All I can say is that I absolutely love this—it’s worth taking 17 minutes to watch. It seems to reiterate that all I ever needed to know I learned in kindergarten! Nothing beats transparency and honesty.
One year ago on Ash Wednesday, I vowed to officially go gluten and dairy free and finally practice what I was preaching. I had been limiting gluten and dairy for years before but would ultimately end up cheating every 3-4 weeks with occasional pizza/cake/ nachos etc. So last year I gave it the 40day test and I was amazed at how great I felt. I lost weight, my energy and brain fog improved, my skin cleared up and my mood seemed great! Mind you , I wasn’t grain free all together and was still eating some brown rice and corn. I also wasn’t completely cognizant of all the hidden doses of gluten were stashed in food. Overall, I felt pretty proud of kicking diet cola, gluten and dairy. I would do it all over again in an instant. But, I got weak and lazy after Easter and gradually added back the dreaded cheese. I’m talking the factory farmed stuff too–not the organic goat stuff. However, when I did add the dairy —the weight came back instantly (proving to myself that I am one of those victims of molecular mimicry) that can’t tolerate casein.
The year was successful and I was able to kick gluten for good (I only cheated once with Coors Light at the Dave Matthews concert).
I was still doing some grain and dairy.
So today I am starting the official grain free/dairy free diet again and am anxious to keep you updated on the results —
So far for breakfast I’ve had a spinach/mushroom/pepper/onion omelette with NO CHEESE and iced tea–lunch was a salad with only veggies/chicken and NO RANCH DRESSING.
I’m still alive!
I’ll keep you posted!
Our spirits dwell in a beautiful vessel that should be treated well -So it’s about time I get over myself and start relishing my health.
–What are you going to give up that isn’t serving you??? Leave your thoughts in the comments below
I was listening to the healthy gut summit presentations today and they touched upon a very important point that I think needs to be addressed. That point is that the Paleo diet is a hoax? There are many different Paleo diets and frankly -none of them are anywhere close to what our paleolithic ancestors would have eaten. We see two schools of thought; those that call it a fad diet and those who honestly believe that it is the cure for a significant number of diseases.
There doesn’t seem much doubt that it is a fad diet. As a society, we tend to latch onto the latest diet trend that’s been presented and most of us don’t understand the underlying fundamentals of the diet research (if there are any). We treat a fad diet as all or nothing and perceive that it should be suggested for an entire population of people. This simply isn’t true. There’s no diet that is actually good for everybody. Think about different climates and daily environments we exist in are highly variable. This is no different from in the Paleolithic era. The type of foraging, meat and vegetable consumption greatly depends on the of availability of the plant life, and the climate and animals in the area. Research shows that some of our Paleolithic ancestors did eat grains and legumes. Just look at mortar and pestal from that era that were obviously used to grind down grains.
The Paleo diet is a great diet for one reason –it cuts out all processed foods. This diet is a whole,real food-based diet. Whether were eating more meat or cutting out legumes, we are vastly improving the plant-based component of our diet and cutting out junk carbs. I can’t argue with that. The biggest point I make is that our society’s food supply is based on processed foods that are stripped of the vital nutrients and minerals. So is any Paleo diet actually Paleo? NO of course not. You wouldn’t have seen a caveman walking around carrying a Paleo Kind bar. The berries, seeds, and vegetables that were forging for are nowhere near the equivalent of the berries we buy at the supermarket.
Here’s a great presentation based on some real science of what Paleolithic ancestors were actually eating.
Just you watch this quick TEDTalk that is a thorough evaluation of why the Paleo diet is a hoax.
No single diet is good an the entire population people. There many factors that come into play. Our gut microbiome is incredibly important as well. We are just now beginning to discover this huge complex microrganism community that plays such a huge role in our immune health. I do like the Paleo diet because it’s a clear concise diet shows you exactly what to eat based only on real food. I do recommend this to a lot of my patients because the Paleo diet in of itself is probably 90% better than what most of us are eating right now. #JERF Just eat real food!!!
So I just found out about this FREE online summit that starts tomorrow. Sorry for the short notice! I am definitely going to register tonight. The talks all start tomorrow so I’ll be listening to the first podcast tomorrow morning on the way into work . Here is the preview banner—-
Are you one of 70 million people suffering from digestive diseases in the United States? You might be… and not even know your gut is the cause! Join me at The Healthy Gut Summit, February 9-16, online and free to learn more! Register HERE
32 reasons how your digestive health is intimately linked to your immune, endocrine, circulatory and central nervous systems… which impact physical, mental and emotional wellbeing! Healthy Gut Summit, online and free from February 9-16. Join me! Register HERE
Did you know? Gut health impacts our most basic physiological processes–including how we think and behave–it’s the foundation for physical, mental and emotional wellbeing. Learn more at The Healthy Gut Summit, online and free from February 9-16.
Here is your last chance—
So I listened to a great old podcast of Alexandra Jamieson’s about winter foods. I am reading her new book ” Women, Food, and Desire” right now and wanted to hear a little more of her work. You may remember her from the award-winning documentary “Super Size Me” in which she was the co-star with her ex-husband. Since then she has an amazing transformation story and outlines a lot of that in her new book and on the pod cast she does with Sean Croxton from Undergroundwellness.com.
Anyhow, I really love some of the points that she makes about our food choices in the winter and our New Years weight loss goals. She suggests that we actually sabotage our weight loss efforts in these New Year resolutions by trying to diet with foods that aren’t in season and are to cooling to the body.
For instance —we often reach for a smoothie in the am with lots of frozen fruits and then do salads for lunch. Our bodies in the winter are in hibernation mode –they don’t want those cooling foods like bananas, grapefruit, and cold salads. Our body wants to metabolize warming foods. It is more natural for the body’s internal environment. Here is a short list of Warming Foods—
Anise
Basil
Carob
Cumin
Chives
Cinnamon
Cloves
Coriander
Dates (and most dried fruit)
Dill
Fennel
Garlic
Ginger
Ginseng
Honey
Kumquat
Leeks
Mustard greens
Nuts
Oats
Onion
Papaya
Parsley
Parsnips
Pepper (black, Chile, red bell, green bell)
Quinoa
Rosemary
Rutabaga
Scallions
Seeds
Tea
Vinegar
Wasabi
Watercress
Wild rice
Here is a copy of the book–I’m about 1/2 way through and I really like it. It really puts emotions, cravings and eating into a different perspective
While browsing Facebook I came across a college sorority sister that has started a juice detox this week to start of the New Year. She bought a pre-made 3 day juice cleanse from Le Nectar –a new juicing bar here in town located on the Northside next to Tulip Noir. There are several different spots here in town where you can purchase fresh juice including Georgetown Market, EarthFare, and Natural Born Juicers just to name a few. However I am incredibly poor after the holiday season considering my children are now of the age where gifts require a more significant monetary investment than in the early years. So I am now inspired to dust off my juicer that has been hibernating during the holidays and get back on board. A juicer is a bit of investment at first, however you will save a lot of money in the long run doing your own juicing . I came across a colleague’s article on the different types of juicers that was extremely informative and helpful and wanted to share that with you . Here’s the link that will explain the different types of juicers available along with the pros and cons.
http://www.juicingwithg.com/types-of-juicers/
Be sure to check out his BLOG as well.