Archive for Uncategorized

Weight Loss: Gluten Free Foods Keep You Sugar Burning Instead Of Fat Burning

August 31, 2014 / / Comments Off on Weight Loss: Gluten Free Foods Keep You Sugar Burning Instead Of Fat Burning

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAClients I work with often make the mistake of thinking that Gluten Free Food PRODUCTS are not only healthy, but Weight Loss Inducing.  That’s a Big Mistake.

Gluten Free Food Products are missing the damaging gluten protein – that’s true.  But Gluten Free products like pasta, bread, cereal, and cookies, are made with High Glycemic, very easily digested and absorbed, SIMPLE SUGARS.

When we eat Simple Sugars, our blood sugar levels and blood insulin levels skyrocket, and damage happens, always.  Whether the simple sugar is from white flour, brown flour, rice flour, or corn flour, i.e. gluten-free or NOT, simple sugars flood our blood stream quickly and easily wreck havoc – every. single. time.

I love to say that a Carb is a Carb is a Carb.  No matter the source, our gut digests Carbs to the single sugar/simple sugar GLUCOSE, which then goes through the small intestine wall and into the blood stream.  When our blood sugar and insulin levels are high our arteries become damaged, our brain accumulates plaque, our blood becomes thick and sticky, and proteins and fats in the blood and affixed to the body ( our thyroid, our intestine walls, our skin..) become “Glycated”, or damaged – permanently.

These Simple Sugar Gluten Free Products also make us fat.  Here’s how:  when our blood sugar is high, anything above 100mg/dcl, insulin is released from the pancreas to lower it.  Some blood sugar can go into muscle cells (or not), a tiny bit of blood sugar can be stored in the liver (or not), and ALL THE REST OF THE EXCESS IS REMADE INTO TRIGLYCERIDES. Triglycerides = Body Fat.  

Glucose/blood sugar/carbs don’t make ANY part of us, not our hair, our eyes, our bones, our teeth. Carbs are just an energy source, and we can’t even store very much.  Excess ALWAYS gets made into Body Fat.  Always.

Another undesirable result of High Blood Sugar from Gluten Free Products:  Insulin Resistance.  When you have insulin resistance, your body’s ability to literally use FAT FOR FUEL is SHUT DOWN.  Instead, your body burns sugar.  Period.  This isn’t healthy or normal.  WebMD says at this point at least 34% of all Americans are fully Insulin Resistant.  Imagine what the number would be if it included everyone who was hovering at full Insulin Resistance??  50%?  60%?  More?   We’re 70% overweight in the country;  the correlation between ANY belly fat and insulin resistance is very high.   Got Belly Fat?

If you diet and exercise, and can’t lose weight, you’ve got a problem.  It’s not normal.  When you’re a Sugar Burner, your body sets itself up to mostly burn glucose.  Even in the absence of food, it still wants to burn Sugar not Body Fat.  This means that when Sugar Burners cut calories, or increase exercise, the body would rather break down muscle tissue and convert it to glucose than burn body fat.  It’s easier, and the body ALWAYS does what’s easier.

If you want to quit burning so much sugar for fuel, and start burning your fat stores, you’ll have to (1) cut out the grains and sugars, even gluten free grains, and (2) up your healthy fat intake.  Seriously, if you want your cells to become acclimated to burning fat, there’s a whole set up of enzymes and protocols that go along with that.  As long as there’s excess sugar in your body, from any source ( gluten free products, grains, and sugars, sometimes even fruit) YOUR BODY MUST BURN SUGAR.  It takes a real consistency of effort before your body believes you and sets up fat burning mechanisms in your cells.

Something that struck me in the book Keto-Clarity, was how many doctors were quoted as saying that before several decades ago, because the average American diet was much lower in carbohydrate, and higher in healthier fats, it would have been normal to burn both Glucose and Fat throughout the day and night.  Low states of Ketosis, where ketone bodies were burned, would also have been very normal.  There’s entire cultures that ran on Ketone bodies and fatty acids easily and with great health, throughout the world, throughout history and even today. ( For instance, very Northern  and Desert cultures with little access to plants or grains)

If you can’t lose weight, there’s a good chance you’re insulin resistant, you’re a sugar burner.  Even if you DON’T need to lose weight, but eat a high carb diet, you’re a sugar burner;  inflammation is happening.

If you want to STOP burning so much sugar and START BURNING YOUR FAT STORES,  Contact me and let’s get started.  It’s time to turn your metabolism around and make it work FOR you, not AGAINST you.

Category: Carbs, Fats, ketosis, Looks Healthy But Isn't, RWF, Uncategorized, Weight Loss / Tags: , , , ,

Fitness Conference, Habits, Keto Diet Update, and Why I’m Staying On It.

August 5, 2014 / / Comments Off on Fitness Conference, Habits, Keto Diet Update, and Why I’m Staying On It.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAI just spent a 3 day weekend at the DCAC Fitness Convention; 13 classes in 3 days.  I split the time between actual movement classes and lectures; total FUN:)

What’d I learn?  A lot.  What am I passing on?  This: the day to day choices we make, all day long, really, really, matter.  Our food, how much we sleep, how we handle our stress, and that we move and laugh and smile, matters.  Our choices to either do these things or not, become our habits, and our habits makes us who we are.

More:  Habits Are Everything, and we all have to take the Action Steps to develop the habits make us healthier.  No one else can do it for us, and we can’t do it for anyone else. We can’t change our spouse, our child, our parent, or our friends.  We can only change ourselves, and then hope to inspire the people we love and care about. (The DCAC Fitness Conference isn’t just about exercise, there’s some great Positive Psychology lectures – I love that stuff!)

Keto Update:  I thought I’d stop the Keto Diet at the end of the month ( July ), and I did.  But I miss it!  I’m back on as of today!  I might do a little Keto Cycling here and there, but not for at least a few weeks. ( More on Keto Cycling later.)  It was honestly easier than I thought it would be except for 2 things:

I’ve been deficient in Salt and Fat, even though in the past few years I’ve really upped my in-take of both.  Ketosis makes the kidney’s flush out more water than normal, and with the water goes your sodium and electrolytes.  This is revealed in pretty painful and persistent leg cramps, which I’m prone to anyway.   My blood pressure also dropped a little too low, but with the conscientious salt increase, I can tackle that.

I needed 2 teaspoons of salt a DAY to counter-balance the cramps and hypo-tension, which meant adjusting my tolerance for a salty taste.  It’s impossible to “retain water” when you’re in even mild/medium ketosis, even with 2 teaspoons of salt a day.  No wonder Salt was so important throughout history!  P.S. I never did get above the “medium” levels of ketones.  Maybe next time?

I was also surprised at HOW MUCH FAT it took to get into ketosis – a LOT.  You can’t tell just by looking at my “What I Eat” page, but I had to LOAD on the butter/coconut oil/olive oil/cream cheese/MCT oil, and cream.  It’s not easy, or initially natural, to eat that much fat, and it took some thought and effort.

My weight stayed completely stable, even on the 2 days I did make an attempt at counting fat grams, and took in almost 3,000 calories – IN FAT ALONE, not counting my protein or veggie carbs.  Did you catch that?  My weight stayed stable despite all those fat calories.

We’ve been fed such a load of bull for all these years!

On that note, here’s a great article on Dr. Michael Mosley, in the Daily Mail.  He’s the author of the FAST DIET, and for years promoted a low fat, high carb way of eating, which he himself followed.  He gained weight anyway and developed diabetes.  Now he’s re-examined the science and has come to a very different conclusion about saturated fat and carbohydrates role in our health and our weight.  Please read!  The more you know, the easier it is to make good choices for yourself.  The easier it is to make good choices, the less your (lizard) brain fights you.  Your lizard brain is the deep, subconscious part, that HATES stress.  It’s hard to win a fight with your lizard brain, and far better to work on thoughts and habits that become STRONGER than the lizard.  Does that make sense?

When you’re done with that article, read Dr. Mercola’s latest article on the vindication of Saturated Fat.  Honestly, Good Fats are So Good For Us, here’s a few reasons why, and at the end of the list is the reason I’m going back on the Ketogenic Diet.

Fats make up every single cell membrane in our body, and saturated fat and cholesterol are a large part of those membranes.

Saturated Fats make up all our Sex hormones and Fight/Flight hormones.

Fat and cholesterol make up 60-70% of the dry matter of our brain.

Saturated Fats increase the size of our LDL cholesterol ( we want big, fluffy LDL!)

Saturated Fats raise HDL.

Saturated Fats are structurally sound and aren’t prone to damage by heat, light or air, which means they’re great to cook with.

Fats allow Fat-Soluble-Vitamins, A, D, E, and K,  and many minerals, to be absorbed into our cells.

Fats are critical to our immune system.

Here’s one of my Favorite Reasons:  Fats Trigger Satiety – especially in the absence of Carbs.  This is the best thing about the Ketogenic Diet to me:  No Hunger.  No Bloat.  No Cravings.  It’s awesome!

Besides that, the Ketogenic Diet fits perfectly into my Real Whole Food, Paleo-ish template.  Does my whole family eat this way?  NO!  But that hasn’t been hard to work around – at all.  I’ve been serving meats and tons of vegetables forever; for the kids or company, I add: bowls of watermelon, corn on the cob, roasted potatoes, low-carb/almond flour/coconut flour breads/cookies, ( you get the idea),  and everyone’s happy.

Category: Carbs, Cooking, Fats, ketosis, RWF, Uncategorized / Tags: , , , , ,

Bread Makes Us Fat and Sick, There’s No Getting Around This

July 24, 2014 / / Comments Off on Bread Makes Us Fat and Sick, There’s No Getting Around This

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAI’ll have a Keto Diet update at the end of this post, but today, I want to talk about bread.  Bread is a topic that just doesn’t go away.  The idea that bread is good, healthy, natural, ESSENTIAL, UNAVOIDABLE, and delicious, is so ingrained in people, that it’s just as hard to break up with as sugar.  Bread calls to us, loudly.  It’s the epitome of Comfort Food, and I think it’s fair to say most Americans can’t imagine even 1 meal of the day without it.

Here’s an email from a sweet lady ( with 4 kids ) who reads my blog:

I just wanted to let you know how much my husband and I are loving this new way of eating. I have always had a major weakness for bread and now I truly don’t think about it at all! I have slowly been making more of our foods such as sauces and dressings. The best part is that it tastes good, keeps us full, and we are both losing weight. Granted, the weight loss is not fast but it is consistent. Yay!

Before I gave up grains and sugars, I honestly thought doing so would be impossible. So did Mark. How could a meal be normal without bread?  What would we eat our pizza toppings on, what about tortilla chips at Mexican Restaurants?  Or the hot bread with big salt at a few of our favorite restaurants?  I BAKED MY OWN HOMEMADE BREAD every week, for years!!  My kids loved that!  Do you know how good your house smells when you bake bread?  Speaking of kids, how would I fill them up and nurture them without bread??   I think I believed that Bread was an essential Nutrient, like Omega 3 oils.

I was hooked on bread, so was my family.  We were pretty normal!

Here’s the Facts:  Bread’s not a Nutrient.  Bread made with flour and grains makes us fat and sick, and it makes our kids fat and sick.

Bread, whether it’s made from “whole grains”, 100% whole wheat, or sprouted wheat/sprouted soybeans/sprouted lentils, a la Ezekial Bread, ALL GETS BROKEN DOWN IN THE GUT TO SUGAR.  That’s the job of our digestion: to break our food down to molecules.  Grains are digested/reduced to GLUCOSE, which is the simplest of sugars, ( along with fructose), and then that GLUCOSE is quickly absorbed through the intestine, into the blood stream, where it make our Blood Sugar rise very high, very fast, to be met with a corresponding Big Dose of Insulin.

Look at the ingredient list for Very Thin Pepperidge Farm Whites:

Unbromated Unbleached Enriched Wheat Flour (Flour, Malted Barley Flour, Niacin, Reduced Iron, Thiamin Mononitrate (Vitamin B1), Riboflavin (Vitamin B2), Folic Acid), Water, High Fructose Corn Syrup, Soybean Oil, Contains 2 Percent Or Less Of: Yeast, Salt, Nonfat Milk*, Honey, Guar Gum, Wheat Gluten, Vegetable Mono And Diglycerides, Calcium Propionate (To Retard Spoilage), Soy Lecithin And Enzymes. *Adds A Trivial Amount Of Cholesterol.

Maybe you eat Whole Wheat, thinking it’s healthier?  Or you’ve switched to Rice Cakes, because they’re so low in calories.  Here’s the Glycemic Index ( which rates how quickly a food goes from gut to blood stream )  for bread products:

White Bread = 69

Whole-grain Bread = 72

Wheat Cereal = 67

Table Sugar (sucrose) = 52

Rice Cakes = 77

They’re all bad!

Did you know that every gram of glucose is stored with 3 grams of water?  That creates the puffy stomach effect, but eventually, the puffiness spreads to the rest of the body.   Cut out sugar and grains and you’ll IMMEDIATELY lose some water weight, the stomach shrinks quickly!  🙂

Something else you’ll lose when you give up bread ( aka sugar), the effect that “Anti-Nutrients”, like Gluten and Phytates and Lectins (G/P/L) have on your body.  In a nutshell, G/P/L damage your small intestines which creates Leaky Gut; they attach to vitamins and minerals in the gut and render them useless; and destroy Leptin Receptors.

What about bread’s ADDICTIVENESS?  That’s from a protein called GLIADIN.  Gliadin has OPIATE properties; that means it works on the Opiate Receptors in our BRAIN.  As Cardiologist William Davis says, it doesn’t make us “high”, it makes us WANT MORE.  (this doesn’t happen on a high fat-low carb diet; fat triggers SATIETY hormones )

Can anyone deny that after eating a bread filled meal, there’s the feeling of of being stuffed, bloated, and tired? Or worse, hungry again in just a couple of hours? ( that doesn’t happen on a high fat-low carb diet!)

What about the Vitamins, or the Fiber?  Will we become malnourished if we don’t eat bread?  Will our kids?  NO!  Bread, cereal, crackers…, anything made with flours, are so processed and stripped of any natural nutrients, that they have to be “ENRICHED”.  Enriched means Vitamins and Minerals from China are added back in to replace a FEW ( not all )  of the nutrients destroyed in the processing.  When it comes to fiber, we can get all the Fiber we need from Vegetables and Fruits.

Please take the time to click on the links in this Post. You’ll read some great research.  Most of us know that bread puts on weight, because everyone’s tried a few days here or there without flour products, and we’ve seen the stomach shrinkage.  Unfortunately,  WEIGHT IS NEVER A GOOD ENOUGH REASON TO STICK TO A DIET.  EVER.  That’s why almost 100% of everyone who loses weight, gains it back.

If you learn the SCIENTIFIC REASONS to give up grains/bread/sugar, the reasons why it’s so bad for our brain, our gut, our immune system, our waist line, our kids behavior, our health,.. it makes it easier to stay away from bread.  When it’s easier, our brain is more compliant.   Our brain doesn’t like Stress and avoids it like the plague.  Put your brain at ease by informing it of all the reasons to stay away from bread.  You can do this, one day at a time, I promise.

Keto Diet update:  Going strong!  Still 129, still the least hungry I think I’ve ever been in my entire life, literally.  Good energy, good sleep, no complaints.  Check out my what I eat page for meal ideas.

Speaking of meal ideas, there’s several delicious “alternative bread” recipes, using almond, coconut, or tapioca flour.  Yes, they’re more expensive than wheat flour, but the cheapness of flour products has led to the MASSIVE OVERCONSUMPTION that we Americans are prone to.  

Besides, eating these Paleo Breads is honestly more filling because they have more fat, more protein, and more nutrients.  Here’s a few recipes ( there’s a million more on the web ):

http://wellnessmama.com/2233/coconut-flour-biscuits/

http://mariamindbodyhealth.com/toasted-sub-sandwich-and-panini/
http://www.rocksolidnutritionandwellness.com/paleo-pizza-crust-recipe-and-a-weight-loss-success-story/

 

Category: Uncategorized /

Day 6 Update of Keto Diet

July 18, 2014 / / Comments Off on Day 6 Update of Keto Diet

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERASo far, so good for energy.  Completely satiated and not a drop of hunger; who could with all this fat and protein!  Still reading ZERO on my Ketonix – breath ketone meter.

I learned yesterday that I need to test ketones at night, not the morning, because they’re lowest in the morning.  Also learned that urine ketones are the first ketones to be produced, and that blood and breath ketones come after a few solid weeks of heavy ketosis. ( note to self:  that’s “weeks of actual ketosis”, not weeks of trying to get into ketosis). ( After blood and breath ketones are produced, the urine strips are pretty inaccurate. ) That means a trip to the drug store to pick up some urine strips today.

I think I need to really cut back the protein portions, which are huge, and count my carb grams through the weekend.  Boy, it’s HARD to go super low carb!  Carbs are in just about every except oil!

Weight has stayed exactly the same all week, right at 129.  Check out my What I Eat page to see my meals.

Category: Uncategorized /

Keto Recipes, Day 1 of Keto Diet

July 14, 2014 / / Comments Off on Keto Recipes, Day 1 of Keto Diet

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAHi there!  For the next couple of weeks I’ll be on a strict, Ketogenic Diet.  Follow along here on the blog, and on my What I Eat page to check out my food.

FYI, this morning I weighed 131.4.  I’m (hopefully) getting my body fat tested today, as I want to see if that changes.

I blew into my Ketonix ketone-breath meter, but of course, turned up empty. No ketones, as expected.  It’ll probably take at least a few to several days for my body to consistently make ketones.  From everything I’ve learned, it actually takes practice (in the liver/brain/heart), and incredible consistency to the diet.

My last several posts have been information on Ketosis.  If you’re interested in more information, let me know.  I have 2 Ketosis Newsletters I could send you:  Ketosis and Cancer, and Ketosis and Brain Health.

Recipe from last nights dinner ( sorry, no pictures!)

Meatballs:

I mixed:  2 eggs, 1/4 locatelli-romano cheese, a BUNCH of chopped chives, oregano, and basil( probably 1/2 c), and 1/4 cup very low carb tomato sauce (6 carbs per cup),  salt/pepper/onion and garlic powder, with a package of hamburger. Rolled into balls, and baked for 40 minutes at 425.

Cabbage with mushrooms:

I melted 6 tbsp kerrygold in a large baking dish(13X9).  I added 1 chopped large portabella, 1/2 smallish onion, 1 elephant garlic, and a whole head of chopped cabbage.  Topped with 2 more tbsp of melted butter, 1/4 c water, and 1/4 c of the same cheese as above.  This baked for 30 minutes, at 425.  Lots of Salt and Pepper.

I’m not going to weigh and measure my foods yet, I’m going to see if I can just eliminate anything starchy.  If that doesn’t work by Friday, I’ll weigh and measure.

Category: Uncategorized /

Can High Fat-Low Carb Curb Your Appetite and Cravings? Yes! Client Email, and A Recipe.

July 2, 2014 / / Comments Off on Can High Fat-Low Carb Curb Your Appetite and Cravings? Yes! Client Email, and A Recipe.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAI had an email yesterday from a lady who said she believed in the benefits of a high fat-low carb diet, but that she really struggles with food cravings;  she hasn’t stuck to her diet plan  for more than a few days.  That’s a familiar problem, and I’ve got an answer:  Up Your Fat.  Way up.  That allows you, mentally and physically, to cut back on the carbs.  Here’s why.

Cravings, hunger, and food addictions are a HUGE issue; if you’re trying to conquer them with your “same old plan”, nothing will change.  The cravings and addictions will keep winning.  You know the scenario:  the morning starts out with the best of intentions only to be derailed by hunger, or a trigger, a few hours later. Anger and disappointment sets in.  It’s a bad way to live, and it can be incredibly consuming.

I have a great email from a client who went from “Diet Obsessed, to Happy and Calm”, from EATING MORE FAT . ( And she looks AMAZING – seriously.)

“I know I have some work to do still but it really is amazing. I can only remember ever worrying about the fat and calories in food and living my life based around that. Just in the last couple years when things were at their worst I was literally writing down every calorie and making sure to keep it under a certain amount and eating no fat at all. I was weighing myself when I got to the gym and before I left (everyday). I literally couldn’t think of anything else besides what I was eating, when I was working out, and what the latest scale number said. It was beyond exhausting….and at the same time trying to be a mom to two little kids one who was pretty sick…….

But in learning all I am about the truly nourishing qualities in food and how it can heal us, I don’t see how I could fall back into such an intense fear of food. I have a real sense of control now and know I am doing something truly healthy for myself.”

See that word “control”,.. that’s what we’re all seeking, right?  The ability to not feel so weak in the face of our triggers or even actual hunger? High Fat-Low Carb is the answer, honest.  Our bodies are made out of water, fat, and protein.  Carbs don’t make any part of us, they’re just a fuel source.  That’s all.  Even if you workout, you don’t need that many carbs to fuel your life.

Remember:  All Excess Carbs Are Converted To Body Fat.  All Of Them.

If we live a life of constant high blood sugar ( oatmeal, cereal, or bread for breakfast, sandwich and chips for lunch, pasta or pizza for dinner, carby snacks in between),  *****WE DON’T BURN MUCH FAT**** we just burn all that excess sugar. If our blood sugar does dip down below normal, chances are our body actually uses MUSCLE TISSUE (converted to glucose) BEFORE FAT TISSUE for energy.  

Famous Line:  Our Body isn’t a Math Equation; It’s a Chemistry Set. 

Fat Satiates the Appetite; a high fat/low carb diet keeps Insulin low; high fat/low carb induces the body to use Fatty Acids for Fuel; fatty acids are also used to build our hormones, organs, cells, glands, bones, and tissues; fatty acids have anti-viral/anti-bacterial properties; our brain is 60% fat.

Sugar and certain proteins in grains actually STIMULATE areas of our brain that control pleasure and desire, or should I say, cravings and addictions.  We’ve all read the news stories about the rats who consistently picked sugar over cocaine, right?  Last night I saw a commercial that depicted a woman starring longingly at a handsome man, but when they went inside her head, all she wanted was the giant burrito he was eating.  These processed carbs are really, truly addictive; and most of the time, trying to “limit” them, has ZERO effect on dampening the urges for them.

Besides stimulating our appetites, a High Carb – Low Fat diet does NOTHING for our satiety. Carbs are digested so quickly, EVEN OATMEAL, that hunger’s a fact of life.  Trust Me:  Not Feeling Hungry Is WONDERFUL, FREEING, AMAZING.  That’s how you can feel when you ditch the grain and sugar, and add the fat.

Remember that email from Mandy, who said she feels like she’s been Freed From Diet Prison?   You could feel that way too!

Still dubious that eating plenty of fat can squash cravings? Here’s a quote from Dr. Tom Cowan’s book, The Fourfold Path to Healing,  “Our brain is specifically designed to sense the fat content of our food and to tell us to stop eating when the proper amount of fat has been ingested. When the need for fats and the nutrients they contain is satisfied, we stop eating. The body’s requirement for fats is so great, and the appetite that spurs the body to obtain those fats is so strong, that binge eating is likely to occur if fats are omitted from regular meals.”

Re-read that last sentence.  Fats are NUTRIENT bombs. Our brain and body want them.  Stop equating fat from foods with fat on your body.  They’re different!  Human’s make fat from excess carbohydrate.

Tips to get started: (1) clean out your kitchen; no one in your whole family needs crackers, cookies, or pasta. (2) make a grocery list and include coconut oil, coconut butter, olive oil, kerry gold butter, whole dairy ( if it works for you), nuts, seeds, plenty of vegetables, and good meats and eggs.  You can do this!

Here’s a recipe for Pesto – one of my all time favorite foods; perfect for any High Fat, Low Carb diet.

pesto In your blender, mix 1/4 c walnuts, or pecans, or pumpkin seeds 1/2 c shredded parmesan 2 cups basil 2 crushed garlic cloves juice of 1 lemon S&P ****1/2 c MCT oil ( I use Skinny Fat, by Carlton Nutrition), and 1/4 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil

We ate this Sunday on fish and vegetables, Monday on meat loaf, and Tuesday on chicken.  So Good!

Category: Fats, Hormones, Paleo Recipe, Psychology of Eating, Reader Question, RWF, Sugar, Uncategorized, Weight Loss / Tags: , , , , ,

Think of Cereal as Cake; It’s Not a Health Food. Recipe for Roasted Cabbage and Bacon.

June 25, 2014 / / Comments Off on Think of Cereal as Cake; It’s Not a Health Food. Recipe for Roasted Cabbage and Bacon.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERALast week the Wall Street Journal published an article about new marketing strategies Big Cereal is going to employ due to cereal sales being down. ( They’re being replaced by sweetened cereal bars; total company profits are actually up.)   The article describes plans to encourage consumers to mentally associate cereal with any time of the day, so that they’ll eat it more often;  new ads will feature men eating cereal while watching TV or playing video games, and kids having cereal as a snack.

The article actually begins with a man relating that he eats Cinnamon Toast Crunch as a snack at night instead of cupcakes or cookies, “because it doesn’t feel quite as horrible.”

His bad, because it is.

Cinnamon Toast Crunch has 25 grams of refined carbs per 3/4 cup serving, add 12 grams of carb from skim milk and you’ve got a Carb Bomb.   Breyers Vanilla ice cream has 14 grams of refined carbs per serving, plus 7 grams of fat and 3 grams of protein, both of which will help slow the release of the sugar from the intestine to the blood stream.  Remember, high blood sugar and high insulin cause inflammation and destruction throughout the body; and excess blood sugar is ALWAYS turned into fats/triglycerides.  Always.   

Cereals, whether labeled as “healthy whole grain”, or “high protein”, are Carb Heavyweights.  They’re about as refined and processed as a carbohydrate can get, right up there with pasta, bread, and cake.   It’s annoying that several are marketed as Health Foods, when in reality, they send blood sugar, and the necessary accompanying Insulin, sky rocketing.

Want a diet for obesity and poor health?  Eat cereal, it’ll get you there.  Think you need those carbs before your workout, for energy? Think again!  Carbs from grains and sugars are so quickly digested, that the energy HIGH is quickly met with an energy LOW.  Besides that, our body always prioritizes burning blood sugar BEFORE fat, no matter what we’re doing, including exercise.  Don’t waste your gym efforts by loading up on oatmeal or Kashi before your workout; you’ll inhibit butt and belly fat burning!

Blood sugar that shoots up MUST fall down.  Moms, this applies to our kids also.  Cereal before school is a perfect way to have them sleeping in class a couple hours later.  ( Cereal bars, toaster pastries, and waffles will have the same effect.)

Later in the article, someone recommends throwing a handful of cheerios in morning smoothies for extra fiber.  OMGosh!  My head exploded, honestly!  The marketing deception never stops.

What about cereal promoted as “healthy for kids”, like Barbara’s Puffins.  How’s that rate?   It’s trumpeted as having just 5 grams of sugar…. that’s a lie.  For a 3/4 cup serving, it’s actually 23 grams of carb.  All Carbs Become Sugar In The Gut;  it’s called digestion;  our stomach breaks our food down to molecules, and glucose is the end molecule of flour and sugar.    

What can you, or your kids, eat instead of Cereal?  So many options for each meal!

1. Breakfast Smoothies.  Be creative:  a good protein powder, or whole milk/coconutmilk/almondmilk/keifer;  frozen fruit, frozen greens, green powders, cinnamon/ginger/nutmeg/mace,…… fast and easy.   Don’t Add Cereal!

2. Bulletproof Coffee; you can use ANY organic coffee, and ANY MCT oil/cream/butter for this. The recipe is here.    This one leaves ZERO excuses for being “too busy for breakfast”, it’s also great for your brain.

3. Leftovers.  Stop being picky.

4.  Eggs, sausage, bacon, and vegetables

eggs

 

 

 

 

 

5. Roasted Cabbage with Butter and Bacon

This Is Excellent!!  Sorry that the herbs are front and center in the picture, but you can see how I sliced the cabbage behind them.  I roasted the cabbage at 425, for 20 minutes.  Meanwhile, on the stove top, I chopped and cooked 5 slices of good bacon with half a stick of kerrygold butter, just for a few minutes, NOT til crispy, just half crispy.

When the 20 minute timer went off, I pulled the cabbage out and spooned the butter and bacon on top, then finished them off with 20 more minutes.  Even Shelby liked it!  I did it again the following night with Bok Choy, in a big pan on top of the stove, with a little cheese on top.herbs and cabbage bacon and butter

 

 

Moral of the Cereal Story:  It’s time to get over believing everything Conventional Wisdom tells us.  Cereal’s not healthy; products made with grains and sugar cause Inflammation and Insulin Resistance.  We only have to look at the results of decades of top down policy to see that the CW’s not working.  Take control of your health and your weight and your energy and your kids health, weight, and energy.  Eat Real Whole Foods.

Category: Uncategorized /

Tough Mudder, Here We Come; Do You Have Low Thyroid?

June 8, 2014 / / Comments Off on Tough Mudder, Here We Come; Do You Have Low Thyroid?

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAOh Yea, my sweet husband has “won” us a position in the Richmond Tough Mudder, in 7 days.  We just “won” this a few days ago, so training and preparing for this is going to be…… minimal?

Here’s a link to the course,   I’m a little scared of the Arctic Enema, and the ElectroShocks,  they sound dangerous and unpleasant.

If anyone has ANY advice as to what to do, what to wear, or how to conquer an obstacle, I’ll listen:)  I’m all ears!

Has anyone been listening to the Thyroid Summit this week with Dr. Brownstein and Susie Cohen?  It’s FREE, it goes through June 9, and it’s loaded with Doctors and Scientists giving us the latest Thyroid info.  Considering how many Americans have low thyroid function or a full disorder, this is invaluable information.  And most likely much more information than you’d ever hear in a 10 minute appointment with your regular doctor.

For instance, the standard test any of us would be given to determine the health of our thyroid is called the TSH, that’s Thyroid Stimulating Hormone.  Here’s the problems with just looking at TSH:  1) our pituitary makes TSH, not the thyroid.  2) our Thyroid actually makes a host of other hormones, the primary ones are called T4 and a little T3; and these often aren’t tested. Or if they are tested, the “Free/Unbound/Useable T3 isn’t tested.

T3 is THE ONLY HORMONE THAT ACTUALLY GETS USED IN OUR CELLS.  Our T4 is SUPPOSED to be converted to T3 in our liver, kidneys, and heart.  It takes many different nutrients and enzymes to make this conversion, it also takes perfectly functioning organs.  What if you’re missing those nutrients or enzymes, or you have fatty liver or poorly functioning kidneys?  That conversion could be compromised.

Thyroid hormone ( T 4 and T3) are made from the minerals Iodine and Selenium, and the amino acid Tyrosine.  What if you don’t eat enough of the foods that contain those nutrients, or you don’t have great gut function and you don’t ABSORB those nutrients?  ( do you really think you get enough Iodine? That’s a tough one!)

Do you see where I’m going with this?  Our thyroid function is far more than taking a pill, whether it’s a synthetic, like Synthroid, or a desiccated natural thyroid like Armor.   That said, I take a supplement by Biotics called GTA FORTE II.  It’s desiccated thyroid with no T4 or T3, and it’s worked wonders for me.

Statistically, it’s pretty “normal” for a woman my age to have hypothyroid.  I’ve had my TSH, T3, T4 and RT3 tested, plus an antibody test,  and it’s confirmed: low thyroid function.  I started supplements last year, and saw a big difference in my energy levels.  That said, I also pay very close attention to my nutrients and digestion.  It matters that I give my body what it needs to MAKE and ABSORB the hormones.

Here’s another important issue to keep in mind:  thyroid function will ALWAYS come in second to ADRENAL function.  In Nutritional Therapy school, they constantly repeated ” the adrenals pull on the thyroid”.  It’s true.  When we’re under a lot of stress, both mental and physical, our adrenal glands are making extra adrenal hormones.  Hormones get made from nutrients;  limited nutrient resources are always going to go to the Adrenal glands first.  After all, our body can EASILY slow down the thyroid if it needs to, to show more support to the adrenals.  Adrenal hormones are our Fight and Flight hormones, and our body prioritizes them over just about everything else.  You can ask for a Saliva test to see what your Cortisol levels are, but you’re probably going to need to see an Integrative or Alternative doctor to get one.

What’s one sure-fire way to slow down your Thyroid?  Go on a Diet and Reduce Your Calories.  Your body will slow down your metabolism Every Single Time you do this.

Looking for a doctor who’s tuned into how important good thyroid function is to overall health, and willing to do all the right tests?  Try here and here.

I thought this was interesting:  one of the doctors on the Thyroid Summit said when she started doing Cortisol Testing in 1999, 17% of her patients had abnormal cortisol levels; in 2014, almost 99% of her patients have abnormal cortisol levels! Wow! That’s pretty shocking!  I’ve talked about the dangers of excess cortisol before, it’s scary. That’s probably the result of us rarely ever unplugging anymore, right?

What’s my end advice?  Eat Real Whole Foods, and take action steps to manage your Stress.  Iodine, selenium, tyrosine, and all the other nutrients we need to make and rebuild our body don’t come from crappy, processed foods, which often are COMPLETELY devoid of any nutrients ( how many vitamins or minerals do you think are in a box of Fat Free Cereal or Crackers?); or have “nutrients” added, as in vitamins and minerals made in China?  It matters what we put in our mouth.

Decide today that you’re going to take control of your health, your energy, and your food.  Make a plan, write it down, shop, chop, pack.  Stick to your plan.  If this isn’t your norm, work on making it your norm!  You can do this, other people have. If you want to learn more about your thyroid, listen to the summit while you drive/workout/clean/cook/ etc; or read this post from Dr. Mercola, it’s really good!

Category: Hormones, RWF, Uncategorized / Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Am I Scared Of The Norovirus? No. Am I Scared Of Anti-Bacterial Soap? YES.

May 31, 2014 / / One comment

norovirusI’ve got one more Post in me about the Low Carb Cruise, but it’s not info I learned from the doctors and speakers, it’s about the Norovirus, and this will apply to YOU, I promise.

Mark and I have gone on six cruises now, and we’ve both been asked, several times, “aren’t you afraid of getting sick?”,  or,  “have you ever gotten sick on a cruise?”.  The answer: no.  I used to worry about the Norovirus; how could I not after hearing news reports that hundreds of people on the same ship would get sick with it.

What is this odd virus that thrives in Cruise Ships?  Would it get me?  Our latest ship had “Purell Liquid Gel” stations everywhere, with crew members standing by them, encouraging everyone who walked by to use it.

We didn’t, not once.  That stuff’s dangerous – seriously, and useless, as I’ll explain.

As a matter of fact, I haven’t used a commercial soap product in 3 years now, and that includes two Nascar races ( do you know how many people go to those things?), Verizon Center, 4H shows, the gym, airports, trains, etc.

Why?  Me not getting sick has more to do with the strength of my IMMUNE SYSTEM, than any soap or alcohol-based hand gel.   That’s 3 separate issues:  Purell gel, anti-bacterial soaps, and the immune system.  Read this, because this applies to our kids also.

One:  studies on Purell’s effectiveness against the Norovirus actually show it’s IN-effectiveness against the Norovirus.  Check out the research done at Emory University, School of Public Health, here.   Obviously, Purell didn’t fund this study.   The results:  Purell doesn’t work very well against the Norovirus;  soap and water were more effective.
What I found most interesting?  30% of everyone PURPOSELY INFECTED WITH THE NOROVIRUS – DIDN’T GET SICK.   Now that caught my eye.

Two: studies on commercial anti-bacterial soaps that contain the agents “triclosan” and “triclocarbon”  show some pretty damning evidence.  An expert panel convened by the FDA determined that there’s “insufficient evidence” that anti-bacterial soaps actually offer any more protection than soaps minus the anti-bacterial agents.

Here’s the REAL bad news on anti-bacterial soaps: our skin is actually SUPPOSED TO BE TEEMING WITH BILLIONS OF BACTERIA.  It’s a line of immune defense put there from God.  Studies show that when these bacteria are exposed repeatedly to triclosan and triclocarbon, Genetic Mutations Happen.  This is bad. I can’t even link to one study – there’s too many.  Google it if you’re interested.

Studies also show that triclosan disrupts thyroid function, muscle function ( your heart is a muscle), and imitates estrogen ( a xenoestrogen). So, it slows thyroid, muscles, and imitates estrogen? Hello body fat, fatigue, and moobs!

Want further reason to stay away from antibacterial soaps?  Triclosan was introduced in 1969… as a Pesticide;  and today it’s still registered as a pesticide, although aside from this and its uses in personal care products, it’s also widely used for industrial uses, for instance it is incorporated in conveyor belts, fire hoses, dye bath vats, or ice-making equipment as an antimicrobial pesticide.  ( More reason to read the labels.)

We rub this stuff on our CHILDREN!!

Okay, point 3.  Our Immune System.  30% of people PURPOSELY infected with Norovirus in the study DIDN’T GET SICK.

WHEN WE GET SICK IT’S NOT BECAUSE WE’RE DEFICIENT IN CHEMICALS OR PHARMACEUTICALS. EVER.  We get sick when our immune system is weak and can’t fight pathogenic virus and bacteria. 

What do Most people do on a Cruise?  Drink EXCESSIVE alcohol, eat EXCESSIVE amounts of immune depressing foods(sugar and processed carbs), and stay up way too late.  This is the PERFECT RECIPE FOR DEPRESSING THE IMMUNE SYSTEM.  Seriously, it’s perfect.

How do we keep ourselves strong and resistant?  Eat Real Whole Foods, stay away from grains, sugar, and chemicals, SLEEP, practice stress reduction,  and exercise.   Simple.  As for handwashing, use pure soaps, like Castile soap, or Dr. Bronners.  Want to know more?  Read this.

Again, our health really is in our own hands.  Pun Intended.

 

Category: Eat on Vacation, Looks Healthy But Isn't, RWF, Sugar, Uncategorized / Tags: , , , , , ,

Links To Low Carb Doctors, and What I Learned, Part 2

May 28, 2014 / / Comments Off on Links To Low Carb Doctors, and What I Learned, Part 2

us on shipWe’re home from the Low Carb Cruise – and missing it! If you read my blog and you’re on a weight loss mission, I highly encourage signing up for next years Cruise. If you’re a Health Nut, like me!, I highly encourage signing up for next years Cruise. The speakers were fantastic, the people were wonderful, and then there’s the whole “cruise” part of it – I LOVE CRUISES!!! Theme cruises are the best!

Today I want to give you the blogs of the doctors who spoke to us (information = power over your own health), and some of the facts I learned at the lectures.  Most of the doctors who spoke are members of the American Bariatric Physicians ( not bariatric surgeons, that’s different).

Jimmy Moore is the leader and creator of the Low Carb Cruise, and this is the link to his site. You’ll find hundreds and hundreds of free podcasts loaded with information from top doctors and scientists who are literally at the forefront of Real Information ( as opposed to Pharmaceutical Sponsored Information).

Dr Eric Westman, from Duke University led the lectures, he runs a weight-loss/ketogenic clinic at Duke that I’ve been invited to attend and “shadow” this summer – YES!!!  Dr. Westman is the current President of the American Society for Bariatric Physicians.  Link to his clinic and information here.

Dr. Jeffrey Gerber is Denvers Diet Doctor, check out his blog here.  His May 26 blog post contains the pdf link to the Power Point on Cholesterol he presented at our conference.

Dr. Adam Nally hails from Arizona, check out his blog here.  I loved this guy and will definitely be following him.  He’s incredibly passionate about health, God, and Country.

Col. Phillip Blair, MD, is in Florida. He was a Family Physican for his first 20 years, but now specializes in Chronic Disease and Kidney’s. Read about him here, and then click on the HOME PAGE for the Space Doc site – wow. This one is jam packed with information on cholesterol, fat, the latest studies, etc.  Got a question about a statin, your ratios, or what something means, go here.

Dr. Michael Fox, Reproductive Endocrinologist/Fertility specialist, doesn’t have a blog, but here’s a link to a podcast with him.  He talks about diet’s role in fertility, PCOS (polycystic ovarian syndrome), and hormonal health.  Hint:  hormones are made from fat and cholesterol !

Dr. Jayson and Myra Carlton run Carlton Nutrition, with an ENORMOUS focus on food quality, and how to do the Real Whole Food lifestyle. Find them here.

There were a few presenting docs who don’t have sites:( , and some professors who didn’t either:(, but these 7 provide more than enough resources to make a difference in your health, or the health of someone you love.  I hope you check out their blogs; the only way to make an improvement in your health is by treating the root cause of your symptoms.  Band-aiding symptoms with drugs DOESN’T EVER SOLVE A PROBLEM; DRUGS MASK PROBLEMS AND ALLOW THEM TO QUIETLY CONTINUE.  These doctors aren’t Main Stream/Pharmaceutical Driven docs who just treat symptoms with drugs.  They get to the ROOT OF THE SYMPTOMS!

What I Learned, Part 2.  Here’s some bullet points:

– Dr. Blair talked a lot about Glycation; or the dangerous effect high blood sugar has on the proteins in our blood and our body ( proteins form our brain, kidneys, thyroid, joints, etc).  He said to picture the outside crust of a grilled cheese sandwich and apply that to the proteins that make your body.  FYI, glycation in a nutshell is when sugar/glucose IN-APPROPRIATELY attach to proteins (cells), damages them, and then ruins their ability to function and communicate.  Example:  Our skin is protein (collagen), the Wrinkles and Age Spots you see?  That’s Glycation.  That’s happening on the inside too.

– Cancer Cells are LOADED with INSULIN RECEPTORS.  If you’re eating carbs, you’re feeding your cancer.  That’s simplistic, but accurate.

– Cancer cells LOVE sugar/glucose; and they’re morphed/demented ( what’s the right word?) in their formation so that they absorb MUCH more glucose than normal cells ( thanks to the excess Insulin Receptors).  Apparently, we have cancer cells in us all the time, we either feed and nurture them, or we don’t.   We have some control over this. Take control. 

– Ketones suppress tumor growth.  ( from me:  Ketones also have “anti-seizure” effects.)

– Every single group in America, the young, the old, different races, the rich, the poor, and the middle class, have GAINED WEIGHT since our government instituted a Low Fat, High Carb paradigm.  Despite Unbelievable Failure, the policies continue.

– Number 1 Cause of Obesity:  Insulin Resistance  ( and what makes the pancreas release Insulin?  Carbohydrate.).   Number 2 Cause:  sedentary lifestyle.   Number 3 Cause (5 – 10%):  metabolic deficiencies, i.e. thyroid, cortisol, etc.   THIS IS SO IN OUR CONTROL.

– Fat Cells make at LEAST 100 Hormones; and the bigger a fat cell gets, the sicker it gets.  Some of the hormones?  Estrogen, and Inflammatory Cytokines.

– If you are Insulin Resistant, (and there’s a good chance you are if you live in America and eat carbs several times a day),  Insulin stays in your blood for up to 12 hours!!  When Insulin is in your blood, ZERO FAT BURNING HAPPENS. ZERO. ZERO.

– Alcohol.  There’s just no way to make this come out good for us; we’re not French Women or Italian Men.  We’re Americans, and we’re metabolically damaged:(  Alcohol ALWAYS induces insulin, even if it’s glucose and fructose free;  ALCOHOL becomes ETHANOL in the LIVER, the ETHANOL is converted to TRIGLYCERIDES (triglycerides are Fat), and the triglycerides are stored in the liver and fat cells.

– Eat a lot of fruit,  or drink fruit juice, or worse, High Fructose Corn Syrup?  Fructose always induces Insulin, raises the bad cholesterol, raises the bad triglycerides, and raises blood pressure.  This applies TO OUR CHILDREN ALSO.  They’re not immune to damage just because they’re young or skinny.

Whew.  That’s enough for today.  The take away:  our health is in our hands.  When we get sick, we’re not drug deficient; we’ve messed up our cells.  Our body wants – and can – repair and rebuild; but if we’re destroying our body faster than it can fix itself, we’re in trouble.

Repeat to yourself: Real Whole Food, Real Whole Food.

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