HEALTH & WELLNESS

Mild, Medium or Hot – What’s It Gonna Be?

September 12, 2014 By Karen Leave a Comment

It sounds like a preference for hot sauce, I know.

Or better still – how do you like your Chinese take-out?

As you may have guessed, it’s none of the above.

Rather – “Do You Want Mild, Medium or Hot?“ – is one of the first questions I ask my private clients, because I want to know about your food preferences, and how “deep” you’re willing to go in the coaching process.

Of course, it’s a given that I’ll be looking closely at your diet and making recommendations on where I see room for change.

At the same time, I don’t want to suggest anything that you’re not at all comfortable with.

(Not right off the bat, anyway).

Hence the question.

After all, it’s my job as a coach to help you stretch and realize the possibilities for turning your health around.

(This means a constant back-and-forth and checking in with how you’re feeling, what’s working for you and what isn’t).

So – what’s it gonna be?

How deep are you prepared to go?

You want “Mild”?

[Read more…]

Filed Under: HEALTH & WELLNESS Tagged With: environment, healthy coach, hot, lifestyle, medium, mild, realize the possibilities

Can Juicing Make You Fat?

September 5, 2014 By Karen Leave a Comment

I’ve been making a lot of smoothies lately.

If I’m not in the mood for a smoothie, I’ll chop up a bunch of veggies and juice up a tall glass of green juice.

Whipping up a green smoothie, or juicing a tall glass of veggie goodness, seems to be all the rage lately.

And yes, I’ve been caught up in the excitement!

Do you have a preference?

For myself, I often prefer a smoothie to juicing – I like that the fiber stays intact (am I the only one who hates throwing all that nutritious fiber down the drain?) – plus I find it easier to clean a VitaMix than a juicer

Sometimes it’s a Green Smoothie, other times it’s a little less green, depending on the ingredients – it’s a little like mixing a palette of paint, to see what color you end up with.

On the flip side of things, there are many detractors to the juicing craze.

Bottom line – while certainly delicious, juicing may not always be the healthiest choice.

According to the experts, when you drink a glass of juice – especially if it’s mostly fruit – you’re really drinking nothing but a glass of sugar.

Are Your Kids Missing School?

August 29, 2014 By Karen Leave a Comment

Did you know that asthma in children is on the rise, resulting in a lot of missed school days?

(According to the latest statistics, more than 25 million people are affected.)

That’s a lot!

The likely culprit might surprise you even more – toxins in the environment.

Yes, you read that correctly.

The rise in asthma has been specifically correlated to a group of chemicals commonly referred to as VOC’s. (That stands for Volatile Organic Compounds).

Even the word volatile sounds scary, doesn’t it?

You might be wondering what that even means.

Well, you know how, when food has gone bad, it typically has a rather awful smell?

Think of VOC’s in the environment as being the household equivalent to rotten food.

So, just as you wouldn’t eat food that has obviously seen better days (gluten-free, or not) you really don’t want to surround yourself with chemicals that poison the air you breathe.

In fact, we now know that indoor air pollution can actually be 50% worse than outdoor air.

Are You Getting The Nutrients You Need?

August 22, 2014 By Karen Leave a Comment

Did you know that up to 50% of people with Celiac disease have multiple nutritional deficiencies?

This often holds true as much as ten years post diagnosis!

And it doesn’t even include those who are merely gluten-sensitive (as opposed to someone with Celiac disease) or allergic to other foods, such as dairy, nuts or eggs.

Yet, I know from personal experience, that it is, in fact – true.

One thing about being gluten-free, or following any kind of special, medically prescribed diet, is that you may not be getting the nutrients you need.

So, you definitely want to make sure you are!

How do you know where you stand, nutrition-wise?

Take time to review each of the following, and you will have a better idea of your present habits, and what likely needs a bit of work.

Eat a High Quality Diet

Hands down, good health begins with a whole foods diet.

Is Gluten Toxic?

August 15, 2014 By Karen Leave a Comment

The bigger question, of course, is “Do you have Celiac Disease?”

Or, “Do you have a gluten-related disorder, most often referred to as Non-Celiac Gluten Sensitivity – or Gluten Intolerance?”

Did you answer “yes” to either question?

In that case, gluten certainly is a toxin, at least to you.

If you’re one of the lucky ones who doesn’t appear to have a sensitivity to gluten – that doesn’t necessarily mean you’re completely off the hook.

According to Dr. Tom O-Bryan, who refers to himself as the Gluten-Free Doc, “Everyone should be checked for a gluten sensitivity. And if you have the celiac gene, you definitely want to be checked every two years or so. You might be fine now, but at some point you will likely cross the line.”

Why is that?

Is There A Frat Party In Your Gut?

July 25, 2014 By Karen Leave a Comment

Truth be told, while I’ve been to a number of Frat Parties in my day, I never actually drank the beer.

That’s because I never acquired a taste for it – not even to this day.

(As you can imagine, I was the life of the party.)

Perhaps this was my body’s way of telling me that gluten wasn’t my friend – long before I knew the first thing about Celiac Disease or gluten-sensitivity.

As you likely know, Frat parties have a reputation for being a bit on the wild side, with lots of drinking and misbehavior.

So, what does a Frat Party in your gut look like?

The key word, here, is “misbehavior”.

With that in mind, let me share with you 3 things I’ve learned about my own body over the past year:

Extremely low Stomach Acid

A Leaky Gut

Yeast Overgrowth

Sounds like a Frat Party for sure, doesn’t it?

Well, here’s the thing.

Meet Your Anti-Nutrients

July 22, 2014 By Karen Leave a Comment

Why anti-nutrients?

Because they rob nutrients from your body:

Gluten
Sugar
Alcohol
Caffeine
Processed Foods
Stress
Lack of Sleep
Overly processed Oils
Antibiotics
Eating the wrong foods for your unique physiology
Toxic overload
Over exercising (excessive exertion)

Does that last one surprise you?

The fact is, strenuous exercise is very stressful on your body. Not that surprising, really – we often feel the after-effects of exercise on our joints or muscles – a sure sign that we’ve overdone it.

It’s simply another type of stress that you might be dealing with – but it’s one you might not think of as stress.

Filed Under: HEALTH & WELLNESS Tagged With: alcohol, anti-nutrients, digestive healthy, gluten-free, processed foods, sleep antibiotics, stress, sugar

5 Simple Ways to Pamper Your Skin

July 4, 2014 By Karen Leave a Comment

Did you know that your skin is your largest organ?

Not only that, it’s also your body’s #1 defense against the outside world. And it gets more fascinating still – since you have both an outside skin, and an inside skin.

(That inside skin covers things like your digestive tract and your respiratory system – not necessarily something you would think about)

Back in the early days when I first went gluten-free, I attended a lecture that was geared toward gluten-free folks like you and me.

The presenter was very insistent that there was no need to be concerned about putting gluten-containing products on our skin.

He said it was virtually impossible for gluten in skin care products to be a problem – because we weren’t ingesting it.

At the time, I thought it made sense.

But guess what?

He was wrong!

While it’s true that we don’t ingest our toiletries or cosmetics – whatever we put on our skin does get absorbed.

And that’s important!

What’s Going On In There?

June 20, 2014 By Karen Leave a Comment

I was deep in conversation recently with a young woman, as she explained to me in earnest, how she was struggling with an over-production of stomach acid.

This had been causing her all kinds of problems.

(Since we were at a party, I’m actually not sure how we go off onto that tangent, but we did.)

After listening intently, I gently explained to her that high levels of stomach acid are actually exceedingly rare.

And I went on to explain that the likely culprit was more likely low stomach acid.

She was confused.

It’s a common myth, one you’ve likely heard yourself.

After all, the media bombards you all the time with messages of what you should do for heartburn.

And they always recommend an over-the-counter medication, to ease your symptoms.

The key word here is “symptoms”.

Because in the end, all that medication actually does is ease your symptoms – without addressing why you have this problem in the first place!

In order to find the problem, you need to first back things up – and look for the cause.

After all, there’s a reason you’re experiencing heartburn.

Going Gluten-Free? Don’t Make This Mistake!

June 13, 2014 By Karen Leave a Comment

Do you know what most people do, once they receive a diagnosis for Celiac Disease – or it’s better known cousin, Non-Celiac-Gluten-Sensitivity?

They go shopping, of course.

And that’s perfectly understandable.

For most of us, the first inclination is to purchase suitable replacements for everything we’re used to eating.

Things that include:

Bread

Crackers

Cereal

After all, a girls gotta eat, right?

Then again, a number of people have been known to go into a sort of hibernation – dreading that first trip to the market.

Instead, they focus on foods that are naturally gluten-free – things like nuts and seeds, all manner of fruits and vegetables, dairy (if permitted), eggs (again, if permitted), meat and poultry, legumes and a few safe grains.

And you know what?

[Read more…]

Filed Under: EAT, HEALTH & WELLNESS Tagged With: #1 mistake, Celiac disease, gluten sensitivity, gluten-free, GPS, leaky gut, trade-offs