Part I: The Anal Incident Last fall took me for a ride. I let bad habits return. I let doubts creep in. I sloughed off my self-care routine. Slowly. Gradually. Unavoidably. My body reached a breaking point. You know when you are keeping everything together on the outside, but just below the surface you can tell something is off? We are wise to listen to that, but sometimes we need tough lessons, like the one I was granted one evening last December. when I found myself with deep tummy cramps. The day before I had driven to and from Atlanta in the trafficky rain for work. I remember being tense the whole day. When I returned home, I made an 8 pm pour over coffee to fuel me through some logistical computer work - something that seemed like a great idea at the time. I remember kinda feeling like a badass… to be working so hard and relentlessly. Not surprisingly, the next day I woke up feeling unrested and unwell. My gut was in a knot and I was low energy. I had cramps similar to a period but emanating much deeper inside of me. I wondered if I was just going to start mine early or something. I knew I had meetings all day and wouldn’t be able to tend to my health until the afternoon, so I decided to do a coffee enema after work. For me, coffee enemas had served as a wonderful source of release and energy renewal in the past. So I thought to myself, maybe this will help relieve the pressure-y knots and cramps. Even though I knew coffee enemas are not to be done in times of stress. Even though I knew coffee enemas are not to be done past 3 pm. Even though I knew I probably just needed to take a day off and lay off the caffeine and computer work, I did it anyway. So at 4 pm I’m all prepped for the enema. I’ve got this routine down. In the past, it wasn’t a problem for me to hold in the fluid for 20+ minutes. This afternoon felt different. Almost immediately upon inserting the tip, I clenched up & felt pain. I hadn’t even released any liquid and my body went in immediate rejection mode. I tried to use the restroom, thinking that going might help, but my body just tensed up again. I ditched the coffee enema idea, perplexed as to what was going on, and decided to make some soup. But I couldn’t really stand up. I just wanted to be in the fetal position. So I laid down on the couch until the cramps grew so strong that I surely thought I just needed to go to the bathroom. When I went, it felt like some liquid came out. Maybe I just have food poisoning and am gonna have diarrhea, I thought. But when I wiped, it was pure blood. And in the toilet, more blood. Definitely not coming from a period. Definitely coming from my butt. OUCH. WTF. I was kinda freaking out. It was around 7 pm by now. My husband had just gotten home from work. I told him I didn’t feel well and was going to bed early. I didn’t want to say anything more lest I freak him out, too. I texted my mom, some healthcare friends, and read some articles feverishly on the web as to what this could possibly mean, all the while praying the pain would go away because the cramps were intensifying by the minute. All I could do was rock back and forth in bed, holding my tummy tight, to distract from the discomfort. Throbbing anus. Deep, gnarly cramps. Kinda nauseous. Kinda freaking out. The sense of something was seriously wrong further amplified the pain as strong stress signals pulsed through me. By 9 I couldn’t handle it any more. I was definitely in freak out mode by now. So I told my husband he might need to take me to the hospital. I pulled myself out of bed to use the restroom. The downward pressure was so intense but if I tried to push to release the pressure, seething pain just emanated throughout the whole lower half of my body. So much so that my ears started ringing so loud that I couldn’t really hear what my husband was saying. I couldn’t stand up. I was so dizzy and light-headed, I thought I might faint. I was in so much pain. I couldn’t fathom walking down the stairs to get into his car. The look of fear on his face. The bewilderment twisted with pain on my own. It was heavy. I didn’t even care I was half naked rolled in a fetal position on the floor. I didn’t care if it would be $10k in hospital bills to call an ambulance. I was desperate. Fast forward a day and a half + an absurdly large hospital bill I still don’t understand + 1 CT scan + lots of IV fluid and unwanted antibiotics later…. and I’m back home. I am still only pooping mucus and blood. I still can’t eat. My ass still aches with the pressure of a rhinoceros sitting on my colon. And I am sooooooooo confused and depressed. I think being in the wellness space so long, seeing clients, teaching on health…. well it just makes you just feel like a total and complete failure when something like this happens. Imposter syndrome strikes and on top of your physical pain, you now have this mental component of feeling like a failure. It was a rough time. But it was a time I needed, in some weird and wacky way. For the week following my anal incident (as I like to call it), I was completely at the mercy of my body and its needs. I was in full-blown senescence. My only focus was resting and getting well. My only focus was pooping not blood and eating again. I did nothing else. I let my mom and husband take care of me. I let my coworkers take care of my work. I let my body lay on the couch and not feel bad about it. I let my emotions do their thing. I moped. I cried. I pleaded to God. Looking back on it, I was probably being a drama queen, somewhat delighting in feeling so dismal and sorry for myself, but that is what I needed to heal. I took several hot soaks a day. The heat of the water, the gentleness of its touch, was the only thing that brought relief. At one point when my mom and husband were out running errands, I drew myself another bath to relieve the aching pressure. This time it was quite intense. I still had the constant sensation to poop but was only passing mucus and blood. So I swayed back and forth in the tub, praying at the top of my lungs. Chanting, breathing audibly. It was so cathartic. I was crying both happy and desperate tears. And then suddenly something shifted. I felt a blockage release. I felt a glimmer of hope return. I felt Divinity present. I felt an immense love for my body, one I’ve never felt before. This is what this whole deal was about. The clenching, the resisting, the denying myself grace, the denying my body a voice. The deep pattern these bad habits had etched into me. THIS was the root. THIS is what needed attention. My gut, my second brain, was simply responding to this defective state I’d created internally. My gut was simply responding to my incessant, habitual denial. My body just wanted some love. And not just superficial love by eating “right” and exercising. REAL, unconditional, devoted love. More tears. More hugging my knees in tight, saying I love you I love you I love I’m so sorry I’m so sorry I’m so sorry. And my recovery had begun. That night I finally stopped pooping blood. I finally felt the delight of being hungry again. I had some energy to go on a walk. I had some energy to chuckle at myself. Part II: I've Bean Trying Something New God speaks through people. I had this belief affirmed on a long drive to the beach for New Years, about 1 month after my anal incident. A dear friend shared a podcast with me called “Magic Beans”. Having several hours of open road ahead of me, I gave it a whirl. Thirty minutes in, I’m crying. I call her and thank her for sending me exactly what I needed to hear. The podcast featured an interview with a woman diagnosed with Crohn’s around my age. Previously, she was living the successful business woman life, looking feeling great although just under the surface her body was starving for attention. Woah, that resonated. Her Crohn’s diagnosis was far more severe than my potential ulcerative colitis state, but similarities between her journey and my own kept me hooked on every word. Having had every other treatment fail, both conventional and alternative, she was wasting away to a feather and losing hope by the day. It took a random recommendation of a friend (again, God speaks through people) sharing a book on beans for healing inflammatory GI conditions. She read the book and thought it was ridiculous, but something inside her told her to try it out nonetheless. The rest is history (this woman is Unique Hammond, by the way!). Now the picture of health, beaming, glowing, and sharing her story with the world, I was compelled to follow suit. I tried the bean protocol in earnest for 3 weeks preceding my diagnostic colonoscopy. I tried to do it longer but it took about a week and a half to wean off coffee, matcha, black tea, AND chocolate entirely (a premise of the bean protocol is to reduce the amount of work your liver has to do, and caffeine elicits a big response from the liver)... so I did what I could. Apparently 3 solid weeks was all I needed because I received an absolutely clean bill of health following my colonoscopy (which was ordered to affirm that I had colitis). The doctor even said, “I had a perfect colon.” YALL, BODIES WERE MADE TO HEAL. If you have a cut and you keep it clean and don’t pick on it, a scab will form and eventually that cut will heal. The same goes for our intestines. Did you know the epithelial cells of our colon recycles every 3 DAYS?! That means 3 solid days of staying away from any offending agents, not “picking” or interrupting the healing process that takes place when we just get out of the way… that might be all it really takes. Well it took me 3 weeks to take my colon from colitis-central to the best it’s ever BEAN (pun intended). AND WOW. I’m still in awe. I’m still unpacking. I’m still eating beans every day, multiple times a day. I am still figuring it out. I’m actively working towards better understanding the ecology of my body. In truth, the bean protocol teaches certain things that counter what I’ve been taught. But I can’t deny the results I’m seeing, and I can’t deny the way I feel. So another major lesson through this whole process has been the value of CONSIDERING THE ALTERNATIVE - something that’s hard to do when you have certain ideals or beliefs that have been etched into your brain. When we get trapped in our little cognitive bubbles- be they health, politics, religion or philosophy-related- it’s so easy to think that anything other is completely crazy, wrong, obtuse. We all do this, and it’s okay. It gives us stability and footing. But I’m finding that a part of becoming more adaptable & interesting is humbling ourselves to the alternative - Being open to being wrong. Being willing to learn more and judge less. Stepping outside our comfort zone widens our base for a stronger, sturdier mode of being. For me, considering the alternative healed my gut and gave me a massive dose of humility and compassion I desperately needed. Was it JUST the beans that healed me? Of course not. It was the introspection, the grace, the humility, the curiosity, the openness. Physical pains are never ever ever ever ever just physical, EVER. They can’t be. We aren’t just matter. We have intangible parts of us that hold the reins, directing our matter, harming or helping it. It’s so easy for me to get caught up in the physical because it’s an easy default mode when life gets stressful. But I have to always be reminding myself that my mind, heart, & soul come first. So obviously by the length of this blog, it’s evident I am still unpacking all the lessons learned following my anal incident. And hopefully by the title of this blog, you can see that humor will always serve an invaluable role for me in any healing situation. It’s an honor to share this with you- in the hope that it might make you feel edified, inspired, or simply a little less alone if you are going through something right now. The original bean/soluble fiber protocol is the work of Karen Hurd, although you can find other resources from individuals and practitioners who have trained under her, like Unique Hammond’s course. I’m enrolled in a few of her courses on treating digestive disorders but she offers courses on everything from hormones to diabetes and mental health. The premise of her work is in clearing toxins from enterohepatic circulation by eliminating anything that elicits unnecessary cellular responses (that the liver has to break down) and using soluble fiber as a means to remove toxins from the bile. Her methodology is based on the idea that recirculating toxins in the bile wreaks havoc all over the body, affecting different organ systems depending on the individual.
when you are stressed! Case study: A young woman, very driven and ambitious, has been steadily gaining weight ever since she turned ~25 despite being more conscious of her diet than ever. She doesn’t snack and stays away from carbs. She’ll have an occasional drink on the weekend but it’s always a clear liquor mixed with soda. She skips breakfast when she feels like she over-ate the night before. She exercises daily and even does restorative work like yoga, meditation, and prayer. She’s grown increasingly self-conscious of her body and wonders what she could possibly be doing wrong. We all know this person - it may be you! Unwarranted weight gain is often a driver for someone coming to see a wholistic practitioner, but it’s seldom the real issue. We live in a conundrum - our bodies are designed to survive periods of starvation, but in the modern, developed world this is (fortunately) not a primary concern. In fact, most women would be more than happy to lose some weight. 80% of U.S. women don’t like how they look. Apart from high standards being set in our primary media sources, there is something else going on here. Weight control is not simply a matter of calories in versus energy expended. Why are so many women unhappy with their weight and/or unable to lose weight? In our personal experience, work, and research, 3 things stick out as important here:
*Guess what? They are all interconnected! 1. STRESSThe body’s adaptive stress response is a beautiful thing. When it switches on, it helps us act instantly and intuitively. Whether it be escaping danger or performing our best, our mechanisms for responding to stress make us hyper-focused and energized. Think of a kayaker before going down a 30 ft waterfall or the driver who barely misses a head-on collision because their body reacted before the mind even had a chance. Our body’s innate intelligence brings us out of harm's way thanks to this brilliant stress response. When activated, hormones like cortisol, adrenaline, and noradrenaline are released and our body snaps into action. Here’s the issue: we aren’t designed to stay in this stressed state long-term. We are built for acute, not chronic, stress. This means that when we are constantly in a stressed-out state, those hormones, endocrine organs, and mechanisms get depleted rapidly. Chronic stress bleeds our life force and shifts us into a state of survival mode. And what does survival mean for our evolutionary bodies? STORE FAT. For hundreds of thousands of years, the primary chronic stressor we faced was starvation. Flash forward to chronically stressed out people today and the mechanism is the same. You tell the body you’re stressed, and the body protects you by packing on the fat. When you are stressed, your whole body responds. 2. HORMONESWhich brings us to hormones. Hormones are the intelligent messengers that carry out the stress response. The primary hormones involved in stress are cortisol, adrenaline, and noradrenaline (also known as epinephrine and norepinephrine). These have relationships with our reproductive hormones like testosterone, progesterone, and estrogen. This is why women often lose their period when stressed: the body pulls resources from making reproductive hormones and directs them towards making more stress hormones. *When I was in a perpetually stressed state and dangerously below weight, I lost my period for 8 years!* The HPAT (Hypothalamus - Pituitary - Adrenal - Thyroid) axis is the orchestrator of our stress response. You can think of this highly intelligent interconnected web as the way our brain speaks to our body by way of messenger hormones. When the hypothalamus (the control center of the brain) receives input, it triggers the release of hormones via the pituitary, adrenal, and thyroid glands. The HPAT not only oversees the stress response but also energy metabolism because the two go hand in hand. Cortisol is the main hormone talked about when it comes to chronic stress and weight gain. “Cortisol belly” is even a term for folks who tend to gain weight around their midsection. This hormone is produced by the cortex (outer layer) of the adrenal glands and is triggered for release after receiving messages from the pituitary and hypothalamus. Since cortisol is a stress hormone designed to protect us from starvation and death, it is only doing its job when it causes the accumulation of abdominal fat: this is the region where our most important organs reside, and fat protects them! Fitness and biohacking expert Ben Greenfield mentions several case studies in his book, Beyond Training, in which women training for marathons and triathlons would accumulate fat around their belly despite exercising strenuously and eating clean. An excess of stress-induced cortisol release is likely the explanation. Thyroid hormones can also fall out of balance as a result of chronic stress. The thyroid and its messengers regulate metabolism, body temperature, growth, and development. That’s why low thyroid hormones can cause sluggish metabolism, pesky weight gain, constipation, and bloating. Low thyroid can also impede the detoxification of toxic metabolites and cause the delayed drainage of hormones like estrogen, insulin, and leptin which are all associated with weight gain (Yance). Furthermore, inability to detox leads one to feel even more inflamed, bloaty, and downright yucky. Estrogen imbalance is often associated with weight gain and can be a source of endogenous stress to the body if it’s not detoxified efficiently. It’s very common for both men and women to struggle with estrogen breakdown because our modern world is filled with things that mimic estrogen. Plastics (especially BPA) leached into food and water supplies, widespread pharmaceutical and birth control use (even if you aren’t taking these drugs, they don’t effectively breakdown so recirculate in the water supply), and our love of soy all contribute to excessive estrogens and xeno-estrogens in the environment. You can see how a vicious cycle of toxicity can kick in when we are perpetually in a stressed state, right? “The balancing of hormones by the hypothalamus, pituitary, and thyroid is a continual dance that is influenced by the emotions, the environments, and seasonal changes.” (Yance, 2013) **For me, a clear sign of inability to detox estrogen were my cyclically sore boobs following ovulation. When I started taking herbs and nutraceuticals like Calcium-D-Glucarate to help with my detoxification pathways and liver health, the soreness went away.** 3. DysbiosisThe make-up of our microbiome says a lot - if not everything - about us. Each one of us has an individualized and highly dynamic ecosystem in our gut that is constantly influenced by genetic and environmental factors. While each individual’s microbiome is unique, similarities exist in the microbial composition and function of healthy peoples’, suggesting a common foundation required for host (i.e. YOU!) health (Turnbaugh et al, 2007). A balanced microbiome means good immunity (after all 80% of our immune system lives here), healthy brain function (70% of our serotonin is made here, too), and a sound digestion. However, when this core microbial community deviates from the norm, dysbiosis occurs. Dysbiosis (from dys-, or “bad”, & -biosis, Greek for “mode of life”) is not only uncomfortable, but it is also associated with an increased risk of disease ranging from metabolic (obesity and type 2 diabetes) to autoimmune and neurodegenerative (Woting & Blaunt, 2016; Pistollato et al, 2016; Budhram et al, 2017). Research now suggests that dysbiosis plays a role in your ability to feel satiation or hunger, energized or bloated, and how easily you gain or lose weight. Novel studies are beginning to illuminate how certain gut bacteria may alter appetite control via the gut-brain axis. In fact, the etiology and progression of eating disorders can even be linked to identified microbial communities (Lam et al, 2017)! Animal data now reveals how particular gut bacteria impact the production and activity of appetite-regulating hormones and affect the HPA axis via neural and cytokine-mediated pathways. For example, Bifidobacterium spp. produce calming neurotransmitters like GABA and Enterococcus spp. which play a huge role in serotonin production (Banks et al, 2015; Cryan & Dinan, 2012; Lam et al, 2017). Dr. Joel Greene has shed light on incredible research showing how certain microbial communities are more abundant in lean people than overweight people: Akkermansia and Bifidobacteria. Akkermansia is very prolific in the guts of very fit people. It helps maintain the layer of mucus on the gut’s surface and plays a role in calories burned. Bifidobacteria can turn on the genes that keep one trim and are also involved in cellular energy production. Lastly, having a dysbiotic gut can simply make you feel fat. Excessive bacteria - good or bad - can have a farty party after you consume a carb-rich meal (even healthy carbs like cassava and sweet potatoes!), leaving you feeling uncomfortably full and bloated. There was a period of time where I was chronically underweight but always felt “fat” because I consumed a vegetarian diet rich with raw cruciferous veggies and hummus. I thought I was being healthy while in actuality, I was skewing my microbial communities out of balance with my strict and imbalanced eating habits. So there you have it - in our opinion, stress, hormone imbalance, and dysbiosis are the 3 interconnected reasons why losing weight can be so hard despite doing everything “right”. If you are someone who falls into this category, ask yourself the following questions before cutting calories and exercising profusely:
Herb & Nutrient ImmersionHere are 10 herbal and nutrient tips that helped me on my path towards restoring a healthy weight. 1. Protein - proteins are made of amino acids, and amino acids are the building blocks of our hormones, neurotransmitters, muscle, and connective tissue - this means if you want good hormone function and muscle definition, eat your protein! You should be getting the equivalent of your ideal body weight in grams per day. So if your goal is 130 lbs, see if you can consume 130 g of protein daily. Learning this was a bit of a shock to me because I was eating way below this regularly. When I even marginally increased my protein intake (and supported it with digestive enzymes*), I noticed better tone and muscle growth despite keeping my exercise the same. High protein-foods also stimulate thermogenesis, which is the body’s process of generating heat by burning fat cells. Plus, higher protein diets means more satiety (because it boosts leptin sensitivity) and less bloat. *Increasing protein intake suddenly might leave you feeling heavy as a rock if you haven’t addressed your stomach acid and digestive enzyme levels. 2. Matcha - Camellia sinensis in all her forms (green tea, white tea, matcha) also stimulates thermogenesis due to its high concentration of caffeine and catechins. This means you burn fat more efficiently. Green tea also helps regulate blood sugar, and high blood sugar is very stressful to the body. I love Matcha with coconut cream in the afternoon. It gives me clean energy, cuts cravings for a coffee and cookie (which almost always leaves me feeling shaky and headache-y), and I’ve found it helps me have a 2nd bowel movement - something I was never able to do. 3. Ginger - Zingiber officinale is another thermogenesis-stimulating herb with an affinity for improving digestive function. This means that Ginger’s benefits are two-fold: better, more efficient digestion means less bloat and more satiation; thermogenesis means more efficient burning of fat for energy! I love a cup of hot ginger tea with meals to improve my digestion and metabolism. 4. Spicy peppers - hot spicy foods like chili, cayenne, jalapeno, and paprika all warm the digestive system, improving digestion and stimulating - you guessed it! - thermogenesis. For digestion to be thorough and efficient, it must be warm. Many of us in the Western world have a Cold and Damp diet according to Traditional Chinese Medicine. This means that foods aren’t always completely broken down, leading to stagnation, congestion, and down-right clogged and inflamed sensations. Incorporating spicy foods brings circulation and warmth to the gut. 5. Apples and apple cider vinegar - there’s a reason using hot vinegar to clean a crusty casserole dish is so effective; vinegar has the same effect in the body! A shot of ACV (2 tbsp, 4 oz water, lemon and/or honey to taste) is like giving your insides a good scrub-down. As a result of living in a toxic world, we tend to accumulate toxins. Oftentimes, it’s this ambiguous and compounded crud clogging up our drainage and detox pathways that make us feel fat and inflamed. I’ve found that having a shot of ACV first thing in the morning and again in the afternoon can really have an astounding effect on my mood, alertness, and sense of clarity. Apples are similarly incredible. Joel Greene points out that apple skins are the ultimate food source for Akkermansia, that beneficial bacteria that makes metabolism super efficient. Apples also contain lots of vitamins, antioxidants, and fiber. Just be sure you are eating fruit before a meal, and always go for organic and low-sugar varieties like Granny Smith - new varieties of conventional apples are sometimes just delivery mechanisms for pesticides and un-naturally boosted sugars. 6. Artichokes and artichoke leaf tea - this may be the most under-appreciated vegetable. The immature bud of the Cynara scolymus plant is a food while the leaves are a powerful remedy for high blood sugar and cranky livers. Both the food and herb are known to help normalize lipids. The very bitter leaf is an incredible cholagogue, improving bile flow for more efficient digestion and assimilation of fats. I’ve found the touch of artichoke leaf in our Healing Harvest tea to be an excellent companion to a meal. 7. All things Coconut - every part of the coconut can be part of a robust, balanced diet. The oil and butter are rich in medium-chained triglycerides which offer an immediate source of fuel (unlike other fats) but don’t cause a blood sugar spike (unlike many carbs). Adding coconut cream or milk, or blending oil into my morning coffee allows me to decrease my feeding window while not causing me to crash or fall out of ketosis. Coconut water is rich in electrolytes for very efficient hydration, and the flour is rich in fiber and a great gluten-free substitute. I’ll commonly make cookies with a blend of coconut and pumpkin seed flour for a low-carb, high energy snack. Check out our Cocoa-kies recipe. 8. Grapefruit - there’s just something about eating half a grapefruit that leaves me feeling clean and rejuvenated. Grapefruits have a fascinating chemistry that works on the phases of liver detox while also helping to reduce insulin and increase metabolism. I love to add a splash to my morning ACV shot, or to snack on a half after dinner. 9. Dandelion greens- Taraxacum officinale translates to “the official remedy for disorders”, implying that this is a plant you want on your team. All parts of Dandelion from the roots to the flower have been used for centuries as both medicine in food. Each part of the plant as a unique gift to offer, but the greens are especially great for cleaning up a sluggish, congested digestive system. Dandelion greens are incredibly bitter, indicating their use as a cholagogue for dredging bile from the liver and gallbladder. They also have a potent redox-antioxidant capacity which means they protect the liver from toxins. Their potassium-sparing diuretic action means they help remove retained water and inflammation, giving your drainage pipes a little reboot every time you eat them. 10. Adaptogens - I saved the best for last. For the modern human with multiple stressors ranging from environmental to dietary and emotional, leaning on the helping hand of adaptogens is a wise decision. Adaptogens are like personal trainers for your stress response - while you might not be able to change the stress all around you, you can change the way you respond to them. This is where adaptogens play a fascinating role. They are unique and renowned in their ability to re-regulate our regulatory systems like metabolism, detoxification, and hormone balance by acting on the HPA axis (remember that complex communication network that connects the brain to the body?). While all adaptogens have this unique trait in common, each is different and in my opinion, always works better when combined with other supportive herbs. We use adaptogens in formula in many of our products. My go-to is Rally - it’s got calming, warming Ashwagandha, nourishing Shatavari, and grounding Reishi to start my day off in the right state of mind. Resources Banks, W. A., Gray, A. M., Erickson, M. A., Salameh, T. S., Damodarasamy, M., Sheibani, N., ... & Reed, M. J. (2015). Lipopolysaccharide-induced blood-brain barrier disruption: roles of cyclooxygenase, oxidative stress, neuroinflammation, and elements of the neurovascular unit. Journal of neuroinflammation, 12(1), 1-15.
Budhram, A., Parvathy, S., Kremenchutzky, M., & Silverman, M. (2017). Breaking down the gut microbiome composition in multiple sclerosis. Multiple Sclerosis Journal, 23(5), 628-636. Cryan, J. F., & Dinan, T. G. (2012). Mind-altering microorganisms: the impact of the gut microbiota on brain and behaviour. Nature reviews neuroscience, 13(10), 701-712. Lam, Y. Y., Maguire, S., Palacios, T., & Caterson, I. D. (2017). Are the gut bacteria telling us to eat or not to eat? Reviewing the role of gut microbiota in the etiology, disease progression and treatment of eating disorders. Nutrients, 9(6), 602. McLaren, L., & Kuh, D. (2004). Body dissatisfaction in midlife women. Journal of Women & Aging, 16(1-2), 35-54. Gallivan, H.R. (2014). Teens, Social Media And Body Image. Park Nicollet Melrose Center. Url:https://www.macmh.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/18_Gallivan_Teens-social-media-body-image-presentation-H-Gallivan-Spring-2014.pdf Greenfield, B (2020). Joel Greene Podcast Part 1: How To Reboot The Gut, Eat Cheesecake Without Gaining Weight, Amplify Any Fasting Protocol & Maximize Fat Loss. In The Ben Greenfield Fitness Podcast. https://bengreenfieldfitness.com/podcast/biohacking-podcasts/joel-greene/ Pistollato, F., Sumalla Cano, S., Elio, I., Masias Vergara, M., Giampieri, F., & Battino, M. (2016). Role of gut microbiota and nutrients in amyloid formation and pathogenesis of Alzheimer disease. Nutrition reviews, 74(10), 624-634. Turnbaugh, P. J., Ley, R. E., Hamady, M., Fraser-Liggett, C. M., Knight, R., & Gordon, J. I. (2007). The human microbiome project. Nature, 449(7164), 804-810. Woting, A., & Blaut, M. (2016). The intestinal microbiota in metabolic disease. Nutrients, 8(4), 202. Yance, D. R. (2013). Adaptogens in medical herbalism: elite herbs and natural compounds for mastering stress, aging, and chronic disease. Simon and Schuster. (aka PUFAs!)Saturated fats are fatty acids with carbon chains that are fully loaded (or saturated) with hydrogen bonds. These chains stack perfectly on top of one another, making them solid at room temperature. Think butter, lard, and coconut oil. Unsaturated fats have unfilled hydrogen bonds, creating kinks in their carbon chains which keeps them from stacking on top of one another uniformly. These kinks make them liquid at room temperature. Poly-unsaturated (poly- means many) fats have multiple kinks in their fatty acid chains and mono-unsaturated fats (mono- means one) have one kink. Sesame and avocado oil are naturally produced unsaturated fats; olive oil is a naturally occurring mono-unsaturated fat. While humans love categories, all naturally occurring fats are actually a combination of poly-, un-, and mono-unsaturated fats. Butter, for example, is 25% mono-unsaturated. Why Clear Veggie Oils Are Problematic
"These now rancid fats trigger a cascade of inflammatory processes in the body. This is an issue because clear veggie oils are everywhere from healthy snack foods to fried food at both fancy and fast-food restaurants. We can get all the polyunsaturated fats we need by consuming Whole Food sources of nuts, seeds, & cold water fish. The abundance of clear veggie oils, however, has tipped our fat ratios out of balance. The primary PUFAs to look out for are*: canola oil, soybean oil, cottonseed oil, safflower oil, grapeseed oil, & sunflower oil Get this: the ideal ratio of polyunsaturated Omega 6 (Linoleic Acid, LA) to Omega 3 (Alpha-linolenic Acid, ALA) is 1:1... But the average America has a ratio of ~20:1! This stark imbalance means major inflammation in the body (It’s also the underlying reason why so many health professionals recommend fish oils, or Omega 3s). It makes sense that most people - even health-conscious ones - have an overabundance of rancid PUFAs in their life. Of course anything fried is going to present your body with inflammatory omegas, but ready-made snacks like cookies, chips, crackers, dressings, and sauces are some of the biggest offenders. Since clear veggie oils are often subsidized and very cheap, they are used for baking, frying, and sautéeing at even the fanciest restaurants. It's impossible to avoid every single PUFA as a modern human, but bringing awareness and avoiding them as much as you can will work wonders! Fatty Takeaways
*You CAN find good quality veggie oils that are cold-pressed such as walnut, flax, and sunflower even; however, these are very few and far between, quite expensive, and must be stored in dark bottles away from light and heat.
The unfortunate truth: We live in a bit of a toxic soup these days. From the water to the air, our soil to our food supply, and all the products we use to clean our house, skin, and hair - we are inundated in foreign information that can overwhelm the body. And let’s not forget emotions and endogenous toxins that our bodies must also process! Toxins interact and compound, presenting a major burden to the body if our drainage and detox pathways and cellular metabolism aren’t functioning in tip-top shape. Our bodies are designed to drain and detox toxins.... but there's a problem: the modern diet and lifestyle aren't conducive to supporting daily detox. So, we feel the need to do extreme fasts or cleanses to purge us of all the accumulated crud. But that attitude just presents another issue: the body doesn’t like extremes; it prefers gentle transitions and steady, slow progress. So lots of these crash diets and detoxes just leave us feeling exhausted and deprived. Sure, we might have lost a few pounds, but they will likely come right back, along with the other issues we were trying to remedy with a quick fix. The ideal scenario would be to open and support our drainage & detox organs while also eliminating toxic exposure and build-up... ...which is where an elimination diet comes in. You might be thinking to yourself: "But I believe in intuitive eating and fear that restriction might lead to unhealthy or obsessive thoughts about food." You aren't wrong. Restricting food can mess with individuals who have an eating disordered past, and not everyone is ready for an elimination diet. However, until we take a break from something, we will never know what effect it is having on our body, mind, or spirit. Furthermore, many foods we daily consume could be aggravating or even causing injury to our bodies. Elimination diets don't have to be about deprivation - they should be about nourishing yourself and reconnecting with your body's needs. Unfortunately, food isn't simple anymore and our modern food supply is not clean. Even if you only shop at health food stores, you are still going to be bombarded with rancid oils, denatured proteins, and added sugars. You will find foods that have come from the other half of the globe and foods that have been exposed to chemicals (yes, even organic ones) that confuse and clog your body. When we don't give our body a break, it is going to start malfunctioning sooner or later. A temporary elimination diet, focusing on whole foods can offer that break. Take me for example. I was your classic skinny, cardio-obsessed vegetarian. Whole grains, fruits and nuts were LIFE. At this same time, my gut was in terrible disarray. I had stomach aches and bloating daily and I rarely pooped. An elimination diet would have been perfect for me - not one that restricted calories, but one that gave me a break from the foods that I’d grown sensitive to. My digestive juices had grown weak and lazy (meat requires lots of stomach acid, so if we don’t ever consume it, our body won’t feel the need to make as much), and all those complex carbs I was consuming were not breaking down like they should have. Instead, they were passing into my colon undigested, serving as a food source for bad bacteria, causing all that dysbiotic bloating and cramping. And every morning I ate my grape nuts, oat milk, and raisins, I was just repeating the vicious cycle all over again. If you gave 21-year old Eileen some bacon and eggs, a warm bowl of pumpkin soup, chicken piccata and roast carrots, I would have watched my digestive fire return and my bloating and dsybiosis dissipate as I starved the bad bacteria that had colonized my gut. That meal plan doesn’t sound like restriction does it? I guess that’s the whole point of this article: What about food sensitivity tests? There are gobs of tests out there that will quickly tell you your sensitivities without having to actually eliminate anything. However, even with all that technology, a good ole’ fashioned elimination diet + slow reintroduction still remains the gold standard of uncovering food sensitivities. Cross-reactivity is a thing, and even if it seems like a quick-fix, oftentimes those tests will come back showing that you are sensitive to everything (true story!). So save yourself the money and confusion, and consider doing an elimination if you know something is going on with your gut health but don’t know where to start. "Shortcuts make long delays." - J.R.R. Tolkien, The Hobbit In our newly launched 5-week program Dump the Detox, we've included a 3 week elimination diet (called "The Spring Clean") plus a 1 or 2 week Reintroduction period. This course not only allows you to take a break from certain foods that may be harming you, but also walks your through the drainage and detox funnel. This way, you learn how to open and nourish those pathways systematically so your body can handle toxins better & you can live life more freely! In the blogs to come, we will be explaining the why behind eliminating the food groups we do in our Spring Clean. See you there!
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Eileen Brantley & Amy WrightWe are Herb Girls Athens, LLC. Read our blog! Archives
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