New Study Shows HOW the Microbiome Protects Us!

How do good gut bacteria protect against harmful ones?

📢 New research alert!!

The gut microbiome consists of hundreds of different bacterial species and strains. One health benefit is that these bacteria can protect against the invasion of harmful bacteria.

But until now, there have been unanswered questions about how this works and whether some strains are more important than others.

A new study published in Science found that it was NOT any single bacterial strain that was protective but instead the combined effect of at least 50+ strains together.

Also, the WAY the collective bacterial communities protected against harmful invaders was by consuming nutrients those invaders might need.

The takeaway?

An optimal microbiome is a diverse microbiome.

Gut health is always something we look at as part of the bigger picture of our patient’s health.

Reference

Spragge F, Bakkeren E, Jahn MT, et al. Microbiome diversity protects against pathogens by nutrient blocking. Science. 2023;382(6676):eadj3502. [link]

[New Study] Couples & Blood Pressure

New research shows blood pressure in couples is often similar 😮

Most of us would think that blood pressure is an individual thing, but this was a fascinating study that showed it could be linked to your partner!

The study (published in the Journal of the American Heart Association) looked at blood pressure data from thousands of couples in the US, England, China, and India.

Overall, they found that if your partner has high blood pressure, you are more likely to have it too.

For example, wives whose husbands had high blood pressure were 9% more likely to also have high blood pressure in the US & England, 19% in India, and 26% in China.

The study didn’t look at WHY, but maybe it’s worth committing to some heart-healthy activities with your partner ❤️

Reference

Varghese JS, Lu P, Choi D, et al. Spousal Concordance of Hypertension Among Middle-Aged and Older Heterosexual Couples Around the World: Evidence From Studies of Aging in the United States, England, China, and India. J Am Heart Assoc. 2023;12(24):e030765. [link]

12 Indoor Exercises for Winter

12 Indoor Exercises to Avoid the Cold 🥶

Movement is essential to health! If you don’t want to brave the cold and don’t have a gym membership, here are some things that anybody can do in their own living room:

🔹 Jump Rope

🔹 Push-Ups

🔹 Jumping Jacks

🔹 Squats

🔹 Run in Place

🔹 Free Weights

🔹 Skip

🔹 Dance

🔹 Stretch

🔹 Shake

🔹 Yoga

🔹 Push-Ups

Health is not hard. You just have to commit.

You've got this! 🙌

How to Eat in Season This Month!

What’s in season?

There are lots of benefits to eating seasonal produce—the most important being that it tastes better!

It’s easy to eat local produce through the summer months, but the winter gets a bit trickier. Here are some produce options that are in season in parts of the US and Canada in February & March:

▪️Broccoli: Roast it in the air-fryer with some olive oil and salt or stir-fry with garlic, ginger, and red pepper flakes!

▪️Brussels sprouts: So good when roasted in the oven and topped with a sauce of peanut butter, tamari, and hot sauce 🌶️

▪️Cauliflower: There are so many things you can do with this veg, from simply roasting and topping with parmesan cheese to making gluten-free breadsticks 🥖

▪️Kale: People like to slam kale, but it’s so versatile that you can make it into chips, stir-fry, or even smoothies.

Another bonus of this seasonal produce is that they are all cruciferous vegetables, which means they support healthy detoxification and even hormone health 👏

Other produce in season includes citrus fruits, squash, sweet potatoes, fennel, radishes, and potatoes 🥔

My Holistic Approach to the Heart

My holistic approach to heart health ❤️

Here's a sneak peek into my whole-body approach to cardiovascular health (hint: it goes a bit beyond managing blood pressure & cholesterol!)

Here are some things I consider when it comes to heart health:

1️⃣ Functional Medicine Testing can identify risk factors that are overlooked by routine screenings (things like a more specific breakdown of cholesterol, markers of inflammation, and levels of omega-3 fatty acids).

2️⃣ Stress is a massive contributor to high blood pressure and cardiovascular disease. We have a toolbox full of strategies to help your body better manage stress for heart health.

3️⃣ Poor metabolic health and elevated blood sugar can lead to cardiovascular disease if they are not recognized and managed early. We take prevention seriously.

4️⃣ Nutrition & supplements can be used proactively to support heart health before any medications or interventions are needed.

5️⃣ We look at the whole person—from gut health to inflammation to sleep and mood. Body systems do not function separately but very much depend upon and influence each other. If we want to optimize heart health, we need to optimize the whole body, physically, mentally, and emotionally.

If you are concerned about heart health because of a family or personal history, we can help.

💻 Visit our website to schedule an appointment with Dr. Cantrell!

🔎https://www.elementsnatmed.com/naturopathic-visits