When we want to improve our health, we oftentimes spend all our time focusing on one aspect of our health. And this aspect may not be the one which is causing the health imbalance. This is why “test don’t guess” becomes super important - we want to know our weaknesses and also what our body nutritionally needs (protein/fats/(carbs/vitamin/minerals etc.). If we don’t know the facts, then we might be missing the boat completely. It is super unscientific to guess what will make an impact on our health. Health is not simply “move more and eat more greens”. Everyone knows that, yet many of us who follow that basic recommendation, are not at all healthy. We struggle with abdominal fat, infertility issues, fragile bones, migraines, digestive upset whenever we are not eating bland diet foods and in worst case, we get cancer. The key here is to understand the many different factors today that affect health and pin-point which are relevant for our specific situation. We want to focus on our weakest link. Quite often that has nothing to do with eating glutenfree or skipping cake.
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New clinic spotlight: Health Clinic in Copenhagen
Apart from my own practice I’m part of the newly opened cross-disciplinary clinic: Health Clinic Copenhagen.
This clinic lists some of the most experienced practitioners in their respective fields and offers an array of treatments. Read more about the clinic here: https://healthcliniccopenhagen.dk/
On another note: we will soon be offering a comprehensive 3 month course led by myself and 2 other practitioners to boost your health body, mind and soul and reach your own health goal.
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Silica better than collagen? Its relation to bones, hair, nails and skin beauty.
I am currently experimenting with different types of silica and bioavailability. Silica is something 99.9% lacks when I test for it, and this is a crucial mineral for everything beauty and bone related. And let’s not forget it is placed next to that heavy metal aluminium in the periodic table and these two guys have a tendency to exchange places. Meaning, when our body is lacking silica, we become more vulnerable to store aluminium. Silica (or silicon) minimizes wrinkles, improves hair strand strength and nails, it increases collagen production and thereby also the appearance of cellulite. I am completely convinced silica is THE MOST OVERLOOKED beauty and bone nutrient of today. Better than Botox, may I add.
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WEBINAR: The Essential role of detoxification in modern life (English only)
How do we navigate a toxic world and what is most important? Join Christina Santini, Human Nutrition and Biological Medicine practitioner to find out what it is our bodies actually need to detox from and how to do it.
ASMALLWORLD Members are invited to join an online webinar on "The Essential Role of Detoxification in Modern Life" with guest speaker Christina Santini as part of our ASMALLWORLD Webinars Series.
Tune in to this Zoom Webinar for ASmallWorld members on Tuesday, March 2nd at 20:00 CET (20:00 Zurich, 19:00 London, 14:00 New York).
To join live click here (membership required).
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Low-carb diets may be detrimental for bones (study shows)
Why you might want to step off the keto-wagon and newly up and going carnivore diet - research reveals impaired bone-markers after even short-term following low-carb diets such as keto-diet. Read the full study here: https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fendo.2019.00880/full As always just because something is good (fat and/or protein), it doesn’t mean that more is better. Everything in excess is opposed to nature, a smart man once said (Hippocrates).
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Is keto good for low thyroid?
Low thyroid tends to affect the mitochondria negatively, when you then eat a keto diet, all the energy from ketogenesis goes directly to the mitochondria (which are often malfunctioning), to produce energy. This will worsen energy levels and weight for the majority. You are taking the fatty acids of fat and transporting that into the mitochondria, and if there are any issues with the carnitine-shuttle, then there are going to be problems. On top of that, then you are doing a fatty acid oxidation, so you are breaking that down in to acetyl-CoA and making it go through Krebs cycle and the electron-transport chain. This results in a very poor energy outcome in cases, where there is mitochondrial malfunction. Typically, when our thyroid is not working, we are struggling with chemical, infectional and/or heavy metal load, which is affecting the mitochondrial function. We do not want our energy production to have to go through this malfunctioning pathway then - we want to focus on glycolysis instead. The key here to understand is, that as our body changes with time, so do our dietary needs. And healthy eating is only healthy, if we are eating right for our body’s needs.
Read MoreRunning vs. walking for maximum fatloss
In a study published in the Journal of Obesity, researchers investigated the hormonal regulators of appetite in female runners and walkers to see which group was more likely to overeat following a 60-minute workout. Walkers ate 50 calories more than they burned during exercise, while runners ate 200 fewer calories than were lost during exercise. Runners also had higher levels of peptide YY in the body — a blood hormone that suppresses appetite. Walkers, on the other hand, had no increase. This appetite suppression among runners is key to understand the fat-burning effect of running over walking. Click on to read the full study.
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"Root cause in the dramatic rise of chronic disease"
EMF exposure increases levels of peroxynitrite. Peroxynitrite is a powerful oxidant exhibiting a wide array of tissue damaging effects, including lipid peroxidation, inactivation of enzymes and ion channels via protein oxidation and nitration, and inhibition of mitochondrial respiration (Virag et al., 2003). In a single generation, there has been a dramatic acceleration in the prevalence of diseases and disorders like autism (2094%), Alzheimer’s (299%), COPD (148%), diabetes (305%), sleep apnea (430%), celiac disease (1111%), ADHD (819%), asthma (142%), depression (280%), bipolar disease in youth (10833%), osteoarthritis (449%), lupus (787%), inflammatory bowel disease (IBD –120%), chronic fatigue syndrome (11027%), fibromyalgia (7727%), multiple sclerosis (117%) and hypothyroidism (702%). Click on to read the full study.
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Study shows C60 induces up to 90% life span in rats
C60 has been on everybody’s radar for the past couple years - I am still waiting to see a bit more research on this before I’m head over heels, but a recent study on rats does look promising regarding its effect on reducing oxidative stress and enhancing life-span potential:
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22498298/
Scientific studies on animals have shown that the C60 molecule extended the lifespan of rodents by 35% to 90% in addition to having a potent anti-tumor effect.
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Is aspartame really harmless just cause it doesn't cause cancer?
Just because something doesn’t cause cancer, doesn’t mean it’s harmless - that should be pretty obvious for all and sundry. Yet that is often the argument these days people use to promote the use of artificial sweeteners like aspartame. I am no fan of anything that mimics calorie intake yet tricks the brain by not containing calories. This is the baseline of how we learned as babies to count our calories naturally: sweet taste = energy intake. When we mess with this fine-tuned system, we risk messing with our appetite-hunger switch and spiralling into yo-yo diets. Click to read on about how aspartame is linked to accelerated aging.
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Why lack of sunlight makes you fatter (study shows).
In the study researchers found that the white unhealthy type of fat cells shrink under sun’s blue light. This breakthrough helps explain why we tend to pack on the pounds in winter regardless of no change in diet/activity. And this may very well lead to light-based treatments for obesity and other related issues like diabetes. Read the full study here: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5703708/
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I am featured in Voyage LA (article link)
I am interviewed for an article in Voyage LA about how I got into nutrition and my views on risk-taking in business and personal life. Read the article here: https://shoutoutla.com/meet-christina-santini-clinical-nutritionist-specializing-in-biological-medicine/ and feel free to share it.
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There is no science to support the theory of "anti-nutrients" (study link)
Okay, that’s a bit of a generalization, and it depends to a certain extent what your diet mainly consists of. I have always thought, it was completely missing the boat, both when it comes to our health and common-sense, when people started developing these theories of anti-nutrients in plant-foods. I.e. thinking that a low thyroid issue was due to eating too much broccoli. No one eats that amount of broccoli - it’s just plain unrealistic. And now we finally have the science to stop talking about this nonsense. Yet on the flipside: anti-nutrients do become an issue these days, because we are seeing the rise of so many ridiculous extreme diets i.e. the rise of raw vegan green detox fad type of extremist diets. It is entirely possible to eat so monotone and restrictive, that you are actually eating too much of a select type of anti-nutrient group, resulting in health issues in the long run. Click on to read the study debunking the theory of anti-nutrients.
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Why stool testing for parasites is nonsense.
Parasites do not just inhabit the stool - thus testing for parasites is highly inaccurate through stool-testing. Easily we will be told that we are parasite-free, when fact is - it is more likely we have parasites than not. According to CDC 33% of Americans have parasites - and probably more. I recommend simply treating parasites 3 months with botanicals. 70% of parasites are microscopic, so you won’t see them in the toilet, but if you happen to be the lucky host of other types, they will be visible. Everybody who has travelled, eaten sushi or undercooked meat, has pets etc. they should do a parasite cleanse. And obvious symptoms are digestive issues, bloating, skin rashes, and extreme difficulty gaining weight in some cases (only if you have a tape-worm infection though). I have seen quite a few underweight men, who simply cannot gain weight for the life of them regardless of strength training - and turned out they had a most unwelcome guest in the form of a tape-worm eating up all their nutrition. A stool-test will not be accurate in detecting this in most cases - simply treat it, and see what ends up in your toilet in the next 3 months time. These critters are opportunistic and thrive in body’s with a high toxic load, and can impair liver, kidney and gallbladder functioning. Here is a study explaining how parasites inhabit different parts of our body, and thus why testing for parasites in stool is similar odds to winning the lottery (obviously no one wants to win this lottery, but hey, it is what it is) Download the study here: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6842148/pdf/13071_2019_Article_3791.pdf Okay, that’s all for now folks. Moving on to a more appetizing topic. Cupcakes anyone?
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How EMF from your smartphone is causing migraines - connecting the research.
Research has shown that one of the parameters linked to migraines involves stuff that affect the voltage gated calcium channels (VGCC) (1).
Extensive evidence has been published clearly showing that the EMF exposure we get from our smartphones, ipads, wifi etc. can act to produce excessive activity of the VGCCs in many cell types, suggesting that these may be direct targets of EMF exposure. (2)
Conclusion: turn off wifi when not using it and turn off data, wifi and bluetooth on your phone when not using it to minimize unnecessary exposure. Download your music, podcats etc. that you want to listen to - and listen to it with mentioned settings turned off to avoid frying your brain up slowly everytime you want to rap along to 50 cent or whatever.
Read MoreA word of hope from Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
These are times when we need to understand the importance of faith. We need to behave less like sheep and to think outside the box and ask critical questions - not anarchy, but simply using our common sense, which is a sense many of us have buried a long time ago. We need to focus on the things which connect us as human beings rather than what separates us, and to understand the fundaments of how freedom vs. fascism works.
Read MoreNot just what you eat but WHEN you eat matters (article link) →
Not just what you eat but when you eat. I’ve written an article on how meal-timing is key for hormone regulation, weight-loss and blood sugar: https://www.healthwebmagazine.com/healthy-living/blood-sugar-and-hormone-regulation/ And this is also why intermittent fasting is not for everyone long-term: especially women’s hormones are sensitive to fasting over 12-14 hours and will see negative impact on metabolism, estrogen and adrenals if longer fasting is practiced long-term.
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Dietary Strategies for the Treatment of Cadmium and Lead Toxicity
“Some edible plants, such as tomatoes (rich in iron, calcium, selenium, zinc, vitamins B and C, quercetin and naringenin), berries (rich in essential elements, vitamin C, anthocyanin and catechin), onions (rich in selenium, quercetin and vitamins B and C), garlics (rich in sulphur-containing compounds, essential elements and vitamins C and E) and grapes (rich in vitamins, essential elements and anthocyanin) are of special importance as natural antagonists to cadmium and lead toxicity and should be consumed on a regular basis. These dietary supplements are an affordable option, with fewer side effects than chelation therapy, for the billions of people around the world who are inadvertently exposed to toxic metals on a daily basis. Other nutrients also have the potential to alleviate cadmium and lead-induced pathogenic effects. For example, royal jelly protects against cadmium-induced genotoxicity and oxidative stress in mice, due to its antioxidant effects. Algae such as Spirulina and Chlorella can attenuate cadmium or lead toxicity in the liver, kidneys and brain of animals. Spirulina also has marked anti-teratogenic effects in cadmium-injected pregnant mice. Oral administration of a high dose of Spirulina significantly decreased the frequency of foetuses with exencephaly, micrognathia, and skeletal abnormalities induced by cadmium. Moreover, Spirulina has been reported to reduce the quantity of micronucleated polychromatic erythrocytes and micronucleated normochromatic erythrocytes in blood cells of cadmium-exposed mice (both the mother and the foetus). These algae possess many dietary antioxidants, such as vitamin C, vitamin E, phycocyanobilin and carotenes, which enable them to alleviate toxic metal-induced oxidative stress.”
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NEW testing for fluoride
The WHO considers safe levels of fluoride in drinking water to be <1mg per liter. Studies find just 1.5mg/L of fluoride in water is linked to a reduction in the thyroid hormones T3, T4, and TSH. We know very little about whether everyday products like fluoride-filled toothpaste is an issue health-wise - is the dosage to small to matter or is it a dealbreaker in long-term use? We don’t know, because we have not been able to test for it til now. And we can’t really treat what we can’t test for, unfortunately. Low thyroid function is epidemic today. Part of the reason may be heavy metals in addition to halogenic chemicals, like fluoride, and the other part is typically related to mineral deficiency, such as iodine (also opportunistic viruses, such as Epstein-Barr often is implicated in thyroid issues). According to WHO 40% of the world population live in areas where iodine is deficient. I just now got hold of a new testing method for fluoride, which has been on my wish-list for the last decade. In this test we will be testing all minerals, heavy metals, certain vitamins and now also fluoride. I am super excited that I am able to offer clinically proven test method for this compound. Book the “heavy metal + mineral analysis” in the online booking calendar to get your fluoride levels checked.
Read MoreDr. Maryanne Demasi - 'Statin Wars: Have we been misled by the evidence?'
Dr. Maryanne Demasi is a former medical scientist who completed her PhD in Medicine at the University of Adelaide. Her research focused on the pathology of Rheumatoid arthritis and potential therapies. Her innovative research has appeared in several internationally published medical journals. Leaving her lab coat behind, Maryanne accepted a position as a political advisor and speechwriter for the South Australian Minister for Science and Information technology portfolios. She advised on issues concerning Intellectual Property and commercialisation of research. Maryanne was headhunted by the ABC ‘s Catalyst program in 2006 and gained a reputation for reporting on relevant and sometimes controversial medical stories. She has won numerous accolades for her work and in 2008, 2009 and 2011 was awarded the National Press Club of Australia’s prize for her excellence in health journalism.
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