First a few basics about how our bodies produce energy

All parts of the body need energy to work. This energy comes from the food we eat.

Our bodies digest the food we eat by mixing it with fluids (acids and enzymes) in the stomach. When the stomach digests food, the carbohydrate (sugars and starches) in the food breaks down into a type of sugar, called glucose. The stomach and small intestines absorb the glucose and then release it into the bloodstream. Once in the bloodstream, glucose can be used immediately for energy or it can be stored and used later.

Our bodies need insulin in order to use or store glucose for energy. Without insulin, glucose stays in the bloodstream, keeping blood sugar levels high. Insulin is a hormone made by beta cells in the pancreas. Beta cells are very sensitive to the amount of glucose in the bloodstream. Normally beta cells check the blood’s glucose level every few seconds and sense when they need to speed up or slow down the amount of insulin they’re making and releasing. When someone eats something high in carbohydrates, like a piece of bread, the glucose level in the blood rises and the beta cells trigger the pancreas to release more insulin into the bloodstream.[1]

Five Tips to boost energy

1) Don’t allow your blood sugar to get too low. A tendency towards hypoglycemia or low blood sugar is more common than you might think. This is why maintaining a consistent eating schedule is very important to ensuring you have a steady supply of energy all day.

Eating high quality protein along with slow releasing carbohydrates (best are from vegetable and low GI fruits) along with some healthy fats provides needed nutrients for the body to convert into ATP for energy production.

Good choices are eggs and salmon. Eggs (as long as you are not reactive to them) are a rich source of choline. Choline is found in high concentrations in our brain. Two fat-like molecules that contain choline, phosphatidylcholine and sphingomyelin, account for an unusually high percentage of the brain’s total mass, so choline is particularly important for brain health and function. Choline is also used to make acetylcholine, a neurotransmitter that is the body’s primary means of communication between our nerves and muscles. Improved brain and nervous function is a surefire way to combat fatigue.

Iowa State University researchers estimate that more than 90% of Americans are choline-deficient. Choline is critical in reducing inflammation through several pathways, including by reducing homocystein and increasing folate levels. [2]

Salmon and other cold water fish are high in Omega 3 fatty acids and specifically DHA. These fatty acids cannot me manufactured by our body and are required for hormone and neurotransmitter function. Flax seeds and oil as well as chia seeds are two plant sources rich in EPA. So we must obtain a steady supply of EFA/DHA from our diet or we cannot produce either hormones or neurotransmitters. It stands to reason that if you want to maintain good focus, concentration and stabilize mood you must include foods rich in these nutrients.

2)   Stay hydrated – dehydration is a key reason for fatigue. Remember 80 % of our body is comprised of water and water is essential for cell transport. This means if you are dehydrated (and if you feel thirsty – you are already dehydrated), your body isn’t able to generate energy. Start the day with a tall glass of water and then keep a glass or stainless steel canister with you and sip water all day long. Aim for a minimum of 50 oz a day in filtered water.

3) Avoid sugary snacks and foods like crackers, chips and pasta which are absorbed quickly and increase blood sugar. Instead substitute foods high in minerals. Minerals are frequently forgotten but these nutrients act as essential co-factors for many metabolic processes and without adequate minerals – which is a real concern with our current commercial farming practices, our bodies cannot function optimally.

Good mineral rich choices are found in sea vegetables (seaweed), seafood of all kinds, almonds, and from broths made with the bones of pasture raised animals. Beans and legumes (lentils, chick peas, kidney beans, split peas etc..) are also high in minerals. Beans can be difficult for many people to digest. To make digestion easier, just be sure to soak the beans overnight or for a few hours before cooking and eating them so they are more digestible. This removes phytic acid. Read more about minerals here: Alkalizing your body

4) Increase consumption of foods rich in B-complex vitamins which also help us manage stress better. Good choices include spinach, swiss chard, mustard greens, dandelion greens and …These foods very good sources of a B-vitamin called folate. Folate is very important and receiving a great deal of attention for its role in reducing homocysteine levels.

A study published in the journal Neurology found that 50% of people with chronic fatigue syndrome were deficient in folate and consequently had higher levels of homocysteine. This causes increased systemic inflammation and elevates the risk of heart disease. Other energy helpers that also decrease inflammation are the flavonoid compounds found in just about all plant foods. Less inflammation means less stress, and that means less fatigue.

5) Get a good night’s sleep. This one is a problem for so many people I see! And while their can be different reasons why each person may suffer from poor sleep here are some basics to try.

Start by establishing a regular wake and sleep schedule and sticking to it. The body responds to consistency and likes routine.

Allow time to wind down before you go to bed so your mind can begin to decompress from the day’s events. This means avoiding over stimulating activities like television, internet and your smart phone!

Personally I find that by exercising early in the day and then sitting outside on my deck listening to the birds in the evening helps me relax and prepare for restful sleep.

Other helpful tips for better sleep 

• Have a cup of chamomile tea an hour or so before bed
• Remove electronic devices from your bed side table, such as alarm clocks, cell phones charging etc…the LED’s on these devices along with the EMT’s bother many people and disrupt sleep patterns.
• Adjust the temperature in the bedroom to be not too hot or too cold, or drafty.
• Try a herbal remedy to help with better sleep
• Also check out my other posts on sleep here: More Sleep Tips

Remember you need to eat regular meals to sustain energy, so if you are eating at sporadic times this is a place to start to change.

Do you have low energy and trouble sleeping? Still confused about what to eat? These are problems I specialize in helping people resolve naturally and I can help you with too! Contact me and let’s talk about it.

Today’s post is all about how to get un-stuck from what might be holding you back from being healthy again. And I am writing about this because I believe this mind-set is actually preventing too many people from taking the first step to re-claim their health. 

While this may sound harsh,  certain people seem to fall into a closed way of thinking about their condition that almost acts as a road block, preventing them from taking action. When that happens their actions become self-fulfilling prophecy.  For this person, once they are told they have x or y condition they internalize this and pretty much accept they will always have this health problem.

Now let me be clear – I am not dismissing anyone’s pain in any way or suggesting that their condition is self manufactured! I fully realize the pain and suffering many folks have on a daily basis…and this is precisely why I get so upset when they just accept a substandard of health care that really does nothing to help them get well again.

This is really sad because our minds create our reality. Once you accept something in your mind as a fact – it becomes your reality. When this happens people get stuck, become immobilized or even worse they give up.

I have seen this with folks that have been given any number of diagnoses from a heart condition, diabetes, GERD, IBS to auto-immune conditions. Many people living with ADHD, OCD, depression or anxiety seem even more prone to becoming so discouraged they give in and end up accepting a standard of care that is not actually going to fully help them.

This makes me wonder if the diagnosis the medical community has labeled this person as having is actually keeping them stuck being sick?

Don’t let your diagnosis “define” you!

The brain is the most powerful organ in the body, but many people either forget this or don’t know how to “adjust” their thinking. In order to harness the power of your brain you must shift from accepting that you will “always” have x or feel this way to the possibility of recovery from your condition. No medicine, therapy or other intervention can even have a chance of helping you move from being sick to becoming well until you change your mind-set.

Making the shift:

While there are a number of techniques and therapies that work very effectively to help break through the barriers we sometime create in our heads. Two very powerful techniques to help you begin making the shift from hopeless to hopeful so the healing process can begin is using are Guided Imagery and developing mindfulness.

Guided Imagery is a technique that can be used to reduce stress and promote a sense of peace and tranquility at a stressful or difficult time in a person’s life. This is a non-invasive technique that is easy for even young children  to learn.

According to the Academy of Guided Imagery:  it encompasses a wide variety of techniques, from  simple visualization and direct suggestion using imagery, metaphor and story-telling, to fantasy exploration and game playing, dream interpretation, drawing, and active imagination to shift  elements of the unconscious to appear as images that can communicate with the conscious mind.

Guided Imagery has been shown to promote wellness and optimize overall health. Anxiety can be reduced by up to 65%, and it has been shown to decrease pain and bring a person to a state of tranquility in matter of minutes. Research has also shown that stimulating the brain through imagery  may have a direct effect on both the endocrine and nervous systems, which lead to changes in immune system function.

Mindfulness is another  technique to help shift from negative and un-healthy perpetuating thoughts to healthy, happy thoughts. It is described by Dr. Elisha Goldstein as “the ability to cultivate awareness of the present moment while putting aside our lenses of judgment. It is being in connection with the direct experience of the present moment, the here and now. The practice of mindfulness offers us the unique strength of learning how to control our own minds, instead of our minds controlling us.”

By learning how to quite the mind (much as you do in meditation practice) you allow yourself to be in the moment and can then stop “creating” more fear based, hopeless thoughts which inevitably lead to resistance to your body’s ability to be open to healing. As we remove fear and resistance the body and mind open up to the possibility of health and happiness. A good example of this that you may be able to relate to is the more centered experience you feel as you do any of the heart chakra opening yoga poses.

Remember, that what we do every day (habits)  are mostly done on the subconscious level. In order to change what we do requires a conscious effort to create new patterns of behavior. If you are serious about resolving your health issues for the long-term you must be open to the possibility of health and then you can begin the journey of learning how to develop new, health habits.

Change does not happen over night or even in a few weeks. In fact studies show it takes at least 90 days and usually 120 days of repetitive practice before the brain begins to shift this practice to automatic pilot creating a new habit. This is why fitness trainers expect you to train with them at least three times a week for ninety days! The same holds true for creating lasting healthy eating and lifestyle habits.

The first step is to become an active participant in your health and to prepare your mind to be open to the possibility of healing.  I know this is something that is too often overlooked by medical doctors as they focus on diagnosing and treating symptoms instead of uncovering the cause and healing/correcting the issue.  And this is why so many people are turning to holistic health care providers like myself to resolve lingering health issues with out medications. And this is why I see so many people who have been told they must just accept they will have x or y condition for life coming in to see me. The good news is I am able to help so many of them!

If you are tired of the current sick care model of care and are ready to re-claim you health please contact me today and let’s get started.

This post is devoted to showing how to lighten up your menu and (hopefully) help you drop a few pounds. I have also shared a few easy recipes with you. My top seven cleansing foods are all based on seasonal spring produce that will be appearing in stores and at farmers markets soon.

Strawberries

Great for the heart! Strawberries increase HDL (good) cholesterol, lower your blood pressure, and guard against cancer. Packed with vitamins, fiber, and particularly high levels of antioxidants known as polyphenols, strawberries are a sodium-free, fat-free, cholesterol-free, low-calorie food. They are among the top 20 fruits in antioxidant capacity and are a good source of manganese and potassium. Just one serving — about eight strawberries — provides more vitamin C than an orange.

Serving idea: add to Greek yogurt for breakfast with a few almonds or pumpkin seeds, great for snacks and in smoothies; try adding a few to your salad to punch up the flavor. Make sure to try and buy organic because, unfortunately strawberries are one of the most highly pesticide laden conventionally grown products.

Avocados

Avocados provide all 18 essential amino acids necessary for the body to form a complete, easily digested protein. These help increase HDL (good cholesterol) and lower triglycerides. These tasty beauties are rich in carotenoids; which means they have vitamin A that helps protect eye health and enhance the functioning of the immune system and promotes healthy functioning of the reproductive system. Vitamins C and E, carotenoids, selenium, zinc, phytosterols and omega-3 fatty acids helps guard against inflammation. Since carotenoids are fat soluble, eating avocadoes optimizes the absorption of these nutrients. Avocados are a good source of fiber, potassium, and vitamin K, folate, and B6. Half an avocado has 160 calories, 15 grams of heart-healthy unsaturated fat, and only 2 grams saturated fat.

Serving idea: besides guacamole I love adding these to my salads, omelets and by themselves with a little fresh lemon juice and sea salt. Because of their fat content avocados can be used in place of dairy and even nuts to add a creaminess to soups, so they are wonderful for those who cannot eat diary but long for that creamy texture!

Asparagus

Asparagus is one of the very best sources of folic acid. A 5.3 ounce serving provides 60% of the recommended daily allowance for folacin which is necessary for blood cell formation, growth, and prevention of liver disease. With only 20 per 5.3 oz. serving, less than 4 calories per spear asparagus is a very figure friendly food! It’s high in fiber, iron, potassium, magnesium and zinc asparagus. In California the first crops are picked as early as February, however, their season generally is considered to run from April through May. The growing season in the Midwest and East extends through July.

An interesting fact about asparagus is that compared to most other vegetables, asparagus has a very high respiration rate; which means it continues to “live” after it is picked longer than most fresh vegetables. To get the most benefit and freshest product consume within 48 hours of purchase. Health wise asparagus is high in saponins. Saponins in food have repeatedly been shown to have anti-inflammatory and anti-cancer properties, and their intake has also been associated with improved blood pressure, improved blood sugar regulation, and better control of blood fat levels. It’s also the highest source of glutathione, an essential tripeptide antioxidant found within our cells.  This is one of the body’s most effective fighters of cell-damaging free radicals, and it constitutes a critical part of our antioxidant defense system.  Glutathione also detoxifies certain carcinogens and protects against chemicals that promote cell transformation or cell death.

Serving idea: great brushed with a little olive oil and sea salt and grilled! Use in soups, omelets or as a healthy dipper with hummus.

Spinach

Spinach grows here in the northern US from March through May but can be purchased year round. Fresh 100 g of spinach contains about 25% of daily intake of iron. It’s also a rich source of several vital anti-oxidant vitamins like vitamin A, vitamin C, and flavonoid poly phenolic antioxidants such as lutein, zea-xanthin and beta-carotene. Together these compounds help act as protective scavengers against oxygen-derived free radicals and reactive oxygen species (ROS) that play a healing role in aging and various disease processes. Spinach also contains good amounts of many B-complex vitamins such as vitamin-B6 (pyridoxine), thiamin (vitamin B-1), riboflavin, folates and niacin. It is also rich source of omega-3 fatty acids. Regular consumption of spinach in the diet can help prevent osteoporosis (weakness of bones), iron-deficiency anemia. It may also protect the body from cardiovascular diseases and cancers of colon and prostate.

Serving idea: Spinach is one of the most versatile leafy greens and can be eaten raw in salads and smoothies and cooked added to soups, casseroles, sautés, and is used in many Indian specialty dishes such as the classic palak paneer (cheese cubes). Try my Spinach Salad with walnuts recipe included here too.

Parsley

Parsley’s volatile oils—particularly myristicin—have been shown to inhibit tumor formation in animal studies, and particularly, tumor formation in the lungs. The activity of parsley’s volatile oils qualifies it as a “chemo protective” food, and in particular, a food that can help neutralize particular types of carcinogens (like the benzopyrenes that are part of cigarette smoke and charcoal grill smoke). Parsley is also high in beta carotene and vitamin C.

Serving idea: use fresh and add to marinades, sauces, soups, sprinkle on salads, sliced tomatoes and other vegetables, and into smoothies. You can also add fresh parsley to homemade pesto. The classic Middle Eastern dish, taboul is made with parsley and you can substitute quinoa for the bulgur wheat to make this gluten free.

Lemon & Ginger root

Fresh lemons (as well as the zest) and ginger root are a couple of my go to flavors. Both are great for big flavor and nutrition without added calories. I always have lemons and fresh ginger root in my kitchen…

Lemons are high in fiber and low on the glycemic index. Lemons are also very good for digestion and alkalizing so great for cleaning and detoxing. Plus if you have a yeast problem lemons are one of only two acids allowed during the yeast clearing diet phase. Lemons also contain a healthy amount of minerals like iron, copper, potassium, and calcium. Potassium in an important component of cell and body fluids helps control heart rate and blood pressure.

Ginger root is a great natural remedy for anyone with gas or digestive issues. It also helps reduce nausea and is used for motion sickness. Ginger absorbs gastrointestinal toxins, hormones, and stomach acids and has strong anti-bacterial and anti-inflammatory properties

Ginger tea: Just cut a 1- 2” piece and place in a mug and pour boiling water and allow too steep and drink as a tea. Adding a small amount of raw honey with lemon makes this a wonderful tonic for those who find the pungent taste a bit too strong.

Serving idea: lemon zest is excellent sprinkled on top of just about any green vegetable like asparagus or broccoli. The zest is also a delicious addition to rubs and marinades, and salad dressings. The juice is wonderful as a replacement for vinegar in salad dressings and is much lighter. Whole lemons can be preserved in brine and used in many recipes. Here’s a link:

http://www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes/how_to_make_preserved_lemons/

Ginger is just as versatile and used in all my Indian inspired and Asian inspired cooking.  It too is wonderful grated and added to vegetables, rice dishes and marinades and salad dressings. It pares well with other warm spices such as cumin and mustard seeds, but also well with citrus like lemon and orange.

Easy Marinade – for Grilled Vegetables

Choose from any of the following vegetables;

Asparagus

Zucchini or summer squash of any kind

Eggplant (small work best due to smaller seeds)

Sliced veggies in about ¼ inch thick sections. (except asparagus – just break off tough bottom stems) and place in marinade for 20 -30 minutes

Marinade:

¼ cup olive oil

1 Tbl. balsamic vinegar

½ teaspoon any fresh or dried herb combination you like; such as Italian herbs; thyme, oregano dill, parsley etc..

½ teaspoon sea salt

Pinch of pepper

Variations:

1) Try using rice wine vinegar and Asian seasonings (grated ginger root, garlic, red chili pepper flakes, add a few drops of sesame oil) instead of balsamic and seasonings above

2) Add 1 teaspoon of Dijon mustard and a couple cloves of fresh garlic and use a combination of fresh herbs (oregano thyme, rosemary & basil).

3) Go Mexican by adding cumin, garlic chili powder and chipotle to the olive oil & swap out apple cider vinegar for the balsamic.

This marinade works well on chicken or shrimp too!

Spinach Salad with walnuts (serves 4)

Salad -

4 cups washed and dried baby spinach leaves

¼ cup raw walnuts

1 orange cut into segments

10 dried cherries (optional)

Dressing -

1 tsp. orange zest

½ lemon juiced

2 Tbsp. flax seed oil

2 Tbsp. olive oil

Sea salt to taste

½  tsp. honey

½ tsp. Dijon mustard

Arrange spinach leaves and orange slices and walnuts on salad plates dividing evenly. Combine all ingredients for dressing whisking together or use a blender. Pour dressing over salad and enjoy.

See if you can use some of our spring bounty to build healthy, calorie dense meals around to help you lighten up! And let me know how you like these recipes too.

For my third and final post honoring May as National Herb month I’ll be discussing herbs that can help relieve pain and reduce insomnia.

If you have been following my blog posts you know the importance of uncovering hidden food intolerances and removing inflammatory trigger foods from you diet. These should be addressed as the first step in reclaiming your health. Whenever I work with a new client I always look at the foods they are consuming that could be exacerbating their symptoms. This is because if you’re constantly “feeding” the problem you must change what you’re eating. With that said let’s look at a few herbs that help with pain…

P-A-I-N = a 4 letter word!

Devils Claw: this perennial vine grows in Southwest Africa. The root is the medicinal part that has been used by its native people for over 250 years. It is effective as both an analgesic and anti-inflammatory. It has also been used traditionally to improve the appetite, decrease indigestion and heartburn. Devils Claw  works especially well when combined together in a formulation with Cats Claw, Clematis and Yucca called AR-3-L. This formulation has been nick named “natures cortisone” by Master Herbalist Dr. Miki Jones, N.D. And, it can be applied topically as well as taken orally for relief from arthritis rheumatism, joint and back pain, to help with fatigue from acid build up and sciatica.

About Cats Claw

According to Web MD there are two species of cat’s claw, Uncaria tomentosa and Uncaria guianensis, are of primary interest for use as medicine.  Medicine is made from the root and bark. Cat’s claw is most commonly used for improving symptoms of both osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis.

Cat’s Claw is also used for various digestive system disorders including swelling and pain (inflammation) of the large intestine (diverticulitis), inflammation of the lower bowel (colitis), inflammation of the lining of the stomach (gastritis), stomach ulcers, hemorrhoids, and leaky bowel syndrome. Some people use cat’s claw for viral infections including shingles (caused by herpes zoster), cold sores (caused by herpes simplex), and AIDS (caused by human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)).

Cat’s claw is used for chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS), wound healing, parasites, Alzheimer’s disease, asthma, hay fever, cancer (especially urinary tract cancer), a particular type of brain cancer called glioblastoma, gonorrhea, dysentery, birth control, bone pains, and “cleansing” the kidneys.

Another wonderful herb for pain is White Willow. Willow is known as natural aspirin.

The use of willow bark dates back thousands of years, to the time of Hippocrates (400 BC) when patients were advised to chew on the bark to reduce fever and inflammation. Willow bark has been used throughout the centuries in China and Europe, and continues to be used today for the treatment of pain (particularly low back pain and osteoarthritis), headache, and inflammatory conditions, such as bursitis and tendinitis. The bark of white willow contains salicin, which is a chemical similar to aspirin (acetylsalicylic acid). It is thought to be responsible for the pain relieving and anti-inflammatory effects of the herb. In fact, in the 1800s, salicin was used to develop aspirin. White willow appears to bring pain relief more slowly than aspirin, but its effects may last longer.[1]

Herbs that help you get your zzzzz’s

Valerain Root is a native plant to North America, Europe and Asia. This herb has gained popularity in many natural sleep formulations due to its ability to act on specific neurotransmitters called GABA (receptors) and its influence on serotonin and norepinephrine. This produces a sedating effect. Other uses are for tension and emotional upset to calm nerves and reduce irritability. Unlike over the counter and prescription sleep aids Valerian has been FDA approved and can be used long-term. [2]

Another popular natural sleep aid is Kava Kava. This shrub is grown in the South Pacific and was first discovered and for use in the western world (and named) by explorer Captain James Cook. The name means “intoxicating pepper”.  It too is mildly sedative, analgesic and acts as a muscle relaxant. It also helps reduce anxiety as it acts on the limbic system and this is also probably why it helps many people with tension headaches as well as those with fibromyalgia.

This herb is contraindicated for those with Parkinson’s disease or tremors. Do not use with prescription tranquilizers. Do not take for depression. 

Inflammation and acidity

Because inflammation is present where ever pain exists any comprehensive nutritional program must incorporate an anti-inflammatory diet along with lifestyle change. Replacing offending foods that are stoking the fire of inflammation must be done in conjunction with any herbal remedies in order for relief to be lasting and long-term.

Likewise, over acidity is another common problem for people who suffer with chronic pain and so this too needs to be corrected in order for relief to be maintained and allow for the body’s natural healing process to take place. While diet is key, due to low intake of high quality, non-conventionally grown vegetable intake many people have trouble achieving this through foods alone. Very often adding colloidal minerals such as Super pH Minerals is very helpful in restoring proper acid/alkaline balance.

Herbs are another way we can improve our health naturally and work in synergy  with food and specific nutrients to help heal our bodies. Wild crafted herbs, like food have many healing properties and one herb can very often be used for a variety of health concerns. In this series I have touched on only a few of the hundreds of herbs that can be used to help with many chronic health conditions from COPD and lung problems, skin conditions, memory and congestion problems, sugar dis regulation and thyroid problems as well as cardiovascular and digestive problems. As I have learned how to use specific herbs in combination with food and other nutrients on my self and my family I have continued to incorporate their use in my own nutrition practice with clients.

If you have tried other modes of natural healing and not seen results it’s because you need a more targeted and comprehensive approach. If you are interested in finally  resolving your health issues with out drugs so you can change from feeling hopeless to feeling happy again call me and let’s get started today.

No one really knows how many herbs there are in the world but we know it has to be hundreds of thousands of species.

According to the World Health Organization today nearly 80% of the world’s population relies on herbal medicines for some part of their primary health care. In Germany, about 600 – 700 plant-based medicines are available and are prescribed by some 70% of German physicians. And even in the US, we have seen tremendous increase in use of herbs over the past 20 years. It’s estimated that today nearly one-third of Americans use herbs.[1]

This month’s focus are herbs that have traditionally been used to clean the blood, support the liver and help the detoxification process.

Many of us have accumulated unwanted toxins in our bodies. In addition to a cleansing diet, herbs can assist our bodies in the natural elimination process. While many people think of milk thistle and turmeric as their go to herbs for liver and detoxification support here are a few other, lesser known herbs that do a lot of heavy lifting too….

Bupleurum: for liver congestion and toxicity

This medicinal root is found in East Asia and has been used as a primary ingredient in Chinese formulations. Traditionally it has been used for relief of many conditions from infections with fever, indigestion and hemorrhoids and for liver problems. It is also used for respiratory infections such as swine flu, bronchitis and phenomena. According to WebMD Bupleurum is currently being evaluated in a phase II trial at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center for use in treating hepatitis C.

Besides being excellent support for liver health and clean up (hepatitis), bupleurum is also wonderful for psoriasis, eczema and other inflammatory skin conditions. Bupleurum contains constituents known as saikosaponins that scientist believe account for much of the medicinal activity of the plant. Test tube studies have found that saikosaponins can inhibit growth of liver cancer cells, and are anti-inflammatory.

This herb is wonderfully combined with two other liver supporting herbs – milk thistle and turmeric in a formulation named CBL-T

Burdock root: liver detoxifier and used for skin problems

Burdock Root is a medicinal herb, native to Europe and Northern Asia, but also grows in the United States. It is a relative of Feverfew and Dandelion, and has an appearance of thistles and is part of the daisy family. The main healing qualities are in the root. Burdock root is a source of calcium, flavonoids, chlorogenic acid, and potassium, as well as other elements that are helpful to the body. It also has an ample amount of vitamin C, chromium, magnesium, and trace amounts of organic mercury, which can make a good detox formula.[2]

Dandelion Root: blood purifier; used for heartburn; liver and gall bladder health

While the Dandelion is a familiar and mostly unwanted sight in our lawns during the spring, this plant possesses some wonderful tonic properties. Dandelion Root is a native of Europe. In India it is found through Himalayas. Nutritionally the dandelion plant contains almost as much iron as spinach, four times Vitamin A content. An analysis of dandelion shows it to consist of protein, fat and carbohydrates. Its mineral and Vitamin contents are calcium, phosphorus, iron, magnesium, sodium, Vitamin A and C.[3]

Indeed, many people eat the leaves of the dandelion as salad greens or lightly sautéed. The bitter taste comes from the flavonoids that give dandelion it’s “blood purifying” properties. Flavonoids work in the digestive system to increase the flow of urine. Unlike other diuretics, dandelion contains vast amounts of potassium that restores the mineral balance in the kidneys as toxins are flushed out.[4] Because Dandelion has the ability to help remove acid buildup and aids in acid/alkaline balance it is often used in hepatic support formulations.

BLC combines several excellent blood cleansing herbs known for their purifying effects in one combination. This formula includes Burdock Root, Barberry, Dandelion Root and several others. It is a good one for skin problems like dermatitis and helps pull out environmental toxins and pollutants from the body. You must be sure the bowel is open and this cannot be used during pregnancy.

Please be advised that before using any herb or herbal combination you should consult with a professional who understands how to use these herbs and will check for contraindications/interactions. As always, if you are pregnant or nursing or have a serious health condition you should consult your doctor before taking any herbal product on your own.

If you’d like to know more about using herbs to help manage a specific health issue please contact me.

In my next blog post celebrating May as National Herb Month I will share more on the power of herbs to help ease pain and inflammation.

This is part one of three I’ll be posting on herbs and their uses and health benefits.

If you have been drinking green tea for its anti-oxidant properties; taking Valerian root for its ability to relieve muscle tension; or know that sprinkling fresh oregano on foods does more than just make it taste good  then you are experiencing the benefits of therapeutic plants known as herbs.

As more people turn to herbal preparations over pharmaceutical medications to help relieve their symptoms this is an area that science is now studing with greater urgency. The specific constituents of herbs, many of which have been used for thousands of years in other cultures, are now being reported on in main stream research such as PubMed. Researchers are working to discover exactly how these plants work their “magic” on humans so that we can harness their healing benefits for many of our most serious diseases like diabetes, cancer, COPD, Fibromyalgia, and cardiovascular disease.

The study and therapeutic use of herbs is very ancient and can be complex. Generally there are three tracks; Western/European herbs; Traditional Chinese Medicine and Ayuvedic Medicine. While there are some specific herbs that are used in all three of these disciplines, there are herbs distinctly unique to each herbal culture.

As you might imagine the specific therapeutic herb used by each discipline is largely dependent upon the part of the world each was grown, discovered and studied. Until quite recently these three branches of herbal therapy operated pretty much independently from each other. What we are seeing now is a convergence of these three herbal disciplines.

In fact today’s formally educated herbalist is being taught about all three disciplines together in two of the best schools in the United States, the East West School of Herbology taught by Master Herbalist Michael Terra & David Winston’s Center for Herbal Studies.  Even most accomplished Western Master Herbalists such as Miki Jones, ND recognize and regularly  incorporate a number of TCM and Ayuvedic herbs in there formulations. Thus today’s newly educated herbalist is knowledgeable in the use of the very best and most studied herbal combinations and protocols from all three disciplines.

Natures little miracles – herbal adaptogens

One class of herbs that has gotten a great deal of attention and is being intensely studied is called an Adaptogen. Adaptogens are a type of herb (or herbal combination) that meets specific set of criteria. These herbs offer a range of health benefits and have been used effectively in both Traditional Chinese Medicine and Ayurvedic medicine for thousands of years.

According to Dr. David Winston who is considered an expert on Adaptogens and who has written what can only be described as a textbook on the subject * says an Adaptogen must meet three criteria:

1. The substance is relatively non-toxic to the recipient.
2. An adaptogen influences many organs or body systems (non-specific) and acts by increasing resistance of the organism to a broad spectrum of adverse biological, chemical, and physical factors.
3. These substances help modulate system function and maintain homeostasis

While many herbs are being touted as adaptogen’s Winston insists the list of plants that actually meet this criteria are few.

How are adaptogens used to improve health?

One of the most impressive aspects of adaptogens that has recently been discovered it’s that they can quiet a stress-activated enzyme, known as JNK. JNK is responsible for increasing inflammatory and oxidative compounds and decreasing ATP (energy) generation. What this means is that taking a herbal adaptogen helps mediate this stress response. This is why so many “stress” formulations contain one or more adaptogens.

Adaptogens are frequently used for their strong anti-oxidant like actions. Unlike a specific phyto (plant) nutrient or vitamin herbal adaptogens are unique in the way they are able to protect the mitochondria from stress-induced damage because they actually stimulate the cell to produce proteins that help resist stress and enhance longevity. For this reason they are used in many anti-aging formulations. Another characteristic of adaptogens is that they help regulate the immune and nervous systems and have antidepressant and amphoteric effects on the body.

According to Dr. Winston there are currently just 13 known true adaptogens that meet this criterion. These are; American Ginseng root, Ashwagandha root, Asian Ginseng root, Cordyceps, Dang Shen root,, Eleuthero root, Holy Basil herb, Jiaogulan herb , Licorice rhizome, Reishi fungus, Rhaponticum root, Rhodiola root, Wu Wei Zi berries/seeds (Schisandra). Other herbalists also include Maca Root, and Astragalus on this list.

The part of the herb used, the way the herb is grown (such as wild crafted or organic), harvested and processed (standardized or not standardized) as well as the form and ultimately the combination of herbs all impact proper, safe, therapeutic use. Just as specific nutrients are used to help the management of chronic health conditions so too are herbs used in this manner by herbalists and many natural health care providers. Some herbs like Ashwagandha root are calming while others like Asian Ginseng root (Panax ginseng) are very stimulating. Each has unique properties that make it effective for specific circumstances.

Here are just a couple commonly used adaptogens and some of their healing properties;

Ashwagandha has traditionally been used for anxiety, bad dreams, mild OCD, insomnia, and nervous exhaustion. It acts as an antispasmodic and anti-inflammatory and is very useful for treating fibromyalgia (with Kava and Scullcap), restless leg syndrome, mild Tourette’s syndrome, and osteo-arthritis. Its immune amphoteric properties make it useful for hyper- and hypo-immune conditions. It is frequently used for autoimmune conditions affecting the muscles and joints such as rheumatoid arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis, polymyositis, and polymyalgia rheumatica (PMR). It enhances male fertility (sperm count and sperm motility) and, due to its iron content, it benefits iron-deficient anemia (take it simmered in milk with molasses added). Ashwagandha also stimulates thyroid function. Studies in mice showed significant increases of serum T3 (18%) and T4 (111%) after 20 days of use (Panda, et al, 1998).

Holy Basil herb is  a mildly stimulating adaptogen, antibacterial, anticholesteremic, antidepressant, antioxidant, antiviral, carminative, expectorant, immune amphoteric.

Tulsi, or Holy Basil, has a long tradition of use in Ayurvedic, Siddha, and the Unani-Tibb systems of medicine. It is considered a Rasayana or rejuvenative medicine and is traditionally used to improve memory, to treat coughs, colds, indigestion, asthma (with Black Pepper), and fatigue. More recent research has shown it reduces excess immune response in allergic asthma and allergies while enhancing normal immune function. In addition, in animal studies, it increases endurance, inhibits ulcer formation, and protects against gamma radiation. In a human trial, Tulsi showed benefits in NIDDM, reducing fasting blood glucose (17.6%) and postprandial blood glucose (7.3%) (Winston & Maimes, 2007). It is also used to help with stagnant depression (along with Lavender, Rosemary, and/or Damiana) and to help speed recovery from head trauma injuries and for poor concentration and mental fog.

Schizandra is a woody vine from China. The fruit that it produces is used for it’s cardio-protective properties. It also stimulates liver glycogen and protein synthesis and helps enhance glutathione production (the body’s most powerful detoxifying nutrient) in the liver. It also enhances bile production and improves liver regeneration and is cytotoxic to tumor cells. This means it is very liver protective as well as helpful for people with cancer because it enhances cell death. Additionally it’s been found to help improve impaired memory, builds the immune system and it it frequently used in Chronic Fatigue, stress and depression formulations.

These are but a few examples of how therapeutic herbs are used by today’s modern herbalist.

Wild Crafted, Standardized or Organically Grown?

The beauty of herbs is that one herb can be used to help with so many different conditions! But there are  some distinctions in how these herbs are grown, and processed to keep in mind-

Wild crafted herbs are gathered from their natural habitat and not grown for mass production. The benefit of this is that the active compounds of the entire plant are kept intact which means the synergistic effects of each of the constituents are allowed to work their “magic” together as nature intended. Most Master Herbalists seem to prefer tinctures over capsules. I like the fact that dosing can be easily adjusted using tinctures and they are easy to take in a small amount of water. These “wild crafted” herbs are the ones used for centuries by our forefather and mothers to speed healing and recovery and keep us well. Reputable herb manufactures (such as those I work with) are very careful to be certain these herbs gathered are sustainable and not in jeopardy of extinction. Indeed, some irresponsible people have caused us to lose valuable pants. When a herb is deemed to scarce for gathering this way these companies turn to organically grown herbs.

Organically grown means simply that the plants are farmed organically, with out pesticides or chemicals. Because they are farmed and not gathered in the wild they will tend to have different levels of therapeutic constituents than the wild crafted herb. These are still preferred over standardized herbs by most Master Herbalists.

Standardized herbs mean that only specific active constituents are extracted from the plant(s) and combined to increase strength of the product. This is typically what you are getting when you buy most capsulized products. This was done by manufactures so that they could test products and make claims as required by the FDA with consistent results. Most likely this has been adopted too so that companies can market products with health claims and this is also what your reading about in PubMed Herbal – because it’s reproducible.

One final note is that there is an organization that deserves a shout out for helping to preserve endangered plants called United Plant Savers United Plant Savers. 

Please visit their website to learn more about their important work.

*Source material :

Adaptogens: Herbs For Strength, Stamina, and Stress Relief ©David Winston, RH (AHG), 2004; Revised 2011

Master Herbalist Course, and A practical Guide to Herbs, both by Marion Jones, N.D, M.H, D. Ir.

Coursework book form the 10th Annual Herbal Symposium 2011, A benefit conference for United Plant Savers

With spring finally arriving  the flowers and trees are beginning to bloom. This means folks with seasonal allergies are beginning to feel the impact of increased pollen in the air.  And many people who have been using OTC or prescription medications to control their allergy symptoms would really like to know if there are safer, non-drug alternatives available. The short answer is – yes.

Treating symptoms or addressing the cause?

The trouble with OTC (over the counter) and prescriptions medications for seasonal allergies is they treat only the symptoms and do not address the cause and most have unwanted side effects.  Plus many people find that after repeated use these products simple don’t seem to be effective  treating their symptoms. This is most likely because OTC medications for allergies work on only one of the three allergic pathway response. There are actually three pathways during immune response; histamine, leukotriene and the interleukin which impacts the inflammatory cascade response. What is needed is a comprehensive approach.

Three Steps for Natural relief from Seasonal Allergies

Step 1 – Remove offending foods & potential allergens!

As always changing your diet is a key foundational component to addressing the root cause of hidden inflammation. While specialized testing is an option it does not always show reactivity to foods that some people react to.  So the most effective way to really know what foods may be triggering your allergy symptoms is to do an elimination/provocation diet. By eliminating offending foods from your diet for at least thirty days you can get a very accurate idea of what is at the root of your allergies. This needs to be done systematically and should be recorded in a diet log.

As a refresher; common food sensitivities include, gluten, dairy, corn, soy, nuts, eggs, shellfish, commonly used food preservatives like sulfates and nitrates. Begin by keeping a diet diary and note any reactive symptoms. For long-term effective results you will need to eliminate the offending foods from your diet for several weeks and some for good. And remember we tend to crave the foods we are most reactive too!

Other helpful allergy tips:

• During times of increased outdoor pollen and mold keep windows and doors closed and use the air conditioner as much as possible. This is especially helpful at night when sleeping as many trees and plants release pollen at night. You can check mold and tree pollen at the National Allergies Bureau link here: http://pollen.aaaai.org/nab/
• If you have pets and are allergic to them wash your hands after playing or petting them and don’t let them lick you because most of what you are allergic to in pet saliva.
• Increasing water consumption and staying away from mucus producing foods such as dairy products also helps many people.
• The preservatives, colorings and other chemical additives in many processed foods also act as a trigger for many folks so avoiding these helps as well.
• Avoid mold and yeasty foods – like beer, mushrooms and aged cheese as these also aggravate allergic responses.

Step 2 – Improve the gut

Eating more plant foods i.e. fruits and vegetables in their raw or lightly steamed/sautéed state will help you increase beneficial digestive enzymes. Adding a good enzyme supplement before and after meals also helps improve digestion. Some enzyme formulations are especially designed to be taken between meals; these also aid in reducing allergic response.  Or use unfiltered apple cider vinegar which is loaded with great enzymes (this is also excellent to help increase low stomach acid, another common condition) . You can use apple cider vinegar  in salad dressings or take a teaspoon in 3 oz. of water with meals to help improve digestion. This works wonders for many who feel bloated too.

Eating pro-biotic rich foods such as plain, organic yogurt (not the Yo-Yo brand please!) and kefir each day also helps restore proper balance of friendly to un-friendly bacteria in the gut. This aids in digestion, reduces leaky gut probability and decreases the inflammatory response (this inflammatory response is what triggers the allergic reaction). Non-dairy alternatives are now available made from coconut and almond. Avoid soy please. Taking a high quality non-dairy based pro-biotic supplement daily also helps.

Step 3 – Try a targeted natural supplement

Proteolytic enzyme formulations are especially helpful for those suffering from food intolerances/allergies. These should be taken with meals. Pro-biotic supplements are also essential for restoring any leaky gut issues so commonly found with food intolerances. Because the quality control on many of these types of products purchased though health food and vitamin stores is questionable you are better off spending your money on professional grade products.

For my clients with seasonal and perennial allergies I use a combination product that works on all three of the allergic response pathways mentioned above. It uses quercetin (found in oak trees and alum plants); that stops the initial degranulation process in the mast cells and is a natural anti-histamine; stinging nettles has natural “steroid like” properties and bromelian (from pineapple which acts as a natural anti-inflammatory and helps the quercetin to act faster. Because natural formulations are designed to works on all three pathways of the allergic responds people experience fewer symptoms and no side effects. Best of all these ingredients all come from the plant kingdom and are free from side effects, yet surprisingly effective.

Allergy or delayed immune responds?

Many allergies, whether seasonal or year round typically have underlying food or chemical causes that are not discovered through skin scratch testing done in by allergists. This type of reaction is part of our delayed immune response system which can take hours to days to show up in a variety of symptoms and it’s not detected in the skin scratch test process. Technically these reactions are not true allergies but reactivity or sensitivities, very often to specific foods, environmental exposures or heavy metals. The body is reacting to these invaders trying to protect itself. Once these intruders are identified and eliminated symptoms generally resolve.

To get help uncovering hidden allergens and learn how to effectively manage your symptoms using plant-based and nutritional based alternatives requires a comprehensive, diet and lifestyle based approach. If you have tried conventional OTC and prescription medications and still have symptoms maybe it’s time to try uncovering the root cause of your allergies and here is where I can help you! Fill out my Are we a fit form on my website and let’s talk about it.

Have you found relief through natural, non-prescriptive means? I’d love to hear from you about it.

Food as fuel for the brain

Did you know that the brain is the body’s number one priority over all other organs for survival? The type of foods we eat impacts the chemical messengers (called neurotransmitters) in the brain. Without the right amount of food “fuel” these chemical messengers can either create a sense of focus, and well-being or confusion and despair. Choosing the right foods really makes a difference in a host of behavioral disorders too such as OCD and ADHD. And even if your currently taking prescription medications for some type of brain improvement most people find by making some smart dietary changes they can get better results.

Proper nutrition is essential to a well-functioning body and brain.

For example; when the brain produces serotonin, tension is eased.  When it produces dopamine or nor-epinephrine, we tend to think and act more quickly and are generally more alert. Eating carbohydrates alone seems to have a calming effect, while proteins increase alertness. Complex carbohydrates, which raise the level of tryptophan in the brain, have a calming effect.

The two other important brain chemicals that are influenced by foods are dopamine and nor-epinephrine. Both of these produce a feeling of alertness, increase the ability to concentrate, and create faster reaction times. There are two possible mechanisms for how this happens: (1) serotonin production is blocked by the consumption of protein-rich foods, resulting in increased alertness or concentration, or (2) levels of dopamine and nor-epinephrine are increased by the consumption of protein-rich foods.

Let’s look at some of the worst foods first -

Worst mood foods and their Impact on brain health

1) Sugar: Acts like an opiate on the brain. Sugar overworks the adrenals and contributes to stress. Highly addictive; spikes blood glucose; increases risk for diabetes & elevated triglycerides.

2) Processed Flour: Nutrient devoid; acts like an opiate on brain; leads to chemistry disruption; contributes to stress and hormone imbalance; elevates blood glucose and triglycerides.

3) Gluten containing grains: Highly allergic to many people these grains irritate & inflame the GI tract causing nutrient mal-absorption. Stimulates brain as an opiate; create lethargy and brain fog, agitation & thyroiditis. In addition many people are now reacting to even the gluten variety of free grains so removal of these may even be necessary.

4) Low quality Omega 6 fats: This type of  fats are all highly unstable and become rancid quickly which creates oxidation and leads to brain inflammation and cell     damage  corn oil, soy oil, canola oil,  safflower oil, sunflower oil,  peanut  oil,  cottonseed oil.

5) Soy: Phytates in un-fermented soy cause nutrient mal-absorption (esp. zinc, iodine & iron) and interfere with thyroid hormone production, technically called endocrine disruptors.  Research suggests soy increases estrogen levels too. Small amounts of fermented soy (tempe, Tamari, Miso) are better choices, but should be eaten on a limited basis and even then many are reactive to soy and find relief from symptoms once it is removed from their diet completely.

Other mood saboteurs:

Low calorie diets

• Skipping meals disrupts blood glucose and leads to low energy, cravings and binging
• Low calorie dieting leads to inhibition of serotonin and thyroid hormone
• Low fat dieting increase depression and irritability, can lead to low blood sugar mood swings – hypoglycemia; diabetes and reduce libido
• Low protein diets mean low energy & mood because brain and body are low on amino acids which make natural antidepressants and stimulant (serotonin, nor epinephrine and GABA)
• Pre-packaged “diet” foods are devoid in nutrients, highly processed and loaded with inferior fats and chemicals

Other foods to avoid –
All of these can trigger reactions and you could be allergic to them so uncovering these trigger foods through either specialized IgG testing or an elimination/provocation diet is very helpful.

• artificial sweeteners
• dairy products
• caffeine
• corn
• peanuts
• eggs
• chocolate
• night shade vegetables

Best foods for the brain

Numerous studies have found that Omega-3 fatty acids are important in reducing depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, ADD/ADHD, as well as, dementia. A common factor in up to 31% of people with major depression is a deficiency of B vitamins, and one in particular – folate, specifically in the form of methytetrahdrolfoate.

Other studies, conducted in the 70′s, associated vitamin B1 (thiamine) deficiency with a range of moods including, feeling fearful, irritable, depressed, and agitated. Other research has found that a low-fat diet can actually exacerbate depression.

Magnesium is frequently low supply for those with memory, cognition, focus problems as well as those with depression, anxiety and bi-polar disorder – indeed this is not surprising since magnesium and all the essential minerals are found in abundance in green leafy vegetables and bone broths of pasture raised animals; food not consumed by many who are afflicted with these conditions.

The swing in mood and energy that people sometimes feel throughout the day can be modified by reducing the intake of foods with a high Glycemic Index (GI). Foods that are typically digested slowly – low GI foods – such as minimally processed grains, legumes, certain fruits and vegetables, have less impact on blood sugar levels than foods with high GI. Low GI foods have less impact because digestion is slower and there is a slower release of blood glucose. High GI foods include processed flour, sugar, doughnuts and corn flakes. Consume low GI foods to reduce the level of blood glucose and thus the swing in mood and energy.

1) Protein (aim for a steady stream through out the day in meals or snacks):

Proteins in the diet affect brain performance because they provide the amino acids from which neurotransmitters are made. Protein contains all 22 amino acids essential for creating important neurotransmitters and thus good brain health. Tryptophan and tyrosine, are precursors of two very important neurotransmitters that impact our mood;  serotonin and dopamine.  Fish are especially beneficial due to their healthy fats and  high mineral content.

Choose from these healthy proteins:

• Fish, poultry, eggs, lamb, beef pork venison, buffalo, dairy products ( if not reactive), shellfish
• Fermented soy products such as tempe, miso, tamari (please limit)
• Vegetarian sources include nuts, seeds, beans and brown rice and high quality protein powder

2) Healthy fats (6 -8 Tbl per day):

Omega 3 & 9 rich foods (long chain fatty acids) promote proper cellular permeability and allow important fat soluble nutrients (A,D, E) to flow into and out of our cells. These fats stave off depression, lower inflammatory arachidonic acid, help regulate insulin levels, promote stress coping GABA and mood regulating sex hormones and increase feelings of satiation. Fats are major components of the brain cell membrane and the myelin sheath around each nerve. So, our diet must include an adequate amount of fat and the right kinds of fat can greatly affect brain development and performance.

Remember to include a small amount of one of these healthy fats with your protein:

• olive oil
• fish oil/EPA combination
• flax-seed oil
• butter (from grass-fed cows)
• coconut oil & milk
• cashews, macadamia & almonds, pumpkin seeds
• avocado

3) Vegetables and fruits (eat at least 5 -7 cups per day):

Vegetables provide vitamins and minerals necessary for brain chemistry and good moods. They can calm and energize and carbohydrates this type of carbohydrates do not spike blood glucose as grains do so they are superior.

Sometimes called super foods, because they are rich in antioxidant nutrients, such as vitamin A, C and vitamin E and beta-carotene, these foods are especially important to brain health because they help protect brain cells from free-radical damage caused by environmental pollution. Known as free radical scavengers these provide defense from free radicals and help protect our brains as we age. Studies suggest that taking supplements of vitamins C and E can also, help prevent the risk of Alzheimer’s disease and slow the progression of memory loss.

Here’s what you need:

• dark green and leafy vegetables = B complex and magnesium
• orange & red colored vegetables and fruits = vitamin A, C & bioflavonoids

4) Other Good Carbs:

Our brains need a constant supply of glucose from carbs for fast energy.In fact, the brain utilizes 20 percent of the body’s carbohydrate supply so a steady supply of low GI foods is essential to feeding your brain.  All whole grains (I suggest sticking to GF varieties) and legumes slow digestion and help stabilize blood sugar. Fruits digest quickly so they are a easily used as fuel by the brain.

• fruits (2-3 servings per day)
• grains (1-2 servings per day)
• legumes (1 – 2 servings per day)
• starchy & non- vegetables (3 -4 servings per day)

Lack of certain dietary nutrients contribute to the development of mental disorders. Notably, essential vitamins, minerals, and omega-3 fatty acids are often deficient in the general population in America and other developed countries; and especially in patients suffering from mental disorders. Studies show daily supplements of vital nutrients often effectively reduce patients’ symptoms. Supplements that contain amino acids also reduce symptoms, because they are converted to neurotransmitters that alleviate depression and other mental disorders. Dietary supplements can aid the treatment of the four most common mental disorders currently: depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, and obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD). Nutrition Journal 2008.

Minerals, in particular are critical to mental functioning and performance. Magnesium and manganese are needed for brain energy. Zinc is essential in protecting your mind and brain from the aging symptoms of forgetfulness. Sodium, potassium and calcium are important in the thinking process and facilitate the transmission of messages. Iron is also required to carry oxygen to the brain cells and aids in the formation of brain neurotransmitters, which affect attention and learning capacities.

Finally, a direct correlation exists between GUT health and brain health so proper ratio of friendly flora and digestive enzymes is essential. Indeed, many people find that once they establish proper digestion, eradicate yeast overgrowth or other pathogenic bacteria, they notice improvement in both focus/concentration as well as more stable emotions.

Resources & more information:

Enchanted Mind

http://www.naturalnews.com/027954_nutrients_Alzheimers.html

Numerous studies have shown supplementing with EPA/DHA to helps improve a range of health conditions from cardiovascular health to diabetes and neurological function. Essential fatty acids also help reduce inflammation, which we know is the driver of disease. I am a strong advocate of the benefits of essential fatty acids because I have seen numerous clients have a reduction in symptoms after regular, targeted supplementation with EFA’s.

What most people do not know is that actually obtaining the desired effect from essential fatty acid supplementation requires a more targeted approach.

Each form of essential fatty acid impacts the body differently

There are Omega 3, 6, and 9 fatty acids. While we need them all it’s the ratio’s that have become a problem for us in the last fifty years. This is primarily due to an over consumption of Omega 6 fatty acids (considered more inflammatory producing) because of feed lot raised animal products, and grains. I am focusing on the ones we need more of tin this post but will be discussing the Omega 6 fatty acids and their impact on health in a future post.

While we need a range of fatty acids for our bodies to function optimally, most people do not understand that the ratio of EPA to DHA in a supplement makes a difference.  Depending on what conditions you are working to address, having more or less of one or the other can help target your condition.

Further, most people don’t take high enough daily doses of EPA/DHA to achieve the full condition specific benefits from supplementation.

General health attributes by type of Essential Fatty Acid:

EPA: Targets heart health and body

• Anti-inflammatory
• Supports cardiovascular health
• Promotes healthy metabolism
• Reduces joint pain and inflammation
• Supports healthy aging

DHA: Targets healthy mood, mind and memory

• Supports memory, learning, focus and concentration
• Promotes cognitive health as we age
• Supports optimal brain function
• Protects eyes from age related damage
• Supports positive mood and behavior
• Supports the developing fetus, infant and child

GLA: Targets healthy skin, hair and hormones

• Helps relieve symptoms of PMS, such as mild mood changes, cramps and edema
• Maintains hormonal balance via prostaglandin metabolism
• Supports healthy joints
• Reduces inflammation in the lungs
• Supports mental well-being[1]

There are many condition specific EPA/DHA formulations:

Here are a few examples of how different EPA/DHA formulations target specific conditions:

Depression:

According to a study done by Am J Psychiatry 2002 the using a supplement with a slightly higher EPA vs. DHA from fish oil seems to reduce depression.

It appears from these 2 studies that 1000 to 2000 mg EPA is an effective dose for depression. It typically takes 3-12 weeks to see improvements in core symptoms of major depression. [2]

A Norwegian study of nearly 22,000 participants revealed that those who regularly took cod liver oil, which is rich in omega-3 fatty acids, were about 30% less likely to have symptoms of depression than those who did not. The longer the participants took cod liver oil, the less likely they were to have high levels of depression.[3]

Cognition and dementia:

Reduced DHA is associated with impairment in both cognitive and behavioral performance. Because these levels seem to decline as we age, supplementing with DHA rich oils is a logical solution to restoring DHA levels, with subsequent improvement in symptoms.

Why we need both EPA and DHA for this condition:

The membranes of neurons and brain matter are known to be rich in DHA, levels of EPA within membranes are significantly lower. However, the presence and action of circulating EPA appears to not only influence the risk of cognitive decline but also has potential to moderate important regulatory functions involving cognition. Circulating levels of EPA can influence signaling cascades, neurotransmission, phospholipase A2 activity and the production of hormone-like substances called eicosanoids that regulate immune function and inflammation.  All of these are roles that are vital in the maintenance of normal brain function. Since inflammation is a hallmark for the onset of dementia methods to protect the body from poorly regulated inflammation need to be considered as a viable tool to reduce the risk of developing cognitive impairment. And since EPA helps reduce inflammation it along with DHA should be helpful for warding off this terrible disease. [4]

Inflammation:

EPA is an important precursor to eicosanoids, which are molecules that regulate the inflammatory response. Because of EPA’s anti-inflammatory effects they are used therapeutically (at higher doses) for both inflammatory diseases and depression

Cardiovascular health:

Recommendations for cardiac health suggest taking a combination  EPA/DHA product and dosing ranges from 1 gram to 5 grams per day depending on other health factors.

Why this combination is more effective:

Research suggests that fish oil (which contains DHA along with other active components) may prevent cardiovascular disease (including heart attacks and strokes). In people who have already had a heart attack, fish oil may decrease the risk of another heart attack and the risk of death. Additionally, taking fish oil after an aangioplasty procedure or bypass surgery might help keep the blood vessels from closing back up. It is not clear if taking just DHA provides these same benefits.[5]

Liver health:

An evaluation of treatment of NAFD (Non-alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease) done by the Journal of Nutrition found that DHA was more effective than EPA at attenuating inflammation, oxidative stress, fibrosis and hepatic damage,” the researchers wrote in their conclusion. “Based on these results, DHA may be a more attractive dietary supplement than EPA for the prevention and potential treatment of NASH in obese humans.”

Triglycerides and RA :

The DPA/DHA Omega 3 Institute recommends between 2000-3000 mg of EPA plus DHA daily in order to be effective lowering blood fat levels (triglycerides) or to help manage symptoms associated with rheumatoid arthritis.

This represents only a few examples of the ongoing research findings about the benefits of using EPA/DHA supplementation to target specific health conditions. Please note that the interactions and conversions necessary for health will vary from person to person. Since this topic can be complex and a bit overwhelming for most people, I’ll be posting more on essential fatty acids in a follow-up to this soon.

Are you supplementing with EPA/DHA? Have you noticed improvements in your condition? If so I’d love to hear from you!

If you found this post useful please pass it on to a friend!

With one out of three Americans being diagnosed with diabetes or pre-diabetes, it is essential to find a program that not only addresses the root cause of this epidemic, but also in the process empowers people how to make changes to their dietary and lifestyle habits to be in control of their key wellness markers, especially their blood sugar. Knowing your WICO® Wellness Score score is anon-invasive screening tool that helps you do just that.

What is a WICO® Wellness Score?

It stands for Wellness Index Condition Optimal. You see the WICO® Wellness Score helps you pinpoint the root cause of your symptoms by determining whether it is a nutritional deficiency, chronic condition, unhealthy food habits or excessive body fat and weight. Once the root cause is addressed and corrected, the net result allows people to wean off their lifestyle induced medication. I recently became specially trained utilizing this new screening tool and am now an in-network provider. During this screening process, the client’s personal and unique WICO® Wellness Score is established by evaluating 15 key health makers.

And once you know your score a customized nutrition and lifestyle program is created to begin addressing what WICO® discovered so you can prevent chronic diseases like becoming insulin resistant.

The key is catching these trends early. This is because years before people are diagnosed with diabetes they are in a pre-diabetic zone. Unfortunately most doctors wait until their patients are already insulin resistant before beginning treatment.

This is because in our healthcare system is the typical physician will monitor elevated blood sugar levels and wait for people to become a diabetic and then begin giving them medication. What’s worse is that for about 90% of people who do go onto conventional care and diabetic medication, the complications are NOT prevented.

There is a better way to intervene early with proper diet and lifestyle change and I am pleased to announce I am now offering a program called  Transformations 360 This is a 5 week program that uses real foods and teaches you how to eat to reduce your risk increasing chances you can stay off medications. The results I have seen so far have been amazing!

Here’s one example of the results:

In a 10-week clinical study, the average patient on TRANSFORMATIONS 360 lost 27.3lbs and 18.65 inches across 7 body measurements while their key health markers of fasting blood sugar and triglycerides dropped 41 points and 40% respectively, according to the C.E.O of TRANSFORMATIONS, Inc., Al Pirnia.

I was initially skeptical, as you can imagine, because there are so many weight loss programs out that are unhealthy and include pre-packaged foods, pills, shakes, cookies, herbs and other tricks that we all know just don’t work or are not sustainable. I have spent the last two months carefully evaluating this wellness platform.

On this program you learn how to lose weight eating real foods you cook yourself. This program is from Australia, and only available through health practitioners. It has been used on over 1 million people.

…..But this program is about much more than just losing weight!

“We know people want to lose weight; about $60 billion is spent annually on weight loss, yet 92% of people regain the weight,” Pirnia said.  “TRANSFORMATIONS 360™ is a lifestyle change and that’s why people are able to maintain their success over time”. Furthermore, it’s not only about losing weight, but keeping people disease free, especially preventing diabetes with people who are pre-diabetic.”

I am one of the more than 1,000 trained and certified TRANSFORMATIONS’ Health Practitioners across America who can offer this evaluation. The fee for this test is $175 – however Transformations is allowing me to offer ten evaluations at no cost  to some of my clients. This no-cost test is only going to be available for a limited time and then I will be charging for it, so if you are interested in this screening please contact me right away.

If you are  interested in learning more about your health risks and how to prevent becoming pre-diabetic and/or establishing a weight management program please contact me at : 248-891-5215  or by email at email hidden; JavaScript is required to schedule a consultation. The consultation and testing services will establish a patient’s personal WICO® Wellness Score and pinpoint the root cause of their symptoms and ways to control unhealthy blood sugar so as to never let it become a diabetic condition as weight loss is maintained.

For more information on TRANSFORMATIONS 360™, please visit: http://transformations360.com

Most people have some idea of what detoxing is but they also have some confusion about why it is considered helpful by holistic practitioners for improved health.

The concept of detoxing or cleansing can probably be traced back thousands of years. In ancient times people didn’t have the blenders, detox in a box products or go to spas but they still realized the benefits of detoxification. The idea of fasting, taking only a liquid diet or that of fruits has been a part of many ancient cultures. A cleanse or detoxification process is also a way to assist in spiritual purification practiced by many Eastern religions.

This urge to purge tells me that people have probably always felt the need to rid their bodies of unwanted, disease promoting crud that accumulates over time.

Today, holistic health providers as well as integrative care physicians find putting their clients on some type of detoxification program improves people’s health in a number of ways.

How can a detoxification program help to improve overall health?

Detoxification programs are used to help resolve many chronic health conditions such as food intolerance’s, yeast overgrowth, skin conditions, neurological and behavioral conditions like ADHD and depression as well as many digestive conditions.

Detoxification, when done safely and correctly, can also help reduce chronic pain, improve sleep and ease you into releasing unwanted weight.

Benefits of detoxing:

• Improved digestion – anyone with food intolerance, yeast overgrowth, leaky GUT
• Improved bowel function – IBS/IBD, Crohn’s, UC, chronic constipation
• Reduced aches and pains – fibromyalgia, RA, MS, auto-immune conditions
• Clearer skin – helps with psoriasis, acne, rosacea
• More energy  – reduced after noon energy slump
• Improved sex drive – helps support balanced hormone production
• Better sleep – helps reduces insomnia
• Clearer thinking – improves neurotransmitter production and cell signalling
• Weight loss – helps clear toxins stored in fat deposits

Weight loss and detoxification go hand in hand

Many people who have trouble losing weight do not realize that a contributing factor is excessive toxicity in their body. Keep in mind we are exposed to a variety of toxins every day through the air, water, and the food we eat.

Our bodies are constantly detoxifying these substances through our liver, kidneys, lymph glands, lungs and skin. However, whenever the burden becomes too great on the liver – which is the body’s main detoxifying organ, cannot keep up and  it stores the excess toxins in our adipose tissue (fat) for later. With a continual onslaught of more toxins being processed the liver is forced to store more and more in our fat.

The first step – Remove & Replace

In the simplest sense detoxification involves abstaining from foods that are known to cause inflammation, lead to imbalances or that are really fake foods with little nutritional value. In place of these poor sources of sustenance you eat more cleansing foods that are nutrient dense yet easy to digest.

Eliminating or at least reducing exposure to toxins in your environment should also be a part of any properly conducted, holistic detoxification program. Our modern lifestyle means we have more environmental exposures from, cleaning products, lawn and garden products and air pollution as well as our drinking water than ever.

Additionally all prescription drugs as well as over the counter medications are filtered through our already overburdened liver. Remember that anything you put on your skin (shampoo, deodorant, perfume, nail polish) in addition to what you ingest is also filtered through the liver.  See my previous post: Ten Signals your Liver is Telling You to Detox:  http://nourishholisticnutrition.com/heart-health/ten-signals-your-liver-is-telling-you-you-need-to-detox/

So reduction of toxins from all sources is the first step.

Second step: add supportive foods, nutrients and herbs

The second step is to increase foods and supportive supplements/herbs that assist the body in removing toxins via the Phase I and Phase II detoxification process.

This is also why many programs include specific nutritional and herbal combinations of products. These are giving to help support the detoxification pathways during the Phase I and Phase II processes.

What actually happens in your body when you detox?

During Phase I a special enzyme called P450 located in the liver converts fat loving toxins into intermediate substances that are more water-soluble. These can then be excreted through urine.

In Phase II of the process the intermediate substances that still need to be further converted go through a series of reactions involving other enzymes so they can finally be eliminated from the body. These are called conjugants and include; glucuronic acid, sulfate, glutathione, glycine, taurine and methyl groups.  You can read more in-depth about this process at my post What Happens When You Detox? http://nourishholisticnutrition.com/toxins-detoxification/what-happens-when-you-detox/

Certain vegetables and fruits are especially good to include during a detox are; asparagus, broccoli and other cruciferous vegetables, as well as avocado, spinach, garlic and essential fatty acids.

Increasing green foods such as Spirulina, chlorophyll is also helpful as these help remove toxins.   In general eating as much organic produce as you can and drinking 50 + oz. of filtered water is a must.

There are also many herbs that are wonderful during a detox that help support the liver as well as bind to toxins so they can be removed more effectively.Usually animal protein sources are reduced and on some programs eliminated altogether for a period of time.

Remember that although or bodies are always going through Phase I and Phase II of detoxification, while you are cleaning your system you are intentionally increasing the amount and load of toxic material being filtered through the liver. This can be problematic for some people who have poor liver function or who have problems with methylation pathways, so working with a trained nutritional professional is very important. So adding supplements that support the liver is very important.

The third step – Repair &  Restore

After you remove non-supportive foods (and non-foods) and replace them with the right supportive foods (which varies from individual to individual) you need to repair the GUT and improve the digestive process. This means you will need to adopt better eating and lifestyle habits avoiding those foods and substances that created toxic over load in the first place.

Any properly done detox involves a careful re-introduction of heavier protein foods and sometimes those foods that are commonly reactive foods that you may have tested positive for . It also means you will need to add supportive nutrients in the form of specific foods that are high in natural digestive enzymes and friendly flora and or add specific supplements. Lacto-fermented foods and pro-biotic rich foods along with healthy fatty acids are essential.

Important considerations before undertaking a detox

Timing and individual health considerations must be taken into account before anyone does a detox.

If you have an auto-immune condition or have recently undergone surgery, or are in a very weakened, physical or emotional condition putting yourself on a full detoxification program may not be a good idea and could potentially harm your health.

Likewise, if you are planning a trip, or will not have the ability to shop for and cook your own food this probably is not the best time to detox.

There are several different types of detoxification programs available. Some are based on eating raw plant foods or juicing for a period of time, while others are less strict, including specific raw, cooked plant and animal foods. These are often combined with some type of specially formulated detoxification powdered product used to replace meals. In general I would be cautious about any detox that is too severe and is only done for a few days because you risk dumping too many toxins into your body too fast and you are less likely to get the full benefit of making lasting lifestyle changes.

I have found most people do very well on a graduated detoxification program that allows them to continue to eat a variety of whole foods and that takes place over several weeks up to a month. Just keep in mind that detoxing is a process and each person’s body reacts differently to the process of removing toxins from their body. This is why it is very important to make sure the detoxification program you begin is the right one for your individual health situation.

Think you might benefit from a clinically supervised detoxification program?

Take this self test to see if your body could use a Re-Boot:  Health Profile Questionnaire

• Scores over 50 – your health will benefit.

• Scores over 80  – your body is speaking to you to take action now.

• Scores over 100 – your body is in pain and is telling you to change some things.

I offer detoxification programs  that are custom tailored to meet specific health goals. Contact me  by filling out the form on my website and let’s arrange a time to have a brief chat about your health issues and goals to see if We Are a Fit.

While science is still not certain which comes first – poor GUT health or poor mental health what we do know is that the two are inextricably connected.

Current research is studying this link between the nervous system and the digestive system. We know there is a constant exchange of chemicals and electrical messages between the two systems. In fact, many scientists often refer to them as one entity; the brain-gut axis. Therefore, what affects the stomach will directly affect the brain and vice versa.

In his book called The Second Brian, Michael D. Gershon, M.D. states that “serotonin plays a critical role in digestion and without it we would not have peristalsis (movement).” He was one of the first researchers to discover that 95% of the body’s serotonin resides in the gut! This is our enteric nervous system and it can function independently from the central nervous system as well as be a part of it.

“The nervous system exerts a profound influence on all digestive processes, including motility, ion transport associated with secretion and absorption, and gastrointestinal blood flow. Some of this control emanates from connections between the digestive system and central nervous system, but just as importantly, the digestive system is endowed with its own, local nervous system referred to as the enteric or intrinsic nervous system. The magnitude and complexity of the enteric nervous system is immense – it contains as many neurons as the spinal cord.

The enteric nervous system, along with the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems, constitute the autonomic nervous system.  The enteric nervous system can and does function autonomously, but normal digestive function requires communication links between this intrinsic system and the central nervous system. Connection to the central nervous system also means that signals from outside of the digestive system can be relayed to the digestive system: for instance, the sight of appealing food stimulates secretion in the stomach.”

Source:  gi_nervous.html

The culprits:

Sugar and processed foods lead to poor digestion and feed pathogens such as yeast and bacterial overgrowths. Blood sugar swings (hypoglycemia) can trigger mood changes and some people are in fact very sensitive to sugar.  Sugar also leads to increased inflammation.

It’s difficult to think about shopping and even harder to prepare food when you feel depressed, stressed or have anxiety so many people resort to eating prepared foods that offer very little real nutrition and virtually not supportive nutrients to help digest their food. Interestingly, most people with low serotonin crave carbohydrates – just the opposite of what their bodies really need!

Eating many anti-serotonin producing foods such as soda, coffee, diet foods, chips, crackers, sweets and low fat foods certainly impedes a depressed person’s ability to generate needed serotonin. Better, pro-serotonin product foods would include healthy protein (from wild caught or pasture raised animals) and healthy fats. These foods contain tryptophan which converts to needed serotonin.

Remember that SSRI’s (selective, Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors) do not help your body to produce more serotonin. These drugs simply keep the channels open so the serotonin you do make can be used by the cells. So if you do not make enough serotonin to begin with these drugs will eventually stop working for you because they do nothing to help your body manufacture more of what you need. No one suffers from a Prozac deficiency – but they do suffer from serotonin deficiency!

How does this address the cause? It does NOT.

People who are depressed and not feeling well may spend a great deal of time lying on the couch, or generally being inactive too. This inactivity also negatively impacts your digestion.

All of this contributes to poor GUT flora and lack of digestive enzymes which in turn can lead to a host of digestive and bowel problems like gastritis, acid reflux, constipation and diarrhea.

Poor food:

Addressing poor GUT flora and improving friendly bacteria with probiotics and naturally fermented foods can actually help your body manufacture more of the healthy mood improving amino acids that you need.  For example, the probiotic Lactobacillus rhamnosus was found to have a marked effect on GABA levels in certain brain regions and lowered the stress-induced hormone corticosterone, resulting in reduced anxiety- and depression-related behavior. Adding a high quality probiotic in addition to eating foods like yogurt, kefir is a good idea.

The importance of re-establishing proper GUT flora and digestion cannot be over emphasized! This is because bacterial overgrowth’s and over production of yeasts can amplify the effects of depression. Interestingly many people who have depression, anxiety or other mood disorders  are highly likely to have yeast overgrowth and or food intolerance’s. Certainly anyone with IBS, Crohn’s or ulcerative colitis needs to establish and maintain a healthy flora.

Adding more fresh, living foods helps increase digestive enzymes. Eating two pieces of low GI fruit, such as apples or berries or raw vegetables like greens, celery or parsley can begin to help re-establish a healthier digestive tract. One of the big advantages of juicing is the easy intake of raw foods in an easy to digest package.

Another overlooked factor in eating take out and convenience foods is the poor fats used in these products. These oils are bad for all of us but are especially dreadful for anyone suffering from depression, anxiety or stress. The most common cooking oils used in these products (and by most restaurants) are corn, soybean, and canola oils. These oils are not only Genetically Modified oils, but are the wrong fats for our cells. All chemical and electrical impulses are dependent upon proper cell signaling. And unless we provide the correct essential fatty acids proper cell signaling cannot happen. Healthy oils like coconut, olive macadamia nut and those found in wild caught fatty fish like salmon or in avocado’s are the best. Anyone who has depression should be using these healthy oils and avoiding those used in commercial products. Supplementing with DHA/EPA can make a big difference.

Other contributing factors:

Be aware that vitamin D deficiency is associated with inflammation and depression. One previous study found that people with the lowest levels of vitamin D were 11 times more prone to be depressed than those who had normal levels. Getting out in the sun in warner weather can boost mood, plus many people who have very low levels of D notice improvement once they begin supplementing.

Low blood sugar levels can also drive mood swings and depression. If you frequently feel irritable, sluggish, have difficulty concentrating or experience dizziness you very likely have low blood sugar. This is nothing to fool around with so get your blood tested (the A1C is a great test that provides a snapshot over the last 3 months) and begin making diet and lifestyle changes to stabilize your blood sugar immediately. Increasing frequency of meals or snacks and replacing carbohydrate and sweet foods with healthy protein and fats can go a long way to stabilizing blood sugar and reducing these mood swings.

Other research has shown that depression is frequently associated with gastrointestinal inflammation – a common symptom of food intolerance. By uncovering hidden food intolerance’s, not only will physical symptoms benefit, but mental health symptoms can often show significant improvement.

Source: 23316916

You can see that the food you eat certainly is a contributing factor in depression, anxiety and a host of other mood disorders. What is needed is a comprehensive approach to improve nutrition and create lasting healthy lifestyles that help us to manage these stresses better.

Got depression? I can help! Fill out my Are we a Fit form and let’s talk about it.   

This post is meant to help you in determining if moving to some version of a Paleo or Primal in your way of eating is a good fit for you.

Let me begin by stating that a lifestyle (I do not like the term diet), based on eating foods that can be gathered, picked, hunted and that are clean, wholesome foods is absolutely in keeping with my core philosophy as a nutrition professional. Where I differ is this – I believe the foods a person eats must be based on three things;

1. Current health status – CVD, sugar dis-regulation, auto-immune conditions, digestive problems, food intolerance’s etc…

2. Where you live – the climate, growing season and if your access to food (urban/city dwelling) etc..

3. What is reasonably convenient, affordable and simple to implement given your lifestyle.

I stick to what I believe is the more original intent of the Paleo lifestyle which is four fold:

1. Moving people off grains & processed foods

2. Moving people to consume at least 50% of their food as plant foods (ideally organic) with greens as the foundation

3. Shifting from feed lot and commercially grown animal products (meat, fish dairy) to pasture raised, wild caught.

4. Encouraging consumption of health fats with every meal such as those from cold pressed virgin olive, coconut, macadamia nut oils, avocados nuts and seeds.

There are many books and blogs from the Paleo Purists that seem to forget not everyone lives in sunny California and not everyone can find or afford to be a strict Paleo Perfectionist 100% of the time! But don’t despair because I believe you can derive most of the benefits of eating more Primal foods without this lifestyle becoming overly restrictive.

With that said I do think anyone who is considering this lifestyle change should consider the realities of going Paleo.

If you answer yes to more than half these questions making the Paleo Shift is probably a good fit for you.

•     Are you buying and eating lots of fruits and vegetables already?
•     Do you enjoy spending time preparing your own home-cooked meals?
•     Are you currently purchasing mostly wild caught, pasture raised animal products vs. factory feed lot animal products?
•     Are the differences in quality and health benefits from eating organic and pasture raised important to you?
•     Have you already transitioned to eating minimal grains or have you been eating gluten-free for some time?
•     Is shopping more frequently and spending a little more money on higher quality food a way of life that resonates with keeping yourself healthy and out of the doctor’s office?

Realize that unless you live in a more urban area of the country on either the west or east coast; such as New York, Boston, Philadelphia or Los Angeles, San Francisco, Portland or Seattle dining out and staying Paleo may be a challenge. So if you are a person who dines out socially or for business or who travels you will need to have a strategy in place for these situations that allows for more flexibility.

Please don’t let the Paleo Purists scare you away from trying this lifestyle!

Realize that there are “degrees” of this way of eating. For example; some Paleoists do not include any dairy products at all be they fermented diary or raw dairy. Some do not include any dried fruits; while other lists allow these foods. Plus some Paleo food lists exclude starchy vegetables like sweet potatoes, all grains including the seed like grains such as wild rice, amaranth and quinoa; while other lists allow these foods.

This is where eating seasonally and based on the area of the world you live in comes in. And this is where I think some people not only get confused – they get scared away.

Remember changing your eating habits takes time and you’re not in a competition. Just getting started with removing grains and eating more grass-fed animal products are two changes you can make that will lead to better health. This is because eating very low carbohydrate and getting those carbohydrates from vegetables and low GI fruits naturally helps stabilize blood sugar. Eating high quality animal products (grass-fed, wild caught) provides your body with the right kind of fats plus eating this way helps increase lean muscle mass.

Try not to get bogged down with Paleo Perfectionism. Start slowly with one or two Paleo Principals, like removing grains, or using healthy fats or eating more organic produce. Establish a reasonable goal of  beginning to eat this way three days a week and slowly build from there. On days when you do eat following the Primal way of eating notice how you feel. Do you have more energy? Less pain? Sleep better?

Before embarking on any nutrition and lifestyle change program please remember that if you have certain conditions Paleo eating may not be the best choice for you!

Taking the time to work with a trained clinician in identifying underlying and often hidden food intolerance’s is also important because although a food may be permitted on any program this food may in fact exacerbate your condition.

Ready to do a Paleo Shift? Read about my newest program that can help you do just that here: Announcing Paleo Shift

Before vasoconstricting migraine medication was developed I was put on Vicodin which never worked and just made me incapacitated. Years later an insurance underwriter told me the reason my rates were being increased was because my vasoconstricting  migraine medications put me at higher risk for stroke! This is when I decided I had to find a way off the prescription medication merry-go-round.

Once I figured out what was causing my migraines I stopped having them. I have not had a migraine headache in almost five years!

What causes a migraine?

Migraine headache pathophysiology is complex. Migraines can be triggered by any combination of environmental, physical and emotional factors. In as much as these factors can be controlled migraines may also be minimized and potentially eliminated – as mine have been.

Lifestyle choices top the list:

Stress is a common condition most migraine sufferers know are a driving factor in the on-set of a migraine. One of the most common mistakes that migraine suffers all seem to make is that of over committing themselves which certainly increases stress. Not letting go and being a perfectionist or a “control freak”  is another common trait. Scheduling in time for yourself every day and practicing relaxation techniques such as guided imaginary or meditation does work and there is a great deal of evidence to support this. If you are in a toxic relationship whether personal or professional develop and implement a plan to change your situation. Here is a a handout I created that can get you started Work Life Balance Handout 2 Work Life Balance Handout 2 pg 2

Other migraine triggering habits are lack of sleep or inconsistent sleep schedule, shift work, and inconsistent meals times or skipped meals.

The Role of Diet:

Many people have hidden or undetected food intolerance’s and are eating foods that feed migraines. Remember food intolerance’s are a bit like an addiction – we feed the addiction and experience temporary relief – only to have symptoms flare up later.

• Removing common food allergens such as gluten, dairy, soy, corn and eggs for a period of 6 weeks to 6 months and then reintroducing these one at a time using a foods diary to see which foods may cause reactivity.

• Removing or avoiding all foods containing vasoactive amines; chocolate, red wine, citrus, cheese, shellfish – do this for 6 weeks and then re-introduce keeping a log of any symptoms.

• Do not use artificial sweeteners as these are excitotoxins and these  are known triggers and kill brain cells.

• Removal of gluten containing grains also helps many people reduce or eliminate their migraines altogether.

• Avoid sugar and high sugar containing products – sugar is very high in almost all commercially available condiments.

Gluten containing grains: 

Wheat – including wheat germ and wheat bran

Rye

Barley including barley malt

Bulgur

Couscous

Spelt

Kamut

Semolina

Triticale

Einkorn

Digestion problems

Poor digestion of proteins is also another contributing condition. Low stomach acid either from use of PPI medications or brought about naturally can lead to these undigested or incompletely digested proteins leaking through the intestinal walls (aka Leaky GUT). When this happens it triggers the secondary immune response causing reactivity which can manifest in migraine headaches. Increasing stomach acid through Betanine HCL, or apple cider vinegar usually takes care of this problem nicely.

Poor or incomplete digestion of foods from lack of digestive enzymes and friendly bacteria can also lead to dysbiosis a condition where these food particles putrefy and are welcome food for pathogenic bacteria such as h.pylori and yeast to feed on.

Additionally if you crave sugar and carbohydrate foods you probably have candida/yeast overgrowth which is a type of bacteria that can cause many problems including headaches. Yeast overgrowth testing from a specialized lab should be done and a complete yeast eradication program of dietary changes and yeast killing herbal supplements should be followed.

Adding more leafy green vegetables and fresh fruits is the first step as these have built in digestive enzymes. Apple cider vinegar, pro-biotic rich foods such as yogurt, kefir and other cultured vegetables such as sauerkraut, kimchee etc…help alkalize and assist in proper digestion of foods.

Good quality full spectrum digestive enzymes are also a good way to quickly assist the digestive process. Adding a high quality pro-biotic supplement is also advised as this type of nutrient needs to be constantly replenished and it is difficult to keep healthy ratios in tact through diet alone.

Since most people consume commercially farmed / raised livestock they are subjected to many unhealthy genetically modified grains; corn, wheat, soy. New research is linking these genetically modified products to changes in GUT etiology and increased disease.

Adding the right fatty acids

Increasing essential fatty acids from healthy sources such as raw and sprouted nuts and seeds, avocados, flax seeds and oil, virgin coconut oil and coconut products and virgin olive oils goes a long way in helping improve neurological health. Eating oils raw also preserves the integrity of the nutritional and healing properties. And as an added benefit flax-seed oil helps re-balance hormones.  Besides eating wild caught fish and seafood, adding a high quality EPA/DHA product helps ensure your brain has the right kind of fats. And if you dine out frequently this helps off set some of the poor quality fats you are consuming.

Hormones

Many women experience an increase of migraines near or around, the time of their monthly menses.  Get your hormone levels checked through salivary or specialized blood panel testing. Work with a trained clinician in anti-aging or functional medicine.

This includes checking thyroid, fasting and A1C blood sugar levels because both of these frequently present as co-conditions in migraine suffers. Bio-identical hormone replacement frequently helps minimize or alleviate some people’s migraines.

Be aware that proper testing and diagnosis of thyroid status is something that is not generally done by most doctors and is one of the most under diagnosed conditions.  Supplementing with iodine and a good colloidal mineral product will help the thyroid however, for many people; natural thyroid hormone replacement makes a noticeable difference.

Zinc and magnesium are also important and usually lacking minerals that help migraine suffers. Dr.’s. Murray and Pizzorono N.D.’s, recommend magnesium titrate 250-800 mg 3 x day (dosing is dependent upon individual needs as determined by a clinician.)

Poor, weakened or exhausted adrenal function is another reason contributing to frequency of migraine headaches. This should not be a surprise since people who get frequent migraines must realize these are very often triggered by schedules that are too full and too little down time.

Foods to eat to improve hormonal balance:

• Every day eat ½ sweet apple; ½ raw beet and 1 raw carrot. You can add these to a salad, or make them into a slaw.

• Take 2 tablespoons of flax-seed oil per day & eat raw olive oil.

• Increase leafy greens – aim for 4-5 servings a day.

• Eat raw beets.

• Eat wild caught pasture raised animal products – avoid commercially farmed/raised animal products.

• Eat as much organic as you can.

Importance of B Vitamins

Low B5 (pantothenic acid), B12 and folic acid status are all very common in adrenal fatigue situations so these need to be addressed.

The B vitamins are unique in that they are responsible for many conversions known as methylation and should you have the inability to make these conversions it can create many health issue.

If you are a person who has a family history of spinal bifida, depression, migraines, thyroid disorders, stroke, dementia and angina, high blood pressure or elevated homocysteiene  or cardiovascular disease strongly consider being tested for a genetic variance (MTHFR)  that is easily detected and corrected by correct methyfolate supplementation. SpectraCell Labs offers such a test.

Evaluation of micro nutrient status and organic acids can be a very useful tool in determining where specific imbalances are.  This is something best done by a specialized lab test and not typically done by most MD’s.

Clean up a clogged liver

Liver health cannot be overlooked as this organ is both a cleansing and detoxification organ and a digestive organ. These days most people have very overburdened livers that need extra help. Reducing your toxic load by careful inventory of daily exposures to environmental toxins in the home, work and your surroundings is the first step. Replacing chemical household cleaning products, personal care items and garden products with plant-based and eco-friendly products is a must. Minimize your exposure to off gassing from new furniture and carpets and consider if you are exposed to solvents or heavy metals at work or in the home. A water filtration system to remove at least some of the metals, fluoride and chlorine in your drinking, cooking and bathing water is a must. Remember anything you put on your skin goes directly into your body.

Schedule

The body wants to have a natural rhythm; sleeping when it’s dark and waking when the sun is up. Establishing and maintaining a schedule where by you go to sleep and waking up at about the same time each day is enormously helpful.

Eating meals at the same time each day also dramatically helps prevent migraines since many people who have migraines also have hypoglycemic tendencies whether they have been diagnosed or not.

A note for those who work the night shift – get off this schedule as soon as you possibly can. Shift workers have increased risks for many serious health conditions because this schedule is both unnatural and damaging to the body.

Increase serotonin production and relaxation

Standard medical treatment of complex, frequent migraines includes both drugs that decrease vasodilation and SSRI’s. Factors contributing to vasodilation are multifactorial and some have been covered here.

SSRI’s do not help the body manufacture more serotonin; therefore a holistic approach provides foods and nutrients that do help a person increase serotonin. 5-HTP is an amino acid supplement that increases both serotonin and endorphins. According to Dr’s. Michael Murray, and Joseph Pizzorno, N.D.’ a dosage of  200- 600 mg four times a day has shown good results.

GABA may also be helpful as this amino acid promotes relaxation. Melatonin has also been used with good results to aid in inducing sleep.

It’s important to work with a trained practitioner in amino acid therapy. Do not take 5HTP while you are concurrently taking an SSRI as this may result in serotonin syndrome.

Herbs

Herbal combinations show good promise too. Feverfew, ginger, peppermint, lavender, and butterbur, Black Cohosh, Blue Vervain, Eleuthro Ginseng and many others have been used in traditional formulations. Herbs can be used to support liver cleansing and overall tone and health .

Adaptogens are a special classification of herbs that are very nurturing to the adrenal, thyroid and parathyroids glands. They can help us in times of stress and adrenal fatigue.  Adaptogens also help support health hormone balance. Depending on causal factors different combinations of these herbs can work wonders to help minimize and prevent migraines.

Essential oils such as lavender, rose, German chamomile, clove, blue yarrow, sandalwood, and blue tansy are very relaxing. Flower Essences are also helpful during times of high stress.

Keeping a written log of your migraines that includes on-set environmental, physical, dietary and emotional information can help you determine what your individualized triggers are to.

Do you struggle with migraines? If you do I can help you.

There are a few reasons for this. Living in a society that places great importance on instant gratification is one reason we are often disappointed. But a lack of understanding how human behavior and change transpires is also to blame.

Stages of change:

According to the Transtheoretical Model of Behavior Change we go through five stages of change as we create conscious, new, healthy habits.

• Precontemplation is the stage at which there is no intention to change behavior in the foreseeable future. Many individuals in this stage are unaware or under-aware of their problems.
• Contemplation is the stage in which people are aware that a problem exists and are seriously thinking about overcoming it but have not yet made a commitment to take action.
• Preparation is a stage that combines intention and behavioral criteria. Individuals in this stage are intending to take action in the next month and have unsuccessfully taken action in the past year.
• Action is the stage in which individuals modify their behavior, experiences, or environment in order to overcome their problems. Action involves the most overt behavioral changes and requires considerable commitment of time and energy.
• Maintenance is the stage in which people work to prevent relapse and consolidate the gains attained during action. For addictive behaviors this stage extends from six months to an indeterminate period past the initial action.

These stages are steps in a process everyone goes through when they begin to make conscious change. Did you know that in order to create a new habit it takes at least ninety days? That’s three months!  So expecting to makes changes rapidly is not very realistic.

Why changing habits seems scary

It helps to think of change in terms of choice. You can choose to keep doing things the same way or choose to do things differently. But with choices comes responsibility and this is where things can get uncomfortable for people. Because when you make a choice you have to live with the consequences of that choice; good or bad. This is what grown-ups do.

And when it comes to food (for most people), it gets well, “complicated”. Many of us, if not most of us, still struggle with making food choices based on “emotions and old habits”.

There is no denying our emotions and social cues are very tied to our “child self” that wants security and comfort and not necessarily our “adult self” who tries to make decisions based on logic instead of emotions. It’s not surprising then that when we are feeling stressed, lonely or generally sorry for our self ultimately our child self will win out. When that happens and we sometimes eat that food we know doesn’t serve us.  That’s when our negative self-talk begins; we feel guilty, and think we are not making progress. Or even worse – we want to give up!

Steps to recovering from negative self-talk:

Acknowledge your baggage:
Recognizing that our food and lifestyle choices are deeply intertwined with how we were raised, how we were/were not loved and our own self-image is the first step in the negative self-talk that holds us back. Those old cues will come up and confront you and when they do acknowledge them and decide if they still serve you – or if they are holding you back.
Reach out for Support -
Ask someone you trust to provide feedback on how you look, and react now that you have embarked on nutritional and lifestyle changes. If you’re not working with a coach, this is another way you can obtain encouragement and constructive criticism.
Keep in mind that very often those around you notice changes in you before you do in yourself!  Use this free support system and you’ll be amazed at how it can help you create new healthier habits.
Use experiential learning
Experience the nuances. Tune into how you feel; both physically and emotionally when you eat in the new way vs. eating the old way. And when you do fall back into old habits ask yourself if eating/doing _____ serves the person you are becoming.
Set reasonable Goals and track your progress
Make your goals reasonable. Instead of saying I want to lose 40 lbs. in six months. Aim for 2 lbs. weekly or 6 lbs. monthly. Be specific about behavior and food changes you want to make, such as eating protein for breakfast, or eating no grains after noon, drinking 50+ oz. of water a day, snacking on a piece of fresh fruit.
There are many tools to use to track progress. These can be as simple as jotting down how many glasses of water you consume to logging a food and exercise diary in your Smart Phone Ap.
Here a phone app you can try; http://www.myfitnesspal.com/welcome/learn_more

Here is a website you can use: http://www.fitday.com/

Keep your eye on the prize;
When you do fall back into old unhealthy habits – and all of us will, examine why you acted this way. Then remember to move beyond your decision to eat/act out of your new healthy pattern. Try and learn from this episode. Re-group, refocus and start fresh. Don’t waste time chastising yourself. Do get going again moving forward.
When you come right down to it, altering diet and lifestyle habits involves letting go of old behaviors as you learn how to make better choices for yourself.  Getting good at anything takes practice before you can say you have mastered that skill. Keep practicing!!!

A “gift” you give – to yourself:

Consider re-framing the idea of change from something that is difficult and uncomfortable to accomplish to a series of powerful, transformational and exhilarating acts!

To me creating new, healthy habits and making conscious choices a powerful form of “self-love”.

Prayer for the physical body

Today creator I promise to make a new agreement with my physical body.

I promise to love my body unconditionally as my body loves me.

I promise to protect and take care of my body.

I will never again reject my body, abuse my body, or be ashamed of how it looks.

From now on I will accept my physical body as it is.

I will enjoy my body and be grateful for all the pleasures of life it gives me.

Forgive me Creator, for believing all the lies about my physical body.

Forgive me for judging my physical body against a false image of perfection.

Forgive me for everything I haven’t liked about my body.

…Author Unknown.

……..Remember we are all works art in progress. Cherish the journey.

In this post I want to discuss two other areas to consider that have been linked to chronic pain: heavy metal toxicity and exposure to environmental toxins.

Note: I’ll be writing more in-depth about environmental toxins in a future post.

We are exposed to toxins in the form of both man-made and naturally occurring substances on a daily basis. These substances are of particular concern for those with chronic pain. Heavy metals and other environmental toxins damage the central nervous system.

How many of the symptoms in this list ring true with you?

• Heavy metals cause cognitive impairment, dizziness and loss of balance, learning disabilities, speech problems depression, anxiety, mood swings, restlessness and can lead to damage in the blood vessels, anemia, hypertension and cardiovascular disease.
• Metal toxicity is also linked to fatigue; generalized muscular weakness; muscle and joint pain, stiffness, soreness, headache or migraine, canker sores; stinging tongue, belching, reflux, difficulty in swallowing or heartburn, indigestion; nausea and vomiting.
• Arsenic has been known to cause cancer of the respiratory tract both from inhalation and ingestion of the toxin.
• Mercury can cause bronchitis and pneumonia.
• Asthma can be aggravated by both arsenic and aluminum. These metals are linked to pulmonary edema and ulcers of the nose or a deviated septum.
• Heavy metals can wreak havoc with your pH levels and this can manifest in rashes and loss of bone density.
• Aluminum, copper, arsenic and mercury can cause aggravated skin conditions such as eczema.
• Thallium, lead and copper can cause muscle pain and decrease the muscle strength. Even low levels in your body can cause the endocrine system disruption and lead to aches, pains, rashes, hormone imbalance and acne.
• Many auto-immune conditions are exacerbated by heavy metal overload.
• Autism spectrum disorder is also linked to problems with heavy metals.
• New research shows that many neurological disorders such as Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s,  Tourette’s syndrome, OCD and ADHD may be in part due to both heavy metal and environmental toxic overload.

What are heavy metals?

• Heavy metals are a class of metallic elements. Our bodies require trace amounts of some heavy metals, including copper, zinc, and others, but even these can be dangerous at high levels.
• Most people know that metals such as mercury, lead, arsenic, and cadmium have not been found to benefit the body and in fact can accumulate over time causing serious illness and even premature death.
• Because of our modern manufacturing everyone’s exposure to heavy metals has dramatically increased to the point that the overall environmental ‘load’ of heavy metal toxins is impacting people’s health.
• Remember heavy metals are found in our air, soil, and even drinking water.
• Heavy metals are used in construction materials as well as cosmetics, medicines, processed foods, fuel, appliances, and even personal care products.

What to do – the first step is to limit or avoid exposure:

• Avoid aluminum contamination from drinking carbonated beverages in aluminum cans, cooking utensils, food additives, and in vaccines which contain both mercury and aluminum.
• Aluminum is used as a cleaning agent in water processing plants to clean tap water so installing a filtration system in your home to remove these elements is  a smart health investment.
• Many people now realize their dental amalgam (fillings) contain mercury, tin, copper, and /or silver. This is particularly likely if your fillings were done years ago. There are holistic dentists who specialize in safely removing these old fillings and replacing them with newer non-toxic materials. Should you decide to have old mercury fillings removed it is very important to seek out a qualified dentist who knows how to remove these safely – otherwise you risk increasing intoxication from mercury.
• Certain foods such as seafood and shell-fish may also contain mercury, lead, TBT, arsenic, cadmium. And anything in a can, especially acidic foods will be subject to leaching of aluminum into the content.  To limit your exposure buy organic, tested, and certified mercury-free fish and seafood and avoid consuming those fish known to contain the highest levels. Read more about consuming fish here: Is Eating Fish Still Safe?
• Lead is found in many building materials, cable covering, and roofing lead plumbing (lead pipes and copper pipes joined by lead solder).
• And lead is found in lead crystal, pottery with lead ceramic glazes, stained glass windows joined with strips of lead, old painted toys.
• Nickel plating for soldering in alloys is found in photoelectric cells, and storage batteries- (cadmium is also found in batteries).
• Care should be used handling these and proper disposal is imperative. Please do not simply put these in your garbage! Call 800-8-BATTERY. They will give you the nearest nicad recycling center near you.
• Many paints may contain lead, TBT, cadmium. If you live or work in an older home or office building you may be exposed to old paint that contains led, so take care when removing old paint and keep children away. If you plan on re-painting be sure to use no VOC paint.
• Don’t forget to check your cooking vessels! Read more here:?s=cookware

How to determine if heavy metals are increasing your pain:

There are testing options available to determine if heavy metals are present in your body. These options include:

• Blood tests are useful for identifying ongoing chronic exposures. However, blood testing is not a good method for identifying past exposures stored in the body’s tissues.
• Hair testing measures the body’s excretion of toxic metals over a long period of time. The length of hair determines what time period is being averaged.
• Urine and Stool testing also measures the body’s excretion of toxic metals, but is primarily a measure of recent exposure, usually during the last few days.
• Provocation Testing is widely considered the most conclusive method. This testing involves the use of a detoxification agent, followed by a collection of urine. This test tells you two important facts: 1.) The metal was present in the body, and 2) It demonstrates that the detoxification agent can remove it. It is best to first take a baseline urine sample, followed by the provoked sample. This allows one to directly compare the effects of a provocation agent. This type of testing is typically only done by holistic doctors as it requires the use of agents not available to the general public.

But remember you can to a large extent determine your level of exposure risk by reviewing the above lists and taking steps to reduce your exposure and remove these harmful substances from your body through chelation.

Cleansing, detoxification & chelation – oh my!

To remove these unwanted toxins and help reduce your pain you have several options.

Cleansing and detoxing involve both avoidance of toxic substances as well as improving digestion and elimination through urine, bowl, skin and respiratory systems to naturally remove toxins through phase I and phase II detoxification.

As I have written about in past posts the first step is to reduce your toxic load! The second step is to change your eating habit and improve digestive health and only then begin a cleanse or detoxification program.

There are many methods of cleansing that have become popular (such as raw juicing).  But all cleansing programs aim to alkalize the body’s pH in some way. I have written about detoxification here:   What happens when you detox?   and  Ten signals your liver is telling you to detox

But before any one considers a starting cleanse or detoxification program it is very important to be sure your liver is able to handle the increase in removal and that your body can in fact remove toxins safely.

To begin with many people have clogged livers. If you start dumping huge amounts of toxins and heavy metals into a clogged liver – guess what happens? You end up making things much worse.

This is why liver support before during and after is imperative so you do not end up doing your body more damage. Both herbs like milk thistle, turmeric, chlorella and green tea. And nutrients like B-complex vitamins, N-acetyl cysteine, and inositol, ALA, L-methionine, taurine and DIM.

Bentonite clay is also an old method of helping to pull toxins out of the body. This type of clay assists in removal of toxins from the liver, colon and skin. It is frequently mixed with water and other substances and drunk. Here is a recipe for a green drink/tonic with bentonite clay in it I have used:

Alkalizing Green Drink recipe (detox):

Add to large 10 -12 oz. glass of filtered water -

1 Tablespoon. Bentonite clay

1 Tablespoon Chlorophyll (Mint flavor)

1 Tablespoon Aloe Vera juice

Liquid trace minerals – as directed on bottle

Directions: Add these to a glass of water first thing in the morning. Keep adding water to the glass and dilute all day long.

Second, many people do not know they have a genetic defect that impedes detoxification.  This defect affects an estimated 50% of the population can make detoxification not only difficult but dangerous!

People with this genetic problem (which can be determined by specialized testing) cannot convert the necessary B vitamins which care essential co-factors during the body’s phase I and phase II detoxification process. This deserves a blog post of its own so I will be writing more about how you can tell if you are likely to have this defect and what to do about it in a future post….BTW, I always check to make sure that both the liver is health and capable of detoxification and will suggest additional screening by a holistic physician for anyone that has the health history indicating they may have methylation pathway issues.

Chelation – what is it?

You may have heard the term chelation but not known what it is. Chelation is a process by which one element binds to another so it can be excreted from the body. Chelation agents can be plant-based or chemical based. Contrary to what many people believe, chelation can be done without having to undergo intravenous therapy – although sometimes this is the best option.

Herbs used for chelation vary depending upon which metals you are looking to remove.

Cilantro is a herb that has been used to assist with removal of mercury, but be aware you’ll need to consume a fairly large amount of this herb in order for it to do its job – at least two tablespoons a day. Many people make the cilantro into a pesto to make it easier and palatable.

Garlic, gingko, coriander, kelp, sarsaparilla and yellow dock are other herbs said to remove various metals. Chlorella is another popular substance used to assist in detoxification in general. Again, depending upon which metals you test high for you would need to use specific herb(s) and combinations to effectively chelate them out.

There is the matter of ingesting enough of these herbs to get results and so tinctures are a good way to do this as they are much more concentrated and easier for most people to manage.

If you are going to purchase herbs please do your research because there is a lot of junk out there and the way the herbs are grown and harvested makes a huge difference in how the body reacts to them…I’ve spent a great deal of time learning about herbs and so I am pretty particular about which ones I will use and who I buy mine from…but I’ll save this discussion for another, future post.

Finally, there is a natural volcanic substance that some practitioners are using that is said to effectively remove heavy metals, PCBs, pesticides and other cancer-causing chemicals and pulls them right out of the body. Other claims are that this product binds with nitrosamines in the digestive tract, protecting people from the cancer-causing effects of processed meat preservatives. Let me say I do not know if all of these claims are true or not although I am personally trying this to see if it helps my restless leg syndrome.

Bottom line: if you believe you have heavy metal toxicity – get tested and chelate only under the supervision of a holistically trained health care practitioner and only after you have successfully done the first three things in this post. Attempting to chelate on your own for the reasons outlined in this post can be dangerous.

Additional Resources:

Dr. Baillie- Hamilton – Toxic Overload

Environmental Working Group http://www.ewg.org/health

Our current health care system does not do a very good job helping people manage pain and they do an even worse job helping people to understand what causes their pain and how to prevent or minimize it. Help managing chronic pain is one reason many people are looking to alternative and holistic therapies for non-pharmaceutical ways to get things under control.

According to a recent ABC News article chronic pain is among the top health complaints in the in country. An estimated 116 million adults experience chronic pain, much of it preventable.  It’s estimated that chronic pain management is costing the United States up to $635 billion annually, according to a report released today by the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies.

Did you notice that the Institute admits a great deal of pain is preventable? This should get more attention and I hope to provide a number of self-help tips you can try in this post.

Begin with uncovering and addressing the cause of your pain

Let’s look at what we know about pain and why it manifests in the body. Pain is a result of injury, trauma or infection. Chronic pain is a warning sign that something is wrong, out of balance, infected or otherwise under attack. And we to need to pay attention to our bodies when it cries out in pain because it is the body’ most basic form of protection.

Chronic pain is persistent and does not abate. It is often associated with an underlying condition. People suffering from cancer, chronic back pain, arthritis, fibromyalgia, MS, diabetes, or even depression may experience chronic pain affecting all areas of their lives.

1.     Diet is key!

There is a link between chronic pain and foods may people consume on a daily basis. Many commonly eaten foods actually inflame the body more and cause more discomfort and pain. And this is why many people are now taking a second look at their eating habits and removing some of the most commonly reactive foods from their diets to see if this helps them.

Some of the most common foods people tend to be reactive to and thus add to inflammation and pain are:

• Gluten containing grains:

Wheat – including wheat germ and wheat bran, Rye ,Barley including barley malt, Bulgur, Couscous, Spelt, Kamut, Semolina, Triticale, Einkorn

• Dairy products
• Soy
• Corn
• Eggs

Self Help Tips for Chronic Pain

• Stay properly hydrated. Drinking good quality filtered water – at least 50 oz per day helps you remove toxins and wastes from the body. Hydration is necessary for every cell in the body to work properly and be nourished.
• Use alkalizing drops or trace minerals in your water to help keep your body slightly alkalized.
• Eat more living, anti-oxidant rich fruits like berries, apples and grapes.
• Eating more alkalizing green vegetables either by fresh juicing or lightly steaming or sautéing them. Try adding leftover cooked veggies to the next day’s omelet or salads to boost plant fiber.
• Decrease the amount of cooked food you eat. Try lightly steaming and sautéing foods if you find it difficult to eat raw vegetables.
• Eliminate sugar and high fructose foods as these increase pain.
• Eliminate inflammatory Gluten containing grains and consume less of those GF grains.
• Buy organic produce to reduce your exposure to pesticides and other chemicals that put more of a burden on your liver.
• Eat more wild caught fish!
• Chronic pain uses up more serotonin so replenishing serotonin is very helpful. Getting your body to produce more serotonin is a bit complex and does involve several co-factors. Tryptophan is the precursor to serotonin so eating more foods like turkey, sunflower seeds and pumpkin seeds will provide tryptophan. You need B6 too. Here are some vitamin B6-rich options: spinach, turnip greens, garlic, cauliflower, mustard greens, celery, fish (especially tuna, halibut, salmon, cod and snapper), poultry (chicken and turkey) and lean beef tenderloin.
• You need carbohydrates too and these should come from vegetables first and gluten free grains second. Here are some good GF gain carbohydrates Amaranth, buckwheat, millet and quinoa are seeds with grain-like taste and properties. These are healthy, high-protein carbohydrates and small amounts of the right carbohydrates are critical to boosting serotonin.

 2.      Improving digestion and absorption of nutrients

•  Poor GUT flora is a common thread in most people who suffer from chronic pain. Boosting enzyme and pro-biotic rich foods is critical to improving digestion and thus nutrient absorption and removal of wastes through the bowel.

•  Besides fermented dairy (and now coconut products for dairy intolerant) something as basic as natural, unpreserved apple cider vinegar adds enzymes. Use apple cider vinegar in salads, marinades and add a ½ teaspoon to a small amount of water to help digest proteins.

• Cultured vegetables are another way to help improve digestion. Any number of vegetables can be naturally fermented. Here is a basic recipe:

Recipes –

3 heads organic green cabbage washed and shredded in a food processor

1 bunch kale chopped by hand

2 cups ocean vegetables such as wakme (soaked, drained and dried) with spine removed

1 Tbsp. dill seed

Or try

3 heads green cabbage shredded in the food processor

6 carrots shredded in a food processor

3 inch piece of fresh ginger root peeled and chopped

6 cloves garlic peeled and chopped.

Directions:

Combine all ingredients in a bowl.

Remove a few cups of the veggie mixture and blend in a blender with just enough water to make brine.

Add the blended brined mixture to the bowl of veggies mix and transfer to your air tight container.  Pack down tightly with potato masher or wooden spoon. Leave about 2 “ of room at the top for veggies to expand. Roll up a few cabbage leaves to put on top of the mixture and seal. Leave at room temp. (70 degrees) for three to seven days. Refrigerate after using and to slow down the process.

Note: Using a starter that contains friendly bacterium is advised.

This and the kiefer starter can be purchased at: all-products.html

Green Coconut kiefer

This is made from the green coconut found in many specialty markets and Asian, Latino markets. It is made using a culture started just as kiefer is made. You can also purchase it on – line at the above website or many health food stores now carry this item.

Additional Benefits:

• Stops cravings for sweets
• Aids digestion of all foods
• Has a toning effect on intestines, flattening the abdomen
• Cleanses the liver, improves skin hair, nails
• Contains high levels of mineral; potassium, natural sodium, calcium and magnesium.
• Cleansing effect on endocrine system (adrenals, thyroid, pituitary, ovaries)
• Increases energy and provides a feeling of overall health

More digestive tips for reducing pain:

• Be sure to keep your bowels moving and elimination healthy because as toxins accumulate they not only increase pain but provide safe harbor for nasty pathogens like yeast and bacteria that can become more serious health problems.
• Fiber from vegetables and fruits help here. In fact apples contain pectin which is soothing to the stomach and intestines.
• Adding ground flax seeds to smoothies and other dishes provides both fiber and essential fatty acids.
• Chia seeds are another fiber option I particularly like because they become gelatinous when they are in liquid and once eaten help pull waste deposits from the lining of intestinal walls. Plus even people with diverticulitis or who have trouble with other nuts and seeds can usually tolerate these without complications.  
  

In part two of this series I will discuss other drivers of pain and some traditional herbal remedies that may help. Stay tuned!

During the winter months when it’s too cold to open windows and fresh air exposure is limited its good to be aware of ways to reduce your exposure to these contaminates and know some non-toxic alternatives you can turn to. By following these tips as well as others I have posted regarding detoxification you can improve your body’s ability to do it’s daily work of keeping you healthy.

       A dozen tips to reduce your exposure to indoor toxins -

1. When the weather is too cold to open windows consider investing in a room air cleaner for      your bedroom and don’t use commercial air fresheners as these contain volatile organic compounds (VOCs).  Many of these products contain toxic phthalates or other hazardous substances under U.S. federal laws. Phthalates are a group of chemicals often used in fragrances and also used to soften plastics. Studies show that phthalates disrupt hormones in animals.

2. Salt rock lamps are another great, natural option. Salt rock crystals actually emit negatively charged ions into the atmosphere. This restores and neutralizes the air from positively charged ions emitted from electrical appliances and electronics like televisions, computers, fluorescent lighting, microwaves, heaters and air-conditioners. Balancing negative and positive ions helps reduce airborne infections. Read more here: Himalayan_Crystal_Rock_Salt_Its_Qualities_and_Heal

3. Another way to refresh the air is to buy some houseplants. Houseplants act as natural air filters and take in carbon dioxide and release oxygen.

4. Encase your pillows and mattress to protect against dust mites. You can also deter these using a special essential oil blend – Thieves Spray is one I really like that also kills dust mites and smells simply wonderful.

5. Buy HEPA furnace filters and replace them every 2 months. Vacuuming with a HEPA filter also helps get rid of other toxins, like brominated fire-retardant chemicals (PBDEs) as well as allergens like pollen, pet dander, and dust mites. Getting your furnace and duct work professionally cleaned every five years also reduces recirculating dust and grime.

6. Switch to non-toxic household cleaners (or make your own). Check out this link:  live_nontoxic_solutions.htm

The petroleum distillates and solvents in commercial furniture polish are highly neurotoxic. Make your own furniture polish by combining 10 drops lemon oil; 2 tablespoons lemon juice; and a few drops olive oil or jojoba. Tea tree oil,

7. Essential oils (especially citrus oils) are wonderful diffused into the air. These don’t just cover up cooking odors either they actually cross the blood brain barrier so they have powerful therapeutic properties and help lift our spirits too. Some blends such as Thieves work to destroy molds, mildew and are naturally antimicrobial. Citrus fresh is a blend of several oils that is especially nice diffused.

8. Stop using toss in fabric softeners. Instead add a 1/2 cup of baking soda to the water in your washing machine and let it dissolve prior to adding your clothes. According to the Allergy and Environmental Health Association, both liquid and dryer sheet fabric softeners are “the most toxic product produced for daily household use.”

- Most of the popular brands of fabric softeners contain many neurotoxins (substances that are toxic to the brain and nervous system) and other types of toxins. You can add a fresh natural scent in the dryer by using natural Lemon or Orange Essential Oils to a microfiber cloth and tossing this in with your clothes. If you don’t want to bother with making your own at least switch to eco-friendly brands like Seventh Generation of Mrs. Myers – both are good options.

9. Remember to run exhaust fans in bathrooms for a full thirty minutes after showering to help reduce mold and mildew from forming. Thieves Essential Oil and water also makes a good mold killer and is a natural deodorizer.  I use these to clean and disinfect my own bathroom and kitchen. Thieves essential oil household cleaning concentrate leaves a wonderful scent too.

10. If you’re planning on purchasing new furniture beware of off gassing of formaldehyde and flame retardant chemicals used in the manufacture of these products. If you can allow the furniture to sit in your garage for a few days before bringing them into your house this will help to vent these toxic gasses away. You should leave the door to your garage open as much as you can to allow these gasses to escape. Ready made draperies and bedding often also are treated with these chemicals so launder or air out before using in your home to prevent off-gassing contamination.

11. Remove shoes when entering the home so that nasty germs and other toxic compounds don’t end up on your floors and carpets. And of course regular vacuuming and washing of floors (with non-toxic cleaning products or vinegar and water) is a good act of prevention. I also wash the bottoms of my shoes regularly and disinfect with Thieves spray.

12. Invest in a radon detector. Radon is a colorless, odorless gas that is naturally occurring in the ground and it can kill you. Granite counter tops have also been linked to radon. While experts agree that most granite counter tops emit some radon, the question is whether they do so at levels that can cause cancer. You can download a copy of the EPA’s Guide to Radon Reduction here: consguid.pdf

It’s also a good idea to test your home for asbestos and led if you live in a home that was built between 1920 – 1950.

If you are interested in the purchase the specific essential oils mentioned or the Thieves line of herbal disinfecting products in this post please contact me as I do stock many of them or can order them for you.

This concept of balancing pH (acid/alkaline) is one that is confusing for most people. It’s one I get questions about all the time. Let me try to clear up the confusion ….

Yin & Yang 

The concept of balance through either alkalizing or acidifying foods originated in the east and was known as Yin and Yang. It stressed the need for balance when eating from all food groups however noting that disease was preventable through eating a slightly more alkaline diet. It was George Ohsawa who popularized the Macrobiotic Diet in the 1960′s by building on this idea of Yin & Yang.

Most western approaches have strayed significantly from the original meaning of Yin and Yang as balancing properties of health. The western interpretation of eating acid and alkalizing foods has been focused on acidic foods being disease promoting and alkalizing foods being disease preventing – which is only partially correct. By definition a body fluid pH of 7.0 is neutral; below 7.0 is acidic and above 7.0 is alkaline. The preference is to maintain a fluid pH (intra-cellular and extra-cellular fluids)  of 7.3 or 7.3 – slightly alkaline.

Western acid/alkaline diets focus on three principles -

1) Eating 80% of food from the alkaline foods list and 20% from the acid foods list to help reduce excess acid formation in the body fluids

2) the need for frequent detoxification

3) using alkalizing supplements to help the body replenish excess acid.

Western theories categorize foods based on whether a food is acid or alkaline forming or whether the food itself has acidic or alkaline properties.

Whether a food is acid or alkaline forming is determined by burning the food to ash, adding water to make a solution and testing that solution to see where it falls on the scale relative to its reaction to other tested foods. Very basically, those foods that produce more acidic residues have come to be deemed potentially harmful and disease-producing while those that are alkaline are deemed more potentially health promoting. Taking this approach is an incomplete and incorrect of ascertaining which foods are supportive and which foods are un-supportive.The original Yin / Yang list has been modified according to which author you read. Thus the measurement and methodology used to determine what constitute an acid vs. an alkaline food comes into play. If you Google Acid & Alkaline you will get many different lists that have specific foods in one category or the other and explanations on how they categorize them.All of this becomes very confusing for most people.

Unfortunately too many people get so focused on the lists of acid and alkaline foods that they lose sight of the fact the body is in a state of constantly going from acidic to alkalizing and back as a necessary and natural process of digestion of food.

The middle ground approach to pH  = balance:

One of the ways I evaluate a nutritional theory is to see how much of the theory is collaborated by scientific evidence and what reputable health professionals that I agree with endorse. Using this method helps me decide what protocols make sense to use in my practice to help my patients.

Normalizing acid-alkaline balance in the blood should not be the only basis for working out a suitable diet for several reasons. First, many diets that have been found to be very healthful are composed of primarily acidic forming foods (such as brown rice in the Macrobiotic diet and those of native African, Australia and Arctic people which are high in acidic forming foods). Second, the amount of enzymes, bile and other metabolites a person’s body manufactures to breakdown nutrients is affected by many other factors besides blood pH. A person’s genetic code, and ability to cope with stress, exercise level as well as numerous other factors influence health.

What I have been able to take away from all of the acid alkaline theories is that different people metabolize and thus burn calories at different rates. This is determined by many overlapping metabolic processes as mentioned. Finding the proper balance for each individual involves evaluating many factors in addition to diet; such as those mentioned and includes the current/past stress level, past traumas and exercise habits of the individual. Simply eating non-acid foods would lead to significant nutritional imbalances and be detrimental to health. A good place to start is by eating closer to our ancestral backgrounds and seasonally according to the climate we live in.

Weight Loss, Acid Reflux and Cardiovascular disease:

Naturally grown and freshly harvested raw foods contain vast amounts of nutrients, minerals and live enzymes. And most people eat predominately cooked or over cooked foods that are devoid of beneficial nutrients.  This is why I encourage people to eat raw foods each day, preferably with every meal.

For those looking to lose weight raw foods are very figure friendly. Eating raw foods helps improve body mass index. All raw foods contain minerals that assist in utilization of nutrients and enzymes that breakdown food that we use for energy. If minerals (which are naturally alkalizing) are low in your diet acidic wastes cannot get neutralized. Some wastes get stored a fat and some gets stored as cholesterol and lactic acid. This also increases acid levels in the blood and lymph which makes the body more susceptible to weight gain. As blood becomes overloaded with circulating wastes it clogs up the organs, slows down metabolism so less fuel (calories) are burned. All of this results in weight gain.

Acid Reflux is another condition that can be improved by our understanding of the body cycle of acidifying and alkalizing. Proper digestion depends upon alternating actions of alkaline digestive juices that split up food molecules. For example; the enzyme ptyllin in the mouth breaks down starch and acidic gastric juices, such as pepsin break down protein in the stomach.  Alkaline pancreatic enzymes digest protein and alkaline bile emulsifies fats and oils in the small intestine.  Acidic flora continue the digestion of protein in the stomach and small intestine. Acid reflux can disrupt this sequence by altering the pH factor in the stomach and small intestine.

Eliminating acid forming foods such as tea, coffee, orange juice, tomatoes, garlic and onions is the first step. Beyond this we can help re-set the pH by adding alkalizing foods such as potatoes, celery and leafy greens.  You can make a potato skin “broth” that is very alkalizing. Other alkalizing foods are green foods such as chlorella and sprirulina.

Cardiovascular disease is driven by inflammation inside the walls and veins and arteries. Current research suggests that inflammation of the heart can be caused by bacteria induced infections. This correlates with the concept of increasing acidity of the blood flowing through the veins and arteries damaging the heart.

Remember bacteria and viruses live off dead organisms so any fermenting or undigested food left in side of us increases likelihood of inflammation and disease. In addition to adding digestive enzymes and pro-biotic supplements specific nutrients are also needed.  Some nutrients that help alkalize that are recommended for CVD include magnesium, vitamin C, E, B6, B12, folic acid, thiamine, riboflavin and niacin. Hawthorn berry is a herb that has recently shown good results for those with CVD. It lowers blood pressure by dilating the peripheral blood vessels. The amino acid Taurine is also used in Japan to treat congestive heart failure.

Diabetics and pre-diabetics also benefit from eating more alkalizing foods as these not only help replenish minerals this group is typically low in but also helps to curb cravings for sweets. Plus anyone on diabetic medication has depleted vitamin C folic acid, magnesium, manganese and zinc. The plant fiber found in alkalizing foods is especially beneficial for this group too.

While there are many lists here is one to get you started:listofalkalinefoods

Try this alkalizing broth to help re-balance your digestive system. This is really excellent for those who are recovering from surgery or have auto-immune conditions.

Mineral-Rich Vegetable Broth

3 quarts of distilled water
3 medium to large whole potatoes
2-3 stalks of cut celery
1 or 2 large leaves of any greens
Greens = such as collard, mustard, kale, spinach, turnip or a half bunch of parsley (carrot or beet tops work also).

In a stainless steel pot add the water and all the vegetables and bring to a light boil with the lid on. Simmer for 15 minutes. Remove from the heat, and after it has cooled a bit, strain keeping only the juice. Refrigerate. Drink 2-3 cups per day.

Adding some kelp or Celtic sea salt also improves the mineral content and tastes better!
For more fiber puree some of the cooked greens and add back to the pot.

For more alkalizing recipes see this link:

acid-alkaline-foods-and-recipes

References:
The Acid Alkaline Balance Diet, Felecia Drury Kliment

The Acid Alkaline Diet for Optimal Health by Christopher Vassey, ND

Acid & Alkaline by Herman Aihara
Weston A Price Foundation – Weston A Price

Some of what your about to read may actually contradict what you thought was true about successful weight loss!  I know it surprised me. However, one thing I have realized over the years is if you want to lose weight you have to move outside the box of conventional weight loss dogma and look at what hard science proves actually works. I’ve provided source information for what I have included here so you can read for yourself and judge.

Eight weight loss truths that can increase your chances of success this year

1.      There is a right and a wrong way to hydrate!

• Water: drink 12 oz. upon waking – before morning coffee or eating anything. This helps re-hydrate your body from sleeping and also fills your tummy up so you eat a bit less.
• Drinking 8 oz. of water before each meal also helps decrease appetite and helps you eat less.
• Only sip water with meals because water can dilute digestive enzymes.
• Adding green tea has been proven to increase the body’s metabolic rate.
• No juice – too many calories and too much natural sugar.
• No soda – not even diet.
• No alcohol while trying to reduce – not even red wine.

2.      Exercise is absolutely essential – every day!

• Burst training works better than lengthy cardio or circuit training every other day. Despite what you may believe, the new research shows that burst training for just 20 minutes every other day helps people lose weight faster because it revs up your metabolism for hours after you finish exercising. In burst training you do intense exercise for :30 – 60 then rest for twice as long. Repeat and work up to 8 reps of this.
• There are many exercises you can do that work for burst training. The main thing to remember is that building lean muscle is what you want – not just aerobic exercise. So if you can eventually work with small hand weights or resistance training you will be building muscle and burning calories longer and more efficiently. Remember you many not be able to do even :30 at first and you may need to begin with easier exercises at first. Eventually you can do burst training every day.

Here is a video that shows you how. There are many example on You Tube you can look at beside this one.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wOXYg4GfSx4

• Wearing a pedometer also works because it helps people remember to move throughout the day in addition to doing their burst training exercises for 20 minutes each day. Remember the human body was designed to walk and stand not to sit and lay for 8+ hours a day as most Americans do!
• If you work at a desk job like most people these days set an alarm or reminder to get up and move every :30-:45 minutes during the day. This really helps your body use energy better and this means it helps you lose weight.

3.      Quick weight loss works better to motivate and keep you losing.

This was quite a surprise to me but apparently statistics show that people who lost weight quicker, kept losing and lost more weight overall. So getting started it is important to see results fast because this helps keep you motivated – and losing weight.

• Average fast weight loss is 2lbs. a week for women and 3-4lbs a week for men.
• Once you are within 5lbs. of desired weight you can begin adjusting your intake to maintain weight.
• So don’t cheat and you will see results!

4.       You must watch and limit portion size to lose weight.

Note: each person’s specific portion and servings allowed will depend upon their BMR and activity level so what I have provided are ranges. To lose weight you will need to reduce the amount of calories you consume each day by 300 – 500 calories from your BMR.

Here are a few general guidelines on portions –

• At least ½ your plate should consist of vegetables.  Eat unlimited green, red and yellow non-starchy vegetables every day.
• Protein; usually 2- 4 servings (3-6 oz. sized) per day
• Limit healthy fat because this is a very concentrated form of calories. Most adults require between 4-6 tsp. a day. Healthy oils are olive, coconut, flax seed and avocado oils
• Skip eating grains as much as possible & opt for 1 – 2 ½ cup servings per day of starchy veg instead. Remember fruits and vegetables are sources of healthy carbohydrates. The human body can do just fine without grains.
• Adding 1- 3 ½ cup serving of beans and legumes helps provide healthy fiber, just be sure not to overdo because these do contain a high amount of carbohydrates and when trying to lose weight you want to restrict carbohydrates form grains and legumes.
• Eat only low GI fruits and limit to 2-3 servings (approx.. 80 calories) a day. Good choices are berries (the darker the better) and apples. No bananas! No Pineapple! These are too high in natural sugar when you trying to reduce. And no dried fruits either.
• Limit nuts and seeds while reducing calories. Treat these as a condiment along with cheese unless intolerant.
• Be sure to get enough fiber every day. Eat at least 50 grams per day from plant sources.
• You can also try this visual trick – instead of using dinner size plates switch to serving yourself on salad plates. You will be surprised how using a smaller plate helps you keep portion sizes down!

5.      Studies show that replacing one to two meals per day with a meal replacement product actually helps improve weight loss success.

• Most people find a meal replacement helps them get their day started on the right foot because it is easy to use and fills them up.
• Using a high quality meal replacement product for breakfast improves people’s success rate.
• I suggest using a dairy free and soy free meal replacement product with added vitamins, minerals, greens, probiotics and enzymes and it must be very low net carbs – under 6 grams. Most over the counter brands are very high in carbohydrates and this is why I only use professional meal replacement products.
• And be sure to get a meal replacement product, not just protein powder because you will be getting a complete nutritional profile with the meal product.

6.     Don’t snack! Eat every 5-6 hours and follow the five rules of the Leptin Diet

Link: the_five_rules_of_the_leptin_diet

7.     Get your digestive system working so you can use the food you eat to fuel your body and stay healthy.

• This means removing hidden food intolerance and getting yeast overgrowth under control.

If you’re just beginning to seriously work on your weight this is a great time to take advantage of my Digestive Restoration Program. Working with a coach really helps most people reach their health goals!

Click here for details: Digestive Restoration Package Special

8.    Get checked by your physician for overall health bio-markers.

• CBC blood panel
• Be sure your thyroid is in healthy working order
• Check hormone levels
• Check blood sugar and be sure cholesterol is in healthy ranges.
• Vitamin D, Magnesium, B12 and folate levels

Losing weight is only possible if you are in good health first. So making the changes you need to get in good health should be your first priority. And remember that losing just 7% of your body weight will help reduce your risk of developing many chronic health conditions!

.. Coming soon! I’ll be announcing a program that actually screens for pre-diabetes and cardiovascular risk as well as several other bio-markers. Look for details in the coming weeks.

Give these a try and let me know what you think!

Sources:

JJ. Virgin: thevirgindiet.com

Dr. Byron Richards:  1933927283

Metagenics – First Line Therapy: firstline-therapy-program

CDC  National Diabetes Prevention Program: website: about.htm

50 Plus: benefits-of-walking.html

I. Most stress is self-generated:

Many people spend a great deal of time worrying about things that might happen or re-living events that have already happened instead of relishing the moment they are in. While when you ask most people the cause of their stress they name a person or persons, when in fact most stress is self-generated!

This realization in and of itself should be empowering.

Accept that you cannot control what others do, the weather or the economy. You can control what you do and importantly how you react to situations to reduce the amount of stress in your life. To do this you need to learn to re-frame things.

What to do? 

Try this re-framing by doing this exercise using the acronym STOP:

S =Stop

T=Take a breath

O=Observe what is it you are doing at this very moment…. & then ask yourself  “what is the most important thing I need to focus on right now”?

Then once you answer this question; take a breath and P=proceed.

Second, remember that you can say no and can set boundaries about how you spend your time .

You do not have to do it all and do not feel like you must compete with the decorations you see on television and magazines, or the expensive gifts you see advertised (or that your kids are begging you for). There is a reason for this season and we would all be much less stressed if we focused on that instead of material things.

And for those of us who have some difficult people in our life we will be forced to spend time with – remember you can limit your visit to minimize interactions with these “toxic” people. If you are the  host;  instead of a lengthy meal invite consider inviting those less favorite relatives to a -2 hour brunch or plan to meet at a restaurant where you can leave when you want to. And do ask and accept offers of help with food preparation and clean up!

Third remember chronic stress is damaging to our health. This is because during chronic stress the body remains in a prolonged state of alert; and our stress hormones (cortisol & adrenalin) and other physiological responses (rapid breathing, elevated blood pressure, muscular contractions etc) remain elevated for prolonged periods.

When this happens, physiologically, we don’t experience the relation response which means our hormones remain elevated and physiological conditions remain on alert. This is damaging to our health and lowers our immune response – which is why we so often become sick during times of high stress.

The good news is you can learn to is to re-create the relaxation response for yourself. One way you can do this by practicing deep bellying breathing (like what you do when you do yoga, or meditate).

Another way can achieve the relaxation response by using guided imagery.

Give this free down load a try…be sure to get into a comfortable sitting position or lay down and close your eyes first. Take 5-7 deep belly breaths before you begin…

Guided Imagery

II. When we are under stress our bodies need more of these specific nutrients:

Vitamins: A, E and C, the B vitamins, and Minerals: zinc, selenium, calcium, magnesium, iron, potassium, sulfur, and molybdenum are the most common nutrients to be depleted during stress… so infuse your body with nutrient dense foods!

Stress also causes the body to use up more energy, and so you may find yourself craving more carbs, protein, and more fats— particularly the fatty acids…. reaching for foods that actually feed your body is the key here.

The good news is that you can ensure you are getting high amounts of the kind of nutrients your body is telling you it needs by eating a whole foods based diet with lots of leafy green vegetables; raw nuts and seeds, beans & legumes; seafood and eggs. And you can do this during the holidays even at social gatherings fairly easily!

III. How to provide more of the nourishing foods you need within easy reach during the holidays:

Vitamin A Vitamin C Vitamin E foods: basically if you eat lot’s of fresh fruits and colorful veggies you’ll get plenty of these. So include raw veggies with dips and spreads in your holiday menu. Fresh berries are another delicious option that create a colorful festive table.

Magnesium is the fourth most abundant mineral in the body and is essential to good health. Approximately 50% of total body magnesium is found in bone. The other half is found predominantly inside cells of body tissues and organs.
Magnesium is needed for more than 300 biochemical reactions in the body. It helps maintain normal muscle and nerve function, keeps heart rhythm steady, supports a healthy immune system, and keeps bones strong. Magnesium also helps regulate blood sugar levels, promotes normal blood pressure, and is known to be involved in energy metabolism and protein synthesis. There is an increased interest in the role of magnesium in preventing and managing disorders such as hypertension, cardiovascular disease, and diabetes.

Magnesium rich foods

Green vegetables such as spinach, swiss chard, kale and turnip or beet greens are all good sources of magnesium because the center of the chlorophyll molecule (which gives green vegetables their color) contains magnesium. Some legumes (beans and peas), nuts and seeds, and whole, unrefined grains are also good sources of magnesium. Add these greens to casseroles, stews, meatloaf and rice dishes. And try adding beans and legumes to rice and soups. Don’t forget humus makes a great party dip and it’s made from chick peas! And try my sweet and spicy kale chip recipe is delicious! (scroll down to end of this post for the recipe)

Zinc
Zinc helps the immune system  fight off invading bacteria and viruses. The body also needs zinc to make proteins and DNA and genetic material in all cells. During pregnancy, infancy, and childhood, the body needs zinc to grow and develop properly. Zinc also helps wounds heal and is important for proper senses of taste and smell. If you suffer from digestive disorders or gastrointestinal health issue such as, ulcerative colitis or Chron’s Disease you are likely deficient in zinc. Certain prescription medications also deplete the body of zinc.

Zinc foods
Oyster, beef, lamb, crab meat, chicken, sesame seeds (tahini), pumpkin seeds, and sea vegetables are all high in zinc. Make your own mixed seed and nuts and have around for snacks. Try the seaweed snacks now available at Trader Joe’s and other specialty markets for a good mineral infused snack.

Selenium is also found in abundance in all seafood and in brazil nuts. Think of all the spreads and ips that you can include made with crab-meat &  shrimp. I like to buy turkey meatballs and add my own sweet and tangy sauce and let simmer in a crock pot for major munching.

B-Complex vitamins
The B-complex vitamins aid in cell reproduction so anytime the body needs to repair or restore (from injury or illness) they are required. They are essential to energy production because they are used to break down carbohydrates needed for energy, fats and proteins required for proper nervous system function.  So if you are feeling fatigued add more B-complex foods to your diet.  Three B vitamins are helpful with heart problems; B6; folic acid and B 12 all breakdown homocysteine to help prevent heart attacks.

B-Complex foods
Dairy products, animal liver, beans & legumes, wheat germ, Brewers Yeast and leafy green vegetables such as spinach and kale are especially high in B-complex vitamins. Spinach and artichoke dip anyone?

Any cruciferious vegetable (broccoli, cabbage, brussel sprouts, kale) is high in sulfur. Sulfur is important for detoxification and cleansing that  is continually going on in the body.

EFA’s

And remember those good healthy fats by drizzling herbal infused olive oils onto blanched vegetables and making creamy guacamole with avocado’s. Here is a link to a company that makes wonderful high quality extra virgin olive oils and vinegar  -  deloliva.com  These make great holiday gifts too!

And finally – remember to give yourself permission to indulge and live a little on the wild side a over the holidays…. it will do your spirit good!

My blessings to you and your family for a beautiful and abundant holiday season. 

Sweet & Spicy Kale chips

Ingredients:

1 bunch kale
2 teaspoons wheat free low sodium tamari or Bragg Liquid Aminos; or Coconut Amino’s

2 teaspoons of honey, maple syrup – or use stevia (15 drops)
2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
2 teaspoons lemon juice
2 Tablespoons toasted sesame oil
½ teaspoon of garlic powder

¼ teaspoon of powdered ginger

1/8 teaspoon of cayenne pepper
4 Tablespoons hulled (white) sesame seeds
Instructions:
1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

2. Tear kale off of stems and into bite–sized pieces (remember: kale will shrink a lot while baking, so don’t make them too small).

3. Wash kale in a big bowl of water. Drain, and dry very well using a salad spinner and then place on paper towel and wring dry. This also helps break down the kale to make it less fibrous.

4. Whisk all other ingredients together and pour over kale a little at a time in a bowl. Massage the sauce into the kale pieces so that they are well coated. You may not use all of the sauce. Only pour enough to JUST coast the leaves. You don’t want it dripping.

5. Lay the kale pieces out on two parchment-paper-lined cookie sheets in a thin layer.

6. Bake for 15 minutes. Then turn the pieces over and back in the oven for another 5 min.

7. Once crisp, remove from oven and serve in a bowl. Store in paper bag and then place inside a plastic airtight container to help retain crispness.

Even kids will devour these!

These days many, many people have over burdened livers that are “speaking” to them and crying out for help!

Ten signs your liver is telling you it needs help:

1. abdominal bloating
2. pain or discomfort over the liver – (right upper abdominal area under the rib cage)
3. excessive abdominal fat; pot belly; or a roll around the upper abdomen
4. trouble digesting fatty foods
5. had your gallbladder removed
6. acid reflux/heartburn
7. dark spots on the skin commonly referred to liver spots
8. overheating of the body & excessive perspiration
9. acne/rosacea or itchy, blotchy skin
10. unexplained weight gain and inability to lose weight even with calorie restriction

Other signs to watch for include high blood pressure, fatigue, high cholesterol and triglycerides, mood swings and depression, sleep apnea or snoring and fatty yellowish lumps around eyes. These are signs you need to take action, detox and alter you diet and lifestyle to heal your liver.

These are all signs that your liver is blocked or clogged up with unhealthy fat – in extreme cased it’s called fatty liver. When this happens the cells that act as a filter become too swollen with fat and the liver cannot screen out or filter the many substances being passed through it. Remember the liver functions to clean out used blood and return it to the heart. If this situation is not reversed you end up with recycled toxins entering you heart via uncleaned blood. This can damage your heart and immune system and lead to rapid aging. All your hormones and any medications you take also are filtered through the liver.

How do you get a clogged or fatty liver?

People who do not consume alcohol can have non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. In fact NAFD is directly correlated to people who consume a high carbohydrate diet and who eat an abundance of processed foods or foods high in sugar. No wonder this is on the rise in America where people eat diets composed of mostly simple carbohydrates and sugar laden foods. Some estimates indicate rates of NAFD are as high as 33%!

What else contributes to a toxic, clogged liver?

These days we are exposed daily to high levels of toxins (i.e. chemicals, pesticides, water contaminants, food preservatives, heavy metals and electromagnetic radiation) through our food, water, air, body and home products. These toxins lodge in the bowel, liver, kidneys, lymphatic system and especially fat tissue. The toxic build up prevents the normal uptake and utilization of nutrients, carbohydrates and proteins. It reduces the body’s oxygen uptake and creates an acidic, septic, low-energy state, prone to disease.

When our livers are so busy working to filter out all these toxins the liver has very little energy left to filter blood, drugs, hormones let alone do the job as a digestive organ. and thus many find losing weight more difficult. Also see : what-happens-when-you-detox

What you can do to begin detoxing your liver -

I. The first step to reducing our toxic load is to reduce your exposure to air-borne toxins:

• Smoke
• Gasoline
• Paint & Glue
• Cleaners
• Nail polish & Perfumes

Reduce exposure from toxins in food and drink:

• Alcohol
• Preservatives
• Dyes
• Pesticides
• Fertilizers
• Heavy metal in large fish – stick to wild caught salmon (also see this post is-eating-fish-still-safe)
• Contaminated water – invest in a filtration unit
• Chlorinated and brominated products (found in almost all commercially produced breads and bread products)

Switch to non-toxic and plant-based, cleaning and personal care products  and eliminate petroleum-based preservatives in skin and hair care products.

Remember -

• The skin is the largest organ in your body….what is applied to your skin is absorbed right into your body. So, if you would not eat it don’t use it on your skin.
• Even “organic” products may be preserved with toxins so look for essential oil preservatives on label such as orange oil and lemon oil.
• Make your own skin lotions with organic shea butter, coconut oil, jojoba, olive oil and essential oils

And be aware of  ElectroMagnetic Fields EMF‘s from cell phones, WiFi, cordless phones, hospital radiology departments and air planes.  Keep cell phones, WiFi, electronic clocks and computers at least 8 feet distance, especially where you sleep.

II. The second step is to change your eating habits by removing foods that are especially harmful to your liver.

Eliminate processed foods, simple carbohydrates and sugar. Focus on eating more organic produce. Eat less cooked foods and don’t over cook your food. Don’t use a microwave as this destroys all the healthful properties of the food.

Eliminate toxic, poor quality fats like canola oil, soybean oil, corn oil. And don’t eat animal products from animals fed genetically modified feed such as soy, corn, and wheat.

Limit or eliminate alcohol immediately if you have been experiencing more than 3 of the symptoms listed in this post.

Get checked for hidden food intolerance’s, yeast overgrowth and consider heavy metal testing.

III. The third step is to add more supportive foods to help repair the damage to your liver and other organs. Eat lot’s of raw fruits and vegetables, especially dark green leafy vegetables and brightly colored ones.

Thirty to forty percent of the diet should consist of raw fruits and vegetables. Try to include a couple serving of raw fruits or vegetables every day. These really help your digestion because they contain living enzymes, vitamin C, natural antibiotic substances and anti-cancer phyto-nutrients. Raw juicing is another way to gain the benefits from these foods.

Eating naturally fermented foods (sauerkraut, cultured vegetables, and natural un-preserved, apple cider vinegar and foods rich in probiotics (yogurt and kefir) also helps.

Other important nutrients:

• Vitamin K – green leafy vegetables and alfalfa sprouts.
• Arginine – this helps the liver to detoxify ammonia, which is a toxic waste product of protein metabolism. Arginine is found in legumes (beans, peas, and lentils), carob, oats, walnuts, wheat germ and seeds.
• Antioxidants – found in fresh raw juices such as carrot, celery, beetroot, dandelion, apple, pear and green drinks from chorella and spirulina, and fresh fruits, particularly citrus and kiwi fruit.
• Selenium – sources of the antioxidant selenium are Brazil nuts, kelp, brown rice, molasses, seafood, wheat germ, whole-grains, garlic and onions.
• Methionine – is essential for detoxification. Is found in legumes, eggs, fish, garlic, onions, seeds and meat.
• Essential fatty acids – Seafood, cod liver oil, and fish oil. Seafood may be fresh, canned or frozen such as sardines, salmon, mackerel, tuna, trout, mullet, blue mussels, calamari, herring, blue eye cod. Fresh avocado, fresh raw nuts and seeds, legumes (beans, peas, lentils), whole grains, wheat germ, green vegetables such as spinach, green peas and green beans, eggplant, cold pressed fresh vegetable and seed oils, freshly ground seeds, especially flaxseeds (linseed), evening primrose oil, black-currant seed oil, star flower oil. Essential fatty acids are required for healthy membranes in every cell of the body and plentiful amounts are required for healthy liver function. This is why strict low fat diets are not beneficial for general health, weight control or liver function.
• Natural sulphur compounds – are found in eggs (preferably free range), garlic, onions, leeks, shallots and cruciferous vegetables such as broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage and Brussels sprouts.

IV. The fourth step is to rebuild your liver’s health by using supportive herbs and nutrients. A few that help support the liver are B-complex,  C, E and natural beta carotene. Herbs like milk thistle, turmeric, dandelion and globe artichoke also help. There are a number of important specific amino acids that help the liver too.

Remember if your liver is clogged you’re not able to properly digest and eliminate the foods you eat and this increases your need to detoxify your system and clean up your liver. Doing so will not only help you improve digestion but it is also a wise investment to proactively prevent future chronic illness and serious life threatening disease.

If your concerned about the health of your liver after reading this you should consider taking steps to restore your liver and improve your digestion.

Ready to move from feeling lousy to energized and happy again?  Fill out my Are we a Fit? form are-we-a-fit and I will contact you for a no-fee 20 minute phone consult where we can chat.

The holidays mean great times with friends and family and of course eating some of our family favorites! For many people the candied yams, green bean casserole and stuffing are still being put on the Thanksgiving Day table. Although you might realize these dishes are not the healthiest for us and are made with some pretty poor quality ingredients you might still be making them out of habit or fear of disappointing your guests with less tasty options.

Over the years I have changed the way I create my holiday menus to reflect a healthier (GF), lighter way of eating and I decided to share some of these “creations” with you. These recipes are all Gluten Free. Because a couple contain diary I have made notations on substitutions where possible.

- All of these recipes serve 8-10 people and you can easily put these together ahead of time and transport most of them.

Once you give these a try – let me know how you liked them!

1. Roasted Garlic and Smashed Red Skin Potatoes

This recipe uses red skinned potatoes and has no milk. Red skins are lower on the glycemic index than other white potatoes.

4 – 5 lbs. red skin potatoes scrubbed

1 head of roasted garlic

2 tsp. Celtic sea salt

¼ tsp. fresh ground pepper

5 Tbsp. melted butter – or use Olive oil

1 Tbsp. olive oil for roasting garlic

Optional: 1-2 Tsp. of fresh herbs may be added: chives, dill, rosemary or thyme once potatoes and garlic mixture is smashed.

For roasted garlic –

Cut the small end of the garlic head off. Place in parchment paper and drizzle with olive oil. Wrap the entire head of garlic up so it’s sealed. Place on small baking pan and place in oven@ 350 to roast for  :30 minutes. After done and cooled, squeeze cloves out into a bowl. Combine with melted butter mixture – Or alternatively warmed olive oil and garlic and set aside.

While the garlic is roasting –

Cook potatoes in a large stock pot of salted (I tsp. salt) boiling water. When fully cooked – insert a knife to check, remove, drain and place in large mixing bowl.  Smash with skins on using a potato masher or fork. Drizzle with butter or olive oil and garlic mixture, salt and pepper and smash some more but you’re not making mashed potatoes here, just smashed so you want a chunkier consistency. If using herbs add after smashing is done and gently mix and serve.

2. Sweet Potato Soufflé

6 large baked red yams or sweet potatoes

3 large eggs beaten

¾ cup buttermilk – alternately almond or coconut milk may be used for dairy free

4 Tbsp. melted butter – for DF use coconut oil

2 Tbsp. honey

1 Tbsp. maple syrup

1 tsp. Celtic sea salt

½ tsp. cinnamon

½ tsp. ground ginger

1 tsp. vanilla extract

Pepper to taste

Topping:

¼ cup toasted pecans

1 Tbsp. Melted butter – for DF use coconut oil

1 Tbsp. maple syrup

Preheat oven to 400

Make the toping by first toasting the pecan pieces in a dry pan. Next melt the butter and add the brown sugar. Add the pecans to coat. Set aside. Reduce the oven to 350.

Bake sweet potatoes for 45-60 minutes until soft and fully cooked. Allow to cool and then scoop out potato and mash into a large bowl.  Melt 4 Tbsp. butter and remove from heat. And add the 2 Tbsp. honey and 1 Tbsp. maple syrup to the melted butter. Mix this into the sweet potatoes

In a separate bowl beat the eggs and add the butter milk.

Add the eggs and buttermilk mixture to the sweet potato mixture and combine using a whisk. Add the spices and vanilla. Place this mixture in a buttered cored casserole dish. Bake for 35-40 minutes and add the nut topping and bake for another 15-20 minutes.

3. Roasted Root Vegetables with Herbs

Set oven to roast and 350 degrees or bake and 375 degrees.

Choose any combination of the following:

1 medium organic sweet potato or red yam per person scrubbed and cut into bite sized cubes

1 -2 parsnips per person cut into bite sized pieces

1-1 small red skin or white potatoes per person cut into bite sized pieces

1-2 carrots per person cut into bit sized pieces

1 small pie pumpkin cut into bit sized pieces

1 winter squash such as acorn cut into bite sized pieces

Olive oil – enough to cover all cubed root vegetables/potatoes

1 ½ tsp. of sea salt

¼ tsp. ground cinnamon

½ tsp. any fresh rosemary, thyme, and dill – optional but really delicious!

In a large mixing bowl, toss cubed vegetable medley of your choice with olive oil and season with salt, pepper and cinnamon (and herbs if using). Be sure to coat evenly. Line baking sheet with parchment paper (to prevent sticking) and spread mixture out evenly. Bake for 30- 40 minutes or until lightly browned and fork tender. Check after 15 minutes and turn with tongs for browner result.

*Left overs are excellent pureed and added to soups. Or just top salads with them!

4. Green Beans with Garlic and Orange Zest

4 lbs. French Green beans – haricots verts

5-6 cloves of fresh garlic sliced into slivers

½ tsp. Celtic sea salt

2 Tbsp. Olive oil

1 Tbsp. butter

1 Tbsp. grated orange zest

Juice of ½ of an a fresh orange

In a large pot of boiling salted water balance green beans. Drain and place in a cold ice water bath to stop cooking. You can do this a head of time and then finish the next steps in the process 10 minutes before you are ready to serve.

In a large skillet combine olive oil and butter on medium low heat. Add the garlic when the butter has melted. Allow the garlic to scent the mixture but be careful not to brown or burn it. Add the blanched green beans and toss with tongs to allow all the flavors to melt for a minute or two. Add salt and pepper and the orange juice. Cook for another minute or two or until the beans are as soft as you like them. Add the zest and toss to coat right before serving.

5. GF Apple Raisin Corn Bread Dressing

The trick  to this is making this work is to make the corn bread the day before and allow it to dry so it absorbs the liquid. Buy a GF Corn Bread mix such as Bob’s Red Mill Brand or make your own using corn meal and GF baking mix such as Pamela’s Brand.

6 Tbsp. butter – or for DF use coconut oil or olive oil

1 cup diced sweet onion

1 ½ cup diced carrots

1 ½ cup diced celery (around 4-5 stalks)

1 cup diced apple

¼ cup golden raisins or dried cherries

1 tsp. fresh thyme

1 tsp. Marjoram

¼ tsp. cinnamon

1 ½ tsp. poultry seasoning blend

3 cloves garlic, peeled, smashed and minced

1 1/2 tsp. Celtic sea salt

Freshly ground pepper, to taste

1 8×8 pan prepared GF corn bread – crumbled

About 6 slices gluten-free bread crumbled

2+ cups chicken stock

Melt half the butter or oil in a good-sized sauté pan and sauté the onions and garlic on medium heat until translucent. Add celery, carrots, diced apple and the seasonings. Cook for 5-6 minutes until vegetables are soft.

In large bowl, combine the crumbled GF corn bread and crumbled GF bread. Add the vegetable mixture, the dried fruit and chicken stock. Mix well. Add the rest of the melted butter or oil and mix again. Taste and re-season as needed. Place the mixture in a buttered or oiled baking dish. Bake at 350 for 45 minutes. Serve.

Happy cooking!

Examine your diet:

• Acne and rosacea can certainly be aggravated by  insulin resistance problems. This creates chronic inflammation and increases oxidative stress in the body.  Beside having too much sugar and sugar containing foods in your diet you also need to consider how much of your diet is coming from carbohydrates; especially grains like bread, pasta, and crackers.
• It’s much healthier to get your carbohydrates from nutrient dense vegetables and fruits. Increasing your intake of leafy green foods (kale, spinach, chard, parsley, lettuces) and anti-oxident rich colorful vegetables like carrots, peppers, broccoli, squashes, sweet potatoes and berries, apples, pomegranates are better for your skin.
• Remember plant foods contain vitamins, minerals and digestive enzymes you digestive system needs to break down and metabolize food properly. A lack of these nutrients leads to improper breakdown of food and digestion problems such as leaky GUT, dysbiosis and SBO. I find this is a problem for people with skin issues almost 100% of the time!
• Don’t forget to drink plenty of pure filtered water each day to help flush out wastes and keep skin clear. Aim for half your body weight in oz. of water per day. Avoid plastic water bottles as these contain chemicals that leach into your water and disrupt hormones. Opt for a stainless steel water bottle and take this wherever you go.
• It is also very common for those with skin problems like eczema and psoriasis to suffer from constipation. This is a sign of poor digestion from poor diet. Until you change your diet and are eliminating toxins by having proper daily bowel movements you will not have clear skin.
• Poor quality fats in the diet also contribute to skin problems. Canola oil, corn oil/vegetable oil. soybean oil are all damaging to your body. These are the wrong oils and unfortunately cheap so found in most commercial packaged products such as salad dressings, mayonnaise, crackers, chips, cookies, and the like. These oils are also used in fast food restaurants and sorry to say many restaurants considered higher end also use them because they are so cheap.
• Eating the right fats is terribly important because all cell signalling depends on them. Essential fatty acids cannot be made by the body so we must obtain them from our diet. Healthy oils to include are fish oils from wild caught fish and sea food; flax seeds/oil; extra virgin olive oil and coconut oil, raw soaked & sprouted nuts and seeds and avocado’s.
• Eating processed diary products also inflames skin. My advice is to eliminate dairy from your diet and see if your skin problems do not resolve. Eating fermented dairy such as yogurt and kefir is beneficial – unless you are casein intolerant which is very often the culprit with eczema and psoriasis as well as rosacea and acne . In that case you can still obtain the benefit of from pro-biotic rich foods from coconut yogurt and kefir.

Other considerations:

Another area frequently over looked is hidden food intolerance’s and yeast overgrowth. See related post on this topic here  could-hidden-food-intolerances-be-sabotaging-your-health

This is so often the case with all the eruptive and irritating skin conditions I have mentioned here too.  Getting tested for these helps you identify and address specific foods you should remove from your diet and replace with supportive foods. Also, remember that if you have food intolerance’s and or yeast overgrowth you likely have leaky GUT too, so this also needs to be addressed.

Signs & symptoms of dysbiosis and possible leaky GUT:

• Bloating, belching, burning, flatulence after meals
• A sense of fullness after eating
• Indigestion, diarrhea, constipation
• Systemic reactions after eating
• Nausea or diarrhea after taking supplements
• Rectal itching
• Weak or cracked finger nails
• Dilated capillaries in the cheeks and nose in the non-alcoholic
• Post-adolescent acne or other skin irritations such as rosacea
• Iron deficiency
• Chronic intestinal infections, parasites, yeast, unfriendly bacteria
• Undigested food in the stool
• Greasy stools
• Skin that’s easily bruised
• Fatigue
• Amenorrhea (absence of menstruation)
• Chronic vaginitis (vaginal irritation)

Repeated exposure to toxins in the environment and chemicals also play a role and should be evaluated.   Heavy metal toxicity can also sometimes be a contributing factor in those with skin conditions.

There are many herbs that also help to calm inflamed skin. Tumeric, bromelain, ginger, Panx ginseng sarsaparilla, yellow dock, and licorice are a few. I love using herbal tinctures that can be taken internally as well as applied directly to inflamed skin.

The solution to get your skin clearer and to stay clear for good begins with eating the proper foods to aid in complete digestion and absorption of nutrients. It requires a comprehensive four phase approach Remove, Replace, Restore & Repair that I specialize in helping people to follow. If you are interested in getting started on clearer more healthy skin contact me by filling out my Are we a Fit page

Here is another link to this subject you might like:

the-gut-skin-connection-how-altered-gut-function-affects-the-skin

It has been estimated that upwards of 70 percent of processed foods on supermarket shelve; from soda to soup, crackers to condiment all contain genetically engineered ingredients.

Visit there website here:  genetically-engineered-foods

How does a food become a genetically modified food?

Genetically engineering  transfers genes  between species.  These genes are combined together to form a new genetic organism. Mutations occur when this is done. Monsanto has been doing this for twenty plus years. These GM seeds are infertile and will not reproduce if collected thus ensuring more seeds will be purchased by the farmer for the next seasons crops.

Importantly, the biotech industry does their own research and provides this to the FDA. The FDA is now run by the same people who formerly worked at Monsanto and others in the commercial agricultural business and biotech industries.   At Universities agricultural departments  are heavily funded and supported by the biotech industry  and rely on them for funding for research; thus they are penalized for revealing any ill-health effects or raise safety concerns in their research. Many who have raised concerns through their unbiased research have been fired and their professions threatened.

Did you know that Genetically Modified  foods are banned in Europe?

GMO’s are not even labelled in the US!

Please watch this free video!

Genetic Roulette

Most genetically modified foods

• corn
• soy
• wheat
• alfalfa
• cotton
• canola oil
• Sugar beets

Health dangers of genetically modified foods

Genetically altered foods are causing increased inflammation and leaky gut. Genetically altered foods change the etiology of the human digestive tract and inhibit proper enzyme  function and nutrient absorption. These genetically engineered products once ingested by both humans and animals are being traced to serious health issues. In humans digestive diseases, allergies, thyroid disorders, heart attacks, kidney disease, cancer, autoimmune diseases, Alzheimer and diabetes are all increasing at alarming rates. Many, including me believe GMO’s are to blame for such a dramatic increase in sickness.

In animals fed bt corn (Round Up Ready) crops such as soy, corn and wheat ther birth rates decreased. Cows are now experiencing gastrointestinal issues. This is because bt is an insecticide in the corn that when ingested by the insect causes the stomach to split open and die. Scientists now suspect this same bt that is in the food humans are consuming is causing disruption in the normal flora and etiology of the human GI tract and causing gut permeability. They believe this is leading to an increase that we are seeing in  allergies, autism and premature aging.

Round up ready crops are less nutritious because their genetic structure has been altered. Animals fed these crops are not becoming weak and sick due to nutrient depleting in the GMO foods they are fed. They are experiencing more birth defects and lower birth rates. This has also been documented in human studies now too.

How to avid eating these foods

• Buy organic
• Look for the non GMO label on products
• Find a local farmer to buy from that does not use these GMO seeds or feed them to their animals
• Limit or avoid eating in restaurants that source foods from conventionally grown farms and raised livestock
• Eat grass-fed/pasture raised meats and dairy from non GMO farms
• Buy dairy produced outside the US where GMO’s are illegal or no make sure it’s labeled not fed bst; rbgh
• Don’t eat soy or soy products – soy is in thousand of products including salad dressings and condiments
• Don’t eat canola oil which is used in many products – read labels

What you can do

• Talk to your grocery and tell them you will not buy GMO products
• Write your congress persons and tell them to make labeling GMO’s mandatory
• Tell your family, friends and neighbors to watch the video
• Share this post

• Acne/Rosacea/Psoriasis
• Bloating/Gas/Stomach Distention
• IBS/Constipation/Diarrhea
• Headaches
• Back/Joint/Neck pain
• Cravings for specific foods
• Seasonal allergy symptoms – sneezing/itchy eyes/ nasal problems
• Fatigue
• Weight Gain or Loss

If you have had these symptoms recurring for more than a year it is very probable you have hidden food intolerance’s.

A new survey done by FoodIntol shows that a whopping 42% of people don’t discover they have food intolerance’s until they have suffered with these symptoms for over five years!

This is because the most common symptoms of food intolerance’s are thought to be related to some other health issue and go undetected by most doctors. This same survey found that women are much more likely to have hidden food intolerance’s than men and that 48% of participants had at least one other family member who also had a food intolerance.

But I have had allergy (scratch) testing you say….

Scratch testing is very unreliable for discovering food intolerance’s because this method of testing is designed to detect a true immediate allergy responds – not a delayed immune responds which is what a food intolerance is. Because it can take hours to days for a food intolerance reaction to manifest a scratch test doesn’t pick this type of immune responds reaction up. Add to this that when symptoms occur they are not connected by most people to what they ate yesterday or two days before!

What’s the difference between a food allergy, an intolerance and a food sensitivity?

While many people use the terms food allergy, intolerance and sensitivity interchangeable these are three different types of immune responses.

A true food allergy is defined as is an immune response to a specific protein. When this occurs the body reacts to this protein as harmful and defends against it. There are two types of food allergy IgE mediated and non-IgE mediated.

In an IgE mediated responds the body triggers IgE anti-bodies to bind with the food protein and this activates the release of histamine and other mediators. These mediators cause symptoms such as red, itchy eyes, runny nose, and respiratory distress and can even be fatal.

A non-IgE mediated response is where the immune system response directly to the food protein causing the release of chemicals. This leads to inflammation being produced in the body, which is prone to occur in the GI tract. Common symptoms of this type of response are, constipation, nausea, diarrhea, reflux, bloating and abdominal pain.  It’s probably surprising but only 5% of food allergies are due to IgE mediated responses. The majority of food allergies (95%)are non-IgE mediated.

Non-mediated IgE allergies are what is called delayed response reactions. As such  usually occur several hours up to several days from eating the offending foods. These are very common and called food intolerance’s. This type  of immune reaction does not show up on a skin prick test you might have done at your allergist.

How can you tell if you have a food intolerance?

There are specialized labs that do serum blood or blood spot testing to check for food intolerance’s. These check for specific anti-bodies that are formed when you  react to gluten, casein, eggs, soy, corn or specific foods. While there are some very good and reputable specialized labs that do this type of testing the problem is that many people do not have these antibodies show up on tests yet they still “react” with symptoms when they continue to eat these foods.

What to do if you test negative but still believe you have hidden food intolerance’s

Go on an elimination diet. This involves eliminating the most commonly reactive foods for four to five weeks. The most common foods people react to are Gluten, Dairy, Eggs and Soy, although I am seeing more people who are also reacting to corn as well.

….Interesting to note that corn and soy are two of the most highly Genetically Modified crops on the planet. Also, new scientific studies are now pointing to the widespread use of GMO’s as one reason we are seeing such an increase in people with not just food intolerance’s but also a range of auto-immune related diseases! Watch for my next post on GMO’s where I will share more on this.

Remember that the foods most commonly found reactive like corn, soy, and wheat are used in many products as fillers so unless you read labels judiciously you may still be ingesting them. Also, if you dine out you will most certainly be exposed to gluten, dairy, soy and eggs. The only way to be sure of not eating these foods is to cook your own meals during this time.

Because this is somewhat tedious and time-consuming most people opt for testing first and the elimination diet second. Remember a person can be reactive to just about any food. This is one reason I frequently recommend testing for the most common reactive foods along with about ninety other foods plus Candida.

The good news is that once you determine what foods you are reacting to an eliminate them your symptoms will decrease and in many cases disappear altogether. According to the FoodIntol Survey once reactive foods were removed from the diet many symptoms were resolved:

• 70% reported increased energy levels
• 37% experienced less stress
• 40% reported better ability to concentrate
• 50% now have a brighter mood
• 38% of overweight respondents noticed weight loss

How long must I remove the reactive foods from my diet?

Re-introducing foods you react to need to be done systematically a diary of your reactions must be monitored closely. It is very helpful to work with someone trained to in this area to help you…(yes that is me!)

The length of time a person needs to stay away from a reactive food varies from person to person. This is dependent upon several factors. First, how reactive were you to the food? How long have you avoided eating the food? Did you experience any rebound symptoms once you re-introduce the food?

For severe/high reactivity to a food I advise removing it for a minimum of three months. Many people find they must not eat the food for six months, and even after that sometimes you may not be able to re-introduce that food with out symptoms reoccurring. For milder cases you can try a test to see if can resume eating the food after it has been removed for thirty days.

In reality, the patients I work with often find they do not miss these reactive foods once they have been removed for thirty days. This is because they discover many new foods they enjoy eating.  And of course many people begin to realize they feel much better with out a food such as gluten they never go back to eating it again. Gluten is actually a very inflammatory food and has been linked to many serious chronic diseases – even cancer. Watch fort a future post on this coming soon!

Health benefits of discovering you reactive foods:

There is no doubt that by determining what foods make you feel sick you can improve your health. It goes without saying life is much more enjoyable when you are not in pain! Besides the obvious symptom relief you experience once you get those un-supportive foods out of your diet you are taking powerful proactive action for yourself! When you decrease inflammation anywhere in the body you automatically boost immunity and improve your body’s ability to do its daily work of keeping you alive! As you move to feeding your body what it needs instead of what it was trying to combat through the immune response you support your overall health. This decreases your risk of developing chronic disease.

Think you might be suffering from hidden food intolerance’s? Take this questionnaire: Food Intolerances Symptom check list and see how you score and if you would benefit from working with me to discover your hidden food intolerance’s.

And we found out that farmed fish are even worse for us due to poor sanitary conditions and being fed unhealthy and unnatural grains.

This made many people wonder if eating fish and sea food was a health risk.

Let me say for the record that I do eat fish – quite a high amount of it since I do not consume beef, pork, lamb or other “red” meats. Here is why I still eat fish and why I decided the health benefits outweigh the risks.

Let’s begin with some facts about wild caught fish that are contrary to what you may have been lead to believe:

Studies we have read that warn of high mercury content only measured mercury – nothing else. There is another important mineral that is protective that was not measured called selenium.

Wild fish and sea food contain an abundance of selenium. Selenium is very protective and binds to mercury in fish. This means it plays a protective role against mercury.

Interestingly, when both mercury and selenium are found together, they connect, forming a new substance. This new substance makes it hard for the body to absorb the mercury separately. Simply put, when selenium binds to mercury, mercury is no longer free to bind to anything else – like brain tissue. Studies have shown that relevant amounts of selenium can prevent oxidative brain damage and other adverse effects associated with mercury toxicity.

So the fact that fish contain one of the highest sources of selenium is good news for us fish lovers!

A study conducted by the Energy & Environmental Research Center (EERC) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) also found that an estimated 97% of the freshwater fish from lakes and rivers in the western U.S. are safe to eat. This study measured both mercury and selenium levels in the tissues of freshwater fish. here’s the link to the study newsitem.aspx?id=343

As for PCB’s and Dioxins the news is not so good for other favorite protein sources. The highest dietary sources of PCBs and dioxins are not fish, but beef, chicken and pork (34%), dairy products (30%) and vegetables (22%). Fish constitutes only 9% of our dietary intake of these chemicals. One way to help protect yourself from these toxins is to buy organic and grass fed animal products such as those listed here – and to eat more fish!

So how much fish is safe to eat?

• Moderate mercury: Alaskan halibut, black cod, blue (Gulf Coast) crab, cod, dungeness crab, Eastern oysters, mahimahi, blue mussels, pollack, tuna (canned light). (Children and pregnant or nursing women are advised to eat no more than one from this list, once a month.)
• Low mercury: Anchovies, Arctic char, crawfish, Pacific flounder, herring, king crab, sanddabs, scallops, Pacific sole; tilapia, wild Alaska and Pacific salmon; farmed catfish, clams, striped bass, and sturgeon. (Children and pregnant or nursing women can safely eat two to three times a week.)
• Take note, though, that low-mercury but overfished or destructively harvested species — such as Atlantic cod, Atlantic flounder, Atlantic sole, Chilean sea bass, monkfish, orange roughy, shrimp, and snapper — should be avoided for the environment’s sake.
• Low POPs: Wild Alaska and California salmon (fresh or canned). Source: safe-fish.cfm

• Environmental Defense Fish Safety link    Click on this link to download a pocket guide
• safefish.html Click on this link for a DHHS list of fish and consumption advisory

More on Selenium:

Combined with proteins, selenium makes antioxidant enzymes that help regulate thyroid function, help the immune system and may play a role in preventing cancer and heart disease, maintains The National Institutes of Health. The recommended daily allowance of selenium is 55 mcg per day for adults, 60 for pregnant women and 30 for children 4 to 8 years old. Tuna, and cod are high in selenium but Brazil nuts are the highest.

Health Benefits of eating wild caught fish

• The Omega 3 essential fatty acids help keep healthy blood pressure levels and reduce overall cardiovascular risk.
• Eating fish also helps decrease your risk of stroke and heart attack.
• These healthful EFA’s found in fish are a natural anti-inflammatory.
• Anyone who suffers from depression or has ADHD or concentration problems will reap benefits from brain healthy fish. This is due to a special type of Omega 3 fatty acid called DHA which is essential for healthy brain development.  Maybe that’s why fish has always been called “brain food”!
• Importantly these healthy essential fatty acids are vital to us on cellular level. Without the correct, healthy essential fatty acids found in fish and seafood our cells cannot “signal” each other and health suffers. Anyone who is fatigued or has a compromised immune system should include essential fatty acids and those found in wild caught fish are a natural source.
• Fish also produces important minerals such as iron, zinc, potassium and phosphorus. It is also a good source of calcium for the bone health and strong bones. It contains Iodine and fluorine that boost the growth and development of one’s body and enhances metabolism.
• Fish is an excellent source of protein. It easily repairs and maintain lean tissue and used for body building.

I hope this helps to convince you that eating fish is still safe and very beneficial to our health.

What is cholesterol?

Cholesterol is found in every cell of the body and is essential for proper cell membrane fluidity and necessary for steroid hormone production and bile production in the body. The liver, intestines and skin produce most of the body’s cholesterol (60-80%) with only a fraction being obtained through diet.

Understanding what your cholesterol numbers mean involves so much more than just looking at the numbers the way conventional medicine does. If you look at a typical CBC Blood panel you will see readings for total cholesterol, HDL and LDL and sometimes triglycerides. Total cholesterol comprises all of the cholesterol found in the body; HDL, LDL and triglycerides. According to conventional laboratory ranges anything > 200mg/dl is considered high and > 225mg/dl is considered high according to the “optimal” range in Functional Medicine.

What are the optimal ranges of cholesterol?

Optimal ranges for HDL are >55mg/dl. An HDL reading of <35mg/dl is cause for alarm but needs to be determined by its relationship to LDL levels.

Most doctors believe that if total cholesterol is low and HDL is low this is not a cause for concern. Increased (>55mg/dl) HDL is protective.

One of the most important functions of HDL is its role in savaging free radicals. So a low HDL along with a low total cholesterol level can indicate you are more prone to heavy metal or chemical toxins damage.

If HDL is <55 and LDL > 120mg/dl and total cholesterol level are >220mg/dl then early development of fatty liver is quite possible. Fatty liver is caused by being over weight, excessive alcohol consumption, and prescription drugs (steroids); iron overload; solvent tissue exposure and rapid weight loss.

Now let’s look at LDL cholesterol and what a high reading (<120mg/dl is optimal) might indicate. Again this points to a diet high in refined carbohydrates. If the fasting blood glucose is trending upwards (>100) then you are probably becoming insulin resistant and could be suffering from Syndome X. But again checking adrenal function and thyroid function would be a good idea.

As you can now see proper interpretation of what a healthy cholesterol range is a bit more complicated than what most people have been lead to believe!

Apolipoprotien A and B:

Apolipoprotiens are proteins are major components of HDL (Apo A1) and LDL (Apo B) Elevated levels of Apo 1(110-162mg/dl) are believed to be a better predictor of lower cardiovascular disease than HDL alone. Higher Apo B levels (>52-109mg/dl) are associated with an increased risk of coronary artery disease. Unfortunately, most standard CBC blood panel’s doctors run do not include this reading.

But there is an even newer test to help evaluate your risk that measures particle size.

And according to leading cardiologist Dr. Stephen Sinatra, MD it is actually the particle size of your cholesterol that is the most important aspect of determining risk – not total cholesterol number or even triglycerides!

* Ask for this test to learn what your particle size is.

How we get Inflammation:

If you have increased levels of cholesterol, part of why you have this is because of increased inflammation in your body. The cholesterol is there to do a job. It is there to help your body to heal.

Inflammation is a protective mechanism in the body. It is this protective process that allows a cut to heal.

Here is what happens:

Your blood vessels constrict to keep you from bleeding to death and then blood becomes thicker so it can clot. And remember it is the immune system that fights off viruses, bacteria etc that could lead to infection so it serves this purpose too. Once a cut is healed a protective scar forms over the area.

Likewise, if your arteries are damaged, a very similar process occurs inside of your body, except that a “scar” in your artery is known as plaque.

This plaque, along with the thickening of your blood and constricting of your blood vessels that normally occur during the inflammatory process, can indeed increase your risk of high blood pressure and heart attacks. Cholesterol comes in because, in order to replace your damaged cells, it is necessary.

If you have been told your cholesterol is too high you have probably been advised by your physician to reduce consumption of saturated fats. In reality, focusing on reducing saturated fat consumption has little effect on total cholesterol levels and has this been validated by many studies.

A study sponsored by the German Ministry of Research and Technology showed that no exact link exists between food cholesterol and blood cholesterol.

And in Japan, the cholesterol levels have increased during recent years, however the number of heart attacks has dropped. The largest health study ever conducted on the risks of heart disease took place in China. As with similar studies, the Chinese study found no connection between heart disease and the consumption of animal fats. *

There is an important relationship between “high” cholesterol and insulin resistance, inflammation and impaired liver detoxification. Did you know that high cholesterol is actually connected to the way the body is responding to excessive carbohydrate intake?

By the way: Increased cholesterol levels can often be associated with thyroid or adrenal hypo function and decreased levels can be associated with endocrine hyper function, so checking both of these is important.

So what is the real driver cardiovascular disease?

It’s over consumption of simple carbohydrates and Americans are addicted to simple carbohydrates!

So if you reduce your consumption of refined carbohydrates, starches and other fast acting sugars along with hydrogenated oils you will automatically be decreasing your risk of developing cardiovascular disease because it’s actually the inflammation caused by eating too many refined carbohydrates that creates higher risk for heart disease. This along with checking for proper thyroid and adrenal function is key to understanding how to effectively managing cholesterol because high cholesterol is merely a symptom of something else going on.

When we eat more foods that turn into glucose than we need our body stores the excess as fat. This fat accumulates in our body and in our liver; hence elevated serum (blood) triglycerides occurs. As our liver gets fuller and fuller with this fat it has a much more difficult time doing its job – removing toxins and thus we become more inflamed and toxic and this is where the term “fatty liver” comes from. So this is another down side of consuming so many carbohydrates.

Doctors are trained to identify trends however, many do seem to miss opportunities to use this information; connect the dots and help patients act proactively to prevent chronic disease. In most cases making some diet and lifestyle changes works wonders to reduce risk of cardiovascular disease.

Reducing inflammation:

• Strictly limit consumption of grains and switch to gluten free grains.
• Eliminate high fructose corn syrup, and sharply reduce intake of sugar and high glycemic index foods.
• Eat more wild caught fish and supplement with high quality Omega 3 DHA.
• Eliminate low quality oils – hydrogenated oils, palm kernel oil, corn oil, canola oil and replace with healthy oils from olive, coconut, avocado and flax seeds.
• Treat non-fermented dairy products as condiments and eat real, high quality cheese, not low fat or processed type “fake’ cheese.

Improve liver health:

• Support your liver by eliminating unhealthy (man -made) trans fats and replacing them with healthy fats from olive oil, coconut oil, avocados, nuts and seeds.
• Supplements such as milk thistle and n-acetyl-cysteine help protect the liver and aid in detoxification.

Increase your body’s ability to fight free radical damage:

• Help increase your body’s ability to make andoponicetin by eating choline rich foods such as (liver, wheat germ, free range or omega enriched eggs, cod & wild caught beef). Adiponectin is a hormone that starts out in your white adipose tissue and helps increase your insulin sensitivity. It has also been linked to shrinkage of fat cells so may aid in weight loss.
• Increasing your intake of green tea, reservatrol rich foods such as red grapes and berries (and red wine!), and taking grape seed extract may help increase adiponectin too.
• Eat plenty of foods high in plant sterols such as nuts, and seed and their oils; fresh vegetables and fruits. Aim for 9 servings of fresh fruits and vegetables per day.
• Remember half you plate should be filled with vegetables and fruits with only a ¼ filled with grains (preferably gluten free).

As you can see there is great deal of mis-infomation that is actually making many peoples heath problems worse. And thsi is where I can help because I cut through the inaccuracies you hear from the media. I’ll design a completely personalized health transformation program just for you. Want to see if we are a fit? Contact me on my Are we a Fit page and I will email you back with a time for us to chat.

See  my previous posts on heart health high-colesterol-heart-disease-truth-or-myth

and sign up for future blog posts on the right side of this page.

incidence-of-helicobacter-pylori-infection-and-heart-disease

To read more from an expert see: cholesterol-education

Also see testing: www.spectracell.com

* Lipoprotein Particle ProfileTM
The most advanced, accurate and comprehensive assessment of cardiovascular risk for better determination of treatment guidance.

but please don’t destroy the goodness in the food by cooking it in toxic cookware!

Many people still use aluminum cookware and Teflon coated cookware.

Both of these leach toxins into your food!

Cookware to avoid using – just toss this junk!

Teflon:

• This coating is made of PFOA. PFOA has been shown in animal studies to cause cancer, liver damage, growth defects, immune system damage, and death in lab rats and monkeys.
• The EPA advisory panel reported that PFOA is a “likely carcinogen” in humans. These toxic chemicals leach into your food and they also produce fumes that enter the airspace around your stove so your eating and inhaling potential carcinogens!
• Dupont the manufacturer, has admitted that when Teflon is heated to temperatures above 662 degrees these fumes are toxic to humans.
• That means that even those higher priced pans with Teflon coating that are supposed to be safe for the oven are emitting poison fumes if you use them under the broiler.

Aluminum:

Aluminum also leaches into food during cooking that can pose a health threat. Because aluminum affects the nervous system many holistic practitioners (including me) are suspicious about the real danger of this metal and believe that neurological conditions such as Alzheimer Disease are linked to using aluminum cookware.

Changes in Brain Anatomy

According to the Analytical Research Lab in Phoenix, Arizona  “Aluminum appears to accumulate in most brain cells. About 80% binds to the chromatin in all cells, but induces change only in certain vulnerable neurons, particularly those with dendritic trees.”

Increased aluminum accumulation is known to be associated with neuro-fibrillary tangles in some species. The term neuro-fibrillary tangles refers to thread like tangles of slender fibers within a nerve cell. Not all species develop these tangles when exposed to aluminum. Humans with Alzheimer’s disease develop a different kind of tangle (twisted helix) that is not identical to the tangles induced by aluminum in other species.”

Likewise canned goods; especially acidic vegetables such as tomatoes in aluminum are to be avoided.

Fluoride is also a waste by-product of aluminum manufacturing so I would avoid toothpaste that has fluoride. This is the advice of Sam & Michael Ziff, D.D.S and Mats Hanson, PhD. authors of Dental Mercury Detox.

A word about heavy metal toxicity :

There are around 35 (known) metals that can accumulate to toxic levels in the body. While I am not going to get into specifics in this post about toxic metals you should be aware that these can pose a real health hazard. Heavy metals become toxic when they are not metabolized by the body and accumulate in the soft tissues. Heavy metals may enter the human body through food, water, air, or absorption through the skin when they come in contact with humans in agriculture and in manufacturing, pharmaceutical, industrial, or residential settings. Industrial exposure accounts for a common route of exposure for adults.

This is an area that is overlooked by most physicians and toxic metals contribute to a host of serious health issues. Know that there is reliable testing methods to determine if you are toxic. And, there are ways of safely removing these…contact me if you want more information.

A word about Microwaving:

Please do not use the microwave to cook! Microwaving kills all the nutrients in your food an turns it into toxic soup.  I wrote about this in an earlier post and you can read complete details on how this kills all the good nutrients in your food  here: how-do-you-cook-your-food

Safe non-toxic cookware alternatives

Stainless steel cookware

Stainless steel is unlikely to leach any metals into food mainly due to the way these products are manufactured. Stainless steel is really a mixture of several different metals, including nickel, chromium and molybdenum, all of which can trickle into foods. However, unless your stainless steel cookware is dinged and pitted, the amount of metals likely to get into your food is negligible. Stainless steel pans often have an inner core of aluminum or copper (and some have a copper-clad bottom). The reason this is done is because these two metals are very efficient heat conductors. Since the aluminum or copper is sandwiched between layers of steel and neither come in contact with the food. Avoid using anything to clean this type of cookware that might scratch and damage the surface – like steel wool! And read and follow the manufacturers recommended washing instructions.

Anodized Aluminum Cookware May Be a Safer Alternative

Many health experts and healthy chefs prefer anodized aluminum cookware as a safer alternative to stainless steel. The electro-chemical anodizing process locks in the cookware’s base metal, aluminum, so that it can’t get into food, and makes for what many cooks consider an ideal non-stick and scratch-resistant cooking surface. This happens to be one of my ideal choices to cook with because of it’s even heating and ease of cleaning. Calphalon and All Clad are two quality manufacturers but many stores like CostCo, Target and Bed Bath and Beyond (and many celebrity chefs!) offer their own lines at reasonable prices. You’ll also want to take care with cleaning these products and not use anything that might scratch or damage their surface.

Cast Iron cookware

While some people have a concern about the iron from cast iron leaching into foods (and a small amount certainly does)  this is not much of a concern for me. Cast iron heats evenly, easy to maintain so it lasts forever and a good value for the money. While cast iron is heavy it’s relatively easy to clean once you have it properly seasoned.

Ceramic and Ceramic Enameled  cookware

Ceramic enameled cookware provides the even heat distribution properties just like cast iron but its surface is smooth and relatively  easy to clean. Top of the line ceramic enameled cookware like Le Creuset, World Cuisine can be expensive.

Ceramic cookware is safe and does not leach into foods, however you need to research the manufacturing process to ensure they are using 100% natural, inorganic non- reactive minerals that are eco-friendly. One such company that has built a reputation for its green practices is  Xtrema Ceramic Cookware. Here’s their link:  ceramic   Like all ceramic cookware you need to remember these will break and can crack. Once that happens you have compromised the integrity of the product and it should be replaced.

Aeterum non-toxic non-stick cookware – the new kid on the block

The latest entry into the non-stick category is touted as eco-friendly.  According tho their website Aeternum cookware line is free of PFOA, free of PTFE and free of Cadmium.

But what’s it made of? The manufactures website states it has a non-stick coating made of  a “nano-ceramic” coating which is a water-based coating made of titanium and suspended silicate micro-particles (the main component of glass); one of the purest and most ecological materials in nature. They claim the material  resists scratches, abrasions and offers a smooth, compact and uniform surface that makes it easier to clean. Here’s the website: BialettiAeternumCookware.html

You can also find this line at Bed Bath and Beyond. I bought one and I am “checking it out”…

Other resources on healthy cookware:

healthy-cookware

Read more about the dangers of microwaves:

microwave_hazards.html

Here are ten easy ways to add vegetables to your diet:

It all Starts at Breakfast -

1) Add a bit of the green to smoothies!  a handful of  any leafy green vegetable such as parsley, Swiss chard, spinach or kale to your smoothie  increases vitamins and minerals.

2) Add an eye-opening dose of the greens to your eggs! Simply add sauteed Swiss chard, spinach, kale, (in addition to those more commonly eaten tomatoes, onions and peppers) to your omelet or scrambled eggs.

Try these Healthful Snacking Options -

3) Make your nibble more nutritious! Reach for cut up raw celery, cucumber, carrots, red peppers, cauliflower or broccoli. If you’re not big on raw you can always lightly blanch green beans and asparagus (and broccoli and cauliflower too) and serve with a light vinaigrette dressing made with olive oil and lemon juice.

4) Try making kale chips!  See my Sweet & Spicy Kale Chip Recipe.  Even kids will eat these!

Ways to Sneak More of the Good Stuff in!

5) Use left over cooked vegetables from last nights dinner to top salads at lunch. Grilled veggies on salads are YUMMY!

6) Add finely chopped greens such as kale, Swiss chard, Bok choy, spinach to casseroles, rice and quinoa  and soups.

7) Puree cooked vegetables into homemade tomato sauce. See my Marinara Supreme Recipe . This is another kid friendly recipe.

8) Instead of boiling or steaming your vegetables try grilling them! Just about any vegetable taste wonderful grilled. Simply brush with a little olive oil and you favorite seasoning and you have a fast and tasty side dish.

9) Don’t forget to load up the vegetables in soups and stews. A hearty bowl of vegetable soup such as minestrone makes a nutritious, quick lunch or a lighter supper.

10) Make vegetables the “main attraction” with a vegetable curry or stir fry dinner. Contrary to what your might think curries and stir fry can be made with a little or a lot of spice.

Vegetable Marinara Sauce Supreme – (about 6 cups)

3 – 4 tablespoons olive oil – (divided)

1 medium onion finely diced

3 cloves fresh garlic diced

2 medium carrots diced

2 medium or 3 small zucchini diced

¼ cup fresh basil or 2 tablespoons basil pesto

½ teaspoon dried Italian seasoning (or substitute ¼ teaspoon fresh thyme & ½ teaspoon fresh oregano)

2 – (14 ½ oz) cans organic diced tomatoes

2 tablespoons tomato paste

1 tablespoon Wheat Free/Low sodium Tamari or sea salt to taste

¼ teaspoon fresh ground pepper (optional)

3 tablespoons honey or 2 teaspoons stevia

In a large skillet heat half the oil and sauté the onions and garlic on medium heat for about 3 minutes or until onions are translucent and soft. Add the carrots and sauté for two minutes. Add the zucchini and sauté another two minutes. Add the Tamari (or salt), lower the heat to medium low and cook another 3 minutes until the liquid has been absorbed. Make a space in the middle of the pan moving vegetables to the side and add the tomato paste allowing it to begin to caramelize. Add the crushed tomatoes and some water if the mixture seems too thick for you (I like my sauce thick). Add the seasonings – if using fresh basil or the pesto do not add these until 5 min before ready to serve. Cook for about 10 to 15 more minutes until all vegetables are fully cooked. Remove from heat and allow to cool slightly. Using a food processor, blender or emersion blender carefully blend the mixture so it still has a chunky texture. Return the blended mixture to the skillet and heat adding the pesto or fresh basil.

Tip: This vegetable marinara sauce is excellent on any type of pasta or to top grilled vegetables or meats/poultry. It also can be used to make vegetable lasagna in place of meat based sauce. Kids will devour it! Great on home made pizza too. (Nourish Holistic Nutrition Therapy)

Sweet & Spicy Kale chips

Ingredients:

1 bunch kale

2 teaspoons wheat free low sodium tamari

2 teaspoons of honey, maple syrup – or use stevia (15 drops)

2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar

2 teaspoons lemon juice

2 Tablespoons toasted sesame oil

½ teaspoon of garlic powder

Added ¼ teaspoon of powdered ginger

Added 1/8 teaspoon of cayenne pepper

4 Tablespoons hulled (white) sesame seeds

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

2. Tear kale off of stems and into bite–sized pieces (remember: kale will shrink a lot while baking, so don’t make them too small).

3. Wash kale in a big bowl of water. Drain, and dry very well using a salad spinner and then place on paper towel and wring dry. This also helps break down the kale to make it less fibrous.

4. Whisk all other ingredients together and pour over kale a little at a time in a bowl. Massage the sauce into the kale pieces so that they are well coated. You may not use all of the sauce. Only pour enough to JUST coast the leaves. You don’t want it dripping.

5. Lay the kale pieces out on two parchment-paper-lined cookie sheets in a thin layer.

6. Bake for 15 minutes. Then turn the pieces over and back in the oven for another 5 min.

7. Once crisp, remove from oven and serve in a bowl. If you have any left store in paper bag and then place inside a plastic airtight container to help retain crispness.

 Want more great ideas on how to eat better made simple? Give me a shout and let me teach you how easy living healthy can be!