Category: Nutrition

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Health Nutrition

The Secret of Maintaining a Slim Figure

I think in the US we’re led to believe that some women across the world naturally stay slim and it’s genetic. Unfortunately, to those of us born in the states, our genes must have mutated and now we all carry the fat gene. Can that really be true, even if our ancestors hailed from these magical lands of effortlessly slim people?

Of course it’s not true.

No one’s genes mutated. What changed are our daily habits and what’s considered normal here in the states versus abroad.

1) Walking- people in places who walk more stay healthier

2) fruits/vegetables/meat/fish – yes people in France and Italy love bread and desserts but it’s quality over quantity.

I read “French Women Don’t Get Fat” in college and it really changed the way I view food. It’s not our enemy but our life long love affair. We must eat to survive and we can choose to love the food we make.

3) We don’t eat enough soup- many cultures value eating soup for a meal or for a weekend to slim down after a particularly voracious week of eating.

4) Less soda, beer, and empty calories

5) Movement beyond Walking- walking is a part of daily life to get from point A to point B. On Google maps, you can choose a car, bus, or walk! That’s right, even Google maps considers walking a mode of transportation.

Therefore to maintain an ideal shape you must walk and put in some effort a couple of days a week with either light resistance weights, yoga, pilates, etc….

That’s it, it’s not a big secret. Unfortunately, we don’t want to give up our bad habits and we would rather take a short cut. Short cuts don’t last and on and on yo yo dieting goes.

The fitness industry has to be a 10 billion dollar industry these days, maybe more ?

If it worked so well then why are there new methods every day? Doesn’t make sense to me.

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Nutrition Uncategorized

WFPBLF

Whole Food Plant Based Low Fat

I know I just posted a blog post on bone broth.

Ok, so what happened?

I went down the rabbit hole after reading/listening to some great information from Pam Popper. Pam is a naturopath who works/lives in Columbus, Ohio. She is an advocate for a whole foods plant-based low oil diet.

A whole food plant-based low oil diet is strongly advised by most cardiologists and cardio-thoracic surgeons.

For many years I have lived a whole food plant based diet, it wasn’t until recently that I tried meat and animal products again.

I did that for a few years from 2017 to mid 2020 and then I had a crisis of ethics. I could not continue eating in a way that I was sure was contributing to the degradation of my health.

It is in September that I recommitted to the WFPBLF lifestyle and I have felt amazing ever since.

I started using Engine 2’s meal planner which allows you to copy all ingredients into a single spread sheet that you can send to your local grocer.

This helped me to jump start to my way back to health.

Living this lifestyle for the past three months has already had a profound effect on my health. My cycle has become more regular and the inflammation I experienced after having major surgery was much less than the normal patient.

It’s delicious and satisfying to eat this way.

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Nutrition Uncategorized

Bone Broth Fasting: What is it, and does it live up to the hype?

measuring abs with tape measure

Fasting of all varieties has quite quickly become all the rage among Instagram fitness influencers and nutrition-aware doctors alike. The simple practicing of going without food for a pre-determined amount of time sounds easy enough, but there are more and more varieties of fasts popping up every day. One particular fast that has gained some popularity is the bone broth fast. Let’s take a look at what this fast is and if it’s right for you.

Intermittent Fasting

Because the bone broth fast is a type of intermittent fast, it makes sense that we should get familiar with what exactly that is. Intermittent fasting refers to a type of fast in which you go without food for a portion of the day — but usually not an entire day. Some varieties of fasting include alternate fasting (eating every other day) the warrior diet (fruits and veggies during the day and a big, protein-rich meal at night) and, the most common form, 16/8 fasting. This method refers to fasting for 16 hours out of the day, with an 8-hour “feeding window.”

Intermittent fasting has gained followers for a variety of reasons. One of the most popular reasons is its ability to help with fat loss and positive metabolic changes in the body.

Intermittent fasting allows the body to burn excess stores of fat because of the unique conditions that fasting creates. In the simplest terms, your body uses fat for fuel when it doesn’t have access to food. In particular, when the body is deprived of glucose it tends to reach for its fat stores for extra energy. This is why ketogenic diets — which involve consuming low to no carbohydrates — allow for such a great deal of fat burning.

Intermittent fasting is also used for its ability to improve blood sugar. Insulin is what is responsible for transporting glucose in the body. Some evidence shows that fasting on a regular basis allows the body to regulate its insulin use and reduce total blood sugar levels — meaning sugar is used for fuel instead of being stored by the body as fat.

Fasting has likely become popular in the fitness industry for a few reasons. For one, most people are tired of being sold another diet fad or weight loss pill. Instead, they would rather spend time understanding their bodies and making the right choices and adjustments to their fitness and nutrition as necessary. In addition, fasting can be incredibly convenient. Most people grew up being incessantly told that breakfast is the most important meal of the day — a factoid most likely propagated by the cereal industry. Fasting has shone light on the health benefits of skipping breakfast — a choice that most of us are happy to make, as it means a few extra minutes of sleep and less cooking.

Bone Broth

Now let’s take a look at bone broth and how it plays into the fasting dynamic. If you’ve strolled through Whole Foods recently, you’ve likely seen an end-cap fridge filled with dark brown bottles of broth nestled next to the kombucha and coconut water. Many people are understandably turned off to the idea of slurping down a jug of cold broth — so why is there such a high demand for it?

As it turns out, bone broth has a variety of incredible health benefits. Their health benefits draw largely from the fact that they are derived from highly nutritious parts of animals that we don’t normally consume — in particular, bones. However, bone broth also contains skin, tendons and ligaments that would normally be tossed out of a butcher shop. As bone broth cooks, valuable nutrients like collagen, proline, glycine and glutamine all end up in the jar of broth you can find at your local grocery store.

Bone broth can be bought at the store, but it’s completely feasible to make yourself. You should purchase grass-fed bones from a local butcher. Once you’ve got your bones, boil them in water, seasonings, a few tablespoons of apple cider vinegar and simmer for around 24-48 hours.

Bone broth does incredible things for the joints due to its rich collagen content. Our joints experience a good bit of abuse as we age, and the more collagen we consume, the less damage they will generally take. In addition, the gelatin present in bone broth stock — the same stuff Jell-O is comprised of — is a necessary lubricant for joints.

In addition, gelatin is great for the gut. It can help restore the sensitive lining of the stomach that is so often degraded, and it can help with food sensitivities and with reducing inflammation. Because bone broth comes in liquid form, it is easy to digest and therefore is readily consumed and absorbed by the body.

Using bone broth while fasting

Bone broth can be an incredible addition to any fasting protocol, provided you take the right steps. When used as part of a fat loss protocol or as a “detox” tool, bone broth can be helpful in a fasting protocol. Bone broth is particularly useful for extended fasts of one day or more in which the person fasting needs a bit of calories and protein to make it through the fast without giving the body a lot of junk food to process.

Most people begin with a 2 or 3 day fast consuming nothing but bone broth and water. It’s completely acceptable to start with just one day as well or to replace one meal with bone broth. It’s also recommended to consume bone broth from a variety of sources (for example, consuming chicken and beef one broth.)

Bone broth with additives like ginger and turmeric will provide a great deal of anti-inflammatory benefits as well. You can also and pink Himalayan salt if you’d like. All of these will contribute to both the health benefits and flavor of your broth.

In addition, remember that you are fasting anything other than bone broth, so if you’re drinking coffee, make sure to leave the cream or milk out (and especially the sugar.)

Benefits of bone broth fasting

Fasting with the addition of bone broth has many benefits. Let’s take a look at a few of the most compelling.

1. Improves digestion

Because bone broth is a rich source of collagen, it can help restore the lining of the vital GI tract. Collagen helps soothe the GI tract and can be a major help in healing leaky gut syndrome. In addition, the gelatin present in bone broth is known to help with food sensitivities and allergies. The gelatin also promotes probiotic balance and allows for a favorable digestive environment in the gut.

Because fasting with bone broth allows your body to receive the nutrients from the broth without other additives, your body can more easily absorb these nutrients.

2. Helps preserve muscle

As stated previously, intermittent fasting can include a two or even three day fast. It’s possible that muscle mass could be accessed by the body as a source of fuel during this time, especially if you’re active during the fast. Supplying your body with protein and calories from bone broth can help reverse this unwanted effect.

3. Help with sleep and memory

The amino acids that form the building blocks of protein present in bone broth allow for the production of hormones that help us sleep deeply and be mentally sharp and aware. Glycine, in particular, has been found to help patients who struggle sleeping get deeper sleep.

Bone broth also contains important nutrients like potassium and magnesium, both of which are crucial in energy production and muscle and cognitive functions.

4. Can boost immunity

Doing a bone broth fast allows the good bacteria in your gut a favorable condition to live. High bacterial content is generally associated with a stronger immunity, as well as weight and hormone balance. Probiotics can help reduce inflammation in the body, which is a major cause of illnesses of all kinds.

5. Is more sustainable than other kinds of fasting

Many fasting protocols are designed to be short-term, which means that you usually don’t need extra vitamins or nutrients during them. After all, fasting is completely depriving your body of just about anything other than water to allow it to work through its normal processes more efficiently. However, doing a two or three-day intermittent fast with bone broth can be a great way to experience the benefits of long-term fasting without the brain fog or other negative effects associated with it. Bone broth is incredibly rich and complex in its nutrient content, and thus provides the perfect fuel source for fasting. It’s also fairly low-calorie, meaning your body does not have to process through a large portion of food.

As always, consult a doctor

While bone broth fasting is a great option for many people, you should always consult with your own doctor before making significant changes to your diet. Make sure you consult a professional before you decide if this method is the best for you and your lifestyle.

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Nutrition Uncategorized

Soft Cleanse by OHS

I first heard about OHS a few years ago from a colleague. Optimal Health Systems is supported by Dr. Brimhall and Dr. Harris. Dr Harris is considered the expert in methylation and he uses the methylation and genetics testing kit to get to the root cause of many chronic issues.

I have not attended these seminars but decided that I should take some time to detox my body before my upcoming jaw surgery in the fall.

For the past month I took:

Female +B

Opti-Para

Opti-Mito-Force

Soft Cleanse

This review is on the soft cleanse. It comes in a neat and clean box that allows you to punch out a hole in the bottom and the supplements are on a roll that you tear off each morning and evening. They are labeled morning/evening so you know whether you’ve taken one or two for the day.

Each packet contains 5 pills:

2 FloraPlus

1 Liver Kidney

2 Opti Cleanse and Repair

From OHS website: “The Optimal Soft Cleanse Pak combines two formulas and utilizes a proprietary chlorella herb and patented glutamine blend to aid in cleansing. In addition, it utilizes special pectin fibers, along with nitrogen from glutamine, to aid in the safe removal of debris.”

“Key Ingredients & Their Roles
Licorice Root – Support gut, liver and immune health
Psyllium – Bind to and remove heavy metals
Oat Bran – Promote a healthy colon
Celery – Inflammation reduction
Sweet Potato – Natural anti-inflammatory that promotes liver health
Pectin – Bind to and remove heavy metals
Chlorella – Bind to and remove heavy metals
Jerusalem Artichoke – Help detoxify liver
Barberry Root – Natural detoxifier
Dandelion Root – Encourages removal of toxins through sweat, bile and urine
Milk Thistle – Promote a healthy liver”

www.optimalhealthsystems.com

I’ve had a great experience with this soft cleanse and noticed that several key signs of detox were present.

  1. The smell of my sweat changed and became less pungent.
  2. My face has broken out several times and toxins leave through my skin.
  3. I checked my Zyto score and all of my body systems balanced out.

It’s important to detox every 6 months especially in 2020. We have toxins in water, in the air, in our food, basically every thing we do contributes to our toxic load.

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Nutrition Uncategorized

Everything You Must Know About: Vitamin C

Best ways to get vitamin C

IV

Intravenous vitamin C dosage is gaining widespread popularity both domestically (here in the US) and throughout the world.  What started as ‘holistic’ care is becoming more mainstream through the use of cancer centers and the like.  Naturopathic doctors and functional medicine doctors were the first to use intravenous vitamin C after it was discovered by Linus Pauling in the 1970s. 

Pauling the noted Nobel Prize winner used IVC with cancer patients to increase survival times in those with advanced cancer.  Later in 2006 the Canadian medical association journal showed three reports of cases where the cancer went into remission through the use of IVC therapy.

The most recent studies look at tumor growth, quality of life and containing the effects of chemotherapy.

Oral Vs IVC

Intravenous vitamin C goes straight to the bloodstream whereas oral vitamin C must work its way through the gastrointestinal system.  The intestinal system has the capacity to absorb 250 micromoles by contrast the IVC can bring levels to as high as 30 millimoles.

If dosing using the oral method the maximum suggested is 3 grams, 4 times per day. 

How does Vitamin C kill cancer cells?

This is meant to induce cytotoxic reactive oxygen species, hydrogen peroxide which will kill the tumor/cancer cells.  In a normal functioning cell hydrogen peroxide is metabolized into water and oxygen.  Tumor cells on the other hand lack catalase leaving them vulnerable to the cytotoxic effects of HP.

What does that all mean?  Vitamin C kills bad cells and gives healthy cells more oxygen.   

Another bonus: tumor cells take in more vitamin C compared to normal cells via facilitated transport, specifically glucose transports. 

Cancer cells have more glucose transports because they need more glucose to function. 

Cancer lives off glucose AKA sugar!

Is it Safe?

Yes. It has a high safety profile.

Why isn’t this more widely talked about?

Its not patentable.  You can buy vitamin C at any store and its cheap.

This means big companies can’t make a lot of money off vitamin C therapy so they don’t research it or even talk about the very effective research that has been done.

Considerations

Vitamin C therapy is gaining traction throughout the world and needs more research for further applications.  As always, we should be careful about the ways in which we get our vitamins and minerals.  Making sure that we vet each source and strive the highest quality available.

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Nutrition Uncategorized

The Ultimate Guide: Vitamin D

What is Vitamin D?

Vitamin D is a steroid hormone that comes from cholesterol.  Since, I was a young child I have heard that you must go outside to get your daily dose of vitamin D.  So does it come from the sun or does it come from cholesterol?

The answer is both-

Vitamin D is not naturally occurring in many foods, so our bodies came up with an ingenious plan to harness the sun for our own benefit.

Once our skin is exposed to ultraviolet B light we begin to synthesize the vitamin D that we can use.  If you are a sun worshipper and feel recharged by the sun, this may be why.

Key point- the biologically inactive version that starts the process only has a half life of 12-16 hours.  That means that our liver must make great use of what we provide before it’s gone. 

So as you guessed, the next stop in the pathway is the liver where it is converted to 25-hydroxy vitamin D, 25(OH)D.  This is the form that’s most often measured in blood work.  This form of vitamin D can survive much longer and has a half life of three weeks.

Next stop is the kidney where it is converted into it’s biologically active form of 1,25 dihydroxy vitamin D also known as calcitriol. 

Calcitriol is the form of vitamin D that can enter target cells and bind to vitamin D receptors.

Main Function of Vitamin D

The main function of vitamin D is to maintain the balance between calcium and phosphate levels in the blood.  These levels are responsible for bone health and connected to over 900 genes involved in many processes throughout the body.

Vitamin D is considered an essential vitamin and deficiencies can be associated with mood, memory, cardiovascular disorders, metabolic disorders, cancer, hypertension, infectious diseases, and autoimmune disorders.

When working together with calcium, vitamin D can also help to protect against osteoporosis.

Levels of Vitamin D

Deficient = <20ng/ml

Insufficient = 20-30 ng/ml

Excess = >100 ng/ml

Intoxication = >150 ng/ml

Where is Vitamin D?

Like I said previously, vitamin D can be synthesized by exposing the skin to ultraviolet B rays from the sun. Can you overdose on vitamin D from the sun? The answer is NO! Your body has many protective mechanisms and this is one.  Your skin will not allow you to absorb or convert more previtamin D3 than you need.

It’s also found in fish skin such as tuna and salmon and fish liver oils, cod liver oil anyone?  You may also find it in some animal sources such as beef liver, eggs, and cheese.

Back in the 1930’s the united states government went to work to combat vitamin deficiencies and the fortification program was born.  This helped to combat many childhood diseases that used to plague children in socio-economic disadvantaged areas. Rickets is one such disease that is clearly linked to vitamin D deficiency.

Immune Response

Vitamin D has a very profound effect on the immune response.  Scientists are currently researching it’s link to lupus, autoimmune thyroid disease, diabetic nephropathy, and rheumatoid arthritis.

Monocytes and macrophages are the first line of defense against outside invaders in the body.  They increase anti-microbial activity.   A deficiency in vitamin D has been linked to an impaired ability of macrophages to mature, decreases production of macrophage specific surface antigens, decreased lysosomal enzyme acid phosphatase and decreased secretion of hydrogen peroxide.

It helps to decrease inflammation, which is a good thing. 

Overall, vitamin D plays an important role in the immune system and science is beginning to understand just how important that role is to our health.

Considerations

You should talk to your doctor about vitamin D supplementation before beginning any program.  Also, if you are taking corticosteroids as these can reduce calcium absorption and inhibit the metabolism of vitamin D.   Many people taking these steroids are warned about the risk of possible osteoporosis.  Persons taking weight loss drugs, and some cholesterol lowering drugs should also talk their doctor.