St. Nicholas - The Real Santa Claus
As we celebrate the joy and generosity of the Christmas season, one figure that springs to mind for both the young and the old is the iconic Old Saint Nick. The modern picture of Santa Claus as the jolly, rotund man with a hearty laugh surprisingly shares very little resemblance to the historical figure of St. Nicholas. A devout and pious man, St. Nicholas lived in the 4th century, serving as a bishop and participating in the Council of Nicaea, convened by Constantine to shape crucial church doctrine. However, the connection between St. Nicholas and the modern- day Santa Claus lies in his extraordinary generosity and the unique methods he used to share his gifts.
How did the image of Santa Claus sliding down chimneys to deliver gifts originate from St. Nicholas? According to the earliest historical account, The Life of Saint Nicholas, he was renowned for generously sharing his inheritance with his impoverished neighbors. In one notable instance, his humility and desire to avoid recognition led him to discreetly help three daughters of a destitute man who were at risk of being sold into prostitution. Over three nights, he tossed a purse of gold through their window, though he was eventually discovered by the grateful father. Over time, artistic depictions of St. Nicholas in a hooded robe, combined with the tradition of gift- giving on the church's saint day commemoration, transformed the thin, athletic St. Nicholas, who could with great agility covertly place gifts in the middle of the night, into the modern day image of the morbidly obese Santa Claus.
The Modern Day Santa Claus Has Real Health Issues
We’re not here to diminish the nostalgia of the Christmas season, but like the transformation of St. Nicholas into the jolly, round figure of Santa Claus, many people feel their once trim, athletic physique has been replaced by an unwanted image. Despite attempts with diets, exercise routines, and even medications, restoring prior leanness and a lower body fat percentage often proves elusive. Unfortunately, excess body fat, especially around the waist can be a sign of metabolic syndrome, a group of risk factors that raises the risk of health problems such as heart disease, type 2 diabetes and stroke.
What are the risk factors of metabolic syndrome? High blood pressure, high blood sugar, the excess body fat already mentioned, high triglyceride levels, and high fasting blood sugar. The risk for metabolic syndrome also increases with insulin resistance, a condition in which your body’s cells don’t respond well to insulin. Over time the need to secrete more insulin for proper blood sugar control eventually exhausts the pancreas leading to type 2 diabetes. While genetics and other factors can make the journey to a healthier, slimmer figure challenging, there are foundational principles that can help you set achievable goals and work toward lasting success.
Gut Health An Important Component of Weight Loss
We talk exhaustively about gut health, and for good reason—approximately two-thirds of the immune system resides in the gut, making a healthy gut essential for the proper functioning and overall health of the immune system. The gut is also home to a significant number of neuroendocrine cells, comprising about 1% of its total cells, which produce various hormones essential for regulating digestion and satiety. When gut health is compromised, the function of these neuroendocrine cells is impaired, leading to disrupted digestion and persistent feelings of hunger.
For instance, glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1), secreted by L-cells in the intestine, plays a crucial role in slowing gastric emptying, reducing the rate of food movement through the intestine, suppressing hunger signals in the brain, and improving blood sugar control with reduced insulin requirements.
How Do I Boost My GLP-1?
One way to naturally boost GLP-1 production is by supporting a healthy gut microbiota the diverse community of bacteria and microorganisms in the digestive tract, with the highest concentration in the colon. A diet rich in fermentable fibers nourishes beneficial gut bacteria, enabling them to produce short-chain fatty acids, most importantly butyrate, which has been shown to enhance GLP-1 secretion. Research suggests that the success of lifestyle interventions, such as diet and exercise, for weight loss and metabolic health may depend on the composition of the gut microbiota. Strains like Akkermansia muciniphila and other butyrate producers have the potential to enhance and amplify the positive effects of these interventions. Additionally, A. muciniphila, a keystone bacterial strain, secretes a P9 protein which stimulates GLP-1 production.
The Strains Matter
Recent research has been focused on a group of gut microbiota known as keystone species and as the name implies their foundational role in maintaining the overall health and balance of the gut environment.
Their action is similar to a keystone species in a coral reef, in which the loss of that organism results in the whole ecosystem being unable to acquire food and offer protection to other species.
The end result is that the whole ecosystem can become unbalanced and collapse. Recent advances in sequencing technology have enabled researchers to identify key microbes within the gut environment that play a central role in microbial interactions.
Several taxa have been identified as keystone species in the gut environment, including Bacteroides fragilis, Faecalibacterium prausnitzii, and Akkermansia muciniphila.
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Conclusion
At CCC Health, our mission is to combine the latest research, a problem-solving approach, and years of experience to help you achieve better health and wellness. We are deeply grateful for each of you, our patients, who entrust us with the privilege of playing a role in your journey toward optimal health. This Christmas season, we wish you joy and blessings, and we encourage everyone to reflect on the incredible gift of healing and restoration present in our amazing bodies. Above all, we celebrate the profound truth that the Sovereign Creator, out of His great love for us, took on human form and was born of a woman to bring hope and redemption. Merry Christmas!
References
https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseasesconditions/metabolicsyndrome/symptomscauses/syc-20351916
Dailey MJ, Moran TH. Glucagon-like peptide 1 and appetite. Trends Endocrinol Metab. 2013 Feb;24(2):85-91. doi: 10.1016/j.tem.2012.11.008. Epub 2013 Jan 16. PMID: 23332584; PMCID: PMC3594872.
Yoon, H.S., Cho, C.H., Yun, M.S. et al. Akkermansia muciniphila secretes a glucagon-like peptide-1-inducing protein that improves glucose homeostasis and ameliorates metabolic disease in mice. Nat Microbiol 6, 563–573 (2021).
https://www.goodgutnutrition.co/blogs/news/keystone-bacteria-species-gut-microbiome
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