1. Lack of vitamin cofactors for enzyme production – That’s right, some vitamins serve as cofactors necessary in the production of enzymes. If you are low on vitamins, your body will not be able to efficiently produce the enzymes you so desperately need. Without proper enzyme production, good luck experiencing efficient digestion.

2. Acidic diet fueling growth of candida – Candida is a yeast bacteria that is unfortunately quite alive and well, thriving right within the vast majority of us. It craves acidic environments in which to live, and rudely crowds out the good bacteria needed for proper digestion. So what’s acid forming? Dairy, refined sugar, caffeine, alcohol, soft drinks, corn syrup, OTC drugs, pharmaceutical drugs, just to name a few.

3. Overuse of antibiotics, killing the helpful bacteria – It’s quite entertaining how much we fear bacteria. The fact is, our body is quite capable of properly disposing of harmful bacteria … when we keep our internal environment properly balanced. Killing all those tiny friends in your digestive tract, who work so incredibly hard for your good, is not the way to stay balanced and help your digestion.

4. Use of proton-pump inhibitors and the lack of hydrochloric acid – Knee-jerk reactions usually aren’t the best decisions, and often end in regret. Case in point: the taking of pharmaceutical drugs that block production of hydrochloric acid. Now, I don’t have the esteemed “Dr” letters in front of my name, but I’m pretty sure God designed our bodies to produce HCL for a reason…oh yeah, the digestion of protein…and…the absorption of calcium. Add to the aforementioned regret: PPI’s are likely to increase your risk of fractures and osteoporosis. Popular PPI’s? Aciphex, Dexilant, Nexium, Prevacid, Prilosec and Protonix.

5. Too much food compared to available enzymes and digestive juices – This is what we call a “common-sense” diagnoses. You’ve got a stomach that’s only so big, with only so much enzymes and digestive juices for only so much food. So what do we do? We load it and stretch it with twice as food as it was designed to handle, and then sit around and scratch our heads, wondering what’s wrong with our digestion. This is a simple (although maybe not “easy”) issue to fix. So “if the shoe fits…”

6. Overuse of lactose-containing milk and dairy products – Ok, here’s the hard truth: we are the only species on the planet that continues to drink milk long into adulthood…say nothing about the milk of another species! You wouldn’t lay on your back underneath a cow and go to town on its utter (at least I hope not), but that’s essentially what many of us do every day. Human breast milk is perfectly designed for a human baby (more perfect in mothers with more perfect diets). But, as we grow, our bodies production of lactase (the enzyme that digests lactose) quickly diminishes. So, if you don’t seem to be digesting food properly, your stomach might be too busy trying to figure out what to do with those milk products.

7. Filthy system due to the lack of fiber in your diet – Yep, you’ve got about 25 feet of intestine inside you to keep clean. And guess what, most people’s are long overdue for a little janitorial service. You need to be eating 25-30 grams of fiber per day. (Chances are high you aren’t getting that!) Ever heard of diverticulitis? In laymen’s terms, it is literally “hardened crap in your colon.” It’s as gross as it sounds, and as you might imagine, the resultant bloating, etc. can destroy good digestion.

8. Intake of nutrients our body wasn’t designed to digest anyway – Here’s another one that falls under the “common sense diagnoses” category. Why are we amazed when our stomach and intestines don’t respond with exuberant joy upon catching chemicals that were never supposed to enter the mouth, say nothing about making it down the esophagus? Here’s something to think about: the reason many of these chemicals were made in the first place was to keep stuff from breaking down. So, don’t be surprised when your body has trouble breaking down the very foods that are filled with these chemicals.

9. Overuse of tea, coffee, energy drinks, decongestants, and other stimulants – If you don’t remember from high school health (yes, we need to bring that class back) the tag team made up of your sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems, let me remind you. When one is stimulated, the other is depressed. So what’s your point, you may ask. The point is this: the aforementioned stimulants stimulate (weird, huh?) your sympathetic nervous system, giving you energy by awakening your “fight or flight” state. The problem is, this depresses your parasympathetic system, in which your digestion functions. So, as long as the adrenaline faucet is turned on, digestion is turned down at best…off at worst.

10. Lack of enzyme filled, alkalizing, flora-promoting fruits & vegetables – The benefits of fruits and vegetables cannot possibly be overstated. Not only do these super foods contain enzymes and fiber (the benefits of which have already been mentioned), they also help create a more alkaline pH in body’s blood and cells. The result is that everything begins to function the way it is supposed to, which can impact ALL areas of health, including digestion. Here’s another benefit: the more fruits and vegetables you consume, the more energy you’ll have, AND the less you’ll reach for the junk that is at the root of so many digestive problems anyway.

Think back to when you were a child, and mom was making Christmas candy and cookies. Perhaps you recall the little bottles with with wizard-like caps, each colored to match the playful liquid inside. The irony is that those particular happy memories surrounded playing with and consuming some very dangerous chemicals.

Fast forward just a few years. During the fiscal year of 2002, the FDA certified batches representing 16.5 million pounds of color additives, most of it for use in our food. Food coloring increases sales, hence the use of such chemicals, and the repeated submission of petitions by food companies to the FDA for approval of their latest, greatest synthetic profit drivers. These additives are used to either give foods the colors that consumers expect to see, such as the “painting” of farm-raised salmon with Red 40 to insure the pink hue, or to make certain foods “fun” for consumption, like the multi-colored, multi-additive M&M candy.

Man-made color additives are labeled “certifiable,” and the good news is that they must be listed on the label when used in foods. The “dyes” are water-soluble while the “lakes” are not, determining which versions are chosen for particular applications. Most food colorings were previously made from coal tar, which might sound unhealthy to you. No worries though, they are now made from petroleum (sarcasm intended). Should you be eating them? What do you think? Here’s the actual chemical name for Red 40: 6-hydroxy-5-[(2-methoxy-5-methyl-4-sulfophenyl)azo]-2-naphthalenesulfonic acid.

If you surf the internet for articles on food colorings, you’ll find some that state there are nine certifiable color additives. Try the next page of Google listings, and you’ll come across articles that state there are only seven. Still another will state a different number. Which articles are correct? All of them … at the time of their publication. There is something to be learned here: the list changes, and it changes with our level of experience and education, and the quantity and quality of our research.

Let’s talk about the quality of the research. Guess who conducts the original studies? The companies petitioning the FDA for approval, of course! They created the substance. Check out the list of the companies who have submitted their additives in the last two years. You see, it’s not until after the substance hits the marketplace that adverse effects and reports drive a large number of unbiased scientists to conduct clinical research. And this process takes time – time that you spend consuming the approved product.

There are actually seven certified color additives currently used in our food. Here’ the list: (by the way, the “FD&C” means that the color is for use in foods, drugs, and cosmetics)

• FD&C Blue #1
• FD&C Blue #2
• FD&C Green #3
• FD&C Red #3 (Erythrosine)
• FD&C Yellow #5 (Tartrazine)
• FD&C Yellow #6
• FD&C Red #40

Although the FDA does not consider there to be enough conclusive research yet, Blue #1 has anecdotal evidence linking it to cancer, Blue #2 has caused brain tumors in mice, Red #3 has caused thyroid tumors in rats, and Yellow #6 has been correlated to adrenal gland and kidney tumors, which shouldn’t be surprising considering the carcinogenic chemicals that comprise it.

Red #40, the most popular of all food color additives, was introduced in the eighties to replace Amaranth, which caused problems as extensive as birth defects and fetal death. Has Red #40 faired any better? You’d think so, with the FDA leaving it on the approved list. However, Red #40 has been linked with cancer in mice, and is completely banned in Denmark, Belgium, France, Germany, Switzerland, Sweden, Austria, and Norway!

Am I crazy to think that this list should and will look different in the near (or unfortunately distant) future? I think not. Take a look at the additives (and this is just the certified food color additives – there is a host of others) that used to be on the approved list:

• FD&C Green #1
• FD&C Green #2
• FD&C Red #1
• FD&C Red #2
• FD&C Red #3 Lake
• FD&C Red #4
• FD&C Violet #1

Take a look for yourself at the FDA’s Color Additive Status List. These color additives have been removed for reasons spanning ADD, asthma, birth defects, fetal death, nausea, vomiting, and cancer, a few of which have also been linked to currently approved additives. In fact, In June of 2008, the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) petitioned the FDA for a complete ban on erythrosine (Red #3) in the United States. Remember, Red #3 Lake (the non-water soluble form) has already been banned. You see, what these do to our bodies doesn’t change based on our knowledge of the facts. Our knowledge of the facts just change. How about leaving them out of your diet now, and avoiding the risk?

The FDA status list should be regarded more like a timeline of their education, as opposed to something with the authority to dictate what you allow yourself to consume. Do you want to wait on the FDA to tell you that something is dangerous? Consider this, drug-coloring agent Orange #1 was approved in 1906. It was finally banned 60 years later, in 1966. I think I’ll just just eat natural foods, thank you.

Of course these color additives are used in candy, but if you start reading labels, you’ll be amazed at the frequency with which you come across them. They will pop up in gelatin, beverages, baked goods, sausages, pet food, ketchup, chips, and even salmon, as previously mentioned.

Regarding additives’ effect on ADD and ADHD, the September 2007 issue of the Lancet Medical Journal contains a fairly conclusive study, performed by Stevenson and colleagues of the University of Southampton. Over 300 children between the ages of 3 and 8 were given either an additive-filled or placebo beverage during concentration and behavioral testing. The researchers found a significant negative behavioral impact on the additive-administered group compared to the placebo group. With all the research that has shown ADD and ADHD to be stimulated by color additives, some have proposed the acrostic be redefined as Artificial Diet Disorder. There are a variety of factors contributing to this issue, but artificial chemicals should definitely be avoided as they are one of the contributing factors.

In summary, keep your diet simple, and natural. It used to be said, if you can’t pronounce an ingredient, chances are you shouldn’t be eating it. However, considering the shortening of such harmful ingredient names to labels as simple as Red 40, that advice is no longer enough. If you didn’t know about food color additives before, you certainly do now, and the responsibility to avoid them rests on your shoulders. Avoid the obviously artificially colored foods, and check labels on everything else before consuming or giving to your kids. Taking these steps could certainly go a long way toward improving your own quality of life, as well as your children’s.

Fish oils are finally beginning to get their long-overdue, well-deserved recognition as healthy fat burners. What’s that you say? An oil, a FAT, as a fat burner? Believe it.

As you may know, fats are separated into two categories: saturated (solid or semi-solid at room temperature) and unsaturated (liquid at room temperature). These classifications are based on the chemical structure of the fat. Saturated fats are unnecessary to the health of the human body, and stimulate a rise in LDL, otherwise know as the “bad” cholesterol. Unsaturated fats, however, can provide health benefits.

There are two main categories of unsaturated fats: monounsaturated and polyunsaturated. The polyunsaturated fats are termed “essential fatty acids” because they cannot be created by the body and MUST be consumed through the diet. Polyunsaturated fats can be further divided into two primary subtypes: omega-3 alpha-linolenic acid (ALA) and omega-6 linoleic (LA).

The average American’s diet generally contains enough omega-6 fatty acids, but is strikingly deficient in omega-3’s, which are found in freshwater fish, nuts, and seeds. In spite of a desirable ratio range of 1:1 to 4:1 of omega-6 to omega-3 fatty acids, the average American’s diet is slanted an amazing 25:1. This is a sad fact, considering the role of omega-3’s in the body’s metabolism. Omega-3 fatty acids increase the fluidity of cell membranes, allowing for faster transport of fuel and chemical signals, as well as faster protein synthesis. They also suppress the body’s production of fat-storing enzymes, while increasing fat transportation to the cells for oxidation.

Sources of omega-3 fatty acids include fish and flax seed oil. The flax seed oil contains ALA, which is broken down by the body to EPA and DHA, the chemicals that finally go to work for you. However, flax seed oil also provides omega-6 fatty acids, of which most of us already get plenty if not too much. Fish oil, on the other hand, contains amounts of EPA and DHA already, which can be quickly and efficiently used by the body. Furthermore, EPA can be converted to DHA as needed, making EPA in supplement form very valuable. In summary, the majority of people will benefit most from an omega-3 supplement that contains a large amount of EPA along with some DHA.

Business is about profit. Make no mistake. It is and it should be. The dairy business is no different. What could be more profitable than increasing the milk production per cow at a dairy farm? America figured it out, and between 1959 and 1990, US milk production doubled at the same time the number of dairy cows declined by 40%. The average dairy farm has about 100 cows. Imagine only having to keep 60 cows, and getting the production of 200 cows! If it was your business, you’d probably take that offer, as most owners have.

How did they accomplish this unnatural level of production? There are two major reasons. The first is purposeful breeding, and that by itself appears to not have a strong downside. The second reason for the incredible milk production, however, is the major reason for many dairy cow illnesses and has proven to negatively affect the health of the one who drinks their product. The secret is rBGH, or recombinant bovine growth hormone. This hormone increases milk production by 25%, but chemically alters the resultant milk, sending a wave or hormones though our own bodies with every drink. The growth hormone released into our bloodstream increases our chances of colon, prostate, and breast cancer, and at the same time, interferes with our own endocrine systems and the regulation of our weight.

The FDA, which approved rBGH in 1994, insists that it is harmless to humans. Interestingly enough though, the hormone is banned in Canada, as well as parts of the European Union, Australia, and New Zealand. Critics of the FDA’s decision point out the increased levels of IGF-1, or insulin-like growth factor, in the milk produced by these hormone-treated cows.

These cows’ drug problems didn’t start there, either. If farmers can make all their cows ovulate at the same, it is much more economical for business. How is that done? More hormones: prostaglandin, gonadotropin releasing hormone, and progesterone, sold for more nice profits under the brand names Lutalyse, Cystorelin, Estrumate, Factrel, Prostamate, Fertagyl, Insynch, and Ovacyst. These help the dairy farmer time the management of his milk production.

The overworked, over-producing, over-injected cows can usually only put in about 5 years worth of work before they are sold to slaughter. About 20% of US beef comes from used-up dairy cows, many times complete with mastitis and Johne’s disease.

I, like many personal trainers, used to be an avid milk promoter. However, time and experience with a variety of individuals has silenced my endorsements. Though it is a decent protein source, you may be better off avoiding it altogether – especially if you have problems with allergies, asthma, or arthritis. If you really want to continue drinking milk though, going organic may be well worth the extra expense.