By: Cat Ebeling RN, MSN-PHN, co-author of the best-seller: The Diabetes Fix

A few years ago low carb, keto, and carnivore were all the rage, and low-carb diets have helped a lot of my readers, but new research is actually showing us that the right carbs can be very healthy. I want to show you how some of the leanest, healthiest people on the planet eat large amounts of carbohydrates, and what that means for you.

What did the leanest people on earth eat?

A Swedish physician named Staffan Lindeberg studied the native islanders of Kitava, in Papua New Guinea, and found they ate about 70% of their calories as yams, sweet potatoes, taro, and fruit, and were virtually free of heart disease, obesity, and diabetes. Not far away, in the highlands, the Tukisenta people lived almost entirely on sweet potatoes and were just as lean and healthy.

The Okinawans in Japan, eating their traditional diet, got close to 85% of their calories from carbohydrates and became some of the longest-lived people on earth. The Tsimane in the Amazon live on plantains, rice, and cassava and have the cleanest arteries ever recorded, and closer to home, the Tarahumara of Mexico’s Copper Canyon traditionally thrived on corn and beans with almost no diabetes or heart disease.

Many of these groups eat 400 to 500 grams of carbs a day, far more than most Americans, and what surprised me is how little fat they eat, around 12% of calories for the Okinawans and Tarahumara and as little as 3% for some of the Papua New Guinea highlanders.

I do want to point out, though, that none of these people ate refined flour, excess sugar, packaged snacks, or seed oils, and they moved and worked all day, so it wasn’t the carbs alone that kept them lean, it was their whole lifestyle.

It all comes down to whether your mitochondria, the tiny power plants inside your cells, can burn the fuel you eat. When your mitochondria are healthy and you’re active, they burn through the carbs you eat and use them for energy. But when inactivity, poor sleep, sugar, and seed oils slow them down, glucose backs up into your bloodstream, raises your blood sugar, and gets stored as fat.

What would happen if diabetics ate MORE carbs?

Back in the 1940s, every doctor thought sugar and white rice were about the worst things a diabetic could eat. So when Dr. Walter Kempner at Duke University built his famous 90% carbohydrate diet around white rice, fruit, and sugar, he fully expected it to make his diabetic patients worse. Instead, when he tracked 100 of them, nearly two-thirds saw their fasting blood sugar drop, the group average fell by 47 points, and 18 came off insulin completely, whether or not they lost weight, all while eating about 100 grams of plain white sugar a day!

Another doctor at the University of Kentucky tried a similar plan with diabetic men, using high-fiber, carb-rich foods, and in just two weeks their blood sugar dropped and many of them were able to stop their insulin and other diabetes medications. I know it sounds crazy, but it’s right there in the research.

Does high carb, low fat work, and low carb, high fat work too?

Of course, plenty of my readers have brought their blood sugar down on low carb too, so both clearly work, and Denise Minger, a nutrition researcher and author of Death by Food Pyramid, has a great explanation for why. She spent years in the low-carb, paleo world before digging into this old research, and she found the benefits show up at either end, with very low carb or very low fat. Kempner’s diet and the Kentucky diet both kept fat at around 10% of calories, right in that low-fat sweet spot.

The trouble is the middle zone she calls the “Swampland,” where most Americans eat, with lots of carbs and lots of fat on the same plate. The “low-fat diets” that supposedly failed in studies were usually around 30% fat, barely different from the 34% most Americans already eat, so they never really tested low fat at all. A mixed plate of real food won’t make you fat, but if you’re trying to turn around high blood sugar or stubborn weight, it helps to pick one side or the other. 

Insulin and fat storage

It’s become common knowledge that carbs and sugar make insulin rise, and that when insulin goes up, your body stops burning fat. It sounds logical, but it’s not the whole truth. In one study, people cut the same number of calories either by eating fewer carbs or by eating less fat, and while the low-carb group had lower insulin and burned more fat, the low-fat group actually lost more body fat. That doesn’t mean low fat is better, it just means insulin alone doesn’t decide whether you lose fat. Insulin also supports your thyroid, which is why cutting carbs for too long can leave some people feeling cold, tired, and even gaining weight.

Long-term low carb can do something unexpected to your blood sugar, too. Plenty of people do great on keto for the first several months. But some who stay on it a year or more see their fasting blood sugar creep into the low 100s and their A1C edge toward the 6s, because the body gets less efficient at handling carbs. When those people slowly add healthy carbs back in, their numbers usually settle back down.

Back in the ’90s, when low fat was the big diet trend, I ate low fat and high carb, and I lost body fat, but my blood sugar swung up and down and I’d get sleepy after meals, mostly because I wasn’t eating enough protein. Years later I went low carb and found myself tired and craving carbs after hard workouts. These days I eat protein forward with a small amount of healthy carbs like sweet potatoes, squash, rice, and a few vegetables, and I feel better than I ever did on either extreme.

Which carbs are best?

The carbs I personally love are the ones that show up in the healthiest traditional diets, like sweet potatoes, winter squash, beets, white potatoes, colorful root vegetables, and whole fruit. I like to pair them with good protein like grass-fed beef, pastured eggs and chicken, or wild-caught fish. And try to have some carbs at dinner, because when your blood sugar runs low overnight, your body releases cortisol to bring it back up, and that can wake you at 2 or 3 in the morning.

Those lean, healthy island and village people weren’t counting carbs or doing anything fancy. They moved their bodies all day, spent time outside in the sun, slept when it got dark, and ate real food straight from the land, and if you live a little more like they did, your body will use the carbs you eat for fuel instead of storing them as fat.

Now that you know how carbs can actually benefit your A1C, let’s look at another food that has some serious blood sugar benefits…

This food drops A1C (in seconds)

According to the US National Library of Medicine, there’s one special food you should be eating daily.

Because for folks with blood sugar issues, it works just as well (or even better) than metformin.

No one wants to take meds like metformin for the rest of their lives. So if you’d like to dump yours in the trash, you should try this out.

Put all the horrible side effects of metformin behind you. No more diarrhea, stomach aches, feeling sick or losing your appetite.

Instead, you just enjoy this tasty food every day to lower your A1C and lose weight at the same time.

To get the full story and learn which special food to eat, watch the complimentary video here.

The post High Carb or Low Carb? Why the Real Blood Sugar Problem Is Stuck in the Middle appeared first on thenutritionwatchdog.com.

by Mike Geary – Certified Nutrition Specialist and Author of The Diabetes Fix and

With today’s short article, I wanted to show you a VERY simple exercise that you can do anytime, anywhere to help get a flatter stomach over time.

Now I will preface this by saying that this specific exercise does NOT increase fat burning , but it CAN help to flatten your stomach by strengthening your deeper transversus abdominis muscles and hence “pulling in” a lazy stomach (aka beer belly or “pooch belly”).

It involves doing an exercise called “ab vacuums “…

I find it a good time to get in the habit of doing daily ab vacuums while driving on your daily commute or another time that would get you in the habit of doing them regularly.

(please make sure this doesn’t distract you from driving safely… I find that it doesn’t distract me at all, since you can keep your eyes on the road at all times and both hands still on the wheel…it’s certainly much safer than driving while on a cell phone!)

Of course, ab vacuums can be done anywhere and at anytime and don’t have to be just for driving, but I’ve found that it helps me to remember to do them if I do them at a specific time when driving regularly…. this could be while driving home from the gym every time (I do this 3-4x per week while driving home from the gym), or perhaps during your daily commute to work.

They even help to strengthen your core and support a healthy back!

Ab vacuums are simple (Instructions)

• You can do them standing, seated (such as in a car), kneeling in a four-point position, or even lying flat on the floor. I prefer them seated or standing.
• The movement is as simple as pulling your belly button in as far as you can by imagining you’re trying to touch your belly button to your spine and holding for 10-20 seconds at a time.
• Start by inhaling deeply. Then, as you exhale, start pulling the belly button in towards the spine and hold it there for 10-20 seconds while just taking short breaths. Repeat for several of these 10-20 second holds, perhaps 5-10x if you have enough time while in the car. But even just repeating 3-4x every time you’re driving somewhere can really add up over time and give you the benefit of a flatter belly!
• Get in the habit of doing this at least 4-5 days per week while driving somewhere and you may find that this helps to flatten your stomach more by strengthening the transversus abdominis muscle (the deep abdominal muscles beneath the rectus abdominis) if you previously had a “lazy belly”.

Like I said previously, this “ab vacuums” exercise does NOT increase fat burning… it only helps to flatten a round stomach that has lazy deep ab muscles, and it will strengthen your core. It’s worth a place in your weekly belly-flattening repertoire.

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In fact, you’ll never drink regular coffee again once you try this…

>> Add THIS to your coffee each day to drop 37 lbs FAST

The post A unique exercise you can use to help flatten your stomach while driving in the car? appeared first on thenutritionwatchdog.com.

by Mike Geary – Certified Nutrition Specialist and Author of The Diabetes Fix and The Truth About Testosterone

While listening to my daily health podcasts and reading articles, I was fascinated recently hearing about a particular super-centenarian (someone who lives to over 110), a woman from Spain (Maria) who lived to 117…

I’ve studied centenarians and super centenarians a lot over the years, and I’ll share what I learned about her and about other super agers who make it to 100 or even well past 100.

For one, as with almost every centenarian that I’ve studied, Maria was surrounded by people she loved, and she felt valued and deeply connected even well past 100.  Having deep connections, feeling loved, and being in a community where you feel supported and feel valued are some of the most important characteristics of almost all people that are super agers.

The second most important characteristic of Maria (and almost every other centenarian I’ve studied) is that she apparently had a very positive outlook on life and very optimistic and happy.  Pessimistic and angry people tend to have more health problems than optimistic and happy people.

As for exercise, I do know that Maria was very active and played with kids and dogs, but I don’t see much about her exercise habits.  From what I know about most centenarians though, they usually do a lot of walking, gardening, and often racquet sports frequently too.  But centenarians were typically never endurance athletes like marathoners or overly-intense workout people like cross-fitters.

Overly intense and overly long endurance training usually actually increases aging and wears down the body because it’s too much stress instead of the right amount of stress.  I think some good resistance training to keep your bones and muscles strong and prevent Osteoporosis is important, and so is a lot of walking and light activity like gardening for stress reduction and heart health.

Maria also had both high LDL and high HDL… mainstream medicine considers high LDL a bad thing, but I don’t agree with that, and some studies actually show that people that live longer have higher total cholesterol and higher LDL.  This makes sense because LDL is important in the body for hormones and your immune system.  Artificially lowering LDL (without existing heart disease) doesn’t make sense and in my opinion harms your health.

Maria also never smoked and only drank alcohol on special occasions.  Although I will say that as I’ve studied centenarians over the years, I often hear that many of them actually are light drinkers, having 1-2 drinks per day at most, but never over-doing it.  One theory is that a small dose of a daily toxin like alcohol can increase your body’s natural production of internal antioxidants like glutathione to deal with that small daily dose.

Another important thing was that researchers said that Maria had a very healthy gut microbiome, and one thing about her diet really stood out…

She apparently ate yogurt 3x a day.  That’s a lot of yogurt!

Yogurt is one of the healthiest forms of dairy because of the probiotic content, and it’s also easy to digest because the fermentation of yogurt (or kefir) helps partially pre-digest some of the proteins and the fermentation usually consumes most of the lactose.

Also, the dairy fat in a high quality yogurt contains significant amounts of 2 powerful healthy fats called CLA and C15, both of which have been studied for their possible relationship to lowering heart disease risks, Diabetes risks, and possibly even cancer.

Overall Maria lived a great life, and the reason she lived to 117 seems to be a combination of great genetics combined with an amazing lifestyle, positive attitude, and high quality food.

In order to live past 100 though, we need to prevent the biggest killer… and the #1 biggest cause of death is heart disease currently.  With that in mind, don’t miss this important message…

Duke MD Says: “The #1 Food that Helps Prevent Heart Attacks is NOT Actually a Plant Food”

There are many powerful nutrients in plant foods such as polyphenols, flavanols, lycopene, and bioflavonoids in foods like citrus, berries, dark chocolate and more that help improve blood flow, lower blood pressure, and reduce your risk of heart attacks.

However, there’s actually ONE particular nutrient that is ONLY found in certain types of meat that is significantly more important for the strength of your heart than anything else.

If the levels of this one unique nutrient in your heart are LOW, your chances of heart problems skyrocket.

(Hint: it’s NOT omega-3 fats this time.)

This common deficiency doesn’t show up on standard blood work panels.

“Almost everyone forgets their heart is a muscle. And like any muscle… it needs protein-like nutrients to stay strong,” says Dr. Rick Cohen.

Dr. Cohen’s natural solution has helped thousands of people enjoy a healthy heart without living constantly on drugs.

And he has recently released a short video revealing what this uniquely powerful nutrient found in certain types of meat is, and how to get it.

Watch it here:

>> Dr Rick Cohen Reveals the #1 “Heart Strengthening” Nutrient Backed by 600+ Studies

The post 117 Year old ate this DAIRY food 3x per day (Her story of incredible longevity) appeared first on thenutritionwatchdog.com.

by Mike Geary – Certified Nutrition Specialist and Author of The Diabetes Fix and The Truth About Testosterone

You’ve been told over and over in the media that foods like oatmeal and quinoa are good for you, and you should eat lots of them. But what most people don’t realize is that these two particular foods contain compounds that can actually harm your health and your digestion in many ways…

And as your favorite Nutritionist, I’ll explain why in this quick blog post, so you can avoid further harming your health and digestion with these so-called “healthy” foods…

1. Oatmeal and Oat Milk

While oatmeal is touted as a healthy carb and a source of fiber, unfortunately there are more cons than pros with this food…

The first problem with oats is that they are loaded with a compound called phytic acid (phytates) that significantly lowers your absorption of certain minerals and vitamins, such as calcium, magnesium, and zinc.

So whenever you eat oats, the phytic acid causes you to absorb less of these vitally important minerals which could cause health problems if you eat oats too frequently, since most people already don’t get enough minerals like magnesium and zinc.

The second problem with oats is that they contain one of the highest residue concentrations of the toxic herbicide glyphosate, which can damage your gut, and have been linked to other health problems like cancer, hormone issues, and more.

The next major problem with oats is that they are a significant source of mycotoxins in the diet, which are mold based toxins that can cause an array of gut problems, hormone problems and more.

Lastly, oats can also contain high levels of the toxic heavy metal Cadmium, which is linked to health problems as this toxic heavy metal accumulates in your body.

2. Quinoa

Quinoa is another food that is pitched as a health food or a “superfood”. Unfortunately, this is another example of a food that has more downsides than good sides.

First off, quinoa is high in compounds called saponins, that have been shown in some studies to cause gut damage and contribute to “leaky gut”.

Another problematic compound in quinoa are lectins, which are a type of antinutrient that can damage the cells of your intestines, and contribute to several gut disorders and immune system problems.

Many friends and colleagues of mine have reported feeling abdominal pain after eating quinoa, bloating, and loose stools or diarrhea, as well as triggering of autoimmune conditions such as skin conditions.

But oatmeal and quinoa aren’t the only so-called ‘health foods’ that can backfire… take a look at these starches that can quietly sabotage your gut… See below:

Sweet Potato vs Pasta vs Squash (the #1 WORST starch for your gut & energy)

According to the best-selling author and world-renowned heart surgeon, Dr. Steven Gundry, there’s one starch people over 40 should never eat.

This starch can damage your gut and disrupt your hormones… It contains a toxin that damages the lining of your intestines, causes bloating, embarrassing gas, and a bulging belly.

Do you know the starch I’m talking about? Make sure you do by clicking the one below you think it is, and get the answer from Dr. Gundry himself on the next page:

>> Sweet Potato

>> Pasta

>> Corn

>> Squash

The post Why I Stopped Eating Oatmeal, Oat Milk, and Quinoa appeared first on thenutritionwatchdog.com.

by Mike Geary – Certified Nutrition Specialist and Author of The Diabetes Fix and The Truth About Testosterone

One of the questions I get most as a Nutritionist is whether rice is good for you or not, and if you should choose brown rice or white rice.

Over 90% of people get this answer wrong, and they’ve been told by misinformed dieticians and doctors that brown rice is healthier because it has more “fiber”.

However, this is harmful advice, and brown rice is NOT healthier than white rice!

Let me explain why…

Brown rice contains the hull of the rice plant, and that hull does contain some fiber, but it also contains some significant toxins such as lectins that can harm your gut lining, cause brain fog, and trigger autoimmune reactions in some people.

I’ve had dozens of my friends and clients that saw dramatically improved digestion, more energy and clarity of mind, and autoimmune skin conditions that went away once they switched from brown rice to white rice.

Brown rice also contains significant amounts of toxic arsenic since the arsenic is in the hull, and not the white starch part of the rice. This is yet another reason that white rice is a lot better choice in my opinion.

A word of warning on white rice: While white rice is mostly just starch, and therefore can be used as a great source of muscle glycogen by healthy people that exercise frequently and intensely, I would urge caution for people with Diabetes to be careful with the quantity of white rice they are consuming and monitor their blood sugar carefully.

Now that we’ve talked about why we should avoid brown rice if we want to avoid many of these health issues, let’s take a look at a fun little quiz below and a few more foods…

Sweet Potato vs Pasta vs Squash (the #1 WORST starch for your gut & energy)

According to the best-selling author and world-renowned heart surgeon, Dr. Steven Gundry, there’s one starch people over 40 should never eat.

This starch can damage your gut and disrupt your hormones… It contains a toxin that damages the lining of your intestines, causes bloating, embarrassing gas, and a bulging belly.

Do you know the starch I’m talking about? Make sure you do by clicking the one below you think it is, and get the answer from Dr. Gundry himself on the next page:

>> Sweet Potato

>> Pasta

>> Corn

>> Squash

The post Brown Rice vs White Rice: The Worst Rice for Your Gut and Energy (Surprise, it’s not what you think) appeared first on thenutritionwatchdog.com.

by Mike Geary – Certified Nutrition Specialist and Author of The Diabetes Fix and The Truth About Testosterone

If you’ve been led to believe that oat milk, peanut butter, almonds, and spinach are good for you, today’s email might shock you and is important to read, because these 4 “healthy foods” could be contributing to health problems in your body.

Let’s take a quick look at why…

1. Oat Milk

Oat milk has become a popular “plant milk” in recent years.  I see people all the time ordering “oat milk lattes” at coffee shops, and they probably have no idea how terrible that oat milk is for them.

Oat milk is basically oats soaked in water, with some added seed oils (canola oil usually), and added sugars and thickeners.

First of all, unless you get organic oat milk, your standard oat milk is contaminated with the harmful herbicide glyphosate which is known to cause serious damage to your gut, disrupting your microbiome health, and if that’s not bad enough, you probably already know that glyphosate is linked to cancer too.

Next, another reason I would never drink oat milk is because it’s usually processed with added seed oils such as canola oil, which are highly inflammatory in the body, contain large amounts of harmful omega-6 fats, and are linked to poor metabolic health such as Diabetes and obesity.

The next reason I would never drink oat milk is that it usually contains thickeners and gums such as carrageenan, which are highly irritating to your gut and can cause gut issues.

There’s also almost zero nutrition in oat milk compared to dairy milk (which contains large amounts of vitamins, minerals and protein).

Lastly, oat milk is also high in an anti-nutrient called phytic acid, which reduces your absorption of certain vitamins and minerals, potentially contributing to deficiencies in certain nutrients.

And while some people genuinely can’t digest dairy, most people would be better off nutritionally with just real grass-fed milk.

2. Peanuts, Peanut Butter

While peanut butter does contain a small amount of protein and vitamins/minerals, the cons outweigh the pros on this food.

First of all, peanuts contain one of the highest concentrations of aflatoxin, which is a mold toxin that is created in peanuts due to storage in moist conditions.

Peanut butter is also very high in inflammatory omega-6 fats and due to the processing of peanut butter, those omega 6 fats are in a harmful oxidized state.

Most people already get too much omega 6 fats from vegetable oils (soy, corn, canola, etc), and this contributes to insulin resistance, heart disease, brain inflammation, cancer, and lots more health problems, since most people are currently eating 5-10x more omega-6 fats than we should be eating in a healthy diet.

Lastly, peanut butter also contains medium amounts of oxalates, which are plant-based antinutrients that when consumed in excess can contribute to kidney stones, thyroid and gut problems, joint problems and more.

We’ll talk more about oxalates in the next food…

3. Spinach

Spinach is promoted as a healthy green, but contains FAR more downsides than good sides. Spinach is one of the highest oxalate foods that’s commonly eaten by modern humans (in addition to beet greens, beets, almonds, and other veggies and nuts).

The amount of oxalates in a serving of spinach is extremely high, up to 600 mg in a normal sized bowl.

The “safe” amount of oxalates in a daily diet according to world renowned oxalate expert Sally Norton should be between 100-200 mg per day total to avoid a lot of the health problems caused by high oxalate plants.

So you can see how concerning spinach is with the extremely high oxalate levels.

As mentioned above, eating too much oxalates too frequently can cause serious issues such as kidney stones, thyroid problems, gut damage, skin issues, and joint pain.

In fact, some people have even gotten “oxalate poisoning” by eating green smoothies too often and had to go to the ER for kidney failure.

4. Almonds, Almond butter, and Almond Milk

Although almonds and almond milk are marketed as healthy, they also contain many downsides, including all of the negatives mentioned above about too much omega 6 fats and too much oxalates.

They’re probably ok in your diet occasionally, but I personally avoid eating almonds too often because of these issues with excess oxalates and omega 6 fats.

Almond milk also has some of the same issues as oat milk in that it often contains added gums and thickeners like carageenan (irritating to your gut), and is pretty pathetic in terms of nutrition content compared to dairy milk.

Now let’s take a look at a fun little quiz below and a few more foods…

Bananas vs Oranges vs Apples… (the #1 WORST fruit for your gut & energy)

According to the best-selling author and world-renowned heart surgeon, Dr. Steven Gundry, there’s one fruit people over 40 should never eat.

This fruit can damage your gut and disrupt your hormones. Both sapping you of energy and forcing your body to create “sticky” fat cells that can NOT be “burned off” with normal diet and exercise.

Do you know the fruit I’m talking about? Make sure you do by clicking the one below you think it is, and get the answer from Dr. Gundry himself on the next page:

>> Apples

>> Bananas

>> Oranges

>> Grapes

The post Why I Mostly Avoid Peanut Butter, Almonds, Oat Milk, and Spinach appeared first on thenutritionwatchdog.com.

by Mike Geary – Certified Nutrition Specialist and Author of The Diabetes Fix and The Truth About Testosterone

Most people that have a hard time sleeping well or falling asleep have already tried the normal things like magnesium and melatonin.

And those certainly can help some people to sleep better.

But what if there’s something more basic with your food intake that’s preventing you from sleeping well, and the solution is actually super easy?

What I’m talking about is carbohydrates…

Most people aren’t aware of this, but if you’re not eating enough carbohydrates, this can really harm your ability to sleep deeply. Let me explain quickly…

When you don’t eat enough carbohydrates, your body still has a large need for glucose inside the body for dozens of different reasons like hormones and proper functioning of your organs, so it needs to break down protein to create more blood sugar and it does this by elevating stress hormones.

The elevation of cortisol and other stress hormones assists your body in a process called Gluconeogenesis (breaking down protein to fulfill blood sugar needs)…

So if you don’t eat enough carbohydrates, this spikes your cortisol and other stress hormones and makes it harder to sleep.

One reason why people wake up in the middle of the night and can’t fall back to sleep is because they didn’t eat enough carbohydrates throughout the day, and their body is running out of easily accessible glucose, so the body spikes cortisol to create more blood sugar.

On the other hand, if you give your body MORE healthy carbs throughout the day (fruit, honey and starchy roots are my favorite carb sources), then your cortisol will stay low, and you won’t get that spike in the middle of the night waking you up.

Most people need anywhere from a minimum of 150 grams of carbs per day on the low end, up to maybe more like 300+ grams a day for more active people.

So people eating lower carb diets often just aren’t getting enough carbs, and this is why cortisol is spiking and not allowing you to sleep deeper at night.

I don’t necessarily recommend grains for your carbs (although white rice and sourdough bread are 2 of my carb sources that are easier on the body), but I prefer to get my carbs through fruit, honey, coconut water, juice, and starchy roots like potatoes and sweet potatoes.

I’ve recommended a spoonful of honey or a banana maybe 30-60 min before bed to a lot of my friends and clients suffering from sleep issues, and the majority of them tell me that they are sleeping MUCH better without waking in the middle of the night after adding more carbs to their daily diet.

With that said, you don’t want to miss this powerful tip below involving a cherry trick for sleeping deeper…

Why 3 AM Wake-ups Pack on Belly Fat

Sarah, 52, was trapped in a nightly nightmare:

Every night around 3 AM, her eyes would POP open…

Did I pay the electric bill?
What if mom’s test results are bad?
Are we saving enough for retirement?
Why did I snap at my daughter today?

Her mind would RACE for hours.

She’d stare at the ceiling, exhausted but wired, watching the clock tick toward 5 AM… 6 AM…

Then she’d drag herself through another zombie day.

Desperate and gaining weight fast, she finally went to her doctor…

“Every 3 AM wake-up is spiking your cortisol… Every cortisol spike is packing fat onto your belly.

No wonder you’re gaining weight at such a fast pace! Your broken sleep is destroying your body.” her doctor told her.

Then he recommended her a 30-second cherry trick that stopped the racing thoughts and repaired her broken sleep.

Results:

• Week 2: Sarah was sleeping through the night waking up refreshed
• Month 6: Sarah sleeps like a baby every night, she’s down 24 lbs, has a sharp mind and endless energy

Get The 30-Second Cherry Trick That Stops 3 AM Wake-ups and Racing Thoughts (works tonight!)

The post Eat these CARBS 1-hr before bed to sleep deep (and avoid 3am insomnia) appeared first on thenutritionwatchdog.com.

By: Mike Geary – Certified Nutrition Specialist and Author of The Diabetes Fix and The Truth About Testosterone

What the Microbes in Our Mouth and Pomegranate Have to do with Artery Plaque and Preventing Heart Failure

For years, we’ve been told that plaque buildup in arteries is just a natural part of aging or genetics. But what if that sticky sludge in your arteries started with what’s in your mouth?

A person’s oral health plays a bigger role in heart health than most people realize. And emerging research is showing that the pomegranate can help reverse some of the damage.

Let’s break it down:

The Oral Microbiome: More Than Just Bad Breath

Your mouth is home to over 700 species of bacteria, most of them beneficial. But others, like Streptococcus mutans and Porphyromonas gingivalis, can be major troublemakers.

These bacteria form biofilms that clings to teeth and gums. But they don’t just stay there.

When oral health is poor, these microbes can enter the bloodstream, triggering system-wide inflammation that can affect:

1. Blood vessels
2. Heart valves
3. Brain function
4. Immune response

In fact, researchers have found oral bacteria in arterial plaque, linking gum disease to atherosclerosis, heart disease, and even stroke.

What Is Arterial Plaque?

Just like dental plaque, arterial plaque is made of gunky substances that build up over time. It’s mostly:

• Oxidized LDL cholesterol
• Calcium from diet or supplements
• Dead white blood cells
• Inflammatory compounds floating around in the blood
• Pathogenic microbes from the mouth

This plaque builds up and narrows arteries, restricting blood flow, which is a recipe for heart attack or stroke.

Pomegranate—Nature’s Artery Cleanser

In a 2004 Israeli study, researchers gave patients with severe (70–90%) blockage, 1 ounce of pomegranate juice a day for one year. That’s not much.

The results?

A stunning 35% reduction in arterial plaque, while the placebo group saw a 9% worsening.

The pomegranate group also had:

• 21% drop in systolic blood pressure
• 21% drop in systolic blood pressure
• Improved blood flow

And that’s not all. Other studies have shown that pomegranate extract can reduce harmful oral bacteria, improve gum health, and lower inflammation.

The Mouth–Heart–Brain Connection

Bacteria that cause gum disease don’t just impact your heart. This bacteria has been found in the brains of people with Alzheimer’s disease.

This mouth-body connection is gaining traction in both mainstream and functional medicine, and it’s changing how we view plaque in all its forms. Oral health = Overall health.

How to Use Pomegranate for Better Health

• Drink unsweetened pomegranate juice daily, you only need 1–2 oz
• Brush with a probiotic toothpaste or rinse to balance oral flora
• Avoid mouth washes that kill germs!
• Floss daily, yes, it matters
• Avoid sugar and refined carbs, which stick to your teeth and feed plaque-forming bacteria
• Use xylitol gum or mints, which reduce harmful microbes

Bottom Line

Oral plaque and arterial plaque are more connected than you think.
Bacteria in your mouth can fuel inflammation throughout your body.
And pomegranate may help slow or even reverse that process.

It’s a powerful reminder that a healthy smile starts with a healthy body—and vice versa

With all of this said, if you want to prevent a deadly heart attack, you NEED to see this below…

“Most Heart Attacks Start Quietly… and It’s Not Cholesterol”

The post Pomegranate: Nature’s Artery Cleanser appeared first on thenutritionwatchdog.com.

by Mike Geary – Certified Nutrition Specialist and Author of The Diabetes Fix and The Truth About Testosterone

You may have heard that blueberries are packed with beneficial phytochemicals (polyphenols), but new research shows that WILD blueberries may also help you fight inflammation and even drop body fat right down at the cellular level.

In a recent published study Critical Reviews in Food Science and Nutrition scientists looked at what actually happens after you eat wild blueberries. Turns out, once your gut microbiome processes the powerful polyphenols in these berries, they transform into potent compounds that directly impact fat storage and inflammation inside your body.

Wild blueberries are particularly more powerful than standard berries at the store (Don’t worry, wild blueberries are easily available frozen at most health food stores)…

Here’s what the study found:

Researchers exposed fat cells to wild blueberry compounds: isoferulic acid (IA) and vanillic acid (VA). These two compounds helped reduce fatty acid synthase, which is an enzyme your body uses to create and store fat.

That’s a direct hit to one of the key drivers of weight gain.

Meanwhile, a third compound called syringic acid ramped up another antioxidant enzyme known as HO-1, which helps defend your cells against oxidative stress and chronic inflammation.

And all of this happened at real-life, food-based doses.

This means wild blueberries don’t just taste good or “fight free radicals.” They can actually change how your body manages fat and inflammation, which are two of the biggest culprits behind metabolic problems, fatigue, and chronic disease.

But there’s a catch: your gut bacteria play a massive role in unlocking these benefits.

That’s why gut health is about a lot more than just digestion. A well-balanced microbiome helps convert plant compounds into usable fuel, regulates inflammation, balances hormones, supports immunity, and even affects how your body stores and utilizes fat.

Targeted support, like the unique polyphenols from wild blueberries, cranberries, pomegranate, and even grapes, can help feed your good bacteria and keep this system running smoothly.

The bottom line is that wild blueberries aren’t just another trendy super-food. When your gut is in good balance, they become a metabolic ally, helping your body manage fat and inflammation with real studies to back it up.

And you don’t have to go foraging in the forest to find WILD blueberries, as most health food stores actually carry wild blueberries in the frozen fruit section. Add them to your smoothies, cereal, buckwheat pancakes, salads, yogurt, and possibly even on top of your healthy homemade ice cream.

Now that you know just how powerful wild blueberries are for your health (more powerful than regular blueberries), let’s take a look at a fun little quiz below and a few more foods…

QUIZ: Which of these snacks are terrible for your waistline?

According to leading gut health expert and former heart surgeon Dr. Steven Gundry, there’s a handful of “health snacks” that are terrible for your waistline.

One of these foods is even considered a staple in every healthy diet.

Let’s see if you can guess which one it is:

A. Sourdough Bread
B. Cottage Cheese
C. Olives

This is critical news if your goal is to have a slimmer waistline.

Answer revealed here >>

PS: There’s good news too… There is one simple snack that yields a power punch for your microbiome. This means a healthier digestion, less occasional bloating, and even a slimmer feeling physique. Write this name down.

The post Wild Blueberries Stop Fat Gain, Fight Inflammation, and Improve Gut Health (Better than Regular Blueberries) appeared first on thenutritionwatchdog.com.

By: Mike Geary – Certified Nutrition Specialist and Author of The Diabetes Fix and The Truth About Testosterone

As you probably know, I am very health-conscious, always digging through the latest research studies, books, and podcasts to keep up on cutting-edge health information.

Lately, I have been researching microplastics, and the amount we actually ingest and that get stuck in our organs is pretty scary.

So much of our food and drinks are packaged in plastic, and we store everything in those handy zip-lock bags that shed plastic into our food. There’s plastic in our kitchen utensils, our pots and pans, our clothing (anything synthetic is basically plastic), our mattresses, bedding, rugs (breathing in microplastics from your carpet that get lodged in your lungs and into blood stream), flooring, furniture, and on and on.

Plastic particles have now been found in studies in most of our organs, blood, lungs, ovaries, testicles, placentas, and brain tissue.

One recent study estimated the average person’s brain now contains the equivalent of a plastic spoon’s worth of plastic fragments. A plastic spoon. In your brain. And these particles are linked to inflammation, hormone disruption, fertility problems, heart attacks, strokes, and dementia.

For years the message has basically been, “sorry, you are full of plastic, there is no real way out, do your best to avoid it.”

But I recently saw this groundbreaking study and wanted to share it with you.

Researchers in South Korea found that a specific strain of healthy bacteria in kimchi can actually grab onto nanoplastic particles in the gut and pull them out of the body through normal digestion.

Scientists isolated the bacteria, called it CBA3656, and tested it in the lab, where it bound to 87% of the nanoplastics they threw at it. Then they fed it to mice, who excreted more than twice as much plastic in their stool compared to the control group. Twice as much. From bacteria in a fermented cabbage dish people have been eating for thousands of years.

Now, I do want to be honest with you. This was a study in mice, not in humans, and eating a jar of kimchi tomorrow is not going to suddenly detox you. But real, living, traditionally fermented foods are doing things in our bodies that modern medicine is only just beginning to measure.

traditionally fermented foods The kind with real “live bacteria” still in them, not the pasteurized supermarket versions sitting on the shelves. You’ll find them in the refrigerated section of the grocery store. Or, you can easily make them yourself.

Here is what I am doing about it.

I have gone through our house and replaced everything synthetic I can find with natural fibers, from clothing and bedding to food storage and cookware. And to clear out the tiny plastic particles that may already be in my body, I am eating traditionally fermented foods every single day.

You can start small. Swap one synthetic thing at a time, and add one real fermented food to your plate this week. The more I learn, the more I realize the health fixes we are looking for have been sitting in our grandmothers’ kitchens the whole time.

For more on plastic found in everyday items… in this case, your food… keep reading:

3 Foods Loading Your Organs, Brain and Blood With Microplastics

According to Dr. Rick Cohen – a renowned Duke University MD – these 3 “micro-plastic foods” are secretly poisoning Americans…

Because they’re packed with tiny pieces of plastic that can…

💔 Spike heart attack risk by 450%
🧠 Build up inside your brain
☢️ Damage every organ in your body

Here’s a quick hint:

– Food #1: This is one of America’s favorite seafood, and everyone orders it at restaurants…
– Food #2: It’s a common veggie you probably have in your fridge right now…
– Food #3: This is something you sprinkle EVERY day on your meals…

Want to know exactly what these 3 foods are?

Get the answer below from Dr. Cohen himself:

>> 3 “micro-plastic foods” to AVOID at all costs.

The post Kimchi: This fermented food removed 87% of microplastics from the gut in a study appeared first on thenutritionwatchdog.com.