Colds and Flu continue
I thought the cold and flu season might have eased but it is still here with a vengeance. Chest infections are lingering; the occasional person has been admitted to hospital with pneumonia and a few even have whooping cough (pertussis)
.Remember Vitamin D for immune protection. (Vitamin D - adults 4000-5000 units daily, that is cholecalciferol 50, 000 unit tab 2 weekly, child vitamin D drops are available at 128 Reception, cost $37.)Be generous with turmeric powder if you are getting a cold and continue to be vigilant with personal hygiene.   

This Month- Food, the Gut and Microbiome

Every cell in our body needs food to live. The more nutrient-dense our diet, the more effectively each cell in our body will function. Everything we consume - fresh, raw, cooked or contaminated food - is taken into the amazingly complex gastrointestinal tract where it is broken down by chewing, and emulsified by stomach action, allowing salivary and pancreatic enzymes with the gallbladder bile to release the individual sugar (carbohydrate), amino acid (protein) and fatty acid (fats) molecules for assimilation.             
vThe gut is a hollow tube which is technically on the outside of the body, being made up of an epithelial layer from the mouth to the anus. It is only one cell thick, is lined by a protective biofilm of bacteria, and actively absorbs food molecules. Just inside the gastrointestinal tract lies the protective immune system, which makes up 70 percent  of our body's security network, actively defending against possible invaders
.In the last newsletter I discussed the importance of having a healthy gut microbiome (mainly bacteria) which was introduced by good bacteria from our mother's vaginal secretions and breast milk.  Fermented foods and vegetables nourish the protective microorganisms, but a processed refined food diet feeds unwelcome bugs, and antibiotic medication decimates the microbiome.
 Each person has a gut 'microorganism fingerprint' that can either protect against disease or predispose us to conditions such as obesity (discussed in the July newsletter), autoimmune disease and other illnesses. 
 I believe the majority of chronic disease has it origin in poor gastrointestinal health, related to the consumption of a refined Western diet

FODMAP Avoidance Diet
In the 1950's, dietitian Elaine Gottschall's daughter was diagnosed with severe ulcerative colitis and was told only an operation would save her life. Elaine would not accept this was the only option for her daughter, and consulted many doctors. Finally she met Dr Hass, a 92 year paediatrician from New York, who suggested using a simple nutrition approach. Elaine's research of the medical literature supported Hass's advice, and she made careful food changes to her daughter's diet. After two years the colitis was in complete remission. Elaine wrote of her experiences and scientific findings in 'Breaking the Vicious Cycle,' where she recommends using the avoidance 'Specific Carbohydrate Diet' (see Fact Sheets) for irritable and inflammatory bowel conditions. 
More recently, in 1999 Dr Sue Sheppard, another dietitian doing postgraduate study in Australia, proposed using a FODMAP avoidance diet for the treatment of Irritable Bowel Disease. IBS is a common ailment that causes pain, bloating, and passage of wind with varying bowel motion frequency from diarrhoea to constipation.  Like Elaine Gottschall,  Sue believed that it was not food allergy, as some thought, that caused the symptoms but particular carbohydrates that were poorly absorbed and fermented in the bowel producing gas and irritation in susceptible persons.
FODMAPs stand for Fermentable Oligosaccharides, Disaccharides, Monosaccharides and Polyols, foods which include simple (lactose & fructose) and complex sugars (fructans & galactooligosaccharides) and sugar alcohols (polyols).

NOTE: I highly recommend Avalon Waterways river cruise from Amsterdam to Budapest which we chose after comparing other available options, and were not disappointed.