To Teach An Old Dog; Saving Your Health Through Food

Growing up, my mother suffered from severe Rheumatoid Arthritis. In fact, the path of medication after medication led her to a dead-end, and nowhere near an end of arthritic relief. Nonetheless, after ten years into her diagnosis, her pain remiss.

So, now, a couple of decades later, and a month after her seventieth birthday, she feels her arthritis creeping back at a rapid pace. And leaving me begging her to try a change in diet.

My parents are Slovenian; a culture filled with beauty and substance, including the traditional cultural food. A true “Slovenian home meal” cold consist of mushroom barley, blood sausages, and burek- our name for ”spanikopita”, a pastry filled with cheese and spinach followed by strudel, potica, and my recent favorite, sarkl. These last three can be summed up by one word: dough. Delicious, pride in the baking of, wheat-flour, home-made dough.

So you could imagine what happened when I suggested she try a gluten-free diet for inflammation relief….

… And then all I had to do was to remind her that she loves salads, and meat, and cheese. There was no way that I will ever convince her to go the health store and grab some tapioca starch and brown rice flour, and mix it with coconut flour; that would be too much. But tell her to eat the hard-boiled eggs that she loves so much with salad, well, she understands that.

I didn’t expect that she wouldn’t taste that sarkl that she made this past weekend, but if you want to make a mark s teach someone so set in their nutrition ways, try the following:

1. Use the food that they eat right now as a template of what they eat tomorrow. Do not alter someone’s menu to look too foreign from their original plan.

2. Introduce simple alternatives. It is easy to substitute wheat flour for brown rice flour. Period. If that flour doesn’t work, well, consider the food out-of-bounds for a short while. Once they catch on, continue with more complex alternatives.

3. Give a timeline. Everyone should be able to try something for two weeks. if they can’t do it, they can’t do it.

It is sometimes difficult to me to listen to my mom, so, of course, I cannot expect her to listen to me. But, if I continue to pick at her diet, one that is filled with incredible nutrients and healthy foods too, I am hoping that she stay pain-free for a very, very long time.

Tags: arthritis, eating to fight pain, family health, health, healthy diet, healthy eating, healthy lifestyle, healthy living, living with pain, mind over matter, motivation, old-age health, pain-free diet, staying with your goals, success

Who Let the Flu In? Preventative Measures For When Someone Brings the Unwanted Guest Home

I got that call for the first time last week. Sure he’s almost three, but the daycare provider announcement of his germ infestation  told the story of what was to come in our house within the next few days: something between a cold and a flu passed along from son, to mommy, to daddy.

And there wasn’t much that I could do to stop it; or was there? I will admit that I am writing this blog from my bed, but truthfully, things could have gotten much worse. As a nutritionist and fitness expert you would think that knowing the clear rules of how our immune system works would grant me flu immunity. Even with a sniffling, coughing, runny-nosed toddler pressed up against my face during cuddle time.

Here are a few things to think about when a cold piggybacks into your home:

1. Wash, clean, spray. Get rid of all toothbrushes and start fresh. If an article of clothing has hit any body, wash it. You don’t need to smell it to see if you can get in another day’s worth of wearing. Wash your hands, wash your hands, wash your hands.

2. Spicy soup for colds, Chicken soup for fevers. Chicken has a cooling property which will make a cold even more congested, but will cool a feverish body. Spicy foods will warm up a cold and get it moving out of the body.

3. Stay away from cheese when congested.

4. Have a light workout. A walk will do wonders. Weight training won’t. When your body exerts strain on the muscles, your immune system temporarily weakens allowing something to infest your body. Stay away from heavy strength training or heavy cardio sessions for a few days.

5. Find something that works for you and gives you some relief. My husband is hooked on oil of oregano for cold and flu prevention due to its high anti-viral and anti-bacterial properties. I can’t stand it. Propolis, a bee-made derivative in the royal jelly and honey family, increases my immune system at the onset of a sore throat. And I drink a lot of broths and teas.

6. Drink a lot of liquids. I have heard that since I was small, but it does work to getting the cold out of your system faster. The sooner the better.

Hope some of these suggestions help you. There is nothing worse than knowing there is so much to do and all you want to do is sleep, for the third day in a row…

Tags: family, family cold prevention, family health, flu season, health, healthy lifestyle, healthy living, preventing colds and flu, staying healthy in winter, winter health

Those Raging Hormones

I’ll start this blog with a little more honesty than I thought I’d be starting a post. Here it is: I’ve got so many hormones coursing through my body that my body thinks it’s pregnant.

I’m not…. I don’t think. But since Christmas I haven’t gotten myself back into eating as well, as cleanly, and as vegetarian/ vegan as I normally do. And now everything hurts: my stomach, pms pains, my breasts, and due to my ultra-crabby disposition, my relationships. Ask my husband.

I know better than to do this to my body, this being the Eat-what-you-want type without having to think-of the-consequence so since I started following my strong “flush excess hormones from your body” today. And in case you are on the slow side of getting things back to normal this year too, I thought that I would share the list with you:

1. Eat as much fresh vegetables as possible.

2. Eat two portions of cleansing fruit: pineapple, apples, pears, grapes.

3. Take two tablespoons of flaxseed, and/or fish oil supplement.

4. Stay away from all animal proteins including eggs and milk.

5. Eat lentils and other legumes.

6. Drink a lot of water with lemon, preferably warm.

 

In other words, eat as healthy as possible. Hope this helps us both. And I will post if there is a good reason for the rage… Then we’ll have to start a whole new conversation, among a whole new bunch of other things… naw!

Tags: detox, detox diet, diet, family health, food for hormone control, healthy diet, healthy eating, healthy lifestyle, healthy living, hormones, new year resulotions, overcoming blues, success, weight loss techniques

The olive oil is on the bathroom counter, next to the avocado.

It started when I became pregnant; the search for more natural, all the time. Not only did I clean exclusively with baking soda and white vinegar, the products that I put on my body and hair were going to be as fragrant and chemical-free as I could find. So I shopped in my kitchen.

What I found was this: olive oil has many uses, all which enhance our beauty (unless, of course, you are allergic to the substance), and although I don’t like eating avocado, a homemade guacamole with honey does wonders to soften skin. Here is my short and very effective list of home products you can use for your beauty products:

1. Olive oil: softens skin and hair. Use it at night and wash it off in the morning. IF you use it in your hair, wrap your hair in a hat, cloth, or Saran wrap throughout the night so that it does not stain your pillow. When used on your face, do not go to sleep immediately after. Wait one hour so that the oil absorbs into your skin.

2. Oats and coarse-ground sea salt: fantastic exfoliant. Use on its own or mix with a liquid soap that you like to use. Use over entire body in bath or shower and rinse thoroughly. The only con is that the oats tend to stick to the bathtub to extra cleaning-time required. Strong enough for elbows and feet (depending on severity).

3. Avocado and honey: for a face mask. Mash avocado and add one tablespoon honey. Apply liberally onto face and neck, watching so that it does not rip. One avocado can do up to three faces. Left-overs can refrigerate for few days.

4. Water. When I admire the skin on a colleague of mine, her secret is inevitably that she doesn’t use anything but water to wash her skin. Water. Drink it, bathe in it, wash with it. As much as you can.

Tags: beauty, beauty products, budget-friendly beauty, diet, family health, health, healthy lifestyle, healthy living, healthy recipes, natural beauty products

No, I am not taking Prozac, I am taking sardines.

Prozac. Viagra. A cocktail of antibiotics our bodies now ignore. What happened to grandma’s natural prevention of all disease: cod liver oil? Chinese and Ayurvedic food philosophies have always believed that food is medicine and can prevent and treat many ailments; and this at a time when colds would kill you!

Grandma knew what she was doing with her spoonful of bad flavor. Something that we should get back to; healing with food sources that are available to us. Our bodies are already rebelling against antibiotics with creating super virus. Here is the list of my favorite “home” remedies to common ailments:

1. Healing wounds: Aloe vera plant ($5-$8.00 at plant store). Cut the plant and apply the gel to your wound.

2. Antivirus/ Antibiotic: Wild oregano oil. Hard to take but works wonders. At all health stores. $30 for small bottle that goes a long way.

3. Stomach ache: Chamomile and/or peppermint tea. $1-$4 at every grocery store. Ideally combine the teas and drink with a touch of honey.

4. Inflammation: walnuts and fish oils (found in sardines, salmon): eat as much as possible and eliminate caffeine, alcohol, sugar

5. Depression: Blueberries, licorice (yum!), and a balanced diet. Reduce sugar, alcohol, and caffeine.

6. Hormonal issues: cruciferous vegetables. broccoli, cauliflower, brussel sprouts will hang onto excess hormones in your body and dispel them. Eat a balanced diet and stay away from animal products.

7. Male infertility: pumpkin seeds. Super high in zinc. Anything high in zinc will work.

 

Next week I want to share with you my favorite beauty products found in your kitchen. Until then, stay well,

 

 

 

Tags: detox, family health, health, healthy diet, healthy eating, healthy lifestyle, healthy living, mind over matter, overcoming blues, weight loss techniques

Hold the Cheese and Bacon, I’m a Vegetarian: ways to cheat on a diet without hurting your goals.

I follow a not-so-strict vegetarian diet. Because I have been attracted to vegetarian and vegan foods predominantly for health reasons, the occasional burger slips into my monthly meal planning. So, am I contradicting my own self when I place my lips on a mayo-laden gourmet organic Angus beef burger dressed with veggies and as stated once and yet deserves to be stated again- garlic mayo.

In fact, on any given week day, if you were to visit my home, my toddler son and I tend to snack and feast on a vegan majority diet: lentil soups and dahls, cauliflower and butternut squash stews, home-made hummus and quinoa or rice cakes…. maybe a goat cheese with olive tapenade, and my son’s favorite, Thai red cabbage coleslaw.

So, you can imagine that it hardly pains me to run out to my fave burger palace (yes, I called it a palace) once in a while because I know that going back to my regular diet is just well, a regular thing. And my son likes it too. By the way, I have no desire for the fries, which makes this excursion much easier for me.

So, here are the rules of “cheating” and making cheating on your diet actually work in your favor:

1. Have a strong hold on your everyday diet planning. Plan it, and work it out so that it suits your needs and is as healthy as possible most days of the week. Then, stick with the plan.

2. Choose a day in the week that you can splurge on your favorite food. In my case it is a burger but it can be anything such as pizza, chips, movie popcorn, ice-cream sundae, fried chicken, etc.

3. Do not choose all of the above…

4. Know when to stop. Do not continue to cheat for the entire day. A cheat meal is just that: one meal.

5. Know that having cravings and wanting off-the-diet food is a normal part of eating healthy, especially at first. The more you practice your resistance muscle, the easier the time you will have resisting food between your cheat meals.

So, there you have it: vegetarian or not, if you are on a plan to lose weight or become healthy, never say never to things you cannot live without. Maybe make it a special occasion type of relationship.

good luck with your new goals,

 

Tags: detox diet, dieting, family health, healthy diet, healthy eating, healthy lifestyle, healthy living, mind over matter, motivation, staying with your goals, weight loss, weight loss techniques

New Year, Old Resolution

 

It took me these last three days to comfort myself into 2012. I say comfort because the first day started out with a monstrous anxiety that came out of the blue. In past, I have started every year with hopeful thoughts and ideas, dreams of goals to be achieved and places to be ventured and then  a few days later, an entire new biological age. This year, however, I was stuck in wanting to be in 2011. I was stuck in wanting more of last year.

2011 was a good year for me, so my first thought was that maybe I did not want to let it go. My relationship with my husband and my toddler son have developed into relationships that I adore. My work is heading in the exact direction that I want it to go, and my passions, my many extra-curricular hobbies were being met with time, appreciation and good outcomes. All in all 2011 was filled with fun, lots of love and success… and a lot of hope. Was I grieving the year that had passed? Was I wishing there was more? Was I saying good-bye to something that I did not yet know I was going to miss?

And then it hit me. There was one thing that 2011 did not have. One big thing that kept me, my thoughts and my goals in the previous year. There was something, a pattern in my being that was just not good enough to bring into 2012. As it did in every year passed, the one thing that my life lacked again in 2011: completion of goals, tasks, and achievements.

I am quite driven. And I have a lot of passions. And I find time to start anything that I want to. And here is where it falls apart: I have no problem leaving what I start before it is finished. If I look behind me in the path I have walked, the entire journey can be marked by these incomplete projects of varying significance. It is almost like they are waiting in the trails for someone to pick them up and finish them. Actually, they are waiting for me to pick them up and finish them. These projects are like flowers waiting and wanting to be watered after being planted. 

So maybe this is where I need to start 2012. In knowing that as much and as many as possible tasks that I have begun within my thirty-five years, I plan to complete. I need to complete. I suppose that I could continue to ignore them. But then aren’t I ignoring an entire aspect of myself? One that I have yet to get to know?   And enter, my New Year Old Resolution. New endings to old projects. New beginnings to old me.

And in a twist, perhaps this way I am not saying goodbye to a good year gone by, nor a journey of a life that has brought me to here and only here. This is my next step; me with all of my pojects up-to- date. Me, up-to-date.

So, included in this resolution are these posts (notice that last year these posts fell when all resolutions statistically do), tweeting, finishing my books, and moving my work forward with me. Move my work forward with me. Move forward. No sense in missing what I am holding onto.  Finishing is a beginning and one that I have missed through most of my life.

I think I just got it. I need to buy a watering can.

Happy New year. Happy 2012. We’ll talk soon.

Tags: blogging, Coaching, future, Goals, life, New year, New Years Resolutions