Recipe for Paleo Friendly Date, Apple, and Raisin Cookies

Here is the recipe for the cookies I brought to the last meeting:
1 cup raisins
1/2 cup chopped dates
1/2 chopped apples
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup coconut oil
2 eggs, beaten
1 Tbsp. honey
1 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp. soda
1 cup almond flour
1/2-3/4 cup chopped nuts
Boil raisins, dates, and apples in 1/2 cup water for about three minutes. Mix in coconut oil; cool. Add beaten eggs, honey, vanilla, and soda to mixture, then stir in flour and nuts. Refrigerate until chilled. Drop by teaspoons on well-greased cookie sheet; bake at 350 for 10-12 minutes. Refrigerate in airtight containers.
Enjoy!!!
-Lori

Live Biotheraputics for Intestinal Diseases!

http://www.businessreviewusa.com/press_releases/enterologics-inc-otcbb-elgoob-unveils-novel-business-strategy-to-develop-live-biotherapeutics-for-ga

Video from Our Meeting Discussing Supplements and How They Impact IBD

This video is part 1 from our last IBD.TIE meeting where Dr. Brasco and Pharmacist, Terry Wingo discuss supplements and the impact they have on IBD. Once you click on the link, it will take you to youtube and from there you can watch the other videos from the rest of the meeting. Enjoy!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z68dTllXXko

Coming soon...

Soon, we'll have videos from our most recent meeting where Dr. Brasco and Pharmacist, Terry Wingo discuss the use of supplements and how they impact IBD.
Also, since we've had several requests, we'll post the recipes for the cookies provided at the meeting. :)

Paleo Negotiations

Occasionally, I will see a patient that is interested in pursing Paleo from the "get go.."

HOWEVER, a great many more are brought to Paleo, "kicking and screaming!"

These individuals usually have seen a few other health care providers, have tried multiple regimens and still don't feel well.... and dietary change becomes a therapy of last resort!

Even "health conscious" folks fall into this camp. They are certain that there MUST be some magical herb...some vitamin combination... some procedure (i.e. a colonic...good luck with that one!!!) that is going to fix their problem.

If a "magic bullet" exist....I DON"T KNOW ABOUT IT!
And if you do...PLEASE SHARE!

So thus begins "Paleo Negotiations"....

In general terms I describe Paleo....as meats, poultry, fish, seafood, fruits and vegetables with a spattering of nuts....

After the look of shock fades...on come the negotiations...

Q: "So, I can have corn, right??"....... A: " No corn is not considered a vegetable...think of it more as a grain."

Q: "I can have potatoes though, right??"... A: "No potatoes, they are a tuber and they contain saponins...which can exacerbate leaky gut." (Note in non- Crohns and Colitis patient...I do allow the occasional sweet potato...No saponins. )

Q: "If I can't have bread, what do I put my peanut butter on??".... A: "GOOD NEWS...you will not be eating peanut butter so that will not be an issue...Peanuts are legumes and legumes are NOT PALEO...you can have your almond butter on celery sticks or apple slices"

Q: "HEY....I thought Dr. Oz said that legumes were GOOD for you...what gives??? .... A: "Let Dr. Oz stick with heart surgery and let doctors WHO ACTUALLY TREAT PATIENTS with nutrition make the recommendations!!!!"

And so on and so forth.....I think you get the idea.....

So how much Paleo is enough Paleo??

My two camps are the IBD (inflammatory bowel disease) and everybody else (IBS, Chronic Diarrhea, Chronic Constipation, Reflux, etc.)

IBD ...is an auto-immune disorder (whatever that is...probably an outdated term, but that is fodder for another post!)...and with this group I am strict strict strict!!

For the first month...I only allow meat, poultry, fish, seafood, vegetables and a small amount of low glycemic fruit...(insulin is pro-inflammatory...NEED TO CONTROL INSULIN!!!) Notable restrictions include eggs (YEP sorry...I do try to re-introduce after a month), tomatoes (especially cherry tomatoes), peppers (not so much bell peppers ..but any pepper that contains a significant amount of capsaicin...exacerbates leaky gut), nuts (allergies and food sensitivities) and absolutely no seeds!! (Seeds have a lot in common with grains and probably are not really Paleo any way...)

After a month if the patient is improved we try to SLOWLY introduce some of the dis-allowed "Paleo-friendly" foods. At this time we may also even try a bit o' honey...(ha ha get it???) and the occasional sweet potato.

The process is slow...but the results can be quite rewarding!

In the "everyone else category" .... I am a little less strict.

I actually will lean more towards a "specific carbohydrate diet" type plan...
This program as described in the book "Breaking the Vicious Cycle"...allows for a little dairy in the form of some cheeses and yogurt....and a few legumes.

The major thrust of the program looks to restrict certain long-chain starches (carbohydrates) that can promote intestinal distress. If this program is not successful (and it usually is) we can move on to a more "Paleo-style" program....

YES I KNOW.....I allow some DAIRY (does dairy have four letters????)....I know I am on the road to perdition!!

Again...I started this piece off with the statement that diet therapy often starts with "negotiations".... Most people are NOT zealots.... they just want to feel better with as minimal disruption to there lives as possible....YES, I do think a stricter interpretation of Paleo is probably better...but I am a realist and I will do what works!

Some general recommendations for both groups.....

I recommend steaming or cooking ALL foods during those initial stages. This breaks down the fiber and increases digestibility. This approach seems to be helpful, especially with those individuals with a very sensitive GI tract. (In fact for very sensitive folks...we adopt a "baby food" style program until we observe some healing..)

I also recommend (2) supplements, digestive enzymes and probiotics.

Digestive enzymes assist the body in breaking down the food. The more digested your food is...the better it will be assimilated and the less problems it will cause you.

Probiotics are another key supplement....more and more data suggest that both IBD and conditions like IBS are related to imbalances of gut flora. By restricting starches and taking probiotics, re-balancing of gut flora can be assisted...If this approach is not successful....I do have a few other tricks up
my sleeve....(another time and another post...)

There it is...in a nut shell (almond...not peanut!!)...stage I of "Paleo Negotiations"... after we observe for month on comes Phase II

Until next time...

-Dr B

A note from one of our very own Superheroes, as we like to call him: Dr. G.I. Joe

Alright I admit it..... I am a COMIC BOOK GEEK!

And like so many other comic geeks I am pretty stoked over this weekends release of the latest foray into the comic book-movie genre.... "The Avengers"!

For the uninitiated The Avengers are a Superhero Uber-Group (sort of like the Traveling Wilburys...or maybe not.) While the line-up has varied, mainstays of the group include the likes of Captain America, IronMan, The Hulk and Thor.

The mere mention of these characters will evoke very pleasant memories of my youth.

I can recall walking back to my apartment in Brooklyn, NY with my Grandma Jenny after church on Sundays (that probably explains a lot....the Brooklyn part...not the walking with my Grandma part...) and stopping at Artie's. Artie's was a real "old-timie" candy store.

Occasionally, she would buy me some penny candies (that actually cost a penny.... and NO, I was not doing Paleo back then...hey, cut me some slack I was only 6 yrs old!) or an ice cream soda (I was only 6 guys!!) But the real prize...the "Piece De Resistance" was when she would buy me a comic book (usually two.... I loved my grandmother!!!)

Now Artie's had racks and racks of comics from which to choose....but the choice was an easy one.... I am and have always been a "Marvel Man"!

Back in those days there where two main comic publishers, D.C. and Marvel.
D.C. was "old school" and featured such characters as Superman and Batman, (I did like the Green Lantern a later addition to the D.C. cast.....very lame movie though!!!)

But it was the mid-60's and Marvel was in its heyday...with a fresh crop of heroes...great post-nuclear plots and amazing graphics....YES, I was a "Marvel Man"!

I would live... eat and breath these characters! Everyday was Halloween as I would put on a costume and become the Superhero "du jour"!

These characters were my heroes and I wanted to be one....But alas, at my last self-inventory of super powers, I sadly realized that I have none!!! While I could not rid the world of the likes of Magneto or Victor Von Doom...perhaps, just maybe..possibly..NOOO...why yes...I could still do good! I could rid the world of grains and legumes! An idea sooooo crazy, it might just work!

And then we could form our own group of Avengers. A group of cracker-jack scientist, doctors and educators, whose mission would be to combat against nutritional misinformation and disinformation. We could call ourselves "The Paleo Pals"!!!

Just think of it.... Dr. Lorem Cordain could be our Professor Xavier (The X-Men) and we could put him in one of those "Hoveround" chairs (it would take him where he wants to go...) drape a fancy blanket over his legs and he would be all serious and inspirational-like.

The Paleo Pals would consist of yours truly (of course), Robb Wolf (the man has a built in Superhero name), Mark Sisson, Pedro Bastos, Staffan Lindeberg...(GO AHEAD SUGGEST YOUR OWN PALEO-SUPERHERO.) And of course we need a female Superhero... so how about Sarah Fragoso!

Now that we have our heroes...no comic book plot would be complete without an arch-villain. Our villain could be the diabolical Mehmet Oz!! The Evil Oz was created in the labs of the mad scientist Dr. Oprah Winfreistein. Oz had learned to harness the "other worldly powers" of "Tele-Vision". And with this he would rule the nutritional world!

Once this awesome power was under his yoke, he turned millions of unsuspecting citizens into Oz-drones. These zombie-like creatures hung on the Oz's every word. They would consume massive amounts of soy, legumes and proverbial "whole grains". They would avoid meat as it was now poisonous to them!

As their health deteriorates and they grow increasingly more obese, Oz's strangle-hold over them becomes increasingly tighter...

In come The Paleo Pals!!!!...Armed only with science, knowledge and all round good looks they fend off the Evil Oz's nutritional propaganda!

In a climatic scene, The Paleo Pals force Oz to "eat from his own trough of skewed ideas". His intestines immediately start to bloat with "ginormous" amounts of gas. Quickly he begins to look like that "blueberry kid" from Willie Wonka. Now a bloated mess, Oz floats away into the stratosphere, never to be heard from again...(until the sequel...of course!)

A little over the top??? A little far-fetched??? Perhaps...Perhaps... but it ain't gonna stop me from getting a shirt with a big "P" on it!!!!

Until next time......

 -Dr. Joe Brasco

New Forum entitled: Gut Check with Dr. Brasco

Dr. Brasco has joined forces with Paleo expert, Robb Wolf, and has started a new forum entitled "Gut Check with Dr. Joe Brasco." This is a great place to learn, discuss and ask questions to the man himself regarding the link between diet and IBD and IBS.

http://robbwolf.com/forum/viewforum.php?f=48