by Dr. Jeffrey Ptak, DC, MA | Jul 15, 2018 | Nutrition
We’ve long been pitched canola’s health benefits. After all, Whole Foods uses it in all their prepared foods and many vegetarian and vegan products proudly promote it as a feature ingredient. But when scientists, who had shown the brain benefits of olive oil in mice, decided to run the same studies with canola oil, they uncovered a darker truth: Canola oil worsens memory and promotes amyloid plaques, a hallmark Alzheimer’s symptom.
In the olive oil study, researchers gave mice with Alzheimer’s Disease a diet enriched with extra-virgin olive oil and found that compared to the control group, the mice experienced improvements in memory as well as a reduction in amyloid plaques and phosphorylated tau, which creates the neurofibrillary tangles that degenerate the brain in Alzheimer’s.
They replicated the study with canola oil, one of the cheapest and most widely used oils in the world, to see what effects it might have on the brain.
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by Dr. Jeffrey Ptak, DC, MA | Nov 17, 2017 | Health, Nutrition
If you are counting carbs to stabilize your blood sugar, lower inflammation, balance hormones, or lose weight, experts say looking at carbohydrate density is a more important strategy. Carbohydrate density measures how many carbohydrates are present per 100 grams of food. Low carb density foods don’t raise your risk of chronic disease.
Research shows eliminating dense carbohydrates from your diet improves health, prevents disease, and can even improve periodontal disease.
While many diets focus on how many calories or how many grams of carbohydrates you should eat per day, the carb density diet instead focuses on how many grams of carbohydrates are in a food once you subtract the fiber.
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by Dr. Jeffrey Ptak, DC, MA | Nov 8, 2017 | Nutrition
When people are working to manage an autoimmune or chronic condition, they typically focus on an anti-inflammatory diet and protocol. However, one often overlooked dealbreaker to getting better is anemia. Anemia as is a deal breaker to recovery because it means your cells are not getting enough oxygen. Without oxygen, recovery and repair can’t happen.
Anemia typically causes fatigue, weakness, brain fog, depression, lightheadedness, dizziness, irregular heart beat, cold hands and feet, chest pain, headache, and pale skin.
There are several different causes and types of anemia. Not all anemia is iron-deficiency anemia. It’s important to know this because you don’t want to supplement with iron if you don’t need it. In excess, iron is more toxic than mercury, lead, or other heavy metals.
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by Dr. Jeffrey Ptak, DC, MA | Jan 6, 2016 | Nutrition
It’s cold and wet out there…..what a great day for a delicious and healthy soup to keep yourself warm! This one is sugar and dairy-free and very easy to make. #soupisgoodfood #healthyeating #wellness #chiropractic ptakfamilychiropractic.com
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by Dr. Jeffrey Ptak, DC, MA | Aug 7, 2015 | Nutrition
While coconut oil has dragged itself out of the muck of vast misrepresentation over the past few years, it still rarely gets the appreciation it truly deserves. Not just a “good” saturated fat, coconut oil is an exceptional healing agent as well, with loads of useful health applications.
Some examples of “good” saturated fat include
- Fat-burning: Ironic, isn’t it? A saturated fat which can accelerate the loss of midsection fat (the most dangerous kind). Well, there are now two solid, human studies showing just two tablespoons a day (30 ml), in both men and women, is capable of reducing belly fat within 1-3 months.
- Brain-Boosting: A now famous study, published in 2006 in the journal Neurobiology of Aging, showed that the administration of medium chain triglycerides (most plentifully found in coconut oil) in 20 subjects with Alzheimer’s disease or mild cognitive impairment, resulted in significant increases in ketone bodies (within only 90 minutes after treatment) associated with measurable cognitive improvement in those with less severe cognitive dysfunction.[i]
- Clearing Head Lice: When combined with anise spray, coconut oil was found to be superior to the insecticide permethrin (.43%).[ii]
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by Dr. Jeffrey Ptak, DC, MA | Nov 14, 2014 | Health, Nutrition
In Part 1 of this series last week, we talked about being the change you want to see in the world, all the way down to the cell level. This week, in Part 2, we discuss…
Chiropractic, the Universe and Twinkies
The Universe is an organized, healthy, sane, harmonious, self-healing, and self-regulating system. It exhibits an incredibly precise order, whether we’re considering molecules and atoms or galaxies and stars. There are no mistakes, extra parts or extraneous organisms. The whole thing works within a context of Intelligence which most people call Divine (Buddha, God, Mother Nature, etc.). When we as human beings attempt to improve on perfection by manipulating the Universe to suit our whims, things always get worse. The evidence of this is clear to any 3rd grader.
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