Inflammation

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Day 8

The first time someone explained leaky gut to me I didn’t really understand it. I was in the middle of all my pain with NO answers. But, this chiropractor was on to something when he explained to me how when we take antibiotics it wipes out not only the bad bacteria but all the good bacteria as well. So, not only did my drug reaction cause me injury, it pretty much destroyed my microbiome, which is the source of most of our immune system. Also, when we eat inflammatory foods our small intestines get inflamed which then causes particles to leak out of the small intestine and into our bloodstream. When this happens our body then thinks these are foreign objects that need to be fought. This is the cause of many autoimmune issues and fibromyalgia among a host of other things. If you want to know more about leaky gut and the effects on the body click here. .https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/leaky-gut-what-is-it-and-what-does-it-mean-for-you-2017092212451

If you’ve read My Story, you know what repairing my leaky gut has done for me. A forever lifestyle change. Once I knew what inflammatory foods were doing to my body and my BRAIN it was easy to make the switch. If you want to know how I went about changing my diet, please read my blog post title “A Lightening Bolt Moment on the Hallmark Channel”.

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This week Deepak talks about reducing inflammation for lifelong energy. Yes, an anti-inflammatory diet certainly does give you more energy and so much more. Did you know your gut and brain are connected and that your brain can actually become inflamed? This can cause another whole host of problems related to your nervous system and even your mood. You can read more about it here https://www.health.harvard.edu/diseases-and-conditions/the-gut-brain-connection.

Did you know meditation actually reduces inflammation? You can read more here. https://www.huffpost.com/entry/meditation-brain-changes-study_n_56b4b7aee4b04f9b57d93bef Meditation brings us peace and calm. Deepak says “Daily stresses won’t trigger you as easily.” I’ve talked about how transformative meditation has been for me and it absolutely has translated into my daily life!

If you want to reduce inflammation try an anti-inflammatory diet or paleo diet. I really don’t like the word “diet”. It’s actually a lifestyle. But, you can give it 30 days and see how you feel! I highly recommend Practical Paleo by Diane Sanfilippo.

Thanks for being here!

Adding the Good Stuff

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I’ve talked a lot about what I eliminated from my diet, now I want to talk about what I’ve added.  I’m fast-forwarding a bit to when I was earning my Holistic Health Coaching Certification. Which I did because I was desperate to know more.  I’m so passionate on the subject of holistic health these days.  I can’t get enough information.  I’m in constant learning mode.  A couple of books I read in my studies that made the most impact on my diet were How Not To Die by Michael Greger, M.D., FACLM https://amzn.to/2JQ5OsU and The Whole Foods Diet by John Mackey, Alona Pulde, M.D. and Matthew Lederman, MD. https://amzn.to/32I7jCb

The glaring message I got was I was NOT incorporating enough variety of vegetables into my diet, among other things. And I was not aware of the power some of these vegetables hold. Food is medicine has never been so clear. For example, the broccoli family of cruciferous vegetables are just powerhouses in themselves. In addition to broccoli, radishes, cabbage, collard greens, brussel sprouts, cauliflower, artichokes, arugula and kale are all part of the cruciferous family. As stated in The Whole Foods Diet, “Not only are these diverse foods all related, they also share extraordinary health benefits, particularly for preventing cancer. Dr. Joel Fuhrman points out that cruciferous vegetables are the most micronutrient dense of all vegetables, and call them “the most powerful anticancer foods in existence.” Read more about cruciferous vegetables as cancer fighters here. https://www.cancer.gov/about-cancer/causes-prevention/risk/diet/cruciferous-vegetables-fact-sheet

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There isn’t a vegetable I don’t like, but I can tell you I was not eating enough vegetables in this category.  A simple change was to add kale to every salad.  Sometimes kale is enough, other times I get another green to fix with it.  I also add broccoli sprouts to almost every salad I make!  I shoot for eating one of two of vegetables from this family every day. 

Flaxseed is another powerful food totally off my radar. Read more about the benefits of flaxseed here. https://www.webmd.com/diet/features/benefits-of-flaxseed#1 This is another salad staple. Why wouldn’t I add it?

As my diet stands right now, my priorities are high quality proteins, large variety of fruits and vegetables at EVERY MEAL, seeds and nuts and healthy oils. If you want to hear an incredible story of how food truly is medicine, I highly recommend that you read about Dr. Terry Wahls, M.D.  She beat her progressive MS with diet and functional medicine.  These stories are out there.  Why don’t we hear them more?  No money to be made in food as medicine is my guess.  It is SO important to understand how much we can help ourselves with the help of Functional Medicine doctors and our diets.  To read more about Dr. Wahls, click here. https://terrywahls.com/about/about-terry-wahls/

Are you looking to add more variety to your diet?  Try the following:

• Shop for raw nuts (remember peanuts are not nuts!) Raw is best, but if you buy roasted look out for ones with peanut oil, and other unhealthy oils. Trader Joe’s and Aldi are my favorite places to find healthy nuts.

• Incorporate more vegetables into your diet and especially look to add cruciferous ones whenever you can. Try cauliflower rice, steamed broccoli, cabbage and kale in salads, roasted brussel sprouts. They are all delicious!

• Snack on raw vegetables. My favorites are red, yellow and orange peppers and baby carrots.

• Make greens a part of your everyday diet. The darker green the better!

Can’t wait to hear how it goes! Comment your questions and feedback below! Thanks for being here!

My Foggy Brain

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I dabbled in being Gluten free when I was seeing the chiropractor who was the first to suggest to me I may have leaky gut. (See My Story) But I was floundering, trying to do it myself. I was clueless. I got rid of things, but didn’t have any replacements. I didn’t know what to eat or how to cook. Needless to say that didn’t last long. In fact, I didn’t do it long enough then to even feel any changes that might have been occurring. Fast forward to when I discovered Practical Paleo by Diane Sanfilippo and I had an actual plan as to how to cut it out and how to use other flours such as Cassava and Coconut in my baking and cooking. I just needed guidance. And her book was like my bible. I still refer to it again and again. It covers everything!

My Food Bible 😃

You may have heard that gluten can cause brain fog. That was absolutely true for me, but again how do you know at the time that is what is causing the problem without actually trying to eliminate it? I just thought “Wow, isn’t it weird how sometimes I can’t find the words to say”. Or I would hear myself talking so slowly, like it took so much effort. That is not normal and certainly not normal for the old/new me. You just don’t know how good you can feel until you take it out of your diet. Also with all the gastrointestinal problems gluten causes in those that are sensitive to it, it is difficult to say how much of my distress was gluten and how much was lactose. I’ve accidentally had dairy when eating out and I most definitely felt it! Other times eating out I know there was no dairy yet it still upset my stomach so there I would guess it’s the gluten. As a side note, these things occasionally happen when eating out. The restaurants are always accommodating to the best of their ability but sometimes they just don’t know exactly what is in the food, depending on the type of restaurant and how knowledgeable the staff is. Some people reintroduce the foods eliminated in the paleo diet to see how they do and what they can tolerate. Diane gives a wonderful explanation on how to do this in her book. But like I said, with my autoimmune issues, I have no interest in reintroducing anything in my diet.

There are some conflicting opinions out there about gluten. Some say you don’t need to avoid it unless you have Celiac Disease. But new research is showing that you can still be sensitive to gluten without having Celiac. Doctor’s are starting to listen to their patients. Gluten is another culprit in destroying the lining of our stomachs. It’s actually the way gluten is processed in food that causes it to give us trouble. You can read more about that here. https://www.webmd.com/digestive-disorders/celiac-disease/features/gluten-intolerance-against-grain#2

If you are considering eliminating gluten from your diet, try the following:

1. Remove all gluten products from your pantry by reading the labels. Remove all flours and grains including corn meal, rice, wheat and white flour.

2. Replace with cassava flour, coconut flour and tapioca flour.

3. Do a search for gluten free or better yet paleo versions of your favorite recipes. I always suggest Practical Paleo to start!

4. Evaluate how you feel. What’s different? Do you have less brain fog? Is your stomach feeling better?

I can’t wait to hear your feedback. Be sure to comment below and feel free to ask questions! Thanks for being here!

To Bean or Not to Bean

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Ok, that was corny I know. But it made me smile. Let’s talk about legumes. Legumes are one of those foods that have a reputation for being part of a healthy diet for their fiber and protein content. But they also have lectins that irritate the lining of your gut, which leads to leaky gut and can be a problem, especially for those us with autoimmune issues. Read more about how lectins effect the body here. https://www.google.com/amp/s/health.usnews.com/wellness/food/articles/2017-11-29/the-trouble-with-lectins%3fcontext=amp

But what about the people of the Blue Zones who make beans part of their regular diet? The people of the Blue Zones if you don’t know, are people in the world with the longest life expectancy as studied by National Geographic. Many, many factors play into that longevity and you can read more about it here. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6125071/

With my autoimmune markers I choose not to eat beans. They obviously cause gut irritation and gas and I personally try to keep my gut as healthy as possible. There is a lot of hype about the fiber and protein beans have, but honestly you can get that and more from some vegetables, like broccoli and brussel sprouts. My goal is to not eat anything that will disrupt my microbiome. Especially because I’m still taking an anti-inflammatory for my neck and back issues. I am currently testing the waters of getting off them completely. That is my goal because anti-inflammatory medications also destroy the lining of your gut. So I’m super vigilant about my food. That said, it is NOT as powerful of a drug as I was on in the beginning. I’m now taking Meloxicam which is a low level anti inflammatory. I will get there. Right now I skip a pill here and there without any issue. My doctor seems to think I will feel more pain if I go off of it but I’m not convinced of that. I know my body. What is left for me to deal with is more muscular that anything else and yoga is working that out for me. I’m getting way ahead of myself here! More on ALL OF THAT later!! I got off topic a bit, but my point is I’m choosing to stay away from anything that would cause leaky gut or any other health problems for my own mental and physical well-being.

Did you know peanuts are legumes also? I didn’t until a few years ago. This is one of the many reasons why my blog is called “My Awakened Well-Being”! I was asleep at the wheel of my health for SO LONG. Awakened has multiple meanings for me, some on a much deeper level, as I will talk about later. There was so much I didn’t know or didn’t pay attention to regarding my health. I noticed a few years ago that I did not feel well after eating peanut butter or peanuts. And not in an “allergic” way. Just upset stomach, throat tight, just all around not good. Peanuts are not nuts, they are part of the legume family. So, this makes complete sense to me. I now eat cashew butter and almond butter instead. Try dipping apple slices into almond butter. It’s my go-to snack! Sometimes I’ll roll up a grain-free tortilla with organic fruit preserves and cashew butter. My version of pb & j! So good!

What are your thoughts on legumes? Are they a regular part of your diet? Try the following:

  1. Pay attention to how you feel after eating legumes? Do you have stomach pain, gas, bloating?
  2. Go a week without legumes and up your high protein and fiber veggie intake.
  3. Assess how you feel without legumes. Comment below!

One more thing!  I’d like to provide you with a link to The Four Tendencies by Gretchen Rubin for those that are interested.  I talk a lot about her and her work here on my blog because I find it so incredibly useful.  I know some of you have taken the quiz that I posted last week.  If you want to go deeper or even if you haven’t taken the quiz, you may want to read the book for insights into your own personality.  Enjoy! https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1524760919/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=myawakenedwel-20&camp=1789&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=1524760919&linkId=961771dc8819af9694a02c2b808778c7

I can’t wait to read your feedback and thoughts! Thanks for being here!

Ditching the sugar

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We all know sugar is not good for you. But do you how bad is actually is? I didn’t. I grew up hearing sugar rots your teeth and makes you fat. And although that is certainly true, it does so much more. Sugar causes inflammation among other things, which in turn causes a multitude of chronic diseases. Read more here. https://www.rd.com/health/wellness/what-sugar-does-to-your-body/

And more about the link between sugar and cancer here. https://www.cnn.com/2019/07/10/health/sugary-drinks-cancer-risk-study-intl/index.html

This was fairly easy for me to give up, personally, for a couple of reasons.

  1. There are SO many alternatives to processed sugar.
  2. Once I knew what it was doing to my body, I was completely on board.

That is partially my personality type at work (I’m an Upholder, see The Four Tendencies by Gretchen Rubin https://gretchenrubin.com/books/the-four-tendencies/intro/) Once I decide to do something, I’m all in.

I think the best alternative to processed sugar is honey and organic pure maple syrup. I bake and cook with both. When I first eliminated sugar I was doing a lot of baking of paleo recipes to fend off my sugar cravings. But now I only do that maybe once a month or so. If I want something sweet I eat fruit or a Larabar. My taste buds have completely changed.

Processed food is not food. Period. It’s what some of us have become accustomed to, to the detriment of our health. Sugar is hiding in things you may not think of. We all know it’s in sodas, desserts and the obvious places but you will also find it in bottled salad dressings, condiments, soups, etc. A lot of foods labeled as organic still have sugar. Reading labels is key. Pretty much anything in a box or a can has sugar with few exceptions. Some companies are coming around due to demand but it’s slow. I was raised making our family recipe for salad dressing since I was a kid so I’m not one to buy bottled dressings, but if you haven’t tried making your own I promise it’s super simple. Or just throw some oil and vinegar/salt and pepper on your salad. And yes, I do like cooking. That also makes it easier. But I think cooking is a life skill! Not some chore to complain about like cleaning a bathroom. Your health is the number one most important thing. Without it you have nothing. I know this to be true first hand. Until you lose it maybe you’re not aware of how important it is and how important what you eat is to your health. No dessert will ever be that enticing to me when I look at it this way. I feel good. And that’s all I need. And I want to stay that way.

Have you thought about eliminating sugar from your diet? Try the following steps. Remember, it’s good to know your personality type. It will help you figure out the best approach for your internal expectations. I highly suggest taking Gretchen Rubin’s quiz here. https://quiz.gretchenrubin.com/Once you know your personality type everything you want to do for yourself becomes easier!

  1. Decide to eliminate sugar from your diet. Hooray!
  2. Shop! Read the labels. Pay attention. Look to avoid sugar, corn syrup, fructose, etc. Buy replacements like honey and maple syrup.
  3. Try a few recipes for baked goods, salad dressings and replacements for your favorite foods. I suggest recipes by Cassie Joy Garcia, Diane Sanfilippo or any quick paleo recipe google search will do the trick.
  4. If you are having a craving eat fruit.
  5. When eating out just ask! Be THAT person. Lol. I am. I ask, I alter, whatever I need to do to get what I want. I’ve never had a restaurant not comply.

Good luck!! I want to hear your feedback. Please leave a comment with your questions and experiences! Thank you for being here!