Masters of Health Magazine August 2019 | Page 18

Another controversial topic is coffee. Is our morning Joe helping or hurting us?

“In college I was taught that coffee contributed to high blood pressure, heart disease, and even cancer. Today, research shows quite the opposite! Our morning java can actually prevent disease and extend our life. With science now showing coffee can prevent dementia, Parkinson’s disease and diabetes, there’s no denying that it has many health benefits. However, if you have gut issues like irritable bowel syndrome (IBS,) ulcerative colitis, or Crohn’s disease, you may need to eliminate coffee because it causes peristalsis; the involuntary muscle constriction of the colon. Having spasms in your colon isn’t ideal if you suffer from gut issues.

Also, current research shows that some people aren’t able to metabolize coffee as well as others. If you want to know if you fall into that category, listen to your body. If you drink coffee and feel alert, and it puts you in a productive good mood, you’re in the group that can metabolize coffee. Enjoy your daily java!

If you drink coffee and get a stomachache, diarrhea, heart palpitations or anxiety after drinking coffee, you’re in the group that can’t metabolize it. Don’t drink it.”

You’re not an advocate of eating red meat. Why?

“Compared to other animal foods, red meat is the most difficult to digest. Fish takes 30 minutes to digest, chicken takes 90 minutes, and red meat can take up to 5 hours. And if you don’t eat enough fiber, it can cling to the intestinal walls for weeks undigested! In humans, food is broken down in the mouth before it travels through the thin esophagus. Carnivores have a larger esophagus to allow big pieces of animal to freely travel from the mouth directly to their stomach. Humans can’t break down red meat in their mouth so it must be thoroughly chewed or it can get lodged and stuck in the esophagus. In fact, the number one reason people require the Heimlich maneuver for choking is because a piece of undigested red meat has gotten stuck on the way down.

Because humans have longer intestinal tracts compared to carnivores, the remnants of red meat remain in the colon longer, leading to putrefaction, which can turn into ammonia, and a waste product called uric acid. This acid can destroy the intestinal flora of the intestines. When uric acid remains stagnant in the colon for too long, it will get absorbed into the bloodstream, which can contribute to arthritis, hypertension, and increased risk for type 2 diabetes.

Four years ago, the National Academy of Sciences, shared a discovery of a unique molecule called Neu5Gc, which is found abundant in cows. It’s not found in plant foods, chicken, eggs, or fish. When we eat this molecule, it triggers an immune response that leads to chronic inflammation, which has been linked to colon cancer. Among all victims of cancers, colon cancer is the second-leading cause of death.

The more red meat you eat, the more likely you are to get colon cancer. The most authoritative report on colon cancer risk to date was published by the World Cancer Research Fund International. They concluded, half of colon cancer would be prevented if people ate less red meat.