A Complete Food

Dear friends of Centers for Healing,

This week, I want to continue our discussion on honey. We all know that bees make it. Now, it’s time to consider exactly why they make it . . . and, why it tastes so good!

Food For Bees

Since bees make honey, it only makes sense that they make it for themselves. In fact, honey is the natural food for adult worker bees and drones. (Young bees eat bee pollen, while their queen diets exclusively on royal jelly. But, that’s getting ahead of ourselves.)

This is an important point. Namely, if the bees can live solely on their own products, it stands to reason that they are foods. We’ll see, in fact, that they are super foods.

Food For Us

As J.S. Taylor writes in his excellent e-book Natural Healing Remedies From The Hive,
“Honey is so much more than glucose and fructose, it is a nutrient rich substance with an impressive array of vitamins and minerals with trace amounts of amino acids and antioxidants.”

I highly recommend downloading this free resource at the following link:

Natural Healing Remedies From The Hive

Just Another Natural Sugar?

Sure, honey is sweet. However, it is much more than a simple sweetener. In fact, it would be much more accurate to call honey a sweet food. Better: a sweet super food.

A tablespoon of honey contains 64 calories, about 67% of which come from glucose and fructose. Meanwhile, a tablespoon of white sugar contains less than half of that, at just 30 calories. However, those calories are 100% sucrose.

it hits your digestive system and immediately passes into your blood stream.

The practical difference is this: when you swallow that tablespoon of white sugar (from which practically all of the nutritional content of the natural sugar cane has been processed away), it hits your digestive system and immediately passes into your blood stream.  This causes an immediate insulin response by your pancreas.

On the other hand, when you eat that tablespoon of honey, it is digested as food . . . one that actually helps regulate your blood sugar level! Maybe this is because honey contains almost all of the B vitamins, which are necessary for proper metabolism of sugar!

Think about it for a moment. Have you ever heard a dietician tell an overweight patient to consume more sugar in order to lose weight (i.e., body fat)? Not hardly.

However, honey has been used effectively as a weight loss supplement, especially when mixed with warm water, apple cider vinegar, lemon juice, ginger, and cinnamon. Here’s a link to Dr. Josh Axe’s website, where he gives the exact recipe for his version of this popular drink:

Secret Detox Drink

A Complete Food

Again, there’s much more to honey than its sugar content. In fact, honey contains proteins (with several important amino acids), carbohydrates, organic acids, enzymes, minerals, and a host of antimicrobial and antioxidant compounds. (Those beneficial enzymes are destroyed, though, when honey is heated excessively, so it’s better to consume it at room temperature or in drinks that are only warm, not hot.)

I don’t know about you, but that’s a pretty impressive list of benefits from one tablespoon of honey!

My friends, so many of us exist on diets that leave us overfed and undernourished. Isn’t it about time to fix that problem? Wouldn’t all of us prefer vibrant living to mere existing? And, doesn’t a moderate use of honey seem like it might be an important ingredient in the solution?

Next week, we’ll talk about bee pollen, one of the other amazing “gifts of the hive.” Until then, take good care!

All the best,

Dr. Blanche Grube

Honey is actually one of five amazing substances produced by bees

Dear friends of Centers for Healing,

In mid June, I started a guessing game. I know, “next week” stretched into more than a few now, but so go even our best-made plans!

Anyway, how did the guessing go? Remember, you were trying to identify a special, natural sweetener with a long list of amazing health properties.

Well, in case you haven’t figured it out already, the answer is . . . honey!

What Is Honey?

Honey is actually one of five amazing substances produced by bees. The others are:

• bee pollen
• royal jelly
• propolis
• beeswax

For now, however, let’s concentrate on just honey, since it’s probably the most well known of the group.

Specifically, honey is a substance produced by honeybees. Naturally sweet, it is made from plant nectar and other secretions from live plants. The highly efficient “factory” where honey production occurs is the nest, or beehive. One hive is home to over 50,000 bees, including their queen! And, her empire is an impressive one!

Busy As A Bee

Bees make honey by means of an amazing step-by-step process. First, female worker bees forage for nectar, within roughly a four-mile radius of the hive. As they collect the nectar, it gets mixed with enzymes secreted by glands within the bees’ mouths.

Then, after returning to the hive, the worker bees drop the nectar into the hexagonal compartments of the hive, known as the honeycomb. It is made of beeswax, so beloved by all of us healthy candle burners!

Now, nectar naturally has a high water content, which needs to be reduced. This is accomplished in part by the fanning of the bees’ wings, bringing the water composition down to about 17 percent. Finally, once this solution of nectar has thickened to the proper density, the bees cover it with more wax.

Time Flies

Does this seem like a lot of work? Well, it sure does to those worker bees, since their average lifespan during honey production season is a short six weeks! Think about that the next time you mix that teaspoon of honey in your morning or afternoon tea! Thousands of bees literally gave their lives to make it.

Huggins-Grube Protocol Training

In the following blogpost, I’ll discuss the uses of honey, both by bees and by us.

Meanwhile, mark your calendar: the next training on our unique patient protection Protocol is scheduled for August 18-20, right here in our hometown of Scranton, Pennsylvania! Our new three-day program will feature, among other topics:

• how to find important clues in blood and hair analysis
• IV-C administration
• use of the RITA meter and negative ion generator
• cavitation and implant removal surgeries

The following link will take you back to my website, where you can read more about this important training clinic:

August Protocol Training

My friends, the need for dental professionals who are skilled in these safe and effective methods increases steadily, as both the dental industry and the general public become more aware of the serious dangers of heavy metal toxicity.

Always centered on your physical, dental, and emotional healing,

Dr. Blanche Grube

Nature’s Wonder Food

Nature’s Wonder Food

Can you believe we’re already nearly halfway through 2016? Where does the time go?

At the end of last year, I spent several weeks discussing nutrition.  In particular, we spoke about the three macronutrients: carbohydrates, proteins, and fats.  They’re called “macro nutrients” because they are the main categories of our nutritional needs – as opposed to “micronutrients,” such as vitamins, minerals, etc.  

Don’t be deceived by the “micro,” however.  Just because we may need a relatively small quantity of a given vitamin or mineral does not mean that adequate consumption of that particular micronutrient is a small matter.

This leads to a subject I’ve been wanting to tackle for some time now.

Taste The Goodness

After reading what I wrote about sugar and simple carbohydrates, you might have concluded that “sweet” is the same as “unhealthy.”  That’s not necessarily the case, however.  After all, many ripe fruits are relatively sweet.



I say “relatively” because most of us have been so affected by the excess consumption of refined sugar that pretty much anything else tastes more or less bitter.  That having been said, there is a sort of “natural wonder food” that pretty much defies all preconceived odds against it, including the “not- sweet-enough” factor.

Let’s Play A Game

Up for some fun? See if you can figure out the identity of this wonderful food. 

Here are some clues:

• It has been called humanity’s oldest sweetener.
• Medical doctors have used it for centuries (for millenia, actually) as a powerful antibiotic.
• It contains natural probiotics.
• In its raw state, it is filled with enzymes.
• In its heated state, it becomes a potent antioxidant.
• I’m doubt I’m spoiling your fun by telling you right off the bat that I’m not talking about sugar cane!

So, put on your thinking cap.  You even might want to do a little research!

In next week’s post, I’ll reveal this mystery food (if you haven’t guessed its identity already). I’ll also go into greater detail about some of its more impressive traits.

Nutritional Screening

Also, don’t forget that our office offers an extensive nutritional screening service.  Whether or not you need a dental revision procedure, such a comprehensive screening can be a valuable tool in a proactive person’s health maintenance protocol. 

Many of us made New Year’s resolutions in the health and weight loss areas. Well, here’s a handy tool to help you achieve your goals! For more information, or to schedule an appointment, call (570) 343-1500.

Until next week,

Dr. Blanche Grube

Building Blocks

Amino acids are the building blocks of protein.

Dear friend of Centers for Healing,

I don’t know about you, but as a child I loved playing with blocks. It was always a challenge to see how they could be interconnected in order to build an every more impressive structure on our living room floor.

Body Fuel

Well, on the heels of last’s week’s discussion of carbohydrates, and why they are so important in our diet, it’s now time to have a look at protein. Trust me: you’ll get the “building blocks” reference in short order.

 

Protein

You’ll recall that there are three macronutrients: proteins, fats, and carbohydrates. We’ll let the nutritionists and fitness trainers argue about which of the three is most important. Bottom line: all are essential – in the right proportions – to healthy body function.

That being said, let’s begin our review of macronutrients with protein.   

 

Basic Organic Chemistry

First, we need to have a quick look at some basic (really basic) organic chemistry.

All organic compounds are made of at least carbon and hydrogen. Additionally, they may be composed of oxygen and nitrogen, and possibly other elements, such as phosphorus, halogen, and various metals.

Amino Acids

It just so happens that amino acids are one of the more important organic compounds, having atoms of carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen, and sulfur.

Essential and Non-Essential

Of the 20 or so known amino acids, 9 are called “essential.” This means that we cannot produce them on our own, like plants do. Instead, we have to eat certain foods in order to get these amino acids. And, since the body doesn’t store them (like fat and starch), we need to eat these amino-acid containing foods regularly.

Muscle’s Building Blocks

When I say “need to eat them,” I’m not exaggerating, either. Amino acids are the building blocks of protein. And, protein is the building block of muscle . . . all muscle, not just the kind we seek to develop visibly in the gym.

For example, the heart is a muscle. And, unlike the muscles of our arms or legs, important as they are, this muscle – and its constant beating – literally determines whether we live or die.

Catalysis

The work protein does within cells is no less important. Protein catalyzes (i.e., fires-up) nearly all cellular processes within living organisms. Bottom line: no protein, no life.Period.

Eat Your Protein!

Now, there’s plenty of debate over the best sources of protein. Nor is this particular post able to consider the comparative merits of omnivorous, vegetarian, and vegan diets. The main thing is that your protein be clean and from high quality sources.

We’ll tackle fat, the remaining macronutrient, in next week’s post. That being said, it’s important to remember that we’re talking about general principles here, not particular(i.e., personal) recommendations. That’s where our Protocol’s nutritional testing comes into play. Everybody has different needs within the guidelines of universal macronutrient necessities.

Always working for your best physical, dental, and emotional health,

Dr. Blanche Grube

Centers for Healing

Carbohydrates

Dear friend of Centers for Healing, 

 

Carbs. We hear about them constantly. Too many will make you fat. Too few, and you have no energy and even have trouble thinking. After all, the brain is a notorious “carb hog.” If you drastically reduce your carb intake, you can even get really, really sick: ketoacidosis. Sounds nasty, right? It should, since it basically means the body is the process of cannibalizing itself, due to lack of available sources of energy.

 

Carbs 101

 

In the limited space afforded by a blog post, here are the basics on carbohydrates. 

 

To begin, they can be simple or complex. Simple carbs are those that have just one or two sugar molecules: monosaccharides and disaccharides. There are five different simple sugars:

 

• fructose

• galactose

• lactose

• maltose

• sucrose

 

Fructose is sugar found in fruit. Galactose and lactose are milk sugars. Maltose is found in beer, and sucrose, or table sugar, is what most of us mean when we say “sugar.”

 

Starch And Insoluble Fiber

 

The complex carbs, meanwhile, are those have three or more sugar molecules (i.e., polysaccharides). These are starches and fiber, which is either soluble or insoluble(i.e., indigestible). Common natural sources of starch are rice, beans, and tubers (i.e., potatoes). Fiber, meanwhile, is naturally found in fruit, vegetables, beans, and the indigestible parts of grains. Are you beginning to see the natural overlapping of macronutrients?

 

Sugarcane

 

You may have heard the saying, “A calorie is a calorie.” This is true in a certain sense, in that the body doesn’t really distinguish between simple and complex carbs once they’ve been broken down into glucose for energy. However, the original source of those sugars makes a big difference on their overall impact on the body.

 

In nature, simple and complex sugars are generally present together in the same sources. Think, for instance, of a stalk of sugarcane. As a grass, it is loaded with fiber. When chewed, it releases a sweet juice. In its natural state, therefore, it is an unrefined carbohydrate, with both simple and complex characteristics. And, sugar cane harvesters are known to munch on the fresh cane stalks while they’re working, with no damage to their teeth and gums!

 

Compare that to refined table sugar, derived from that same stalk of sugarcane. The fiber has been discarded entirely, leaving just the crystallized residue of the original juice. This is pure sucrose. When eaten, it is immediately absorbed into the bloodstream, causing the pancreas to secrete excess insulin to balance the level of sugar in the blood. Can you say “diabetes”?

 

The Good Guys

 

So, what are the “good carbs”? Regardless of our individual ancestry, here’s my recommendation: each of us should be eating a diet rich in unrefined carbohydrates. This meansvegetables (especially green leafy and cruciferous), legumes, some whole grains – but beware of wheat – andmoderate amounts of fruit. I personally consider a healthy diet one that consists of 85% unrefined carbohydrates. Yes, that leaves just 15% for protein and fat! However, many foods that are rich in unrefined carbohydrates are also high in protein. I’ll speak more about this in next week’s blog post.

 

Cookies Don’t Grow On Trees

 

To make even simpler for you to remember: the “bad carbs” are all your cakes, candies, cookies, pastas, pizza, sodas, ice cream and processed breakfast treats like “Pop Tarts”.  All of these will raise our blood sugar very quickly,to be followed just as quickly by a crash in our blood sugar. Then we crave more of the same. The exact opposite is true of unrefined carbs. If you don’t believe me, try eating an apple, skin and all. Then, see whether you crave a second one. 

 

Hopefully, this hasn’t left your head spinning too badly. Stay with me. Next week, as promised, I’ll tackle the question of protein, followed by a post on fat. Then, I’ll try to tie it all together for you. Nutrition is a fascinating study, and its consequences are too important for us to not know at least the basics.

 

Until next week, then, take care!

 

Dr. Blanche

DARK Act

Dear friends of Centers for Healing,

 

From This Week’s Blog Post 

 

“Most people come to us for complete dental revision following the Huggins-Grube Protocol because they want to live, and to live well.  Some come because they have actually been given a diagnosis. That diagnosis could be cancer or an autoimmune disease. 

 

“Some patients mistakenly believe that the dental revision will be like a "magic pill" that will make all of their physical troubles go away. Sadly, we have to insert a healthy dose of reality for such patients. Few of them got sick overnight. Just as few fully recover overnight. Most of the time, recovery is a road, not just a step.”

 

(continue reading)

 

DARK Act

Also, in the spirit of this week’s blog post on nutrition, I want to call your attention – in case you haven’t heard about it already – to a truly disturbing recent turn of events in the food industry.

 

In midsummer (July 23), the U.S. House of Representatives passed H.R. 1599, otherwise known as the “Deny Americans the Right to Know,” or DARK, Act. Essentially, this act, if passed by the Senate, will block all states from labeling genetically-engineered foods. 

 

This would mean, among other things:

• Preempting the individual states from requiring the labeling of GMO products

• Eliminating virtually the FDA’s ability to craft a uniform GMO labeling system for the entire country

• Codifying the current broken voluntary labeling system

• Allowing “natural” foods to contain GMO ingredients

 

Dear friends, we need food, not Frankenfood.  Educate yourselves on this and other nutritional topics. If you are politically minded, make your voice heard by signing one or more of the petitions currently circulating both on and offline.

For more information on the DARK Act – including resources for sending petitions to your Senators – see the following links: 

http://naturalsociety.com/petition-stop-the-dark-act-that-would-make-gmo-labeling-illegal/

http://www.anh-usa.org/action-alert-tell-the-senate-to-reject-the-dark-act/

 

Meanwhile, keep well, and eat realfood: moderately, and in season! 

 

All the best, 

Dr. Blanche

Good Eating Habits

Dear friend of Centers for Healing,

A Living Diet

Most people come to us for complete dental revision following the Huggins-Grube Protocol because they want to live, and to live well.  Some come because they have actually been given a diagnosis. That diagnosis could be cancer or an autoimmune disease. 

Some patients mistakenly believe that the dental revision will be like a "magic pill" that will make all of their physical troubles go away. Sadly, we have to insert a healthy dose of reality for such patients. Few of them got sick overnight. Just as few fully recover overnight. Most of the time, recovery is a road, not just a step.

That being said, what you eat and how you eat very often determines how well you will do after the complete dental revision. And, last week’s words about nutrition are a perfect lead-in to a few posts on the importance of good eating habits. Remember: Centers for Healing is all about keeping the friendly communication alive and well between dentistry and biology. After all, biology is the science of life. And, we eat to live.

However, before getting into specific considerations of macronutrients (i.e., proteins, fats, carbohydrates), I think we need to explain in greater detail the importance of personally-tailored nutrition.

Eating Like Your Ancestors Ate

I always have hesitated to give my patients a detailed list of what they should and should not eat, because individual nutritional requirements can vary greatly from person to person. In fact, how well they feel after eating certain foods may well depend on our ancestral diet. 

Basically, the ancestral diet theoryis based on the way a person’s ancestors’ ate over the course of the past 2,000 years. Where there has been little mixing of blood lines – for example, think of the Alaskan Eskimos or the Massai of southern Kenya and northern Tanzania – it is fairly easy to determine how they’ve been eating over the course of millennia. For the Eskimos, the traditional diet is fat and meat, with usually nothing else, save a particular local vegetable, when necessary. For the Massai, it is raw meat, raw milk, and cattle blood (also raw), with little to no fruits or vegetables. Period!

For the rest of us, figuring out the ancestral diet is not such an easy matter. In the USA, for example, many of us come from a very mixed ancestry. However, that doesn't mean that we shouldn’t try to figure-out personal dietary needs, whether or not one ascribes to the ancestral diet theory. In fact, determining a person’s nutritional needs based on his or her blood chemistry usually requires anywhere from 15 to 20 hours of doctor-patient discussion. Dr. Huggins used to say that he rarely saw a patient who was eating according to his or her actual nutritional needs.

The Common Denominator

In spite of the unavoidable uncertainties regarding theories of nutrition, there is one thing I know for sure. It’s this: no matter what ancestry you come from and no matter what food your great-great grandparents ate, their diet did not include processed food. You know, “food” that is to be eaten cold out of the refrigerator, or out of a box, or heated-up in a microwave. Sort of goes without saying, if you really think about it: that’s not real food! It may have started with some real food, but it sure didn’t end up that way!





Of course, there will be variations regarding the type of carbohydrates and  grains they ate, or the amount of meat and how it was cooked, etc. For example, if your ancestors came from the tropics, then your body could probably tolerate more of the tropical fruits that are found in our present-day grocery stores. That means you can digest bananas and mangoes pretty much year round, even if you currently live way up here in northeast Pennsylvania!



Universal Truths

In the next few blog posts, I will go into greater detail about the three food categories. This includes what to look for in a healthy diet and what to avoid, no matter what your ancestry.

Always working for your best physical, dental, and emotional health.

Happy Holidays! 

Dr. Blanche Grube.