Tag Archive for gluten

It’s Time To Break Up With Grains, Because They’re Killing You and Your Family.

November 22, 2014 / / Comments Off on It’s Time To Break Up With Grains, Because They’re Killing You and Your Family.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAWhat a dramatic title, I know my kids are rolling their eyes, but it’s true.  At this point in the information age, I think many actually believe that grains do cause disease, and definitely weight gain.  It’s just that………the thought of No More Grains is so Sad.

Let me help you get over that.  No one’s more addicted and in love with grains than I was, and I’m free.  You can be too.

It’s like getting off drugs and alcohol; you’ll feel SO GOOD without it.  You’ll be free from bloat, brain fog, headaches, bad periods, high blood pressure, resistant weight loss, sore joints, and the list goes on and on and on.

If you’re carrying extra weight, you’ll be free from that too.  

Grains, both gluten-free and gluten-loaded, are a veritable boat load of problems.  If your doctor’s telling you ( like ours does ) that whole grains are “good”, ignore that.  Main Stream dogma has created a U.S. that’s 70% overweight, 70% on medications, and a population literally riddled with cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and cancer. Add to that, our kids are on more medications for behavior and health issues than we could have ever imagined.

Every single paradigm that’s been pushed on us for the past several decades needs to be identified, examined, and stopped.  One of those paradigms is that Grains Are Good For Us, and we need carbohydrates for energy and health.

Pure lies.

Grains make most of us Fat; and if they don’t make us fat ( they didn’t make me fat ) they make us Bloated ( I had the stomach of a 7 month pregnant woman every afternoon for years ), or sick.  Grains are digested in the gut to simple sugars, either Glucose or Fructose.  ( White sugar and honey are also digested to Glucose or Fructose, hence, a carb is a carb is a carb. ) Glucose goes through the intestine wall and into the blood stream, then it’s known as “Blood Sugar”.

Americans, and much of the World, have notoriously high blood sugar. ( China has the most diabetics, India’s next, and we’re 3rd.))  Insulin is the hormone sent out to lower blood sugar.

Read this:  High blood sugar wrecks havoc on our arteries, our nerves, our brain, our hormones, our skin, and our weight.  Excess blood sugar is converted to triglycerides /fat and stored, mostly in our torso region.  High insulin is also incredibly damaging, leading to inflammation all over the entire body.

High Insulin causes the body to hold on to salt, high insulin inhibits the body from absorbing magnesium, high insulin damages artery walls;  high insulin causes Diabetes, high insulin is highly correlated with several cancers; high insulin causes high cortisol – which is damaging in it’s own right; high insulin upsets our sex hormone production and balance.

I could go on and on, but that’s a little surface scratch of the damage high blood sugar and high insulin cause in us, and our children.

To add insult to injury, grains contain “anti-nutrients”.

“Gluten’s” a notorious term; there’s constant debate about whether it’s okay for us if we’re “not-sensitive”, or is it bad for everyone.   It’s bad for everyone, honest.

Glutens are proteins found in grains that are nearly impossible to digest.  Wheat alone, “is capable of producing no less than 23,788 different proteins”  Proteins from grains wreck havoc that proteins from animals don’t even come close to causing.

No matter what Main Stream says, NO HUMAN ON EARTH HAS THE DIGESTIVE ENZYMES TO BREAK DOWN GLUTEN PROTEINS.  No Human.  What this means is that eventually… gluten is going to get you.  Your body might be able to repair the damage gluten does for years, decades even, but not forever.

70% of reactions to Gluten don’t even happen in the gut, so if you don’t experience bloat, pain, gas, but instead have joint issues, skin issues, headaches/migraines, trouble focusing, or Moms:  behavior problems, there’s a good chance it’s a gluten sensitivity or allergy; possibly even full celiac.  (  GET TESTED FOR CELIAC AND GLUTEN ANTI-BODIES IF YOU’RE SYMPTOMATIC. )

One last fact about the proteins in grains:  many of them are OPIOD in nature.  This means their structure is compatible with opiod receptors in our brain.  THIS IS WHY THE THOUGHT OF BREAKING UP WITH GRAINS IS SO HARD, THEY’RE LITERALLY AN ADDICTIVE PLEASURE.

How do you quit? Make a plan! You’ll need to shop, cook, and pack.  Moms, I hear you already:  “My kids/husband will ONLY eat pasta/bread/pizza/chicken nuggets.”  I know.  We lived that way for yeaaarrrs.  We’re American, and that’s the crap we eat.  When I put a cold turkey moratorium on Grains, there was an honest to God uprising in my house.  Teenagers and husbands are a tough mix to battle, but it’s a battle you need to win.

What to do initially: start replacing the wheat flour products with gluten-free products.  (Weaning is always easier than cold turkey. Trust me, you won’t be able to just change your household with the blink of an eye.  If only… )  Simultaneously focus on replacing the breads and desserts with grain-free flour recipes. (There’s a learning curve, but it’s worth it).  There’s hardly a store in the world not selling almond or coconut flour, but if you live some place that doesn’t carry it, order them on line.  I promise you, after the initial upheaval, practice/persistence/patience will prevail.

If you’re intimidated by the thought of the time it takes to make Real Whole Food for yourself and your family, as opposed to throwing pasta in water or chicken nuggets on a pan, GET OVER IT.  Honestly!  We’ve been brainwashed since birth that Fake Food/Crappy Food is “Okay”.  It’s not.  Ever.  Work on changing your thoughts from “ugh, too much time”, to the sequence of steps you need to take to make a meal.

Don’t focus on the Problem, Focus on the Solution.

Some of my favorite recipes?  Coconut milk bread, everyone loves this.  Pizza crust from Zen Belly.  And if you’re looking for sweets ( and anything else), the options are literally endless:

http://www.rocksolidnutritionandwellness.com/food/what-am-i-eating-today/

OMGPaleo

Elana’s Pantry

Simple Stupid Paleo

All Day I Dream About Food

Finally, with Thanksgiving in a few days, here’s a post from last year (2013) on our Thanksgiving food and recipes; 100% totally grain free and delicious:

http://www.rocksolidnutritionandwellness.com/thanksgiving-recap-and-choose-your-attitude/

Resources:

http://www.greenmedinfo.com/page/opening-pandoras-bread-box-critical-role-wheat-lectin-human-disease

http://www.greenmedinfo.com/page/dark-side-wheat-new-perspectives-celiac-disease-wheat-intolerance-sayer-ji

http://authoritynutrition.com/6-shocking-reasons-why-gluten-is-bad/

Category: Carbs, Cooking, Food Cravings, Hormones, RWF / Tags: , , , , , , , , , ,

All Behavior is Belief Driven

December 16, 2013 / / Comments Off on All Behavior is Belief Driven

elfJust 9 days til Christmas – I feel the energy in the air!!  Along with a giant To-Do list in my notebook.

I’m going to blast some facts at you, because : All Behavior Is Belief Driven.  Think it’s hard to walk past platters full of doughnuts, cookies, or bagels without eating any? It depends on your belief:  do you believe that flour and sugar are literally toxic to your brain and body, or do you still look at food as calories that you can work-off or starve-off later?

Fact: flours that contain Gluten (a group of proteins that are in grains) have ADDICTIVE properties, they literally stimulate pleasure centers in your brain that make you want more.

Fact:  no human being on earth has the digestive enzymes to break down glutens from wheat, barley, or rye.  Think you don’t have a problem because you’re not a Celiac?  Celiac disease is an AUTO IMMUNE reaction to the glutens. That happens to some people.   For the rest of us, the damage accumulates over YEARS:  the undigested proteins leak thru the gut wall, inappropriately; our immune system responds to the foreign objects, and where we’re most vulnerable (joints, brain, nervous system, thyroid, etc) gets attacked.

Fact:  sugar has ADDICTIVE properties. Studies show that it’s MORE addictive than Cocaine.  In 1700, the average American ate 4 lbs of sugar a year; in 1800 it was 18 lbs;  in 1900 it was 90 lbs,  in 2009, it was 180 lbs.   

Imagine the power that foods containing both Gluten and Sugar possess.  Think you can have just a little?  Maybe,  there’s actually still some people left that can have a bite and walk away, but they’re in the minority.  Most people have their appetites seriously triggered, and it tends to stay triggered.

Fact: in 1890, 3% of the population was overweight,  in 2010, 70% of our population was overweight.

Fact:  Gluten and Sugar are conclusively linked to Cancer, Heart Disease, Obesity, Migraines, Diabetes, Alzheimer’s, Auto Immune Conditions, Depression, ADHD, ADD, Anxiety, and just about every disease out there.

Fact: 70% of Illnesses today are PREVENTIBLE.  70%.

There’s a sweet, sweet girl who’s wisdom I follow, her name is Charis.  She wrote one of the most profound statements this past weekend.  She said to spend time before the New Year thinking about what you manifested this past year.  OMG I LOVE THAT.  Our life, our body, our thoughts, our “luck”, our relationships, they’re all exactly what we made of them.  Evaluate where we are, where we want to be, and how to get there.  If it’s a different place, it won’t be doing the same old thing, that’s for sure.

We only have a few weeks left of the Change.   Nothing changes if our thoughts don’t change.  Nothing.  Actually, I should say, nothing PERMANENTLY changes.  Will powering through situations is do-able, for a little while.  Then there’s the backlash.  Remember that quote I used the other day, ” for every diet, there is an equal and opposing binge”?

Practice making the association between every bite you put in your mouth and your health, your energy, and your resilience.   If you have children, help them make that association too.  We live in a world that promises happiness if you drink diet coke or eat pop tarts and frozen pizza.  We’re bombarded with ads promising quick fixes with pharmaceuticals.  We see pictures of beautiful people indulging in alcohol, chips, and candy, sending the message that if they do that and look that good, we can do that and look that good.  It’s not true.  Our body, our brain, and our spirit need Real Whole Food, sleep, exercise, and love.

I’ve got 3 quotes for you; if you really want to change, write them down and meditate on them.  Post them on your lamp your mirror your steering wheel;  practice positive, productive thinking.

(1) “Most of us have practiced doing things the wrong way for years, we can’t expect everything to turn around in a few weeks. ”  Joyce Meyers

(2) “Change your thoughts and you change your world.”  Norman Vincent Peale

(3) “Create the kind of self that you will be happy to live with all your life.”  Golda Meir

 

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

Gluten Affects the Neurological, Digestive, Immune, and Cardiovascular Systems

November 13, 2013 / / Comments Off on Gluten Affects the Neurological, Digestive, Immune, and Cardiovascular Systems

me on porchThis is going to be a fun post full of fun – and fascinating  – facts.  I’ve been listening to the Gluten E Summit ( which is free – you should be listening too) and madly writing down notes to pass on ( if you can’t listen).

If you’re thinking, “I don’t have problems with gluten” – You’re Probably Wrong!!  Most gluten symptoms happen OTHER PLACES THAN THE GUT:  the brain, the heart, joints, skin, etc.  Got headaches, depression, or swollen knees?  The chance that it could be caused by reactions to gluten are very high.  What about your children:  headaches, behavior problems, constipation?  Again, there’s a good chance it’s reactions to gluten.  You should just TRY eliminating gluten for a few weeks, or a month, and test what happens.   (Eliminating means “100%”, I’ll explain why in a minute)

The doctors and researchers giving the presentations have credentials that take several minutes to go through – they’re all experts who study the absolute most current research available, and use that research in their practice. ***** (This is significant; according to an Institute of Medicine report on the state of the US Health Care System, it takes “it takes 17 years for new knowledge generated by randomized, controlled studies, to be incorporated into practice; and it even then application is highly uneven.”  That should make you feel uneasy.  It makes me more determined than ever to be my own best health advocate.

Here’s some bullet points from Monday and Tuesday’s Summit Talks:

No human can completely breakdown the protein gluten in their digestive system.  No one.  We don’t have the right enzymes.  For some, there are little to no consequences, and for others, there are big consequences:  neurological/cardiovascular/immune/joints/gut.

Gluten reactions and high blood sugars are highly involved in the plaques that cause Alzheimer’s and dementia.   The Lancet Journal of Neurology says at least 54% of Alzheimer’s victims could have prevented their disease with different lifestyle choices.   54%.

Intestinal Antibodies to Gluten are there for at least 7 years before there’s any “villis-atrophy”.  Translation:  Just like with all disease, it takes years to cook/incubate/manifest, but damage is happening way before a diagnosis.

Very low HDL is a marker of Gluten sensitivity and Celiac Disease.

“It is Mythological and Perverse information that fats cause Heart Disease and that a Lack of Fat helps you lose weight.”

The Brain must have fat ( saturated, mono-unsaturated, and Omegas), to function properly.  Trans fats and an incorrect ratio of Omega 3/anti-inflammatory to Omega 6/inflammatory are  very damaging.

Vascular Disease starts incredibly early:  if the mother’s health or diet is compromised, it affects the fetus.  Around 30% of children and teenagers have measurable markers of Heart Disease.

We have control over our levels of inflammation by just cutting back on Carbohydrates from flours and sugars.   Get your CRP tested – it’s an incredibly accurate reflection of the level of inflammation in your body.

The Ideal Diet is High Fat/ Low Carb.

It can take 6 to 12 months to heal leaky gut, calm down antibodies to gluten, and eliminate symptoms.  Patience is a virtue – and a necessity.

Gluten-Free needs to mean 100% Gluten Free.  A little tiny bit of gluten triggers the same reaction a lot of gluten does.  

The scientifically proven connections between autism and gluten are profound.  Check out Liz Lipski and the Autism Research Institute to learn a TON.

That’s it for my wrap up, more soon.

Have you been remembering to focus on the mantra of the week:  ” I practice being kind, not right.” ?  Practice deleting negative thoughts from your brain.  Nothing changes when nothing changes, know what I mean?   Change happens when you do something different:  think differently, feel differently, focus differently.   Read my post here and here to get a feel for what I’m talking about.

If you spend time in the car or time in the kitchen, it’s a great opportunity to listen to podcasts and youtubes that improve your health, your focus, and your life.  Take advantage of all the FREE information put out there by prominent members of the medical community.  Because much of their advice stems from diet and lifestyle changes, and not pharmaceuticals (aka $$$$$), you’ll need to search it out.  This isn’t information that just lands in your lap or that you’ll hear from your GP; but it’s there and it’s incredibly accessible, and FREE.  Go for it!  And remember,  “I practice being kind, not right. “

Category: Carbs, Mind/Body / Tags: , , ,
 
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