Archive for February, 2015

When nutrition isn’t enough

February 26th, 2015 Lynn

There are numerous schools of thought when it comes to health.  The allopathic medical profession, integrative physicians, naturopaths, nutritionists, vegans, paleo followers, and so on may vary on approaches to wellness but ultimately agree that a shift in nutrition can and do improve symptoms.   Eating a clean, organic, grass fed, low to no sugar diet can reduce the internal stress on the body.  But is that enough?

Often times, a “new” diet may not be everything that the body needs. It can in fact create a biochemical shift with reactions in the body, but it may not be enough.  Infections, nutritional deficiencies, malabsorption, heavy metals, toxicity and compromised metabolic pathways are obstacles that may prevent the body from responding positively to a shift in diet. 

Some of you more aversed health readers may question this thought process.  What about the high fat ketogenic diet? Or the “juicing” Gerson Therapy?  Both of these therapies have created immense results.     First, these specific therapeutic diets do involve mineral/vitamin supplementations and are not strictly a food diet.  Second, a highly specific fat diet can benefit many of the biochemical pathways but may not support any obstacles in detoxification.  My son was on the classical ketogenic diet: EVERY food item was weighed on a gram scale and recipes were calculated through an online calculator. Yet his seizures persisted and increased. Once we addressed his detoxification pathways with highly targeted supports, his seizures resolved.  I’ve also had clients that have been on very clean diets but heavy metals prevented the healing process, autoimmune symptoms resolved when infections were identified,  mental health issues responding positively with amino acids identified to support pathways.  In all of these chronic illnesses, nutrition wasn’t enough. 

As a functional diagnostic nutrition practitioner my position is to identify the tools that the body needs to heal.   I do this by simply looking at two aspects:

  1. what’s irritating the body
  2. what resources the body needs

Nutrition is only one of many modalities.  Highly targeted supplementation, accupuncture, chiropractic, mental health, neurofield work, N.A.E.T., biofeedback, homeopathy and much more are other means to support the healing the process.  Specific diagnostic tests can help in identifying what is interfering in the body’s ability to heal and what supports are needed.

Nutrition is often the main ingredient to wellness, but there are many circumstances when it’s not enough. 

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I eat that food all of the time and it doesn’t bother me…

February 23rd, 2015 Lynn

I hear this comment often from my clients, at least initially. 

I’ve written about the power of identifying  food sensitivities.  A food that is consumed consistently can serve one of two purposes. The first and more preferable outcome is that the food is digested and the nutrients and waste are directed through the proper channels.  The alternative outcome is the food is identified as “foreign” in the body, antibodies unfold and a battle ground is created resulting in chronic inflammation.  The latter is an often time silent process, rather than an immediate cause and effect.

How an individual manifests this inflammatory response is highly individual.  It can manifest into migraines, chronic pain, aches, swelling, vomiting, digestive issues, sleep issues, hormonal problems, fatigue, neurological disorders and so much more. 

When a client consumes a sensitive food consistently, the body becomes “conditioned” or “de-sensitized” to the ongoing crisis.  It’s been a gradual process so the person becomes unaware of the ongoing damage.  It’s not until the food has been fully eliminated for an extended period of time that the body becomes “sensitized”.  It relaxes from the ongoing battle.  When the food is reintroduced, BAM! The response hits and the person realizes that in fact the food is a problem.

Just because you eat a food consistently doesn’t mean it is the right food for your body.  Identifying foods that create an inflammatory response in the body can bring a client many steps closer to healing. 

Check out my Total Transformation Programs here.

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Which alcohol has the least toxins?

February 13th, 2015 Lynn

beer-wine-cocktail-copyWe all fear the hangover understanding that alcohol should be drank in moderation, not in excess.  I often get questions about alcoholic drinks “can I enjoy a glass of wine, or a beer occasionally”. My answer is typically ‘it depends’.  If you are on a therapeutic diet with the intentions to heal then I wouldn’t encourage an alcoholic beverage through the healing period.  But if you are striving to improve your nutrition and are generally on a maintenance diet then I would answer “yes, occasionally”.   I think we all understand that alcohol in general is not good for the liver as it converts to aldehyde, the most damaging alcohol toxin AND is the metabolite responsible for hangovers. YUK!

So what alcoholic beverages produce the least amount of toxic byproduct after fermentation?  Here’s the list, from best to worst: 

Vodka: it’s made from a grain but after distillation is pure alcohol

Gin: it’s made from a grain and juniper berries.

Tequila: made from a plant which unfortunately is high in sugar BUT is mostly eradicated through the distillation process.

Whiskey: made from grains which increases the toxicity byproduct

Dry cider: grain free but can stimulate yeast overgrowth so caution.

Dry champagne: true French champagne is typically low in sugar but opt for Brut.

Dry white wine: lower in mold toxins than other wines but still unfiltered.

Red wines: high in yeast and unfiltered adding stress to your liver and kidneys.

Beer: sadly, beer contains the most amount of grains, yeast and toxins from the grains (pre-distillation) making it highly toxic.

Keep in mind that adding sugar (fruit juice, syrups, etc) to vodka, for example, will increase the toxic load and push it way down the list.  What are other ideas to replace the sugars? Add soda water, fresh limes, fresh lemons, olives, bacon, jalapenos, sea salt and so on.

Enjoy the holidays.

Be well,

Lynn

 

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Are you chasing symptoms?

February 12th, 2015 Lynn

Symptoms-ExperiencedYou’ve visited your doctor with complaints: fatigue, weight gain, loss of libido, sleep problems, digestive issues, hormonal, depressed, fogginess, cold, body aches, irritable… you get the idea.  The physician will assess these areas of complaints by addressing the symptoms:  sleep problems- a sleep pill; depression- an anti-depressant; hormonal issues- a birth control pill; an anti-inflammatory for the aches and so on.  This means may target the symptoms and may even offer relief care; all of which you need.  But is it?

Symptoms are an expression of the body telling you that something isn’t working right. And when we don’t pay attention to the first symptoms, others follow.  Attempting to quell symptoms is like trying to put a band-aid over a nail in your foot.  The nail remains and so do the symptoms.  All the bandaid offers is a ‘cover up’.    Allow me to explain further.

The body has a built in de-stressing system.  When it’s tapped on a chronic level, fatigue sets in, the thyroid is instructed to work harder, sleep becomes less of a priority and therefore the body can’t repair, sleep affects appetite and weight gain, the digestive system becomes cranky and smelly, and chats constantly with the brain (foggy thinking?), the enteric nervous system that regulates mood resides in the digestive system so irratibility sets in and the sex hormones get stolen to support the de-stressing system so there are none left to enjoy lovemaking.  No wonder you feel like crap and all the symptom-chasing pills will not support your needs.

Are you chasing symptoms? Get to the root cause.  I can help.

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Have you earthed today?

February 4th, 2015 Lynn

photoFor thousands of years humans and animals have lived in direct connection with the earth.  We originally lived in caves, slept on dirt, walked barefoot and ate directly from the earth.  We have evolved into much more lavish (and more comfortable) standards of living.  We live layers above ground, with at least one floor dividing us from the earth, add synthetic flooring and carpet, wear man-made soles, and walk on asphalt.   And during this evolution we’ve seen more inflammation and illness surface in humans: earlier onset of dis-eases, sickness and compromised immunity. 

Is there a connection? According to *Joseph Mercola, D.O. there is.  The earth is an infinite number of electrons – running at a slightly negative charge.  This is scientific.  And when the body is connected directly to the earth it becomes fully charged and balanced. Why is this you ask? Simply put, the body is a conducter.  The body when in direct contact with the earth becomes fully charged and balanced.  But when a person wears synthetic soles, or walks on layers between themselves and the dirt, there is no connection.  The further the body is from the earth, the greater the charge on the body. 

Static electricity sound familiar? Immune system compromised?  Get grounded: be in connection with the earth. Put your feet in the sand, walk outside on the dirt barefoot and lie on the grass.  

Be well,

Lynn

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