Archive for March 31, 2014

Success Story: Conquer Your Blood Sugar and Your Food Addictions

March 31, 2014 / / Comments Off on Success Story: Conquer Your Blood Sugar and Your Food Addictions

dominos energy liftYou’re going to love today’s Success Story.  Aida has been working with me since last Fall, and so far, she’s lost more than 30 pounds ( so has her husband ). She’s also reduced and eliminated several medications, become a regular “packer” and
“cooker”, and broken her food addiction.  Really broken, as in, it’s amazing.  Thank goodness she listened to her “fear”.  Too many people AREN’T afraid of the state of their health, they think their prescription drugs actually make them well.  They don’t.

If you’re on meds, say like, BP pills, statins, mood meds, migraine/headache pills, pain pills, stomach pills, etc, you’re got  problems.  These medications aren’t making you better, they’re suppressing and managing your symptoms;  the CAUSE of the symptoms is still there and still doing damage. If you want to get healthy, you have to (1) eat for health (2) figure out the root cause of the symptoms and address that (lifestyle changes).

Aida’s a Type 2 Diabetic; diabetes 2 is a LIFESTYLE disease.  It can be reversed lucky strikethrough lifestyle changes.  Insulin and blood sugar rise and fall according to our food choices, exercise/activity, and stress management. No One has diabetes because they’re deficient in diabetes drugs.  Did you know that by 2020, the CDC predicts that 50% of the US will be diabetic, and that it will cost 3.35 TRILLION dollars to “manage” it.  Not CURE it, or REVERSE it, but MANAGE it.  No health care system EVER could afford that.  EVER.

What about Food Addiction, because this is HUGE.  I know I’ve said this before, but I’ll say it again: if you’re trying to get healthy/lose weight with Low Fat, No Fat foods, or Diet Processed Foods, you’re just feeding and nurturing your addiction and furthering your inflammatory state.   You’ve got to ditch Grains, Sugar, Chemicals, and Hydrogenated Oils, and you’ve got to focus on a diet full of healthy fats, good proteins, TONS of vegetables, some fruits, some nuts and seeds, some dairy if you can tolerate it.  Grains, sugars, and chemicals stimulate the Addictive Areas of Your Brain.  Always.

Think you can’t live without your Cereal, your Bread, Your Beer or Wine (liquid donuts)?  You can.  Lot’s of people break their addictions, why couldn’t you?

7UPMoms and Dads, are you raising future Diabetics, or future Food Addicts? If you’re raising your kids on a diet of pop tarts, cereals, sandwiches, pizza, and junk food, rest assured, you are.  And it will happen to them far quicker than it happened to your generation.  No One can eat those foods without accumulating damage.  No One.

Take control of your thoughts, instead of nurturing your addictions, nurture positive habits and attitudes about food, yourself, and exercising. Forget everything Big Food, Big Pharma, and our government has told you about Healthy Whole Grains.  All carbohydrates are broken down to single cell sugars in our gut; that means ALL CARBS BECOME EITHER GLUCOSE OR FRUCTOSE.  ALL OF THEM. High blood glucose and fructose levels and high insulin create an inflammatory state, and inflammation’s the cause of EVERY DISEASE OUT THERE.  You can change yourself.  Honest.  You can be an inspiration and example for your children.  You can feel energetic and well; you can be a healthy weight, start with Real Whole Food.

Here’s Aida’s story:

Last fall, I was scared. I was tired. I was frustrated.

I had let my health go unchecked, even though I knew better, and was on a lot of medications.  I had let my appetites go unchecked, knowing that it was hurting my body, but I was addicted.  Now, my doctors were getting really serious with me, and it made me scared. They kept adding more and more medications.  I had to do something, but I felt as if I had tried everything before and failed. Why try it again to just fail again?  When I tried to do what the doctors told me to do, it seemed as if I never improved, and sometimes got worse.  I was also seeing my husband’s health getting worse as well.  We didn’t want to do another weight loss diet. We needed to get healthy.  We wanted to get healthy.

Someone suggested I look at this website, and enter Debbie! Debbie sat us down together and began teaching us.  This is the first time I had heard most of the information she was sharing.  Her plan for us began with just eat real whole foods!  Our health would begin with what we put in our mouths, and our attitudes towards our foods.  Stop wheat and other grains – which we had done before and were somewhat successful with.  We knew we could do that.  Stop sugars, including most artificial sweeteners,  which would be tougher, because I was addicted.

We listened to what she had to say and began implementing this new approach and were shocked that almost immediately we saw improvement in our health.  Hunger went away.  Cravings went away.   For me, my blood sugars normalized within days!  I began to look forward to my next round of doctors, just to make sure that this new way of life was really working.  And it was!  All my “numbers” showed improvement within a couple of months, and have continued to improve with each doctor visit.  I have been taken off some of the medications.

Through monthly meetings and daily emails, Debbie has continued to teach and encourage.  She has helped me understand what makes me personally healthy. She has helped me with my food addictions. My husband’s health also reflects the changes we have made.

Now, I am looking forward to this spring, with clarity, with energy, and healthier (and lighter) than I have been in over 30 years!

Aida M. Kling

 

 

Category: Carbs, Cooking, RWF, Success Story, Uncategorized / Tags: , , , , , ,

For The Men: Got Testosterone? Moms, this applies to your little boys too. Plus Party Trivia!

March 29, 2014 / / 2 comments

mark:boatSee this handsome man to your left?  That’s my husband Mark, he’s turning 50 in 2  weeks.  I call him Mr. Testosterone, because he is, ( I wouldn’t have wanted him if he wasn’t!) He’s PROMISED to write a guest post for me, for April 13, called How To Stay Lean And Masculine (umm, actually, that’s my title; I don’t know what he’s calling it.) He’s going to give his tips on how to stay lean and masculine even if you have 4 daughters/estrogen house; work 80 hours a week; drive 4 hours EVERY DAY; participate daily in business breakfasts, lunches, and dinners, and live in the modern – ESTROGENIC – world.  It is Estrogenic, even the frogs, fish, and wildlife are losing their male parts due to “Xeno and Phyto- estrogens in the water, air, and foods.

I’ve had some comments that make me realize men have felt ignored by some of my recent posts.  So Sorry!  This post, and Mark’s post next week should rectify that, because it’s going to be all about Testosterone.  Ladies, if you have sons, you need to read this post.

Testosterone levels are decreasing – drastically – WORLDWIDE.  They’ve literally plummeted in the last 20 years.  The CDC says the average middle aged man now has the testosterone levels of a much older man from 20 years ago.  Babies, boys, teenagers, and young men ALL test lower.  This has DRAMATIC consequences, as low testosterone causes:  triglycerides and small, dense, cholesterol to increase;  coronary artery dilation diminishes (= high blood pressure); insulin output increases; central abdominal fat increases; ESTROGEN levels increase (associated w more stroke, heart attack, and cancer); blood becomes sticker/more fibrinogenic; decreased HGH (human growth hormone); less bone mass and more bone fractures.  I could go on, as this is a VERY short list.  The links between low T and brain health ( or lack there-of) are HUGE.  The whole “oh, too much testosterone makes men violent and crazy” – that’s not happening here, at all.  We’re talking about the average man being way below normal.  Did you know the human heart has more testosterone receptors than any muscle in the whole body???

In other words, Men are Designed to be Testosterone driven.  T.S. Wiley ( hormone and sleep researcher) said that studies show men’s levels rise in response to Women, Fighting/Competition, and other men!  As in, when a man walks into a room full of other men, if he’s NORMAL, his tail feather should open/testosterone should increase; this doesn’t happen when a woman walks into a room full of women.  Our hormones ebb and flow with circadian rhythms (sun.. moon.. seasons..)  We’re different. (p.s. that link is for a podcast with her on sleep, food, and both female and male hormones)

What’s going on with the drop in Testosterone, that’s actually in EVERY DEVELOPED COUNTRY IN THE WORLD, not just us?

It’s simple:  (1) BPA and Phylates, these are Xeno-estrogens, their structure mimics Estrogen; that means our body thinks it is Estrogen and let’s it on our Estrogen Receptors ( doors to our cells); this is a bad bad thing.  Where do we find these? Plastics, as in plastic water bottles, plastic wrapping, the inside lining of cans, receipts, bubble wrapping, etc.  Unfortunately, they’re pretty prolific in our world.  Take whatever steps you can to minimize your expose:  use glass containers whenever possible.  Make that a priority.  Have you seen the new glass water bottles that have a rubber wrapping around them?  They’re cool. Consider it.  Or just carry jars with you everywhere you go like we do.

(2) Artificial food additives, MSG, and artificial sweeteners have estrogenic effects.  Another reason to eat Real Whole Food.

(3) Some Real Whole Foods are LOADED with PhytoEstrogens ( plant molecular structures that mimic estrogen).  Top sources by order of amount:  Flax oil, Soy, and Black Beans.  Interesting Party Facts:  a tablespoon of flax OIL has the same amount of estrogen as 7-8 birth control pills.  

(4) Personal Care Products are LOADED with Xenoestrogens ( chemicals that mimic estrogen, like the BPA and pylates).  There’s a bunch, but I’ll name Parabens and Phenoxyethanol as an example.  They’re in shampoos, soaps, toothpastes, lotions, aftershave, etc.  These are SCARY.  They DON’T go through the liver for a little breakdown, they go right into the blood – quickly – and can attach to a receptor right away.   Use the EWG Skin Deep site to check what’s in your products, but it’s getting easier and cheaper than ever to find products that don’t contain harmful xeno-estrogens, just read the labels. Hint: anything popular and common is loaded with the bad stuff.  And “scents”?  Pure Poison.

(5) Commercially produced animal products.  How do you think they get the chickens to lay so many eggs, or the cows to give so much milk?  They give them Estrogen, and we eat that in their products.  Look up your local farmer and check into bulk buying and co-ops.

(6)  A Big Belly.  Sorry, it’s really an Estrogen Belly, not a Beer Belly.  Belly fat raises Estrogen levels because it actually PRODUCES estrogen, and belly fat makes an enzyme called Aromatase. Aromatase turns Testosterone INTO Estrogen.  Think about that one.

More Fun Party Trivia:  All seeds are ESTROGENIC, all of them, because they’re the female portion of the plant.  They contain different amounts of phytoestrogen, but they all have it.  If you’re Estrogen Dominant, consider this.   More party trivia (MOM’S***)   Carrying a Cell Phone in your pocket causes SIGNIFICANT sperm cell death.  (What boy doesn’t carry their phone there?).  Don’t think this might be a sound form of birth control, because sperm death means DAMAGE to the testes, which also means less Testosterone.  Pollen, as in Bee Pollen, is made from male parts.  Bet I’ll get Mark to eat the Bee Pollen I buy from the farmers market this year!

More Fun Facts:  Higher levels of T make males take more risks, but when researchers injected women with testosterone, that doesn’t happen, not even a little.

Stress/Cortisol SUPPRESSES testosterone production (get your stress under control!).  Men with children have LESS salivary T than men who don’t.

Making money and just LOOKING at hot cars raises T in men, but does nothing to women’s hormones.   Watching sports raises T in men, but not in women.

Sleep apnea causes low T.  Endurance Training (i.e. long distance running) reduces T between 15 and 40%.  It also raises Cortisol ( which shuts down T production).

And last, (wow, do you have party ammo! ), Cholesterol is a MAJOR COMPONENT OF TESTOSTERONE.  Period.  If you’re on a STATIN, or eating a Low Fat/No Fat diet, you’re inhibiting your bodies production of Testosterone, and believe me, in today’s world, you need to be doing everything you can to RAISE production back to Normal.

Category: Hormones / Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , ,

I Told You Butter Was Good For You!

March 27, 2014 / / 2 comments

blue bonnetIn case you haven’t caught all the science being revealed lately on the BENEFITS of saturated fat, cholesterol, and BUTTER, here’s an excerpt from the NYT, with the full link:

“That the worm is turning became increasingly evident a couple of weeks ago, when a meta-analysis published in the journal Annals of Internal Medicine found that there’s just no evidence to support the notion that saturated fat increases the risk of heart disease. (In fact, there’s some evidence that a lack of saturated fat may be damaging.) The researchers looked at 72 different studies and, as usual, said more work — including more clinical studies — is needed. For sure. But the days of skinless chicken breasts and tubs of I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter may finally be drawing to a close.

The tip of this iceberg has been visible for years, and we’re finally beginning to see the base. Of course, no study is perfect and few are definitive. But the real villains in our diet — sugar and ultra-processed foods — are becoming increasingly apparent. You can go back to eating butter, if you haven’t already.”

Our body is made out of Water, Protein, Fat, and Minerals.  Literally.  Vitamins make things happen (enzymatic reactions), and Carbs provide fuel for cells.  Eat foods that MAKE YOUR BODY.  Your body could care a less about calories, honest.  Who benefits from perpetuating the Low Fat/No Fat/Calories In/Calories Out line?  Big Food, Big Pharma, and Big Business.  Dieting is a Business; Real Whole Food is the key to Good Health and Good Weight.

Category: Fats, Looks Healthy But Isn't, RWF / Tags: , , ,

PMS Isn’t Inevitable; Conquer It And Lose Weight Too

March 26, 2014 / / Comments Off on PMS Isn’t Inevitable; Conquer It And Lose Weight Too

moms warpathWhen I meet with clients and listen to their worries, there’s a lot of subjects that come up often:  weight, compulsive eating, bloat/stomach issues, headaches/migraines, allergies, pain,  etc.  Something that doesn’t usually get brought up until I ask is PMS; most women have it, but it’s thought of as so NORMAL, that unless they’re smack in the middle of it, it’s not mentioned.

Just like I say Bloat’s Not Normal, and it’s our body yelling at us that something’s wrong;  PMS is the same situation.  Years of advertising has convinced us that when we have PMS, we’re just low on Advil/Tylenol/Diuretics/Midol.  OMG, that couldn’t be further from the truth!   POOR HEALTH IS NOT A DRUG DEFICIENCY.  EVER. No one needs to suffer from PMS.  I have 5 women in my household; we don’t use those meds (they’re not even in the house anymore), and we don’t suffer with: Cravings, headaches, low energy, cramps, or the low moods associated with PMS.  PMS ISN’T a Medicine Deficiency, it’s a NUTRITIONAL Deficiency, probably because of both diet and poor digestion.

Good news, you can fix this 🙂nervous breakdown

The biggest links with PMS and nutrition is  (1) too much sugar  (2) vitamin B deficiency  (3) magnesium deficiency  (4)  Omega 3 to Omega 6 imbalance.

Thinking that can’t be you because you take vitamins?  Think again, because if you had all the Bs and Mag you needed, you wouldn’t be having PMS.   What’s the link?  The SHORT explanation is that when blood sugar levels are high (use a glucometer, but if you’re eating ANY flour, sugar, or drinking wine, there’s a 99% chance they’re too high), it takes a lot of B’s and magnesium to metabolize those carbs.  It takes 45 molecules of Mag to metabolize 1 molecule of sugar!  That metabolism also burns through your Bs.  Big up and down swings of your blood sugar actually decreases oxygen and blood to your ovaries ( thank you Cortisol). That’s not good!

Remember, getting nutrients INTO THE CELLS takes a LOT of CHEMISTRY.  (We’re a chemistry set, not a math equation).  High sugar diets mess up the acidity of the stomach ( it’s supposed to be very acidic).  Stomach’s that aren’t acidic enough can’t properly digest proteins, fats, vitamins, and minerals.  That’s why all those antacid boxes have warnings on them about pneumonia and fractures.  Less acidity always means poor digestion and nutrient deficiencies.  Always.

Our body isn’t made from medicines, and it’s sure not made from junk food, it’s made from nutrients in Real Whole Foods that get digested and absorbed.  Period.  When there’s Health Issues, look there.

Here’s some food for thought if you’re struggling with PMS ( follow these suggestions and weight comes off too).

1) ditch ALL grain flour, sugar, and alcohol ( liquid donuts), focus on plenty of good fats, quality meats, TONS of vegetables, some fruit, some nuts, some dairy if you tolerate it.

2) add B6, B12, and a B complex from a Real Food source, NOT SYNTHETIC.  Learn the HUGE differences here.

3) add magnesium citrate or glycinate, 400-600 mgs/day; try to take your minerals in the afternoon/evening because they’re better absorbed, and both vitamins and minerals absorb better with a meal.

4) if you have bloat/reflux/GERD etc, you’re not digesting or absorbing well.  Get in touch with me.

5) exercise; this doesn’t have to be a killer workout (unless you want that), but the links between moving, hormones, and mood is HUGE.

6) take a good Omega 3 fish oil, you don’t need Omega 6, that’s inflammatory and we get plenty of O-6s in our diet.  O-3 is harder to get.

7) evening primrose oil, 2 – 500 mgs daily  (fats need to be taken with meals)

Be a Real Whole Foodie.

Category: Carbs, Fats, RWF, Sugar / Tags: , , , , , , ,

Want To Lose Weight? It’s Simple, Honest. & Another Success Story – Use It For Inspiration.

March 24, 2014 / / Comments Off on Want To Lose Weight? It’s Simple, Honest. & Another Success Story – Use It For Inspiration.

jigglemacineI was checking out at the grocery store the other night and the lady behind me, who had a few pounds to lose, was unloading her items onto the conveyor belt.  She had a cart full of Diet Products: diet bread, diet soda, diet ice cream, diet frozen meals, diet cookies, diet cheese.  She looked at me and said,” time to do this again because I’ve gained so much weight with this snowy winter”.  I wish I could have said something, but that would have been rude.  She was a stranger. I save unsolicited advice for my kids and husband, (who appreciate it tons and hang on my every word).

Just an hour earlier, I’d wrapped up a nutritional consult with someone who’s under a tremendous amount of stress (seriously, if there were a competition, she’d win.  I don’t know how she does it.)  She comes from a heritage and country where rice and noodles are common and normal. (sounds like America, but it’s not.) She’s lived here several years and feeds her family traditionally.  She and I have met before about her weight and her willpower, and my advice is the same now as it was then.

To both ladies, and everyone out there trying to lose weight:  Traditional dieting,fat banished w tapeworms where you cut calories and fat, and maybe use Diet Products, is PROVEN to MAKE YOU GAIN WEIGHT.  PROVEN, in study after study.  You might lose a few pounds or several initially, but if you lost the weight DIETING, you’ll gain it back.  Unfortunately, the havoc you wreck with your hormones (thyroid, estrogen, neurotransmitters, insulin, cortisol) and your liver, will slow your metabolism and create signals in your brain that are focused on GAINING weight in case the starvation situation happens again.  

Let me repeat:  If you’re eating products like pasta and bread, or any sort of Diet Product, you’re putting substances in your body that make you GAIN WEIGHT and cause disease.  Also, those foods are addictive.  “Moderation” doesn’t work with these foods.  As long as you’re eating flours, sugars, and chemicals, you’re nurturing the addictive areas of your brain.  If you want to lose weight you’ll have to Ditch Those Foods Forever.  Scary?  I know.  And sad too.  Trust me though, once you’re free, you’re FREE. You won’t miss them once the addiction is gone; as a matter of fact, fake foods and processed foods will taste horrible once you switch to Real Whole Foods.

Here’s the amazing thing:  we’re all smart people.  In most of life, if we try something and it doesn’t work, we move on.  That’s normal.   That doesn’t happen with Dieting.  It’s NEVER worked. Ever. In all these years.   I’ve counseled people now who’ve literally done more than 20 attempts at losing weight through several different and some repeat Diet Methods.  There’s some initial weight loss, regain, additional gain, and eventually, NO WEIGHT LOSS AT ALL using methods that previously worked.  And yet, there’s this odd willingness to keep trying the same old thing over and over and over.  What’s the definition of Insanity?  Doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.

Listen to what your body is telling you:  Flour, Sugar, and Diet Products make your mind and body sick.  You’ll never lose weight permanently, feel energetic, and be healthy as long as that’s your paradigm.  Ever.  If you read this and you think, “no way can I give up my cereal/crackers/wine/girlscoutcookies etc, know this: your addiction centers are calling your shots.

You can quit, you can change, you can lose weight and feel great, but ONLY on Real Whole Foods.  Really, google “keep weight off after dieting” and read the depressing headlines that pop up.  If you’re struggling, get in touch with me.  People with the same addictions to food that you have have successfully changed their life because they developed HABITS and ATTITUDES about their health and their food that makes their body happy and calm, as opposed to the stress and anxiety of Dieting.

Here’s that Success Story, use it for strength.  Cindi is a single mom with a more-than-full-time job and 2 boys who play lacrosse every day up and down the East Coast.  She’s busy, and she’s managed to make Real Whole Food work for her and her sons.  ( No, she doesn’t have a cook.)  It’s just an attitude, a lifestyle pattern, remember that other quote I love: It’s just an effort until it’s a habit.

I am a 54 year old mother of two teenage, very active boys.  I am the Program Execution Director for a large business unit of a major defense contractor.  I commute roughly four hours each day and have a demanding job while at work.   I am active and energetic and am used to feeling good most of the time.  I have suffered from periodic migraines for many years along with annual bouts with colds, bronchitis and allergies.  Overall, I felt pretty healthy and other than my migraines, I viewed the colds, etc as somewhat routine.  I love to cook and make many of our meals but we eat out often or I turned to convenient meal options at home (tacos with taco seasoning mix, recipes including packaged ingredients, lunch meats) due to my hectic work and my boys’ hectic lacrosse schedules with year round games and tournaments.  Over the last year or so, I began feeling increasingly achy, particularly in my knees and joints.  I also was unable to shed the extra 10 pounds that I had gained over the last couple of years despite following multiple regimens (very, very frustrating and demoralizing!).  I was tested for arthritis and went to the orthopedist as well for a knee check…..nothing abnormal.  I continued to exercise regularly by walking, lifting weights, doing yoga and ballet barre work but always felt very stiff even after yoga stretching and ballet.  Given that there are so many variables to how a person feels, along with the marching of time, I just assumed I felt bad because I was getting older and had a stressful life.

I have known Debbie Abbott for over 9 years and have trained with her regularly throughout this period.  She is extraordinarily positive, compassionate, educated, and interested in learning and teaching friends and clients about nutrition and health in a non-judgmental, kind manner.    I value immensely my time with Debbie as I always feel good after being with her.  I mentioned how I was feeling to Debbie during a training session and she suggested I do a nutritional analysis.  I completed the paperwork.  Debbie also suggested a simple 10 day detox that consisted of organ supportive supplements and easy-on-the-liver-and-organs organic whole foods such as a fruits and vegetables, homemade broth, lean protein AND NO CARBS other than those from fruits and vegetables.  Debbie was very supportive leading up to and during my detox, offering to gather the foods that I needed and bringing over homemade bone broth to kick start the process.   I have to admit that I did not have very high expectations for this 10 day period as it just didn’t seem like I was doing that much that was different from my regular eating routine.  Boy, was I wrong.  I got on the scale routinely during the 10 day period and the number was going down almost every day.  At the end of the detox period, my weight had dropped almost 10 pounds and my general feeling of achiness was subsiding.  I did another 10 day detox.  After the 20-day period, I had dropped 14 pounds and my knees and joints felt much, much better.  It was as though my system had been clogged and my revised diet and supplement regimen had freed the clog to enable my body to function normally again!  I went through the detailed nutritional analysis with Debbie after the detox and she recommended specific supplements and enzymes for me to correct what appeared to be a general inflammatory condition that had probably developed over years.  I have now been taking the supplements and eating (for the most part) a sensible whole foods diet with very few carbs for over 15 months.  I do not place limits on any real foods, including the use of butter and nuts.  My weight has remained stable within a pound or two over the 15 months and overall I feel very good.  I have not had a migraine in 15 months which is remarkable as I was having one almost every month prior!  I have not had a cold or any digestive upsets in 15 months.  As a matter of fact, this is the first 15-month period since I was in middle school that I have not gotten bronchitis and had to go on antibiotics!  I am mindful of the things that I buy and eat by asking myself if the food will do anything for me and my boys nutritionally……..sounds like a little thing, but over time it works.

I am thrilled that I now have a sensible diet that is flexible with few restrictions.  I eat well and feel good almost every day.  I am thoroughly convinced that the marching of time is not a leading indicator for feeling bad and that what we eat is hugely important!  I am very grateful to Debbie for her insight, support, and nutritional guidance.  If you have the opportunity to work with her or interact with her, seize it!  You will be rewarded in many, many ways.  – Cindi Shelburne

Category: Mind/Body, Psychology of Eating, RWF, Success Story, Uncategorized / Tags: , , , , , , , ,

Our Weight, Our Health, our Moods, Our Sleep? Depends on our GUT BUGS.

March 22, 2014 / / Comments Off on Our Weight, Our Health, our Moods, Our Sleep? Depends on our GUT BUGS.

igor scientistI got to spend all day Wednesday at a seminar called “The Gut Brain Connection”; I was in Heaven. There’s a LOT of new information on the bugs in our gut because the NIH and it’s European counterparts have culminated a multi-year, multi-multi-million dollar study that’s revealed all sorts of FASCINATING facts.  It turns out that there’s a whole lot more to know about the bugs in our stomachs other than “antibiotics kill them, so eat yogurt”.  A whole lot more.

I’m going to bullet point some facts, and highlight some resources if you’re interested in studying it further.  Know this though:  our gut bacteria interacts with and has ENORMOUS effects on our ENTIRE BODY.  Way more than scientists and doctors had ever guessed.

* Our bugs send information to every cell in our body, even our DNA.

* Bad bugs send Bad information, and Good bugs send Good information.  What we have in there really matters.

* There are probably over a 1000 species of bugs, totaling over 100 TRILLION bacteria just in our intestines!  Three to five pounds of bacteria JUST IN OUR COLON alone!!!  You’ve got to admit that’s a fun fact.

* Statistically, if you’ve got Anxiety/Depression/”brain/emotional” conditions, you’ve  got gut issues:  you’re either low in good bacteria, have a leaky gut, and/or hosting too much bad bacteria, or all 3.  Our bugs are DIRECTLY involved in making our Neurotransmitters, Dopamine and Serotonin (among others).

* Dopamine is made in equal parts in the gut and the brain.   Here’s what Dopamine does:  Dopamine is a neurotransmitter that helps control the brain’s reward and pleasure centers. Dopamine deficiency results in Parkinson’s Disease, and people with low dopamine activity may be more prone to addiction. (LIKE FOOD ADDICTION)

* Serotonin is made primarily in the gut, 90%; only 10% is made in the brain.  Here’s a brief explanation of serotonin: Serotonin is a type of neurotransmitter that is found mainly in the central nervous system and the gastrointestinal (GI) tract. Much of the serotonin is located in the GI tract where it is used to regulate digestion. Serotonin helps regulate mood, sleep, appetite, learning and memory.

* Our gut bacteria play HUGE roles in making sure adequate amounts of these 2 neurotransmitters are produced.

* What compromises our good gut bacteria, which should number in the 100s of TRILLIONS, and mostly populate our Large Intestine?  So much:  Sugar, Flours, Processed Foods, Antibiotics, EVERY SINGLE OTC AND PRESCRIPTION DRUG bayer Chemicals, and Stress/Cortisol.  Every thing on this list pretty much decimates our gut flora either directly or by changing normal pH levels.   Look at the list again and go over your week, then go over your kid’s week.

* MSG, which is a known neurotoxin and has horrible effects on gut bacteria and brain cells, takes 10 – 14 days to clear the body.  Other names for MSG:  Natural Flavors and Yeast Extract.  (FDA approved) (Read Your labels, and your kid’s labels)

* Being Diabetic and Pre-Diabetic ALWAYS CHANGES GUT FLORA. ALWAYS.  If this is you, supplement with a good probiotic.

* The toxic waste from both C-Dif and E Coli harm the gut wall (leaky gut, here you come).  So does alcohol.  Anything that harms the wall harms the body’s ability to make and maintain good bacteria and sets up an environment for bad bacteria.

* Gut bacteria have a direct link to normal weight or obesity.

* It can take anywhere from 4 weeks to several MONTHS to repopulate gut flora after antibiotics.  THINK ABOUT THIS BEFORE YOU POP SOME FOR YOUR NEXT SORE THROAT.  There are so many holistic, wonderful treatments out there you could use instead that are just as effective with no side effects.

* Anxiety and Depression increase BAD gut bacteria, it’s the Cortisol.

lard be gone* Starving yourself by either not eating, or eating very low calorie, initiates stress and anxiety, via the hormone cortisol, which tells the  neurotransmitters and bacteria in your gut to signal your thyroid to SLOW DOWN, and then they signal fat cells to STORE MORE.  The body will do ANYTHING not to starve. (there’s that communication I was talking about)

* Ghrelin is a hormone which INCREASES appetite.  Alcohol and sleep deprivation INCREASE ghrelin.  So does stress.

* Stomach fat is (1) VERY metabolically active (2) it produces a lot of ESTROGEN (3) fat bellies are full of INFLAMMATION, that’s why they’re hard (4) that inflammation is Inflammatory Cytokines that don’t just stay in the belly, the shoot around the Whole Entire Body through the blood stream, wrecking Havoc and creating disease.

* Probiotics are great, and now we know that specific strains can be used to specifically target specific conditions.  Cool.

* Nothing beats Probiotic Foods and Drinks:  cultured and fermented vegetables, keifer, kombucha, and real yogurt.  Numbers wise, there’s millions and millions more bacteria in food, and a wider range of species, than in any pill supplement.  If you’re trying to correct a condition or improve health, use the pills along with the foods/drinks.  ***** Vinegar does NOT make a food cultured or fermented!!*****

* A single course of antibiotics can wipe out up to 20 species.  Sometimes, they DON’T make a come back.

* Want to learn more?  Here’s some of the most current revelations from different researchers involved in the study talking about everything from babies, to birth, to diabetes, the immune system, and IBS.

The take away?  What we eat matters.  How we stay healthy and well, matters.  It matters what we put in our body.  Really.  Everything we eat either helps us or harms us.  Be a Real Whole Foodie!

Category: Gut bacteria / Tags: , , , , , , ,

Estrogen, Cortisol, and Thyroid; GIRLS SCOUT COOKIES, Recipes

March 20, 2014 / / Comments Off on Estrogen, Cortisol, and Thyroid; GIRLS SCOUT COOKIES, Recipes

blood spotOkay, Full Disclosure:  I’m Going Through Menopause. Ugh. This picture to the left?  That’s a “Blood Spot” test I did this morning. More on that in another post, I promise.  I’m actually just letting you know because today I’m tying Hormones to Health, Mood, and Food. What We Eat Affects Our Body and Mind.  I’m doing this after being inspired by a client email last night, asking if eating a few Girl Scout cookies would undue a “good” day. Let me tie my menopause, YOUR body, and her girl scout cookies together, because they are.  Our body, our energy, our emotions, our health,.. they’re one big connection.

Here’s some interesting facts:

*The Ingredient list for Samoas:(Don’t be hatin on the Messenger!)

Sugar, vegetable oil (soybean and palm oil, partially hydrogenated palm kernel and/or cottonseed oil), enriched flour (wheat flour, niacin,reduced iron, thiamin mononitrate [vitamin B1],riboflavin [vitamin B2], folic acid), corn syrup, coconut,sweetened condensed milk (condensed milk, sugar),contains two percent or less of sorbitol, glycerin, cocoa,invert sugar, cocoa processed with alkali, cornstarch,salt, caramelized sugar, soy lecithin, dextrose, natural and artificial flavor, carrageenan, leavening (baking soda, monocalcium phosphate).

Pure Poison.

* Since our body could CARE A LESS about calories, and is DOMINATED by the hormones Insulin and Cortisol, does “food” like this undo a good day?  YES!,  “food” like this is ALWAYS harmful for your body. Always.  After eating this, your blood sugar and insulin spike, your Immune System is suppressed for 24 hours, you’ve allowed in Cancer Causing Sugar and Flour (glucose – cancer’s favorite food), Chemicals (artificial colors, flavors), soy, hydrogenated oils and Omega 6/Inflammatory vegetable oils. If ONLY the worst side effect was a little weight gain.

* What if you’re in the Majority of Women, and struggle with Bloat and Headaches; bile beanswhat affect will this “food” have on those issues?  Bloat, which happens in the Small Intestines, is from Bacteria or Yeast that DOESN’T BELONG THERE.  BLOAT IS NOT NORMAL. EVER.  Eat “food” like these Girl Scout Cookies, and you’ve just fed that bacteria and yeast it’s most favorite, fortifying meal.  It’s like when Popeye eats the can of spinach and then he can beat up Bruno.  That’s what’s going on in your “dysbiotic gut” (overgrowth of the bad stuff, not enough good):  you’ve just empowered it and prolonged your condition.

* Headaches are highly linked to Sugar/Flour/Insulin/Cortisol/Thyroid/Estrogen.  There’s a cascade effect going on that’s too long to write about, but eat this “food”, and if you’re prone to headaches, you’ll get one.

* Eating “food” like this suppresses/destroys our beneficial gut bacteria.  Here’s one surprising side effect from that: after our body produces estrogen,(this is for MEN and WOMEN) and uses it, it’s sent back to the liver to be broken down.  After leaving the liver, the “conjugated” estrogen is sent to the small intestine to be further broken down, or actually consumed by, the bacteria “lactobacillus acidophilis”.  If you’ve destroyed your gut bacteria with: SUGAR (the kind in Girl Scout Cookies), Processed Refined Foods (like a Girl Scout Cookie), Antibiotics, Cortisol/Stress, chemicals in water (fluoride, chlorine, etc), birth control pills, anti-inflammatories, acid suppressors, or Splenda,  you’ve likely impaired your bodies ability to break down and get rid of “old estrogen”;  back into the system the estrogen goes instead of being pooped or peed out of you.  Not Good.  (Bryan – there’s your favorite word again)

*The Sugar, Flour, and Chemicals in this product will ABSOLUTELY STIMULATE AND NURTURE the Addiction Centers in your brain.  And your child’s brain.

*Eat enough of these to raise your blood sugar way above normal, and your pancreas will respond with a big dose of Insulin to push it back down.  Unfortunately though, when blood sugar crashes, Cortisol is called in to correct it. Boom!  Stress.   Like I said above, Cortisol and Insulin are our 2 Dominant hormones, whether we’re male or female.  Too much Cortisol and too much Insulin mean that Sex Hormones and Thyroid Hormones will have to take a back seat.  Reproduction and Metabolism are not priorities.  Balancing blood sugar ( because SUGAR IS TOXIC), and Fight/Flight (staying alive) are priorities.

What’s all this have to do with my peri-menopause?  So far, my only symptom has been losing my period.  I’m sleeping well, no hot flashes, no up and down moods.  If pretend foods like Girl Scout Cookies were a normal part of my diet, I’d be a nut case.  ( to my husband and children, ……..)  Being a hormonal nut case IS NOT NORMAL.  It’s the food, it’s the food, it’s the food.  It ALWAYS matters, always.

When you look at that cookie or cake or chip or whatever it is that’s calling you, STOP.  Ask yourself, “how will I feel about this in an hour”;  practice thinking about the long term consequences from our actions.  Isn’t that what we tell our kids?  It’s great advice for us too!

Parchment-SalmonHere’s a recipe we made last night, oh my gosh it was delicious! Samoras-2-0051 I used cod instead of salmon because it’s cheaper and I can always find wild caught.  The parsley and lemon together were so good!  Did you know that parsley helps the body detox heavy metals, and that’s it’s LOADED with Vitamin’s K, C, A, and Bs, and a whole bunch of minerals.  And here’s a Paleo Samoa cookie Meg made – it was excellent!  You can have a dessert that doesn’t shoot up your blood sugar and instigate destruction of your brain and body, or your kids brain and body.  Real Whole Food is the answer.

Category: Carbs, Food Additives, Paleo Recipe, Question of the Week, Sugar / Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Success Story! Recipe and Meal Ideas:)

March 17, 2014 / / Comments Off on Success Story! Recipe and Meal Ideas:)

You’re going to love this Success Story – I do!  Aimee so perfectly describes a Diet Roller Coaster that it should be in a dictionary.  Here’s her story:

After years dieting and just coming off of a strict low/no fat, 750 calorie diet AND topped off with 10 days of a Liver Detox, my body was MESSED UP. I came off the cleanse with out of control cravings and immediately gained 45lbs in a matter of three months, not to mention that I was a weepy, grouchy, exhausted mom. Did I mention that I was grouchy? I could not stop eating things that I knew were wrong for me – especially at night – I couldn’t stop to save my life! I heard of Debbie Abbott from a good friend of mine who said “Debbie has a gift of explaining things so that they make sense.” I signed up for a class that she had on Digestion and it really answered many things that I had been struggling with for a long time. Following the advice has completely changed my health around from the inside out:) I hadn’t realized that even though I was eating, my body was literally starving for nutrients. It is taking a while to undo all of the damage that I have done but Wow! what a difference in my energy and mood! The inflammation in my joints has significantly decreased as well. It is such a relief to know that I have the information that I need AND that I trust. I was also able to relay this message to my mom who had a blood sugar of 210. She and I rejoiced in the fact that within a few months of monitoring and eating correctly, her blood sugar is now staying around 80. No medication…just eating correctly and exercise. Thank you Debbie for all of the words of wisdom that you are so willing to share with everyone. You have truly made a difference in my life:)

If you want to be a healthy weight, and have a healthy mind and body, you’ll need to give your body what it wants.  And it doesn’t REALLY want ice cream, crackers, wine, or cookies.  Honest.  That’s your self-destructive urges talking there.  Your body wants the Nutrients necessary to perform all it’s functions.  Let’s look at just a few.

Your body needs to build your brain, which is 60% fat/25% cholesterol.  Glucose/sugar has a devastating effect on brain cells/neurons/connections. Glucose “glycates” parts of the brain, that means function and communication is ruined.  How well do you think a low fat, high carb diet is going to make your brain function?

Your body needs to digest food and then absorb the nutrients from it so that those nutrients can be sent throughout your body.  If you’ve compromised gut function by taking acid suppressors, then food breakdown and nutrient absorption isn’t happening.  Pretty soon, all those warnings on the antacid box will start coming true:  weak bones, weak immune system, vitamin B deficiencies, etc.

Your body needs to make Neurotransmitters, so that you can feel Even and Normal.  You’ll need protein, fat, and minerals to do that, which are absent in Cereal, Pasta, and Bread.

Your body demands a certain level of calories or it’ll TURN OFF your thyroid gland, and quit making Serotonin (a feel good neurotransmitter).  Low calorie diets also force your body to take muscle proteins and convert them into fuel, slowing down your metabolism even more.

Your body wants a LOT of healthy fats (saturated animal fats, coconut fats, olive/avocado oils), Tons of vegetables (everything from leafy greens to cruciferous, to starchy), some protein, some fruit, and some nuts and seeds.  Real Whole Food.  Eat enough at each meal that you’re not hungry again in 2 hours, that’s ridiculous.  We shouldn’t need to be on an all day eating schedule for several reasons; two are: (1) to go into hormonal Fat Burning Mode, glucose levels need to be completely NORMAL, 80-100mg/dcl of blood  (2) the gut’s not meant to function constantly, it’s a long explanation, but it needs rest periods.

I’ve posted enough Success Stories now that you should be seeing the pattern:  no one improves by going on a diet and adding medications.  No one.  Your body doesn’t want to starve, and will resist you, and NO ONE IS DEFICIENT IN A MEDICINE.  No one.

To reinforce that starving yourself isn’t necessary, and is in fact, disastrous, here’s a chocpbcakecake that we made Friday night for a family dinner, it was Delicious!!!  I got the recipe off of All Day I Dream About Food.  We served it after eating a dinner of 10 hour chicken (put a bunch of breasts in a big pan, a cup of water, lots of S&P and herbs,cover w foil,  200*, then shred), a bunch of broth/kale/onions/tomatoes/garlic/asiago cheese,  and roasted sweet potato (lots of butter and salt).

Honestly, Honestly, I SWEAR, if you want to be a healthy weight, with a healthy mind and body, low cal/low fat/tons of exercise ISN’T the way to do it.  You have to, you MUST, work with your body.  Give it the nutrients it uses to build every cell, every tissue, and give it the calories it needs to NOT SHUT YOU DOWN.  Go back and look at Aimee’s Diet Roller Coaster description.  Then make the decision to get OFF the Diet Roller Coaster like she did.  You can do this!

P.S. I didn’t make that cake, 2 of my daughters did.  I actually never make anything that has that many ingredients; I trend towards shorter recipes, like this recipe here.

 

Category: Carbs, Cooking, Fats, Mind/Body, Paleo Recipe, RWF, Success Story / Tags: , , , , , , , ,

Got Bloat? You Shouldn’t. Food Ideas:) Success Story!

March 14, 2014 / / Comments Off on Got Bloat? You Shouldn’t. Food Ideas:) Success Story!

Got Bloat? Reflux? Gerd? Ever heard of SIBO, or Small Intestinal Bacterial Overgrowth?   You know how I say that Stomach Problems Aren’t Normal, and if you’ve got bloat/gas/cramps/reflux/constipation, don’t medicate it, FIX IT?  That’s because these symptoms are the beginning of and signs of much bigger problems: leaky gut, migraines, auto-immune conditions, decreased immune function, obesity, skin problems, etc etc.  If your digestion’s off, you’re in trouble, and it’s not because you’re deficient in antacid.

Not ENOUGH stomach acid is the problem for most people, and it becomes too low because it’s effected by so many things:  birth control pills, pain meds, OTC meds and prescription meds, obviously Antacids, chlorine/fluorine in municipal water, STRESS/CORTISOL, and sugar/refined flours/chemicals in foods.  Mess with the pH of the stomach, and all downstream gut function is compromised.

One thing that can happen is the Small Intestine, (which should hold anywhere from zero to a “few bacteria”/up to a million), develops an OVERGROWTH of normal bacteria ( not necessarily the bad stuff,  although they can and do proliferate if there’s insufficient acid to kill them). Another possibility? Studies show that LARGE INTESTINE bacteria (which numbers about 100 TRILLION) can migrate UP to the small intestine.  AHH!!  Not good, they don’t belong there.   Why would they do that?  The pH environment is off, so undigested and slow digesting carbs/sugars are not being absorbed properly in the small intestine. They call to those Large Intestine bacteria like cookies call to you.  Eat me eat me… How do you know if this is happening?

BLOAT’s a big sign.  There should be NO fermentation that causes bloat/gas/pain/cramping in the small intestine.  The small intestine is for digestion and absorption.   Fermentation is ONLY supposed to happen in the Large Intestine, which was set up and designed for it.

If you’ve got any of these stomach issues going on, and you follow the advice to “eat more fiber”, you’re probably NOT noticing any improvement.  The fibers (there’s several types), which are undigested/hard to digest Carbs, are just feeding that Small Bowel Overgrowth. On the other hand, if everything’s NORMAL, fiberous foods and slow digesting carbs shouldn’t bother you.

What about constipation, could that be a result of SIBO?  Yep.  MMS stands for Migrating Motor Complex, that’s contractions in our intestines that move food and SWEEP THE AREA CLEAN OF THINGS THAT DON’T BELONG.  MMS is impaired by Stress/Cortisol and eating too often.  Do either of those ever happen to you?

If you’ve got Bloat/Cramps/Reflux/Diarrhea/Constipation/GERD, you need to Heal and Seal your gut.  It’s not difficult, but it can take a while to normalize and repair damage, months. Your body wants to return to normal though, so you’ve got that on your side.

Changing the subject, how about No Recipe Food Ideas, with pictures?

stuffpotatThis first picture is Stuffed Potatoes:  bake the potatoes for an hour, scoop out the insides and mix with bacon, butter, cheese, broccoli, and broth or milk, rebake for 15 minutes.  Kids love this one!

Next is a mix of Broth, Sausage, Onions, Carrots, andpotstove Brussels, tons of herbs, salt, and pepper.  No Recipe, no measurements.

Last is a meal I made for Shelby after a late practice (wet fields, everyone’s sharing the gyms), of chicken sausage, roasted potatoes (from a previous meal, frozen), and broccoli (frozen), that I just cooked fast shellatein a pan with coconut oil.

Cooking’s not Rocket Science, but it can take practice to get in the Mind Set of always having ingredients on hand, scheduling the time, and planning.

Let me leave you with a Motivating Success Story and the phrase, ” Your body is a Chemistry Set, not a Math Equation”:

Hey Debbie, I would like to thank you for introducing Paleo to my life. Today officially I have lost 10 lbs since your Paleo Christmas party. My husband lost more than 20 lbs and he doesn’t even work out !
So thank you very much! Xoxoxoxo

 

Category: Cooking, No Recipe Paleo Meals, RWF, Success Story / Tags: , , ,

How To Lose Weight and Be Healthy? Feed Your Body What It Wants!

March 12, 2014 / / Comments Off on How To Lose Weight and Be Healthy? Feed Your Body What It Wants!

carbblockOne of my main goals in life is to help people connect these dots:  food,  health, weight.  If you read my blog, you know I’m not referring to calories, or fat grams. I’m referring to nutrients in food and chemical reactions that happen when our body uses those nutrients.  When you care more about: what’s in your food, what it does to you, and how it makes you feel; than you care about calories, then I know you’re on track to be lean and healthy, forever.

What you fill your mind with is what’s going to rule your mind.  For instance, if you’re swayed by any of these advertisements (make sure you check out the last one – it’s my favorite), you’re going to continue along hoping that if you can just starve yourself for a sufficient amount of time, you’ll end up skinny and happy.  It doesn’t work that way.  Look back over your own history:  low cal dieting and tons of exercise are a VERY temporary way to take off pounds,always  to the detriment of your Thyroid, Adrenals, Sex Hormones,hcg Neurotransmitters, and Muscles.  Do it with Low Fat products, high in carbs, and there goes Insulin and Blood Glucose levels also.  Your body wants Nutrients to Run Correctly.  That’s all it wants, honest.  Eat to make your body as healthy as possible and your weight will become healthy and stable.  That’s all it takes, really.

Here’s some interesting bullet points (to fill your mind with) on why Real Whole Foods are so important.

*To make hair, nails, cartilage, growth hormone, glutathione (our #1 antioxidant), insulin, prolactin, and a whole bunch of other parts of our body, we need to have plenty of Sulfur.  Sulfur is the 3rd most common mineral in our body after calcium and phosphorus.

*Research points to sulfur deficiency in obesity, heart disease, cancer, and many “wasting” conditions.  Sulfur is also a crucial ‘ingredient’ in joints, and all joint supplements are sulfur containing: chondroitin sulfate, methyl sulfate, glucosamine sulfate…

best way*Garlic, onions, and cruciferous vegetables (brussels, cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli…) are loaded with sulfur.  So are egg yolks, fish, meat, and poultry.

*Many studies show that garlic, onions, and other allicin (sulfur containing) foods are incredibly protective against cancer and heart disease.

*The National Cancer Institute found that individuals who ate the most allicin vegetables (red onions, scallions, garlic, chives and leeks) had a nearly 50% lower cancer risk than those who ate the least.

*A large-scale epidemiological Iowa Women’s Health Study looked at the garlic consumption in 41,000 middle-aged women. Results showed that women who regularly consumed garlic had 35% lower risk of developing colon cancer.

*Acetaminophen depletes sulfur levels in the body.  Sulfur is used to both break down and escort out (via urine), acetaminophen.  Breakdown happens in the liver.  We have large stores of the antioxidant Glutathione in the liver, or we’re supposed to.  Acetaminophen drains those supplies.  Acetaminophen is the Number 1 Cause of Liver Failure in the U.S.

Real Whole Food is made from compounds that our body needs to run correctly.  Here’s some more cool facts:

*Our body makes Vitamin D3 when the cholesterol from INSIDE of us, rises to the OUTSIDE of us/on top of our skin, and is “mixed/hit with” with UVB rays from the sun.  Vitamin D SULFATE is made.  Vitamin D sulfate is WATER SOLUBLE, so it sinks right back down through the skin, into the blood where it goes anywhere in the body that Vitamin D is supposed to go.

*Here’s a UVB map of the United States for March.

****Vitamin D3 supplements are UN-SULFERATED.  That means NOT water soluble. ( Our blood is water, right?)  The liver must make LDL to transport UN-sulferated Vitamin D3 through the blood.

*Both cholesterol and sulfur protect the skin from radiation damage, the kind oflucky damage that can lead to skin cancer.  Remember, cholesterol is an ANTIOXIDANT.  That’s one of the reasons our liver makes so much of it.

*Here’s a great podcast with Senior MIT Researcher Stephanie Seneff on Statins, Cholesterol, and the “Real Demons” of heart disease.

If you want to get slim, healthy, and be loaded with energy, you need to learn how the body works and what food does to you.  Invest in yourself, invest in your loved ones.  Become a Real Whole Foodie.

Category: Mind/Body, RWF / Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
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