New research published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences journal demonstrates that lactobacillus probiotic-laced food has a calming, anti-stress effect in mice. In an interview with NPR’s Ira Flatow, the author of the study, John Cryan, says that the research, “gives us the idea that the concept of treating stress-related disorders by modulating gut microflora can happen, and this can happen in a positive way.”

The researchers are calling the means by which the gut and brain communicate, the “microbial gut-brain axis,” saying, [I]t’s been long known that the brain and the gut communicate, as you mentioned, in terms of feelings of hunger, et cetera. And so what’s becoming clearer over the last while is that this brain-gut communication or gut-brain, it’s a bidirectional communication, but also that the microbials, which is the gut’s flora within the gut, can actually also play an important part in regulating this axis.

Cryan says the effect they noted was an increase in the levels of receptors for GABA, a calming neurotransmitter in the brain; and that the effect on the mice was so pronounced, that it was similar to the effect of a valium injection.  He adds that, “studies from the U.S. have also shown that stress can affect the makeup of your microbiota and gut flora and the composition of it.”

In the interview, Cryan is careful to point out that these studies are in the early stages, and haven’t been conducted in humans, but he’s encouraged by how they’re going.  Many alternative practitioners, myself included, have for a long time operated under the assumption that gut health and neurological health are intimately connected, so this news from the research industry doesn’t necessarily surprise us. But I am pretty excited by the research that’s going on, working out more of the details of how humans depend on healthy gut microbes for good health .

We’ve been preaching the benefits of probiotics for years, and they’re not only for digestive and immune health, but also for neurological health, and indeed, total body wellness.  So, down the hatch with your probiotic bugs, live active cultures, and fermented foods.

A few tidbits quoted from the piece:

“Somehow, no-nonsense cooking and eating — roasting a chicken, making a grilled cheese sandwich, scrambling an egg, tossing a salad — must become popular again, and valued not just by hipsters in Brooklyn or locavores in Berkeley. The smart campaign is not to get McDonald’s to serve better food but to get people to see cooking as a joy rather than a burden, or at least as part of a normal life.”

“To make changes like this more widespread we need action both cultural and political. The cultural lies in celebrating real food; raising our children in homes that don’t program them for fast-produced, eaten-on-the-run, high-calorie, low-nutrition junk; giving them the gift of appreciating the pleasures of nourishing one another and enjoying that nourishment together.

Political action would mean agitating to limit the marketing of junk; forcing its makers to pay the true costs of production; recognizing that advertising for fast food is not the exercise of free speech but behavior manipulation of addictive substances; and making certain that real food is affordable and available to everyone. The political challenge is the more difficult one, but it cannot be ignored.”

This recipe is riffing on that same idea, with the addition of barbecue sauce.  Because summer demands barbecue sauce.  But it’s also riffing on the traditional Greek dish, Gigandes plaki, which is basically gigantes in a tomato-based sauce.  Here’s what you’ll need:

The Marinade:
2 generous tablespoons of hot sauce
1 cup of barbecue sauce
1/2 tsp smoked paprika
2 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp soy sauce

Drain and cube 1 pound of tofu and marinate it in the above mixture for several hours.

Soak 2 cups of gigante beans in water for several hours, then cook them through (I use my trusty pressure cooker for this; gets it done in 30 minutes flat.)

The Bake:
Once the gigantes are cooked, drain them, and add them to the tofu-marinade mixture, along with…
1 can of diced tomatoes (I’ve chosen fire-roasted in this case)

Bake all that together at 350-degrees for about half an hour

Perfect with a side of corn on the cob and a fresh salad.

• cook 1 cup of white beans in the pressure cooker with a quart of liquid (don’t salt them! it makes them tough!) (or use a can)
• slice thinly 2 large leeks and 3 stalks of green garlic (the entire stalks)
• in a pot, sautee the leeks and garlic in a mix of coconut and olive oils
• chop 1/2 pound of small new potatoes into bite-size pieces, and add them to the pot
• add the beans and cooking liquid to the pot
• pour in a quart of veggie broth
• season with Tony Chachere’s, salt and pepper, to taste
• simmer for a while until the potatoes are soft
• use an immersion blender to lightly puree the soup, leaving some chunks (or puree half the soup in a standup blender)

eat, eat, eat!

Your blood vitamin D3 level should be between 50 and 90 ng/ml to reduce disease risk.  Have your levels checked to make sure they are within this range. Your daily intake should be in the range of 4000 – 8000 IU in order to maintain these levels, according to the latest anticancer research:

“We found that daily intakes of vitamin D by adults in the range of 4000-8000 IU are needed to maintain blood levels of vitamin D metabolites in the range needed to reduce by about half the risk of several diseases – breast cancer, colon cancer, multiple sclerosis, and type 1 diabetes,” said Cedric Garland, DrPH, professor of family and preventive medicine at UC San Diego Moores Cancer Center.  “I was surprised to find that the intakes required to maintain vitamin D status for disease prevention were so high – much higher than the minimal intake of vitamin D of 400 IU/day that was needed to defeat rickets in the 20th century.”

Again, I cannot stress enough how important adequate Vitamin D is for cancer prevention. According to the Vitamin D council, “Vitamin D inhibits inappropriate cell division and metastasis, reduces blood vessel formation around tumors, and regulates proteins that affect tumor growth. It also enhances anti-cancer actions of immune system chemicals and chemotherapy drugs.”

Folks, Vitamin D is indispensable to your health.  For more info about how to get sufficient Vitamin D, check out the Vitamin D council. If you can’t get daily sunlight, supplement with Vitamin D3.

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Ya’ll know about my deep love for coconut oil.  This article discusses how coconut oil, and the saturated fats in it, are being vindicated after years of false advertising.  The article doesn’t cover the health benefits of coconut oil, which I think are myriad, but it does mention great ways to use it — Eat It Up!

(Thanks Ali BG for sending this my way)

All that said, Operation Get My Body Back has been in full swing for about six weeks now.  (Ok, I admit, I took this weekend off.  We had a friend visiting, and it was Valentine’s).  Happily, it hasn’t been too hard; thanks goodness for all the extra calories I get to eat while nursing.  But, it’s still taken vigilance, and good choice-making.

What have I been doing?  Why, eating fiber of course!  And limiting dairy (my cheese consumption got a little out-of-hand over the holidays).  Pre-pregnancy I didn’t eat much dairy at all, really only on special occasions; but my pregnancy hunger and need for quick protein snacks made dairy products like cottage cheese and greek yogurt easy go-to curbs for my voracious appetite.  But lately, I’ve been trying to scale my dairy consumption back to pre-pregnancy levels, while still eating plenty of protein (nuts, legumes, whole grains, organic eggs) and fat (olive and coconut oils, nuts, seeds, olives and avocados) for rich milk-making (I have no problems in this department.  Just ask my 16-pound-last-I-checked 3-month-old.  If I did have trouble with milk production, or my baby were having trouble gaining weight, you can bet I’d be paying close attention to my protein and fat intake).

As for exercise, I haven’t done much running, but we take lots of walks, even if we sometimes have to bundle up.

me and Blueberry bundled for a walk

Also, I’ve discovered that Netflix has a decent selection of stream-able workout videos — perfect for working out during naps.  Not to mention, my trusty Rebounder has once again taken up residence in our living room (much to Babydaddy’s dismay, who wanted to send it to Goodwill during our move).  On any given weekday naptime, you might find me hippity-hopping away on it while watching netflix documentaries.   Banishing that baby-pooch, once and for now.

plugged duct + milk blister + sterile lancet = YEEEEOOOUUCH

Wanna know how to cure mastitis without antibiotics? I gotcha covered.  Wanna know how to prevent mastitis when you have a plugged duct? I’m your girl.  Wanna know how to get rid of your plugged duct?  Call me.

I learned all this from my Midwife, who is brilliant in the subject of Boob.  Seriously, call me and I will tell you these things.