Federal shutdown affects local services

by Ken Quintanilla

Guam – Just as most of the nation and the rest of the world was counting down to when the federal government would shutdown, the anticipation was just as intense here on island. Guam may be in a different time zone, but the first federal government shutdown in nearly two decades hit the island just as hard as those just waking up to the news in the mainland.

One of those who may be hit the hardest here at home include the Guam National Guard. In a statement from Adjutant General Major General Benny Paulino, he says approximately 140 military technicians including federal employees who are also members of the Guam National Guard, soldiers and airmen on temporary orders and federal and state civilian personnel may be temporary furloughed.

The Department of Defense has however provided guidance in which the Guard has already started prudent preparation to mitigate the consequences of the shutdown.

And despite all the uncertainty, Paulino says the Guard’s top priority will be to continue supporting the requirements of its over 600 soldiers and airmen currently deployed in Afghanistan and Southwest Asia, along with their families.

And like the Guard, the National Parks Service has also been preparing for the inevitable as close to two dozen of its workers will be furloughed. Acting superintendent Ron Borne told KUAM News, “We have approximately have 21 employees that we have working here on the island of Guam that will be furloughed starting tomorrow after we’re done with our closures.”

Borne says these positions include interpretative rangers, maintenance, and administrative, natural and cultural resource staff. He further apologizes to visitors and residents who access the parks as they will have to be closed, too.

“What exactly will be closed is our units that we have that are normally available to the public, which is the Asan Overlook, the Asan Beach Park, the Agat Beach Park and of course our Visitor Center will be closed to the public,” he explained.

And despite being able to avoid it this year, District Court of Guam Chief Judge Frances Tydingco-Gatewood says there’s a possibly of furloughs in the next year for her employees. She says the shutdown will also put the courts operations on the chopping block, noting, “As I understand it, if there is no budget, if there’s resolution in regards to the budget on the hill, then our court will be open for ten days.

And after that, we will have to go into critical services. What are critical services? We’re going to try and define that, like if somebody gets arrested, of course.”

The chief judge says she’s in the middle of a twelve-week jury trial and says payment to jurors is another added concern. Ultimately she says it’s a serious situation and had hopes for some resolution.

She stated, “These defendants have a constitutional right to a speedy trial, there are individuals who file petitions whether they’re civil or criminal cases that are filed. Access to the court is paramount, and their constitutional rights will be violated.”

She adds while the District Court has already had to adjust its schedule to accommodate the U.S. Public Defenders Office, which has already undergone a furlough, she says it remains to be seen what it means for others like the U.S. Marshals, the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Federal Protective Services and other agencies affected in her court.

America has been FUKT. By Fl’s Sen. Marco Rubio; Ut’s Sen Mike Lee; Ky’s Sen Rand Paul and Tx’s Sen Ted Cruz.

Forget Waterloo, Gettysburg, or Normandy. The largest scale battle ever is going on right now in your own digestive tract. A decisive victory is necessary for your health and happiness.

Dear Health-Conscious Friend,

I often laugh when I think of people obsessed with their abdomen and achieving the famous and elusive “perfect abs”.

If only they knew what was going on just beneath their abdominal muscles…

What scientists are finding out is, what’s INSIDE your gut is just as important to your health as the way it looks OUTSIDE.

From the day you were born, billions of bacteria, both good and bad, have been at work and at war in your intestines. Everything you eat–whether it’s a salad, or a Five Guys burger and fries–eventually shows up in your intestinal system where your good bacteria sorts it, absorbs it, re-routes it, eliminates it or attacks it–with the sole purpose of absorbing the good and eliminating the bad.

Think of it as Civil War

We all have trillions of bacteria that reside in our guts–over 400 species, or “tribes”. And what’s happening is far more than just a sorting operation. It’s more like a civil war.

That’s because, while “good” bacteria (also called probiotics) helps your immune system, keeps your digestive system healthy, and does countless other positive things in your body, there are also certain strains of bad bacteria. These bad bacteria populate your digestive tract as well and can pose a threat to your health if they become too numerous.

What’s more, the balance of power between the good and bad bacteria changes minute by minute. Every time you eat or drink something, take medications, or are exposed to certain environmental toxins, foreign (and often harmful) bacteria enter the battle. While your body is constantly producing its own probiotics that try to keep the balance in your gut favorable, you, unfortunately, produce less of this good bacteria as you age.

Your Body as a Battlefield

The bottom line is that your poor body is playing host to these hostilities. And if the fortunes of war shift in favor of the bad bacteria, you may find yourself experiencing various uncomfortable symptoms, including:

• upset stomach
• loss of appetite
• lack of energy
• bloated feeling
• constipation
• occasional diarrhea
• general lethargy

Of course, these are just the symptoms. Over time, more serious health concerns can occur when the “gut flora” in your intestinal tract are imbalanced and there is a less than optimal ratio of good bacteria (probiotics).

More Serious Concerns

When your good bacteria are losing the battle, a low probiotic level occurs. The overgrowth of dangerous bacteria such as staphylococcus and E coli can negatively impact proper insulin and blood sugar function, thyroid function, and your immune system. Other types of bad bacteria can affect the health of your digestive tract, nervous system, skin, and more.

How Your System Gets Out of Whack

I don’t mean to scare you with a list of problems or confuse you in a blizzard of technical jargon. But I want to make sure you are aware that where your health is concerned, this is an area where you can exercise a great deal of control.

In other words, you can keep your body healthy and avoid a host of common health concerns simply by maintaining a healthy balance between the good and bad bacteria in your system.

Bacteria are normally occurring organisms in your body, and they perform useful tasks. Even the “bad” bacteria have their purpose — your body actually needs them to survive! But the ideal balance between good bacteria to bad bacteria is 80% healthy bacteria to 20% bad bacteria.

Unfortunately, this delicate balance can be difficult to maintain. The ratio of good to bad bacteria can be disturbed by medications (especially antibiotics), by the use of oral contraceptives, steroids, exposure to x-rays and radiation therapy, excessive ingestion of chlorinated water, the consumption of refined sugars and other refined foods, poor digestion, poor elimination of waste, stress, or an unhealthy diet.

In addition to this list, travel is another major cause leading to the disturbance of the good-to-bad bacteria ratio. When you travel, you have a higher likelihood of coming into contact with bad bacteria, which, of course, increases the percentage of bad bacteria in your body.

This increase of bad bacteria can lead to traveler’s diarrhea or constipation, as well as a host of other symptoms (including nausea, decreased appetite, abdominal cramping, weakness, and dehydration). The last situation you want is to be stuck in the bathroom when you’re out of town, which is why it is especially imperative to keep your bacteria ratio in balance when traveling.

Even worse, as we grow older, our bodies produce a decreasing level of good bacteria.

All of these factors can result in a deficit of your body’s stores of good bacteria. And we all know what that can mean: When there are fewer troops available to fight the war, the enemy (or bad bacteria) can establish a stronger foothold in our gut, which can pose a serious threat to your health and well-being.

Can You Use Diet to Achieve Balance?

Throughout history, people in many cultures have instinctively understood the important connection between probiotic-rich food and good health. Before refrigeration, fermentation– the process of adding bacteria or yeast to foods — was a popular way to prolong their shelf life.

What these ancient cultures may not have understood was that this process created abundant sources of probiotic-rich foods that helped to improve their gut health and their overall health as well.

Some foods containing high amounts of probiotics include cultured dairy products, live yogurt, and fermented foods such as sauerkraut, miso (a fermented soy bean paste), tempeh, kimchi, pickled daikon radish, and amasake, a sweet rice drink traditionally used in Asian cultures.

Chinese tea is also helpful because of its high polyphenol levels. Ginger, ginseng, and dandelion have a positive effect on probiotic levels when added to salads and other foods.

If made the right way, these foods can contribute trillions of live “good” bacteria in a single serving! However, modern manufacturing techniques have stripped many of the fermented foods found in most grocery stores of much of their good bacteria.

A More Modern Way to Maintain Balance

If you’re not exactly ready for a diet of dandelions and sauerkraut, there is another option.

You can do as millions of Americans do and supplement your body’s good bacteria with reinforcements in the form of a probiotic supplement. Probiotic supplements are a great way to replenish the beneficial bacterial balance in your gut that’s so crucial to maintaining your health as you age.

In fact, I recommend that all my patients, friends, and family over the age of 40 add a quality probiotic supplement to their daily routine. The problem is, how do you know what to look for?

When you’re choosing a probiotic supplement, you are faced with choices about the amount of live bacteria in a supplement and which strains of bacteria are most helpful. And as a recent Consumer Labs study of popular probiotics supplements revealed, what you’re getting is not always the same as what is promised on the label!

Thrive in Health & Wellness,

Leigh Erin Connealy, M.D.