Filed under FAQ …
MAY 2025 TABLEHOPPING
Last month I wrote about a test called the glycan-age that purportedly tells you how old you “really are” Your biological age versus your chronological age. The test I offer my patients is a version of the Levine Horvath clock but uses 7 common lab tests to give you some insight. Both require blood samples but the test I offer is much less expensive. The Glycan age test costs about $500 and the one I offer is just done at the price of an office call. Whatever you would pay to come in for a sore throat or headache. This doesn’t include the cost of the blood tests but they are usually covered by your insurance. You could go through your labs, input the values yourself into the calculator and skip the office visit to make it even cheaper…The nice thing about our calculator is that it shows you which of your blood tests is responsible for the estimation so you can see where to focus your efforts. But, and it’s a big But, is it accurate? That’s why I check out these more expensive tests especially before I could recommend any to my patients. So, last month I did the glycan-age test and this month I did one of the competitors offered by Gary Brecka who is well known as a prominent “biohacker”.
Mr Brecka ’s claim to fame is that he worked in the insurance business evaluating lab tests etc to determine life expectancy. He understood that certain blood tests and patterns can readily predict your mortality. He says there are 5 “actionable” genes which can be measured for the cost of again around $600. Now Mr Brecka is also a fan of energy mats, hydration, hydrogen water, supplementation,etc and has a whole program called 10X health system. He focuses on the fact that different genetic variations in methylation ( a very common metabolic process in every cell of the body) determine your health more than other factors. These methylation issues cause nutritional deficiencies that are the real cause for depression, chronic pain, digestive issues etc.
So, I will have three tests that are supposed to give me more information than the standard blood tests. I have been looking into NAD infusions and there is one company that measures NAD in blood samples so I can test my level…try some supplements or NAD directly and see how it affects my levels. This company too says they have other testing that measures inflammation so the odyssey continues.
Let’s see how these tests correlate with each other. I get plenty of exercise and my diet is much cleaner than most people but you don’t know what you don’t know. Is my hip achy due to overuse or inflammation from my diet? There is a growing body of literature that says inflammation in your mouth affects every part of your body. My gums are not the issue…I don’t have obviously rotten teeth but I have several root canals and my research says root canals always have pockets of infection ..little pockets that may be painless but a persistent source of inflammation. I strongly recommend against root canals now but I dread the thought that I have to have those dead teeth removed and have implants put in.
It’s May and that means getting back to walking with my patients at the Erie Canal Park at 5: 30 pm every Tuesday. We meet at the Reed Webster Park and head out for a walk. It’s usually about 2 miles but there are plenty of benches and we stop in the middle. Why not get out of the house and join us? If you want to walk and or talk this is a great opportunity. All of you who think I am wrong about fluoridation or immunization can come and have it out with me. I enjoy a lively debate and am happy to admit my errors and mistakes to everyone but my wife.
Until next month ….Get well and stay well
JT BARRY MD
APRIL 2025 TABLEHOPPING
HOW OLD ARE YOU ?
I get that question a lot from my wife. Usually it’s after I have done something she frowns on. Which is fairly often. But there is a place for this question in medicine as well. Your chronological age is easy…that’s the age on your driver’s license. Your biological age, what your cells tell us about your aging, is more important but harder to calculate. I have written previously about using different calculators to estimate your “true” age including the Levine Horvath Phenoage clock which I use in the office. There are epigenetic tests and telomere tests which can estimate your biological age but from personal experience I can tell you they vary a lot in a short period of time. Telomere age is a very accurate predictor of the health of a single cell but loses sensitivity and specificity when all the trillions of cells in the body are surveyed. You could send off blood samples at the chronological age of 50 and get results that vary by 10 years from samples taken the same day! Not so reliable. Not useful to assess whether the changes I am making in my lifestyle are making a difference in my “real” age.
But I am always looking to improve testing. Is there a better test for insulin sensitivity..Is there a better way to assess the health of the cell, the cell wall and cellular metabolism. Recently, I came across a podcast that presented a new way of looking at cellular aging. The test is called the glycan age. Glycans are sugar and protein compounds that attach themselves to circulating proteins in the body.
This company uses immune proteins that are already circulating…known as IG-G. This is a molecule that is directly involved in your immune system. There’s IG-G, IG-A, IG-M, IG-E and others. So this company uses the glycans that attach to the IG-G to assess how much inflammation the body perceives. Specific glycans are associated with specific degrees and types of inflammation. Using a tremendously large database the scientists at Glycanage.com have associated certain glycans with more or less inflammation and can translate that into numbers that reflect underlying inflammation and thus the “aging” of your body. The type of glycans attached to IgG are able to change the function of IgG from pro-inflammatory to anti-inflammatory and vice versa.
From their website “Glycans are directly involved in the pathophysiology of every major disease… Additional knowledge from glycoscience will be needed to realize the goals of personalized medicine and to take advantage of the substantial investments in human genome and proteome research and its impact on human health.”
– US National Academies, 2012
What I like about this test is that you can establish a baseline…Say you are 60 but your glycan age is 70..you can change your lifestyle and remeasure your glycan age to get an independent, scientific , reliable assessment of whether the changes you made actually improve your health. This is precisely why I like to measure your insulin and your omega 3/6 ratio over time. It’s not just how you feel, it’s what your body tells us about you. Of course, I want you to feel well but it’s critical that your body is functioning well and this gives us one more way to measure that. You don’t need to try to convince your doctor to order the test for you, it’s something …like the prodrome scan, that you can order for yourself and continue to take charge of your own health and health care.
Until next month…get well and stay well
JT BARRY MD
MARCH 2025 TABLEHOPPING
AN APPETITE FOR APP
There is apparently an app for everything! There is an app that lets you swap faces with your friends in your photos. There is an app to tell you when the best point in a movie to go to the bathroom. There is an exploding kitty app.I know I am a techno-dino.I use my “phone” to primarily make photo calls. I do like the navigation device as well. I’m not much for texting and I need a bigger screen for my emails so my phone gets used mostly for calls. I watch bewildered as people a third of my age use their thumbs to fly across miniature screens, whipping out their phones at every free second to check something …anything.
I used to lament the small screen…its changing the way children interact with each other, doesn’t lend itself to contemplation or deep thought, kids have very short attention spans now etc..then I read an article in the New Yorker magazine that mentioned that Socrates bemoaned the fact that the new act of writing things down on tablets was going to ruin the mind. My history mentor Professor J Rufus Fears always said ….”Those that forget history are destined to repeat it … .Those that remember history repeat it anyways !”
So in the vein of looking for the good, let me recommend some health apps that might make a difference in your health. This is by no means an exhaustive list, it’s just a few that are popular or interesting.
First we start with the popular and obvious like myfitnesspal and noon. These are very popular and comprehensive apps that track your activities , your calories etc . Chronometer is also very detailed when it comes to tracking your macros…meaning carbs, fats, and protein. These are great apps that provide a lot of information but require you to input data as well. They are only as good as the data you enter. But they do act as personal coaches of sorts…helping you to be more accountable if only to yourself and the app. That’s a good thing.
For those of you who like it simpler I have two great apps for you. You are prowling the grocery store aisles …your head spins from all the stuff you should be avoiding, added sugars, seed oils, certain preservatives, additives etc. There are two apps I know of that make it very easy. The first is Bobby Approved. It’s an app by Bobby Flay , the Michelin chef, and you just scan the code on the bottle or item and Bobby will tell you if he approves of it. Let me tell you he doesnt approve much. It’s a super easy to use app even for a Boomer like myself. A very similar app is Yuka which also uses a scanner to read the barcode on the food and give it a health rating. I like both apps which are both easy to use and have slightly different ways of judging the foods. The Yuka app has a saturated fat rating on the foods but if you believe ( as the vast bulk of the literature actually shows) that saturated fats are not bad for you this is going to affect their rating needlessly.
That’s right, saturated fat is NOT bad for you. The most prestigious journal in cardiology is the Journal of the American College of Cardiology ..JACC…in 2020 they published this article.
Their conclusion :
The recommendation to limit dietary saturated fatty acid (SFA) intake has persisted despite mounting evidence to the contrary. Most recent meta-analyses of randomized trials and observational studies found no beneficial effects of reducing SFA intake on cardiovascular disease (CVD) and total mortality, and instead found protective effects against stroke. Although SFAs increase low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol, in most individuals, this is not due to increasing levels of small, dense LDL particles, but rather larger LDL particles, which are much less strongly related to CVD risk. It is also apparent that the health effects of foods cannot be predicted by their content in any nutrient group without considering the overall macronutrient distribution. Whole-fat dairy, unprocessed meat, and dark chocolate are SFA-rich foods with a complex matrix that are not associated with increased risk of CVD. The totality of available evidence does not support further limiting the intake of such foods.
Remember this is from the cardiologist specialists themselves !!!
So, enough with the angry birds and sudoku apps…download something that can actually help you stay healthy. You carry your phone with you everywhere ..why not use it in the grocery store as well ? Until next month…get well and stay well.
JT BARRY MD
FEBRUARY 2025 TABLEHOPPING
MISTY WATERCOLOR MEMORIES
I keep coming back to dealing with dementia because it’s like autism… seemingly increasing and now found in every family at some point. The family suffering is magnitudes greater than with other common killers. Most in my profession still believe that it’s mostly genetic and there is nothing much you can do about it. That’s completely wrong. Not a little off the mark…. completely wrong.
Unfortunately with the state of medicine today to really deal with this issue you have to actively manage your visits with your provider. I’m going to give you a list of things that you should check for every serious memory loss. It’s partially based on the RECODE protocols of Doctor Dale Bredesen but you don’t need to participate in his program to benefit from this list.
First off, the two important references for patients working with memory loss issues are Dr Bredesen and his book The End Of Alzheimers and online you can find him at apollohealthco.com and Dr Dayan Goodenowe and his book Breaking Alzheimers… you can find him online at prodrome.com
Secondly you have to break down and check out the various ways the brain can go sideways…traumatic, infectious, vascular, toxic and inflammatory. For the significant majority of us it’s going to be inflammatory but you don’t know if you don’t check and it’s easy to check.
Thirdly you have to check the basic nutritional factors. Is the brain getting the fats and B vitamins it needs to function? Easy blood work to check and rarely checked as you’ll see when you bring your checklist to the doctor…specialist or otherwise.
Fourthly you need to attend to all the basics… diet, sleep, stress and exercise. Attention to all four is mandatory including a regular exercise program, both for the body and the brain…try BRAINHQ for the latter. In terms of improving brain health nutritionally it’s simple the less sugar the better for the brain. Low carb is the way to go if you want to preserve the brain matter.
Ok… now for the list
APOE ALLELE TEST….This is the most important genetic test.. Each of us has two alleles of the APO E gene. You can have 2 twos, 2 threes, or 2 fours or any combination of two. But Allele E4 is associated with increased risk of dementia and if you have one E4 your risk is increased. If you have two E4’s your wrist is really increased. Knowing these numbers tell you how aggressive you have to be.
SLEEP APNEA TEST…. You can say you sleep fine but get the test. I prefer the 3 night in-home test which is a very good start. Everyone with memory loss concerns should get this test as sleep apnea means less oxygen to the brain and more inflammation.
HEAVY METAL TESTING You never know unless you check
LYME DISEASE…. Again, is it likely? no.. but is it possible? Just check
INFLAMMATORY MARKERS, fasting insulin, c reactive protein, homocysteine, omega 3/6 ratio, sed rate, HA1C level all should be checked.
IMAGING STUDY…If you want to know about the heart you scan the heart… DItto the kidney etc… You should get an MRI. And if you can afford the extra 200 bucks have the different parts of the brain measured so you can assess your progress.
MEMORY TESTING… You need simple tests like the MMSE and the MOCA… which are cheap and easy and simple and repeatable.
SOON TO BE AVAILABLE… Will be a group of three tests Brainscan by Neurocode will offer three tests that Dr Bredesen says will measure brain inflammation, risk of alzheimers and more. Dr Goodenowe has a new blood test that will measure major components of your cell membrane . Membrane health is mitochondrial health is overall health. Too soon to tell if these are going to be the game changers I think they will be but stay tuned.
So, when it’s time for the doctor visit where you finally get down to addressing memory loss bring this list. The provider should be happy you have done some research and have actionable points. I see a lot of records but I rarely see all these tests being done including at the “specialist” office. You have to take charge and ask for these tests. You can maintain and improve your brain and your memory once you have addressed what you find on these tests. It’s worth the proactivity.
Until next month… Get well and Stay well.
JT BARRY MD
JANUARY 2025 TABLEHOPPING
GET AWAY!
I don’t know about you but there is something I dread about the winter. It’s not the cold, it’s not the snow, it’s the darkness. Driving to work in the dark and driving back from work in the dark again drains the spirit. At least it drains my spirit.. I shouldn’t speak for you. Yes, I have a lamp that shines bright on my face in the morning to stimulate my pineal gland but it’s not the same thing as getting real sun time.
That’s why I make a point of getting away every winter to someplace sunny and warm. It’s transformative. The minute the plane door opens and I feel the hot humid air I relax away the hunched shoulders of the sub zero climate and start happily sweating in my tropical print shirt. This is my advice to you…get away yourself during the winter. Maybe I should say get away from yourself during the winter but that’s probably too psychological for you. You don’t have to spend a lot of money and you don’t have to go for a month-long sojourn. Just get somewhere warm and soak it up.
My wife and I need 80 degrees and constant sunshine guaranteed so we go to Mexico or to the Dominican Republic in the wintertime but it gets reasonably warm in Florida so if the hassles of flying are too much for you , you can still get away. Puerto Rico is an Island option and you don’t even need a passport. They say that travel expands the mind but for many of us it expands the waistline. Just because you are in a foreign place doesn’t mean you have to forsake ALL your eating habits.
Some people are all getting up and going on a vacation…See this. Experience that. See every possible sight. I don’t mind those vacations and lord knows I need my mind expanded but those types of vacations wear me out ! Maybe I am getting old. My favorite vacations are ones where I can sit back , relax and read ! I read and watch and listen to medical stuff all the time but when I go on vacation I like to get deep into a book or a book series. It’s usually fiction or science fiction but I am getting more into spiritual reading as I mature. Being on vacation gives me time for the “Big Picture” thoughts and ideas. I know that admitting to still reading books makes me yet again a dinosaur but it is what it is. Whether it’s a Kindle type device or an actual book doesn’t matter to me but the act of prolonged time spent reading seems to be a vanishing activity.
One of the metrics I use to see how dependent people are on their electronics is to ask the question “How long in the morning after you wake up do you begin looking at your phone.” For most of my patients it’s less than a minute. I don’t look at my phone until it rings! How old and out of touch am I ?! My friends on the toilet bowl scrolling through his phone first thing upon arising in the morning and I guess that’s common but that’s not me. I keep threatening to swab his phone to see what germs are on it but he is convinced it’s what everyone does. I don’t suppose I can convince you into taking a holiday from your social media accounts but again getting away should mean doing something different and maybe that can include less phone time and more real people in person contact. My holiday wish is that people get a chance to get away and relax and restore themselves. Get away by yourself, reconnect with family and friends, but just get away!
Until next month……get well and stay well..
JT BARRY MD
DECEMBER 2024 TABLEHOPPING
It’s the holiday season and I hear all the time from my patients that they are taking a break from eating right and exercising “because it’s the Holidays”. Most people who gain weight every year do so at this time of year. It’s as if someone else were holding them down and stuffing sugarplums down their throat. The holiday cookies are just too tempting. And we all know it’s impossible to stop once you start. It’s as if the gyms were all closed and people were forbidden to exercise at home.
First off, when you get together with friends and family you don’t have to spend all your time on the couch in front of the TV. Why not go on a walk? Why not take in a show? There’s lots of Christmas shows every year and you know I love the Desantis Holiday Show which will be at the St Charles church this year on Sunday December 8th at 4 pm. Live local holiday music from a big band orchestra… what’s not to like? From horse drawn carriage rides at Highland Forest to ice skating downtown there are lots of outdoor activities that are relatively inexpensive that the whole family can try. Building memories and muscles at the same time.
Secondly, you know the advice about eating healthy at home before you go to any party and that’s good advice. Why not go the next step and actually bring something healthy to eat to the party?
Even if you indulge your baser instincts at the holidays there is no reason you can’t do healthy things as well, including intermittent fasting. How about eating during a 8 hour window during the week which will allow you to get a little cray cray during the weekend. Mitigate the damages so to speak.
Don’t forget the reason for the season. It’s great to be able to get together with friends and family but how about getting in touch with your spiritual side? Most of us are just going through the motions… the same activities, the same diet, the same routines. May I suggest that this time of year lends itself to reflection about your life, your choices, and where you are eventually going. Is this crazy world all there is? May I suggest the book Believing is Seeing by Michael Gullen PhD? This is a guy who graduated from Cornell with three degrees!! Physics, Mathematics and Astronomy and he explains how science shattered his atheism and revealed the necessity of faith.
Hopefully we will see you in the new year… healthier and happier Until then Get well and stay well……
JT BARRY MD
SEPTEMBER 2024 TABLEHOPPING
DOCTOR DOCTOR GIVE ME THE NEWS
How often should you go to the doctor? Well, to me, that depends on whether you are working on your illness or on your wellness. Of course you can go to the doctor for a sore throat or painful joint but how about going to work on actually improving your health.
I think people , even people who think they are healthy, should go to the doctor once a year for a review of their health. From kids to old age. I know you think I am just trying to keep up the business. We are way too busy now to try and round up more work. Trust me…as long as you are eating at fast food places and gobbling sugar like hummingbirds, we health care professionals are going to stay busy.
I recommend a yearly review to consider your overall health. What meds are you on and why? What tests should you consider and why? What’s likely to kill you and can we do any testing for these issues? Are you getting fatter or fitter? There are relatively cheap devices that can tell your doctor how much muscle and fat you have. Why would you not want to track this over time.? Are you up to date on tests like bone density, mammograms and colonoscopies? I am not saying these are mandatory tests but they are tests you should consider and review with your doctor. Do you know your omega 3/6 ratio and your insulin resistance? These are reliable and reproducible markers of your true health.
Unfortunately most health care workers are better with the acute illness stuff like sore throats and sprained ankles than the chronic health issues like . Oh, we have plenty of experience with chronic health issues, but our current medication forward approach doesnt ever really improve the underlying conditions . Giving you a sugar pill or a blood pressure pill can improve your numbers but they do absolutely nothing to correct the underlying condition. Lifestyle changes can correct the underlying condition. Medications cannot. It’s just that pills are easier. Easier for you and the doctor. Check out the Michael Gregor video about the relative merits of medication versus lifestyle. https://nutritionfacts.org/video/The-Actual-Benefit-of-Diet-vs-Drugs/
Not taking any medications and all the tests you want are up to date? So maybe once a year is all you need. However, if you are trying to lose weight, quit smoking, develop an exercise routine, etc you can improve your chances of success by scheduling more visits with your provider to review and reinforce your progress. Sustaining your motivation can be difficult and I find it helps people stay on top of an issue if they know they are going to be held accountable at the next visit. Most of my patients need to work on some aspect of their health and I like to see them quarterly but I also have patients that I see weekly or monthly depending on the issues. As onerous as it can be sometimes to deal with the insurance companies I have yet in my 35 years of practice ever have the insurance companies complain that I was watching the patient too closely or seeing them too often.
When you go to the doctor you should have a list. Two lists actually…the first list should be your meds and supplements. Your doctor may not believe in supplements but they should know what you are on. The second list should be YOUR list of issues you want addressed.
What I focus on with the wellness visits is my basic four…Diet, Exercise, Sleep and Stress. Where are you now and where do you want to be and what are you willing to do to get there. Unfortunately the current primary care training doesn’t focus on lifestyle so YOU have to bring it up. I know I seem to be the odd man out medically, locally anyway, when talking about this stuff since so many providers just wont address them. I take some sucor in the words of Thomas Alva Edison; “The doctor of the future will give no medicine, but will interest his patient in the care of the human frame, in diet and in the cause and prevention of disease.”
As Doctor Casey Means writes in her book “Good energy” we “siloed” health care with so many specialties that medical care is overly fragmented. People are going to cardiologists, urologists, gi doctors to treat various symptoms and each provider looks at the problem through their narrow perspective and if the pill they give you doesnt work they suggest the next specialist. Her book is just one more in a growing series of books that comment on how broken our current system is…Exorbitant expenses and poor outcomes and no change in sight. In reality your lifestyle choices result in 80% of your outcomes. Most “experts” say that genetics accounts for only 20% of your health destiny. I don’t know the right ratio but I know a big percentage is lifestyle and that’s really where doctors should focus their attention. Headaches, stomach aches, skin conditions, arthritis, etc etc all respond to lifestyle changes. This has been shown over and over again but my healthcare partners all say they don’t know anything about nutrition or what diet or exercise program to recommend. If only there was some repository of knowledge the doctor could access to get some insight on these issues. Maybe some electronic device that we could somehow interface that might have this much sought after knowledge trove. Oh, wait, it’s called the internet and patients are accessing it and so too should we providers. I hate it when patients tell me the doctor they went to scoffed at them for doing their own research and says something about “where did you get your degree..”
It’s not rocket science …look at the careful sustained scientific work on health by Drs Gundry, Lustig, Perlmutter, Breseden, Hyman, Gregor, Malhotra, Knobbe and a host of others. The way forward to improve your health and the health of the nation is to get back to the basics ..it’s not as easy as prescribing medications but it’s much much more effective. The same lifestyle changes that will improve your symptoms will ultimately improve your health-gevity and that’s really what it’s all about.
Until next month, get well and stay well.
JT BARRY MD
AUGUST 2024 TABLEHOPPING
BEET IT !
High blood pressure , also called hypertension, is no joke. Sustained high blood pressure leads to heart attacks , stroke and hardening of the arteries that lead to kidney failure , dementia, peripheral vascular disease etc. It’s a leading cause of death and disability in the world. Your doctor believes that some people get hypertension and some people don’t. Your doctor will confirm your blood pressure and start meds. That’s a mistake. Hypertension is not the problem….it’s a symptom. What’s causing the hypertension is the problem! Fix that and you have fixed the underlying problem, not just the symptom.
First off, your doctor should not treat the blood pressure he sees in his office. If your BP is up in the doctor’s office it should be confirmed with home readings or, better yet, a 24 hr home BP monitoring unit. The BP most predictive of whether or not you will have a stroke or heart attack is your BP at night while you are asleep and you can only get that info from this type of monitor. It’s a royal pain to wear this monitor but the info obtained can be very helpful.
Secondly, if your blood pressure is elevated you should look for the cause and treat that ! Is it your weight? Is it sleep apnea (a very often overlooked cause for BP)? Is there a blood flow problem to one of your kidneys? Is there an oversecretion of one of your hormones? Is it a deficiency of potassium or magnesium? These issues are all easy to check with a variety of tests.
Why not work with your doctor to cut the carbs, try extra potassium, magnesium , arginine etc, before going to medications. Sure, the pills are easy but it’s much better to treat the underlying cause of the problem. Dr Greger of nutritionfacts.org fame has a great video that shows the benefits of treating the blood pressure with lifestyle changes has a much much more positive and beneficial effect than with meds. Here is the Youtube link:
https://nutritionfacts.org/video/The-Actual-Benefit-of-Diet-vs-Drugs/
Another option you and your doctor should consider is beets! Yes, the vegetables. Beet juice, derived from the root vegetable, Beta vulgaris, is rich in essential nutrients, antioxidants, and nitrates. Beet juice is recognized for its potential health benefits, especially concerning cardiovascular health, athletic performance, and cognitive function.
Beets and beet juice are a super source for nitric oxide which your body uses to relax blood vessels (and hence lower blood pressure). Nitric oxide is what Viagra releases so beet juice may have the same benefit as Viagra ! Beet juice also contains other chemicals which act as anti-inflammatory, polyphenolic etc. Beet products are available as the beet ( and why not try pickled beets ), powder, capsules, gummies etc. I don’t have any studies as to which works best but it’s an easy experiment to do on your own. The studies suggest that beet juice 250 ml per day will lower your blood pressure as much as the leading BP medications.
Now there are two issues with beets to consider. One is that they may change the color of your urine , this is called Beeturia and is harmless. The second is that while beets are high in fiber , and have all these helpful chemicals, they also contain high levels of oxalates. Oxalates are not your friend and in some sensitive people can cause kidney stones and widespread arthritis. So if you have a stone history or feel more aches and pains after starting a beet regime you should probably back off.
Of course, don’t do anything without consulting your healthcare team but why not ask to try some non-prescription interventions before resorting to the drug store. It’s your health and you should be actively involved in maintaining it!
Until next month…get well and stay well.
JT BARRY MD
JULY 2024 TABLEHOPPING
TAKE 3 SHOTS
I’m going to make a recommendation about your health again. Of course you should never take any advice from anyone without extensive consultation with your own health care provider. Nonetheless, this article will at least prompt some conversation about your health and that’s probably a good thing. I have been a 2 shot a day man myself, but I’m going to step up to 3 shots based on my most recent readings. By 2 shots I mean a mixture of cod liver oil and olive oil. Recently I have added a shot of vinegar to the mix. I take the vinegar first then a combo of the cod liver oil and the olive oil. It’s a great idea to just mix them altogether and use the mix as a salad dressing. Ok, it’s not a full shot like in a bar but it’s more than 2 tablespoons of each.
Let’s have a little primer on the ingredients:
Olive oil is rich in monounsaturated fats, which are known to support heart health in part by increasing good cholesterol (HDL) . It also contains powerful antioxidants like vitamin E and polyphenols, which combat oxidative stress and inflammation . Studies suggest that regular consumption of olive oil can lower the risk of chronic diseases such as heart disease, stroke, and certain types of cancer. Additionally, its anti-inflammatory properties can help manage conditions like arthritis . Unfortunately, there is a lot of adulterated olive oil so read the label carefully. Personally, I like the olive oil from the family farm in Turkey that’s available at the regional market ..It’s called AYVACO. I first ran into it at the State Fair. (And , no, I don’t get any kind of discount). Of course, any oil you intend to put in your mouth should be kept in a glass container and stored in a cool dark place. Don’t buy a year’s worth at a time as any oil starts to oxidize once it’s exposed to air.
Next let’s go over my favorite…Cod Liver OIl. You can use any fish oil capsules you like but you need to take 4 capsules a day to get any meaningful improvement and why not just slug down some Cod Liver OIl. I only use Carlson labs Cod Liver Oil with lemon in the green bottle. It really tastes nothing like what grandma used to give you.
The essential fatty acids , a vital part of your health , were never really covered in med school and still isn’t and the issue isn’t really discussed in nursing or the PA programs as well. The omega-3 fatty acids in cod liver oil are essential for brain health, reducing inflammation, and supporting cardiovascular health. These fatty acids are critical for proper brain and heart health and are a component of every cell membrane in the body. They can be easily measured by your doctor and you can see how far from optimal you really are and trust me you will often be surprised by the poor results. IIts like changing the oil in your car. You have to put the right oils in your body as well. Some critics say that fish oil increases risk of irregular heart rhythm and it did very minimally in one study. They also claim it raises bleeding risk. Dr William Harris is the best known Omega 3 researcher and he points out the fact that people with high levels of fish oil (EPA and DHA) in their blood lived an average 5 years longer than people with the lowest levels in their blood . This included death from any and all causes. This was shown in multiple large studies so the evidence is solid. What I really like about fish oil and cod liver oil etc is that you can easily and directly measure the levels in your blood to prove you are doing the right thing. QUEST the lab offers a very simple OMEGA 3/6 check.
Finally , the most recent addition to my morning routine is vinegar. Acetic acid. It’s fine as plain white vinegar but when you make it balsamic vinegar you get the polyphenols as well. Acetic acid is an essential food for the good bugs in your gut. Vinegar can help regulate blood sugar levels, making it beneficial for individuals with diabetes and prediabetes and that’s 80% of us. . It may also aid in weight loss by promoting satiety and reducing appetite .Acetic acid is much less acidic than the hydrochloric acid in your stomach and it is often used to help patients with indigestion. Read Dr Steven Gundry’s book Gut Check for more info on these postbiotics and the role of fiber and fermentation in your health. So maybe add some pickles to your dietary regimen as you have added pickleball to your exercise regimen.
Remember the blah blah blah check with your doctor. Until next time Get well and stay well.
JT BARRY MD
JUNE 2024 TABLEHOPPING
It’s getting closer to real summer and so I have a couple of reads for you. I have to watch a lot of videos and read many articles and lots of books as well. Some are written by the Doctors I follow like Dr Gundry, Dr Greger etc. Many articles are also suggested by my patients. Yes, I still get to read for pleasure so I sandwich in some Steven King etc between the study stuff. Recently I read two books that I thought were important so I wanted to share them with you. Both are about health but one is more about physical health and one is more about mental health.
Let’s start with GUT CHECK by Dr Gundry. I have been a fan since the book the PLANT PARADOX and have read all of this stuff but this latest is another great look at what really controls so many aspects of your health…the care and feeding of our microbiome. I am firmly in the camp that most diseases are due to metabolic issues and mitochondrial issues and this book looks in detail at both. Almost all chronic diseases are diseases of metabolism and what you eat, when you eat, how you eat affects your health directly . This book has lots of insights and helpful hints but fiber and fermentation are big issues which are well covered. Personally , I am staying far away from Kimchi and Kambucha but I am a big fan of pickles and vinegar. Dr Gundry points out the math…fiber is important, fermented food is important and the two together are synergistic so 1 plus 1 = 5. Sure Dr Gundry sells lots of supplements on the internet but that doesn’t invalidate his 25 years of nutritional research. Change your diet , change your life and health destiny.
Moving on to mental health we have THE FIVE LOVE LANGUAGES by Gary Chapman. It’s easy to fall in love. It’s not so easy to stay in love. I am always amused by people who put zero energy and effort into maintaining relationships and wonder how it went bad. Love , like your mind and outlook, is a garden that needs constant attention if you want it to grow right. Now, I am no expert at marital things and I dont have the experience of those of you who have been married two or three times but I think anyone who is in a long term relationship can benefit from reading this book. The five love languages are;
- Words of affirmation.
- Quality time.
- Physical touch.
- Acts of service.
- Receiving gifts.
What I like about this book is the section at the end where you can find out for yourself what your love language is and what your partner is and you can do this in an interactive way that I think will tell you something about yourself and who you love.I found out my wife already knew my love language. I also found out that just because someone knows your love language doesn’t mean they will use it ! A patient suggested this book to me and it took forever for me to get around to it but I am glad I finally did.
So, one book on physical health and one book on mental health. Next month we will take on the topic of the sun. Life giver or death dealer. Stay tuned.
Until next month…get well and stay well.
JT BARRY MD