Tag Archive for wheat belly

Weight Loss, Heart Disease, Sugar Addiction, Plus, How I Stopped My Cravings.

I received some good emails this week that I want to address in the blog.  In one, a 43 year old man described himself as diabetic, overweight, hypertensive ( high blood pressure ), and on a blood thinner (from thick, sticky, blood).  He needs help losing weight, and doesn’t understand why I would say he has Heart Disease.  He’s gained 14 pounds in the past month.

Another email was a plea for help with sugar addiction, from a woman who has chronic fatigue and depression to the point of not being able to get out of bed for 7 weeks.  She’s also gained 28 pounds since September.

While these 2 people seem to present different problems, honestly, their issues are the same:  they’re incredibly nutrient deficient; their cells haven’t received the vitamins, minerals, fats and proteins they need to function normally, and now their bodies are breaking down.

How can you be nutrient deficient and overweight?  Easy.  Just because our fat cells are stuffed, doesn’t mean we’re getting the nutrients our body needs to run correctly.

Imagine putting water in your car’s gas tank.  It’s a liquid.  The tank would be full, but it wouldn’t run. That’s not the right fuel for the car.

Sugar, grains, bad fats, and chemicals aren’t the right fuels for us. Food is medicine, or food is poison.  That stuff is poison and it’ll kill us eventually, after making us sick for years.

Resources and suggestions will be at the end of the Post, but first:

Robert wants to know why I said he has Heart Disease when his doctors have given his heart a clean bill of health.  I’m so glad he asked, because this applies to so many people.

The causes of Heart Disease are being re-identified by modern science.  Inflammation ( anywhere in the body ) that’s persistent or chronic ( i.e., not just a response to a cut or injury ) is damaging, and a huge cause of Heart Disease, the number one killer in the US.

Diabetes causes inflammation from high blood sugar and high insulin, that’s because blood sugar(glucose) and insulin do a lot of damage when they zip too long and too often through the blood stream. Diabetes causes heart disease.  Heart disease and stroke are the #1 cause of death among Type 2 Diabetics.  Think you’re okay because you’re on diabetes meds?  You’re not.  In the studies determining who died of what, the diabetics who died from heart disease were on meds.  Besides that, meds all come with a long and dangerous list of side effects.  Medications address symptoms – not causes.  Diabetes drugs cause pancreatitis, pancreatic cancer, kidney problems and more.  These diseases take years to manifest, just like diabetes takes years to manifest, and while it’s “manifesting”, damage is happening.

Other clues to Robert having heart disease:  high blood pressure (HBP) and thick blood.  This means the arteries are either narrowed or stiff, which makes the heart pump harder, and thick blood is also harder for the heart to push around.  HBP is the #1 cause for Cardiovascular Disease.  Thick blood is on that list too.  Medications mask the symptoms, but the REASON for the symptom isn’t solved by meds, so the problems persist all the while the side effects of the medications are building.

Natasha, you ate a healthy diet and ran 20 miles a week before you fell ill.  I thought that I ate a healthy diet, but I still got blood clots, asthma, fatigue, and horrible IBS ( inflammatory bowel syndrome ). That’s because I actually just “dieted”:  low calorie, low fat foods, many of them processed.  Luckily for me, I’ve always eaten a lot of vegetables, and I’m going to assume you did too.  Unluckily for me, thanks to keeping my fat grams to 20 or less a DAY (except for the days I’d binge), I absorbed very little of the vitamins or minerals in those vegetables.  I also consumed an enormous amount of trans fats and hydrogenated oils in all my fake cheese and dairy products, protein bars, and frozen diet meals. To add insult to injury, I was a big “healthy whole grain” believer/ addict, and did my best to get the 6 to 12 daily servings our government recommended.

I was at a lecture yesterday by the Weston A Price foundation, and the speaker – Sally Fallon – called this kind of diet a Diabetes Starter Kit.  I love that!!

Anyway, Natasha’s struggle with fatigue and depression are the result of her brain, her heart, and her mitochondria/ fuel burners in her cells, NOT getting the fuel they need to function optimally.

Luckily, our body wants to be normal, and our cells are constantly renewing themselves.  For most of us, we can fix what’s wrong.  Robert and Natasha can. I did, you can too.  All we have to do is eat a diet that supplies the nutrients our body craves:  healthy fats, good proteins, tons of vegetables, some nuts and seeds, and a little fruit.  Whole fat dairy, preferably raw, if you tolerate it.

Try this:  Buy Kerry Gold Butter, a good Olive Oil, and unrefined Coconut Oil.  Start using these in Every Single Meal.  For me, this is the #1 key to stopping cravings, losing weight, and changing our cells for the better.  What do you have to lose???

Eggs/sausage/bacon/veggies for breakfast?  Fry them in 2 to 3 tablespoons of butter or coconut oil.  Or add Coconut oil to your smoothie.

Cover your lunch meats and veggies and cheeses with olive oil – and I mean cover.

Make sure every dinner is cooked or covered in these fats.

No more tiny meals either, on small plates with baby forks, THAT’S JUST DUMB. Small meals of insufficient calories slow down your thyroid, something NOT conducive to losing weight.  Use a grown up plate and eat a serving size that makes your brain relax and not go into starvation mode.

Make your own salad dressings, again, using those good fats.  Go through your pantry and THROW OUT all your crackers, cereal, breads, cookies, and junk food.  Anything “snackie”;  this might include NUTS.

Here’s my opinion on nuts (which I literally get asked at least once a week):  nuts have a TON of nutrients.  Unfortunately, for so many, they’re a trigger food, and most people, and ALL ADDICTS, can’t stop at a handful.  Trigger foods in your house will ALWAYS rule you, ALWAYS.  This is a fact, so get rid of your trigger foods today.

Make a shopping list, then shop, chop, prep, and do power cooking ( cook in big batches ) if you need too.  Take your weekly schedule into consideration when you make your list and then make a food plan of when and where and what you’re going to eat in the coming week.  Got a bunch of kid’s activities in the evening?  Put food in a crock pot that morning.  Need to pack lunches but know your morning is going to be rushed?  Do it the night before.  Bake 10 potatoes at one time and refrigerate them.  Make a batch of broth ( another great source of fats and nutrients ) and use that like water in your food all week.  Make and refrigerate chili’s or stews or soups, their flavors intensify after a few days.

The more attention you give to making Real Whole Food work in your daily life, the easier it gets, and the healthier – and leaner – you get.  You can do this.  I met a woman yesterday who, at age 55, lost 70 pounds by switching to Real Whole Foods, and she’s kept if off for 8 years.  After years of dieting, she now eats a ton of fat and is thin.

You can be too, I promise.  Please investigate the resources below; fill your mind with the why’s and how-to’s of feeding your body the nutrients it needs to remake and repair itself every single day.

http://www.rocksolidnutritionandwellness.com/want-to-lose-weight-reduce-inflammation-gain-energy-and-look-younger/

http://www.heartmdinstitute.com/health-topics/heart-disease/424-heart-disease-risks-is-your-doctor-covering-your-bases

http://www.rocksolidnutritionandwellness.com/fat-makes-us-lean-fat-makes-us-smart-fat-gives-us-energy-step-out-of-1980-and-into-2015/

http://www.wheatbellyblog.com/?s=heart+disease

http://www.drugwatch.com/2014/05/12/increasing-side-effects-diabetes-drugs/

http://www.westonaprice.org/health-topics/

Reader Question, and What Causes Food Addiction

 

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA Mark and I had some pictures done, and we got Air-Brushed!  I LOVE being airbrushed!  Can it follow me around everywhere?

I’ve got a great Reader Question here that I think many people will relate too.  She wants a plan to “get her back on track”  ( I’ve cut and pasted so we can just get to the meat of the matter).

Hi Debbie,

I’ve been reading your blog and have learned so much from you.  I’m trying to cut out the sugar, and cut back on what you call “the grains” too.  It’s hard.  I run, and on my running days I do better when I have some healthy cereal, like Kashi.  But I’ve realized my running days are also my hungriest days, and I eat things I shouldn’t.  My husband thinks I need to eat more carbs like whole wheat spaghetti, and that I’m starving myself.  After reading what you say, I’m not sure if he’s right or not.  

More than anything, I want to lose 20 pounds.  I’m a good runner, I usually place in my age group, but I don’t look like a runner at all.  Now it’s summer, and I’m still in the same place I was when I started reading your blog and following your advice.  I think I need a food plan to get me on track. Can you help me?

I really appreciate this lady’s honesty, because I know she speaks for many.  Yes, I can help, but when there’s an addiction, and there often is with processed carbohydrates, it really comes down to us HAVING A REASON TO STOP, THEN MAKING A PLAN, AND STICKING TO THE PLAN BECAUSE YOU BELIEVE IN THE REASONS.

Our actions stem from our beliefs.

I know I’ve written about this before, but do you all remember me telling you that several years ago, in the midst of my Carb Addiction and Binges, I joined an on-line Binge Eating group?  I was only on it ONCE.  When I read comments from women in their 60s and 70s who have been in full blown binge/purge modes for decades…… that had a HUGE effect on me.  I decided right then and there, that wasn’t going to be me. I wasn’t going to waste any more years of my life eating crap and then regretting it.  What a waste of mental space and precious time; and the physical damage that happens from those binges is dangerous.  What happens when you try to restrict your sugars and grains to just once or twice a day?   Just like with drugs, alcohol, and cigarettes, you can’t “limit” your processed carbs; it won’t work.  You have to “eliminate” them to break the addiction.  And going “gluten free” and eating “gluten free carb products” doesn’t work either.  Those addictions centers are still being triggered.  It’s sad, I know.

Let me tackle a few more issues in this email.  One, “I’m a runner, so I need cereal.” No. You. Don’t.  You don’t.  I’m living proof that anyone who works out – a lot – doesn’t need sugar and grains to fuel their workouts, or build and maintain muscle, for that matter.  Do you need carbs in the form of vegetables and some fruits, for energy?  Yes, but if you need to lose weight, you’re going to need to watch the fruits, and make sure that heavy, starchy vegetables, like potatoes, are used WISELY.  That would be individual, and she and I will talk about that.  There’s a method…

Besides, processed carbs – and yes, Kashi is a processed carb, 100%, – break down so quickly, compared to protein and fat, that you’re hungry again very quickly!!  Why? Processed carbs from grains and sugar SPIKE HUNGER;  they don’t quench hunger, it’s a hormone thing.  Sugar and wheat trigger opioid, or pleasure centers, in the brain.  The Gliadin Proteins in wheat specifically stimulate appetite, always.  Insulin resistance, Leptin resistance, the natural controls put in place to regulate our appetite?  Ruined by processed carbs. That’s why it’s so easy to over eat them.  When was the last time you overate beef or chicken?

Next, of course her running days are her hungry days; long endurance workouts always make you hungry. That’s one of the reasons why short “burst” workouts are better for you.

Let’s talk about running.

Many people run because they absolutely Love Love Love to run, they get a high from it, they use it to clear their head, it makes them feel great.   Many other people run to lose weight, or to try and keep weight off.  That’s very different from the first reason, there’s a lot of cortisol and stress associated with running as a weight loss tool.  Let me be real clear:  neither running, nor ANY exercise, helps you lose weight or keep weight off.  I’ve worked in a gym for 27 years, there’s plenty of overweight members who exercise regularly.  I’ve done at least 100 races in my life.  Seven of those races were half-marathons; have you ever been to one?  In the front holding pens, you’ll see all the sleek, skinny, super fast runners; in the hind pens, you’ll see the un-sleek, un-skinny runners, and there’s plenty.  A lot of them are fast too!  ( I was always in a way way back rear pen – I’m not super sleek or fast! I’m just consistent.)

My point: you don’t have to be skinny to be a good runner, and conversely, running doesn’t make you skinny.  Our body is meant to move and exert energy.  If people from my classes are reading this, what’s one of my favorite lines at the end of a class?

YOU DON’T DESERVE A TREAT AFTER THIS.  IT’S JUST EXERCISE.  WE’RE SUPPOSED TO DO IT.  Somehow, completing an exercise session has become another reason to celebrate ourselves.

Last, I want to address the “get back on track” thinking.  If I had a dime for every time I heard this, I’d be rich.

If you fell off track in the first place, that’s proof that you eat according to calories, not health.  As long as you believe Calories In/Calories Out, you’re doomed to “falling off track”.  One, those carbs stimulate and trigger appetites and hormones so strongly, that as long as you’re putting them in your mouth, the addiction continues.  Two, if you fall off track, and eat the grains and sugars with the thought that you’ll redeem yourself starting tomorrow/Sunday/the 1st, you’re just perpetuating the cycle in the deepest neural habit centers of your brain.

Remember a while ago I went to that Behavior lecture, and learned that the Brain Doesn’t Want To Do What’s Best For Us, THE BRAIN WANTS US TO DO WHAT’S EASIEST FOR US.   

If we want to be successful, we have to Set Ourselves Up For Success.  This means we have to have a REASON for sticking to our plans!  My reasons?  I think sugars and grains are killers!  Honestly!  I think Fats and Proteins and tons of Vegetables make my cells healthy, make my skin good, give me great energy, and keep my immune system strong.  I believe this stuff, because I’ve invested time and effort learning it and drilling it into my brain.

If you’re struggling, you need that brain drilling too.  Build a little time into every day to either read a book or listen to a podcast that helps solidify healthy thinking and healthy behaviors.  It’s always about our day to day actions, right?  Our actions stem from our beliefs.  Create a belief system that allows you to feel and look at great as possible, and never stop working on it!

Here’s a few suggestions:  my blog:);  the podcasts at www.livinlavidalowcarb, and the podcasts at www.undergroundwellness.  Want a great book suggestion?  Read Wheat Belly.  He lays out the science against grains that’s impossible to argue with.    And as always, eat Real Whole Food.

 

Need Willpower to Lose Weight? Build Habits, It’s Easier!

5 of us snorkelingI received a couple emails this week that I want to share.  The first one is from a woman named Chris who’s struggling with staying on a plan.  Here goes:

Hi Debbie,

I’ve been reading your blog, and other paleo blogs, and trying to follow the paleo eating plan.  I’m starving and I’m miserable, and I can’t go more than two days without eating cereal, crackers, or whatever is on the conference table at my office.  Is this impossible for someone with no willpower like me?

I told Chris I’d answer her in my blog, because this scenario is very, very common.  But first, here’s an email from Missy, who’s been working with me for a few months now. Missy is a single working mom; the definition of busy.  She’s struggled with food addictions and consistency, but her PERSISTENCE is paying off:

I hit the 10 lb mark on Saturday, already…. without even really thinking about it or concentrating on it other than to not eat grains. my mood and energy keeps slowly getting better and better and i’m feeling very motivated. people are starting to ask me what i’m doing and I go off like a crazy person about eating real whole food. hahaha I usually apologize and give them time to let it sink in and I give them the resources that I’ve found as well as your website and just tell them to inform themselves. be a smart consumer. don’t allow yourself to be misled by big food and big pharma. there’s no magic pill. there’s no starvation diet. one of the best lines in this book so far is “your body can’t tell the difference between jenny craig’s packaged meals and concentration-camp fare.”

I want to shout all this stuff from the rooftops!

I made a new dish over the weekend with spaghetti squash. it was creamy pesto chicken with peas and carrots over spaghetti squash. YUM! I made my boyfriend try it (he stopped at taco bell on the way to his house – I stopped at the grocery store), and he said that he would eat it if he HAD to, but that it tasted funny. haha as we were sitting there watching tv, me satiated and happy, him complaining that his stomach didn’t feel good and that he was starting to get hungry again (already only about an hour after he ate his taco bell), so I offered him some of my “pasta”. he said that he would eat it….. and then I got him to admit that it was good. 😀 I win. he ate a whole bowl!

The book Missy is referring to is one I recommend all the time, The Mood Cure or the Diet Cure, by Julia Ross.  She and I are meeting this week to discuss the protocols and science behind it.  I’ve said again and again, the amino acid therapy this book uses to re-adjust moods, addictions, anxiety, etc,  is incredible, honest.

Back to Chris,.. is eating Real Whole Food possible if you have no willpower?  YES!!  I used to eat literally a few boxes of ice cream a WEEK, and I could finish off a box of Kashi or Mini Wheats in TWO days.  And there-in lies the problem:  sugar, flour, and chemicals are incredibly addictive. You have to give them up if you want a healthy body and a healthy weight.  Unfortunately,  your addicted mind will rebel badly if your addicted body isn’t getting them.  What to do?  Be patient with yourself.  You’re breaking years ( decades??) of bad habits; neural pathways and brain patterns that have been nurtured and sustained over and over again.  You’ve got to build healthy habits!

Here’s a little strategy:  (1) You’re going to have to change the way you think about food.  Do the donuts on the conference table call to you?  Then you don’t think of them as sugar/flour/chemical bombs that cause cancer, diabetes, and heart attacks.  Want to dive into the bread basket?  Then you’re not thinking that the high insulin and blood sugar will give you wrinkles or make you impotent.  Think you’ll satisfy your needs hypnosis slimwith Weight Watchers frozen desserts?  Those chemical cancer factories will in NO WAY satisfy your brains desire for ACTUAL NUTRIENTS, and before you know it, the Rebound Binge happens.  Educate yourself!!  Read my site, read Grain Brain, read Wheat Belly, read Mood Cure.  Stop thinking of food in terms of calories; look around.  Where has the Calorie Myth gotten us?  70% overweight, and everyone’s sick.  That whole line we tell ourselves, “I’ll eat this now and exercise/starve/purge/just eat broccoli.. later”  DOESN’T work.  Ever. Your body is a Chemistry Set, not a Math Equation.

(2) Set yourself up for success.  If you’re hoping that you can keep your trigger foods in the house and ignore them, you’re wrong.  No One In Your House needs those foods.  Kids DON’T need sugar, flour, or chemicals, it has the same destructive effects on them as it does on you.  The average disease takes 20 years to manifest.  Just because your kids are slim now doesn’t mean poison food isn’t affecting them, because it is.  Toss that excuse out the window.

You MUST start planning your week; ask your self:  when can I shop, when can I cook, when can I pack?  What can I freeze and use later?  Then plan it and write it down on your schedule.  It’s a mind set.  Go into your office on a full belly, have a great lunch packed, know you’ll be eating Real Whole Food for dinner, and junk food at the meetings won’t call so loudly.  Out running around all day?  PACK!  and not stupid diet food, but Real Whole Foods, and those toxic fast food/gas station restaurants won’t be tempting.

If you’re persistent with your self education, and consistent with your planning and scheduling, change happens.  New habits form. The best thing?  Willpower, which uses up a lot of energy, is quite draining, and completely limited, isn’t necessary anymore.  Do you look at a dirty cigarette on the street and ever have even a tiny desire to put it in your mouth?  No, because you think it’s gross.  There’s no effort whatsoever involved with that decision.  Keep learning, stay determined, and pretty soon, there’s very little effort involved with your food choices.  You’ll just choose delicious food that you know your body needs to thrive.  You’ll become a Nutrient Seeker to your very core, and then the issue of willpower isn’t even an issue anymore.

Chris, and everyone else struggling out there, please don’t give up on yourself.  Real change, Brain Change, takes time. You’ve had a lifetime of hypnotizing by BigPhovernment that CaloriesInCaloriesOut works, and now consciously, you know it doesn’t.  It’s your subconscious that needs work.   If it’s important to you, then schedule a few minutes every day to fill your brain with the thoughts you want to think.  It’s not going to happen with luck; our life is what we make of it.  If you need help with your habits and consistency, get in touch with me.  I can help you understand your Biology and give you tips for your Psychology, to turn you into a Real Whole Foodie. ***** REMEMBER, TESTOSTERONE LADDEN GUEST POST BY MARK ON APRIL 13, TUNE IN FOR A MAN’S PERSPECTIVE ON BEING HEALTHY AND LEAN. *****

You Can Be Better By January, 2014, Or Not…. & More Gluten E Summit Facts

debbie (27)It’s been over a week now that I’ve challenged you to Change your Thinking if you want to Change Your Body; and I’m specifically talking about those negative thought patterns that I’ve heard so many people express:  I hate my thighs, if only they were thinner;  I hate my stomach; I hate my butt; I want to lose weight; If only I could lose 10 pounds…. etc etc etc.  Ask yourself how long you’ve been spinning on these exact same thoughts and how well they’ve allowed you to change.  How long?

Change doesn’t happen when you keep doing the “same old same old”;  negative thought patterns NEVER produce positive results.  Never.  Get your mind off of what you don’t like, and start focusing on improving yourself in your soul.  Seriously.  Focus on being kinder, gentler, more patient, more loving, more thoughtful.  Get your focus off your body (and calorie counts).  Use Mantras, Meditation, and Prayer;  write a quote on 10 or 20 sticky’s and post them all over: your mirrors, wallet, fridge, doors, car.  PRACTICE changing your mind.  Work on it.  It doesn’t just happen, trust me.

We had a speaker at church yesterday who’s a life long missionary, and a Mother Teresa fan.  He quoted her and I’m going to make it my quote for the week:  ” Find someone that no one else loves, and love them.”  This goes right along with “loving-kindness” meditation, where you don’t just pray for yourself and your loved ones, but for someone “neutral” and someone else you’re currently having difficulty with.  We’re not supposed to focus on ourselves so much, despite decades of advertising hypnotizing us otherwise.  Nothing good comes of that.

Here’s something I’m really into:  the way Science is Solidifying the Mind/Body connection:  eat flour/sugars, and you create a brain that ONLY thinks about flours and sugars.  As your body becomes unhealthier, and you become unhappier yet continue to eat flours and sugars, NOTHING CHANGES; the negative thought patterns continue, the addictive eating continues, the thoughts, the addiction and so on and so on.  Too addicted to think about quitting?  Fill your head with facts about what Flours and Sugars actually do beyond making you gain weight, because it’s pretty profound.  I hope I’ve persuaded you all to tune into the Gluten E Summit – what a wake up call!  It’s not too late to register and catch the final day presentations and listen to them in kitchen, your car, or during a workout.  Here’s some recent snippets:

From Dr. Amen, MD Psychiatrist

* Neuroplasticity, or the ability to Change Your Brain, has been a scientific fact for 10 – 15 years, but many doctors are still unaware and don’t practice/prescribe according to this.   We can make our brain Better or Worse through our Life Style Choices:  Food, Exercise, and Thoughts.

* Low Fat Diets and Bad Fats have horrible consequences for the brain ( because our brain is about 60% fat).  This applies whether you’re 2, 12, 22, or 82.

* There are MORE than 100 studies which show that Big Belly’s correlate with Smaller Brains.

* Genes are NOT as important as Behavior and Choices (Epigenetics).

* “Food is Medicine, or Food is Poison.”  You know I love that one!

* Gluten is Poison for most of the population. ( No human has the enzymes to break down the gluten proteins)

* ADD studies show 100% of people affected with this disorder show some level of improvement when Gluten and Casein (milk protein) are removed from their diet.  (Diet or drugs, diet or drugs???)

* “Why do we celebrate with Toxins?”

* The less insulin we need over the course of our life, the longer we live.  Insulin triggers many inflammatory pathways.  ( what triggers insulin?  Carbohydrates.  Not Fat. )

* Cancer uses Glucose (the breakdown product of carbohydrates) as it’s main fuel.

* Anyone with Thyroid issues MUST go Gluten Free.  Gluten affects the Thyroid in a myriad of ways, including inhibiting the conversion of the Thyroid hormone T4 to it’s active and usable form T3.

* 2002 Study from Journal Of Neurology:  Severe migraine sufferers (the study group were actually unable to work and on Workman’s Comp because of the severity of the migraines) were put on a Gluten Free Diet,   70% NEVER had another headache.

From Dr. Davis, MD Cardiologist (the Wheat Belly doctor)

* Heart Scans that measure Coronary Calcium Plaque show that once Plaque gets started, it grows at the rate of about 30% a year.

* STATINS DO NOTHING TO INHIBIT PLAQUE GROWTH.  NOTHING.  (don’t even get me started)

* What’s the biggest factor in Coronary Plaque?  HIGH BLOOD SUGAR.   He says if you have Pre-Diabetes, Diabetes, or Insulin Resistance, no drug in the world will stop the Heart Disease you’re nurturing with your high blood sugar.

* Main Driver of High Blood Sugar?  Wheat, Grains, and Sugar.

*Wheat, Grains, and Sugar also are the only foods that cause the body to create Small, Dense, LDL (the bad stuff).  The ONLY foods.  Small, dense LDL is sticky, and lasts up to a week in the blood.  This is totally different from big, fluffy LDL, which has beneficial side effects, like carrying essential fatty acids to our brain and glands.

* The Gluten Proteins in wheat are highly “opioid”, which makes them appetite stimulating and addicting.   Who’s addicted to meat?  No one.  Who’s addicted to foods full of flours and sugars?

*  If we continue on the path we’re on now, by 2044 the amount of money the US will need to treat JUST diabetes ALONE, will be MORE THAN all the tax revenue the Federal Govt collects.

* Yet, Main Stream Medical Advice/  Governments Health Advice is to eat a diet of 60% carbohydrates, many of them from “healthy whole grains”.

Quit thinking of food in terms of Calories In Calories Out, that’ll just lead to weight gain and horrible health.  It’s a wrong paradigm that’s made a lot of people a lot of money.  The Scientific Evidence against Grains and Sugars is overwhelming, and concrete.  Take your health into your own hands.  Ditch the grains and sugars, and eat Real Whole Foods.  Practice your Mantra.  You can be a whole different person by January 2014, or you can be the exact same.  It’s up to you.

Cholesterol Clarity, and Some Recipes

debbie (22)There’s a lot of confusion and mis-information about Cholesterol, so let’s clear a few things up here:  The fat and cholesterol you eat does NOT go straight to your arteries and clog them.  That’s not how the body works AT ALL.  That’s a fear tactic pharmaceutical companies use to get you on their statins.  Cholesterol is a HEALING molecule, a major building block,  and an  antioxidant; it’s so VITAL to our body that God made EVERY SINGLE CELL IN OUR BODY produce it.  When you see a reading of your Total Cholesterol, your LIVER made most of that.  Very, very little of the cholesterol in our BLOOD comes from the food we eat.

Our brain needs TONS of cholesterol to function; our sex hormones are made from cholesterol, Vitamin D is made from cholesterol, bile is made from cholesterol; every time the body has an injury (say, a damaged artery from Insulin or toxic chemicals), the liver sends cholesterol to the site to Heal and Seal the damage. Even mental stress signals the body to produce more cholesterol.

Lipo-proteins are proteins that carry fat and cholesterol inside of them.  Low-Density Lipoproteins carry fats and cholesterol from the liver to other places in the body, and High Density Lipoproteins carry the waste products back to the liver.  Cholesterol does NOT equal lipo-proteins.  Measuring Lipoproteins is a way (some say an inaccurate way) of measuring the amount of cholesterol in your body.  Lipo-proteins are NOT ALL THE SAME.  Seven have  been identified so far; some are big, fluffy, and un-damaging, some are small, dense, and damaging.  Particle density tests can show the differences, but you’ll have to ask.  Otherwise, your doctor will prescribe the cholesterol test created in the 1970s to make a proclamation about your health.  Sound smart?

Cholesterol has been demonized, but that’s undeserved.  OXIDIZED cholesterol, and OXIDIZED lipoproteins, now they’re dangerous.  How do you Oxidize?  Lots of ways: eat sugars and flours that raise the blood sugar levels above normal;  eat Trans Fats; eat, breath, wear, or slather on chemicals that go right to the blood stream;  or flood your blood stream with Cortisol (your stress hormone),  as opposed to “managing” your stress via your mind, exercise, yoga, meditation, etc.

cholesterol clarityBottom line on clogged arteries?  Sugar and flours raise Insulin levels, increased insulin damages arteries, causes inflammation, completely shuts down fat burning in muscle cells, raises LDL and VLDL, and lowers HDL.   Trans fats and chemicals also increase inflammation and cause damage.  Our Food Matters; every bite we take either makes us healthier or sicker.

Cholesterol Clarity is a great, great book with the latest research from 28 Cardiologists and Lipid (fat) Researchers.  It’s an EASY read and honestly MIND BLOWING.   Wheat Belly by Dr. William Davis and Grain Brain by Dr. David Peremutter are also Must Reads.  If you care about your health, you must take your health into your Own Hands.   Learn how your body works.  No one cares about you, or your loved ones, as much as you do.

Let me end with a couple of recipes.  The first is some granola I had this weekend at an Energy workshop ( it was all about Quantum Physics and Cool Stuff), and it’s called Paleo Granola.  My friend Ginny made it and it might have been the most popular food there.  OMGosh.   Here’s the link:http://www.paleocupboard.com/granola.html.   The next recipe welemon-coconut-balls-sized made here Friday night when a couple of my college girls were home.  It’s called Keto Lemon Coconut Balls -AHHH! these were delicious! We used Creme Fraiche instead of cream cheese, and real lemon juice, and more coconut than it called for. (I can never stick to a recipe)  Can’t wait to make these again! http://ketogenicwoman.com/keto-lemon-coconut-balls/.

Eating well and being healthy doesn’t mean boiled chicken and steamed broccoli.  That’s called “dieting”, and dieting never works.  Instead, eat healthy fats and proteins, tons of vegetables, some fruits, some nuts and seeds, and some whole fat dairy (if your stomach says yes).  Eating well is delicious, and satisfying, and satiating.  Inflammation decreases, healing begins, and your brain will quit screaming at you to keep eating.  Eat Real Whole Foods.