Eat Well & Breathe Easy while honoring your Food Sensitivies
Do you have days when you feel frustrated and overwhelmed?
As if your life is simply out of control?
Truth is, we all have days like this.
In fact, I’d venture to say it’s a fact of life, especially in today’s fast-paced world.
Just think how easy it is to get sidetracked by work and family and outside obligations!
Unfortunately, this often means there isn’t enough time for YOU.
Well, it’s time to take back your power, my friend!
That’s right.
I’m putting YOU back in command!
Do you sometimes feel like there’s a lot of drama going on in your body?
With Halloween just two weeks away, it seems like the perfect time to explore this drama in greater depth, since these so-called mimics, marauders and masqueraders are present 24/7.
Yes, you read that correctly.
You see, even though your body is beautifully designed to deal with these pranksters at a moment’s notice, sometimes your immune system does make mistakes.
Or rather, we think of them as mistakes, but in all actuality, your immune system is simply doing what it’s designed to do.
And that is to protect you.
So, 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.
And the immune system gets confused.
Let me explain.
Do you have Celiac Disease?”
Or, perhaps the bigger question is “ “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? [Read more…]
Have you ever been in this situation?
You’re at a restaurant, watching the person next to you devour a pile of crisp sweet potato fries.
They look SO tempting.
In that moment – what would you do?
Would you reach over and grab one, without a moment’s thought?
Which of the following outcomes best describes you?
Do you see yourself in any of these sceanrios?
Of course, if you answered (C) – that is the correct answer! [Read more…]
Do 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.
A pair of female feet standing on a bathroom scale
Let me guess.
You’re probably thinking that only food can make you fat.
It all has to do with eating too much, right?
Along with not getting enough exercise.
What if I told that isn’t the whole story?
What if I told you that losing weight has more to do with WHAT you’re eating, rather than how much?
And what if food wasn’t the only culprit?
Surprise, surprise!
It turns out that many of the chemicals hidden in the household products you’re using every single day – actually have the ability to add to your waistline.
How is that even possible?
Do you ever have days where you’re feeling super forgetful?
Like not remembering the name of your favorite book, or movie, or that ‘thingy’ you’ve been meaning to buy for weeks – what was that called again?
Maybe you’ve realized that the lines have blurred over the sequence leading up to an event that – even though it happened years ago, used to be so clear in your mind.
A ‘Brian Williams’ moment, if you will.
Then again, maybe you’re thinking one thing, but the words don’t come out quite right.
What the heck is that all about?
Are you losing your mind?
Picture this.
A friend whom I hadn’t seen in awhile, exclaimed upon seeing me – that I looked about 20.
Of course, I was pleasantly surprised and secretly quite pleased to hear this.
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.
Of course, I doubt that I REALLY look like a 20 year old. (When I look in the mirror, I’m as critical as the next person).
[Read more…]
There’s a lot of talk in the media these days about toxicity – both in the environment and in your body.
What’s that you say – your body isn’t toxic at all?
I hear you!
It’s a hard concept to wrap your brain around – and perhaps, you’d rather bury your head in the sand.
But I invite you to think again!
And yes – I totally get it.
It CAN be overwhelming!
Unfortunately, we live in a time when every single human on the planet has been exposed to environmental chemicals.
There’s simply no getting around it.
Some will argue that the human body is perfectly capable of dealing with these environmental toxins entirely on it’s own – and there is some truth to that.
However, the majority of chemicals that we’re exposed to in our present world, weren’t around one hundred years ago.
(Not even fifty years ago, for that matter).
Why is that a problem?
Don’t you just love vacations?
Or, do you find vacations and travel challenging – especially when it comes to navigating your special dietary needs at hotels and restaurants?
It can be challenging, no question about it!
However, after awhile, it usually becomes second nature – once you’ve learned to recognize some of the common pitfalls you’ll want to watch out for.
As it happens, I’ve just wrapped up a ten-day vacation in Eastern Washington – which for me means piling everything in the car and hitting the road.
It’s a perfect way to travel!
The great thing about a road trip, in my humble opinion, is that you can take everything you need with you – without having to deal with limits on excess baggage, or airport security.
And for anyone who has Celiac Disease, or is dealing with food allergies, that makes a road trip ideal.
Because you can simply bring everything along, relying on local grocery stores to stock up on fresh produce and whatever else you might need.
Of course, that also means you might not exactly be traveling light.
In fact, if you’re like me, the words “travel light” might not be in your DNA.
But that’s exactly what makes a road trip so ideal!
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