Category Archives: Health and Fitness

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

Health and Fitness

7 Simple Steps to Fixing Back Pain (by Doctors of Physical Therapy)

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The Sitting Solution www.sittingsolution.com Exercise Content: lumbar rotations – 5:01 prone on elbows – 6:47 pressups – 8:11 figure 4 stretch – 9:40 hip flexor stretch edge of bed – 11:34 hip flexor stretch half kneeling – 13:16 bridge: 14:40 banded bridge: 16:28 hard style plank: 17:45 bird dog: 20:14 Hi there, It’s Chad & Brenda Walding with The Sitting Solution. We’re so glad you’re here with us today on our mission to to raise awareness about the sitting problem.  Our goal is to inspire you to take action and give you the practical tools to do so. The underlying message here is that you must take an active role in your own health.  The Sitting Solution is the ultimate guide to resolving your pain, restoring your posture and fixing your sitting problem. We want to help you become more aware of how and why chronic sitting is undermining your health so you can eliminate this potentially dangerous blind spot. Most people “don’t know that they don’t know” that frequent sitting is a problem. They are experiencing pain and suffering but don’t understand why. If you understand the implications of chronic sitting on your health, you will be more motivated to make a change. Click this link for our FREE REPORT which covers the science behind that deleterious effects of sitting as well as some helpful tips to get you moving in the right direction: lxnhealth.com/ssyoutube Need resistance bands? lxnhealth.com/w We hope you found this video helpful and if you’re looking for more solutions to your sitting problem please visit our website here: www.sittingsolution.com PS — Use this link to share this video on Facebook with your friends! http://youtu.be/bhaTRxwEv2M Get up. Stand up. Move. Chad Walding DPT, OPT L1, RKC Brenda Walding DPT, FDN