Our bodies are stressed out these days from all of the exposure it gets on a daily basis:  toxic drugs (including sugar, caffeine and excess alcohol), lack of sleep, medications that strip the body of nutrients,  metals in our: antacids, baking soda (aluminum), calcium supplements (lead), vaccinations (mercury), dental fillings (mercury), toxic environmental chemicals from factories, additives and toxins in our foods (pesticides), toxic molds and electromagnetic waves (microwaves, cell phones, electrical wires).   The list goes on and on.  If there’s ever a time that our body needs more support on an around clock, daily basis, it is NOW. 

The easiest way to give the body the support it needs is to feed it consistently with nutrient dense foods.  The old saying ‘you are what you eat’ is entirely true.   Our body responds favorably when we put nutritionally dense foods in our body on a consistent basis. Nutritionally dense foods include:  vegetables and fruits (known as carbohydrates), protein sources (meat, fish (more on the right fish in the following post), and  organic eggs), healthy fats (safflower, olive, sunflower oils, heavy cream and even organic butter).   At every meal these three macronutrients (fats, protein, carbohydrates) should be consumed in a ratio that’s suitable to you and your metabolic type.  The macronutrients provide all of the vitamins, amino acids and fatty acids that you need to fight off inflammation and strengthen the body’s ability to restore and repair.  What we put into our mouths in a twenty-four hour period affects how our body responds. Optimal nutrition feeds our brain giving it the approval to absorb all of the raw materials it needs to foster the structure of brain cells and to keep all communications open and functioning at best.  

When bodies are stressed they become depleted in nutritional deficiencies: fatty acids, Vitamin Ds, A and Ks, B vitamins, amino acids.  Without these nutrients cells die and overall wellness declines.   As a FDN practitioner I do support the client by assessing potential nutritional deficiencies and giving the tools necessary to boost those deficiencies on an as needed basis.  I also assist the client in identifying what ratio of carbohydrates, proteins and fats will give them the long-term support that their body needs.

If there’s anything to take from this article it is ‘Become what you eat’.    Begin to focus on what you put into your mouth every time you consume food.   Optimal nutrition will serve your body right and give your body the tools it needs to support restore and repair.   Eat healthy, Be Healthy.

Be well,

Lynn

FDN stands for Functional Diagnostic Nutrition®.  Sounds like a mouthful, eh?  In simpler terms FDN merges the mindset behind clinical nutrition with functional medicine.  Allow me to break it down and explain it further.

Clinical nutrition is the study of the relationship between food and a healthy body.  Nutritionists are interested in how food works in the body and the effects of the environment on the quality and safety of foods.  Functional medicine is the study of addressing the underlying causes for illness.  Rather than focusing on the symptoms themselves, functional medicine practitioners look at the root of the problems.  It uses a scientific basis, applying functional labs, to help assess the current function of the body.   It then does two things:

1.  Identifies the irritants and assists the client in removing them

2.  Identifies the healing opportunities and offers the support needed.

An FDN practitioner essentially is doing all of the above.  As said by one of my great mentors, Reed Davis,

“Functional Diagnostic Nutrition (FDN) is a type of detective work that seeks to identify the underlying causes of disease instead of treating symptoms. Using functional lab work, we identify healing opportunities and engage each client in a health building process using the potent, proven, professional protocols in our D.R.E.S.S. for Health Success program. This includes Diet, Rest, Exercise, Supplements and Stress Reduction. This natural, holistic approach yields the highest level of positive clinical outcomes. We don’t medicate, we educate!”

Here are some of the assessment tools that we use to identify healing opportunities:

Metabolic Typing Diet – find out what foods you need that are specific to you

Hormone Imbalances

Immune Imbalances

Digestive Imbalances

Detoxification Imbalances

Genetic Potential

Chemical Imbalances

Inflammatory Issues

 and more as needed. 

Always feel free to contact me with any questions or comments.

Be well,

Lynn

Do muffins, pastries, breads, pasta and even white potatoes attract you at most meals?  If so, you are not alone.  The average American eats over 130 pounds of sugar a year.   Sugar is a byproduct that results from a breakdown of eating either straight sugar or refined carbohydrates.  It can be found in a lollipop as well as in your cans of tomato sauce, breakfast cereals, rice mixes and even in meats.  Sugar is added in many savory dishes to ‘enhance’ the flavors and keep the customers coming back for more.

A recent scientific study by Harvard University has proven that the body responds in a heightened manner to sugar: it becomes excited and then crashes.  A group of men were given two different milkshakes on two different occasions and had their brains scanned immediately following.  Both milkshakes contained the same amount of calories: carbohydrates, protein and fats.  One had sugar and one did not.  The findings concluded that when the ‘sugared’ milkshake was consumed the addiction center of brain responded similar to how it would to heroine or cocaine: excited and then deflated creating a craving for more.  Some studies have even proven that sugar is eight times more addictive than cocaine. 

With the average American consuming 22 teaspoons of sugar per day and the teen consuming 34 teaspoons per day, there is much supporting evidence that sugar is addicting. 

Dr. Mark Hyman is a functional medicine doctor that addresses all health problems with a wholistic approach.  He appeared on CBS THIS MORNING to discuss the study and how to begin breaking the sugar addiction.  You can watch him here

http://drhyman.com/blog/2013/06/28/are-you-addicted-to-carbs/

What to do?

1.  Cook only pure foods: protein, carbohydrates and use healthy fats such as oils, nuts and seeds.

2.  ALWAYS read ingredients.  Over 80% of the processed foods that Americans are eating contain hidden sugars (such as Prego tomato sauce).

3.  Consume nutritious carbohydrates: fruits, vegetables; proteins: unprocessed meats, organic eggs, fish, tofu; fats: nuts, seeds, oils.

Just by making a few small efforts we can greatly reduce our sugar intake.

Be well,

Lynn
 

Angelina Jolie’s double mastectomy has brought additional focus on genes and cancer. Why would anyone cut off a part of their
body when it is healthy just because they are afraid they “might” get cancer?

Genomics is the study of the environment and its effects on genes.  Genetics is a hot topic these days since genetic codes can be drawn from a simple saliva test.  Yes genes cannot change but the environment and its effect on those genes can.

Dr Gant has practiced Integrative and Functional Medicine for over 35 years and is the Chairman and Chief Medical Officer at the Academy of Functional Medicine  and Genomics where subjects such as this are studied. He is one of my mentors and responded to the concerns surround the BRCA gene variance.

Read Dr. Gant’s science-based perspective here:

Is a BRCA Gene Mutation Really a Death Sentence?

Be well,

Lynn

That’s how we all felt when vacationing outside of the Adirondack State Park these last 2 weeks.  All eight of us family members arrived at our cottage on the lake with our laptops, iPads, iPods and Kindles to learn that there would be no means to use them.  We couldn’t call out, text or receive messages on our cell phones and the internet seemed to be available at a minimim, at least on the first day of arrival.  It made me realize just how dependent we are on satellites, towers and being connected, that is, technologically. 

After digesting the fact that technology was only offered at a minimum we rekindled the traditional ways of connecting: using a land line to make necessary phone calls,  playing board games, solitaire with a deck of cards, telling stories, reading books made of paper, canoeing, swimming in the lake, having water fights and watching fireflies at night.    We may have had limited connection with the outside world but we strengthened the connection on the inside by simply enjoying the time spent with each other. 

There are discussions about the dangers of chronic exposure to EMFs (Electromagnetic Fields) which I’ll save for another blog.  Regardless of my position on EMFs, I was reminded from this experience that being connected on a personal level, rather than a technological level,  is irreplaceable. 

From my experience to you: periodically turn off electronics and cell phones and pull out a board game and invite those around you to join in, play a game of cards, read a book or just relax. 

Be well,

Lynn