the bees access to clean foods or just buying seeds or plants that are organic, untreated, pesticide free and placing them out there, it really makes a difference to our bees.

Chris Kresser:  Our front yard is swarming with bees and our backyard too. We have a lot of flowers and plants that we specifically planted for that reason. And a kind of a permaculture set up, and it’s just amazing to see how many bees will find their way to those sources of pollen.

Carly Stein:  It’s awesome. And it also helps your garden. I mean they pollinate it, they make it grow, and they make it beautiful.

And another thing to do to the extent you can, and I know this isn't always an option, but I try really hard for the most part to be aware of the produce I’m buying. I really try to purchase pesticide free. And I do a lot of shopping at farmers markets. I know not everybody has that accessible, but if you can do your best to support growers who are growing things in the right way, it makes a really big difference.

And then just if you want to upgrade your bee habitat even more, a nice thing to do if you live in a place that gets hot is put out a little bee bath. Just like the birds, the bees get thirsty too, especially in the hot summer months. And so taking a little bowl, filing it with water and putting some mulch and rocks for the bees to perch on, really great way to help support them when it’s really hot out. Just because we don’t live in environments where there’s rivers around and all that stuff.

Chris Kresser:  Yeah. It’s so important. I mean, I'm sure you saw this article in the New York Times a few days ago called “The Insect Apocalypse Is Here.” And they were talking about a German study that found in a nature reserve there that the overall abundance of flying insects has decreased by 75 percent over just 27 years. And if you looked at the midsummer population peaks for insects, it was 82 percent drop.

That's pretty apocalyptic. I didn't have a good feeling when I got to the end of that article and just felt really motivated to see what I could do, we could do as a community, to raise awareness around this. What are the organizations that you think—if someone wants to go beyond planting a garden, which is an awesome first step and super important—but if they want to get involved or either contribute their time or money to an organization, what would you suggest?

Carly Stein:  So, first of all, if they want to get involved and start beekeeping, backyard beekeeping is an amazing way to create more of a bee-friendly environment and pick up a really cool hobby. And we have tons of information about that on our blog. We actually do a series on our blog called Unveiled—when you’re beekeeping, you usually wear a veil—where we unveil sustainable beekeepers from around the world just to kind of share good practices and encourage new beekeepers to come onto the scene, whether it’s having a hive in your backyard that someone else manages or getting really into it yourself.

And then you can also donate through our site. So we link to our charity partners. It’s all accessible at BeekeepersNaturals.com on the mission page. And with our apparel line as well, if you want to kind of rock the cause a little bit, we sell these different tees and hats, and we give a portion of proceeds back to our charity partners. And they say things like “Save the Bees” and “No Honey. Mo Problems.” And they’re good conversation starters about the cause.

How You Can Get a 25 Percent Discount at Beekeeper’s Naturals

Chris Kresser:  Cool. Well, I want all of you to get a chance to try some of these amazing products and benefit from them as much as we have. And Carly and her generous team over at Beekeeper's have put together a bundle of some of my favorite products. This includes four of them: the bee propolis spray, which is great for immune support, scratchy throats, everything we talked about; the B. Powered, which is this super honey with royal jelly, bee pollen, bee propolis for immune support and energy—this is what we take if we feel like something is, like we’re getting a viral upper respiratory thing; the B. Chill hemp honey sticks—so this is a high-potency CBD oil, which you heard me talk all about the benefits of CBD, and then in an emulsion of MCT oil for bioavailability, so it’s great for sleep or stress or inflammation; and then the B.LXR Brain Fuel, which is a combination of royal jelly, ginkgo, and Bacopa, which are also neurotrophic substances, herbs. It’s great for memory and focus, brain health. If I have to sit down and write an article or create a presentation or something like that, I’ll just pop one of these and it just gives me a nice little boost in terms of mental clarity and ability to focus.

And they have generously offered a 25 percent discount for anybody that orders. So you can check this out at ChrisKresser.com/hive, h-i-v-e. And I want to give you a disclaimer that I am an investor in Beekeeper’s Naturals. You know that I’ve talked about other investments that I’ve made in the past on this show, and my strategy and philosophy in terms of investment is only to invest in companies that either I use their products myself, I use them with my patients, they have to have a strong social mission and be contributing to society and not just interested in growing their company themselves. And they really have to have a strong vision for how to make the world a better place.

So it’s a pretty high bar that I set for any investment that I make. And I was really excited when I learned about the Beekeeper’s opportunity. And I want to do everything I can to help support the company and their mission, in addition to just being an avid consumer of their products myself. So hope you enjoyed them as much as I have. ChrisKresser.com/hive, and Carly, thank you so much for joining us. It’s been a fascinating conversation. And I hope we can have you back in the future to talk about the next generation of what you guys are up to.

Carly Stein:  Amazing. Thank you so much for having me, Chris.

Chris Kresser:  Okay, take care.

Carly Stein:  You too. Bye.

Now, I’d like to hear from you. Do you use any bee products in your day-to-day life? Are you planning to give Beekeeper’s Naturals a try? Comment below and let me know!

The post RHR: The Health Benefits of Bee Products, with Carly Stein appeared first on Chris Kresser.

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Are Any of Those "Healthy" Sugar Alternatives Better for You?

Sugar has gotten so complicated. There’s plain old white cane sugar, raw sugar, brown sugar, coconut sugar, beet sugar, agave, honey... every month it seems like some new, allegedly better-for-you sugar-based sweetener debuts on the market. Still, while there are many different kinds of sugar-based sweeteners that are marketed as healthy alternatives to white sugar and high-fructose corn syrup, they don’t necessarily live up to the hype.

Whole Fruit Vs. Added Sugars

Summer Rayne Oakes, certified holistic nutritionist and author of SugarDetoxMe, says that before digging into the healthy sugar myth, we need to draw a line between sugars that are tied up in fiber, like the sugar in an unprocessed piece of fruit, and "free sugars" that are added to foods to make them sweeter.

Because the fiber is stripped out when sugar is processed, the concept of any type of plant-based sweetener being more "natural" than any other plant-based sweetener really depends on how you choose to define the term. If you define it as simply "coming from nature," pure white cane sugar is, in some ways, just as natural (although significantly more processed than) maple syrup, honey, or agave.

Cane sugar is produced by chopping up sugar cane, extracting the juice, boiling it down, and then (for white sugar) removing the molasses. After that, it is processed into those pure white crystals we love to hate and hate to love. For turbinado or unrefined brown sugar, identifiable by the larger and less evenly sized crystals, some of the molasses is left in, and it skips the final refining process. For refined brown sugar, molasses is added back into the refined white sugar after it is processed.

The methods of production for other free sugars don’t vary greatly from this model. Just as with cane sugar, coconut sugar and maple sugar are made by pulling the sap out of a plant and then boiling the sap until the water evaporates. Maple syrup and agave nectar are made in the same way, but the boiling process is stopped when it reaches the desired consistency. Even honey goes through a series of steps to take it from plant nectar to sticky sweet, although it’s done by bees rather than humans. Bees collect the less-concentrated liquid nectar, bring it back to the hive, process it, and eventually, it becomes honey. We use machinery, and they use their mouths and stomachs, but the process isn’t all that different.

Types of Sugar

There are a few main types of sugar that can be found in everything ranging from the banana on your kitchen counter to the processed sugar in your favorite pastries. There are the monosaccharides (one-molecule sugars), glucose, fructose, and galactose, and there are also disaccharides (two-molecule sugars), called lactose, sucrose, and maltose. We’re going to focus here on the sugars that are used as "added sugars," rather than stuff like lactose, which occurs naturally in dairy products but isn’t really added to any commercial products except infant formula. Because of this, lactose is not of great concern in the added sugar debate.

1. Glucose

Glucose is food for our cells, and our body produces it naturally. It is also what is measured when people talk about a food’s glycemic index, a number that indicates the impact a food will have on blood sugar levels within two hours of consumption. Balancing blood sugar can be a difficult task, especially for people with diabetes, but a well-functioning system knows what to do with reasonable amounts of glucose when it arrives in your stomach. Whole foods that are high in glucose include dried and fresh fruit, as well as also grains, beans, nuts, and vegetables like sweet bell peppers.

2. Fructose

Fructose is the sweetest-tasting of the natural sugars, can only be broken down by the liver, and much of it is turned into fat. Since it’s in the liver rather than going straight into the bloodstream, it takes longer for the human body to process fructose and, subsequently, it doesn’t cause the sudden spikes in blood sugar that other forms of sugar can trigger.

Because of this, sweeteners high in fructose have often been lauded as "healthy." But Robert Lustig, M.D., professor of pediatrics at University of California, San Francisco and director of the UCSF Weight Assessment for Teen and Child Health (WATCH) program, warns that fructose "floods the liver, creating fatty liver disease and insulin resistance."

And that’s just the start of it: High fructose consumption has been linked to gout, weight-management problems, and a long list of other ailments that can take a while to manifest but that are very serious when they do.

3. Sucrose

Sucrose is made of one molecule of glucose and one molecule of fructose, and because it has the properties of both, it goes through the processes of both, impacting both the blood and the liver. While sucrose exists in many fruits, vegetables, and natural sweeteners, table sugar is pure sucrose, or 50 percent glucose and 50 percent fructose, with nothing else (like fiber) present to slow down absorption. The glucose half of sucrose hits your blood quickly, spiking blood sugar levels, while the fructose half makes its way through the liver, causing the long-term problems Lustig warns of.

So Are Those Alternative Sugars Really Better for You?

The high-fructose products being sold as alternatives to white cane sugar are often marketed as nutrient-rich, but they don’t contain nearly enough healthy vitamins and minerals for their health benefits to outweigh their health consequences. Coconut sugar, for example, has trace amounts of minerals like calcium and iron, but it is also up to 80 percent sucrose. The glucose half of the sucrose in coconut sugar contributes to its relatively low glycemic index (GI) score, which has been reported as 35-42.

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However, the glycemic index measures the short-term impact that a carbohydrate food has on a person’s blood sugar, not the long-term health impacts fructose has on the liver. In the end, coconut sugar is still 35 percent fructose. So while its GI score is lower than sugar (which has a GI score of 63-69), that doesn’t necessarily mean coconut sugar has earned a stamp of healthfulness.

Consumption of unfiltered and unpasteurized raw honey has been tied to weight management by natural wellness folks (and has been shown to be antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory, as well as to potentially provide allergy relief). Birch pollen honey for birch pollen allergy--a randomized controlled pilot study. Saarinen K, Jantunen J, Haahtela T. International archives of allergy and immunology, 2010, Dec.;155(2):1423-0097. But honey still has a GI of anywhere between 55 and 74, and honey is still 82 percent sugar, and the majority of that is fructose.

Agave is specially marketed as a healthy alternative to white cane sugar for people concerned about their blood sugar levels because it is so high in fructose, as opposed to glucose; agave is about 84 percent fructose and 71 percent sugar. But there are potentially scary long-term consequences of high fructose consumption that are often overlooked (and are currently not very well understood).

Becca Rosencline, a certified holistic health coach, likens the marketing of alternative sweeteners like agave, honey, and maple syrup to the way hybrid vehicles have been marketed. Claiming that a non-cane-based sugar is healthy, she says, is "the equivalent of saying that a hybrid car is good for the environment. In reality, it’s not contributing positively, it’s just impacting the environment less negatively."

Justine Horne, a registered dietitian currently working toward a Ph.D. in genetics and weight management, agrees that we shouldn’t be buying into any of the healthy sugar hype. "At the end the day," she says, "research has consistently shown that all added sugar has essentially the same impact on our overall health: That’s right, maple syrup and honey are not healthy alternatives to refined white sugar or brown sugar."

Horne recommends that people limit their consumption of added sugar to less than 5 percent of their total calorie consumption, which is half of the USDA Dietary Guidelines maximum limit of 10 percent and less than one-third of the added sugar the average American consumes on average daily. It’s not all about numbers, though. Each person is different, and every diet should be tuned to our specific needs.

Oakes, Rosencline, Horne, and Lustig all advocate for the conscious cutting out of added sugar in foods and drinks, as well as a decreased consumption of fruit juices and smoothies. Instead, they agree we need to put an increased focus on finding sweetness in whole foods like fruit, which metabolize much more slowly than pulverized, pureed, or otherwise processed fruit products and doesn’t overload the liver.

The bottom line: Just because a label says "natural" doesn’t mean it’s any better for you, and trading one added sugar for another isn’t necessarily going to solve the problem. Processed and added sugar isn’t all the same, but none of it should be a huge part of your diet.

Pippa Biddle is a writer interested in culture, complex systems, and making sense of the world. Follow her on Twitter @PhilippaBiddle.

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Fruit Juice Not Necessary For Babies Under One

Babies under a year old do not need fruit juice and older kids should take it easy on the juice, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) said on May 22.

New Juice Guidelines

While both adults and children need plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables, juice is not the best way to get that nutrition, according to the AAP. The new guidelines suggest:

Infants do not need juice unless a doctor says so. Toddlers aged one to three should get no more than four ounces a day of juice and up to six ounces for kids up to age six.

Don’t give toddlers juice in bottles or sippy cups or at bedtime.

Instead, encourage children to eat fruit.

The AAP advised parents to wait to offer juice until a child reached six months old, but decided to make the changes based on rising rates of obesity and concern about tooth cavities. This is the first change to the Academy’s fruit juice recommendations since 2001.

Keep Your Family Healthy

Parents should keep in mind that calories from sugar can quickly add up, and over time can lead to weight gain, and can also play a role in the development of tooth decay. What can parents do to keep sugar from overtaking their kids’ diets?

Don’t deprive children of sweets:  If children feel deprived, they will not learn how to self-regulate sweets.

Allow children one sweet treat or dessert per day.

Keep fruit drinks, soda and sugary beverages out of the house.

Watch out for sugar in foods that you don’t think of as sweet: Keep an eye on breads, sauces and condiments.

Remember, even natural sugar is sugar: Many people think that natural sugars like honey and agave are healthier than ones that are more highly processed. When you look closely, you see that all of these sugars contain fructose and glucose.

The American Heart Association recommends this eating pattern for families:

Choose a variety of foods to get enough carbohydrates, protein and other nutrients

Don’t overfeed: Estimated calories needed by children range from 900 calories a day for a one year old to 1,800 for a 14 to 18 year old girl and 2,200 for a 14 to 18 year old boy.

Eat foods low in saturated fat, trans-fat, cholesterol, salt, and added sugars

Eat only enough calories to maintain a healthy weight for your age and build. Kids should be physically active for at least 60 minutes a day.

Energy (calories) should be adequate to support growth and development and to reach or maintain desirable body weight

Introduce and regularly serve fish as an entrée. Avoid commercially fried fish.

Keep total fat intake between 30 to 35 percent of calories for children two to three years of age and between 25 to 35 percent of calories for children and adolescents four to 18 years of age, with most fats coming from sources of polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fatty acids, such as fish, nuts and vegetable oils.

Serve a variety of fruits daily, while limiting juice intake. Each meal should contain at least one fruit or vegetable.

Serve low-fat and fat-free dairy foods. From ages one to eight, children need two cups of milk or its equivalent each day. Children ages nine to 18 need three cups.

Serve whole grain/high fiber breads and cereals rather than refined grain products.

This eating pattern supports a child’s normal growth and development. It provides enough total energy and meets the needs or exceeds the recommended daily allowance for all nutrients for children and adolescents, including iron and calcium.

What IAA has to Say

Every child deserves a healthy start in life. Make sure your child is on the right track by following recommended guidelines. Insurance Administrator of America hopes your children have bright and healthy futures. Remember, with IAA one call does it all.

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Tongue function is vital for essential activities like speaking, swallowing, and even breathing. When there’s an issue, such as a tongue-tie, it can affect a child’s ability to feed, communicate, and develop normally. Thanks to advancements in medical technology, Tongue Tie Specialists have developed innovative techniques to diagnose and treat tongue-tie and other related issues effectively. For parents in Arizona, it’s a relief to know that Tongue Tie Specialists Arizona and Tongue Tie Specialists Phoenix offer cutting-edge options to ensure children receive the best possible care. In this article, we’ll explore these advanced methods and provide insights into what you can expect during treatment.

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Diagnostic Methods for Tongue-Tie and Related Issues

Diagnosing a tongue-tie, or ankyloglossia, requires more than just a quick look in the mouth. Tongue Tie Specialists often use a combination of physical examination, functional assessments, and modern imaging techniques to identify and evaluate the severity of the restriction. Specialists observe key indicators like speech patterns, feeding difficulties, and physical limitations during the assessment. A comprehensive diagnosis is essential because treatment varies depending on the extent and nature of the restriction.

Physical Examination and Function Testing: A hands-on assessment is conducted to examine the tongue’s movement, length, and range. Specialists will observe how the tongue moves during speech, swallowing, and other functions. They’ll also assess how the restriction impacts feeding or breathing if applicable.

3D Imaging and Ultrasound Technology: To get a detailed view of the tongue structure and underlying tissues, specialists may use 3D imaging or ultrasound. These methods help provide a more precise diagnosis, as they allow the doctor to visualize the tongue’s frenulum, its thickness, and any connected tissues that may affect functionality.

Functional Assessment for Speech and Motor Skills: Functional issues like speech impediments or motor problems may be associated with tongue-tie. A thorough assessment will determine if these problems are linked to the tongue-tie, helping the specialist develop a holistic treatment approach.

Innovative Treatment Options for Tongue-Tie

Once a diagnosis is confirmed, Tongue Tie Experts employ various modern treatment options to release the restriction. Today’s techniques are often minimally invasive, aiming to minimize discomfort and speed up recovery. Here are some of the most advanced options currently available in Phoenix and Arizona.

Laser Surgery for Tongue-Tie Release: Laser surgery is one of the most popular and effective techniques for treating tongue-tie in children. A specialized laser tool is used to cut and release the frenulum, the tissue restricting tongue movement. This method is incredibly precise, allowing for targeted removal of tissue without damaging surrounding areas. One of the main benefits of laser surgery is the minimized bleeding and faster recovery time due to reduced trauma to the tissue. The procedure can often be completed in just a few minutes, and many children experience minimal discomfort.

Electrosurgical and Radiofrequency Techniques: Electrosurgery involves the use of high-frequency electric currents to cut through tissue, while radiofrequency techniques use controlled radio waves for a similar purpose. Both methods allow for precision in removing the restrictive tissue. These techniques offer a cleaner cut, which minimizes bleeding and swelling, reducing the recovery period compared to traditional scalpel surgery.

Manual Surgical Techniques with Precision Instruments: In some cases, specialists may opt for manual surgery using scalpels and precision tools. While more invasive, this method is sometimes necessary for complex cases or when the frenulum is too thick for a laser or electrosurgical approach. Skilled surgeons ensure that the release is as minimal and clean as possible, often pairing this procedure with physical therapy or follow-up treatments for optimal recovery.

Post-Treatment and Supportive Therapies

After the primary treatment, Tongue Tie Specialists may recommend follow-up care and supportive therapies to ensure that the patient’s tongue achieves full functionality. These therapies can be critical, especially for infants or children who need help developing proper feeding or speech techniques.

Myofunctional Therapy: This type of therapy focuses on retraining the muscles of the tongue, mouth, and face. After a tongue-tie release, myofunctional exercises help the tongue adapt to its increased mobility, improving speech, swallowing, and other functions. Therapists guide patients through specific exercises that strengthen these muscles, promoting better oral health and overall function.

Speech Therapy: If tongue-tie has affected speech development, a speech therapist will work with the patient to correct pronunciation, enhance clarity, and build confidence. Speech therapy sessions are tailored to each child’s needs, targeting areas where they may have struggled due to limited tongue mobility before treatment.

Lactation Consulting and Feeding Support: For infants undergoing tongue-tie release, feeding assistance is often necessary. Lactation consulting services are offered to help babies latch better and to support breastfeeding mothers through the transition. A consultant can guide parents on feeding techniques and offer valuable tips for making the process as comfortable and successful as possible.

Physical Therapy for Enhanced Motor Function: Some children may need physical therapy to develop or restore specific motor skills impacted by tongue-tie. This approach ensures that all muscle groups affected by the condition are given attention, contributing to overall better functioning and faster recovery.

What to Expect During Your Visit

When visiting a Tongue Tie Doctor, you can expect a thorough process that includes a consultation, diagnosis, and a detailed explanation of your treatment options. Specialists typically walk parents through each step, from the initial assessment to aftercare plans. Appointments often include discussions about your child’s health history, any symptoms they’ve experienced, and potential therapies post-release to ensure holistic care.

During the procedure, the specialist will use either laser or surgical techniques in a sterile environment, ensuring minimal discomfort for the child. The entire process, from consultation to post-treatment therapies, is designed with the child’s comfort and well-being as the priority.

Additional Services at Agave Pediatrics

Agave Pediatrics is dedicated to providing comprehensive care beyond tongue-tie treatments. Our other services include:

Osteopathic Pediatrician Arizona

Our osteopathic specialists use a holistic approach to treat the whole child, focusing on physical, emotional, and environmental factors to promote optimal health.

Lactation Consulting Services

We provide lactation support for new mothers and their infants, offering guidance on breastfeeding techniques, nutrition, and overcoming feeding challenges.

Same Day Sick Visits Arizona

Our team understands that health concerns can arise unexpectedly. We offer same-day appointments to provide prompt care when your child needs it most.

At Agave Pediatrics, we are committed to supporting families with personalized, quality care for various health needs, ensuring your child receives the best possible care at every stage.

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Conclusion

Tongue Tie Arizona and Tongue Tie Phoenix specialists are transforming the way tongue-tie and related issues are managed. By integrating advanced diagnostic techniques, minimally invasive treatments, and comprehensive post-procedure care, these professionals are making a positive impact on the lives of countless children and families. With the right treatment and supportive therapies, children can overcome challenges associated with tongue-tie, setting them up for better health and development.

Whether you’re seeking a Tongue Tie Doctor or exploring comprehensive pediatric care at Agave Pediatrics, Arizona offers a range of options tailored to meet each child’s unique needs. By choosing the right care, families can ensure that their child’s oral health is on the right path from the start.

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Should I Drink Smoothies?

3/5 experts say yes.

Fruit, undeniably healthy in its whole-food form, is immensely more palatable to many of us when sliced up and pulverized into a smoothie. But are those sweet and delicious concoctions really good for you? Our group of experts offer a caveated yes. “Drinking smoothies, especially for breakfast, is one of the easiest way to add some fruit to your diet,” says Joseph Price, PhD, a health economist and associate professor at Brigham Young University. He’s also one of the few researchers who’s looked at the impact of smoothies. In a 2015 study, Price and his colleague found that only 4% of kids eating a school breakfast ate a serving of fruit. When the school offered morning smoothies, that number jumped to 45%. That's far better than no fruit at all, experts would agree. But a little can go a long way. “Calories from fruit can add up quickly, so it's good to add protein and veggies,” says Laura Jeffers, a registered dietitian at Cleveland Clinic. She recommends picking fruit with a low glycemic index, like apples and pears. A good ratio to follow is 70% veggie and 30% fruit, Jeffers says. Another thing to keep in mind: smoothies may rob you of the satisfaction you get from eating real food—which, in turn, tends to signal that it's time to stop consuming calories. “Because they are a beverage, smoothies may have weaker satiety value than a solid food of similar energy,” says Richard Mattes, PhD, professor of foods and nutrition at Purdue University. He published a study in the International Journal of Obesity that found that when people drank the beverage form of a carb-rich food, they consumed 12% more calories overall. Still, on the topic of drinkable fruit, not all experts agree. Smoothies let you consume a lot more fruit than you usually would during a sitting, which means that even if you're not adding sweeteners like honey or agave, you'll still be getting a good deal of sugar. A store-bought fruit smoothie can pack 58 grams of sugar in a single 16-oz bottle. (By comparison, 12 ounces of cola has about 40 grams of sugar.) It's the same reason some studies have warned against fruit juice, which can pack as much sugar as soda and is linked to higher blood pressure and obesity. Juice strips out the fruit's naturally occurring fiber, which greatly speeds up absorption of sugar. Barry Popkin, PhD, professor of nutrition at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Public Health, sees smoothies as similar to fruit juice, another drinkable fruit product that has a health halo he doesn't think it deserves. “Actually, long-term fruit juice intake is linked with increased risk of diabetes and other health problems,” Popkin says. Despite the popularity of smoothies, there's surprisingly little research about the effects of smoothie fruit on the body versus whole fruit. But Robert Lustig, MD, professor of pediatrics at University of California, San Francisco, and author of Fat Chance: The Bitter Truth About Sugar, thinks smoothies are a no-no. “The blades destroy the insoluble fiber, which means that the ‘gel’ that forms on the inside of the intestine has no structure,” he says. “The sugar is absorbed at a maximal rate, overwhelming the liver’s capacity to metabolize the sugar, and the excess sugar is turned into liver fat which is the precursor to metabolic syndrome.” But Lustig won’t begrudge you your glass of green slurry, provided it's loaded with veggies. “The insoluble fiber is still destroyed, but so what?" he says. "If that’s the only way you can get your kale down your gullet, have at it.”

http://time.com/3737812/smoothies-healthy-breakfast-fruit/

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Common Tongue Disorders and Their Treatments: Insights from a Tongue Treatment Specialist

Tongue disorders can affect speech, feeding, and overall oral health. From infants to adults, tongue-related issues often require professional diagnosis and treatment. This article provides a comprehensive overview of common tongue disorders, their symptoms, causes, and how specialists — such as Tongue Tie Specialists Arizona — address these conditions to improve patients’ quality of life.

1. Geographic Tongue

What is Geographic Tongue?

Geographic tongue, also known as benign migratory glossitis, is a harmless condition where the tongue’s surface develops smooth, red patches with a white border. These patches resemble a map, giving the condition its name.

Symptoms

Irregular, smooth red patches on the tongue

Mild discomfort or burning sensation, especially after eating spicy or acidic foods

Patches that change location over time

Causes

While the exact cause is unclear, contributing factors may include genetics, stress, hormonal changes, and irritation from certain foods. Some studies suggest a possible link between geographic tongue and autoimmune conditions.

Treatment

Geographic tongue is generally harmless and often does not require treatment. However, specialists may recommend:

Avoiding foods that trigger discomfort (e.g., spicy or acidic foods)

Topical corticosteroids or antihistamine mouthwashes to ease inflammation and discomfort

2. Tongue-Tie (Ankyloglossia)

What is Tongue-Tie?

Tongue-tie, or ankyloglossia, is a congenital condition where the tissue (lingual frenulum) connecting the underside of the tongue to the floor of the mouth is shorter or tighter than usual. This can restrict tongue movement, affecting breastfeeding, speech, and oral hygiene.

Symptoms in Infants:

Difficulty latching during breastfeeding

Poor weight gain

Frustration while nursing

Symptoms in Older Children and Adults:

Difficulty pronouncing certain sounds

Oral hygiene problems due to restricted tongue mobility

Inability to stick the tongue out past the lower front teeth

Causes

Tongue-tie is typically a congenital condition that runs in families. It is present at birth and affects males more frequently than females.

Diagnosis

Tongue Tie Phoenix often diagnoses tongue-tie based on physical examination and a review of symptoms, particularly in newborns who experience difficulty breastfeeding.

Treatment Options

The primary treatment for tongue-tie is a frenectomy — a simple surgical procedure that cuts the lingual frenulum to release the tongue. In infants, this is typically performed using scissors or a laser, with minimal discomfort and a quick recovery. For older children and adults, a more comprehensive surgical approach may be needed, especially if speech therapy is also required to retrain tongue movement.

3. Glossitis

What is Glossitis?

Glossitis refers to inflammation of the tongue, which can result in swelling, redness, and changes in texture. It may be caused by infections, allergic reactions, or nutritional deficiencies.

Symptoms

Swollen tongue

Pain or tenderness

Changes in tongue color (red or pale)

Difficulty chewing, swallowing, or speaking

Causes

Bacterial or viral infections (e.g., oral thrush)

Nutritional deficiencies (e.g., vitamin B12 or iron)

Allergic reactions to oral products, such as toothpaste or mouthwash

Treatment

Treatment for glossitis depends on the underlying cause:

Antibiotics or antifungal medications for infections

Vitamin supplements for nutritional deficiencies

Avoiding irritants (e.g., certain foods or oral products)

In more severe cases, a biopsy may be recommended to rule out underlying health issues, such as cancer or autoimmune disorders.

4. Fissured Tongue

What is Fissured Tongue?

Fissured tongue is a benign condition characterized by deep grooves or fissures on the tongue’s surface. These grooves can become irritated by trapped food and debris, causing discomfort or bad breath.

Symptoms

Deep grooves or cracks on the surface of the tongue

Sensitivity to certain foods

Bad breath due to trapped food particles

Causes

Fissured tongue may be genetic or associated with certain conditions, such as Down syndrome, psoriasis, or Sjögren’s syndrome. In some cases, it develops as part of the aging process.

Treatment

While there is no cure for fissured tongue, proper oral hygiene is crucial to prevent food and bacteria from accumulating in the fissures. Specialists may recommend:

Brushing the tongue gently

Using an antiseptic mouthwash

Regular dental check-ups

5. Burning Mouth Syndrome

What is Burning Mouth Syndrome?

Burning mouth syndrome (BMS) is a chronic condition that causes a burning sensation on the tongue and other areas of the mouth. The exact cause is unknown, but it is thought to be related to nerve damage, hormonal changes, or nutritional deficiencies.

Symptoms

A burning or scalding sensation on the tongue, lips, or entire mouth

Dry mouth

Altered taste (bitter or metallic)

Causes

The causes of BMS are varied and can include:

Hormonal changes (e.g., menopause)

Nutritional deficiencies (e.g., vitamin B or zinc)

Nerve damage

Dry mouth (xerostomia)

Treatment

Treating BMS is challenging, as it depends on addressing the underlying cause. Potential treatments include:

Medications to relieve pain and discomfort (e.g., anticonvulsants, antidepressants)

Nutritional supplements to correct deficiencies

Saliva substitutes or medications to stimulate saliva production in cases of dry mouth

6. Black Hairy Tongue

What is Black Hairy Tongue?

Black hairy tongue is a harmless condition caused by the buildup of dead skin cells on the tongue’s surface, which can trap bacteria, food, and tobacco. These trapped particles give the tongue a dark, hairy appearance.

Symptoms

Dark, furry appearance on the tongue (ranging from black to brown or green)

Bad breath

Altered taste

Causes

The condition is often linked to poor oral hygiene, tobacco use, excessive coffee or tea drinking, and the use of certain medications (e.g., antibiotics).

Treatment

Improving oral hygiene is the most effective treatment. This includes:

Regular brushing of the tongue

Avoiding tobacco and staining beverages

Increasing water intake

For more persistent cases, a healthcare professional may recommend using a tongue scraper or a prescription antimicrobial rinse.

Other Services at Agave Pediatrics

At Agave Pediatrics, we offer a range of pediatric services beyond treating tongue disorders. Our team includes Osteopathic Pediatricians Arizona, providing holistic, patient-centered care that focuses on the body’s natural ability to heal itself. For new mothers, we provide Lactation Consulting Services to ensure a smooth breastfeeding journey and to address any concerns about feeding difficulties, including issues related to tongue-tie. Additionally, we offer Same Day Sick Visits Arizona, so your child can receive prompt medical attention when they need it most, without long wait times.

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Conclusion

Tongue disorders can significantly impact daily life, especially when they interfere with eating, speaking, or oral hygiene. Fortunately, with the help of Tongue Tie Specialists and other oral health professionals, these conditions can be effectively diagnosed and treated. Whether it’s a simple frenectomy for tongue-tie or advice on managing geographic tongue or glossitis, early intervention and expert care can lead to better health outcomes. For anyone experiencing symptoms of a tongue disorder, consulting a Tongue Tie Doctor or oral specialist is the first step toward relief.

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Top Osteopathic Manipulative Treatment Clinics in Arizona: A Guide to Expert Care

Osteopathic Manipulative Treatment (OMT) has become an increasingly popular approach for patients seeking holistic and hands-on care in Arizona. OMT involves a range of techniques used by osteopathic physicians (DOs) to diagnose, treat, and prevent illness or injury. By focusing on the body’s musculoskeletal system, OMT can help restore proper function and promote healing. For those seeking expert care, Arizona is home to some of the best OMT clinics offering personalized and effective treatment plans. In this guide, we’ll explore some of the top osteopathic clinics in the state and highlight what makes each clinic and its physicians unique in their approach to Osteopathic Manual Medicine.

1. Agave Pediatrics

When it comes to osteopathic care for children, Agave Pediatrics stands out as a leader in the field of Osteopathic Pediatrician Arizona. With multiple locations throughout the state, Agave Pediatrics is known for its comprehensive, family-centered care. One of the key services offered at Agave Pediatrics is Osteopathic Manual Medicine Arizona for children, providing gentle manipulative treatment that is both effective and safe for the youngest patients.

Dr. Rajeev Agarwal, a renowned pediatrician, leads the team at Agave Pediatrics. The clinic offers specialized OMT techniques aimed at resolving a variety of conditions such as colic, ear infections, and musculoskeletal issues. What sets Agave Pediatrics apart is its focus on treating children with both conventional medicine and osteopathic care, ensuring a holistic approach to pediatric health.

Additional Services at Agave Pediatrics

In addition to OMT, Agave Pediatrics offers a wide range of other services designed to meet the needs of growing children and their families. The clinic is well-known for its specialized care in areas like Tongue Tie Specialists Arizona. This procedure, also known as a frenectomy, is important for infants who may experience difficulties in feeding due to a restricted tongue movement. By providing expert tongue-tie evaluation and treatment, Agave Pediatrics ensures that infants can feed effectively, promoting healthy growth and development.

Another critical service offered at Agave Pediatrics is Lactation Consulting Services, where mothers receive support and guidance from certified lactation consultants. This service is particularly beneficial for new mothers who may be experiencing challenges in breastfeeding, ensuring they get the help they need to establish successful feeding routines.

Moreover, Agave Pediatrics offers Same Day Sick Visits Arizona, which is essential for parents needing immediate medical attention for their children. With convenient same-day appointments, the clinic ensures that sick children receive timely care, reducing the stress of long wait times.

2. Arizona Osteopathic Medicine and Physical Therapy (AOMPT)

Located in Phoenix, Osteopathic Manual Medicine Phoenix experts at Arizona Osteopathic Medicine and Physical Therapy (AOMPT) offer a full range of osteopathic services to address a variety of health concerns. AOMPT is led by Dr. John Harrington, a highly skilled osteopathic physician with decades of experience in treating patients using OMT techniques. Specializing in musculoskeletal pain, sports injuries, and chronic conditions, Dr. Harrington’s clinic uses manual therapy to help restore balance to the body.

The team at AOMPT is known for its individualized treatment plans that combine OMT with physical therapy for enhanced results. The clinic also works with patients who have not responded well to conventional treatments, offering an alternative, non-invasive approach that gets to the root of the problem.

What makes AOMPT unique is its collaborative approach to patient care. Osteopathic physicians work closely with physical therapists to create comprehensive treatment plans aimed at improving mobility, reducing pain, and promoting long-term healing. Patients with chronic conditions, like back pain or migraines, often find relief through the clinic’s personalized OMT programs.

3. Arizona Center for Integrative Medicine (AzCIM)

At the Arizona Center for Integrative Medicine, the focus is on providing whole-person care by integrating osteopathic principles into comprehensive treatment plans. Led by Dr. Sara Norris, AzCIM specializes in OMM in Arizona, offering patients a wide range of treatments designed to support overall wellness. Dr. Norris uses a hands-on approach to diagnose and treat conditions, focusing on structural imbalances that can affect other parts of the body.

Patients suffering from chronic conditions such as fibromyalgia, arthritis, or digestive issues can benefit from the gentle, non-invasive techniques used in OMT. By addressing the interconnectedness of the body’s systems, AzCIM provides relief to patients who are often looking for a more holistic approach than what traditional medicine can offer.

AzCIM is particularly well-regarded for its use of OMT in combination with other integrative therapies, including acupuncture, nutritional counseling, and herbal medicine. This blend of treatment modalities ensures that patients receive the best of both worlds — modern medical knowledge and time-tested holistic practices.

4. Phoenix Osteopathic Medicine

Specializing in Osteopathic Manual Medicine Phoenix, Phoenix Osteopathic Medicine is another top-rated clinic in Arizona. The clinic is led by Dr. Lisa Brennan, a board-certified osteopathic physician who focuses on treating both acute and chronic musculoskeletal conditions. Dr. Brennan’s clinic offers personalized care for patients of all ages, from infants to seniors, making it a trusted source of osteopathic care for the whole family.

What sets Phoenix Osteopathic Medicine apart is its commitment to patient education. Dr. Brennan and her team place a strong emphasis on teaching patients about the osteopathic philosophy and how OMT can be used to promote long-term health and wellness. This empowers patients to take an active role in their health, combining OMT with lifestyle changes to maximize outcomes.

In addition to treating common conditions like back pain, neck pain, and headaches, the clinic also offers specialized care for patients with sports injuries, post-surgical recovery needs, and pregnancy-related discomfort. By using OMT, Phoenix Osteopathic Medicine helps patients reduce pain, increase mobility, and improve their overall quality of life.

5. The Osteopathic Clinic of Arizona

Another highly rated clinic for OMM in Arizona is The Osteopathic Clinic of Arizona. Led by Dr. Timothy Stone, the clinic focuses on providing hands-on treatment for a variety of conditions, including joint pain, migraines, and even respiratory issues. The clinic’s holistic approach to patient care ensures that each treatment plan is tailored to the individual’s needs, promoting healing and recovery from the inside out.

Dr. Stone is particularly known for his expertise in treating patients with chronic pain who have not found relief through conventional methods. His approach to OMT involves using techniques such as myofascial release, craniosacral therapy, and soft tissue manipulation to restore balance and improve function in the body. Patients who have suffered from long-term pain or restricted mobility often find relief after just a few sessions at the clinic.

The Osteopathic Clinic of Arizona is also committed to providing educational resources for patients, helping them understand the benefits of OMT and how it can support overall health. Dr. Stone’s holistic approach and deep commitment to patient care make this clinic a top choice for those seeking expert osteopathic treatment in Arizona.

Conclusion

For patients seeking high-quality Osteopathic Manual Medicine in Arizona, these top clinics provide expert care across a range of specialties. Whether you’re dealing with chronic pain, a sports injury, or are seeking pediatric care, the osteopathic physicians at these clinics offer a holistic, non-invasive approach to health and healing. By incorporating osteopathic principles into their treatment plans, these clinics help patients restore balance and function in the body, promoting overall well-being.

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Best Pediatrician in Phoenix, Arizona: Agave Pediatrics

When it comes to choosing a pediatrician, finding one who combines medical expertise with compassion is crucial. Parents in the Phoenix area are fortunate to have a top-tier option in Agave Pediatrics. Known for its dedicated team, child-centered approach, and state-of-the-art facilities, Agave Pediatrics has built a stellar reputation as the best pediatrician in Phoenix, AZ. The clinic stands out not only because of its exceptional pediatric services but also due to its commitment to holistic family care, ensuring that both children and their parents feel supported throughout the health journey.

Agave Pediatrics: A Premier Pediatric Clinic

Agave Pediatrics is not just a regular clinic; it is a community of healthcare professionals who genuinely care for every child that walks through the doors. The clinic’s mission is centered around offering comprehensive pediatric care in a warm, welcoming environment. Whether a child needs a routine check-up, immunizations, or treatment for an acute illness, the experienced pediatricians at Agave Pediatrics have the skills and knowledge necessary to provide top-notch care. This makes Agave Pediatrics one of the most sought-after practices in the region, regarded by many as the best pediatrician clinic in Arizona.

Parents know they are entrusting their children to doctors who are experts in diagnosing and treating a variety of childhood ailments. The pediatricians here are not only highly trained but also compassionate and caring, which is essential for treating young patients. The clinic serves children from infancy through adolescence, offering personalized care that caters to each child’s unique needs. If you’re looking for the best pediatrician in Phoenix, AZ, Agave Pediatrics is certainly a top contender.

Comprehensive Pediatric Services

One of the aspects that makes Agave Pediatrics the best pediatrician in Arizona is the comprehensive range of services they offer. From newborn care to adolescent health, Agave Pediatrics provides everything needed to support a child’s growth and development at every stage. Parents can rest assured that their children are receiving cutting-edge medical care based on the latest research and best practices in pediatric medicine.

The pediatricians at Agave Pediatrics focus on preventive care to keep children healthy and thriving. Regular wellness check-ups, vaccination schedules, and screenings are prioritized to ensure early detection of potential health issues. For those searching for a pediatrician Phoenix, Agave Pediatrics is the ultimate choice because of its focus on both preventive and curative care.

Additionally, the clinic is well-equipped to handle urgent health concerns. Families with children who suddenly fall ill can take advantage of the same-day sick visits, ensuring that a doctor can address the child’s needs immediately. This is especially helpful for busy parents who want quick access to pediatric care without long wait times. With a pediatric Phoenix clinic like Agave Pediatrics, immediate attention is just a phone call away.

Highly Skilled and Specialized Team

Agave Pediatrics is staffed by a team of experts who are leaders in their field. The doctors here possess a wealth of knowledge and experience, allowing them to manage complex medical conditions that may require specialized care. They are committed to ongoing education to stay at the forefront of advances in pediatric healthcare. This dedication to learning enables the team to provide the best possible care for their young patients, cementing their status as a leading pediatric clinic in the Phoenix area.

In addition to general pediatric care, Agave Pediatrics also offers specialized services, ensuring that they can address a wide variety of medical concerns. These additional services further set the clinic apart and make it a go-to option for parents seeking specialized pediatric care in Phoenix.

Additional Services at Agave Pediatrics

Apart from routine pediatric care, Agave Pediatrics offers several specialized services that are designed to meet the specific needs of both children and parents. These services include support for breastfeeding mothers, care for infants with tongue-tie issues, and immediate medical attention for sick children. Below is an overview of these additional offerings:

Tongue Tie Specialists Arizona Tongue-tie, or ankyloglossia, is a condition in which a tight band of tissue under the tongue restricts its movement, potentially leading to difficulties in feeding, speech, and oral hygiene. The Tongue Tie Specialists Arizona at Agave Pediatrics are highly experienced in diagnosing and treating this condition. They provide a thorough assessment and, if necessary, a safe and effective tongue-tie release procedure that allows infants to feed properly and reduces long-term complications.

Lactation Consulting Services Breastfeeding can be a challenge for new mothers, especially if they face issues such as low milk supply, latch difficulties, or pain during nursing. Agave Pediatrics offers lactation consulting services to support breastfeeding mothers and ensure they have the guidance they need for a successful breastfeeding journey. The certified lactation consultants provide personalized support, helping mothers overcome breastfeeding challenges with confidence.

Same Day Sick Visits Arizona Nothing is more distressing than when your child is suddenly unwell, which is why Agave Pediatrics offers same day sick visits Arizona. This service ensures that when your child is feeling ill, you can see a pediatrician the same day, reducing the anxiety and stress that come with waiting. Agave Pediatrics prioritizes the health and comfort of its patients, ensuring that urgent care is available when families need it most.

Patient-Centered Care

One of the reasons Agave Pediatrics is widely regarded as the best pediatrician clinic in Arizona is its focus on patient-centered care. The clinic’s healthcare professionals take the time to listen to both the children and their parents, making sure they understand the medical needs and concerns of each individual. This thoughtful approach is essential in creating a positive experience for both the child and the parents.

Agave Pediatrics emphasizes the importance of building strong relationships with their patients and their families. The team works hard to create an atmosphere where children feel safe and comfortable, reducing any fear or anxiety associated with doctor visits. Parents also appreciate the clinic’s open communication, knowing they can trust the doctors with the health and well-being of their children.

Modern Facilities and Technology

The facilities at Agave Pediatrics are modern and equipped with the latest technology, ensuring that patients receive the most up-to-date care. The clinic’s environment is designed to be kid-friendly, with bright, cheerful decor that helps children feel at ease. The waiting areas are comfortable and the staff is always welcoming, making the entire experience pleasant for families.

Furthermore, Agave Pediatrics utilizes electronic health records (EHR) and other technological tools to ensure accurate and efficient medical care. These technologies help streamline the process of scheduling appointments, accessing medical records, and obtaining test results, further improving the patient experience.

Conclusion

In summary, Agave Pediatrics stands out as one of the premier healthcare providers in the Phoenix area. With its expert pediatricians, comprehensive services, and specialized care offerings such as Tongue Tie Specialists Arizona, lactation consulting services, and same day sick visits Arizona, it’s no wonder that this clinic is widely recognized as the best pediatrician clinic in Arizona. Parents who want the best care for their children can trust Agave Pediatrics to provide high-quality, compassionate medical services that promote healthy development from infancy through adolescence.

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Why Postpartum Lactation Support is Essential for Arizona Moms

Bringing a newborn into the world is an exciting, life-changing experience. However, as any mother can attest, postpartum recovery presents its own set of challenges — especially when it comes to breastfeeding. For Arizona mothers, the combination of physical recovery, emotional adjustments, and the hot desert climate can add to the complexity of navigating the early days of motherhood. This is where postpartum lactation support becomes invaluable.

In Arizona, many new mothers find that breastfeeding isn’t as intuitive or easy as they expected. Issues such as latch difficulties, low milk supply, or infant feeding challenges can quickly lead to frustration. Left unresolved, these concerns may result in early cessation of breastfeeding, which deprives both the mother and baby of numerous health benefits. Postpartum lactation support not only aids in overcoming these issues but also promotes a more successful and enjoyable breastfeeding journey.

The Importance of Postpartum Care

Postpartum care is vital for every mother. While the focus is often on the baby after birth, it’s equally important to care for the mother as she recovers physically and emotionally. The postpartum period, also known as the fourth trimester, is a critical time for both healing and bonding with the baby. It is during this time that many mothers face common postpartum issues such as pain, fatigue, emotional fluctuations, and breastfeeding struggles.

For Arizona moms, the arid climate can exacerbate certain postpartum symptoms. Dehydration is a common issue that can negatively impact milk production and overall well-being. Adequate hydration, rest, and support are necessary to navigate this delicate phase of motherhood. Access to professional postpartum care, including lactation consulting, can make all the difference in a mother’s recovery and breastfeeding success.

Why Breastfeeding is Essential

Breastfeeding is the most natural and nutritious way to feed a newborn. The benefits of breastfeeding are well-documented and include a stronger immune system for the baby, reduced risk of infections, and a lower incidence of chronic conditions like asthma and diabetes later in life. Breastfeeding also promotes mother-baby bonding through skin-to-skin contact, which fosters emotional closeness.

For mothers, breastfeeding reduces the risk of postpartum hemorrhage, aids in weight loss, and decreases the likelihood of developing breast and ovarian cancers. Additionally, breastfeeding releases oxytocin, a hormone that promotes relaxation and can help reduce stress and anxiety in the mother.

Despite these benefits, many mothers face challenges that make breastfeeding difficult. This is why lactation support is crucial — it provides the guidance and assistance mothers need to overcome these challenges and maintain a successful breastfeeding relationship.

Common Breastfeeding Challenges for Arizona Moms

In Arizona, some unique factors can influence a mother’s breastfeeding journey. The state’s hot and dry climate can lead to dehydration, which is especially problematic for breastfeeding mothers. Hydration is essential for maintaining a healthy milk supply, and many mothers may not realize how much fluid they need to stay adequately hydrated while nursing in Arizona’s desert environment.

Another issue many mothers face is the physical discomfort that often accompanies breastfeeding in the early days. Sore nipples, engorgement, and blocked milk ducts can make nursing painful. Without proper support and guidance, these issues can escalate and cause some mothers to give up on breastfeeding prematurely.

Certain newborns also present feeding challenges. Some babies have difficulty latching due to anatomical issues like a tongue tie, which restricts the movement of the baby’s tongue and affects their ability to nurse effectively. Left untreated, a tongue tie can lead to insufficient milk transfer and poor weight gain in the baby, as well as pain and frustration for the mother.

Postpartum lactation support, particularly from trained specialists, can address these challenges and provide much-needed relief for both mother and baby.

The Role of Lactation Consultants

Lactation consultants are healthcare professionals trained specifically to assist with breastfeeding. They are certified to provide evidence-based advice and hands-on help to mothers experiencing breastfeeding difficulties. From improper latch and low milk supply to positioning and pain management, lactation consultants address a wide range of breastfeeding concerns.

For Arizona moms, lactation consultants offer personalized care that considers the unique factors influencing their breastfeeding experience. They help mothers create strategies to stay hydrated in the dry climate, establish proper latch techniques to avoid nipple pain, and ensure their babies are feeding effectively.

In cases where medical conditions like tongue tie are affecting breastfeeding, lactation consultants work closely with pediatricians and specialists to ensure the baby receives the necessary care. They can recommend interventions or referrals when necessary, such as to a Tongue Tie Specialist.

Lactation consultants also offer emotional support, which is often overlooked but incredibly important in the postpartum period. Breastfeeding struggles can lead to feelings of inadequacy or guilt, but having an expert who understands and provides reassurance can make a significant difference in a mother’s confidence and breastfeeding success.

How Postpartum Lactation Support Improves Recovery

Receiving postpartum lactation support is not just about improving breastfeeding outcomes; it also contributes to the overall recovery and well-being of the mother. During the postpartum period, women are vulnerable to physical discomfort, sleep deprivation, and emotional stress. When breastfeeding issues arise, they can add an extra layer of frustration, leading to higher stress levels and even contributing to postpartum depression.

Arizona mothers who have access to lactation support report greater satisfaction in their breastfeeding experience and an overall smoother transition into motherhood. The guidance provided by lactation consultants helps mothers avoid common pitfalls like improper latch or poor positioning, which can lead to long-term problems if unaddressed. Moreover, having someone to talk to and receive encouragement from can reduce the emotional burden many mothers feel in the early weeks after birth.

Long-Term Benefits for Mothers and Babies

The benefits of lactation support extend beyond the immediate postpartum period. Mothers who receive support are more likely to continue breastfeeding for the recommended duration, which is at least one year according to the American Academy of Pediatrics. Long-term breastfeeding provides sustained health benefits for both the mother and baby, including continued immune support for the baby and ongoing protection for the mother against certain cancers and chronic diseases.

For Arizona families, having access to lactation consulting services means a higher likelihood of successful breastfeeding, improved postpartum recovery, and greater confidence in parenting.

Conclusion

Postpartum lactation support is an essential service for Arizona moms navigating the early days of motherhood. From overcoming breastfeeding challenges to promoting a faster physical and emotional recovery, the benefits of professional lactation support are immense. By providing guidance, reassurance, and practical solutions, lactation consultants help mothers ensure their breastfeeding journey is a positive and successful experience.

Agave Pediatrics: Providing Expert Care for New Mothers

At Agave Pediatrics, we understand how critical postpartum support is for both mothers and babies. Our team of pediatricians in Phoenix works closely with Tongue Tie Specialists to address any feeding challenges your baby may face, ensuring a smooth breastfeeding experience. Whether you’re struggling with breastfeeding or looking for comprehensive pediatric care, our expert team is here to help you every step of the way.

For more information or to schedule a consultation with our pediatric Phoenix team, visit Agave Pediatrics today!