Search Results for: aches & pains

Why Your Aches & Pains Are A Good Thing

 

Fresh organic eggsDo you sometimes feel like a human guinea pig?

Perhaps you’ve even experimented with different foods, in an effort to figure out what might be a trigger for you.

Let me preface this first by saying – if you have Celiac disease, or an Autoimmune condition, this is in NO WAY a license to re-introduce gluten!

Got that?

However, your dietary triggers could also be dairy, eggs, or nuts – or any number of different foods.

Let’s take a closer look at eggs for a moment.

Are eggs a regular part of your diet?

They use to be for me, too.

I often enjoyed scrambled eggs, or an omelet for breakfast.

And I absolutely LOVED making soufflé! (As fancy as that sounds, it’s not that hard. Seriously!)

At this point, however, it’s literally been years since I last ate eggs.

In recent weeks, however, I decided to re-introduce them – as a human experiment, if you will.

Using me as the guinea pig.

[Read more…]

Gluten-Sensitivity & Celiac Disease – Should You Be Tested?

Gluten free words - tag cloud illustrationTake a look at the list of symptoms below.

Are any of them common for you – or even someone else you know?

  • Digestive Complaints
  • Cramps, Bloating or Gas
  • Constipation
  • Diarrhea
  • Headaches or Migraines
  • Sinus Congestion
  • Joint Pain
  • Rash or Itching
  • Insomnia
  • Chemical Sensitivity
  • Memory Loss
  • Osteoporosis
  • Weight Gain
  • Mood Swings

While this list is by no means comprehensive, the thing to note is that NONE of these symptoms are NORMAL!

They’re common, yes – but common and normal are NOT the same thing! It’s an important distinction, and one I like to stress – at every opportunity!

Here’s another thing I like to stress:

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Pros & Cons of the Paleo Diet

Fresh raw salmon fillets on cutting boardSeems hardly a day goes by, that I don’t hear of someone else who’s embarked on the Whole 30 diet, or ‘gone Paleo.

If you’re unfamiliar with the Paleo trend, it’s based on the concept that you’re going back to an ancestral diet – the way Nature intended you to be eating all along.

In other words, you’re eating the way your long-ago ancestors ate prior to the introduction of agriculture.

What this translates to – is that you’re foregoing many modern foods you’ve become accustomed to eating, in particular grains, legumes, and – depending on the plan you choose to follow – an absence of potatoes, alcohol and sugar.

If that seems overwhelming to you, I’ve been hearing over and over of the positive experiences people are having.

More energy. Less inflammation. Fewer aches and pains.

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I Is for Inflammation & the Immune System

I - ICE PACK smallDid you know that May is National Celiac Awareness Month?

With that in mind, I bring you:  “I is for the Immune System & Inflammation – which we’re exploring it in depth this week.

I must admit, this is probably my favorite video in A Gluten Primer, Everything You Wanted to Know From A – Z video series!

I even bring in an Army & a Cannon! (Yes really – an Army).

But what is the connection, you might ask? And what does Gluten Sensitivity have to do with your Immune System & inflammation?

Whether Celiac Disease or another autoimmune condition (Hashimoto’s anyone?), gluten sensitivity, food sensitivities in general, or life-threatening allergies – even heart disease – your immune system is involved each and every time.

How do you know if gluten is a problem for you?

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The Environment & Your Symptoms – Is There A Mismatch?

The Nursery toy, gas mask, old watch on white background.10,000 years.

Does that seem like an eternity to you? If so, you’re not alone.

Yet, 10,000 years is the number most often quoted by doctors, scientists and other experts, when explaining why grains – especially wheat – are a relatively new addition to the human diet.

You might be thinking, “How can that be? Haven’t humans been eating grains for most of their existence?”

How can something so abundant, and so integral to your diet, be harmful?

It’s what we call an ‘evolutionary mismatch’.

In other words, much of our modern lifestyle is based on products and foodstuffs that the human body isn’t designed to digest or otherwise process.

This includes chemicals and a host of other modern ‘conveniences’ that, in the long run, do us more harm than good – even though societies have seemingly thrived on grains for thousands of years.

That said, there’s a lot of talk in the media these days about threats to the environment, and whether the EPA will survive our current political climate.

Without getting overly dramatic – or political – about this state of affairs, here are some simple steps you can take to protect your health.

Starting today!

 

Knowledge is Power

What if government oversight of the environment and our food supply were to disappear overnight? What then?

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Gluten-Sensitivity & Celiac Disease – Should You Be Tested?

gluten free word with wood backgroundAre any of these symptoms common for you? (You might even know others who do.)

  • Digestive Complaints
  • Cramps, Bloating or Gas
  • Constipation
  • Diarrhea
  • Headaches or Migraines
  • Sinus Congestion
  • Joint Pain
  • Rash or Itching
  • Insomnia
  • Chemical Sensitivity
  • Memory Loss
  • Osteoporosis
  • Weight Gain
  • Mood Swings

While this list is by no means comprehensive, the thing to note is that NONE of these symptoms are NORMAL!

It’s also why it’s critically important to take a closer look at what you’re eating – and to know whether you have Celiac Disease – or non-celiac Gluten sensitivity.

While additional food sensitivities would also be great to test for, you want to rule out gluten first and foremost.

Here’s why:

Gluten-Related Disorders are known to be the cause behind almost every disease, or symptom within the human body – neurological disorders, such as dementia or Alzheimer’s disease, – especially anything related to your thyroid – plus common age-related diseases such as osteoporosis.

[Read more…]

The Myth of Weight Gain & What To Do About It

Calories LetterpressAre you swept up, once again, in the first-of-the-year weight-loss battle?

Post holidays, it’s not uncommon to be 5-10 pounds heavier than you were two weeks ago and frustrated (yet again) that yet another year has passed where you ate all this junky food and are feeling like crap from all the over-indulgence.

Chances are you’re also thinking about what to do to start losing that weight. (It’s why Gym memberships EXPLODE during January.) You’re going to start seeing all these Detox and Cleanse programs – with the emphasis on exercising more and reducing calories.

While that’s all well & good, there’s also an elephant in the room!

What if I told you that your struggles to lose weight aren’t so much about how much you’re eating, but rather WHAT you’re eating? And that the chemicals and other irritants in your environment can also have an enormous impact on your weight!

What’s toxic to your body?

If your normal diet is gluten-free, (maybe dairy-free as well) and you veered off that path, that alone can get you off track.

But maybe you didn’t stray. Maybe you did everything ‘right’ –  yet you still baked, and ate your share of seemingly safe holiday treats. In that case, you might simply have eaten more refined gluten-free flours and starches than you would normally eat, and are now feeling bloated and out of sorts. (Not to mention the additives and preservatives typically found in processed foods – whether gluten-free or not).

Add to this a simmering cocktail of chemicals like BPA found in plastic storage containers, water bottles, and store receipts! (you’ve likely read about this offender in the news)

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Mimics, Marauders & Masqueraders

Comedy and tragedyEver feel like there’s a lot of drama happening in your body?

I call these mimics, marauders and masqueraders. They’re present 24/7. The good news is that your immune system is beautifully designed to deal with these pranksters at a moment’s notice, through the.

However, sometimes your immune system gets confused. You might think it’s making a mistake, but the reality is that it’s simply doing what it’s designed to do – protect you. What’s really happening here is that some of these invaders are actually very clever,  mimicking or masquerading as something other than what they really are.

Let me explain.

 

Cross-Reactivity

As you may already know, gluten is a family of proteins found in wheat and is therefore present in any foods that are made from wheat – although it can sometimes appear in other guises, as well.

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Gluten-Sensitivity & Celiac Disease – Should You Be Tested?

gluten free word with wood backgroundDo you regularly experience any of these symptoms?

  • Digestive Complaints
  • Cramps, Bloating or Gas
  • Constipation
  • Diarrhea
  • Headaches or Migraines
  • Sinus Congestion
  • Joint Pain
  • Rash or Itching
  • Insomnia
  • Chemical Sensitivity
  • Memory Loss
  • Osteoporosis
  • Weight Gain
  • Mood Swings

Perhaps you know others who do?

While this list is by no means comprehensive, the thing to note is that NONE of these symptoms are NORMAL!

It’s also why it’s critically important to take a closer look at what you’re eating – and to know whether you have Celiac Disease – or non-celiac Gluten sensitivity.

While food sensitivities would also be great to test for, you want to rule out gluten first and foremost.

Here’s why:

Gluten-Related Disorders are known to be the cause behind almost every disease, or symptom within the human body – neurological disorders, such as dementia or Alzheimer’s disease, – especially anything related to your thyroid – plus common age-related diseases such as osteoporosis.

[Read more…]

The Myth of Weight Gain & What To Do About It

Calories LetterpressAre you swept up in the first-of-the-year weight-loss battle?

As we’ve established, it’s not uncommon post holidays to be 5-10 pounds heavier than you were two weeks ago and frustrated (yet again) that yet another year has passed where you ate all this junky food and are feeling like crap from all the over-indulgence. Chances are you’re likely thinking about what to do to start losing that weight. (It’s why Gym memberships EXPLODE during January.) You’re going to start seeing all these Detox and Cleanse programs – with the emphasis on exercising more and reducing calories.

While that’s all well & good, there’s also an elephant in the room!

What if I told you that your struggles to lose weight aren’t so much about how much you’re eating, but rather WHAT you’re eating? And that the chemicals and other irritants in your environment can also have an enormous impact on your weight!

What’s toxic to your body?

For starters, it’s all those additives and preservatives in the “fake” food you’ve been eating.

Add to this a simmering cocktail of chemicals like the BPA found in plastic storage containers, water bottles, and store receipts! (you’ve likely read about this offender in the news)

[Read more…]