5 Tips to Help Fats Digestion and Stop Bloating

 

Click HERE to Discover these 80 Keto-Friendly and Healthy Slow Cooker Recipes

Bloated? Here Are 5 Tips to Help You Digest Fats and Get Things Moving

If your body is racked with symptoms like bloating, gas, and fatigue, you might have a certain type of indigestion. Try these five tips to increase your nutrient intake.

The healthy foods we eat are only as good as our ability to properly digest them. If you’re experiencing digestive issues, you may have trouble absorbing a key macronutrient: fat.

Not being able to digest fats is especially concerning if you’re following a high-fat keto diet. Here’s how to tell if you’re suffering from fat malabsorption, and five ways to get your body back on track.

Symptoms of Fat Malabsorption

You can usually tell if you’re suffering from fat malabsorption by the quality of your stool. You might notice light-colored, foul-smelling stools that float, are difficult to flush or stick to the toilet bowl.

Other symptoms include:

• Fatigue
• Bloating
• Weight gain or loss
• Avoiding or nauseated by fatty foods
• Dry skin

These symptoms can be serious and might indicate other nutrient deficiencies as well. Vitamins A, D, E, and K all require adequate amounts of fatty acids to be absorbed, so if you aren’t metabolizing fats properly, you won’t get enough of these key nutrients.

Reasons You May Not Be Digesting Fats

There are several reasons you may not be absorbing fat properly. You may not produce enough of the required enzymes, or there may be something more serious afoot, like Crohn’s disease.

The process of fat digestion involves several organs, like your liver and pancreas, as well as many digestive “juices” like bile.

With multiple systems involved, there are several reasons you may not be digesting fat properly, including:

• Low stomach acid (HCL) production
• Enzyme deficiency
• Celiac, Crohn’s, or other inflammatory gastrointestinal diseases
• Parasites
• Prolonged use of antibiotics
• Liver or gallbladder diseases

5 Tips to Help You Digest Fats Better

The good news is that there are several inexpensive and easy steps you can take to help your body absorb more healthy fatty acids.

1. Eat Your Bitters

When we eat, our bodies secrete gastric juices composed of acids and enzymes to help break down and absorb macronutrients.

Bitter foods stimulate your body to release more digestive enzymes, which includes lipase, the enzyme needed to break down and absorb fats. In addition, bitters have also been shown to increase blood circulation through the digestive tract, which can also improve digestion and absorption.

Try adding bitter herbs and greens to your diet such as dandelion, beet greens, collards, chard, and chicory. You can also try bitter herb blend supplements you can take by mouth before meals. These usually include ingredients like burdock, gentian, orange peel, and dandelion root.

2. Supplement with HCI

Stomach acid, or hydrochloric acid (HCl), is important for overall digestion and the release of bile, which helps break down fats. It’s important to ensure that you have sufficient stomach acid for fat absorption, but also to avoid issues like bad bacteria overgrowth and B vitamin deficiencies.

Look for a Betaine HCI supplement at your local health food store and follow the dosage instructions before mealtime. Many also swear by adding a tablespoon of apple cider vinegar to a glass of water before meals to help increase HCI production.

3. Try Digestive Enzymes

You can give your digestion a boost by taking extra digestive enzyme supplements.

Browse your health food store for a digestive enzyme supplement that includes lipase, which breaks down lipids. Take one or two before each meal. You may also be able to find one that includes Betaine HCI, so be on the lookout for a potential two-for-one.

4. Drizzle on Some MCTs

Medium-chain fatty acids, or MCTs, are easier for your body to absorb than other fats. Instead of going through a lengthy process of digestion, MCTs are transported directly into your bloodstream and used by your liver for energy. As a bonus, they also don’t need enzymes to be broken down.

Coconut oil is one of the richest sources of MCTs, so try swapping your other oils for coconut. You can also purchase pure MCT oil at your local health food store or online and use it in the same way you would use other oils.

5. Take Probiotics

Fermented foods such as sauerkraut and kimchi contain beneficial bacteria that help keep your digestion running smoothly. Interestingly, one study showed that the microbiota balance (how many and what types of bacteria are in the gut) can affect how zebrafish absorb fats.

Try eating fermented foods every day. You can also supplement with a probiotic of at least 1 billion active cultures.

For more tips to help fats digestion and stop bloating, watch this video – Digest Fats Easier | Tips for Keto with no Gallbladder | Lose Fat- Thomas DeLauer

The Bottom Line

It’s important to note that some people simply have a harder time breaking down fats than others. Even if you don’t have a full-blown fat malabsorption problem, you may just need a slight digestion boost in the form of a digestive enzyme.

See what works for you, so you can indulge in all the good fats without digestive woes.

Written by Megan Patiry

Author Bio:

Megan is an inquisitive nutrition and wellness writer harboring an editorial love affair with the decadent and the nutritious. She is a dedicated researcher in all areas of ancestral health, a certified specialist in fitness nutrition, personal trainer, and professional almond milk latte addict.

A lot of people have gotten results from the Keto diet, and enjoyed the foods that it has to offer. However, many of the people who are following this diet have a hard time finding the recipes that they need, especially ones that are quick and easy to complete.

Fortunately, Kelsey Ale, noticed this problem, and decided to do something about it. She’s found that making recipes in a slow cooker gives you meals which are not only delicious, but also take very little time to make. Mostly you just put a few simple ingredients in the slow cooker, and let it do the rest.

To find out more, click on – Keto Slow Cooker Cookbook

Improve Heart Health – How to Keep Cholesterol Under Control

 

Click Here to Find Out How You Can Completely Clean Out the Plaque Build-Up in Your Arteries

Keep Cholesterol Under Control – Heart Attack Risk Determined by Your Home Address

Two studies published during the last month, one in the United States and one in the United Kingdom, reveal a strange fact:

Your home address can say a lot about your risk of dying from a heart attack. Sometimes more than your doctor.

The first study was presented at the American Heart Association’s virtual Scientific Sessions and has not yet appeared in a scientific journal.

Its authors found 2,097 people who had had heart attacks before age 50. They were specifically interested in the mortality rates of people who suffered heart attacks while they were relatively young, as this is currently on the rise.

They used the area deprivation index to divide the subjects into three groups. This index categorizes American neighborhoods by the sociodemographic characteristics of education level, income level, employment, and housing quality.

They found that people who lived in more disadvantaged neighborhoods had a greater chance of dying within the first 11 years after their heart attacks.

This finding is important because, as people seem to be having heart attacks earlier in life, it is important to work out how to facilitate their survival until old age.

In earlier studies, the researchers attributed the low survival rates of disadvantaged heart attack sufferers to the facts that they could not afford healthy food and other health resources, they did not have health insurance, they were exposed to more environmental pollutants, they were victims of discrimination and racism, and especially that they suffered the physiological stress of living in disadvantaged environments.

The second study, published in the European Heart Journal, discovered that homeless adults were twice as likely as their housed peers to have some form of heart disease.

Using previously collected data, the researchers compared 8,482 homeless adults with 32,134 housed adults who lived in the same areas and were the same ages and genders.

The rate of some form of cardiovascular disease was 11.6% in the homeless population and 6.5% in the housed population. In other words, homeless people are 1.8 times more likely than housed people to have cardiovascular disease.

They had an increased risk for angina, stroke, heart attack, heart failure, and peripheral vascular disease, which is reduced circulation of blood, especially to the legs.

Homeless people were also more likely to have common risk factors for heart disease, including smoking, drinking, irregular heartbeat, diabetes, and so forth.

During the study period between 1998 and 2019, three times more homeless men and twice as many homeless women developed heart disease compared to their housed peers.

Much like the authors of the previous study, these researchers concluded that we should address the risk factors that give rise to heart disease as early as possible in this disadvantaged community.

Now, I hope you’re not homeless, but that won’t save you from a heart attack and other cardiovascular diseases. For that, you need to lower your cholesterol level by cutting out this ONE ingredient you didn’t even know you were consuming.

Or, if your blood pressure is too high, learn how these three easy exercises will drop it down below 120/80 (as soon as today)…

Keep Cholesterol Under Control – The Cholesterol and Eggs Debate: Winner Declared

Eggs are high in cholesterol, so for decades, doctors have warned you against them.

But eggs are also delicious, highly nutritious, and very convenient, so you’d maybe want to eat more eggs than your doctor likes.

With this in mind, researchers from the University of Copenhagen decided to find out and declare exactly how many eggs you can eat to satisfy your taste buds, arteries, and your doctor.

The researchers analyzed the highest-quality studies on this subject published in the past 10 years. Their conclusion was clear:

1. For healthy people, consuming seven or more eggs weekly does not increase the risk of cardiovascular disease or type-2 diabetes.

2. Among type-2 diabetics, a group that is especially at risk of cardiovascular disease, eating seven or more eggs weekly does not increase the risk of cardiovascular disease or worsen diabetes.

3. Dietary patterns, physical activity, and genetics have a far larger effect on cardiovascular disease risk than the number of eggs you consume.

Thus, as long as you exercise, eat your fruit and vegetables, and reduce your consumption of sugar and refined carbohydrates, you can eat anything from seven to 14 eggs per week.

In fact, the people with the highest risk of cardiovascular disease who ate the most eggs had lower cholesterol and plaque in their arteries than those who ate fewer eggs.

So how is this possible?

The fact is that our bodies create 85% of our cholesterol in our own bloodstreams, and cholesterol in food doesn’t directly transfer to your bloodstream.

It’s not high cholesterol—not even high-LDL (bad) cholesterol—that builds up as a plaque in your heart and causes stroke and heart attack.

The real cause of plaque buildup and cardiovascular diseases is one single ingredient, explained here, that you didn’t even know you were consuming…

Keep Cholesterol Under Control – This Popular Drink Causes Heart Attack and Premature Death

Here’s an easy way to reduce the risk of death from cardiovascular disease by 50%.

Just drink less of this popular refreshment (and most people think this drink is healthy!).

Really. That’s all you have to do. How neat is that?

A research group from Iowa University observed the consumption of diet drinks among 59,614 participants in the Women’s Health Initiative Observational Study.

The participants’ average age was 62.8 and none had a prior history of cardiovascular disease at the beginning of the study.

The researchers divided participants into five groups based on how many diet drinks they consumed per week.

Ten years later, the verdict was out: 8.5% of those who drank 14 or more diet drinks per week had experienced a primary cardiovascular event.

Compare that to 6.9% in those who drank 5 to 7 drinks per week, 6.7% in the 1 to 4 drinks per week group, and 7.2% in those who drank less than one per week.

Those who consumed more than two diet beverages per day were 30% more likely to suffer from heart disease and 50% more likely to die from cardiovascular-related conditions than those who never consumed diet drinks.

The cause is the dangerous aspartame sweetener in diet sodas.

Aspartame breaks down into dangerous chemicals including methanol, formaldehyde, and formic acid. Even regular soda drinks are healthier than diet ones, but only when consumed in moderation.

But water is best—so leave the rest.

Watch this video to keep cholesterol under control – Remove Bad Cholesterol Naturally & Reduce Clogged Arteries and Stroke | Samyuktha Diaries

However, diet sodas are not the worst thing for your heart. To completely cut out all cholesterol buildup in your arteries, cut out this one ingredient you didn’t even know you were consuming…

And if you need to get your blood pressure under control, learn how 3 easy exercises drop blood pressure below 120/80—in as little as 9 minutes…

This post is from the Oxidized Cholesterol Strategy Program. It was created by Scott Davis. Because he once suffered from high cholesterol, so much so that he even had a severe heart attack. This is what essentially led him to finding healthier alternatives to conventional medication. Oxidized Cholesterol Strategy is a unique online program that provides you with all the information you need to regain control of your cholesterol levels and health, as a whole.

To find out more about this program, go to Keep Cholesterol Under Control and Improve Heart Health.

Sleep Apnea Help – 5 Natural Ways to Sleep Healthier

 

Click HERE to Discover these 80 Keto-Friendly and Healthy Slow Cooker Recipes

How to Identify Sleep Apnea and 5 Natural Ways to Sleep Healthier

You might have sleep apnea and not even know it.

Sleep apnea is a condition that affects roughly 22 million Americans, and can increase your risk of heart attack and high blood pressure. Unfortunately, sleep apnea commonly goes undiagnosed, as it’s not easy to know the difference between regular old snoring and sleep apnea symptoms.

Diagnosing sleep apnea can be challenging for women. Unlike men, who are more likely to wake up gasping in the middle of the night, symptoms in women are more subtle, like anxiety and depression.

If you keep your partner up by snoring all night, it’s time to check in and find out if you’re suffering from sleep apnea.

What Is Sleep Apnea?

Sleep apnea is a condition that happens when the throat muscles relax during sleep, blocking your upper respiratory tract and making it harder to breathe. This blockage can cause a reduction in airflow, or in severe cases, can stop the flow of oxygen entirely.

There are three different kinds of sleep apnea:

• Obstructive Sleep Apnea: When there’s a reduction in airflow during sleep, or when the airflow completely stops.

• Central Sleep Apnea: When the brain fails to send signals to breathe.

• Complex Sleep Apnea Syndrome: Also known as treatment-emergent central sleep apnea, this is a combination of both obstructive and central sleep apnea.

If your healthcare provider suspects that you might have sleep apnea, a sleep study can diagnose this condition. The sleep study will look at how many episodes of reduced or stopped breathing occur in a one-hour period during sleep. It will also show what your blood oxygen levels were during these sleep apnea events.

Common Sleep Apnea Symptoms

So, how do you know if you suffer from sleep apnea? Here are seven of the most common signs and symptoms to watch out for.

• Snoring
• Gasping during sleep
• Chronic fatigue
• Waking up with a dry mouth
• Difficulty staying asleep
• Irritability
• Difficulty concentrating
• Fatigued when awake
• Anxiety and depression (mostly among women)

Undiagnosed sleep apnea can cause issues with your mood and energy levels due to a significant disruption in the quality of your sleep.

When sleep apnea goes undiagnosed or untreated for extended periods of time, it can cause high blood pressure, heart attack, and other heart issues due to the drop in blood oxygen levels. The frequent drop in blood oxygen puts wear and tear on the cardiovascular system.

Sleep Apnea vs. Snoring: What’s the Difference?

If you are one of the 90 million Americans who snores during sleep, you may be wondering if it’s caused by sleep apnea or if you just happen to be a loud sleeper. Since snoring is a big symptom of sleep apnea, how can you tell the two apart?

Well, about half of the 90 million Americans who snore are what’s known as “primary snorers”. However, the other half of those snorers may, in fact, have sleep apnea..

One way to tell the difference between snoring and sleep apnea is if you wake up choking or gasping for air.

First, let’s talk about what snoring actually is. Snoring is caused by tissue in the back of your throat relaxing and partially blocking your airway, which leads to noisy sleep.

Some people may be much louder snorers due to higher body weight, alcohol consumption, and age.

One way to tell the difference between snoring and sleep apnea is if you wake up choking or gasping for air. This is almost always the result of sleep apnea. Waking up tired is another common sign your snoring may be more than just an annoyance, as chronic daytime sleepiness is a common symptom of sleep apnea.

Sleeping with your mouth open is another tell-tale sign, so if you can, ask a partner to keep an eye out for that one. If you suffer from sleep apnea, you are also more likely to snore more regularly, and very loudly.

However, just because you snore doesn’t mean you automatically have sleep apnea. Your snoring could be caused by things like nasal congestion, being overweight, smoking, and drinking.

It is also suspected that men snore more than women simply because men have narrower air passages. But women can certainly snore too, and can also suffer from sleep apnea.

The Difference Between Sleep Apnea in Men and Women

Sleep apnea is commonly thought of as a condition that affects men, and men are, in fact, twice as likely to have sleep apnea. However, women get sleep apnea too, but symptoms often present differently. As a result, women are more likely to be misdiagnosed.

While men often experience more common symptoms like snoring and waking up gasping for air, women may be more likely to experience symptoms such as anxiety and depression. This has to do with the fact that female brain structures are impacted more by sleep apnea than men’s brain structures.

While the number of apneic events per hour are generally lower in women, they also tend to experience a wider variety of symptoms, like anxiety and depression at lower diagnostic levels.

This leads to the conclusion that sleep apnea causes different symptoms in men and women due to differences in brain structure.

However, keep in mind that men can also experience symptoms of anxiety and depression as a result of sleep apnea, as sleep deprivation can cause an anxiety disorder. Sleep disorders like sleep apnea interfere with the quality of your sleep and can thus lead to symptoms of anxiety and stress.

5 Natural Ways to Sleep Better

Sleep plays a vital role in our overall health, and an undiagnosed sleep apnea can affect our physical and mental well-being. If you suspect you may be suffering from sleep apnea, it is essential to speak with a healthcare provider to get treatment as quickly as possible.

Some treatment options may include dental appliances to help with jaw and tongue repositioning, airway surgery, and recommendations on living a healthy life through diet and exercise.

A CPAP machine is another commonly prescribed treatment options for those suffering from sleep apnea. CPAP stands for continuous positive airway pressure, and its purpose is to keep your airways open while you sleep. The machine works by sending airway pressure to your throat.

In the meantime, if you’re struggling with chronic snoring or poor sleep habits, here are natural ways to help you sleep better.

Manage a Healthy Weight

Being overweight can increase your risk of both snoring and developing sleep apnea. Research shows that losing weight can help reduce sleep apnea symptoms, so making healthy dietary choices is an important piece to the puzzle.

Strive to eliminate sources of added sugar and as many processed foods from your diet as possible. Focus on consuming whole, nutrient-dense options like fresh fruits, vegetables, grass-fed meats, and healthy fats like coconut, olive oil, nuts, seeds, and avocados.

A Paleo diet is a great approach to supporting a healthy weight, since you will naturally be consuming more naturally anti-inflammatory foods while also eliminating all sources of processed foods.

Exercise Regularly

Not only will regular exercise help you maintain a healthy weight, but it can also help improve sleep! Exercise can help reduce feelings of stress and anxiety, which are often things that keep people tossing and turning all night. Try adding daily exercise to your routine to see how much better you sleep each night.

Cut Back on Drinking

Alcohol consumption can cause snoring because it relaxes the muscles in the back of your throat. If you are a chronic snorer or have sleep apnea, consuming alcohol can make the condition worse.

Try a Neti Pot

If you snore often, try using a neti pot to clear nasal congestion before you go to bed. This can help loosen the mucus and make it easier to breathe out of your nose. Chronic nasal congestion can also lead to a risk of developing sleep apnea, so keeping your nasal passage open can only help more.

Monitor the Humidity in Your Room

Have you ever woken up with a stuffy nose during the winter months when you have the heat running? Dry air can make our nasal passages dry, which can lead to mouth breathing, and yes, snoring!

So, you may want to use a humidifier in the winter months to help prevent that very uncomfortable nasal congestion almost all of us experience during the winter. It is recommended that you keep your humidity level at 50% to help promote better sleep.

Watch this video – Exercises for Sleep Apnea, Snoring, Sinus Pressure. Addressing the nose, throat & tongue

The Bottom Line

Sleep apnea is a serious condition. It can impair your overall quality of life and can put you at a much greater risk of cardiovascular health issues. If you experience symptoms of sleep apnea, reach out to a health care practitioner and request a sleep study that can diagnose or rule out sleep apnea.

Sleep apnea is treatable, and certain lifestyle and dietary changes can go a long way. The sooner you uncover sleep apnea, the sooner you can treat the symptoms and be well on your way to feeling healthier and much more rested!

Written by Rebecca Jacobs

Author Bio:

Rebecca Jacobs N.C is a Certified Holistic Nutrition Consultant, specializing in digestive and women’s health. She takes a holistic approach to wellness, doesn’t believe in “dieting,” and believes that healthy eating must be delicious. Rebecca is also a recipe developer and creates healthy alternatives to traditionally unhealthy foods.

A lot of people have gotten results from the Keto diet, and enjoyed the foods that it has to offer. However, many of the people who are following this diet have a hard time finding the recipes that they need, especially ones that are quick and easy to complete.

Fortunately, Kelsey Ale, noticed this problem, and decided to do something about it. She’s found that making recipes in a slow cooker gives you meals which are not only delicious, but also take very little time to make. Mostly you just put a few simple ingredients in the slow cooker, and let it do the rest.

To find out more, click on – Keto Slow Cooker Cookbook