EAT

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

W Is For Weakest Link

November 17, 2017 By Karen Leave a Comment

Halloween is behind us, yes – so why the pink wig?

After all, isn’t November about pumpkins, turkey and gratitude, as evidenced by Thanksgiving preparations?

For anyone with food sensitivities – diagnosed or not – the holidays can present a landmine of challenges. (Challenges or Opportunities? I’ll let you decide….)

Could you be one of those ‘unlucky’ ones, doomed by your genetic blueprint?

Here’s the ONE BIG take-away I have for you today: your genes are completely malleable!

Yes, its true! Your genes literally get turned ‘ON’ or ‘OFF’ by various things in your environment, be it from food, lack of sleep or chemical exposure. This is where personal vulnerability comes in – as in “W is for Weakest Link”.

As you’ll discover in this video, your ‘weakest link’ could be your:

Thyroid
Hormones
Joints
Gut
Brain
Weight

What will it be for YOU? (Of course, it’s a bit of a catch-22, since you won’t actually know until symptoms appear).

To learn more, & receive the most up-to-date, in-depth information regarding all things related to Gluten Sensitivity, Autoimmune Disease, Inflammation & more – be sure to watch my educational video series “A Gluten Primer – Everything You Wanted to Know From A – Z“. It’s available FREE on my bi-weekly newsletter, but you can have immediate access to all 26 videos – plus a full, 2-hour Tutorial here.

Filed Under: EAT, HEALTH & WELLNESS Tagged With: A Gluten Primer A-Z, autoimmune disease, brain health, Celiac disease, digestion, gluten sensitivity, gut, hormones, inflammation, thyroid, weakest link, weight

Are You Vulnerable?

November 10, 2017 By Karen Leave a Comment

Growing up, I thought I was fairly invincible.

This would explain the concussion at age 8, from falling off my bike. (I was trying to stand on the handle bars).

It would also explain the ski accident four years later that put me in a cast for several months.

(While you might still find me on the slopes, I’ve never again skied downhill quite so fast).

When it came to food, I thought I had an ‘iron stomach’.

I was extremely proud of the fact that I could eat pretty much anything.

Fast forward a good many years, and things have definitely changed. In fact, the older I get, the more vulnerable I seem to be.

How did that happen? Perhaps you’ve even noticed this in yourself – and your seemingly ‘sudden’ sensitivities to gluten, and other foods – which have led you to a somewhat restricted diet.

Why would the foods you’ve always loved – and have eaten all your life – no longer agree with you?

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?

Do You Have A Shag Carpet?

October 27, 2017 By Karen Leave a Comment

Warning: while it’s true that I’ve been known to dabble in interior design, this is NOT a post about choosing the best carpet for your home.

Just saying.

Rather, it’s about those little soldiers that line the entire surface of your small intestine – that have the appearance of little shags because they literally look like shag carpeting!

The medical term for those little soldiers is “villi”, a key part of the immune system in your gut.

Their job is to be super vigilant about any intruders that might enter your digestive tract, and dispose of them immediately.

When they’re doing their job properly, they’re readily visible – waving about in the breeze.

However, as most anyone with Celiac Disease can tell you, what’s happened is that those villi have completely worn down – and totally atrophied.

So now you have Berber.

Berber carpeting is flat – when this happens, the villi are no longer able to do their job.

U Is For Unaware

October 20, 2017 By Karen Leave a Comment

This past weekend, I listened to an amazing interview with Joe Cross.

In case his name doesn’t ring a bell, Joe Cross is the hero of Fat, Sick & Nearly Dead – he turned his life around by going on a juice fast.

As he puts it, the food you put in your body is information. If you’re starving yourself of the RIGHT fuel (aka food), is it any surprise that things go wrong?

The thing is, 70% of all disease is caused by lifestyle choices – not your genes!

What are those choices? They include things like: what you eat and drink, what your sleep patterns are, how much exercise you get (or not), whether you smoke – and also how you manage stress.

Which leads me to this question:

How connected are YOU to how you’re living your life?

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.

T Is For Testing

October 6, 2017 By Karen Leave a Comment

Have you been trying to get answers for your health issues?

Perhaps your doctor has told you there’s nothing wrong with you (translation: it’s all in your head).

Or perhaps he ran some tests for gluten sensitivity – only to have them come back negative (but you suspect otherwise).

You may have been given some pills, and a few words of advice, and sent home with little more than a pat on the back.

Your intuition is screaming “NO” to medication.

You know that something’s been overlooked – whether it’s coming from your diet, or something in your home you’ve yet to identify.

And it’s making you sick.

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

September 29, 2017 By Karen Leave a Comment

Take 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:

S Is For Symptoms

September 22, 2017 By Karen Leave a Comment

Got symptoms? If so, I’m really happy for you!

I don’t mean to sound snarky. But the fact is, if you’re dealing with various bodily symptoms – it really IS a good thing!

Why?

Because, it means your body is talking to you.

It’s trying to tell you something – along the lines of “I don’t like what you’re doing to me, so knock it off.”

The thing about gluten-sensitivity – and the reason I’m teaching all about it in A Gluten Primer – Everything You Wanted to Know From A-Z – is that it’s known to be the trigger behind upwards of 300 different symptoms and illnesses!

This includes autoimmune disease, inflammation, intestinal permeability (aka leaky gut), and lots more.

Even neurological disorders, as referenced in this study.

If it surprise you to learn that sensitivity to gluten is NOT limited to the gut, here’s another interesting fact: up to 50% of people with celiac disease have NO digestive symptoms whatsoever! (Because it’s manifested elsewhere in your body.)

For this very reason we say it is ‘Systemic’. It’s also why S is for Symptoms and Systemic inflammation.

Cause it literally feels like your body’s been hacked.

Filed Under: EAT, ENVIRONMENT, HEALTH & WELLNESS, HEALTHY AGING Tagged With: autoimmune disease. Gluten Primer A-Z, Celiac disease, gluten sensitivity, gluten-free, health, immune system, inflammation, neurological, symptoms, systemic