Category Archives: Diet

Diet, Diet & Nutrition

Making Grains Great Again

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Have you ever heard how people from the US go to Italy, eat pizza, bread and pasta and have none of the bloating, weight gain or fatigue? Then, how Italians come to the US, eat the same foods but gain 10-20 lbs, feel terrible and have to quit eating their usual diet altogether?

It’s all about the kind of grain and how the grain is processed! In the US, we refine, bleach and strip our grains of all nutritional value so it lasts longer on the shelves. There is also the concern of the pesticides used as well as the genetic modification. By the time, our flour, breads, and pastas are put on the shelves for sale, they are hardly a real food! In fact, most breads and pastas have to be fortified to be legally considered a food.

Flour powder bowl

For the record, I do not consider grains an essential part of a human-specific diet. Moreover, if you are needing to lose excess fat, grains need to be fully eliminated as they are still a carbohydrate source of energy. However, for those who’ve earned a treat and want to occasionally dip into the fun world of grains…Unrefined grain is the way to go!

Book Recommendation: “Grain Brain” by Dr. Perlmutter, MD

Unrefined Flour Will Set You Free

Unrefined flour, a hidden gem in the world of grains, holds an abundance of nutritional benefits that often go unnoticed. Unlike its refined counterpart, which undergoes extensive processing that strips away vital nutrients, unrefined flour retains the whole grain, including the germ, endosperm, and bran. This holistic approach to milling preserves the integrity of the grain, offering a wealth of health-promoting properties.

Unrefined flour is a nutritional powerhouse, boasting a rich array of essential nutrients. It is a significant source of:

  • Fiber: Aids digestion, promotes satiety, and helps regulate blood sugar levels. (Fiber is NOT an Essential in a human-specific diet.)
  • Vitamins: Abundant in B vitamins (thiamin, riboflavin, niacin, and folate), crucial for energy metabolism, nerve function, and cell growth.
  • Minerals: Rich in iron, magnesium, zinc, and selenium, essential for overall health and well-being.
  • Antioxidants: Contains antioxidants like ferulic acid, which protects cells from damage caused by free radicals.
  • Protein: most versions contain 10-13% protein.

Health Benefits of Unrefined Flour

Replacing your refined flour with unrefined flour into your diet offers a multitude of health benefits:

  • Improved Digestion: The abundant fiber content promotes regular bowel movements, reducing the risk of constipation and other digestive issues.
  • Reduced Risk of Chronic Diseases: The high fiber and antioxidant content has been linked to a lower risk of chronic diseases such as heart disease, stroke, and type 2 diabetes.
  • Stable Blood Sugar Levels: The slow-digesting nature of fiber helps regulate blood sugar levels, preventing spikes and crashes.
  • Enhanced Satiety: The fiber in unrefined flour promotes satiety, keeping you feeling fuller for longer and reducing overall calorie intake.
  • Improved Nutrient Absorption: The presence of the germ and bran in unrefined flour provides a source of essential nutrients that are often lost during refining.

Types of Unrefined Flour

Unrefined flour comes in various types, each with its unique flavor and nutritional profile:

  • Whole Wheat Flour: Made from the entire wheat kernel, it has a slightly nutty flavor and is a good source of fiber, vitamins, and minerals.
  • Einkorn Flour: the original grain that humans started with boasting a higher protein content and a fan-base of gluten sensitive people that can use this without a problem!
  • Spelt Flour: An ancient grain with a mild, slightly sweet flavor, it is high in protein and contains a range of vitamins and minerals.
  • Rye Flour: Made from rye berries, it has a slightly sour flavor and is a good source of fiber and B vitamins.
  • Oat Flour: Ground from whole oats, it has a mild, slightly nutty flavor and is high in soluble fiber, which helps lower cholesterol levels.
  • Buckwheat Flour: Made from buckwheat groats, it is gluten-free and a good source of protein, fiber, and antioxidants.

Incorporating Unrefined Flour into Your Diet

Incorporating unrefined flour into your diet is easy and versatile. Here are some tips:

  • Bread and Pastries: Use unrefined flour to make whole wheat bread, muffins, cookies, and other baked goods.
  • Pizza Crust: Create a flavorful and nutritious pizza crust using whole wheat or spelt flour.
  • Pasta: Swap out refined pasta for whole wheat or brown rice pasta made with unrefined flour.
  • Pancakes and Waffles: Start your day with a hearty breakfast by using unrefined flour in your pancake and waffle batter.

Choosing the Right Unrefined Flour

When choosing unrefined flour, look for the following:

  • Organic: Opt for organic flour to avoid exposure to pesticides and herbicides.
  • Whole Grain: Ensure the flour is labeled “whole grain” and contains the entire kernel.
  • Stone-Ground: Stone-ground flour retains more nutrients than roller-milled flour.
  • Fresh: Choose flour that has been recently milled to ensure optimal freshness and nutritional value.

My source is Farm2Flour right here in the USA! They use a regenerative farming method that is organic and freshly milled (stone milled) without any chemicals. You no longer have to order your flour from Italy! https://farm2flour.com

Debunking Myths about Unrefined Flour

There are several myths surrounding unrefined flour that can deter people from using it:

  • I am gluten-sensitive and can’t consume grains: It’s not always the gluten that is causing digestive and systemic symptoms of auto-immunity. These disorders were not present prior to modern processing. Unrefined grains are frequently found to not cause problems in people with gluten-sensitive and related disorders.
  • Unrefined Flour is Dense and Heavy: Whole wheat flour is slightly denser than refined flour, but it can still be used to make light and fluffy baked goods with the right techniques.
  • Unrefined Flour is Difficult to Digest: The fiber content in unrefined flour can be a concern for some people, but it is important to note that the fiber is soluble and insoluble, which aids digestion.
  • Unrefined Flour is Not as Versatile: Unrefined flour can be used in a wide variety of recipes, from bread to pastries to pasta. It offers a unique flavor and nutritional profile that can enhance any dish.

Final Thoughts: Embracing the Goodness of Unrefined Flour

Unrefined flour is a nutritional powerhouse that offers a wealth of health benefits. By incorporating it into your diet in place of regular store-bought flour, you can enjoy a more nutritious, balanced, and satisfying eating experience without the worry. Whether you choose whole wheat, Einkorn (the original grain,) spelt, rye, oat, or buckwheat flour, there is an unrefined option to suit every taste and dietary preference.

To keep it simple, I keep all-purpose unrefined wheat flour on the ready. I cycle in Einkorn as it’s simply amazing in all recipes.

Embrace the goodness of unrefined flour and unlock a world of culinary and nutritional possibilities!

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: What is the difference between unrefined and refined flour?
A: Unrefined flour retains the entire grain kernel, including the germ, endosperm, and bran, while refined flour has been stripped of these nutrient-rich components.
Q: Is unrefined flour gluten-free?
A: No, unrefined flour is not gluten-free unless it is made from a gluten-free grain like buckwheat or quinoa. Interestingly, many people who are gluten-sensitive find that they have NO problem with unrefined, organic grains.
Q: Can I substitute unrefined flour for refined flour in all recipes?
A: Yes, you can generally substitute unrefined flour for refined flour in most recipes. However, you may need to adjust the amount of liquid used as unrefined flour absorbs more moisture.
Q: How can I store unrefined flour?
A: Store unrefined flour in an airtight container in a cool, dry place. It is best to use it within 6 months to maintain its nutritional value.
Q: Is unrefined flour more expensive than refined flour?
A: Unrefined flour is generally a little more expensive than refined flour but very worth it in that you save money on decreasing your chance of medical problems and chronic disease.

Diet, Diet & Nutrition

The optimum human diet

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First you must understand that we are the only category of animal that does not adhere to a species-specific diet. Why? Keep reading…

Consider any other animal species, and you’ll find that they have a “diet” that is specific to their needs. One caveat to this would be our domesticated K9’s and felines – we’ve started to act as if these descendants of wolves and big cats need fresh table food much like what is marketed for humans! This adds more nutritional confusion as these animals have never had these foods in their ancestral diet. Dogs and cats don’t need carbs, veggies, or fruits – never have.

Why So Much Confusion About The Optimum Human Diet?

Yes, you are confused. Your information you have to make decisions about your diet comes from the marketplace (ads, commercials, advertised studies promoting certain foods,) and the marketplace does not inherently care about your health – it cares about profit. It’s not an evil plot or conspiracy, it’s simply demand.

Even the research many like to cite is mostly sponsored by organizations that desire profit, including research that is funded by big pharma which is used in medical school education. Most of what you have been told or taught comes from nutritional epidemiology studies which are now known to be completely flawed.

The over 800 studies the World Health Organization touts that prove meat is bad or a possible carcinogen are literally based on questionnaires that ask people about their eating habits. Interestingly, most of these studies consider eating a hamburger or slice of pizza “red meat consumption.” These two types of food have more grains/bread than meat. Moreover the ingredients in making the bread were not accounted for either. Have you ever seen the ingredients in a burger franchise bun?

Your physician is not trained in nutrition or nutritional intervention. Medical doctors are the highest trained in diagnosing and treating pathology.

Basically, modern medicine practitioners have 3 things to offer – medication, injection and surgery. This is not bad, it’s just not what’s needed to achieve and maintain optimum human health through diet. These 3 things come into play when you lose your health. For chronic disorders, the approach involves symptom management, not addressing the cause. Being that 90% of all chronic disease is related to diet, you’d think physicians would have such training, but that is not the case.

“The doctor of the future will give no medication, but will interest his patients in the care of the human frame, diet and in the cause and prevention of disease. ~ ”

Thomas A. Edison

For example, type 2 diabetes is a dietary disease. In medicine, practitioners are taught that this is a “progressive disease” for which there is no known cure. Medication management is designed to control insulin and blood sugar levels. Yet everyday, people are reversing their type 2 diabetes (restoring normal hemoglobin A1c levels) by engaging in dietary change – generally a low to very low carbohydrate approach. This makes sense – it’s a dietary disease so you fix it with diet!

Unfortunately, we in mainstream medicine are pinned into adhering to regulations set forth by governing bodies. These governing bodies have relationships with other such bodies – i.e. AMA with the USDA. When doing any nutritional counseling for Medicare patients, I have to document using the expression “per USDA guidelines.” These guidelines are what brought us to our current state of chronic illness in our country and around the world!

Myplate.gov gives you dietary guidelines and is basically a culmination of special interests that have worked deals with our government: the sugar industry, the grain industry, etc. It has nothing to do with research that is not sponsored for free of conflict of interest.

This is what the US government says your plate should look like. When in human history have we ever eaten that many grains, vegetables and fruits on a daily basis, multiple times a day? Answer: not until the last few decades!

Just looking at this plate shows that the US government wants us to eat about 70% plant-based and 30% animal-based foods. Interestingly, plant-based proteins are being promoted so you’re looking at a good 80% plant-based and 20% animal-based diet – The EXACT OPPOSITE of our healthier ancestors who had no heart disease, no cavities, no stroke, no diabetes, no cancer, no Alzheimers, and no auto-immune disease. They also had straight teeth with no cavities3, larger brains, and lived just as long if not longer!

Human Dietary Fact

For over 2 million years, humans ate mostly meat!1

Red meat is a nutrient dense food that is an important source of complete protein with all essential amino acids, highly bioavailable iron, zinc, selenium, and B vitamins, especially vitamin B12 in the diet. Some of these including iron and zinc are among the most common nutrient shortages around the globe.

Note that our brain size increased as we developed through our hunter-gatherer stages eating meat until we settled and developed agriculture about 10K years ago.

In fact, our brains have been shrinking since we settled and as meat consumption has decreased!2

Want to talk about fad diets? Veganism has only been around since the ’40’s, and Vegetarianism started in the mid 1800’s, These approaches that eliminate all or most animal-based foods yield a host of nutritional deficiencies as our species developed on animal-based nutrition for the greater part of 2 million years. These ideologies are not based sound nutritional principles, but they have a lot of support from the plant-based industry!

The Standard American Diet or the way we’re eating now is actually considered a fad when you consider it’s only been around about .01% of our entire existence on earth!

To take a step back from social media, sponsored media, dogma, and institutional-based nutrition education is a good way to see what’s true. At this time in history, we’ve essentially reversed the way we ate as early humans to get us to this point! This begs the question, “why change?!”

We did not change our diet based on problems with our predecessors. We changed our diet based on the market-place and profit. Simple as that. There is much more profit margin in grains than there is in beef or dairy. Moreover, the largest investor in plant-based initiatives and the largest farm land owner in the US is Bill Gates.

In total, Gates owns approximately 242,000 acres of farmland with assets totaling more than $690m.4 With his known talent for creating monopolies, you can all but guarantee you’ll see more and more advertising and sponsored research to support plant-based eating! At no point in human evolutionary history did we eat mostly plants.

Diet & Life Expectancy

Hong Kong takes the prize as of this writing with an average life expectancy of 85.29 years! Life expectancy in the US is currently 79.11 years.5 Interestingly, Hong Kong also ranks number 1 in meat consumption!6

India, a largely vegetarian country, has a life expectancy of 69.75 on average.

Is There a Problem with Meat?

Yes – we’re simply not eating enough as meat has been unfortunately vilified over the last 60 years. In fact, red meat consumption in the US has been on the decline since the 70s as chronic disease (heart disease, atheroscelorosis, diabetes, stroke, Alzheirmers, and auto-immune disease have been on the rise.)

Meat is not the problem, and it never has been since our species developed on earth! If meat was a problem, we would not have survived as a species, because that’s mostly what we ate for 2 million years.

The Actual Cause of Most Chronic Disease

To the contrary, as obesity and diabetes rates continue to skyrocket while consumption of red meat is dropping, we see a dramatic rise in the level of seed oil consumption. Vegetable and seed oils are not healthy fats as you are led to believe. They are highly processed, inflammatory substances that are not natural to our biology. In fact, they are implicated in many of our modern diseases.7 Don’t expect them to go away anytime soon as their consumption has dramatically increased in the last several decades. This 100 Billion Dollar industry is not about to stop what they’re doing.

Optimum human diet
Picture Courtesy of Dr. Shawn Baker IG Acct: shawnbaker1967

When you finish reading The Optimum Human Diet, be sure to watch this video about all the oils you thought were healthy!

In essence, we went from zero grams of PUFA (Polyunsaturate Fatty Acid) or vegetable oil consumption in 1865 to 80 grams a day now! That is the single greatest change to nutrition in ALL of history!

In my evidence-based opinion, vegetable and seed oils are the number 1 harmful substance to our health!

Heart attacks were rare until 1912 when the first well documented one happened and was published by James Herrick, a physician in Chicago.8 Interestingly, It was 1911 when P&G hit the market with Crisco!9 This artificial fat (made from crystallized cottonseed) was meant to replace lard, butter and tallow which was all we used up until the early 1900’s when there was no chronic disease. Heart disease remained on the rise, and in 1955, President Dwight D. Eisenhower had a heart attack which brought a lot of attention and fear to this new cause of death.

Of course, animal fats/saturated fats were being blamed on this new disease, and the answer was to use vegetable and seed oils instead. Profits sored as deaths from heart disease increased.

The American Heart Association was given 1.7 million dollars by P&G to promote these oils as heart healthy. They did – they still do, and Heart disease is our #1 Cause of Death.

But what about elevated cholesterol and its association with heart disease? There is no association or causation. In fact, the problem of increasing rates of cardiovascular disease is more linked to the presence of linoleic acid that adulterates cholesterol which leads to disease. Omega-6 seed and vegetable oils (linoleic acid) are a large part of our diet now, and the stats speak for themselves – our conventional diet is killing us10.

So what are we to do? It’s fairly simple (but not easy.) It’s time to return to eating normal food – the kinds of foods that our ancestors ate during a time when there was no chronic disease, our brains were bigger, there were no cavities, no obesity, no diabetes, no auto-immune issues. The primary food of our ancestors was animal-based protein and fat. Even modern day hunter gatherer societies still revere meat as their primary and preferred source of nutrition with all else being supplementary until the next kill.

The optimum human diet is animal-based protein first, fat second, and maybe a little fruit or raw honey as optional 3rd.

For a very simple, powerful, well-studied, and comprehensive overview of human nutrition, visit Dr. Zoe Harcombe, PhD at https://www.zoeharcombe.com/. For more answers in a well organized format, visit https://www.lowcarbhealthmd.com/

References:

  1. https://www.timesofisrael.com/for-2-million-years-humans-ate-meat-and-little-else-study/
  2. https://www.discovermagazine.com/planet-earth/the-human-brain-has-been-getting-smaller-since-the-stone-age
  3. https://www.gaia.com/article/cavemen-didnt-have-cavities-why-do-we
  4. https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2021/apr/05/bill-gates-climate-crisis-farmland
  5. https://www.worldometers.info/demographics/life-expectancy/
  6. https://www.atlasandboots.com/travel-blog/countries-that-eat-the-most-meat/
  7. https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/are-vegetable-and-seed-oils-bad#omega
  8. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3143862/
  9. https://www.u-s-history.com/pages/h1811.html
  10. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6196963/
Diet, Uncategorized

7 FODMAP Symptoms You Should Never Ignore

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What is a Fodmap?

FODMAP is an acronym for “Fermentable Oligo-, Di-, Mono-saccharides And Polyols”.[1] They are short chain carbohydrates that are poorly absorbed in the small intestine, and are prone to absorb water and ferment in the colon. They include short chain oligo-saccharide polymers of fructose (fructans) and galactooligosaccharides (GOS, stachyose, raffinose), disaccharides (lactose), monosaccharides (fructose), and sugar alcohols (polyols), such as sorbitol, mannitol, xylitol, and maltitol.[1][2] Most FODMAPs are naturally present in food and the human diet, but the polyols may be added artificially in commercially-prepared foods and beverages.

by Dr. Karen Reed Ph. D. Thursday, May 11, 2017

Everyone is different when it comes to diets. There are food groups that some of us can stand, but others will never be able to touch. And our food intolerances and allergies will develop and change over time. Scientists don’t understand it all, but they’re making headway.

What’s important is the FODMAP symptoms. Too many people ignore serious FODMAP symptoms, believing that they just have to put up with chronic pain and discomfort. Well, that is certainly not the case. The symptoms are your body’s way of telling you that there’s a problem – that you need to make some changes to be able to improve your lifestyle.

With that in mind, it’s time to look at the seven most commonly ignored symptoms. These FODMAP symptoms need you to pay attention and make changes today.

The Feeling of Being Bloated and Gassy

You shouldn’t feel bloated on a daily basis. However, people start to get used to it and forget that it’s one of the FODMAP symptoms. These are foods like fructose and other sugar and carby ingredients that line the stomach and intestines. The FODMAPs aren’t digested properly, and they start to back up in the system.

Bloating will make you feel full and big. You’ll find it difficult to pull your stomach in – possibly in pain because of it. Some people even have pain around their kidneys or their gallbladder, as the body tries to rectify the problem.

Bacteria start to grow around the intestines, and you end up with other serious problems. The pain gets worse, you can suffer from stomach upsets, and constipation or loose stools become an issue. Your muscles in the stomach start to spasm, leading to pain between meals.

This is a FODMAP symptoms that you will continually suffer from. While fiber can help to push through the food, there are some limitations. In fact, too much fiber can end up making it all worse. You can find that your weight loss efforts are stalled because of the water retention and backed up food.

It’s not just bloating, either. FODMAP symptoms can lead to other gut diseases and problems. Irritable bowel syndrome and leaky gut are two very common complaints with those who suffer from FODMAP symptoms.

The only way that you can get rid of FODMAP symptoms. This will help to get rid of the reason, rather than trying to battle the FODMAP symptoms.

You’re Constantly Battling Headaches or Migraines

Do you have a daily headache? One that just doesn’t go away no matter what painkillers you take or how much sleep you get? You may even find that your headache is more serious and becomes a migraine. This can lead to you being trapped in a dark room for a full day because any sort of movement or light makes you sick.

While many people blame headaches and migraines on dehydration and stress, they could actually be a FODMAP symptoms. This is because the foods you’re eating are causing inflammation in your body. That inflammation passes up into your brain, putting pressure on every single nerve in your body. The more serious your inflammation is, the more serious your headache or a migraine will be.

Don’t ignore this symptom and brush it off as something else. It’s easy to think that it’s just a normal part of your life that you must put up with.

A slight change in your diet could fix everything for you. Try eating foods that have more fiber and proteins. Magnesium-rich foods are certainly ones that you want to consider more in your diet. The magnesium will help to reduce the inflammation in your body and can help to take some of the pressure on your nerves.

If you can’t get enough magnesium in your diet, you may find that you need to take supplements. Consider all your options to help battle this side effect to a common problem.

You Struggle with Handling Your Mood Swings

While women will find mood swings a common complaint every now and then, some of us find the moods extremely had to control. We suddenly feel moody or down in the dumps from one day to the next, with seemingly no reason. There may be feelings of anxiety or stress, without anything happening in our lives to cause it.

Sometimes it’s not quite mood swings but changes in your brain function. You can become confused or suffer from this feeling of cloudiness on a daily basis. The problem with these symptoms is that you can overlook them and not realize they are happening. It will be your friends and family members who notice it first – ask them if you are worried about something like this.

The inflammation in the body is to blame for this – yes, inflammation again! Studies have shown that inflammation leads to the release of proteins that lead to depression and other mental health problems.

This is a symptom that you don’t want to ignore. While there may be a day where we’re just fed up with the world because of boredom or stress, this shouldn’t be a regular problem. You shouldn’t find that you’re battling anxiety or depression on a daily basis! It’s a sign that there is something wrong with your diet and your hormones.

Following the FODMAP diet can help to reduce these symptoms. You start to battle the reasoning behind the inflammation, which prevents the proteins from being released.

Even if you don’t want to overhaul your diet completely, you should look at eating more omega 3 fatty acids and vitamin B12. Both of these nutrients will help to fight off inflammation and put your body right again. Omega 3 has also proven benefits to the mental health, improving longevity, cognitive function, and moods.

At the same time, you’ll want to look at changing your hormonal balance. Reduce the stress and increase the happy hormones to get more control over your mood.

You Have Trouble Sleeping on a Night

Insomnia is not something that you should suffer from. Okay, there are some people who are night owls. Others sleep easily on a night but get up very early. That’s part of human nature.

What you shouldn’t find is that it takes you hours to sleep – if you even get sleep – that you get to sleep for two or three hours and then you’re repeating the process the next night. You shouldn’t feel like you’re constantly running on fumes one day to the next.

Like with everything else, inflammation has been linked to insomnia. In fact, around 10% of adults will suffer from persistent insomnia and feel like there is no way out. And those with insomnia and high levels of inflammation have been linked to a higher mortality rate. After all, your body isn’t getting the rest it needs, your mental health suffers, and you just don’t feel well within yourself.

You don’t want to ignore this symptom – although too many people too. You need to take steps to improving your sleeping pattern on a night. Stop using it as an excuse to get a few things done around the house. They can wait, and your body needs you to rest right now!

Try meditation and limiting your caffeine on a night. You could even try the exercise on a morning or mid afternoon to help use up some of the excess energy and get a better night’s sleep. Essential oils can help to eliminate stress, which is a common reason for insomnia on top of the inflammation.

You Constantly Feel Tired

Whether you sleep well or not, you constantly feel tired. There’s this overall tiredness that reaches every single muscle in your body. Your head is cloudy, and you just don’t feel like you can concentrate on anything. All you want to do is close your eyes and have a nap – although you know that it never solves anything.

Yes, the inflammation is to blame again. And this is one of those symptoms that is too often overlooked. The problem is that it’s a symptom of so many other problems! We feel tired because we are tired. We’re fatigued because we’re ill or because we’ve used up all the energy that we currently have.

Inflammation affects the way the whole body works. When it comes to fatigue, the inflammation affects how the liver performs. It stops the oxygenated blood getting to the body, meaning the organs don’t get everything that they need.

Of course, gut inflammation also stops the body from absorbing all the nutrients that you eat. You may get plenty of iron from your food, but your body isn’t able to absorb it. Your body can’t produce enough red blood cells to get the oxygen around your whole system.

We tend to drink more coffee or eat more sugary foods because we’re tired. It’s time to stop that habit because those foods and drinks just cause more problems. Sure, you get a slight increase in energy at first. You end up with a stronger dip, which means you will feel more tired than you did when you first started!

The best thing to do is change your diet. Reduce the inflammation and improve your nutritional absorption rate. After all, if your body isn’t getting enough iron, what else isn’t it getting enough of?

You Struggle with Breathing or Have Chest Pains

Of course, you wouldn’t ignore this symptom, right? Well, you’ll be surprised to hear just how many people do, especially if it happens on a regular basis. However, this is one of the FODMAP symptoms that you need to look out for.

Difficulty in breathing is a sign of a much more serious problem. Okay, if you’ve just runup 10 flights of stairs, you are going to struggle to breathe. That’s normal, but you should find that your breathing returns to normal quickly. What you shouldn’t have is a sudden onset when doing nothing – and certainly not every few hours of the day. You also shouldn’t find that your breathing difficulties stop you from doing activities.

Your doctor will want to rule out various complications, including asthma, stroke, and blood clots. Infections in the lungs are also commonly to blame.

Likewise, you shouldn’t have pain in your chest or this feeling of something pressing onto it. This is a difficult symptom, as you may be used to the feeling of your breathing being constricted. Sudden pain is a sign of a heart attack. While men get pain in their arms, women are more likely to feel pain in their back or stomach!

The pain may be accompanied by dizziness and vomiting. Whenever it is to do with your breathing or chest, speak to a doctor!

Your Vision Has Changed Considerably

I understand how easy it is to overlook this FODMAP symptoms. Let me begin by saying that vision changes as you get older are normal. Your cells start to die, and you can start to suffer from a short or long distance. There is also an element in the genes – those with parents who wear glasses are more likely to need them in the future. Those with parents or siblings who have glaucoma are at a higher risk of developing it.

Trauma is another reason for changes in the vision. Getting debris in the eyes or suffering a blow to the head could change what you can and can’t see – or how dry your eyes become.

What should n’t find is that you have sudden vision loss or blurred vision. You shouldn’t experience sudden flashes of light in your eyes – almost like lightning going off. This could be a sign of something severe that needs immediate medical care.

If there are any changes to your vision, it’s best to talk to an eye doctor. Seeing one will help to rule out anything more serious, while you change your diet to eliminate the FODMAP symptoms.

Keep an Eye Out for All FODMAP Symptoms

I don’t say any of this to scare you. There are many FODMAP symptoms that are left ignored. We all do it from time to time because we’re used to the symptoms or think that they’re not serious. After all, that flash of light may have just been a flash of a headlight, right? The bloating is just something that you ate or indigestion because you ate too quickly!

More often than not, the symptoms are ones that you can get rid of. By not ignoring them, you won’t let them get any worse or affect your mental health. You can get rid of the reason behind the symptoms and look after your overall health by following the low FODMAP diet.

Diet, Health and Fitness, Recipes

Keto Bread Recipe

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Prepare to Be Blown Away

If you like, love, or just plain gotta have bread, you are in for a literal treat!

Ingredients for Keto Bread Recipe

  • 1¼ cups almond flour
  • 5 tablespoons ground psyllium husk powder
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon sea salt
  • 2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
  • 1¼ cups boiling water
  • 3 egg whites
  • 2 tablespoons sesame seeds (optional)

Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C). Mix the dry ingredients in a bowl.
  2. Bring the water to a boil and add it, the vinegar and egg whites to the bowl, while beating with a hand mixer for about 30 seconds. Don’t over mix the dough, the consistency should resemble Play Doh.
  3. Moisten hands and form dough into 4 or 8 pieces of bread. You can also make hot dog or hamburger buns. Place on a greased baking sheet.
  4. Bake on lower rack in oven for 50–60 minutes, depending on the size of your bread. They’re done when you hear a hollow sound when tapping the bottom of the bun.
  5. Serve with butter and toppings of your choice. Store the bread in the fridge or freezer.

Tip!

Sprinkle seeds on the bread before you pop it into the oven – poppy seeds, sesame seeds or why not some salt flakes and herbs?

If you make this recipe into 6 pieces of bread they each contain about 2 grams of carbs.

What do you do with the three leftover egg yolks? Béarnaise sauce, of course! Check out these recipes for Béarnaise sauce and chili-flavored Béarnaise sauce.

Troubleshooting

Do your breads end up with a slightly purple color? That can happen with some brands of psyllium husk. Try with another brand, like this one.

Inspiration

This recipe is adapted from an earlier bread recipe by Maria Emmerich. Here’s a video of her making the bread.

Diet, Health and Fitness

Why Bone Broth?

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What Is So Special About Bone Broth?

What in the world is Bone Broth, and why do I recommend it to so many patients as well as people who simply want the fastest way to improve their health?
Bone broth is one of the healthiest foods you can add to your diet. It’s packed full of protein, amino acids, collagen, glutamine and other GAGs (a key group of amino acids).

Bone broth’s nutritional makeup is the reason it’s the cornerstone of the Paleo, Ketogenic, and AIP diets, as well as many other nutritional programs specifically formulated to heal digestive issues and leaky gut. I’ve personally used it for fat loss and accelerated healing of my ACL rupture both before and after surgery.

Bone Broth Benefits

Inhibits infection and reduces inflammation

Promotes a wall functioning immune system

Protects you from pathogenic organisms, environmental toxins, and cancerous growths.

Supports your adrenals, bones and teeth

Full of minerals like calcium, phosphorous, magnesium, and potassium

Heals and seals the gut lining

Enhances digestion

Ready bioavailable source of minerals and nutrients

Cools inflammation and eases joint pains

Promotes healthy skin and hair growth (YES, it reduces wrinkles)

High in amino acids like arginine, glycine, glutamine and proline

Collagen-rich, which promotes the health of joints, tendons, ligaments, and skin

What is In Both Broth That Makes us Heal?

Bone Broth has 2 little amino acids that pack a powerful healing punch!

Bone broth can be a therapeutic food for gut healing because of the many minerals, vitamins, and easily assimilated amino acids that are leached from the vegetables, herbs, and the bones of healthy, pastured animals.

The common thought behind bone broth for many years was that it was simply high in calcium (among other minerals), which builds and maintains bones and teeth, supports muscle contraction, heart health, hormone production, and nervous system support.(1,2)

We now know that bone broth isn’t as high in calcium as we once suspected, but it does have significant amounts of essential amino acids, most notably glycine and proline. These two aminos are key components of connective tissue, from the cartilage that makes up our joints to the components that hold the cells of our organs and muscles together, among other things.

These and other amino acids are critical components of healing the microscopic damage done to tissues in our bodies over time, which is why so many practitioners tout bone broth as a “healing” tonic.

 
7 Reasons I Recommend Bone Broth for Autoimmune and Inflammatory Problems

Leaky gut and systemic inflammation are closely associated with autoimmune conditions across the board. And it’s well known that protein deficiency suppresses the immune response and increases susceptibility to infection.(4) So, there are a couple of reasons your “in the know” health practitioner might recommend a high quality bone broth:

1. High levels of dietary glycine may help with modulating the immune system and reducing inflammation, which helps you to heal from infection and/or disease.(3)

2. Glycine plays an important role in digestive health by helping to regulate the synthesis of bile salts and the secretion of gastric acid.(5)

3. Glycine is involved in the production of glutathione, one of the body’s most important antioxidants that helps to reduce oxidative stress.(6)

4. Glycine promotes better sleep, mental clarity, improves mood, boosts memory, and helps to reduce stress.(7,8)

5. Proline helps the body to break down proteins for use in the body.(4)

6. Amino acids in bone broth are very easily assimilated by the body, making them perfect for those who may be on a journey of healing their gut.

7. Drinking bone broth counts toward your daily liquid consumption and helps you stay hydrated, which is essential for kidney health and helps keep digestion regular.

Bone Broth is NOT New!

Although bone broth is catching on in the mainstream and celebrities are clamoring to it because of it’s skin rejuvenating effects, bone broth is far from new. In fact, it’s considered ancient nutrition, and it’s why we consider so many soups and broths today  healthy items, especially when we’re sick. Our genetics love this!

In Chinese medicine, whose origins date back over 2,500 years, bone broth is used to support digestive health, as a blood builder, and to strengthen the kidneys. Then, beginning in 12th century Egypt, physician Moses Maimonides was known to prescribe chicken soup as a medicinal remedy for colds and asthma. However, our soups and broths today are merely canned water with sodium and some flavoring and preservatives. Far from healthy.

Fortunately, you can now either make your own with a simple recipe BELOW, or you can have it shipped to you in powder or liquid form. You want to make sure it is sourced from pastured or grass-fed animals.

Where to Get Bone Broth: (these are my two sources)

1. These are packets that are convenient and the taste is good to most people: GO HERE

2. Highest quality and best tasting bone broth: GO HERE

Simple Bone Broth Recipe
Makes: About 4 quarts

Ingredients

1 medium, white onion*
2 medium carrots, chopped
3-4 stalks celery*
1 leek, halved*
7 garlic cloves, smashed*
5 lb. bones (from pastured, grassfed meat – I use a mixture of chicken bones, feet, and beef knuckles. Get it all here: US Wellness Meats)
2 tbsp. apple cider vinegar
*Leave out if on the SIBO diet or Low-FODMAP diet. For AIP, the whole recipe is fine!

Herbs/spices:

6 sprigs parsley
6 sprigs thyme
2 bay leaves
Salt to taste
1 tsp. turmeric powder
Steps

Cut onion, carrots, celery and leek into chunks and add to a crockpot with the bones.


Add smashed garlic and apple cider vinegar.


Fill the crock pot to the brim with filtered water.


Cook broth anywhere from 24-48 hours on “low” in the crockpot (If working on a stovetop, you’ll want to keep it on a very low simmer, covered, for the same amount of time. If you don’t feel comfortable leaving the stove on at night, turn it to the very lowest setting, then turn it back up in the morning.)


When you have about 2 hours left, add herbs/spices and make sure they’re covered with liquid. After the allotted time, turn the heat off and let the broth cool down until it’s safe to handle. Strain the liquid into a large bowl and discard all solids. From here, you can transfer your broth into smaller containers and fridge or freeze. Keep bone broth for up to one week in the fridge or freeze for up to six months.

 

My Favorite Chicken Bone Broth Recipe

I love this one because it tastes great, and it has the fastest cooking time.

It takes 15 minutes basically to prepare then 4-6 hours to cook. I usually do the full 6. You need a large stockpot or slow cooker (crockpot). This recipe will make a full gallon of broth. I get all my chicken parts from US Wellness Meats.

Ingredients:

  • 3 or more pounds of raw chicken bones/carcasses from 3-4 chickens
  • 6-8 chicken feet or 1 pig’s foot (will not affect taste)
  • 1 whole chicken, 4-6 legs, thighs, or wings – I do the legs due to more cartilage
  • 1/4-1/2 cup apple cider vinegar depending on pot size
  • Purified water to just cover the bones and meat in the pot
  • 2-4 carrots cleaned and chopped
  • 3-4 ribs organic celery chopped
  • 1 onion, cut in large chunks (I use white onion)
  • 3-4 whole garlic cloves
  • 2 tsp peppercorns
  • 1 bunch parsley
  1. Place bones and meat in the cooker. Add the vinegar and just enough purified water to cover all by 1 inch. Cover the pot.
  2. Bring water to a simmer  (medium heat) and in about 2 hours skim the film off the top of the broth using a spoon.
  3. Add the carrots, celery, onion, garlic and peppercorns and decrease the heat to low – broth should barely simmer.
  4. Cook for at least 4-6 hours (I do 6 to make sure all cartilage dissolves), and add water as needed to keep bones covered – watch because this will happen.
  5. Add the parsley in the last hour.
  6. When done, remove from the heat, remove the bones and meat with tongs or a good spoon (Keep the meat for later!)
  7. Pour broth through a fine mesh strainer and discard the solids
  8. Let the broth cool and then refrigerate within 1 hour.
  9. If you desire, you can skim off the fat (unless you are on a ketogenic diet) as it chills.
  10. When chilled, the broth should be fairly gelatinous. It’s good for 5 days in the fridge and 3-4 months in your freezer.

 

If you really want to dive deep into fixing your nutrition, I highly recommend Deep Nutrition by Catharine Shanahan, MD.

deep_nutrition

 

 

 

References:
1. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4337919/
2. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMHT0022775/
3. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12589194
4. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3750756/
5. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/274936
6. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23742196
7. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10587285
8. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3328957/

Diet, Health and Fitness

How I Lost Weight Might Surprise You

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I Have a Secret about Weight Loss

I’m getting a lot of “you’ve lost weight” and “you look younger” comments now that I made some changes and I dropped from 187 to 170. I’m a 5’7″ 49 year old guy so 5 pounds is a lot and it will mess with you, especially if you put your fat in the belly area (dangerous!). How did I do it? I do have a secret ingredient, so stick with me as I explain – you need to know some things first. If I just blurt it out, then it’s like giving a 5th grader information that’s meant for a 12th grader. You’ll quickly dismiss it or judge it incorrectly.

Moreover, it’s not just the secret ingredient that helped my weight loss, it’s how I used it.

All weight loss methods work to an extent but you know by now that everyone gains it back for the most part. Even those who’ve have the weight loss surgeries gain their weight back.

My first trick: figure out where you want to be and set a goal (weight, body fat, clothing size, etc.). Give yourself time as rapid weight loss rarely works (although I did drop 15 pounds in 21 days!). As a 49 year old, I’m setting a goal to be in the best shape of my life by the time I’m 50. I honestly don’t like to weigh and measure myself in any way, but that which can be measured can be managed. I have a wife, kids, and a lot of patients that depend on me to be around for a long time – the extra weight had to go.

My personal health and fitness goals:

  1. Body weight 165
  2. Body fat 15%
  3. Ability to do a press to handstand
  4. Ability to do a muscle up
  5. Wear medium shirts, fitted shirts, and size 30-31 pants comfortably.

(these are subject to change as I progress along – that’s normal.)

Why these goals? They cover both health and fitness which are 2 different things entirely. Health is not well defined and fitness is wide open to interpretation, so I wanted to make sure my body is physically strong (no one ever comes into my clinic complaining about being too strong) and slender – no unnecessary storage or fat. Extra fat can cause all sorts of problems as you know, so I want a normal amount of fat. Shredding all of it off is not necessarily healthy – that’s for show! A normal amount of body fat is healthy and it will allow your body to look it’s absolute best.

If you achieve those above goals, your body will more than likely look much like a gymnast. No too muscled up and not too skinny…just right. A good reference I believe is the Statue of David, but I’ll allow a little more body fat as David looks pretty young. You should have very good energy as well.

80% of weight comes from your diet…what you eat or don’t eat. 20% of your weight is due to your activity level

This is why so many who try to just exercise more fail. Exercise is a very inefficient way to lose weight! You’ll get better at exercising but your pounds will just sit there laughing at you. Have you ever noticed how many runners, weight lifters, and walkers stay really overweight despite their efforts?

Yes, I am a physical therapist, and I DO endorse exercise! But, let’s be honest, if your goal is weight loss/fat loss, then exercise is a small part of the prescription.

You CANNOT out exercise a bad diet

Ok, so what diet should you use?

My wife will readily tell you that I annoy her completely when I start harping about eating like a human – she’ll buy all the grainy sugary floury stuff and tell my that I don’t have to eat it. She and the kids can eat that stuff with no ill effects. I eat it, and I blow up pretty quick (or I used to).

Of course I keep up with the diet industry as best I can so I can counsel my patients. There is no 1 hit wonder diet. Everyone is different beginning with their mindset and then their physiology and genetics.

The more complex and involved a diet approach is, the more destined you are to fail attempting it. Diets should be simple as God designed us in a way to eat some fairly simple things. The more we refine it, process it, and alter it, the more it will cause us problems. We are designed to eat mostly protein, fat, veggies, and some fruits and nuts/seeds. Foods that are dairy-based, sugary, or made with corn or flour are not foods our bodies love.

Our genetics are the same as when we were hunter-gatherers,  so outside of the basics mentioned above, our bodies have to really work to handle all the unrecognizable substances we put in them! Never have we had so many artificial substances, sugar, and foods that convert to sugar so readily available. We used to have to work to get our food, and it did not consist of much of what we ingest today. Just look at any movie from the 70’s and earlier…not many overweight folks. We blew up starting in the 80’s as obesity rates doubled. Mississippi has been in the lead for the greater part of the last 3 decades. The point I’m making is that our environment is so different and our bodies are acclimating to it! We now have to put forth a great effort to eat like we’re designed to.

So what diet should you use? Here are some diets that help us return to some basics that are similar to the way our ancestors ate.

  1. Any Paleolithic Diet: the paleo approach is not just about eating meat. It’s a very human way to eat. I recommend the book “Practical Paleo.” It has all the info you need plus meal plans if you’re into that. I just like the do’s, don’ts, and the principles.
  2. The Mediterranean Diet: this is one of the most studied and recommended diets across the nutritional and medical communities. It’s a fairly easy method to follow. I don’t use this approach, but I’ve had great success with patients who have.
  3. Ketogenic Diet: these diets keep you in a slight state of ketosis where you burn fat like crazy.

Here is What I Used: Secret No. 1.

The Bone Broth Diet – I love it, and here’s why. It’s easy, simple, it works, and it’s a 21 day program. It’s much like a combination of paleo and ketogenic plus you use a bone broth as a snack and on “mini fast” days. This bone broth that you can buy HERE or make yourself (it will smell your house up – ha!) This bone broth has collagen in it which is a bit of an anti-inflammatory and it is awesome for your joints and your skin. It’s made from an organic grass fed source so it’s the good stuff and has no bad stuff.

I recommend getting the Bone Broth Diet book on Amazon and then either buying the easy to make broth HERE or learn how to make it HERE in a recent article I wrote about bone broth (CLICK HERE to GET the RECIPE). I’ve done both, and the bone broth packets are the way to go for me. They are easy to make and I could put it in my Yeti tumbler and sip it at work, too! The actual diet is simple. Of course there are recipes and meal plans, but I just use the recommended foods and come up with stuff – my family (yes, kids included) love it!

My wife loves the diet, my kids love the diet foods and dishes. The broths are hit and miss. The broth that I make is usually a smash hit. My wife had that first, so she doesn’t really like the broth packets at all! The absolute BEST TASTING and highest rated bone broth is made by Au Bon – Go HERE to Try It Out!

Secret No. 2.

Exogenous Ketones! You may or may not have heard of these, but in a nutshell, you are helping your body rapidly get into a state of nutritional ketosis – fat burning! You are putting in ketones which is a substance your body already makes on a low carb diet. Ketones come from metabolizing fat, and they act as a source of energy, and your body loves them more than glucose! Learn More and Get SOME HERE. (there is a short 4 minute video that gives a great run down on how exogenous ketones will work for you as they do for me. Better focus, energy, and fat loss. Very natural (your body already makes them), and very safe. In the clinic, I’ve been enjoying not only watching people lose fat but also heal better, faster and more complete! Yes, ketones are also anti-inflammatory and help healing occur. They also have a strong anti-carcinogenic effect. They are my secret, but now I’m recommending that most of my patients and clients try it – GO HERE

Secret No. 3.

And this is my favorite secret that is so effective and knocking out belly fat…use GRASS-FED BEEF! It can be hard to find, and I get mine HERE at US Wellness Meats! It costs the same as when you find it at the store, and this stuff is good! I get the ground beef and various steaks HERE.  No matter what dietary approach you use, put grass-fed beef into your diet. Grain-fed meat is what 95% of our country eats, and it’s highly inflammatory thus all the bad stories about gout, cancer, leaky gut syndrome, etc. Just get some grass-fed beef which your body will thank you for. If you’re a vegetarian, sorry – keep working hard to fill in the nutritional gaps you’ll have to deal with. I know all the arguments here, and vegetarianism/veganism is more of a lifestyle choice vs a necessity for health. Humans are designed to be omnivores – period. Being a vegetarian for some is great, just not for all. Certain genetic types do well with being a vegetarian, but it does take an effort.

Why is grass-fed beef so good? Basically, it has the ideal omega 3 to 6 ratio that’s good for you. Grain-fed beef is too high with omega 6 and causes inflammation. Grass-fed beef also has a CLA (conjugated linoleic acid) which is a known and proven fat buster. Weight lifters have used this for years in pill form to try and shed those extra fat pounds. Just eat grass-fed beef.

But Wait There’s More! I HAVE A BONUS FOR YOU!

I have been testing a developing a new diet, and it’s called 21 Days ON 15 Pounds OFF. It is to come out very soon now that the tests are done and it works better than expected! How would you like to truly change your health and your body in 3 weeks?

I want you to have this for FREE! It’s only FREE to the first 25 People that fill out this form first. When you click “Submit,” you’ll get a notification by email. Click the book or GO HERE NOW!

 

 

Below are references I use to fend off the naysayers to any of my comments ;-). In other words, I’m not just giving you hype, I back it up…

1 Juanola-Falgarona M et al. Effect of the glycemic index of the diet on weight loss, modulation of satiety, inflammation, and other metabolic risk factors: a randomized controlled trial. Am J Clin Nutr. 2014 Jul;100(1):27-35.

2 A. Janet Tomiyama, Ph.D. et al. Low Calorie Dieting Increases Cortisol. Psychosom Med. 2010 May; 72(4): 357–364.

3 Susan B Robert et al. Energy requirements and aging. Public Health Nutrition: 8(7A), 1028–1036.

4 Poehlman ET et al. Determinants of decline in resting metabolic rate in aging females. Am J Physiol. 1993 Mar;264(3 Pt 1):E450-5.

5 Ryan AS. Insulin resistance with aging: effects of diet and exercise. Sports Med. 2000 Nov;30(5):327-46.

6 Gower BA et al. A lower-carbohydrate, higher-fat diet reduces abdominal and intermuscular fat and increases insulin sensitivity in adults at risk of type 2 diabetes. J Nutr. 2015 Jan;145(1):177S-83S.

7 Bazzano LA et al. Effects of Low-Carbohydrate and Low-Fat Diets: A Randomized Trial. Ann Intern Med. 2014 Sep 2;161(5):309-18.

8 Wojcicki JM et al. Reducing childhood obesity by eliminating 100% fruit juice. Am J Public Health. 2012 Sep;102(9):1630-3.

9 Volek JS, et al. Carbohydrate restriction has a more favorable impact on the metabolic syndrome than a low fat diet. Lipids. 2009 Apr;44(4):297-309.

10 Keogh JB, et al. Effects of weight loss from a very-low-carbohydrate diet on endothelial function and markers of cardiovascular disease risk in subjects with abdominal obesity. Am J Clin Nutr. 2008 Mar;87(3):567-76.

11 Dyson PA, et al. A low-carbohydrate diet is more effective in reducing body weight than healthy eating in both diabetic and non-diabetic subjects. Diabet Med. 2007 Dec;24(12):1430-5.

12 McClernon FJ, et al. The effects of a low-carbohydrate ketogenic diet and a low-fat diet on mood, hunger, and other self-reported symptoms. Obesity (Silver Spring). 2007 Jan;15(1):182-7.

13 Meckling KA, et al. Comparison of a low-fat diet to a low-carbohydrate diet on weight loss, body composition, and risk factors for diabetes and cardiovascular disease in free-living, overweight men and women. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2004 Jun;89(6):2717-23.

14 Yancy WS Jr, et al. A low-carbohydrate, ketogenic diet versus a low-fat diet to treat obesity and hyperlipidemia: a randomized, controlled trial. Ann Intern Med. 2004 May 18;140(10):769-77.

15 Stanhope KL, et al. Consuming fructose-sweetened, not glucose-sweetened, beverages increases visceral adiposity and lipids and decreases insulin sensitivity in overweight/obese humans. J Clin Invest. 2009 May;119(5):1322-34.

16 Whalen KA, et al. Paleolithic and Mediterranean Diet Pattern Scores Are Inversely Associated with All-Cause and Cause-Specific Mortality in Adults. J Nutr. 2017 Apr;147(4):612-620