Read this First…

Re-posting information from a blog post by Dr. Michael Greger, MD at his non-profit website, NutritionFacts.org.

“When we don’t eat enough carbohydrates, our body is forced to burn more fat, which can be misconstrued as increasing the rate of net fat-mass reduction. However, on a keto diet, our fat intake also increases.

The “carbohydrate–insulin model of obesity,” a theory put forth by low-carb advocates, suggests that decreased insulin secretion (whether from a keto diet or a less intense form of carb restriction) would lead to less fat storage such that even if more fat were consumed, less would stick to your frame.

The Nutrition Science Initiative (NuSI) was formed by Gary Taubes, author of the controversial “What If It’s All Been a Big Fat Lie?” article arguing in favor of the Atkins diet. In response, some of the researchers Taubes cited to support his thesis accused him of misrepresenting their words and being “incredibly misleading.” NuSI got $40 million in funding to sponsor research to validate the carbohydrate–insulin model that more body fat could be lost on a keto diet. In fact, the researchers found that body fat loss slowed on a ketogenic diet.

If looking only at the numbers on a scale, a keto diet would seem to be effective. More pounds were lost on a keto diet compared to a typical diet, but the rate of body fat loss slowed by more than half and most of the loss was water weight. It’s thought that less fat is burned on a keto diet because, without the preferred fuel of carbs, the body starts burning more of its own protein, so a keto diet causes less fat mass loss and more fat-free mass loss—i.e., loss of more lean mass. The leg muscles of CrossFit trainees on a keto diet shrunk in thickness by 8 percent, for instance. The study participants began burning more fat on the keto diet, but they were eating so much more fat that they ended up retaining more fat in their bodies, despite the lower insulin levels, which is “diametrically opposite” to what the keto crowd predicted.

In light of this, the Nutrition Science Initiative effectively collapsed, but, according to tax returns, not before Taubes and his co-founder personally pocketed millions of dollars.”

This was from a blog post authored by Dr. Michael Gregor.

This is often the message referring to halitosis (aka “bad breath”) and its relationship to poor dental hygiene. While valid, this post is actually about relationship between dental care and the leading cause of death in the United States – Heart Disease.

You may have heard that tooth infections, left untreated, do more than hurt your mouth and jaw… that they can result in infections that compromise heart valves and contribute to heart attacks and strokes! But it has been established that if you aren’t regularly brushing and flossing, you are asking for heart disease EVEN IF YOU DON’T HAVE PERIODONTAL DISEASE OR TOOTH ACHES/INFECTIONS!

According to a recent study published in August 2024 in the journal Circulation, there is an “association of a gut microbiota composition characterized by increased abundance of Streptococcus spp and other species commonly found in the oral cavity with coronary atherosclerosis and systemic inflammation markers….”

Translated:
Streptococcus anginosus, Streptococcus oralis and Streptococcus mutans do more than just make for ugly teeth and bad breath. When these bacteria are allowed to flourish in the mouth, 1) they mess up the balance with “good” bacteria and when the immune system kicks in to battle them, they escape into the blood stream to colonize our arteries and 2) they trigger low-grade systemic inflammation that contributes to artery plaques in the heart and throughout the body.

These plaques inhibit the normal function of the lining of the arteries, and they eventually impede the flow and set the stage for pieces to dislodge causing strokes and heart attacks!!!

Keep these bugs at bay by doing what your momma taught you… :

1. Brush your teeth at least twice a day,
2. Floss at least once a day,
3. Pay particular attention to the back molars (just because they are the hardest to reach and most likely to get neglected),
4. Consider a WaterPik style jet flosser, and
5. Get regular dental checkups and cleanings.

No go thank your Momma and give her a hug and a kiss.

I welcome the opportunity to help you with any areas where you need help, but the one change that I believe will have the most profound impact on your health is your diet. This is because, directly or indirectly, improving your diet will improve just about all other concerns. What I would like you to consider is changing how you eat. I would like you to switch to a whole food plant-based diet (the acronym for this mouthful is WFPB). No, not permanently!!! Just for a short time. Consider it a 3 month experiment. Just try it for a short time and I believe that you will feel at least 80% better, no matter what your current condition is. And then you will be informed. You will know what it took. You will know what it felt like. You will know how easy or hard it was (it’s not hard). You will know how expensive it is (it actually costs a LOT less). And you will know EXACTLY what the trade-offs were. 

And then you can choose to go back to what you were doing before. Easy Peasy. No harm, no foul. Limiting your commitment to 3 months is psychologically easier than “changing forever”. You can do this and you really will be better for it, even if you decide it’s not for you in the long run. 

But, please don’t think you can do this without learning a little first. Don’t just start eliminating foods willy nilly or you will risk failing. Learn a little so you can be successful at it for 3 months. Just 3 months! That is all I’m asking. There really isn’t any good reason not to try it. 

If I have convinced you, or even if you are not convinced yet, but just curious… start with a video by Dr. Michael Gregor, MD of his presentation called “How Not To Die”. You can go to it by clicking the link below the picture (if your copy of this is digital) or you can find it on YouTube.com by searching for “How Not To Die Dr. Michael Greger, MD ”. Pretty catchy title, yes? You will know you are seeing the video you want when you scroll down the search results and see this preview picture:

How Not To Die: The Role of Diet in Preventing, Arresting, and Reversing Our Top 15 Killers

Side note: I picked this video because it is NOT a propaganda video. 

• Yes, the animal meat industry has severe climate impacts but this video does not include Jane Goodall and doesn’t even mention it.
• Yes, the animal meat industry treats livestock horrifically, but this video has no PETA contributors and doesn’t even broach the subject.
• Yes, the worldwide fishing industry is decimating the oceans but that is not in this video.

This video is really just about what a WFPB diet will do to help you get and stay healthy. If nothing else, you will better understand what your vegetarian and vegan and WFPB friends are doing and why.

If you are not convinced yet, please watch this shorter video by Dr. Neal Barnard, MD. Search on YouTube.com for “Why Go Vegan? Barnard”. Yes, another “why” video, but it is helpful to get another perspective and explanation and Dr. Barnard really has invested a lot of energy into helping you with free tools and information for beginners on the “how” part of this experiment including the first link in the additional resources listed below. The video you are looking for has a preview image that looks like this:

The Health Benefits of Going Vegan with Dr. Barnard | The Exam Room Podcast

If you have doubts about the ability to get the nutrition you need to perform at a high level, you do not need to worry. In fact, I think that you will find this next video fascinating. It is available with a Netflix subscription or an Amazon Prime subscription (among others), but if you don’t have access via subscription, click on the cover image below to view this YouTube link to a great synopsis with the added benefit of an authoritative assessment of the program’s strengths and weaknesses. :

Finally, here are some resources for you that will make things easier:

• https://forksoverknives.com has a lot of recipes, a meal planner subscription service which is cool, and a lot of other great information. 
• https://tedshealthclub.com is a site created by a friend of mine who is not a health practitioner but who experienced his own life-changing transformation and, in the process, he gained an amazing library of practical advice and “how-to” knowledge. He has a wonderful way of communicating that does not go over people’s heads  or come off as “too teach-y”.
• https://nutritionfacts.org/ is a great informational website by Dr. Greger

A deficiency of vitamin B-12 (aka Cobalmin) is very serious and causes severe health conditions that masquerade as any of a multitude of psychological, neurological, gastrointestinal, immmune related (and many many other organ system) abnormalities. From coma to psychosis, from bleeding tongue to skin lesions from head to toe, from tingling and numbness in your hands to loss of muscular control. Vitamin B-12 is absolutely vital.

If you never, or rarely eat animal products AND you are not supplementing with Vitamin B-12… it is just a matter of when, not if, you will develop symptoms of B-12 deficiency. This vitamin is not produced by humans or animals, for that matter. Instead, it is produced by microbes and we would have picked it up in ages past from water, or incompletely washed food.

If you are vegetarian but eat eggs and dairy, you should be aware that 50% of ovo/lacto vegetarians who don’t supplement with B-12 are still deficient. In fact, among those that don’t supplement, studies have shown low B-12 levels in roughly 1/3 of the meat eaters!

So, bottom line – B-12 is CHEAP but CRITICAL! Follow the formula…

CHEAP + CRITICAL = REQUIRED

Don’t be a dummy. Supplement B-12 regardless of your diet.

Inflammatory bowel diseases (IBDs)—like Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis—affect millions of people around the world. They cause lasting structural damage—such as inflammation, ulcers, and sores—to your gastrointestinal (GI) tract.

Until now no one could really pinpoint exact causes behind IBDs.

However a new study made an eye-opening discovery: Some very commonplace and “colorful” foods may actually TRIGGER these debilitating diseases.

For this study, researchers fed lab mice a normal diet—or a diet that included something called Allura Red AC (FD&C Red 40 or E129) for 12 weeks.

To the researchers’ surprise the Red Dye caused new inflammation in their GI tracts. It also disrupted the gut barrier. It even increased serotonin production in the gut, which, in turn, increases susceptibility to IBDs. In fact, the researchers said there’s enough evidence to suggest Allura Red AC may “trigger” IBD in otherwise healthy subjects!

These results offer a serious warning about the potential dangers of food dyes in our diet. Perhaps worst of all is the fact that we’ve known about the problems with Allura Red FC for almost 50 years! And one of the most long-standing concerns involves its effect on behavior in children—which is why many countries in Europe (including France, Germany, and Switzerland) banned it years ago.Avoiding these “colorful” foods could be instrumental in aiding patients suffering with IBD.

How to Know If Red Dye 40 Is in Food

It would be hard to determine if restaurant food contains the red dye. But on packaged food, the FDA requires food manufacturers to list ingredients, including color additives. Look for the following on packaging labels:

• Red 40
• Red 40 Lake
• FD&C Red No. 40
• Food Red 17
• Allura Red AC

As you might have guessed, Allura Red AC is one of the most widely used food dyes in the world. You commonly find it in breakfast cereals, soft drinks, dairy products, candies, and even vitamins!

Now, since you’ll find Allura Red FC in countless products in the United States, it’s up to YOU to keep it out of your diet.

Author: Ronald Grisanti D.C., D.A.B.C.O., DACBN, MS, CFMP

• References
• https://www.webmd.com/ibd-crohns-disease/news/20221221/study-says-food-dye-red-40-can-trigger-bowel-problems
• https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/ibd-common-red-food-coloring-may-cause-intestinal-inflammation-colitis
• https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/12/221220112440.htm
• https://www.diabetes.co.uk/news/2023/jan/inflammatory-bowel-diseases-could-be-initiated-by-a-common-food-dye.html
• https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-022-35309-y
• https://www.sciencetimes.com/articles/31181/20210514/chronic-gut-inflammation-triggered-two-common-food-coloring.htm

The information in this post is not intended to replace a one-on-one relationship with a qualified health care professional and is not intended as medical advice. It is intended as a sharing of knowledge and information from the research and experience of Dr. Grisanti and his functional medicine community. Dr. Grisanti encourages you to make your own health care decisions based upon your research and in partnership with a qualified health care professional. Visit www.FunctionalMedicineUniversity.com for more information on our training in functional medicine. Look for practitioners who have successfully completed the Functional Medicine University’s Certification Program (CFMP) www.functionalmedicinedoctors.com. This content may be copied in full, with copyright, contact, creation and information intact, without specific permission, when used only in a not-for-profit format. If any other use is desired, permission in writing from Dr. Grisanti is required

I am a chiropractor and I perform physical examinations every day.

I am also a member of the National Registry of Certified Medical Examiners and so I perform commercial driver physical exams so I can complete Medical Examination Report forms (form MCSA-5875) and Medical Examiner’s Certificate forms (MCSA-5876) to allow a driver to get or maintain a commercial driving license or endorsement.

I keep getting questions about whether I can do a sports physical or an FAA Pilot physical exam or if I can complete a Physicians Health Report for a non-commercial driver because the DMV requires it. The answer is generally no, for varying reasons:

The FAA does not allow chiropractors to perform physical exams at this time.

Non-commercial driver physicals do not need to be performed by an NRCME examiner and are supposed to be performed by a primary care physician who has an established doctor-patient relationship with the driver or who is accepting the driver for such a relationship going forward.

Similarly, qualification to perform a physical sport should also be determined by a primary care doctor. I will do this for an established patient, but I generally do not offer this as a service to the general public.