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Seven Steps for Managing the Habit of Unhealthy Eating

I love cookies of all kinds. At times my wife or kids have made a batch of cookies and – after they each tried one – I quietly finished off… Read More

16 Ways to Treat Migraines Naturally

About 25 years ago I worked for a company that made high end sports goggles. Though the front of the building was covered with posters of pro swimmers and skiers… Read More

The Pros and Cons of Eating Meat

My last article, on the pros and cons of eating meat, got quite a lot of comments. Clearly, it’s an issue the members of our community have given a lot… Read More

To Meat or Not to Meat?

IF WE’RE NOT SUPPOSED TO EAT ANIMALS, HOW COME THEY’RE MADE OUT OF MEAT? I saw that line on a bumper sticker when I was about 16, shortly after becoming… Read More

The Single Most Important Rule for Good Nutrition

I often wish I had time in the treatment room to teach my patients about nutrition. Nutrition is an important issue for a few reasons. First, because we’ve greatly reduced… Read More

In the past month's series on nutrition, I explained how the manner in which we eat can affect us as much as our food choices can. We looked at the vital roles that cooking and chewing play in digestion, and the importance of eating slowly and not too much. And I described the digestive tract from the mouth to the stomach. I think it’s important that everyone understands at least the basics of how their organs work, so let's look at the rest of the digestive tract this time.

Although we may have teeth and reality TV, we’re more like worms than we like to think. We’re all just a bunch of cylinders, with a tube of the outside world running through us. Worms put dirt in theirs, we put marshmallows in ours.

After the mouth, esophagus, and stomach, food enters the small intestine, which is about 23 feet long. It's where most nutrient absorption takes place, and all the value of good nutrition hinges on good absorption. At the beginning of the small intestine, a bunch of gastric juice is injected from the pancreas and gallbladder, which neutralizes the acidic food coming from the stomach, and makes the nutrients more absorbable. The pancreas produces a blend of digestive enzymes that break down the different components of food - fat, carbohydrates, and protein. The gallbladder squirts out bile (which is produced in the liver) to make fats absorbable.

The lining of the small intestine is composed of many folds, covered with tiny hair-like protrusions called villi (which are further covered with tinier hairs called microvilli). These greatly increase the surface area of the small intestine to maximize nutrient absorption. Some inflammatory conditions, such as celiac disease (gluten intolerance) and bacterial overgrowth of the small intestine (SIBO) can damage this membrane, leading to malnutrition.

The small intestine is followed by the much shorter but wider large intestine (most of which is called the colon). Food spends a very long time in the large intestine, where water and some remaining nutrients are absorbed, and stool is compacted and waits to be liberated. Finally, the stuff we can’t digest, along with waste products from throughout the body, leaves the rectum as stool. About 60 percent of its dry weight is bacteria.

Where does it come from? Riding along with us in our intestines are about 100 trillion microorganism passengers. There are about 500 different kinds, most of which are bacteria. They’re known as our “gut flora,” and they do all sorts of useful things for us, such as helping us digest things, protecting us from harmful microbes, synthesizing some vitamins, stimulating growth of intestinal cells, and assisting the immune system. We acquire these microscopic pals by eating food that’s contaminated with them or deliberately cultured with them (like yogurt and sauerkraut), and by taking them in supplements known as probiotics.

So, as we’ve seen, our environment (what we select from it based on taste) literally passes through us. We make the outside world into ourselves. It’s a practice worth taking seriously. Besides the healthy eating practices I discussed previously, some of the main factors in good absorption are having enough gastric juice, having healthy gastric membranes, having a strong and healthy population of gut flora, and having a relaxed nervous system.

Cultivating a relaxed nervous system has many additional benefits, so spend time in nature, eat in a calm environment, get massages, meditate, do whatever works for you to become peaceful. As for gastric juice, insufficient enzyme secretion is pretty common. Consider a good digestive enzyme complex, taken at the beginning of a meal. I’ve had at least a hundred patients who have overcome longstanding digestive problems just by supplementing for a while with digestive enzymes. Some people who have trouble digesting fat do well to take a product that also contains ox bile. Finally, promote healthy gut flora by eating live, fermented/cultured foods on a regular basis, and occasionally taking a course of probiotics (especially after using antibiotics).

If you’re interested in learning more about the big picture of eating and nutrition, check out the four week course I developed for The Dragontree, called How to Eat.

Be well,

Dr. Peter Borten

So you aspire to draw gasps of delight, rather than horror, as you pedal through Portland in the nude. Or, perhaps you just want to look good in a thong by summer. Well, you’re reading the right article. Your friends won’t tell you this, so I will–nobody wants to see a guy in a thong. Please, don’t leave the house in that. Now let’s address your body. If you’ve tried eating less and exercising more and that hasn’t worked, these tips will make the difference.

First, let’s just get this out of the way. Are you actually eating less? Rather than thinking of overeating as consuming more calories over the course of a day than you burn, start thinking of it as consuming more calories in a sitting than your body can readily utilize. For instance, your friend Botswana consumes only 1500 calories a day—all in one meal—and she can’t understand why she’s not losing weight. Your other friend Mozambique eats five meals of 400 calories each, and keeps losing weight, even though he’s totaling 500 more calories per day than Botswana. Here’s the deal: Botswana is going so long without eating that her metabolism slows down. Even when she eats both lunch and dinner, her body still goes 17 hours from dinner to lunch the next day. So her body says to itself, “I’m gonna run on 1200 calories per day”—which she exceeds by 300 calories. But more importantly, she eats 1500 calories at once. There’s no way she’s going to utilize all that anytime soon. Be like Mozambique. Eat frequently. Don’t go more than about four hours between meals (except from dinner to breakfast). Eat a protein-rich breakfast—egg whites, lean meat, beans, nonfat Greek yogurt, etc. Keep dinner light. Your metabolism will speed up. Stop snacking—don’t eat anything between your meals. Let your stomach empty out completely. You’ll get to eat again in just a few hours, so stop yourself before you get full. Didn’t your mom ever tell you not to pack the washing machine with clothes? They won’t circulate at all. They’ll come out dirty and moist. Well, the same goes for your stomach. The goal is not to fill your stomach to capacity; it’s to eat just enough to not be hungry anymore. Now, if you’re thinking, “But Peter, the food I eat is so damn good, I can’t stop eating until my body will simply not accept any more!” then we need to have a different conversation. It’s called the Stop Going Unconscious While You’re Eating conversation. Wake up. You’re tuning out your body while you’re eating. It’s the only possible way to ignore your body’s cries of protest. Tune in instead. If your food is so good, why not do everything possible to enjoy the experience? That means putting away your reading material and your cell phone, turning off the TV, placing a piece of duct tape over the mouth of your dining company, letting go of whatever you’re stressing about, pulling over if you’re driving, sitting down if you’re standing, and then savoring the hell out of that food. Always keep part of your attention on how your body feels, and as soon as you’re not hungry anymore—usually with an amount of food about one-and-a-half times the size of your closed fist—stop. Bonus: you won’t be in a food coma after lunch. You’ll also have more leeway with meals if you limit yourself to only non-caloric drinks. Instead of soda or juice (which have a ton of sugar in them), or a latte (basically a huge glass of milk), just stick to water, unsweetened tea, or—if you must—coffee with just a dash of milk. If you want a calorie-free sweetener, try stevia leaf extract instead of the chemical stuff. Meanwhile, make sure you’re getting enough deep, restful sleep—at least seven hours. Studies show sleep deprivation is associated with weight gain. Next, ditch the plastics. Most plastics contain chemicals known as exogenous endocrine disruptors that can throw off our hormones and contribute to weight gain. Never microwave anything in plastic, and stop buying water in plastic bottles. Haven’t you heard of that swirling island of plastic in the middle of the Pacific that’s half the size of the US? While you’re at it, stop eating food from cans, since they’re all lined with plastic containing bisphenol-A (BPA), a known endocrine disruptor. Finally, remember this: In the whole history of the human species, we’ve only consumed large amounts of grains and sugars in the tiniest, most recent slice of time. Our bodies just can’t handle it—we get diabetic, fat, and hypertensive. Even in the last few decades, we’ve gone low-fat due to overly simplistic thinking about how we form body fat. In the meantime, our sugar consumption has ballooned, and so have our waistbands. If you want to lose weight, the single biggest change you can make to your diet is to cut way down on sweeteners and flour. If you take my advice, you should be in good shape for the naked bike ride. Might want to get your suspension tuned up before then, too. (Originally appeared in About Face Magazine, Issue 06)

Want to know more?

[post_title] => Look Hot in Time for the Naked Bike Ride [post_excerpt] => [post_status] => publish [comment_status] => open [ping_status] => open [post_password] => [post_name] => look-hot-in-time-for-the-naked-bike-ride [to_ping] => [pinged] => [post_modified] => 2019-07-23 15:38:31 [post_modified_gmt] => 2019-07-23 15:38:31 [post_content_filtered] => [post_parent] => 0 [guid] => http://peterborten.com/?page_id=78 [menu_order] => 0 [post_type] => post [post_mime_type] => [comment_count] => 4 [filter] => raw [webinar_id] => 0 ) [2] => WP_Post Object ( [ID] => 8449 [post_author] => 3 [post_date] => 2022-01-14 22:34:39 [post_date_gmt] => 2022-01-14 22:34:39 [post_content] => About 25 years ago I worked for a company that made high end sports goggles. Though the front of the building was covered with posters of pro swimmers and skiers and often felt like a party, my days were spent in a back office, sorting and filing paperwork. It was disappointing, but I met a nice guy there and our conversations helped break up the monotony. Then he started missing work. A day here and a day there. Then a few days at a time. Then he was absent more than he showed up. I knew something was wrong, but I didn’t want to pry. Finally, on one of his rare appearances at work he told me he had been having severe migraine headaches. They were so crippling he was considering quitting his job. This was just before I started grad school in Chinese Medicine and I didn’t have anything useful to say. I just remember feeling bad for him and being surprised that migraines could be that debilitating. I wish I knew then what I know now. I believe most cases are completely treatable with natural medicine. Here are some of the key treatments that can make a huge difference:

1. Acupuncture. I’d estimate I can control 80% of migraine cases with acupuncture alone. Other acupuncturists may fare better or worse than that. (You might ask if this is an area of focus for an acupuncturist you’re considering.) Migraines can result from several underlying patterns, but there is always a condition of stagnation in the head (and sometimes neck and upper torso) – which acupuncture is excellent at releasing.
2. Massage. Get regular deep tissue massages. Have them focus on your head overall (including your face, jaw, and the base of your skull), the sides and back of your neck, your upper back and chest, your hands, feet, lower back, and abdomen. Between massages do self-massage with a lacrosse ball. Lie on your back on a carpeted floor with bent knees, and place the ball under you, against the inside edge of your shoulder blade. Moving the ball inch by inch, find every single tender spot, and relax into the ball for a minute or two before moving onto the next one.
3. Hydrate. Divide the number of pounds you weigh in half and drink that many ounces of water each day, evenly over the course of the day. (For instance, if you weigh 200 pounds, drink 100 ounces of water a day.)
4. Avoid Caffeine. Even though caffeine is an ingredient in some headache medications (because it constricts the blood vessels in the head, making them smaller) it’s also a known trigger of migraines for some people. Many migraine cases improve when caffeine is cut out altogether.
5. Figure Out What Foods You’re Sensitive to and Avoid Them. The most reliable way to figure out your food sensitivities is by doing an elimination diet (there are numerous books and websites that explain the process) and then systematically reintroducing foods, one at a time, to see what your reaction is. It’s a good idea to reintroduce foods at least 2 days apart, since the migraine may be delayed by a day. Figuring out your sensitivities and eliminating those foods is often a total cure for migraines. It’s worth the work.
6. Clean Up Your Diet. Cut out processed foods and eat more live, fresh, healthy, chemical-free foods, prepared by you or someone with a good heart.
7. Avoid Aspartame (Nutrasweet / Equal). Some migraines are triggered by this artificial sweetener. I recommend avoiding it even if it doesn’t give you headaches.
8. Consider Avoiding MSG. Although it’s been demonized for decades, most people have no trouble at all with MSG. That said, some find they have fewer headaches when they avoid it. You might see it listed in the ingredients as monosodium glutamate, hydrolyzed vegetable protein or soy, or yeast extract. Analogs of MSG also occur naturally in many foods, including hard cheeses, tomatoes, soy sauce, and even breast milk.
9. Avoid Getting Hypoglycemic. Many migraines are triggered by a drop in blood sugar. This is common a few hours after eating a meal with lots of simple carbs or sugar. In some folks, the blood sugar goes way up and then comes crashing down, in what is known as “reactive hypoglycemia.” Besides potentially triggering migraines, reactive hypoglycemia can be an early precursor to diabetes, so there are multiple reasons to get this under control. Eat protein with every meal, and eliminate juice and sweets.
10. Reduce Your Stress Level. Exercise, breathe, meditate, do yoga, have fun, get counseling, take breaks, get acupuncture and massage . . . just do whatever you have to do to reduce the impact of your stress.
11. Try Magnesium. Many migraine sufferers have low levels of magnesium. Try taking 600 mg (you can gradually go up to 1000 mg) in divided doses over the course of each day. The easiest form for most people to take is dissolvable powder such as Natural Calm brand and others. (Watch out for bowel loosening. If it gives you loose bowels, reduce the dose, spread it out more evenly over the course of the day, or try the form known as magnesium glycinate, which is easier on the digestion.)
12. Try Direct Pressure on Your Head. One study had participants with migraines wrap an elastic band (with Velcro at the ends so that it could be secured tightly) around their head, covering the most tender spots. They would then place soft rubber discs under the head band at the places of greatest discomfort to apply extra pressure to these spots. 80% of the people reported a major improvement.
13. Take a Good B Vitamin Complex. Several of the B vitamins have been shown to be useful for migraines. Just take all of them in one capsule, once or twice a day.
14. Try a Chinese Herbal Formula. A practitioner who specializes in Chinese herbal medicine can write you a personalized formula (usually consisting of 8-12 herbs) to resolve the specific underlying pattern(s) implicated in your migraines. I’ve had many patients report great relief or total resolution of their migraines with a good, customized herbal formula.
15. Take Frequent Breaks When Looking at Screens. Eyestrain and overexposure to bright light, especially in the blue range, is a common trigger of migraines. Sometimes blue-blocking glasses can help.
16. Improve Your Posture. The mechanical stress of poor posture can cause tension in the head and neck that contributes to migraines. This is especially common when looking down for hours at a phone, laptop, tablet, or book. Tuck your chin slightly, drop your shoulders and bring them back, relax your chest, and imagine you’re being lifted by a string from the very top of your head (in line with the tops of your ears).

If you get migraines, I hope these tips are helpful. They aren’t the only useful approaches, of course. I had a patient who used to stick Q-tips up her nose – the whole way up – and felt that made a huge difference. Others like essential oils, cold compresses, or decapitation. I encourage you to give my suggestions a try. Then let me know what happens, or share your own favorite remedies in the comments section below. Be well, Dr. Peter Borten [post_title] => 16 Ways to Treat Migraines Naturally [post_excerpt] => [post_status] => publish [comment_status] => open [ping_status] => open [post_password] => [post_name] => 16-ways-to-treat-migraines-naturally [to_ping] => [pinged] => [post_modified] => 2022-01-17 20:40:16 [post_modified_gmt] => 2022-01-17 20:40:16 [post_content_filtered] => [post_parent] => 0 [guid] => https://thedragontree.com/?p=8449 [menu_order] => 0 [post_type] => post [post_mime_type] => [comment_count] => 4 [filter] => raw [webinar_id] => 0 ) ) [post_count] => 3 [current_post] => -1 [in_the_loop] => [post] => WP_Post Object ( [ID] => 3963 [post_author] => 3 [post_date] => 2014-04-01 13:18:04 [post_date_gmt] => 2014-04-01 20:18:04 [post_content] =>

If you’re interested in learning more about the big picture of eating and nutrition, check out the four week course I developed for The Dragontree, called How to Eat.

Be well,

Dr. Peter Borten

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You may also be interested in:

Basic Vehicle Maintenance, Part Three: Know Your Insides

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16 Ways to Treat Migraines Naturally

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