Looking for healthy pre-prepared meals without the hidden ingredients?  The Dinner Dude prepares fresh gourmet meals for busy people with a discriminating paleo or low carbohydrate  nutritional lifestyle.  They also cater to the specific and unique needs of people on restrictive calorie diets. Known for their fresh ingredients from organic vegetables and anti-biotic free meats, you will find the selection, portion options, pricing and taste very satisfying.  Dinner dudes delivers in the Houston area and also to the Woodlands Institute of Health & Wellness.  Let The Dinner Dude help you stay on track this holiday season without the guilt or denial! Call 281.529.6396 and order today.  Ask about their classic holiday feast with all the trimmings too!

What are digestive enzymes and why are they important?

The human body makes and secretes specific enzymes, called digestive enzymes, which help us to break down fat, proteins and carbohydrates into the micronutrients necessary for absorption into the body.  So despite our best efforts to eat a healthy diet, if digestive enzyme production and secretion are inadequate, then our ability to absorb all of the micronutrients from our food will be impaired.    

Why would our bodies not make enough digestive enzymes?

There are many reasons the body’s natural enzymes become depleted.  Diseases such as pancreatic disease, Crohn’s disease, and Celiac disease can cause severe deficiencies in digestive enzymes; however, even in the absence of disease, the body may still not be producing enough digestive enzymes. Here are a few of the many reasons that can lead to enzyme depletion:

·         Food allergies

·        Aging

·        Intestinal Permeability caused from an overgrowth of yeast in the gut

·        Chronic Stress

How do digestive enzymes work?

Different enzymes break down different foods so that their nutrients may be more readily absorbed.

·        Amylase helps the body digest starch and is integral to the breakdown of carbohydrates, such as potatoes and other starchy foods.

·        Protease breaks down the peptide bonds that join the amino acids in a protein, ensuring that the amino acids are readily available to the body. 

·        Lipase splits apart emulsified fats. 

·        Lactase digests milk and sugar.

·        Cellulase helps break down plant and vegetable matter.

Signs you may need a digestive enzyme supplement:

·        Bloating

·        Indigestion/heartburn

·        Gas

·        Irregularity

·        Rock gut (the feeling that you have food sitting in your stomach)

How can I improve digestive enzyme deficiency?

·        Remove foods such as legumes (e.g. beans) and grains (e.g. wheat, oats, corn) as they are known enzyme inhibitors.

·        A healthy digestive system is at the root of all good health so repair the gut with, for example, a yeast cleanse.

·        Replace good gut flora (microorganisms) through the daily use of a good quality probiotic.

·        Manage stress. We all have stress in our lives, especially during the holidays.  Between shopping and wrapping that perfect gift, and cooking a decadent meal for 20, the true meaning and joy of Christmas can quickly become lost.   Allow yourself to really enjoy the season by letting go of what’s not important.  Make time for yourself, whether allowing yourself extra sleep, or adding a yoga class.

·        Support your body by taking a broad spectrum complex of digestive enzymes.

Complementary Prescriptions Digestive Enzymes offers a plant-based formula that works to digest a full range of foods, including protein, fats, carbohydrates, sugar and fiber.

Before you start to feel guilty about all of the decadent holiday treats and yummy food you are about to eat, breathe a sigh of relief and let’s get down to the facts about fat.

Fat is, and always has been, a fundamental pillar of our nutrition. We all know that monounsaturated fats, such as the kind found in nuts, olives, and avocados, are good for us. We all know that modified hydrogenated fats so commonly found in fast foods or commercially prepared food are very unhealthy for us; however, what about saturated fats, such as the kind found in meat, egg yolks, cheese, and butter? These fats, in addition to the cholesterol found in foods with high amounts of saturated fats, have been demonized as leading to cardiovascular disease.

Bottom line: Our bodies need fat. Our bodies need it to assist in many functions that we simply could not live without. We need a certain amount of healthy saturated fat in our diets to stay healthy, some experts recommending ~ 50% of our calories for optimal health. Yes, that’s right, 50%!

Let me provide you with some facts about saturated fat* to break through the misinformation and myths that have been harming you and your family’s health for decades:

• Our brains consist of more than 70% fat.
• If we deprive our brains of cholesterol, it directly affects how smart we are and how well we remember things.
• Cholesterol in the brain and in our bodies acts as a powerful anti-oxidant and protects the brain against the damaging effects of free radicals that lead to heart disease and cancer.
• Cholesterol is a critical component in the brain’s neurotransmitters, allowing the quick transfer of information.
• Our brains have the ability to grow new synapses, but only with the availability of cholesterol. The cholesterol latches the membranes together so that the signals can jump easily across the synapse.
• When we eat healthy, saturated fats (i.e. NOT fried foods), it slows down absorption, making us feel fuller, longer.
• Healthy, saturated fats from both animal and vegetable sources provide the building blocks for cell membranes and a variety of hormones.
• Our endocrine system relies on saturated fatty acids to communicate the need to make certain hormones, including insulin.
• Vitamin D is a powerful anti inflammatory and is directly formed from cholesterol.
• Fat plays a pivotal role in regulating the immune system. White blood cells, a major component of the immune system, rely on the fats found in natural saturated fats such as butter and coconut oil to recognize and destroy invading germs and even fight tumors.
• Fat is a concentrated source of energy in the diet.
• Bile salts, which are secreted by the gallbladder to aid in digestion of toxins and fats, are made of cholesterol.
• Bones require saturated fats to assimilate calcium effectively.

Our no-fat, low fat, no cholesterol diet has wreaked havoc on our health today.  The Food Pyramid of the 50’s and 60’s, which emphasized grains and dairy and removed all saturated fat and cholesterol, has resulted in an obesity and Alzheimer’s epidemic, as just two examples.  The truth is we NEED healthy, undamaged saturated fats for optimal health.

To sum it all up, healthy saturated fats are great for our bodies and they taste great, too! This holiday season feel free to feel guilty about the stuffing and NOT the turkey leg or ham! Happy Holidays!

*examples of healthy saturated fats include eggs from free range organic chickens, butter from organic, grass fed cows, and coconut oil.

Information obtained from Grain Brain by David Perlmutter, MD, as well as Know Your Fats by Mary Enig, PhD.

Magnesium and calcium are fundamental nutrients that need to be in balance with each other for you to fully experience good health.  Magnesium helps your muscles and nerves function properly.  It keeps your heart rhythm steady, supports a healthy immune system and also assists in keeping your bones strong.  This essential mineral helps regulate blood sugar levels, promotes normal blood pressure and is required for producing & storing energy.  It is easy to see why so many researchers say that no single dietary factor is as critical as magnesium.

Most people do not get enough magnesium and magnesium deficiency can be caused by a number of stressors on the body, including, but not limited to, lack of adequate dietary intake of magnesium, emotional stress, certain drugs (diuretics, antibiotics, oral contraceptives, insulin, cortisone) heavy exercise, diabetes, gastrointestinal disorders and too much calcium in the diet.

The importance of the magnesium & calcium balance on a cellular level is critical.  Calcium and magnesium are like opposite sides of a coin.  Calcium excites nerves, while magnesium calms them down.  Calcium makes muscles contract. Magnesium is necessary for muscles to relax.  Calcium is needed for blood clotting, but magnesium keeps the blood flowing freely.

Natural Calm – the anti-stress drink is the best selling magnesium supplement on the market.  It features a proprietary formula that provides a highly absorbable, water soluble magnesium ionic form so it is ready to go to work right away.  Natural Calm is the solution to both restoring a healthy magnesium level and balancing your calcium intake, the result of which is natural stress relief.

Factors That Affect Your Immune System

by Mila McManus MD

As cold and flu season approaches, I thought I would take a moment to give some tips on creating an effective and strong immune system. Often what makes for a “strong immune system” can be confusing and, when you consider that your immune system is your body’s natural defense against threats to your health, you may think more seriously about taking steps to strengthen it.  Let’s make your immune system so strong that it’s always ready to be in fighting mode when the risk for illness is at its highest.

A strong immune system is actually one that is optimized and resting until it is called to action and you can do your part to help yours stay that way by boosting supplements and also understanding several factors that can undermine it.

• Hand Washing:  It is very important to remember that influenza and colds are not caused by bacteria, but yet rather a wide variety of viruses.  The most common way cold and flu viruses are spread is through hand to hand contact.  One of the easiest ways to lower your risk is to frequently wash your hands with soap and water.
• Vitamin D:  While colds and flus are caused by viral infections, research shows that your body’s susceptibility to infection is related to, at least partially, an underlying vitamin D deficiency.
• Probiotics:  The road to good health is paved with good intestines.  Probiotics can help you keep your immune system healthy by helping you ward off disease. Remember that 80% of your immune system lies in your gastrointestinal tract.  Good gut bacteria actually turn on disease fighting genes to help suppress those genes that can cause a plethora of health troubles.
• Good Sleep:  If you are not getting adequate and restorative sleep, your body will be at risk for a hostile virile takeover.  Your immune system is at its best when you are most rested.  Also, the more rested you are, the quicker you are more likely to recover if you do catch a virus.