Primo Health Blog

Detoxification: Dietary Supplements to Support & Promote the Process

By Gene Bruno, MS, MHS

In her 1962 groundbreaking book Silent Spring, Rachel Carson wrote: “For the first time in the history of the world every human being is now subjected to contact with dangerous chemicals, from the moment of conception until death.” Of course humans have always been exposed to potentially harmful chemicals from plants and other sources, but Rachel Carson’s point is well taken. Modern living exposes all of us to an unprecedented number of chemicals on a daily basis. This includes environmental toxins such as heavy metals, pesticides, industrial compounds and chemical byproducts, medications, cosmetic additives, inorganic chemicals, etc. These chemical substances which are foreign to the biological system are referred to as “xenobiotics.”

The good news is that the body was designed to detoxify and excrete xenobiotics. The bad news is our bodies may not always be equipped to handle the volume of modern, environmental pollutants and toxic substances. This problem may be exacerbated by the fact that the refining of many of our foodstuffs has caused them to provide considerably less of the nutrients that are essential to the detoxification process.^{1 2}

Amino Acid Synergy is useful as a general supplement to diets that are insufficient in quality protein, for athletes that require additional amino acids to maintain or achieve greater lean body mass, for patients who are cachexic from chronic illness or GI malabsorption, for individuals who are in catabolic states due to stress or illness, for those recovering from surgery or tissue trauma, for people wanting better quality hair and nails and for patients who have been found to have confirmed amino acid deficiencies on metabolic testing. Amino acids play central roles both as building blocks of proteins and as intermediates in metabolism. The precise amino acid content, and the sequence of those amino acids, of a specific protein, determines the biological activity of the protein. Proteins not only catalyze all (or most) of the reactions in living cells, they control virtually all cellular processes. Humans can produce 10 of the 20 amino acids. The others must be supplied in food. Failure to obtain enough of even 1 of the 10 essential amino acids, those that we cannot make, results in degradation of the body's proteins, including muscle. Unlike fat and starch, the human body does not store excess amino acids for later use so amino acids must be consumed every day. Amino Acid Synergy provides a mixture of essential amino in the free-form, meaning they are immediately available for absorption and can be put to metabolic use much more readily and rapidly when compared to amino acids contained in dietary protein.

Original Article By Ed Bauman, M.Ed., Ph.D.

I previously shared a recipe I learned in Costa Rica for making Grain-Free Yucca Buns. Also on that trip to Costa Rica I came accross sweet potato flour. This is a grain-free (gluten-free) alternative to traditional pancakes. And the sweetness of the flour makes what I think is a far superior pancake to the old-school flapjacks. Try this recipe at home, you won't be disappointed!

Sweet Potato Pancake Recipe

I recently went through a very stressful period in my life. My last semester in grad school coupled with some other unexpected changes sent me for a bit of a tailspin. My body doesn’t respond well to stress. And having an autoimmune condition, stress is a major trigger for my disorder and my body began to exhibit the toll the stress was taking on my body.

Welcome to 2013! It's a new year and I'm motivated in my directives and encouraged about the work that I do. Click to read an email I sent out recently called You Are What You Eat In 2013.

To start off this new year I will be working on a new series called The Pillars of Primo Health. By pillars I mean foundational supporting parts that are key to achieving optimal health (Primo Health). I've adapted some of these from my studies and from the work of other colleagues. But this final list is my own. I've concluded that there are 10 Pillars of Primo Health.

On a previous post Health Brain Healthy Body I shared 7 tips for maintaining a healthy brain. Having a healthy brain is essential to having a healthy body. Low fat diets and junk food diets do little to feed the brain what it needs to maintain healthy neurological function, memory and emotional well being. Environmental toxins like heavy metals as well as alcohol and drug abuse contribute greatly to loss of brain function and mental health.

This blog post will focus on eating right for your brain. Those of you with issues like anxiety, deppression, brain fog, memory loss, attention deficit disorder, dementia, autism, and addictions cannot ignore the impact of nutrition on the brain. Everyone knows the importance of nutrition when other organs of the body are ailing. But interestingly enough, nutrition for the brain and the ailments of the brain goes all to often ignored. I don't care what other treatments you may be using to deal with your brain issues, you cannot forget to eat foods for a healthy brain! 

I can't lie and say that I don't miss eating bread on my grain-free diet. I am Latino and Italian, both of which are great bread eaters. My family in Costa Rica made bread for the whole town of Puriscal for decades. Bread is in my blood. I've probably eaten enough bread for two lifetimes if I was honest about my previous consumption. Nonetheless, I experience health problems when I eat grains or foods made from grain flours. So I've had to adjust my life in order to feel better and live longer.

On my last trip to Costa Rica early this year I discovered that they make many non-grain flours there. I was suprised to learn that a traditional cheese bread eaten in many Latin American countries is actually grain-free! Pan de Yuca (yucca buns) are a delicious grain-free cheesey bread that can be eaten on a grain-free diet. It may not be for the strict Paleo Dieter because it is somewhat processed and does have cheese. But I've made adjustments to the recipe to make it healthier and less allergy provoking.

Is that a sweet potato? Or is that a yam? Good question! I was confused myself for so long. But now I know there is a distinction. That orange colored flesh of the picture on the left is the sweet potato, though it is often labeled as a "yam." It comes from the plant family known as Convovulaceae, or Morning Glory. It is very different from the yam that comes from the Caribbean, which is an edible root of the Discorea genus. The true yam is rough and scaly. And its nutrient content is much different from the sweet potato. There are several varieties and colors of the sweet potato. To make matters even worse, the sweet potato is not a potato either!

SWEET POTATO'S NUTRITIONAL VALUE

The sweet potato is considered one of the most nutritious vegetables around. It is nutritionally unique from the potato and the yam. It is very high in beta-carotene, providing several times the recommended daily allowance of Vitamin A. This root vegetable is also packed with potassium, manganese and copper. It is a good source of vitamins C and B6. The sweet potato is high in fiber but you have to eat the skin!

The white potato is a species belonging to the nightshades. These are foods that cause inflammation that are especially a problem for those with arthritis and other inflammatory conditions. Other nightshades include tomatoes, eggplant, capers and peppers. Fortunately, the sweet potato is NOT a nightshade. In fact they contain quercetin, which is a powerful anti-inflammatory.