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Fats & Brain, No-Calorie Sweeteners, Lurking Bacteria, Cholesterol 

Health & Wellness News + Upcoming Magical Events with Bernadette Wulf

Fats & Brain, No-Calorie Sweeteners, Lurking Bacteria, Exercise & Cholesterol 

In This Issue: 

  • The Right Fats for Brain Health
  • Blood Sugar Can Be Worse with No Calorie Sweeteners!
  • Screen Time & Children’s Brains
  • More Bacteria than a Toilet Seat!
  • Exercise Doesn’t Lower Cholesterol

Find lots of healthy recipes in my Whole Food Plant-Based, Gluten Free Diet & Recipes Facebook Group

Message from Bernadette Wulf

Greetings,

It’s all about repairing broken bodies around my house this month. My son-in-law is making great progress in his recovery from his 150 foot fall from a cliff, but now I have my own injuries to deal with after taking their dog for a walk and getting bowled over when she bolted away from a couple of people ahead on the path.

That happened last Tuesday. My banged up knee and shoulder are pretty much back to normal now, but there are four or five broken ribs that will take a few weeks to heal.

Enough with the freak accidents now! Geesh!

I always remember it could be worse, and count my blessings. There is so much to appreciate. In particular, I’ve really been enjoying watching my garden grow… mostly just watching now, since I can’t bend over with the rib situation. Cucumbers and eggplants are doing better than ever this year and tomatoes are loaded with fruit, though taking a long time to ripen.

On the health news front, we have some interesting articles this month about fats and your brain, how screens affect kid’s brains, how no-calorie sweeteners jack up blood sugar, where bacteria lurk in your home, and a surprising article about how exercise doesn’t lower cholesterol.

Enjoy!

…….

Coming UP Soon

I finally set a date for the Grail Quest workshop: August 20th at 9:30 AM Pacific Time — just in time for the cosmic shift from Leo to Virgo and alignment with the Crater constellation that has a connection with the oldest Grail legends.

More information coming soon. Keep an eye on your inbox if you are interested.

That’s all folks!

Have questions or comments? —>>> Email Bernadette <<<— Please use this link and do not hit reply to this post or I may never get your message.

To your health and happiness!

Bernadette Wulf

WulfWorks.com – HealItAll.com – Eat Plants for Life

walnutThe Right Fats for Brain Health

Don’t believe the hype telling you to load up on fats, particularly animal (fish) fats, to support your brain. It is very misleading and potentially dangerous.

In the words of Dr. Dean Sherzai, the Brain Doc:

The brain doesn’t have pockets of ‘unused’ fat, as is the case for other parts of the body. Each lipid molecule has a role in the structure or function of the organ.

Also, it should be noted that dietary fats can’t cross the blood-brain barrier: an extensive membrane that regulates the passage of substances from the blood into the brain.

Fats, proteins, and other large molecules can’t freely cross this barrier, but glucose, amino acids, and certain other small molecules can, allowing them to nourish brain cells.

Interestingly, the brain is capable of synthesizing all the lipids it needs, except for DHA. This fact highlights the importance of dietary DHA for brain health.

Since the brain cannot produce DHA, and DHA cannot easily cross the blood-brain barrier, the body has to convert dietary DHA into a form that can be transported across the barrier to nourish the brain.

So, to view our brain as a ‘blob of fat’ that stands to gain from a high-fat diet is a gross oversimplification, and a potentially harmful idea to spread on social media.

We do need a good source of DHA to keep our brains healthy, but don’t overdo it, especially if you are a man. Excess Omega 3 fatty acids, particularly DHA from fish oil, appears to increase risk of prostate cancer. Whether it is something about fish oil itself or the isolated DHA isn’t clear, but it looks to me like the safest way to get your DHA is from consuming plant sources like chia seeds, flax seeds, hemp seeds, leafy greens and walnuts.

Most people are able to synthesize DHA and EPA from these Omega 3 fatty acid sources. For the few people who are not able to create their own DHA and EPA, an algae-based supplement is recommended.

Even though fatty cold water fish are a good source of DHA and EPA, they also contain multiple environmental toxins, including heavy metals and micro-plastics and are best avoided.

Read more about fats and the brain – https://thebraindocs.com/brain-healthy-fats/

Blood Sugar Can Actually Be Higher with Natural No-Calorie Sweeteners!

Here’s a surprise finding that should make you sit up and take notice if you have been replacing table sugar with no-calorie sweeteners like monk fruit, stevia or any of the artificial sweeteners on the market.

They really don’t save you from blood sugar spikes and you’ll probably end up eating just as many calories regardless of whether you use real sugar or not.

Sounds strange, but Dr. Greger explains why in this transcript of the video linked below:

In the group that drank the aspartame, even though their blood sugars didn’t rise at the time, an hour later at lunch, they shot up higher, as if the person had just drank a bottle of soda.

Okay, but what about the natural sweeteners, stevia and monk fruit? Same thing. Same exaggerated blood sugar spike to a regular meal taken an hour later. So, you can see how it all equals out in terms of average blood sugars, even though in these three non-caloric sweetener groups, they took in 16 spoonfuls less sugar, at least in part because they ate more. After drinking a Diet Coke, you’re more likely to eat more at your next meal than drinking a regular Coke. In fact, so much more that the energy ‘saved’ from replacing sugar with non-caloric sweeteners “was fully compensated for at subsequent meals; hence, no difference in total daily [calorie] intake was found.”

Watch Dr. Greger’s video on blood sugar spikes and various sweeteners — https://nutritionfacts.org/video/is-monk-fruit-sweetener-safe/

Now what are they hiding?

Screen Time & Children’s Brains

Handing kids a cell phone to occupy them at restaurants and other adult venues has become commonplace. It probably doesn’t do much harm. But far too many children are glued to screens for hours a day.

Studies show that excess screen time adds up to brain damage and impaired function, as reported in Children’sHealthDefense.com:

  • Children ages 9 to 10 who use electronic devices for seven hours or more per day exhibit premature thinning of the brain cortex, the outer brain layer that processes information from the five physical senses.
  • As little as two hours of screen time per day may impact cognition, resulting in lower scores on thinking and language tests.

If you have kids, please keep their screen time to a minimum. The world needs the next generation to have their brains fully functioning — and of course that’s best for the kids too!

Read more about how electronic screens damage children’s brains — https://childrenshealthdefense.org/defender/smart-devices-kids-brains-cola/

Green cleaning tipsMore Bacteria than a Toilet Seat!

What do you think is the biggest source of disease bacteria in your home? Many would immediately guess the toilet. However, there are quite a few more dangerous hideaways for germs that you may not have even thought about.

From GreenLivingTribe.com:

    1. Dish Cloths and Sponges
    2. Other Cleaning Equipment
    3. Bath Towels
    4. Cutting Boards
    5. The Kitchen Sink
    6. Welcome Mat
    7. Toothbrushes
    8. Makeup Brushes
    9. Purses
    10. Coffee Machines
    11. Light Switches
    12. Remote Controls
    13. Phones
    14. Earbuds and Headphones
    15. Yoga Mat and Other Exercise Equipment
    16. The Car
    17. Your Hands

I’m not one to obsess about germs, but it’s good to know where to focus your energy when disinfecting your home if there’s a bug going around.

Read the entire article for more information about why each of these items on the list are potential germ harbors — https://greenlivingtribe.com/study-kitchen-items-bacteria-toilet-seat/

Dr McDougallExercise Doesn’t Lower Cholesterol

Pretty much everyone knows that high cholesterol is not a good thing, but many people have no idea how to lower their cholesterol levels. It may seem like exercise would help, since it is generally good for the heart, but according to Dr. McDougall, it isn’t going to do the trick:

The truth is: physical activity and fitness will reduce your risk of cardiovascular disease (strokes and heart attacks). But the benefits fall far short of immunity and one reason may be that exercise shows no benefit on two of the most important risk factors for heart disease — total and LDL cholesterol.

Disappointing as that is, just about everyone can lower their cholesterol by adopting a high-fiber whole plant foods diet and avoiding all the cholesterol-containing foods (meat, fish, dairy and eggs). Even saturated plant fats like coconut oil can raise cholesterol.

So, before resorting to prescription drugs with a whole list of side effects, why not just change your diet if you need to lower your cholesterol. It makes sense to always try the least toxic and invasive options first and only resort to prescription drugs if necessary.

Read more about why exercise won’t lower your cholesterol — https://www.drmcdougall.com/education/information/exercise-does-not-lower-cholesterol/