Integro Health

Want to “reset” your body?

Start with the basics:
real food
less sugar
less alcohol
more protein
healthy fats
fewer ultra-processed foods

Your body already knows how to heal.
You just have to stop getting in its way.

XANTHAN GUM & GUT HEALTH: NEW RESEARCH WORTH WATCHING

Xanthan gum is one of the most common thickeners and stabilizers in the modern food supply.

A new study published in PLOS ONE investigated what happened when adult rats consumed xanthan gum for 10 weeks.

Researchers found increased inflammatory activity in the colon, including changes involving TNF-α and IL-1β, along with alterations in proteins involved in the intestinal barrier. The higher-dose groups had significantly greater intestinal inflammation than controls. Researchers also observed changes in portions of the gut microbiome.

Interestingly, xanthan gum did not significantly change body weight, adiposity, glucose or the measured blood lipid profile.

That’s an important reminder that something can potentially influence physiology without immediately showing up on the scale or routine bloodwork.

What it does provide is another reason to continue investigating how the additives routinely incorporated into our food supply may interact with the gut, immune system and intestinal barrier.

My takeaway isn’t to become afraid of a single ingredient.

It’s much simpler:

Eat mostly real food.

When the majority of your diet consists of meat, fish, eggs, fruits, vegetables and other minimally processed foods, you naturally reduce your exposure to many emulsifiers, gums, stabilizers and additives without having to obsess over every label.

Food quality matters.

And sometimes what isn’t in your food is just as important as what is.

Study: Silva Rischiteli et al., PLOS ONE, 2026.

The fat in our food supply has changed dramatically.

Linoleic acid is an essential omega-6 fatty acid, meaning our bodies do need it. But the amount we’re consuming today is very different from what was typical historically.

Seed oils such as soybean, corn, sunflower and safflower oils are now found throughout the modern food supply especially in fried foods, restaurant meals, dressings, sauces and ultra-processed foods.

Why does this matter?

Researchers are continuing to investigate how higher linoleic acid intake may influence mitochondrial function, oxidative lipid metabolites, omega-6/omega-3 balance and metabolic health.

Newer human research is adding to that conversation as well.

This doesn’t mean we can say that seed oils alone cause chronic disease. Nutrition science is much more complicated than that.

But it does reinforce something I talk about with patients all the time:

Food quality matters.

One of the simplest ways to reduce your exposure to highly refined oils is also one of the simplest ways to improve your overall diet:

🥩 Prioritize whole foods
🥑 Choose minimally processed sources of fat
🏷️ Read ingredient labels
🍟 Limit fried and ultra-processed foods
🍳 Cook more of your meals at home

You don’t need to obsess over every ingredient or be perfect.

Just start paying attention to what you’re eating consistently.

Your health affects more than just you.

We often think about taking care of our health in terms of weight, bloodwork, how we look, or how we feel.

But there’s a bigger picture.

When you’re healthier, stronger, sleeping better and taking care of yourself, you have more energy to show up for your family, your career and the things that actually matter to you.

And the opposite is true too.

When your health begins to decline, it rarely affects only you.

That’s why I believe taking care of yourself is one of the best investments you can make.

Not out of fear.
Not because you need to be perfect.

Because the decisions you make today influence how well you’re able to live your life 10, 20 and 30 years from now.

Build muscle. Eat real food. Move your body. Prioritize sleep. Manage stress. Know your numbers. And stop waiting until something is wrong to start taking your health seriously.

Your future quality of life is being built by what you consistently do today.

Your genes are not your destiny.

For years, people have been told that if a condition “runs in the family,” their future is essentially predetermined.

We now know it’s far more complicated than that.

The field of epigenetics has shown us that our environment and behaviors can influence how certain genes are expressed without changing the underlying DNA itself.

Think about the signals you send your body every day:

🥩 Nutrition
🏋️ Movement & muscle
😴 Sleep
🧘 Stress management
🌿 Environmental exposures
🦠 Immune health
📉 Blood sugar & insulin sensitivity
🔥 Inflammation

Genetics can influence susceptibility, but lifestyle and environment can have a profound influence on how our health unfolds.

That’s one of the reasons I focus so heavily on metabolic health and the fundamentals with my patients.

You can’t choose the DNA you were born with.

But you can influence the environment those genes are exposed to every single day.

Your genes can influence your risk. They don’t necessarily determine your outcome.

You have more control over your health than you may think.

Happy Labor Day! 🇺🇸☀️

Today is a reminder that health isn’t only about what you do in the gym or what’s on your plate.

It’s also about slowing down, enjoying life, spending time with people you love, and giving your body and mind a chance to recharge.

Enjoy the cookout. Enjoy the sunshine. Enjoy the people around you.

Relax. Refuel. Have some fun. You’ve earned it. ❤️🤍💙

Happy Labor Day from all of us at Integro Health!

Xylitol is a sugar alcohol commonly found in sugar-free gum, candies, baked goods, low-carb products, and some oral-care products.

A Cleveland Clinic-led study published in the European Heart Journal found that higher circulating xylitol levels were associated with a greater risk of major cardiovascular events over the following three years.

Researchers also found that xylitol increased platelet reactivity and clotting potential in experimental models, which raises important questions about frequent high-dose exposure.

The bigger takeaway?

“Sugar-free” is a marketing term — not a guarantee of better health.

As always, the foundation still matters most:

🥩 Eat mostly real, whole foods
🥦 Minimize ultra-processed foods
📖 Read ingredient labels
🍬 Don’t rely heavily on artificially sweetened products
💧 Keep your diet simple when you can

Have you checked how many products in your kitchen contain xylitol or another sugar alcohol?

Not all body fat is the same and where you carry it matters.

Subcutaneous fat is the fat you can pinch beneath the skin.

Visceral fat sits deeper inside the abdomen, surrounding the organs and it’s the type more strongly associated with metabolic risk.

Higher visceral fat is linked with:

• Insulin resistance
• Higher blood sugar
• Increased inflammation
• Higher triglycerides
• Higher blood pressure
• Greater cardiovascular risk

That’s why the number on the scale only tells part of the story.

Two people can weigh the same and have very different amounts of muscle, visceral fat, waist circumference, and overall metabolic health.

The goal isn’t simply to weigh less.

It’s to reduce unhealthy body fat while preserving — and ideally building — lean muscle.

The fundamentals still matter:

🥩 Prioritize protein
🏋️ Build muscle
🚶 Move daily
😴 Protect your sleep
🥦 Eat mostly whole foods
🧘 Manage stress

Don’t just ask, “How much do I weigh?”

Ask, “What is my body made of and where am I carrying the fat?”

That tells you much more about your health.

🚨 Something important is changing in our food supply.

For decades, food manufacturers have been able to determine that certain ingredients are “Generally Recognized as Safe” (GRAS) without being required to notify the FDA.

That may finally be changing.

On August 10, 2026, the FDA proposed a rule that would require companies to notify the agency when they determine an ingredient is GRAS — potentially bringing much more transparency to what’s being added to our food.

Why does this matter?

Because today’s food supply contains combinations of preservatives, emulsifiers, artificial sweeteners, colors, stabilizers, and other processing agents that previous generations simply weren’t exposed to at the same level.

And researchers are increasingly studying what happens when we consume mixtures of these additives over time.

A large 2025 NutriNet-Santé study involving more than 108,000 adults found that certain commonly consumed mixtures of food additives were associated with a higher incidence of type 2 diabetes.

The takeaway isn’t to fear food.

It’s to simplify it.

🥩 Eat real food
🥦 Choose minimally processed foods
💧 Drink clean water
📖 Read ingredient labels
🍳 Cook at home more often

The less your food needs a chemistry lesson to understand the label, the better.

Save this post and check one packaged food in your kitchen today — how many ingredients are on the label?

Stop comparing your progress to someone else’s.

The real competition?

You vs. yesterday’s you.

Drink more water.
Move more.
Eat better.
Sleep better.
Manage your stress.
Keep showing up.

You don’t need to change everything at once.

You just need to make better choices more consistently.

Upgrade your habits.
Upgrade your health.
Upgrade your life.

💬 What’s one habit you’re working on this week?