FIBER: When doody calls

That's not me if you are wondering.

Whether you want to admit it or not (gentlemen) poop is a part of life. Women poop. Sometimes you will have a poopy day. You will have to change thousands of poopy diapers if you have children. So let me enlighten you with some knowledge and a funny story. 

Fiber is an integral part of keeping your poop shoot clean and in perfect working order. (I'm already laughing as I write this) The process of turning food into waste is a rather complex one, but let me break it down for you in laymen's terms. 

Obviously digestion starts in your mouth where you start to break food down by chewing. When food reaches your stomach it continues to be mushed up and mixed with stomach acids and enzymes that aid in the breakdown of the food. Food is not absorbed in the stomach. The stomach acts as a funnel to slowly deliver broken down food to the small intestine. It is in the small intestine where most of the nutrients are absorbed into the blood stream. Anything leftover that has not been absorbed by the small intestine moves along to the large intestine. Enter fiber. Fiber is not digested by the body, but acts to keep the mass moist so it does not get stuck to the inside of your intestinal walls. The mass that enters the large intestine is mostly watery waste, undigested food, and fiber. Some of the water gets absorbed back into your body through the walls of the large intestine. Your large intestine (colon) is filled with millions of different bacteria that feed on fiber. These bacteria are extremely important to our health and have the capability to synthesize Vitamin K, which is used by our bodies for bone growth and blood clotting. As the bacteria eat the fiber they create CO2, which is why EVERYONE farts. Everything left after the water is absorbed and the fiber is consumed by the bacteria leaves the body in the form of poop.

There are 2 types of fiber, soluble and insoluble. Soluble fiber dissolves in water and insoluble doesn't. Soluble fiber actually absorbs water which is what keeps your poop moist as it travels the 30 or so feet from your mouth to your butt hole. An example of the two would be that soluble fiber is found in the meat of a fruit and insoluble is found in the skins. 

Most Americans do not get enough fiber in their diets which is why products like Metamucil and Citrucel are so popular. My father has always taken Metamucil so I started taking it when I was in college, because I was "having issues". (WARNING: I am not embarrassed to talk about farting or pooping) Specifically I had monster gas. Like clenching my butt cheeks together, leaving the room just to fart type of gas. Not too conducive to being single and ready to mingle if you know what I mean. I thought I was lactose intolerant- meaning I was allergic to dairy. 

It took me about a year to slowly cut all dairy out of my diet. I thought I would loose weight, but I didn't. I thought my gas would go away but it didn't. Instead I started eating all of these fake dairy products like non-dairy creamer (read hydrogenated soybean oil and high fructose corn syrup) and Smart Balance Buttery Spread (soybean oil). Still I was taking my regular dose of Metamucil.

This went on for years. I had to just come to terms with the fact that I would have to date a guy who could deal with massive farts. The climax of my "issues" came when I was just 26 years old. I was in a semi-long distance relationship with this guy (not my current boyfriend), it was a Sunday night and I was driving home from his house. When I had just gotten on the highway I got a wave of "Oh My God I hope there is a rest stop or I am going to shit my pants". Lucky for me there was a major accident blocking the entire highway! I don't know if you have ever been in this situation, but no matter how you cut it it sucks. I squirmed over to the shoulder and rode it illegally until the next exit, low and behold the urge went away. Go figure. 

So I have a nice hour and a half drive home, and as if my butt hole knows I am a mile from my house, the pains start again and this time it is SERIOUS. I'm almost crawling out of my body and literally going 70 miles an hour down our street (long, hilly, windy, and frequented by deer). If I had gotten pulled over I would have had an extraordinary excuse...I was going to shit my pants!!! So I pull up to the driveway (I was living at my father's house at the time) and F***! The driveway is full and I see my father, step-mom, and their best friends sitting at the dining room table having dinner. WHAT THE F*** AM I GOING TO DO???

Our house is on a corner. The front of the house is on a main road, and the side street has probably 20 or so houses on it- cars are always going up and down both of them. I park my car on the side road, and have a freak out moment. "If I wait any longer I won't make it to the bathroom. BUT I can't just run in the house without being noticed by the dinner party. I am going to look like a lunatic. OMG I can't even move right now or I am going to shit right here. If I shit right now I am not going to be able to go into the house because I will have to walk right past everyone eating dinner." In my state of panic I realized that my only option was to unbutton my pants and poop on the side of the car. My only saving grace was that it was pitch black out, because I did not even have time to open the car doors to shield me from any innocent bi-standards who may happen to drive by. 

I literally would have looked like a deer in headlights if anyone had witnessed that scene. Luckily, no one did because they probably would have called the cops and reported someone who looks like they are on crack shitting on the side of the road. (I have tears running down my face right now)  

There are a couple of morals here: #1 stop even if you think the poop has gone away- it hasn't. #2 do what ever you need to do to save face. #3 try to figure out what is making you have to shit on the side of the road.

And that is what I did, although it took me a while and a few more close calls. For whatever reason I switched from Metamucil to Citrucel. My issues- all of them- monster farts, sharting, shitting on the side of the road- went away. After about 2 years of not eating dairy I slowly started eating it again. I had no problems. Low and behold I was allergic to the psyllium husk fiber in Metamucil (Citrucel is not made with psyllium husk). 

Psyllium Husk

This story should not discourage you from eating fiber. Since I have made some huge changes to my diet (specifically eating a lot more fruits and vegetables) I have not needed to take fiber. That is how I believe it should be. You are supposed to get everything your body needs from food and the sun. In my opinion, Metamucil and Citrucel are band-aids just like vitamins are. The only way I would recommend their use is if it is temporary while you are in the process of making the switch to eating more fruits and vegetables, or if you are temporarily on medication that makes you constipated. 

So, I hope I brightened up your Tuesday and gave you a good laugh. Hey, if you can't laugh at yourself then what is the point?

**If you are interested in contributing your stories email me. I am serious. They will not appear on this blog, but maybe we could get a book put together and make some money at it. Who knows! Anything is possible!!!

Ode to Sunday Night Comfort Food

Since I am challenging myself to eat smoothies for the first 2 meals of each day for the next month, I had to find a way to incorporate my favorite weekend breakfast food. The egg burrito.

I tried to find wraps that did not have hydrogenated oils or soy products in my local Stop & Shop, apparently they do not exist, and I did not feel like spending my Sunday afternoon on a hunt for tortilla wraps. SO I had to substitute with whole wheat w/ flax bread.

• 3 farm eggs
• 1 avocado (ripe ones are black and indent when poked)
• 2 sml. bell pepper
• 1 jalapeno pepper (optional)
• 1 slice red onion
• 2 slices whole wheat bread w/ flax seeds
• organic butter
• salt & pepper

This whole process probably took about 10 minutes, and if you are making this for yourself you could probably use a little less than what is above (I didn't finish everything), but in my case I was starving. Note: if you do not really know what it is like to be hungry (as most Americans do not) you will once you start eating strictly fruits and vegetables for majority of your diet. 

Beat the eggs, heat pan to medium, put bread in toaster, cut veggies, melt a tab of butter, cook eggs, spread butter on toast, and VOILA...

This meal is so satisfying on so many different levels. It's quick, healthy, has crunch and creamy, salty & spicy, hot and cold, veggies, carbs, protein, and fat. And yes I eat fat. Fat is necessary in our diets. 

A quick rant about the low fat crazy has damaged our views on eating: 

• #1 The rates of obesity in this country directly correlate to the start of the "low fat is healthy" diet recommendations that were forced on us starting in the early 1980's by the USDA and nutritional scientists (because when you take out fat you substitute it with carbs).
• #2 The science behind nutrition is in its infancy and not enough is known to successfully recommend a way for everyone to eat (i.e. their recommendation for everyone to eat less fat).
• #3 Everyone is different, therefore I think the use of a food pyramid or plate is flawed in that some people do better with raw diets and others need more protein.
• #4 Your body needs fat to perform certain functions. Your brain needs fat, breast milk is something like 50% saturated fat which is vital to the proper growth and development of children.
• #5 Certain vitamins are fat soluble, which means that they need fat to be absorbed by our bodies (Vitamins A, D, E, and K). 

'nuff said! Try this egg sandwich out, it is really great for any meal.

Food vs. Food Like Substances

Author Michael Pollan talks about his rules for eating food vs. food like substances (what most of Americans eat) and some of his thinking behind his convictions. I just finished one of his books, In Defense of Food and it is was a great awakening to me that WE DON'T EAT FOOD...WE EAT THE PRODUCTS OF FOOD SCIENCE! 


Food is:

• Fruits
• Vegetables
• Whole Grains
• Beans
• Legumes
• Fresh Dairy
• Humanely-raised Meat
• Herbs
• Spices

Food Like Substances are:

• Gogurt Portable Yogurt
• Protein Bars
• Lucky Charms Cereal
• Entenmann's Apple Puffs
• Oreos
• Frozen Dinners
• Easy Mac Macaroni & Cheese

I have been in the process of changing over my diet from food like substances to food for the past year. These are some easy ways to make small changes quickly that will make a huge impact in the way that you feel.

• Buy organic dairy. This ensures that there are no hormones or antibiotics fed to the cows which end up in your body after you eat their dairy products.
• Buy grass-fed or humanely raised meat. This ensures that these animals are raised on their natural diet and allowed to exhibit their natural behaviors. The animal is healthier, the meat is healthier.
• Do not buy anything containing hydrogenated oils or high fructose corn syrup. These are two toxic food additives that harm you every time you eat them. HFCS makes everything taste sweeter which feeds your cravings for more sweets, and hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated oils make food like substances last for years on the shelves (gross!).
• Replace one meal with a fruit and vegetable smoothie. Any blender (you know... the one you bought to make margaritas and mudslides) will do. I buy a huge batch once a week (usually no more than $30-$40 worth) and it lasts me just about all week. I try to put at least 5 different fruits and/or vegetables in my smoothies. I find that when I make a healthy choice in the morning it ripples through my food choices for the rest of the day. Plus you will find it will make you feel amazing!
• Do not stress about eating healthy all the time. Or you may become ORTHOREXIC! Just kidding. Make healthy choices as often as you can, and when there is absolutely no possible way of eating something healthy (fruits, veggies, food that is not heavily processed, or covered in gobs of cheese) just think of it as your free pass to indulge in something you would not normally eat but you enjoy.

If you make only these 5 changes you will start to feel the positive effects. You don't have to "go to extremes" like eating only raw food, eating no meat, or not accepting dinner invitations because you know they will not be serving "healthy" food. These 5 upgrades will make a positive change in your life. 

CHALLENGE Day #1- I'm Optimistic

That's not me if you are wondering.

So I usually have a very effective way of over-loading my self with all of these "projects" I want to do. Today is no exception because I have just launched myself into a year-long certification program, a month-long eating challenge, a 5-week-long workout challenge, and that's not including actual work. As I start the day at my trainer's gym getting weighed in for the first time in over a month... I remember why I need a trainer (if I didn't have someone that is going to charge me whether I am there or not, I wouldn't workout nearly as much- I hate wasting money!). While I was there I picked up all of my weigh-in sheets from him so I could analyze my progress over the last 11 months.

OCTOBER 2010

When I started last October (2010) the machine (think robot voice) told me I had 23.6 lbs to lose, and zero muscle mass to gain. At my weigh-in this morning the machine told me I had 15.9 lbs to lose, and zero muscle mass to gain. Woohooo!!! That means I lost 7.7 lbs of PURE FAT!

SEPTEMBER 2011

Now over the past 11 months I have not been consistently loosing weight. I would loose a few pounds then put on a few, then loose a few more then put on a couple more. This is the progression of weight that the machine has told me I need to lose: 23.6, 18.7, 19.2, 21.8, 20.7, 14.1, 16.1, 15.9, 11.2, 13.2, 15.9 (today). I am spotting a trend. I seem to loose a chunk of weight (which happens normally when I eat alot of protein and workout alot) and then when I cannot sustain it for very long I put weight back on.

My goal for the next month is to see how my body reacts to eating 2 meals a day of raw fruit and veggie smoothies, fruit, salads, raw nuts, and eating a normal dinner. During this time I am going to workout like I normally do: at least 2 times a week for an hour, and sometimes 4 days a week up to 2 hours (my workout schedule is sporadic though as my week days are busy busy and I like to take the weekends off). 

I started my new journal with all of my intentions for the day...keeping in mind that there is a famous saying about how "the road to hell is paved with good intentions". Crossing my fingers! I pre-made my morning smoothie so I could guzzle it down after I weigh-in. I am optimistic! Half the battle of actually being something is telling yourself that is what you are (optimistic). After a while your thoughts stop fighting what you are telling them and they fall in line.

My smoothie this morning was:

• 2 ripe bananas
• 1/4 of a pineapple
• 1 mango
• coconut water (unflavored)
• ice

It tastes so good actually that I think I am doing something wrong. Am I allowed to eat something that tastes like dessert for breakfast? Now this may seem like too much smoothie, but as I have experienced over the past few weeks I will drink half right away and the other half about 1 1/2-2 hours later. This smoothie happens to be 100% fruit, and I normally mix in veggies, however I have found that my taste buds do not like vegetables with citrus fruits. Below is the smoothie I made yesterday that was just as good as this morning's:

• 1 red delicious apple
• 1 peach
• 2 ripe bananas 
• handful spinach
• handful collards
• 1/2 cucumber

Now there are many people (doctors, my trainer, etc) that treat fruit sugar like regular refined table sugar. I do not believe this to be the case. First of all, when you eat the entire fruit (whole or in a smoothie) you are getting loads of soluble fiber (the flesh of the fruit) and insoluble fiber (the skins of the fruit). Fiber is super important for the health of your digestive tract, and it also slows the absorption of the sugar into the blood stream. All food breaks down into sugar (glucose), which is what the blood supplies to your cells to grow, maintain health, and repair themselves. What is important is the rate in which the sugar is absorbed into the blood stream. Fruit is a "simple sugar" no doubt, but it is not absorbed as fast as say a piece of white bread (NEVER EAT WHITE BREAD! and by the way all of those tasty loaves of Italian bread at restaurants are white bread). You also get many many nutrients from fruit that improve the health of every part of your body!!! 

If you are new to this way of eating and are interested in having a "PLAN" for cleansing your system I would suggest looking at Reboot Your Life. It is free and after you answer a few questions about yourself they give you a 15 day eating plan including some tasty looking recipes. (I have gotten to the point where I can look at a recipe and tell if it will be good or not- skillz!) As for me, I am going to wing it. I think I have enough smoothie skills at this point to be able to make a variety, and I am going to eat a healthy "regular" meal for dinner. Might need some assistance as I get further along, but for now I am all good!

On we go....

Am I ORTHOREXIC?

I have heard this term a few times lately, and just read this article about how healthy eating that becomes an obsession is called Orthorexia. Well, read the article below, and wanted to share. While you are reading it keep in mind that 70% of Americans are overweight, and I believe if I have my statistics correct 30% are considered obese. Our country spends billions of dollars on sick people.

Orthorexia: Too Much Of A Healthy Thing?

“Eat healthy!” is a trope we’re all used to hearing -- and with good reason. Obesity has reached epidemic levels in the United States, we are consistently inundated with ads for overly-processed junk foods and busy schedules push people towards stopping off at McDonalds instead of cooking a meal at home. But what about the other side of the spectrum? Can you have too much of a good (eating) thing?

In some cases, the answer seems to be yes. Orthorexia -- or an obsession with healthy eating -- is a term that was coined by Steven Bratman, M.D. (a specialist in alternative medicine) in 1997 and has received an increasing amount of media (and scientific) attention over the last few years. Most recently, the TODAY show's Savannah Guthrie sat down with resident nutritionist Madelyn Fernstrom and psychotherapist Robi Ludwig to discuss the issue.

Orthorexia is not a clinical term, and it has not been officially defined as a mental disorder or been given a place in the American Psychiatric Association’s DSM-IV. This, coupled with the lack of clinical studies that have been conducted on the subject (we could only find two) make orthorexia a difficult subject to address with any sort of certainty. A couple of the nutritionists that we reached out to had never encountered this type of disordered behavior and remarked that most of their clients had the opposite issue. However, a growing number of nutritionists, dietitians and psychologists are acknowledging that a focus on healthy food does have the potential to cross the line into obsessive -- and unhealthy -- behavior. “We have no specific criteria [for orthorexia], but we know it when we see it,” registered dietitian and co-founder of AppforHealth.com, Julie Upton, told The Huffington Post.

Dr. Bratman, who published a book on the subject in 2004, entitled “Health Food Junkies,” explained the definition to WebMD as such: “The whole issue is obsession. This is about the obsession with eating to improve your health.” It is this obsession that marks the distinction between making well-informed, careful, healthy decisions and engaging in potentially harmful behavior.

Upton, who works predominantly with an athletic population, says that she sees individuals on a consistent basis who cross the line into health-food obsession. In her experience, athletes tend to be natural candidates for orthorexia as they are involved in industries that are inherently body and food-conscious. Some typical “red flags” that Upton encounters include: spending all day planning out meals, never eating food served at parties and other social events, and targeting very specific ingredients in foods -- regardless of the portion size of the ingredient and whether said ingredient has a real effect on the overall diet. Orthorexia is often characterized by a rigid restriction of some sort, although the type of restriction varies widely person-to-person.

And while education about nutrition is unquestionably a positive, it may be this very environment that encourages the development of disordered behavior in individuals predisposed to these type of conditions. “Within our environment today, we have the opportunity to know so much about the food that we get,” says Roberta Larson Duyff, registered dietitian and author of the “American Dietetic Association Complete Food and Nutrition Guide.” “There’s enough editorial copy out there that the environment can feed on that kind of obsession for those who … do not have a more rounded, realistic view of food.”

While most cases of obsessive behavior regarding healthy food lead to more psychological stress than physical -- namely social isolation and a loss of the joy traditionally associated with eating -- individuals who take orthorexic behaviors to an extreme may end up harming their bodies as well as their minds. “Once you start eliminating food groups and large categories of food, you run the risk of losing out on essential vitamins and minerals,” says Katherine Brooking, registered dietitian and co-founder of AppForHealth.com. She also spoke to the seeming contradiction between a culture of obesity and a culture of health food obsession. “There’s a whole contingent of the population who is paying very little attention to the quality of their food … [but] you also see [people] starving themselves,” she told The Huffington Post. “Our society is very prone to those kind of extremes.”

Ultimately, orthorexia is an issue that seems to merit further research and discussion. However, in the process, Duyff cautions that we shouldn’t be too quick to label or demonize people. “We need to be careful to look at where there is compulsive behavior, and when there is a genuine interest in food and trying to make … strides toward healthy eating.”

Brooking says that for her the bottom line is that making healthy choices should be simple -- not anxiety-producing: “If people feel that they are experiencing anxiety, obsession or stress [over healthy eating], that is something that should be addressed with a health care professional.” Original Source: Aol Healthy Living

WebMD provides a comprehensive list of 10 questions that individuals should ask themselves when trying to identify orthorexic behavior. So what constitutes Orthorexia?

• Are you spending more than three hours a day thinking about healthy food? (YES, I'M GETTING CERTIFIED AS A HEALTH COACH)
• Are you planning tomorrow's menu today? (SOMETIMES, I LOVE TO COOK)
• Is the virtue you feel about what you eat more important than the pleasure you receive from eating it? (NOPE)
• Has the quality of your life decreased as the quality of your diet increased? (NO WAY!)
• Have you become stricter with yourself? (YES IN A SENSE)
• Does your self-esteem get a boost from eating healthy? (YES) Do you look down on others who don't eat this way? (NO)
• Do you skip foods you once enjoyed in order to eat the "right" foods? (YES, I USED TO ENJOY OREOS & EASY MAC...TAKE A LOOK AT THOSE INGREDIENTS AND TELL ME IF THEY SHOULD EVEN BE CALLED FOODS)
• Does your diet make it difficult for you to eat anywhere but at home, distancing you from friends and family. (SOMETIMES)
• Do you feel guilt or self-loathing when you stray from your diet? (NOPE)
• When you eat the way you're supposed to, do you feel in total control? (I NEVER FEEL IN TOTAL CONTROL)

So according to WebMD and my answers....I AM ORTHOREXIC!!


Can I tell you how I really feel about this topic? Good.

First of all, I wouldn't normally diagnose myself from WebMD. I think a lot of people freak themselves out looking up their symptoms. Second, of all of the so-called eating disorders (I believe for sure that people suffer from them) the one that I wouldn't be upset if I had is Orthorexia. I do not think being "obsessed" with eating healthy is a problem if you are getting positive results. I understand where they are coming from, because obsessions are not a good thing, but seriously? I hardly thing this country should be worrying about people who are too healthy!

They should be applauding people who make it a priority to be healthy. How much money does a chronically sick person cost the healthcare system? I don't have that number, but I can tell you from my experience with Nani's chemotherapy that it was $6000+ a month. And that is just one aspect of one cancer patient! There were the doctor's visits, tests, additional medicines, hospital stays, hospice.

Just think of all of the millions with heart disease that go under the knife. Or all of the obese people on insulin because they gave themselves diabetes. Which brings me to another thing that astonishes me. Since I have started researching this topic, and thus made significant changes in my diet, I have heard from numerous people "Just don't go to extremes!" I find it ironic that people think eating less meat, cutting out high fructose corn syrup, hydrogenated oils, and soy products, and eating mostly fruits and vegetables is considered "going to extremes". When in this country alone, millions of people have their chest's cut open to have bypass surgery where they take an artery from your leg and bypass one of your clogged arteries in your heart. THINK ABOUT IT! Which seems more extreme to you?

THIS?

OR THIS?

Orthorexia is ridiculous!


Until this country starts shrinking back to healthier proportions, stops needing surgeries, and gets off of insulin, I would suggest the doctors focus on more important things. Many of our problems can be solved with diet. I am in a situation right now where many people my age do not think that they will ever need a bypass or will ever gain weight as they get older. I was one of them until a year ago! But we have time on our sides which is one of my biggest motivations. I can do this now so that (hopefully) I will never have to have my chest cut open. But you know what? Even if I do, or if I get cancer or some auto-immune disease...AT LEAST I CAN SAY I TRIED!


I'm done ranting. Just had to get it out of my system.

CHALLENGE: Eat More Vegetables

I am not sure it is because summer is officially over that I have a renewed sense of motivation (you would think it would be the opposite, however I tend to blow off many of the things that I care about in order to spend as much time at the beach as possible). There are some major shifts happening in my life right now. In a nutshell: I came to the realization that my job (managing the marketing and operations for a few small businesses & graphic design on the side) does not interest me half as much as my hobby (learning how to prevent cancer), I started making fruit and vegetable smoothies every morning, I signed up for a year long program to get certified as a health coach, and I started writing this blog to force myself to generate content for my book and refine my ideas.

I tend to do this every so often (which my boyfriend is just learning- I think I scared him). I get sick of what I am doing and move on to something else. I graduated grad school four years ago and this will be my 4th "transition" into a different field. Well, I am not sure if this is going to be a phase (I hope not!) but judging by my motivation to learn and practice what I am preaching... I want to make this my career. I never really felt the need to help people- until Nani got sick. I never wanted to be a teacher (in the traditional sense) and, as little Lauren and my boyfriend witnessed, I am not a natural. I got frustrated trying to teach him how to use the cappuccino machine- there is one knob that has 2 settings. I became borderline angry to say the least. 


Lucky for me I can write!


Back to the topic at hand...eating more fruits and vegetables. In all of my reading and video watching, fruits and more so vegetables seem to be the cornerstone of cancer prevention. I just watched an interview earlier of Cherie Calbom, who earned a Master of Nutrition degree at Bastyr University, has practiced as a clinical nutritionist and a celebrity nutritionist, as well as written 17 books on nutrition and juicing. 

If you have about an hour to spare, this interview is a great introduction as to why it is so important to eat a variety of vegetables. My interest (obsession as my boyfriend would call it) started after reconnecting with a high school classmate (and holistic nutritionist- link to her blog Healthier You) a few weeks ago, who happens to eat 100% raw and has for five years. She told me of the amazing positive effects she witnessed in herself after trying a raw diet. The changes were so positive for her that she never went back to eating cooked food. This intrigued me to say the least. 


So I started making fruit smoothies with a handful of dark green leafy veggies, every day for the past week and a half now. I did a smoothie cleanse for the first day and a half, at which point I was so hungry and in need to chew something, that I broke down (I ate homemade hummus and organic corn chips not McDonald's). I apparently underestimated how much smoothie I would actually need to eat to sustain it, but I continued to make and drink an entire blender full of fruit and veggie smoothie a day. 


Let me backtrack and explain my motivation. These are the problems that I have that I think are diet related and can be eliminated by increasing the raw component in my diet (WARNING- I do not get embarrassed by talking about "gross" or "female" things):

• acne
• not able to loose weight (more explicitly fat) and keep it off
• grey hairs
• dark, thick, stubbly facial hair (omg)
• dry skin
• skin rashes
• addicted to ChapStick 
• allergies
• irregular bowel movements (sometimes)
• yeast infections
• UTI's
• horrendous periods
• chronic fatigue
• bad distance vision

I think that sums it up (an I am 28 and considered "healthy"?)!

I have read and heard about so many stories of people changing their lives dramatically by increasing the amount of raw foods they eat...SO...I am going to challenge myself. And I figure the best way to keep me on track is to publicly announce it. My goal is to drink green smoothies for breakfast and lunch for one month, with a healthy dinner of whatever I feel like eating. Now I have already been smoothie-ing for almost 2 weeks and I feel pretty good, however they have been mostly fruit based. I am going to venture into the land of vegetable based smoothies. 

I will do this from Friday, September 9th through my 29th birthday...October 9th- I need a few days to prepare for this venture (mentally and logistically). I will journal everyday about how I feel, what smoothies I drink and what foods I eat, the workouts I did, and will probably give a weekly recap of any changes (positive or negative). I am fortunate enough to exchange my website skills for my personal trainer's work out skills so I will have weekly documentation about my weight, hydration, body fat and muscle composition as I progress with my smoothie skills. I usually work out 1-2 hours a day, 2-4 times a week so I will be keeping that up. I have my previous weigh-ins documented so I will be able to compare this experiment vs. my usual on-and-off healthy diet. 

Now I'm sure I am going to get the usual "what the hell are you doing?" from certain people in my life. "You are just going to drink smoothies?" "You aren't eating enough protein!" "Just don't go to extremes." But the truth of the matter is, I am just going to (try to) keep my mouth shut, keep my head high, and see for myself whether this is all it's cracked up to be. I need to live it before I can preach it. 

Now I have a use for the abundance of dark green leafy vegetables I picked out of my garden (the spinach didn't do so well hence the bag of Dole) 

Wish me luck!

Wine & Chocolate...an Atypical Saturday Night

It's not so atypical for me to be drinking wine on a Saturday night. However, last night I traded in going out for staying in w/ my great friend little Lauren, a bar of dark chocolate, a couple bottles of red wine, and lengthy conversations.

As we sat and watched a spider make its web on my porch between my morning glories and apple tree, we contemplated "important" things (brought out by the wine I'm sure) like starting a vegetable farm (we are serious), great loves, adventures we had together in college (I may start a separate blog about those), and Lauren 's furniture designs to name a few.

I love when little Lauren makes a trip down to see me because the days are filled with inspiration and creativity. I cook. We eat (I feel the need to feed her when she comes down because she is so little, hence her nickname). And she comes up with great combinations .... hence the pinot noir and dark chocolate. 

I normally do not eat dessert,  however since dark chocolate (over 70% cocao) has antioxidant properties, I feel that I am doing something good for myself. You may say that I am using this as an excuse to eat chocolate, but its true! Wine also has been found to have antioxidant properties (it really comes from the grapes but it is so much more fun to drink wine!) Resveratrol is the agent credited with these cleansing qualities, however I believe that we (read scientists, doctors, and researchers) don't know everything about the nutrients our bodies utilize from fruits and vegetables. So I'm sure there are other nutrients we pull out of grapes.

Now there is an argument for not drinking if you are sick or have a disease like cancer, but research shows that the countries that are notoriously heavier wine drinkers (France and Italy for example) have a lower rate of heart disease and other chronic illnesses.  This is interesting because the French also boast a high fat diet which has been advertized by our "experts" as bad for your heart. Dietary fat will be ellaborated on in a future post...

Back to wine and chocolate! 

It is recommended from a cancer-prevention point of view that no more than a glass or two of wine a night is healthy.  It has shown to improve your mood,  increase blood circulation, and may lead to more frequent and exciting  bedroom activites (always a plus!!). And don't forget its antioxidant properties!

But on a serious note, we learned last night that pairing dark chocolate with pinot noir (the wine with the highest levels of resveratrol) is very tasty to the pallete. I do not believe that to focus on eating to prevent cancer means that you can't have fun or eat goodies. Chocolate and wine are good for you in moderation!
Here are some guidlines to help you find the right stuff...

Chocolate should be at least 70% cocao and should not have any soy products in it. Read the ingredients!!! A few good soy-free chocolate brands found at Whole Foods are Pure Icelandic Chocolate, Alter Eco Fair Trade Chocolates, Equal Exchange Chocolates, and Navitas Naturals Organic Raw Chocolate Nibs (warning- this particular one does not have any sugar in it so if you eat it by itself it is extremely bitter).


Red wine is better for you than white wine and pinot noir is the best (it also happens to usually have a light flavor which is paired nicely with most everything ). If possible ask for organic wines with "no sulfites detected". Many liquor stores and wine shops are starting to carry a small selection of these wines.

Enjoy!!

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9/8/11 UPDATE: A new video and article I found at ABC News 

The BEST Sandwich Ever!

Just a quick little blurb about my favorite sandwich in the world!! My Ode to the Tomato Sandwich. It is so simple it is almost stupid, but so satisfying.

I use The Baker brand bread because that is the only one that I have found so far that is store bought and does not have any garbage in it. I like homemade bread better, however sometimes I just don't have the 3 hours it takes to make. The glue that holds it together is Spectrum Organic Canola Mayonnaise. http://www.spectrumorganics.com/index.php. Virtually all store bought mayonnaise brands are made with soybean oil- even the brands that boast they are made with olive oil (the main ingredient is still soybean oil).

I have not written about the controversial topic soy yet (however I will soon) but if you want to know more information in the meantime I would highly recommend The Whole Soy Story by Kaayla T. Daniel. I read it and literally cut all soy out of my diet immediately. It will be a challenge if you are used to eating alot of processed packaged food (including those "healthy" protein bars), but not impossible! I promise.

Anyway, back to the sandwich. Now is the time to take advantage of all of the ripe fresh tomatoes out there. My personal favorite are heirloom- they look funky but they have great flavor. Eat at least one before tomato season is over- you will love it!!

Happy Labor Day Weekend!!!

RELAX! Everything Will Be Okay!

I woke up this morning and opened my curtains to find a lovely late summer morning. I normally don't do this but I decided to take my time. I made a cappuccino (a lovely gift from my boyfriend) opened up my new Bon Appetit and sat with the morning glories and crickets for about an hour. As I sat and read, I thought to myself "Why is it September 1st and this is the first time I am doing this this summer?" 

I am fortunate enough to live a 1/2 mile from the beach and have a patio off of my bedroom. I need to take advantage! Well that is what I decided to do every day until it gets too cold to sit outside (with my morning glories). 

Which brings me to what actually concerns me...STRESS & ANXIETY! I happen to be one of those people that are prone to being anxious, high strung, and tense (I sound like a blast I know haha). I tend to worry about things that may or may not happen in the future. I realize fully that this is useless, that worrying about something is not going to make any difference as to the outcome of a situation (and when I think about the times I fantasized an outcome...it never turned out the way I thought!). I have made it my personal mission to try not to let myself be effected by things that I cannot control. I still get frustrated and angry and worry, but not nearly as much as I did prior to reading a good book and completing a course on becoming less anxious.

A little background information about myself (in a nutshell)...

When I was in high school I remember myself being one of those girls that did what I wanted and if you didn't like it you didn't have to be in my life (somehow I still have the same great group of friends today!). I should have gotten in trouble more times than I can even remember, but apparently had a guardian angel looking over me. I wasn't reckless, but I wasn't careful either. My father asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up and I said "an artist". His response was "artists don't make any money". I didn't care. I went to college half way across the country- twice. I got my bachelors and masters degrees in architecture (which was when I started suffering from self-imposed anxiety and by the way all anxiety is self-imposed). A week after graduation I moved to Atlanta for a job that I knew in my gut I didn't want to do. I took it because it was a great salary right out of college and that is what architecture graduates were supposed to do- sit in a cubicle and fix other people's shitty mistakes on ugly meaningless projects. During the eight or nine months I worked there every day was a countdown (this is where my anxiety gets bad). 

I wake up- countdown until I get into my car...

I get in my car- countdown until I get to my office...

I sit at my desk- countdown until I can leave my office...

I get home- countdown until I have to go to sleep...

EVERY DAY!

So you can see where I went off track. After I quit that job (just in the nick of time right before the real estate bubble burst) I moved home and did nothing for two months. I didn't know what to do. After I got sick of cleaning the house, mowing the lawn, going out for coffee, dinner and drinks, I offered to paint my parents house (the outside...I'm laughing as I write this because that is how bored I was...I WANTED TO PAINT THE EXTERIOR OF THE HOUSE!!). Luckily for me that was when I decided I was going to start looking for a job...and voila! Five weeks later I had a job doing something I knew nothing about (men's clothing), but I didn't care because it was creative and it paid money and it wasn't architecture.

That lasted about a year and a half until, for several reasons, I quit that and started working with my father. Almost immediately my Nani was diagnosed with Stage 4 Pancreatic Cancer. Immediately I was in charge of running the business and helping my father with Nani. It was nonstop craziness for five months. I worked and worked and when I wasn't working I was at the house cooking and taking care of what needed to be done. I got in a workout every now and again, but through the whole ordeal I gained at least 10 lbs. After Nani passed away everything stopped. The stress stopped, the busyness stopped. 

Since college I had suffered from a low level of constant anxiety, and would get extremely stressed out in certain situations mostly involving too much work to do with too little time to do it in. I was very anxious all the time, and the partying and heavy drinking on the weekends didn't make matters better. Needless to say, I woke up wide awake one Monday morning about a month after Nani died at 6:30am (something that NEVER happens). I had racing thoughts and panic feelings. I tried to go back to sleep, tossed and turned, thoughts raced some more. I tried to get up out of bed to get ready for work, but would pace from the bathroom back to the bed. This lasted for 3 hours. I didn't realize I was in the middle of an anxiety attack until much later, but my father helped me by taking me to get this book, The Feeling Good Handbook. I spent the next week going through this book which I credit with getting me out of that anxiety hole I was in. I also ordered the Midwest Center's Attacking Anxiety & Depression Program and dove right in. 

The Attaching Anxiety program took 15 weeks to complete, and it was worth every minute and every penny. After I finished, I still had a little bit of generalized anxiety, but a couple of months after I finished it hit me one day....I haven't had the anxious feeling in a long time. It has been 7 months since I am anxiety free and I feel like I am myself again- back to doing what motivates me! It is amazing how little by little you can get off track and all of a sudden you are having a panic attack at 6:30am on a Monday morning. 

Stress, anxiety, and depression put unnecessary strain on your body in many different ways. When I look back at the high-stress or anxiety periods in my life I was always sick. When I lived in Atlanta I was sick every other week, and at one point for an entire month! I think this happens for two reasons- first stress/anxiety/depression cause chemical reactions in your body that cause a chain reaction. Your body is a machine. When one part isn't working properly it stresses the other parts, and when there is too much stress your body can't defend itself from invaders (colds, flus, infections, even growing cancer cells!) In my case I think the constant anxiety effected my immune system. The other reason is that for someone with chronic anxiety, it is easier to deal with a cold than it is to deal with the things that are causing the anxiety (the fact that I hated my job, the fact that I was 8 states away from my family and friends to name a few).

One of the most important things you can do to keep your body in a healthy state (just as important as the food you eat in my opinion) is keep your stress level down and work towards eliminating anxiety, panic, and depression. Stress is something that is sometimes out of your control. It is life. Sometimes life is good, and others it is bad. But I fully believe that anxiety, panic, and depression are 100% curable- I repeat 100% curable without drugs. Because I am living proof. It wasn't easy. I did alot of soul searching, thinking, and analyzing. But I can testify that I do not have any more anxiety and I did not take any meds in the process. 

Being less stressed makes life much more pleasant- so you can put everything aside and sit and enjoy a cup of coffee on a peaceful morning with the crickets!

RELAX! Your job will still be there, the laundry will get done. Everything will be okay!

American Meat... from factory to our plate?

While researching and analyzing foods for my own knowledge and good health, it has come time to discuss the complex topic of meat. I stopped eating meat a year and a half ago because I realized that I became nauseous after eating dinner (which was pretty much the only meal that would include meat). I decided that I would stop eating meat for a while to see if it helped (it did). I thought I would rather cut it out of my diet instead of masking the sick feelings with medicine- which is what most people do. So for one year I ate no chicken, beef, pork or other meat products. (I did however eat fish and eggs.)

How could you treat this guy poorly?

I stopped eating meat before I developed an interest in the quality of the foods that we eat so I wasn't really concerned with why I was feeling nauseous after eating meat. Now I am. After about a year of eating a meat-free diet, I started eating meat every now and again (usually steak) because I just craved it- I would say about 4-7 times a month. In all of my reading, I have come to understand that my food's food is extremely important.

There are several factors on this topic which I would like to bring to the table....

#1 All meat sold at large grocery chains (maybe with the exception of Whole Foods and Fresh Market) is raised on factory farms. The animals are fed an unnatural diet of corn and soy (insert Big Agra Companies) which promotes an unhealthy abundance of Omega-6's fats (pro-inflammation). A seed based diet (corn & soy) is so unnatural for these animals that it causes them to get sick and need antibiotics (insert Pharmaceutical Companies). Then comes the topic of slaughter, which in America is one giant question mark. There is a shroud of secrecy around the practice of slaughtering and multitudes of stories from the first-handers about how horrific it is- you can YouTube those videos and testimony- it's disturbing to say the least.

#2 Animals in the wild naturally seek out the healthiest possible diet that they can find. Cows will eat grass. Pigs will eat grubbs, bugs, and acorns. Chickens will eat insects. There is nothing about factory raised animals that is natural. I am not going to get into the ethical reasons for being anti-factory farming, but there are plenty of them if you want to look into it (look up Eating Animals written by Jonathan Safran Foer). "All Natural" labels on factory farmed meat are contradictory- just like most health labels paid for by the food companies...see my post: FDA & Other Health Associations- I wouldn't trust them.

#3 Don't think for a minute that the animal's food does not effect you after you eat that animal. It is the same concept as high levels of mercury in fish. The large fish (tuna, shark) are at the top of the food chain. They eat smaller fish that have accumulated levels of mercury, who eat smaller fish that have accumulated levels of mercury (you get my point). It is called biomagnification, and guess what? Humans are at the top of the food chain. So the growth hormones and antibiotics that are fed to our cows while they are being milked, and to our pigs before they are slaughtered...end up where? IN OUR MEAT AND DAIRY! Cows for instance are meant to graze on grass. Their digestive system is meant to break down leaves (grasses) not seeds (corn & soy). When a cow is allowed to eat its natural diet it will produce meat that is higher in Omega-3 fats (anti-inflammatory). The same goes for chickens and the eggs that they lay. Fresh-laid eggs, when you crack them, have bright orange yolks that do not break easily. The more orange the yolk, the healthier the chicken.

#4 Small farms still exist. I live in NJ and even we have small farms. I actually visited one last week for a couple of reasons. First was to see how the animals were raised (100% grass fed or not, and came to learn about humanely raised animals). Second was how the animals were cared for (like livestock or pets). Third was how they were slaughtered. Fourth, to see if I could really tell a difference in how the meat and eggs tasted.

I drove up to the farm (a house with gated pastures and pens, chicken coops, and woods) and met the incredibly nice lady who runs the farm...every day. She was a wealth of information and talked almost the entire time she walked me around to meet each and every one of her animals. Every one had a name, a notable personality, a health record, and many were children and grand-children of others. This was all from memory. She explained the difference between the goats and the sheep, the pigs and the chickens in terms of what they ate naturally, what they ate in the winter, and what needed to be supplemented if and when they were sick. The animals on her farm were far more than livestock...they were her pets.

She explained the difference between 100% grass fed and humanely raised animals- humanely raised being that the animals are primarily allowed to eat what they would in nature, only supplemented or given antibiotics in the event of sickness or a serious medical condition, never given growth hormones, and allowed to exhibit natural behaviors. I was able to see the supplemental feed she gives the pigs and chickens. She even ripped off the labels for me to read the list of ingredients (most people don't even do that for themselves, and she was doing it for her animals). I asked her about where she sent the animals to slaughter and to my surprise it was right down the street to a local butcher. Her animals were not sent to feedlots and anonymous slaughter houses.

After my 2 hour visit (4 hours round trip) I had decided that I will never buy my meat from anyone other than a small farmer who is willing to take 2 hours out of their day to speak with a customer about their farming practices and the quality of their meat. I do not believe that my safety is in danger by ingesting meat that comes from a small farmer who may not be under the same regulations as the big guys. AND the meat isn't any more expensive than what you would buy in a grocery store. The only difference is that everything is not available all of the time and I buy in bulk and freeze it because I cannot just run down to the grocery store to pick it up.

BUT the true test was when we cooked it. The meat (uncooked) even looked and smelled different. It was darker in color and did not have that dead animal raw meat smell. We cooked the skirt steak (our absolute favorite) the same way we always do...hot sauce, Jamaican curry, garlic, paprika, salt and pepper. The meat was more tender and had a completely different flavor than the traditional store bought steak. It was a great eating experience, however it is different when you are eating meat that you know. When you pick up a package of meat at the store, there is no thought of the animal that was raised half way across the country (or possibly the world). I did however think of that while I was eating the steak that was raised in the middle of NJ on the farm that I had visited that day.

Something to think about, but I encourage everyone to explore this subject and look into eating locally for yourselves. Some great websites to find out where you can buy locally and humanely raised meat products are:

Eat Wild
Humane Farm Animal Care

Meat and Cancer Prevention

Everything that I am reading now is focusing on how a diet heavy in fruits and vegetables is the best way to prevent cancer (and heart disease, diabetes, obesity, etc). There are strong correlations between the amount of animal products Westerners eat and the types of chronic diseases we inflict upon ourselves (that's right I said it- you are responsible for all of the shit you put into your mouth and the resulting sicknesses!) 

So how can I advocate eating meat? Well simply because everyone is not going to be able to or want to go 100% raw. I myself am in the process of increasing the raw factor of my diet (by diet I mean eating habits not Atkins, South Beach or Zone), however I love to eat a nice piece of meat every once and a while, and like to eat eggs and (organic) butter on my whole wheat bread. (This may change once I start seeing results from increasing the raw portion of my diet)

I believe in moderation. If you like something eat it, but in moderation. Over the past year and a half I have drastically cut down on the amount of meat that I consume. I do not want to eat meat every day, but I still eat it every once and a while, and when I do want to make sure it is the highest quality meat I can get my hands on. My sister on the other hand has been a vegetarian for over 10 years now, and she is grossed out by meat. People are different- what more can you say?

But as far as cancer prevention goes...the less meat and dairy the better.