Have you heard of polysaccharides? This nutrient, found in aloe and rice bran can help with Alzheimer’s and other chronic diseases! Give this episode a listen to learn more! On this week’s episode, Jenn is joined by the Founder and President of Dr. Lewis Nutrition™, Dr. John Lewis. He has been studying polysaccharides for many years to help those struggling with chronic disease, Alzheimer’s, concussion syndrome, and more. During the episode, Dr. Lewis talks about the importance and benefits of polysaccharides and what he has learned through years of research. Dr. Lewis talks about clinical trials with patients struggling with Alzheimer’s and how aloe and polysaccharides helped change those patient’s lives. This fascinating episode will leave you with a lot of great information to determine if aloe and rice bran are right for you.The Salad With a Side of Fries podcast is hosted by Jenn Trepeck, discussing wellness and weight loss for real life, clearing up the myths, misinformation, bad science & marketing surrounding our nutrition knowledge and the food industry. Let’s dive into wellness and weight loss for real life, including drinking, eating out, and skipping the grocery store. IN THIS EPISODE: ●   [4:43] How Dr. Lewis went from being an all-natural bodybuilder to studying aloe.●   [9:00] What are polysaccharides, why are they important and where do they come from?●   [13:12] How did Dr. Lewis get the funding for his research projects?●   [16:10] What is the connection between polysaccharides and Alzheimer’s? ●   [26:34] Is providing the missing nutrients that allow the body to function properly the tie with polysaccharides? ●   [28:01] What is happening in the research around TBI and concussion syndrome?●   [31:31] What is the difference between the polysaccharides in aloe and rice bran vs. other types of polysaccharides? ●   [33:42] How do consumers know that they are getting the right aloe? ●   [39:10] Dr. Lewis shares his final thoughts around polysaccharides. KEY TAKEAWAYS: ●   [12:04] It’s difficult to get polysaccharides from food and this is where dietary supplements can come in and make a big addition to your daily routine. ●   [18:18] Genetic modification, all the herbicides, pesticides, etc. have really weakened the amount of nutrients in many common foods. ●   [30:46] Polysaccharides help to calm down inflammation and modulate or enhance immune function. QUOTES: [7:32] “She was a cancer patient who introduced me to the rice bran. It not only completely changed my career, it completely changed my life in the sense that it took me to a different level of having an appreciation and perspective on what mother nature provides to us, and then being able to utilize those particular nutrients or phytonutrients for health.” - Dr. John Lewis[17:44] “The body is intelligent enough to take a bunch of fructose or a bunch of glucose and mash all of those things together into polysaccharides, but our theory is that obviously is not the way or what our cells prefer. Otherwise, we wouldn't be ravaged with all these different chronic diseases today.” - Dr. John Lewis[23:45] “Very broadly speaking, we’re talking about the ability for these polysaccharides to improve immune function, lower inflammation, improve adult stem cell production process, and then just generally improve overall quality of life.” - Dr. John Lewis[41:25] “For me, this is cradle-to-grave and all of the in between, there’s no limitation on these polysaccharides in terms of how old you need to be, what your current health state is, if you have an existing health challenge or whatever, there’s no limitation on that. There’s been no documented problems with interacting with medications, in fact, they actually will help when you improve your nutrition status, they help your health status to be able to utilize things that you’re maybe being treated for with disease.” - Dr John Lewis"Increasing our health status, giving our body the nutrients it's missing, creates the environment for health vs the environment for disease." - Jenn TrepeckRESOURCES:Become A Member of Salad with a Side of FriesJenn’s Free Menu PlanA Salad With a Side of FriesA Salad With A Side Of Fries MerchA Salad With a Side of Fries InstagramGuest ResourcesDr. Lewis Nutrition's WebsiteDr. Lewis Nutrition's YouTubeDr. Lewis Nutrition's InstagramDr. Lewis Nutrition's FacebookDr. Lewis Nutrition's LinkedInBIODr, John Lewis is the Founder and President of Dr Lewis Nutrition™ and past full-time Associate Professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine. He is also a Diplomat, Faculty Member, and Advisor of the Medical Wellness Association, and a lecturer for the Institute for Brain Potential. He has been the principal investigator of over 30 different studies in his research career. Much of his research has focused on evaluating the effects of nutrition, dietary supplementation, and exercise on various aspects of human health and disease.In addition to his research, he’s an international lecturer at conferences and workshops and as a guest on television shows, with over 180 peer-reviewed publications in scientific journals, such as AIDS and Behavior, American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, American Journal of Public Health, Nutrition and Cancer: An International Journal, The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine, and more. He embodies the model of health and wellness by eating a whole-food, plant-based diet for over 27 years, taking certain key dietary supplements, and through a rigorous, daily exercise training program. He has a passion for educating others about the value of nutrition, exercise, and health which brings him here to Salad with a Side of Fries.