ReStart

This is a very long overdue post. Like many of you, I get side tracked by life events and work and putting out fires that take up more time than I really want to spend. Yes, Life Happens. I'm feeling compelled to write again now if only to try to make sense of the world since it feels like everything has changed at a fundamental level somewhere down deep. There was a deep dull thud somewhere that reverberated up and broke my day-to-day focus. Something deep in the human psyche has shifted. This shift has been in the works for decades, maybe even centuries, but the pressure built enough to finally erupt. Like a tectonic shift or a volcanic eruption, the landscape is forever changed.

This is both ominous and exciting. There are as many people waking up to understanding the interconnectedness of all things as there are people who would prefer to fight this awakening figuratively and literally. We can see this energy come to the fore through our recent US elections and the marches that have followed. We can see this with Brexit and with ISIS. We can see this in small ways and large. For every bully that now feels supported in their ignorance, there is a newly minted Good Samaritan lending a hand to someone in need for the first time. For every group of hired thugs sent to disrupt peaceful demonstrations, there are groups of good-hearted people coming together to face opposition with love. For every politician wishing to create division and exploit fear, there are community leaders focused on creating ways to bridge gaps and create communication and community.

It is difficult to find one's footing in the world as it is because it is not like the world as it was, and it never will be again. We can't use the old instruction manual. We have to create a new one. This applies to global relations as well as intimate familial ones. We have to find new ways to be together, new ways to communicate, new ways to expand our thoughts to include the world at large even as we work to build healthy interpersonal relationships using new tools.

I am both terrified and elated at the same time. We need disruption to grow. Sometimes we need pain to know joy, and sickness to appreciate health. I can't tell you how many times I have heard clients tell me things like "getting cancer saved my life". With crisis comes opportunity. We have a choice each day to face the world through the lens of fear or curiosity. Taking steps towards exploring the unknown either in the macro of interstellar space, or the micro of our inner cellular and emotional depths, takes courage yes, but the drive must come from curiosity and wonder and not fear if we are not only looking for a good outcome but also a way to embrace the journey itself.

Join me?

Rethinking Holiday Eating

Some traditions are worth re-thinking. Remember that our ideas of “traditional foods” are not really that old: somehow I don’t think the Pilgrims used marshmallow topping on their sweet potatoes or made cherry Jello molds with canned pears in high fructose corn syrup. When you think about it, holiday feasting is really about our emotional connections with family and friends, much more so than about food. Still, now is a time to celebrate and spoil yourself and each other with the Best you can provide. With that in mind, I encourage you to shop for, prepare and consume the best Quality foods available in your budget. This isn’t a time to focus on quantity. No one needs 2 weeks worth of leftover water-injected, deep fried turkey (which decomposes into histamine-heavy time bombs the longer it sits in your fridge).

Find the freshest produce and whole foods you can and build your menus with these as the focus.

Splurge on meats that were fed and raised as close to the way they would naturally grow, eating what they would naturally eat, and free from genetically modified feeds and hormones.

Instead of high glycemic starchy dishes, emphasize multi-colored rainbows of veggies and fruits the liven up the plate and the palate. Skip the mashed potatoes in favor of roasted cauliflower with balsalmic reduction. Trade up from the marshmallow topped sticky sweet potato mess to a basket of backed sweet potato "fries" tossed with olive oil, salt, pepper and fresh rosemary. Add pomegranate seeds and sheep feta to your green salad. Get creative! I challenge you to find one new vegetable dish to add to your feast.

For desserts, instead of choosing store-bought pies made with high fructose corn syrup, consider making a fruit crumble or tossing frozen berries with whole coconut milk and topping with shavings of the deepest, darkest, most decadent chocolate you can find.

And remember, you’ll feel much better if you stick to a single serving of everything. You can always go back for seconds 3 hours later -- AFTER a walk with your guests...

Get Decadent. Get Moving. Get REAL.

Are You a Mutant? Probably...

We are mutant life forms, continually morphing into new versions of ourselves as we strive to find biochemical balance and a genetic advantage. I’m not talking about genetically modified organisms or GMOs which are tampered with in the laboratory to have foreign DNA from completely different species implanted in their own DNA. I’m talking about naturally occurring mismatches, duplication or omission of nucleic acids that make up the rungs of our DNA ladder in each cell. Every single one of us is a mutant. Some of these mutations happened as mistakes along the way but some are thought to have been in direct response to the environment or exposures that gave that human group a survival advantage.

One mutation with regards to food that many of us are familiar with is lactose tolerance. Yes, tolerance. The “normal” non-mutated gene that codes for the enzyme lactase which breaks down lactose (the sugar in milk) is supposed to shut off by the time we’re about 6 years old. We are actually supposed to be lactose intolerant after that because we should have stopped breast feeding by then. But in the northern tribes of Europe about 10,000 years ago a mutation developed that left the gene turned on and therefore allowed these people to continue to consume dairy products into adulthood. This is why the vast majority of people with genetic roots in Europe are not lactose intolerant, but a large portion of the populations of Asia and Africa are unable to consume lactose as adults. This genetic mutation gave the northern tribes a big survival advantage. So, if you can enjoy cheese and ice cream, you are definitely a mutant.

As the technology develops faster and faster enabling us to look deeper into our genetic structure, we are able to trace mutations and track how they effect our ability to utilize foods and nutrients. The twisted ladder shape of the double helix that contains the precise recipe for you is carefully protected inside each of your cells. Each of the rungs of the DNA ladder are made up of base pairs from 4 possible nucleotides: T, A, C or G. A single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) is when a single base nucleotide differs between paired chromosomes in a human, or between members of the same biological species. This SNP (or allele) can be passed along to children from their parents because each child receives half their DNA from each parent. If a child inherits a single allele they are said to be heterozygous for that gene. If a child inherits a copy from each parent they are then homozygous for that allele. In some cases these swaps completely inactivate that portion of the gene. In other cases the activity of the gene can be altered so that the enzymes it encodes are sped up or slowed down.

One of the most well-known discoveries in the last few decades has been the MTHFR gene mutations, most notably the “C677T” SNP. This notation refers to the location on the map of the MTHFR gene. So the C677T mutation is located at the 677th “rung” of the ladder where a nucleotide that should have been coded a C was replaced with a T. If you inherit a single MTHFR C677T, it is possible that the activity of a key enzyme for protecting your long-term health is compromised by about 40%. If you are homozygous for this SNP, this key system can be 70% impaired in it’s ability to maintain and protect your health. The MTHFR gene is one of a team that helps the body create, utilize and distribute methyl groups which are essential for the proper functioning of your immune system, neurotransmitters, gut health, cardiovascular health, and so much more. The really exciting thing is that now that we know what to look for, we also know how to bypass this potential long term health issue with simple nutrients. If you are working with a medical team that utilizes some key genetic testing, you can even discover your sensitivity to certain medications and can get a better sense of which ones will work best for your genome.

Nutrigenomics is the study of how our genes interact with nutrients, foods, medications and other substances. We are unraveling the mystery of our personal recipes and we are finding that we really have a lot of control over our health every day by exposing our genes to foods, nutrients, toxins, medications and other substances we ingest. Everyday we communicate with our environment by eating and drinking and breathing. Everyday we can choose health. As we learn more about inherited SNPs, we can become even more specific in how to create and maintain health as it is spelled out in our personal recipes.

For a really good discussion of genetic testing as it stands today, take some time to watch this NOVA segment. There are a number of companies that offer decoding of segments of your genome, but it's still too costly and cumbersome to decode all 30,000+ genes that make up the complete recipe for you. If you decide to use one of these services, I highly recommend working with someone who can help you understand the results. It is crucial to keep in mind that genes are like playing cards in a big card game. Just because you got dealt certain cards doesn't mean they will ever get played, they're just part of the hand you got dealt. How you choose to live your life will effect the tendencies for some of those cards to be played, but we don't know all the variables that cause a particular gene to be expressed or not. It is a vast web of interactions that in a way I hope we never really figure out completely.




Get Curious. Get Informed. Get REAL.

Good Gut Bugs

When you really look closely, we are really only just the transport mechanism for water and bacteria. Seriously. The only time we are 100% human cells and DNA is when we are in utero. As soon as we make our way down the birth canal we start to accumulate foreign critters who take up residence in and on our bodies for the rest of our lives, and beyond. Kids are supposed to play in the dirt and taste their world. This is how the gut gets populated with a healthy balance of good bugs to battle the bad ones. New studies have shown that it's actually really beneficial for parents to "clean" off a dropped binky by sucking on it and then popping back into the baby's mouth. This helps transfer some of the parent's good bugs to the child.

If you count up the numbers of cells with “not self” DNA and compare that number to the number of cells that contain actual self DNA you’ll be astounded to discover that we are outnumbered by nearly a factor of ten. We are actually only about 10% human compared to 90% microbial. Now this is NOT a treatise on how to go out and eradicate the 90% “non-human” part of us! Quite the contrary. I want to expand your thinking to include these hitch-hikers as part of what it means to be a healthy human.

Just like a healthy forest, biodiversity is the key. We have seen clearly what happens when we clear-cut a forest and then come back to plant a mono-culture of a single tree species in neat rows ready to harvest at a later date. This mono-culture system hobbles along, never very healthy, always in danger of being over run by a single disease or single pest outbreak, and always in danger of a devastating fire. By contrast, a healthy dynamic, bio-diverse forest is resilient and capable of fending off pests, disease and complete annihilation by fire exactly because it has a wide range of inhabitants that all help maintain the system in their large and small ways.

Western lifestyles, food supplies, medications, toxins and recent obsession with antibacterial soaps has essentially performed a massive clear-cutting of our internal environment. We SHOULD play host to trillions of various microorganisms in as delicate a balance as the exterior environment with similar predator/prey relationships, similar herbivore/omnivore players, and similar toxin removal/recycling systems. When we mess with these internal environments as we have our external ones, we find similar problems of mono-culture and systems out of balance. We need a healthy balance of microbes to help us process foods, maintain a healthy pH (of skin, teeth, mucus membranes, and GI tract), detoxify certain substances, make certain nutrients bioavailable that we can’t liberate from foods, and keep our insides and outsides free from dangerous invaders. Without this symbiosis we become more vulnerable to disease, nutrient deficiency, and toxic overload.

Interestingly enough, these critters that we carry around actually exert a certain amount of mind control over their human hosts. This happens in both balanced and imbalanced systems. That sugar craving you might be having is very possibly the whispers of a virulent bacteria or fungus that thrives on sugar and has patched into the body’s communication systems to tell the brain to find more sugary foods! Because the gut has more neurotransmitter receptor sites than the brain does, our hitch-hikers have direct access to systemic communication.

When the gut flora is out of balance you can experience a panoply of symptoms including anxiety, depression, addictive behavior, ADD/ADHD, IBS/IBD, Crohn’s disease, arthritis flares, food allergies, migraines, and much more. If you have ever been treated with antibiotics and you eat a standard American diet full of easy sugar and low dose antibiotics, it is highly likely that your gut microbes need to be attended to in order to reclaim and maintain your health. Consider a stool test to determine what populations you harbor and work with a qualified healthcare professional to restore a happy belly environment. It’s not as simple as eating yogurt or taking L. acidophilus capsules.




Get populated! Get balanced! Get REAL.

Do Supplements Kill?

Politics and marketing campaigns aside, the short answer is: anything can kill you if you consume enough of it, including water. If you’ve heard me speak about this issue you’ve heard me talk about a “window of benefit” that is dose dependent for anything we ingest. Everything we consume creates reactions inside us that are both beneficial and detrimental. Health is created when the benefits consistently outweigh the problems, and healthy cell and system function is supported.

Take a look at water for example. There is a huge window of benefit for water consumption and a significant problem if none is ingested. You have to get to a point where you overwhelm the capacity of the kidneys before you can cause death be essentially internal drowning.

Alcohol, on the other hand, has a very small window of benefit and there is no detriment to abstention. Consuming about one serving of alcohol per day confers some benefit to the cardiovascular system and contributes to stress reduction, but more than this and you end up rapidly pushing into the problem area where the damage caused by this toxin escalates beyond the benefits gained.

Everything we take in essentially is either food, medicine or poison depending on dose. For a bit of morbid humor, check out this website where you can find out how much of certain popular foods and drinks will be the death of you. I discovered it would take 51.87 Starbucks Mocha Grandes in rapid succession for me to be pushing up daisies.

I often hear clients say things like “it’s natural, so I took 6 instead of 2”. This can be a HUGE mistake. Keep in mind that nearly all our medications were at least originally derived from herbs and other compounds found in the natural world. The heart medication digitalis, for example, is derived from the plant that bears it’s name. Digitalis, or Foxglove, can be deadly: in sufficient quantities it will stop the heart.

Two supplements that have been in the news lately for being supposedly "deadly" are vitamin E and calcium. It is important to understand a few things about what gets reported and why. First, most of these studies are conducted by what’s called “meta analysis” which means researchers went back into the results of older studies to see if they could find any other interesting results or patterns. These are not studies that were done specifically on the nutrient in question. The calcium study has another issue as well which is that participants "self reported" their calcium intake. Often self reporting is extremely inaccurate (just try remembering what you had for dinner every day this week).

Another problem is a fundamental scientific process mistake:often results that show association between elements infer causation. Still further issues are the lack of ability to remove enough variables to make the results meaningful such as what dose that was taken (especially if self-reported), the type or quality of the supplement source, if it was combined with other nutrients or not, medication interaction, food intake, activity level or type, current state of participants' health, or anything about the toxic loads these people were carrying. It is next to impossible to isolate the effects of a single nutrient in these "studies".

In the case of the meta-analysis "study" of vitamin E there was no consideration of type or isolate. Vitamin E is actually a family of similar compounds with a wide range of actions. There are now believed to be 12 different types. Most supplements only include one: d-alpha tocopherol. Most of the studies that were done specifically on “vitamin E” actually were done using dl-alpha tocopherol (notice there is an “l” after the “d”) which is a laboratory created version of this single constituent of the vitamin E family. If we have learned anything in nutrition in general it is that the natural world doesn’t do well when it is out of balance. Hyper-loading of a single form of vitamin E (and a synthetic version on top of that) throws the internal environment out of balance and pushes us out of the window of benefit for this substance.

Another thing to keep in mind is the comparison of death rates by cause before you get super uptight and worried about supplements. There are thousands and thousands of more deaths caused by adverse medication reactions or medication mistakes than any herb or supplement use. The number of deaths in the US that can be attributed to medical mistakes is estimated at over 200,000 per year, and that doesn’t include medication overdoses. In 2008, the number of deaths due to prescription pain killers alone was over 41,000 which exceeded the 38,000 deaths due to car accidents. The record for the year with the highest number of deaths attributed to supplements is 2005. The total number that year? 230.

One more thing to remember is you often get what you pay for with supplements. The cheapest brands use the cheapest base materials. Yes, there may be “x” amount of milligrams of a nutrient in that tablet, but it may be in a form the body can’t even recognize or use so all you end up doing is adding to your detoxification load and possibly compromising the function of vital organs. That said, just because a supplement is pricey, doesn't mean it's good or that you need it.

Although supplements can help correct medication induced nutrient deficiencies, they can also can interact with medications in dangerous ways. It is extremely important that you work with someone who really knows about nutrients and reads up regularly on the latest research so you know what the results actually mean for you and your health, especially if you are taking any pharmaceuticals. Too many people self-prescribe natural substances in toxic doses from inferior materials and end up causing more problems than they solve. For another good perspective please visit this article published on the well respected medical news feed Medscape. Get Educated. Get Safe. Get Real.

Reader Question: "What is the relationship between gluten and thyroid issues?"

It is estimated that about 90% of thyroid issues are actually autoimmune disorders with Hashimoto’s thyroiditis topping the list of occurrence. There is strong evidence that both Grave’s disease and Hashimoto’s are linked to gluten intolerance. Why? Because the wheat gluten protein gliadin is so close in structure to the proteins of the thyroid gland that they are mistaken for one another. Gliadin gets into the bloodstream often due to injury to the gut mucosa. This then allows intact proteins to bypass the normal route of absorption which requires them to be broken down to basic amino acids or simple peptides. When this breach occurs, the gliadin protein is essentially still labeled as such and is mistaken as a bad guy by the immune system. Unfortunately, the thyroid gland is often tagged as well and becomes an innocent target for destruction by the immune system.

It is for this reason it is imperative that you avoid gluten if you already know you have Hashimoto’s or Graves disease. Each time you ingest gluten, you activate another assault on the thyroid which can last as long as six months every time you eat it! There is no way to eat gluten-containing foods safely in this case. It’s not about being gluten-free “most of the time”. You have to swear off it completely to avoid the destruction of your thyroid gland.

How does the gut mucosa get injured to the point of failure? There are many possible answers to this but other key players aside from the highly irritating glidain protein, are the non-steriodal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) that so many of us take. I had one client who called ibuprofen “vitamin I” because he took it daily until we discovered that it was the likely cause of his leaky-gut syndrome and “sudden” onset of multiple food allergies. NSAIDs include ibuprofen and medications with ibuprofen in them like Motrin, super-aspirins like Naproxen, and even those seemingly harmless 81mg “baby aspirin”. Even a single dose of baby aspirin causes bleeding in the gastro-intestinal tract. When taken long-term, NSAIDs can cause huge amounts of silent damage to the gut. Having just said this, it is really important that you don't stop any NSAID therapy prescribed by your healthcare practitioner. Please work with them if you choose to make any changes. There are things that can be done to mitigate the negative effects of NSAIDs if you must be on them long term. If you have put yourself on a regimen of daily baby aspirin, please tell your healthcare provider and have them help you titrate yourself off of them if need be. Going "cold turkey" can be dangerous.

If NSAIDs cause all this damage, why don’t you feel anything? Because the pain receptors in the GI tract are really deep down in the tissue. It’s a good thing too! Believe me, you would not want to feel your stomach lining sloughing off every three days due to its exposure to all that hydrochloric acid! A lot of tissue damage can occur before we register any problem. By then, the leaking has usually been happening for a long time.

Leaky gut syndrome is essentially exactly what it sounds like. Material from the GI tract leaks into circulation and the surrounding tissues without being completely digested. When these food particles leak out of the gut, the immune system sees an invasion and counter-attacks. “Sudden” development of multiple food allergies is a key sign that the gut needs healing. Once the GI tract is sealed back up and healthy, most of those food allergies often disappear because those intact proteins are not making it through any longer.

We are complicated systems of systems. There is nothing we ingest, swallow or breathe in that has only a single effect whether that is food, medicine, air, water, or a toxin. Please don’t self-medicate with supplements or over-the-counter drugs without learning as much as you can about them and working with someone who can help you make the best choices for your health.

Get curious. Get informed. Get Real.


(also published in the Patch.com)

The Soy Conundrum: Part 2

As I said in my last post, this is a HUGE topic that would take volumes to adequately explore. Is soy a human food? My answer is a tentative maybe. Here are more reasons why...

Farming practices: Aside from the fact that nearly all soy grown in the US is now genetically modified, it is important to know that this modification allows soy to withstand heavy doses of herbicides. Unfortunately, because soy is a legume, it is very good at soaking up these toxins and incorporating them into the beans themselves. You can’t wash them off. (GMO issues will be discussed in another posting.) These toxic residues have many potential harmful effects on the human system including acting as endocrine disruptors, meaning they will mess around with your whole hormone system.

Phytoestrogenic properties: “Phyto” means plant, so phytoestrogens are estrogen-like substances found in plants. They are present in many different plants including alfalfa sprouts, flaxseeds, clover, hops and thyme, but they are highest in legumes and soy contains the highest amount of them all. Studies have been inconclusive about if these phytoestrogens help menopausal symptoms or if they worsen hormone sensitive cancers. However, these compounds have been shown to have feminizing effects on infant boys and can accelerate sexual maturation in girls. In some cases soy has been implicated in the development of gynecomastia in adult men (the development of breast tissue) and a decrease in sperm production.

Autoimmune disease: More than 70 years worth of studies have connected soy consumption to thyroid disorders, especially Hashimoto’s thyroiditis. This is a type of autoimmune disease that causes hypothyroidism. (Interestingly enough, the exacerbation of Hashimoto’s has also been connected to gluten consumption.) If you suffer from hypothyroid and especially Hashimoto’s, you may find significant symptom relief by eliminating soy. This can seem like a daunting task because soy is everywhere.

Processed foods: Soy is in nearly 60% of all processed foods and basically 100% of fast foods. Soy and soy derivatives are the backbone of the food product industry. The durable nature of soy proteins and their low cost makes them ideal for highly processed foods. If you are trying to avoid soy, the best thing to do is to shop the perimeter of your market where all the REAL food is and cook it yourself. Instead of spending hours trying to read labels to find all the places soy is hidden, spend that time making your own foods.

Cardiovascular health: Soy has been promoted as beneficial for cardiac health. Most of these studies focus on specific constituents of soy called isoflavones. It is important to consider the whole package if soy is used as a food source. It is also important to look at the way some of these studies were put together. Benefits have been shown when conventionally raised animal products are replaced by soy as a protein source, but is the outcome due to soy or due to the reduction in damaged fats and proteins that come from conventional meats and dairy? Be sure to look carefully at studies, both pro and con.

Conclusion: Caution. Soy can be beneficial for humans in small amounts if fermented. Certain constituents may be beneficial for treatment of certain disease states. But the use of soy in its highly processed forms (TVP, soy protein isolate, etc) as the primary source of protein in the diet can be problematic, especially for children.



Get curious. Get informed. Get Real.




(also published on the Patch.com)

The Soy Conundrum: Part 1

This is a HUGE topic that would take volumes to adequately explore, but I’ll try to give you the highlights. If you’ve been following health trends, you are likely as confused as most Americans about soy. Is it healthy for human consumption? My answer is a tentative maybe. Here’s why...

How Soy is Grown: About 85% of all soy grown is now genetically modified. Even if you don’t care about the genetic material itself, what this tinkering has done has allowed these crops to be even more heavily sprayed with pesticides and herbicides which travel up the food chain. We are seeing more and more research coming in now about how these residues contribute to disease, especially in children.

Health Claims: Most of the health claims are marginal at best. When you actually read through the literature and the research, you’ll find there are small benefits to LDL reduction associated with eating soy (although it’s hard to determine if that is the reason or if it’s because participants traded conventional meats for soy a few meals a week and maybe it was really just the removal of the damaged fats and fat soluble toxins that did the trick). Most of the positive health benefits are found from using fermented soy foods, not from products like “Tofurky” or SPI (soy protein isolate).

Protein Quality: You will hear many proponents of vegetarian and vegan diets claim that soy offers a complete protein source. While it is true on a chemical level that soy offers a broad spectrum of essential amino acids, it also important to understand that soy contains chemicals that slow or prevent the digestion of proteins and significantly impair the bioavailability of their component amino acids.

Human systems simply don’t produce the all the enzymes essential to the complete digestion of soy protein or the breakdown of the “anti-nutrients” that get in the way. When we rely strictly on soy for protein, or have a very high intake of soy products in the diet, we risk long term amino acid and mineral deficiencies that create problems in all our systems including hypothyroidism, anemia and immuno-deficiency.

Anti-nutrients: These are substances that either impair nutrient bioavailability or are chemicals that directly impinge on human systems creating health problems in the long term. One of these problematic substances is phytic acid or phytate. Soy has one of the highest amounts of phytate of any legume or grain studied, and to make matters worse, the phytates in soy are highly resistant to breaking down by heat (unlike phytates found in spinach, for example). Phytic acid blocks the absorption of vital minerals such as calcium, magnesium, iron, copper and zinc. Because we don’t have the capacity to break down phytates, we have to rely on other mechanisms to do it for us. Happily, bacteria can do this via fermentation. This is why fermented soy products are considered by most nutrition experts to be the best form for human consumption. Fermented soy products include tamari (soy sauce), miso and tempeh.

Unfermented soy also contains enzyme inhibitors that block one of your body’s main proteases: trypsin. This is essential in the digestion and breakdown of proteins. Diets high in trypsin inhibitors can precipitate pancreatitis (and other pathological conditions of the pancreas), amino acid deficiencies and gastric distress as the undigested proteins make their way through the intestines.

If you choose to use soy, please choose organic, non-GMO, fermented products, and rotate your protein sources so you don’t rely exclusively, or even heavily, on soy. It is essential that growing children NOT use soy exclusively as their bodies try to build bones and brains. There are plenty of other legumes out there and when combined with a grain you will have a complete amino acid profile, and a broader spectrum of nutrients.

Get Informed. Get Help if you need it. And Get REAL.

(also published on the Patch.com)

Stress and the Uncommon Cold

Everyone always calls it “the common cold” when in fact that’s a HUGE misnomer. Every cold (and flu) you get is unique, caused by rapidly morphing viruses that make you it’s unwilling host for about 2 weeks. The virus is different every time even though your symptoms may be the same. So really, it’s the uncommon cold and all too common symptoms you experience during the battle back to health.

Speaking from recent unpleasant experience I can tell you that the battle requires constant vigilance and lots of hand washing. Also speaking from personal experience, I can tell you that stress is the ally of that fiendish virus, not you.

Stress and your immunity have an ongoing wrestling match already. The more stress you require your body to endure, the less effective your immunity becomes. Why? When you get stressed out, your body is flooded by a cascade of chemicals designed to induce your ability to run for your life or fight for it. Chemicals that shut down all other systems that are not immediately needed for you to survive the next 20 minutes flow through your bloodstream. Digestion and absorption slow to almost a stop as cortisol shuts down insulin production, and neuro-peptide-Y quickly shunts any recently absorbed fuel to fat storage in the abdomen to be dealt with later. Production of blood cells in the bone marrow screech to a halt while inflammatory compounds rush into circulation in preparation for injury.

Since your immunity is dependent upon the whole host of white blood cells, when you are under chronic stress your ability to fight off infection falls in relationship to your ability to produce white blood cells, and stem inflammation. When the body is chronically on high alert, it uses up resources unwisely. It’s a bit like running out of water by keeping your lawn green in the desert and then watching as your house burns down because the well is dry.

Personally, the sickest I’ve ever been was teaching preschool years ago. I caught the first cold the kids passed around and then just kept getting hit with each new one that came through the school as my immune system struggled to find resources while I fretted constantly about having enough money to pay my bills, went through big changes in my relationship, and skimped on my grocery bills by eating lots of highly processed boxes of mac and cheese. I finally ended up with walking pneumonia and my exasperated doctor threw his hands in the air saying “if you don’t quit your job I’m going to have to admit you to the hospital!”

Now I know better about the food side of things, but I still struggle with chronic stress. I have found that one of the keys is to see “catching a cold” as a signal from my body that it’s time to slow down. De-stress. Nourish myself with whole delicious foods. And spend time each day outside in real air and sun (if possible) to really take a conscious breath. Yes there are supplements and herbs that can help, but nothing works as well as making sure you don’t burn up your resources before you need them.

Get rest. Get nourished. Get REAL.

(also published on The Patch.com)

Seasonal Allergies and Nutrition

I don’t need to tell you that hay-fever can make a beautiful spring miserable. If you also are sensitive to leaf molds then autumn isn’t much fun either. Loading up on over-the-counter allergy medications leaves you feeling wired and tired at the same time and a bit like your brain is swimming through jello for the day which doesn’t help matters. You’ve tried everything you can think of and still carry an extra box of tissues everywhere you go. But believe it or not, there are a few things about seasonal allergies that you probably haven’t heard yet.

We all have heard of antihistamine medications, but do you know what they actually do? The arsenal of specialized cells on the front lines of our immune systems include cells designed to carry supplies of biochemical weapons. Mast cells and basophils are little bubbles filled with histamine. They hang out on the margins of where our internal environment meets the outside world, so they are found in skin, the mucus membranes of the lungs, nose, mouth and eyes, and in the digestive tract. When an allergen activates an antibody (IgE reaction) and that antibody binds to a mast cell, the contents of mast cell are then spilled into the surrounding tissues causing lymph vessels and capillaries to become “leaky”. This in turn causes local swelling and puts other parts of the immune system on high alert. This is the start of an inflammatory process that progresses to watery eyes, a drippy nose, and sinuses full of mucus.

The interesting thing is that we also consume foods that are high in histamine and our systems react the same way by creating an inflammatory response to these foods. If our body is already on high alert from an environmental attack, adding in foods that are high in histamine can exacerbate your symptoms. It is a good idea to reduce your intake of high-histamine foods during the time of year you are more susceptible to allergens.

High-histamine foods include some of my favorites so it’s hard to let them go when they are what I want to reach for when I feel yucky, but here they are: chocolate, wine, beer, avocados, aged cheeses, cider, vinegar, smoked fish, soured breads, fermented foods like sauerkraut and tamari, yogurt, sour cream, pickles and olives. There are also foods that cause us to release our own histamine stores including ripe bananas, eggs, fish, milk, pineapple, strawberries and tomatoes. If you can focus on other foods or at least limit these foods during allergy season, your symptoms will likely lessen.

Additionally there are a few nutritional supplements that have a few tricks up their sleeves. Vitamin C actually acts as an antihistamine in doses over 1000mg. You can try taking 1000mg buffered C up to 5-6x a day to help “unstuff”. The bioflavonoid quercitin, and the herbs boswellia and nettles are also wonder-workers. Look for allergy relief blends of these nutrients to help boost your body’s ability to manage allergen attacks.


(also published in The Patch.com)

Reader Question: "Is eating yogurt daily good for the average person?"

The short answer: Maybe... It depends... On a lot of things... like your personal biochemistry, the source of the dairy, and the ingredients in the yogurt to name a few. The longer answer: First let’s take a VERY short look at the history of dairy as a human food. Really we should not be able to digest milk beyond when we should be weaned from our mothers, by about the age of six. Waaaaaaay back during when human tribes were far flung around the globe and not in regular contact with each other, the northern European tribes, Egyptians, and other groups who were domesticating cattle began to exhibit a genetic mutation that left the gene responsible for making the lactase enzyme in the “on” position. This meant that these humans could continue to digest the lactose sugars in milk beyond childhood. The tribes who were not exposed to this mutation have maintained their “normal” adulthood lactose-intolerance. This is why many African and Asian populations are largely lactose-intolerant. Today this is changing as genetic material is rapidly mixing as we become a more global society. 



Dairy as a food has changed radically in the last 150 years with the advent of pesticides, industrial confinement dairies, growth-hormone injections, antibiotics and pasteurization. Let’s just look at pasteurization for a minute. This process was largely adopted in an effort to stop the spread of diseases such as typhoid, scarlet fever, and tuberculosis that sickened many people during the early 1900s by way of ingesting contaminated milk products. Pasteurization is now mandated in many states and dairy products must meet certain national standards to cross state lines. The two main pasteurization techniques subject raw milk to temperatures exceeding 161F for 15 seconds (high-heat-short-time; HTST) or 280F for 2 seconds (ultra-high-heat; UHT). The UHT or “ultra-pasteurized” process is becoming more popular so now you can even find milk in tetra-packs on unrefrigerated grocery shelves. 



What does this do to the milk? Consider that milk proteins, primarily whey and casein, are fragile. When they are subjected to high heat, vigorous shaking, or high-speed blending, they begin to break apart quickly into random amino-acid groups or singles in a process known as “denaturing”. The body likes to receive intact un-denatured proteins so it can break them apart into the puzzle pieces it knows how to use. Highly processed dairy products create dubious protein bioavailability for our human systems. In addition, the high heat damages the fats found in milk, including beneficial conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) which helps trigger healthy body composition balance (i.e. supports lean mass and helps the body let go of extra body fat mass). 



Keep in mind that toxins tend to travel most effectively up the food chain in fats (the subject another upcoming post) and you’ll want to avoid any non-organic dairy product as well.



So back to the yogurt question: Yes, unflavored yogurt made from whole, organic milk from grass-fed, hormone-free cows can be healthy for people who are not allergic to dairy or lactose intolerant. Highly-processed, denatured, fat-free, "squeeze-pack" yogurts with loads of sugar or sugar-substitutes and carrageenan thickeners? not so much (and especially not for children). Get the good stuff. Get as close to milk from a happy, healthy Bessie as you can. Get REAL.

Reader Question: "What foods are the most important to eat organic?"

An excellent question and let me say, you aren't the only one confused about this! First let’s clear up some misconceptions about what organic is and isn’t. What exactly does “organic” mean anyway? According to the USDA National Organic Program website, “organically grown” means the food was grown and processed without any synthetic fertilizers or pesticides. However, this doesn’t exclude fertilizers or pesticides that are naturally derived, so, this doesn’t mean the foods were never sprayed with anything. Currently “organic” also means no sewage sludge, irradiation or genetic modification can be used in the production of the food or ingredient (whew!).

As of 2002 there are three sub-designations that are important to know about: “100% organic”, “organic” and “made with organic ingredients”. The “100% organic” designation is the only one that is just that. All the ingredients must be certified organic. In the case of “organic”, all agricultural ingredients must be certified organic except where a special “National List” allows them not to be. These non-organic ingredients can’t make up more than 5% of the total (not counting water and salt). In the case of “made with organic ingredients”, at least 70% of the finished product has to be certified organic (not counting water and salt). Any other ingredients that are not required to be organic on the National List can’t be produced but “excluded methods” (another special list).

Tricky? You bet! Political? Absolutely! Consumer friendly? Nope. That said, it’s still a good idea to eat as organically as you can afford to for your long-term health and the overall health of our interlinked ecosystems. But, what do you do when you can’t afford to eat all organically all the time? Here are a few simple things to keep in mind. First, the lower on the food chain you eat, the less intensely concentrated these toxins become before you consume them. As you move farther away from the original interaction between dirt, seed, sun and rain (ex: chard > beetle > chicken > egg; or grass > cow > milk > butter) the more the toxic residues from fertilizers, pesticides, herbicides, fungicides, hormones, antibiotics, and more become, so as the human at the top, you ingest much higher quantities via eggs or butter than you do via chard or oats. Spend your hard earned cash on organic butter (and other dairy), meats, poultry, and eggs. Breathe a little easier about whole grains, most veggies and most fruits. For a really good list of the top most contaminated and the top cleanest conventionally grown fruits and veggies, get the Environmental Working Group’s “Dirty Dozen” and “Clean 15” lists. They even have an ap for your phone so you have it with you when you grocery shop. For starters, only buy organic apples and spinach, but don’t worry so much about broccoli or avocados.

Lastly, when you start reducing "food products" with lots of ingredients on the labels and start eating more whole foods, you eliminate places where toxins can easily get hidden. Keep it REAL! Bon appetite!

(also published on the Patch.com)

Finally! A NO RESOLUTION New Year

So, I'm sure you've noticed... We're all still here... As one of my friends posted on FaceBook, "do I get a medal or something? I've survived 4 apocalypses so far..." Maybe it's the sense of "why bother to make plans when the world is about to end" that people were using to put off making healthy changes. And yet, I agree with being resolution-free this time around. Resolutions are doomed.

Yep, you read that right. I'm making NO resolutions this year. Why? Because they are generally doomed to fail. Why? Because they are usually unrealistic and over-reaching. Oh, we think we have our best interests in mind, and we certainly have our best intentions when making those cross-my-heart promises, but we set our sights awfully high and try to use a sheer force of will to attain our goals. There are numerous studies out now that talk about willpower as a limited resource. I have to agree, and we tend to burn through it using it as an inappropriate fuel to get things done. Sure, it will get you there, but like rocket fuel, it burns hot and fast. It's the wrong tool for lasting change.

I have a proposal: rather than make doomed resolutions, let's instead envision a future we want to inhabit. That future includes all aspects of who you are -- your psyche, your emotional state, your health, your financial resources, your relationships, your spiritual life, and everything else you can imagine. Instead of creating a very small tight box of high expectations, paint a picture of where you want to be with a broad and colorful brush with room to expand! Start envisioning yourself in a world of your own creation. Fill in as much detail as you can. What senses can you employ to make it feel even more real? Does the food you dream forward to eating have a taste? Does that garden you are walking through have a key scent? What color is the check you are writing to pay off that last bill? What does that deep breath feel like as you reach that mountain peak and look to vistas far beyond your current ability to climb? How REAL can you make it look and feel in your mind and your body? Is your body pain-free and moving with ease? Remember, you can dream ANYTHING you want. There are no limits to imagination, no one will be judging your results, so go wild with embellishments! Ok? Got it? Working on a few pictures already? GOOD! Now live in that vision for just 5 minutes everyday this month. Allow your inner kid to roam through this landscape and fill in more details each time you visit. Maybe it's what you do as you wake each morning or before you fall asleep each night. If you want to, write it down or draw it out. Lean into it emotionally. Fill it in with joy and ease. Take deep breaths of the fresh air in your vision.

Why? What good is it to dream? Why am I seeming to suddenly advocate the creation of a complete fantasy when in all my previous posts I exhort you to Get REAL? I'll tell you: because thoughts become things. You know those old tapes you've had running in your head? The ones that tell you in your own voice that you're "sick and tired" of your job? (and presto, you feel sick and tired a LOT, right?) You know the one that tells you that you are bored with life, or the one that belittles your inner-kid's joy in finding beauty in the mirror? You know that voice that tells you that you'll never make it and doubts your every step? Yeah, that's the voice that kills every resolution you ever made. Why bother creating a beautiful vision? Because it is the vision that will pull you forward, not the whip that drives you from behind! It is the vision that will tempt you to take the next step back to your healthy self, not the guilt of breaking a promise! It is the vision and the details that will give you reasons to keep going until you see and feel the changes as they become REAL. After spending time truly envisioning your Self in an environment that is supportive of your health and happiness, start making steps each day towards that vision. No, it may not ultimately end up having pink ponies or crystal castles or galaxy cruisers, but you will find that many of the elements DO show up. Most importantly, as your world begins to shift, it is the shifting itself that begins to pull you forward. It is the feeling better each day that makes you WANT to keep taking steps. This isn't a chore, you don't even need will power, it is a process of creating joy and liberation from limiting beliefs about your Self that you may have been holding onto for decades!

Get Imaginative! Get out the mental paint set! Get REAL!

GMOs: Genetically Modified Organisms in Our Food Supply

It is unnerving that three of the top five crops grown in the US are now mostly genetically modified. The number one crop, corn, is now 86% GM. Although only 12% of the yields are considered to be consumed directly by humans, over 80% is consumed by livestock and we consume them or their products. The number two crop, soy, is now 93% GM and 79% of all the edible oil consumed by Americans is soy oil. In addition, the following crops are also GM: cottonseed (93%), canola (90%), sugar beets (95%), as well as nearly all Hawaiian papaya, some zucchini and crookneck squash.(1,2)

Traits of GM crops
There are basically two main ways that GMOs are designed: 1) to create a plant that is herbicide tolerant (63% of GMOs); and 2) to create a plant that generates its own pesticides internally (16% of GMOs). About 21% of crops are designed to do both.

Industry Claims
Claims by the companies responsible for this technology, and the creation of the pesticides and herbicides that are used on these crops, assert that GMOs are perfectly safe for human consumption based on the use of some of these pesticides topically on crops over the past decades. As an example, Bt toxin (Bacillus thuringiensis) has been used as a spray on non-GM crops without research into long term effects on human health. Yet, the industry claims that by creating a plant that produces its own Bt toxin, it is essentially the same thing. However, the problem is one of both toxin concentration which is much higher in GM crops, and the alteration of other parts of the organism in ways that have not been studied for long term effects.

Other places you might not think to look for GMO ingredients:
Medications
Supplements

Possible application of biotechnology (3)
The application of genetic engineering is possible in the following ingredients of food supplements. It is however not possible to make general statements whether or not biotechnology was used in a specific product and to which extent.
Vitamins and provitamins: vitamin C, vitamin E, beta-carotene, vitamin B2 (riboflavin), vitamin B12, biotin
Amino acids: cysteine, lysine, tryptophan, methionine, threonine, phenylalanine, glutaminic acid
Secondary plant metabolites: Plant sterols (phytosterines)
Soy protein
Brewing yeast
Enzymes (like amylase, lipase, lactase as digestive agents)
Flavours
Papaya
Emulsifiers: soya lecithin, soybean polyose (E426)
Filling agents: cellulose, ethylcellulose (E 462), dextrin
Acidity regulators: citric acid

Ingredients and additives that contain or likely contain GMOs:
Acetylated starch
Amino acid
Annatto
Ascorbic acid
Aspartame
Beta-carotene
Biotin
Bread Crumbs
Caramel
Caramel colouring
Caramel sugar
Carotinoids
Cellulose
Citric acid
Cobalamin
Corn flour
Cottonseed oil
Cysteine
Cystine
Dextrin
Dextrose
Diacetyl
Egg white solid
Egg yolk solid
Erythrit
Ethyl maltol
Ethylcellulose
Fatty acids
Flavours
Flaxseed
Flour
Fondant
Fructose
Fructose syrup
Glaze
Gluconic acid
Glucono-delta-lactone
Glucose
Glucose syrup
Glutamate
Glutamic acid
Glycerin
Guanylate
Guanylic acid
Hydroxypropylstarch
Inosinate
Inosinic acid
Invert sugar syrup
Invertase
Isomalt
Lactic acid
Lactoflavin
Lactose
Lecithin
Leucine
Linseed oil
Lysine
Lysozyme
Maize germ oil
Malt sugar
Maltitol syrup
Maltodextrins
Maltol
Maltose
Maltose syrup
Mannitol
Methionine
Methylcellulose
Milk protein
Modified Starch
Mono and Diglycerides
Natamycin
Nisin
Oxidised Starch
Persipan
Phenylalanine
Plant Fat
Plant oil
Plant protein product
Plant Sterols
Polenta
Polydextrose
Rapeseed oil
Riboflavin
Sorbitol
Soy Flour
Soy isolate
Soy Oil
Soy protein
Soya lecithin
Soybean polyose
Starch
Starch hydrolysate
Starch phosphate
Starch Sodium octenyl succinate
Sugar
Sunflower Oil
Sweeteners
Tapioca
Textured Soy Protein
Thaumatin
Threonin
Tocopherol
Trehalose
Trockeneiklar
Tryptophan
Vanilla aroma
Vanillin
Vitamin B12
Vitamin B2 (Riboflavin)
Vitamin C
Vitamin E
Vitamins
Whey products
Xanthan
Xylitol
Yeast
Yeast extract
Yeast flakes
(from http://www.gmo-compass.org/eng/database/ingredients/)

Enzymes that are derived from or likely derived from GMOs:
Acetolactate decarboxylase
Aminopeptidase
Amylase
Asparaginase
Catalase
Cellulase
CGTase
Chymosin
Galactosidase
Glucanase
Glucose isomerase
Glucose oxidase
Hemicellulase
Hexose oxidase
Laccase
Lactase
Lipase
Lipoxygenase
Mannanase
Pectinase
Pectinesterase
Phytase
Protease
Pullulanase
Transglutaminase
Xylanase

(from http://www.gmo-compass.org/eng/database/enzymes/)


(1) http://www.epa.gov/oecaagct/ag101/cropmajor.html
(2) “Seeds of Deception” by Jeffery Smith
(3) http://www.gmo-compass.org/eng/database/food/360.food_supplements.html


Get Informed. Get Clear. Get REAL.

Boosting Energy: the Dangers of the Quick Fix

Breakfast for Elliot is a bowl of frosted corn flakes with skim milk and a cup of black coffee. Zinging he hits the highway for work. By 10am he’s been to the break room twice for coffee and nibbles from the birthday cake left in the staff fridge. 12:30 lunch meeting where he eats a store-bought roast beef sandwich that is more bread than beef. Now it’s 3pm. Thinking is getting hard. Elliot is dragging and looking at the clock every 5 minutes wishing he could speed up time... He reaches for a cola/latte/mocha/chocolate bar to accelerate himself through to quitting time... Blood sugar surges, heart rate increases, insulin jets through the bloodstream trying to manage glucose...

Ok, let’s rewind all the way back to breakfast and see if we can’t help Elliot set himself up for a productive and energetic day...

Breakfast really is one of the most important meals of the day. It sets the stage for the rest of his day. Will he have enough fuel to keep his brain functioning on high when he needs it? If he breaks the fast he endured between 7am and dinner the night before with a balance of nutrients from each major food category he will stand a good chance. Good breakfast choices include low-glycemic carbohydrates like old fashioned oatmeal or 9-grain cereal, or low-sugar granola without dried fruit. Add to that a source of protein to give the body base materials for cell signally, nutrient transport and tissue repair such as eggs, nuts, or plain whole milk yogurt. Don’t leave out the healthy fats! Dietary fats act as the oak log on the bonfire that burns in the hours after the carbohydrate fuel has burnt off. Healthy fats include butter and whole milk fat from organic grass-fed cows, the oils found in nuts that can be put on oatmeal or in granola, and the fat found in whole coconut milk.

Coffee or tea can be beneficial, but it is advisable to be careful about adding sugar and avoid using sugar substitutes if you want to keep your brain healthy and your body trim. Caffeine and sugar together can help the brain be efficient and may be a good combination in small quantities prior to a strenuous thinking task such as taking and exam. But, in slightly larger quantities and frequencies, the sugar that comes in with the caffeine is more prone to become body fat than be used as fuel for speedy thought processes. Remember to keep drinking water though because caffeine will dehydrate the body and brain. Water is essential to efficient conduction of the electrical impulses that make up thoughts and nerve function.

Having access to healthy snacks at work or school is essential to keeping the brain happy and functioning without getting fuzzy. It is important to keep fuel coming in and not go more than about 3-4 hours without eating anything for brain performance and metabolism to stay high. Good choices to take along include trail mix (without candy), fresh fruit and a small pack of nuts or nut butter, hard boiled egg and crackers, or humus and sliced veggies.

Lunch should consist primarily of vegetables and protein with a sauce or dressing that includes a healthy fat. Examples might be a big salad with grilled salmon and hollandaise sauce, vegetable stir fry with chicken (skip the rice), or black bean and veggie soup or chili. By taking out the “white” food group of highly processed grains (bread, white rice, potatoes, pasta) you remove the culprit for the 3pm slump and the 5pm need to eat the couch before dinner.

Dinners for most of us need to be rearranged. This should not be our largest meal of the day after which we then slump mentally exhausted onto the couch and channel surf for 3 hours before bed. Dinners should be more like the “suppers” of old -- a lighter meal than lunch with more veggies than starches and a keen attention to lean healthy proteins for the body to use throughout the night as it moves into rest and repair mode. Loading up on high glycemic carbohydrates and grains is the wrong move for most people. These are the faster burning fuels that are better used during the day when we are vertical and exerting ourselves (hopefully!) physically. It is the proteins and vitamins and minerals and enzymes that are most useful to our bodies at night.

These are very general suggestions! For more details on how your own particular body utilizes foods and which sort of eating plan would work best for you, please consult with a nutritionist who understands that you are your own personal Universe. If there was a single “diet book” that worked for everyone, we wouldn’t have shelves full of different options. A qualified professional can help create meal plans and menus that will work for your whole family and not turn you into a short-order cook for each member of the household. It doesn’t have to be hard.

Get curious. Get informed. Get REAL.

Man Parts

Why is it that the topic of “men’s health” always seems to be a synonym for prostate health or erectile dysfunction? Yes, the prostate gland is important, but there is a whole MAN attached to it and his overall health is vital to the health of all his parts. Let’s look at a few things that are important to consider in whole-body health trajectories that don’t get much attention.

Building blocks: We all played with them as kids. You learned about how a wobbly foundation meant that your castle would fall over more easily than a well built one. You learned about how certain blocks fit together better than others. And you learned that using the bigger blocks on the bottom gave your castle more stability.

Translation: There are a few big pieces to focus on for overall health at the foundation level that will make all the difference in the stability and maintainability of health in the long run. The really cool thing is that all of these are under personal control, not the purview of the pharmaceutical companies or the medical community. In most cases, the biggest contributor to health or dis-ease is what we do (or don’t do) every day.

What to Eat? Start with less... Over-consumption of food and the development of obesity is one of the leading causes of all chronic dis-eases in the US and is directly implicated in the development of benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH), prostate cancer, erectile dysfunction (ED), heart dis-ease, diabetes and more.

One of the greatest disservices perpetuated on the American public has been the idea that a low- or no-fat diet is somehow healthy. The key is the type of fat and where it comes from. You actually need some saturated fats along with essential fatty acids, but fake, damaged or contaminated fats are deadly. Low/non-fat conventional dairy products have been linked to prostate cancer, and high intakes of unprotected omega 3 fatty acids (i.e. not enough antioxidants) are linked to the development of BPH.

The same holds true for proteins, especially animal derived proteins. There are vast differences in health consequences between consuming organic, grass-fed, “happy” beef/dairy and commercial, feed-lot, grain (and “other”) fed beef/dairy. Our biggest problem, however, is likely to be highly processed carbohydrates including products made with refined sugars and flours, refined white rice, and starchy veggies that have been subjected to high heat. High-glycemic index carbohydrates (highly processed carbs and sugars) have been linked to prostate cancer and BPH. If I could make a one sentence recommendation for your overall health it would be this: Eat foods that were grown the way they were meant to live (organically) with the least amount of processing possible and prepared with care. If we all did this I would be willing to bet that 80% of our chronic health issues would magically disappear.

What to Drink: Simple, water. Those studies claiming that red wine is beneficial for heart dis-ease? Yeah, those have been found to be mostly false. Sorry. And beer is one of the worst things to indulge in daily, even more so than sodas which are looking worse and worse as the studies roll in. Coffee? Good news! One coffee drink per day is good for the liver and helps to prevent diabetes. The trick is to eliminate the sugar and only use organic grass-fed hormone-free whole milk or half and half. Soy milk? Let’s just say “don’t go there” and leave that for another discussion. Water. Clean, pure, non-distilled water.

What to Do: Another simple answer, move. If there were a medication that could provide all the benefits of exercise, MDs would be sued for malpractice if they didn’t prescribe it for everyone! Basically there are only benefits, even the side effects are beneficial! It’s no wonder because moving is what we were built to do. This modern age has seen a new ill health syndrome develop called SED or sedentary death syndrome. The less you move the greater your chances of early death or a long, drawn out, dis-ease riddled old age. And is it related to BPH, prostate cancer and ED? You bet. No surprise there. The research all shows that the better shape you’re in, the better ALL your man parts work! (And yes, the sex is better too...)

Get the gunk out. Get moving. Get serious about your health. Get REAL.

One-Track-Mind vs The Juggler

OK, I know I’m going to get flack for this one, but I’m going out on a limb to see if I can talk some sense into some of my clients and friends who are getting frustrated with what feels like one of their partners’ most intractable behavioral flaws. Let’s look at genes for a moment. If you think about the mechanisms involved in the way genes get passed on to future generations, it makes sense that there is a division in a species into one half that generally is the most involved in child rearing and one half that is the most involved in food gathering and protective behaviors. Stating the obvious, in humans, women are the ones capable of carrying and birthing a child and then feeding it directly through breast milk through the first few years of life. Men are needed to create the child and have been charged with providing for and protecting the mother and child during their vulnerable years. Without both of these roles the future genetic potential of the species is in jeopardy. This is not to say that men can’t be nurturers and women can’t be providers and protectors, it’s just an observation of the majority of the species. That said, the roles that have generally developed in most tribes of humans over the millennia take advantage of the strengths of each gender. I hear extraordinarily often how frustrated men are with women, and women are with men, for not being more like each other. Frankly I’m thrilled that we have different strengths!

One of the things that comes up repeatedly in sessions is that men have a one-track-mind and can’t do more than one thing at a time, and women are multi-tasking mavens who expect everyone to do six things at once. This makes perfect sense to me from the standpoint of genes making sure they get passed along. In the not too distant past, those in charge of food acquisition were perpetually in harm’s way. Think about it, the game hunter with a spear or the berry gatherer in grizzly territory had to risk death daily to be sure their families had a regular supply of food. More often than not, this person was male. It was vital that they remained singularly focused on their life threatening task or their genes would be removed from the gene pool when they became saber-toothed tiger lunch. The nurturer of the family was most often back at camp or in the village preparing food, preserving food, making and repairing clothing, and watching the children. The only way all of these things could be accomplished in order to secure their genes for future generations was if this person could split their concentration among many tasks in order to adequately care for the family. The nurturer, most often, was female.

Both roles were and are essential. Genetically, those that followed these models survived more often than those who didn’t and the pattern got set at a biochemical level. In our modern, Western, world we have shown that these roles can be reversed and even shared with success. Yes, there are always genetic variations. Yes, there is a certain amount of training that can overcome genetic tendencies. But, it is my belief that these tendencies developed in humans for very good biological reasons.

I encourage my juggler/nurturer clients to find the good qualities of of their more singularly-focused partners. These people can take a task from start to finish without getting distracted. When their attention is completely focused on their partners, there is no doubt about their loyalties. I encourage my hunter/warrior clients to find the joy in being enveloped in an environment that nurtures so many aspects of their lives. The support of a multi-tasker is invaluable for the hunter/warrior’s ability to step into single-minded focus. It is the balance between the two that creates the safest and most secure environment for our genes to move forward to future generations. Again, this is NOT saying that women can’t be warriors or huntresses and men can’t be nurturers, or that we can't each be a mish-mash of both, I’m just saying that a balance of single-focus and multi-tasking is beneficial for us all as a species. Can you find a way to love that side of your partner rather than being disappointed that they aren’t more like you? Viv la difference!

Get Connected. Get Healthy. Get REAL.

Being Vegan or Vegetarian Still Can Be Unhealthy!

Rant Alert: Ok, so I have a bone to pick here (pun intended). We need to talk about what it means to be a Healthy Vegetarian or Vegan, and the importance of understanding that just because you don't partake of animal offerings, doesn't mean you get to eat junk food all day long. Why is it that the vegetarian aisles of most of our grocery stores consist mainly of highly processed snack foods? And sadly, why is it that so many of my "vegetarian" clients think that a diet almost entirely of boxed mac and cheese, diet soda and Twizzlers qualifies as healthy? Psst: the word Vegetable is the basis for the word Vegetarian. If you want to be Healthy, whether vegan, vegetarian, pesca-lacto-ovotarian, or omnivorous, you need to eat Real Food. Don't preach to me about animal cruelty while wearing leather shoes, a down jacket and driving a car that runs on gasoline. Don't talk to me about how healthy your lifestyle is as you struggle with your constant post-nasal drip, weight gain, huge dark circles under your eyes, flaking nails and hair loss from nutrient deficiencies.

The Cold Hard Hairy Eyeball of Truth: to be a Healthy vegetarian or vegan you must eat a combination of Vegetables, Fruits, Whole Grains, Legumes, Nuts/Seeds. The only difference between a Healthy vegetarian and a Healthy omnivore is in the choice of some proteins and some fats. The thing is, if you rely on convenience foods, the vegetarian products can be even more dangerous than the omnivorous options. You can actually set yourself up to consume some of the most highly processed foods available on the market today. Yes, you read that correctly. Here is just one in a whole laundry list of problems: the standard vegetarian offerings at most grocery stores rely heavily on products made using TVP or texturized vegetable protein. TVP is usually made from soy but also from cottonseed (which contains a natural spermicide), wheat and oats. Please read the description found at Wikipedia for the utterly delicious sounding way this "food" is made complete with carcinogenic hexane solvent residues. TVP is loaded with damaged proteins, damaged fats, toxic processing residues, and neuro-toxins such as high amounts of MSG.

Soy itself has a really controversial history in the field of human nutrition which is far too big to tackle here. Technically yes, it contains all the essential amino acids to qualify as a complete protein on strictly a chemical basis, BUT the human body doesn't digest and absorb it in the same way as an animal protein so it is still considered low quality by many researchers, scientists and nutritionists (myself included). Most soy products are highly processed, high in phytates (enzyme inhibitors that block mineral absorption), goitrogens (that damage your thyroid), phytoestrogens (which can feminize male children raised on high amounts of soy), and trypsin inhibitors (essential for proper digestion). Fermented soy products are slightly better because some of these anti-nutrients are broken down by fermentation, but soy can still be extremely hard on your thyroid and can push the human system into fat storage mode thereby contributing to body fat gain rather than lean tissue balance. In addition, soy is one of the most highly sprayed crops in the world, as well as nearly all of it is now genetically modified thanks to Monsanto.

Fats are essential for human health, including saturated fats. Vegetarians and vegans often have the highest intake of omega 6 fatty acids due to the ingestion of higher percentages of plant based liquid oils. Safflower, sunflower, corn, cottonseed, grape seed and peanut oils are pro-inflammatory and chronic consumption can lead to cardiovascular disease, diabetes, Alzheimers and cancers. It is important to consume a combination of types of fats to be a healthy vegetarian or vegan. Consider coconut oil which has a broad range of fatty acids, is anti-inflammatory, anti-bacterial, and anti-fungal. Omega 3 fatty acids are harder to come by in the plant world and are not as easily assimilated as those found in fish or krill. Consider algal forms over seed sources. Reduce or eliminate all high omega 6 oils. Remember that a damaged healthy oil is just as unhealthy as a bad oil. Don't overheat or reuse oils after cooking. Keep oils away from light, heat and air while storing.

Please, if you choose a vegetarian or vegan lifestyle, learn how to be Healthy. It's not as simple as believing the big food product manufacturers and subsisting on boxed, bagged or instant food products. Read labels. Learn about amino acids and how to combine foods to get complete proteins. Get Smart. Get Healthy. Get REAL.

Vanquishing the Dragons: Migraines and Chronic Headaches

So many people I know (myself included) are plagued by migraines or by chronic debilitating headaches. I have found that in many cases once the detective work has been done effectively, we can eradicate the causes of these inner fire breathing dragons that hold so many of us hostage.

Quick Definitions:
A migraine is not just a really bad headache. Migraines involve a whole host of other systems and symptoms that can range from visual disturbances such as the illusion of flickering lights or auras, to severe light induced nausea, to hemi-facial (“half the face”) pain, numbness or nerve dysfunction. Often pain is actually less of a problem than the other symptoms which can drive some sufferers into dark silent rooms for days. Most people who are susceptible will experience their first migraine right around puberty.

Chronic daily headaches (CDH) are defined by their frequency (15 or more days out of each month for more than 3 months) and the primacy of blinding pain as the key symptom. Chronic tension-induced headaches typically hurt on both sides of the head and evolve from tension of the muscular structures of the head, neck and/or shoulders.

Common Causes:
Medication misuse or overuse; allergies and toxic exposures; stress; sleep issues; caffeine withdrawal or overindulgence; illness; infection; skipping meals; chronic dehydration; and obesity. Often there is a hormonal influence that comes into play (especially for women). Testing is an important part of the detective work to get to the root cause.

My Own Story:
As a child and then teen I began noticing that I had worsening headaches every time I ate conventionally raised beef. In college I decided to try vegetarianism and took a few years off of all meats and the headaches disappeared. I then was traveling and opted to try a hamburger with a couple of glasses of cabernet right after a week of high stress, little sleep and food poisoning. Needless to say my body went into conniptions. I gave myself my first classic migraine and ended up in the hospital for five days while a multitude of tests were run to determine that I wasn’t having a brain hemorrhage. My symptoms: flickering visual aura in my right eye, extreme light sensitivity, nausea, numbness and tingling on the right side of my face, and a strange “far away” feeling headache. Once I eliminated conventionally grown beef from my life and took a break from the red wine, chocolate, aged cheeses and coffee, and learned how to manage my stress, I have only experienced a handful of migraines since.

3 Things to Try Now:

1. ALWAYS start with a big glass of water. We are a chronically dehydrated culture. See what 16 ounces of cool water (not iced) does before diving into medications.
2. Test for food allergies. Typical foods that drive the headache/migraine response include all those on my list above: red wines, aged cheeses, chocolate, caffeine, and cured meats as well as preservatives, artificial colors, artificial sweeteners, and the toxins in conventionally raised foods (pesticides, herbicides, fungicides, and hormone residues).
3. Breathe. We forget to simply breathe in our rush rush rush way of living. Take time to just focus on the breath taking clean life-giving oxygen in deeply and exhaling equally deeply for a few minutes each day. If you don’t have any other stress-reduction technique, at least incorporate this one! You can do it anywhere!

Chronic Inflammation: the smoldering fire within

As the research rolls in, we keep finding that the point of intersection in the genesis of nearly all chronic disease is low-level, systemic, long-term inflammation. This means that the inflammation system that is supposed to be our ally in times of trouble has been left stuck on like a dripping faucet. The chemicals our bodies create to help us close and heal a wound and activate the next stages of our immune system are not kind to other tissues of the body. In acute situations, these chemicals are produced for to quickly seal “holes” and act as the sirens that bring the rest of the immune system components to the scene. In a healthy system, they are then cleared quickly by anti-inflammatory systems to prevent additional damage. When the faucet for the fire hose of inflammation isn’t shut off entirely, damage occurs to healthy tissues.

Diseases directly related to chronic inflammation include asthma, Alzheimer’s, anemia, arthritis, cancers, fibromyalgia, kidney failure, lupus, psoriasis, adult respiratory distress syndrome, heart disease, congestive heart failure, IBS, Crohn’s, obesity, pancreatitis, stroke, and ulcerative colitis. One of the interesting things is that obesity is both a cause and a product of chronic inflammation, and we have a lot of control over it’s development.

Unfortunately, there are quite a few aspects of modern Western life that cause the inflammation faucet to drip. The Standard American Diet (SAD) is one of the biggest culprits. With it’s high sugar content, damaged fats and contaminated proteins, the metabolites from this sort of fueling are constantly activating the inflammation cascade by acting as irritants, toxins and circulating waste products. The immune system then attacks healthy cells in artery walls (atherosclerosis), joints (arthritis), the gut mucosa (as in lactose intolerance or gluten intolerance), as well as organ tissues such as the pancreas (diabetes).

It is thought now that the main reason that low-dose aspirin and statin medications help reduce heart disease is due to their anti-inflammatory actions rather than the original beliefs that blood needed to be thinner or cholesterol needed to be lower. These medications have some serious downsides, however, and you should be extremely careful even with that children’s aspirin. More information on this and other medication side-effects will be discussed here at a later date.

Barry Sears MD has been researching inflammation for years and has developed this list of questions to help you determine if you have a leaking inflammation faucet. If you answer yes to 3 or more, your faucet is on a constant drip:

Are you overweight?
Are you taking cholesterol lowering drugs, beta blockers or diuretics?
Are you groggy upon waking most mornings?
Do you crave refined grains or sugars throughout the day?
Do you feel fatigued more often than not?
Are your fingernails brittle?

If you would like more information on how to fix that leaky faucet, please sign up to attend my free presentation at Gathering Thyme in San Anselmo CA on February 16th at 7pm.
http://www.gatheringthyme.com/events.html#eating

Get Healthy. Get Informed. Get REAL.