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5 Ways to Kick-Start Your Health

December 22, 2017 By Karen Leave a Comment

Sometimes it can feel downright overwhelming to get your health back on track!

You want to eat better – and you’ve tried – but despite your best efforts it still isn’t happening.

You try to go to bed earlier, but get sidelined watching a favorite late-night show on TV.

Or, you’re convinced that you do your best work late at night. (more on that later).

You have days, perhaps, when you really feel like crap – and that’s when you tell yourself (again) that you really, really need to get a handle on things.

We’ve all had days like that, right?

Yet even when you know better, it’s often hard to begin.

My advice?

Slow down. Take baby steps.

Pick one of the following, to start – yes, just 1! (After all, you have to start somewhere).

Clean Up Your Diet

This alone does several things, since removing inflammatory foods like gluten, sugar and even dairy helps to:
[Read more…]

Filed Under: EAT, ENVIRONMENT, HEALTH & WELLNESS Tagged With: A Gluten Primer A-Z, autoimmune disease, Celiac, chemicals, environmental toxins, gluten, indoor air pollution, sleep diet, sugar, zonulin

Is It Time For You To H.A.L.T?

December 8, 2017 By Karen Leave a Comment

The holidays are upon us, and for many it’s the most challenging time of the year.

The heavy emphasis on love and joy, family togetherness and endless festivities can easily take you down, special diet or not.

Worse still, what if the holidays find you alone?

What if you’re dealing with a recent break-up, an illness, or worse still – a death in the family?

Can you relate?

While there’s no question these things are difficult any time of the year, the pain and heartache increases ten-fold during the month of December.

Yet the bigger issue is this: when you’re up against life’s challenges, do you still find time to take proper care of yourself?

How do you deal with those typical stressors we call ‘Life’, that will inevitably come your way?

This is where some mental gymnastics come into play – in the form of a self-coaching technique known as H.A.L.T.

V Is For Villous Atrophy

November 3, 2017 By Karen Leave a Comment

OK, I admit it – I live in a bubble of sorts.

The bubble I speak of revolves around Functional Medicine, which is always focused on learning the root cause of your illness – versus a conventional approach, which only looks at symptoms.

Looking at your body as a whole makes perfect sense to me.

After all, it’s made up of closely interconnected parts – including your immune system, your neuroendocrine system and so forth.

First and foremost is your Digestive System.

This last one, alone, is typically at the root of whatever ails you – with the usual dietary culprits being Dairy, Sugar, and Gluten.

It’s what I focus on throughout A Gluten Primer – Everything You Wanted to Know From A-Z – although I also share plenty about your immune system, leaky gut and lots, lots more.

But why gluten – specifically?

How to Look 20, When You’re Well Past 50 (60, Even)

October 13, 2017 By Karen Leave a Comment

A while back, a friend whom I hadn’t seen in awhile exclaimed that I looked about 20.

Of course, I didn’t believe her. (When I look in the mirror, I’m as critical as the next person).

But I was pleasantly surprised and secretly quite pleased to hear this.

Who wouldn’t be, right?

After all, it isn’t exactly easy to pass for 40 years younger than your actual age!

“What about my gray hair?” I asked her, thinking that was a dead give-away.

She brushed that aside, saying it didn’t mean a whole lot.

Well, OK then.

The thing is, this wasn’t an isolated incident – which, to be perfectly honest, leaves me a bit baffled..

People want to know “What’s your secret?” – and while I might not be sure initially, when I think about the work I’m doing, and how I live my life, I realize – that’s the secret right there!

What I teach, after all – is a lifestyle.

How Not to Feel Like Crap by New Year’s

December 9, 2016 By Karen Leave a Comment

How’s your stress level these days?

Are you obsessing over the busy-ness of the holiday season? With gifts to purchase (and wrap), parties to plan (and attend), and guests to entertain it’s no wonder that for many of us the holidays are the most stressful time of the year.

And that doesn’t even cover the food !

Tables laden with holidays feasts, and endless gluten-filled, sugary treats – how will you survive?

It’s a common refrain from many of my clients – along with saying this:

“I don’t want to feel like crap by January 1!”

Are you wondering how you can rein in your appetite when so many temptations abound? No question, the holidays are stressful, with so much to do and so little time.

Even more worrisome, is that stress plays a HUGE compounding role for just about any health concern you might have – especially your digestive health!

With that in mind, here are my 3 favorite tips for managing your stress during the holiday season, so you don’t feel like crap come New Year’s!

Is It Time For You to H.A.L.T.?

November 25, 2016 By Karen Leave a Comment

The holidays are upon us, and for many it’s the most challenging time of the year.

The heavy emphasis on love and joy, family togetherness and endless festivities can easily take you down, special diet or not.

Worse still, what if the holidays find you alone?

What if you’re dealing with a recent break-up, an illness, or worse still – a death in the family?

Can you relate?

While there’s no question these things are difficult any time of the year, the pain and heartache increases ten-fold during the month of December.

Yet the bigger issue is this: when you’re up against life’s challenges, do you still find time to take proper care of yourself?

How do you deal with those typical stressors we call ‘Life’, that will inevitably come your way?

This is where some mental gymnastics come into play – in the form of a self-coaching technique known as H.A.L.T.

How to Look 20, When You’re Well Past 50 (60, Even)

August 19, 2016 By Karen Leave a Comment

A while back, a friend whom I hadn’t seen in awhile exclaimed that I looked about 20.

Of course, I didn’t believe her. (When I look in the mirror, I’m as critical as the next person).

But I was pleasantly surprised and secretly quite pleased to hear this.

Who wouldn’t be, right?

After all, it isn’t exactly easy to pass for 40 years younger than your actual age!

“What about my gray hair?” I asked her, thinking that was a dead give-away.

She brushed that aside, saying it didn’t mean a whole lot.

Well, OK then.

The thing is, this wasn’t an isolated incident – which, to be perfectly honest, leaves me a bit baffled..

Got No Willpower?

July 8, 2016 By Karen Leave a Comment

When it comes to tempting treats – do you firmly believe you have zero willpower?

Are you convinced this lack of control mean you’re deficient as a human being?

Or equally bad, that there’s something terribly wrong with you?

Well, here’s the good news: there might be a perfectly logical explanation for your apparent ‘lack of willpower’!

And it all comes back to your diet and the state of your digestion.

Let me explain.

On a deep, physiological level, it’s possible that your body isn’t absorbing the nutrients it needs, and this can happen for a number of reasons.

The most common ones would be a poor diet, or a flawed digestive system – either one of which can lead to a leaky gut.

Not to mention a host of other problems – including nutrient deficiency! (You could literally be ‘starving’ – and not even know it.)

Are You Starving?

March 18, 2016 By Karen Leave a Comment

Do you ever have days when your cravings seem totally out of control?

Let’s say you’ve been gluten-free for awhile now, and you have no trouble sticking with that. You also try to steer clear of processed foods, and grains – either whole or refined – as much as possible.

Truth be told, you’re really proud of yourself for doing such an amazing job keeping your diet really ‘clean’!

But you’ve found there’s a catch.

If you decide to have a piece of gluten-free cake, you aren’t able to stop at just one slice.

If you buy potato chips, or bake cookies, you devour the entire bag (or batch) without skipping a beat. Chances are, you’re also REALLY hard on yourself afterwards, for caving to your cravings.

What’s going on?

In a nutshell, you could be starving!

A Sugar-Free Christmas? Bah Humbug!

November 28, 2014 By Karen Leave a Comment

A couple of years ago, I decided to cut back on my intake of refined sugar.

And I’ve shared my various successes baking with alternate sweeteners here and here.

Of course, there are lots of reasons why you might want to consume less sugar than the Standard American Diet (aka SAD).

However, if you’re experiencing any kind of digestive distress, or chronic illness, then sugar is one of the first things I’d recommend you eliminate.

After gluten, of course!

(Both gluten and sugar, along with dairy, are considered the top three most inflammatory foods).

So, that’s reason #1.

Here’s another reason to eliminate sugar: a yeast or bacterial overgrowth, such as Candida or SIBO (Small Intestine Bacterial Overgrowth).

5 Ways to Kick-Start Your Health

Is It Time For You To H.A.L.T?

V Is For Villous Atrophy

How to Look 20, When You’re Well Past 50 (60, Even)

How Not to Feel Like Crap by New Year’s

Is It Time For You to H.A.L.T.?

How to Look 20, When You’re Well Past 50 (60, Even)

Got No Willpower?

Are You Starving?

A Sugar-Free Christmas? Bah Humbug!

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