By Dr. J. J. Gregor

In 2009 I was lucky enough to travel to Munich, Germany to take an advanced certification test (Diplomate in Applied Kinesiology) and was able to take my mother, who had never been to Europe.  We shared a room, and the trip was amazing.  However, my mom did manage to scare the hell out of me in the middle of the night the first night when she would just stop breathing for a breath or two, several times.  If you've had the misfortune of ever witnessing this, you understand what a disturbing experience it is. I made her go to a sleep center when she got home, and they officially diagnosed her with sleep apnea.  

This is a common chronic disorder, which disrupts the sleep of close to 25% of the population in the U.S.  And if left untreated, is extremely dangerous. There are two types of sleep apnea.  The first and most common type is obstructive sleep apnea, where your airway becomes blocked or even collapses. Most of the time the cause of the obstruction is an inhib...

Paleo Meal of Smoked Salmon Casserole & Sauteed Red Pepper & Kale

This is a quick and easy primal or paleo meal that was perfect for dinner or a Sunday brunch with the whole family!  You could even make it ahead and use it for a quick breakfast!

Smoked Salmon Casserole
1 T Butter
3 cup pulled smoked salmon
3⁄4 cup chopped green onions
2 tsp. minced garlic
12 large eggs, beaten
1⁄2 t kosher salt
1⁄2 t black pepper
Red Pepper Kale
3 T Butter
2 large red bell pepper, thinly sliced
1 T minced garlic
2 lb chopped kale
Salt and pepper to taste Preheat oven to 350°F. Rub butter in a 13x9-inch baking dish.
Sprinkle salmon, onions, and garlic in bottom of the dish.
Whisk together eggs, salt, and pepper in a large bowl until fluffy.
Pour into baking dish.
Bake 35 - 40 minutes or until center is set. Heat butter in a large skillet over medium heat.
Add red pepper and garlic; sauté 4 minutes.
Add kale and cook 5 minutes or until wilted.
Stir in salt and pepper.

Eat Local to Improve Your Health and the Environment

Dr. J. J. Gregor DC

One of the main tenants of the Ancestral Diet (Paleo or Primal) is to eat locally.  As we were 'growing up' as a species, before the advent of agriculture, we could only eat what we could find growing wild or what we could hunt.  Hence, we were hunter-gatherers.  We did this for around 200,000 years.  

Not to eat locally means that our genes are designed to eat a variety food that can be walked to in less than a day. Unfortunately, today our diets can't be considered local. In fact, they are far from local.  The average distance an American meal travels from farm to fork is about 1500 miles! 

This is the distance from my office here in Dallas, TX to Boston, MA.  There are significant problems with this in regards to the freshness of the food.  Usually, it takes three to five days after harvest to get to your local grocery store, so these foods were harvested five to ten days before they were ripe or when our a...

Phytates Bind Essential Minerals in Your Diet

Dr. J. J. Gregor DC

If I told you that a chemical, called phytates, found in one food group had been linked to osteoporosis, depression, cardiovascular disease, type II diabetes, dementia, bowel dysfunction, potential male impotence, and iron deficiency anemia, would you eat those foods?  Although it seems pretty impossible, there is one toxic food that can cause all of these problems. This horrible plague of phytates are naturally found in any grain, nut, seed or legumes:  

Wheat, Oats, Quinoa, Spelt, Almonds, Soybeans, etc. All have significant amounts of Phytic Acid or phytates. These phytates are what are called chelators, meaning they bind things up, which prevents your gut from absorbing them.  

Now if we were to simply talk about chelating Uranium, then that's a great thing.  However, these phytates also bind up important minerals like Calcium, Magnesium, Iron and Zinc. If you eat grains, nuts, seeds or legumes you may experience...

Friday Feast - Paleo Meals- Greek Herb Crusted Cod and Mint Roasted Beets

By J. J. Gregor This was SOOOO fast easy and great!  Next time I do it though I will skip the mint on the beets.

1/2 T. oregano
1/2 T. garlic powder
1/2 T. thyme
1/2 T. parsley
1/4 tsp. paprika
1/4 tsp. onion powder
1/4 tsp. marjoram
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 T. fresh mint chopped
4 8 oz. cod filets
3 medium sized beets (we used red and gold)
1 pat of unsalted butter Preheat oven to 425 degrees.  Wrap the beets in aluminum foil with the pat of butter and roast for 1 hour.  Remove and let cool, then peel with a paper towel.  While the beets are cooling, combine all the spices in a bowl.  Wash and pat dry the cod.  Coat the cod with the spice blend.  Put cod in roasting pan bake 15-20 minutes until the cod flakes easily with a fork.

Dr. J. J. Gregor DC

I was reading a post in a Chron's disease forum, and I couldn't believe it when I saw someone become excited because they discovered Cocoa Puffs cereal was gluten-free.  I wanted to scream! 

There's been a lot of noise in the media about the benefits of a gluten-free lifestyle, and that's caused the food industry to produce a mind-numbing array of gluten-free labeled "foods."  We've talked in the past about wheat and grain but let us dive a little deeper into gluten and why being gluten free is gaining popularity. Gluten is a protein that is a composite of gliadin and glutenin.  

These composites are what cause allergic reactions and Celiac Disease, which is an allergic/autoimmune disease to gluten.  People suffer abnormal immune reactions to partially digested gliadin, in other words, they have major inflammation in their small intestines.  Gluten intolerance or sensitivity symptoms can include bloating, abdominal discomfort and pain, diarrhea, muscular disturba...

The Science Behind the Adrenal Gland

Your adrenal glands are walnut-sized organs that sit on top of your kidneys. They're small, but they control nearly every aspect of your stress response, energy production, immune function, and metabolic health.

When your adrenals function properly, you handle stress efficiently. When they're exhausted, everything breaks down—fatigue, inflammation, hormone imbalances, blood sugar crashes, immune dysfunction.

Understanding how your adrenal glands work helps you recognize when they're failing and what to do about it.

Here's the science behind adrenal function, the three major stress hormones, and why chronic stress wrecks your health.

The Three Major Adrenal Hormones

Your adrenal glands produce dozens of hormones, but three dominate your stress response:

1. Epinephrine (Adrenaline)

Epinephrine is your immediate "fight or flight" hormone.

Example: You're driving. The car in front of you slams on its brakes. You swerve into the next lane, barel...

You Might Be More Stressed Than You Think

Do any of these sound familiar?

Low energy and chronic fatigue. Dizziness when you stand up quickly. Asthma and allergies. Sunlight sensitivity (bright lights hurt your eyes, you constantly wear sunglasses). Muscle and joint pain. Anxiety, panic attacks, and blood sugar crashes. Insomnia. Low sex drive. Digestive issues. Heart palpitations. Thyroid problems.

These symptoms seem random and unconnected.

They're not.

There's one common link: stress and adrenal dysfunction.

Here's why stress affects every system in your body, how to recognize when you've exceeded your adaptive capacity, and what to do about it.

The Problem With How Medicine Views Stress

Most conventional doctors don't recognize the gray zone between "healthy" and "diseased."

In orthodox medicine, you're either pathologically sick (Addison's disease, Cushing's syndrome) or you're fine. There's no middle ground.

But pathology doesn't appear overnight. You don't wake up one ...

Friday Feast - Paleo Recipe - Almond Crusted Halibut & Roasted Brussels Sprouts
By J. J. Gregor

This was a simple, quick paleo recipe that was amazing!

1 ½ pound of halibut
Salt and pepper to taste
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 cup finely chopped almonds
2 Tablespoon olive oil 1 pound Brussels sprouts, halved
2 T olive oil
2 Tablespoon chopped fresh sage
2 teaspoons minced garlic
Salt and pepper to taste Preheat oven to 450°F. Dredge in egg wash, and then dust with chopped almonds. Transfer to a baking sheet rubbed with oil. Bake for 12-15 minutes or until cooked through. Combine sprouts, oil, sage, garlic, salt and pepper in a jellyroll pan or shallow baking dish. Bake at 450°F for 18 minutes or until browned, stirring once.

Soy has been labeled a superfood that's been said to help menopausal symptoms, decrease the risk of heart disease, reverse osteoporosis, and fight cancer. 

Unfortunately, I don't believe it is the amazing thing it's made out to be, and it's time to reconsider soy's place as a panacea of modern society.  Very few of these benefits have been substantiated, and in fact is outright miss-representations of the facts.

So let’s talk about all the adverse effects of soy, which are a lot and not good for your body. "Soy foods can prevent osteoporosis."  This fallacy came out of the observation that Asian cultures ate soy and have little or no incidents of osteoporosis. 

This is not true; Soy foods can cause deficiencies in calcium and vitamin D, both needed for healthy bones. Calcium from bone broths and vitamin D from seafood, lard and organ meats prevent osteoporosis in Asian countries—not soy foods. "Soy can prevent some cancers" this thought is based on the fact that soy contains phytoes...