A Healthy Pumpkin Pie Recipe!
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Benefits of Zinc
Zinc is the second most common mineral in the human body (after iron) and is found in every one of our cells. It plays a vital role in many of the body’s functions, so ensuring that you get enough zinc in your diet is important. It is essential for helping the body to heal and for the maintenance of a healthy immune system. It is also important is supporting the senses (taste, sight, and smell), blood clotting and healthy thyroid function.
Zinc is one of the most important minerals for fertility and general reproductive health. It is necessary for proper levels of testosterone in men and the maintenance of a healthy libido. The mineral also plays a key role in the healthy development of sperm, and abundant levels of zinc have been shown to be protective of the prostate, reducing the risk of prostate cancer. The belief that oysters have aphrodisiac properties actually does have some basis in truth. Oysters have one of the highest concentrations of zinc of any food. In women it regulates estrogen and progesterone and supports the proper maturation of the egg in preparation for fertilization.
Ensuring you have an adequate level of zinc can help reduce your risk of insulin sensitivity, one of the precursors to diabetes. It supports T-cell function, which boosts the immune system when the body is under attack by bacteria and viruses.
Zinc deficiency is not common in the developed world, but those with anorexia, alcoholics, the elderly and anyone with a malabsorption syndrome such as celiac disease or Crohn’s disease is at higher risk. Zinc deficiency symptoms include frequent colds, poor wound healing, poor growth, loss of appetite, weight loss, dermatitis, psoriasis, hair loss, white spots on the nails, night blindness and depression.
Following is the recommended daily intake of zinc for different age groups:
Infants birth – 6 months: 2 mg/day
Infants 7 – 12 months: 3 mg/day
Children 1 – 3 years: 3 mg/day
Children 4 – 8 years: 5 mg/day
Children 9 – 13 years: 8 mg/day
Adolescent boys 14 – 18 years: 11 mg/day
Adolescent girls 14 – 18 years: 9 mg/day
Men 19 years and older: 11 mg/day
Women 19 years and older: 8 mg/day
Pregnant women 14 – 18 years: 12 mg/day
Pregnant women 19 years and older: 11 mg/day
Breastfeeding women 14 – 18 years: 13 mg/day
Breastfeeding women over 18 years: 12 mg/day
Children should never be given zinc supplements without first consulting with a pediatrician. If supplements are necessary, a copper supplement should be taken as well, as a high intake of zinc can deplete levels of copper.
You should be able to get adequate zinc from eating a healthy, balanced diet rich in whole foods. The body absorbs between 20% and 40% of the zinc present in food. The best sources of zinc are oysters, red meat, poultry, fish, shellfish, cheese, legumes (such as soybeans, black-eyed peas, and peanuts), cooked greens and seeds (such as pumpkin and sunflower).
Winter Fitness Tips for the Rest of Us
Do you have family members, close friends or coworkers who just can’t wait for the winter weather to get here? Maybe they’re hardcore skiers or snowboarders. Maybe they’re ice skaters or hockey players. Or perhaps they’re all-season runners looking forward to a change of pace. Whatever they’re into, this article IS NOT FOR THEM. This article is for the rest of us.
One of the great challenges faced by many people who live in four-season climates is how to stay active and get enough exercise once the temperatures start dropping. When it’s cold and wet outside, few of us have the “Just Do It” mentality of Olympic marathoner Joan Benoit. She’s inspired a well-known Nike commercial that showcases her commitment. Joan (bless her) takes one look out the door of her Maine cottage at 5:25 in the morning, sees a raging snowstorm, and goes out for her morning run anyway. That’s why Joan is an Olympian.
But no matter how important we know it is to remain active during the cold months, most of us still need a little inspiration—and a plan. To help out, we’ve compiled a list of tips to help you get your winter exercise this season.
Outdoor Fitness Tips
- Don’t let the cold weather keep you indoors. Bundle up, wear lots of layers, don’t forget your gloves and hat, stretch first, and then step out to enjoy the brisk air.
- Remember your New Years’ Resolutions about exercise, and try to keep to them. Just a 10-15 minute walk every day before dinner can do wonders to keep you healthy and fit.
- Buy yourself a pedometer and set a goal of walking 10,000 steps a day. If you’ve got a dog, his or her walks are great opportunities to add to your daily total.
- Go for walks in the snow, or just go outside and rake leaves or do other work in the yard.
- If you’re fit (check with your doctor first), rather than lamenting that accumulation of snow, go out and shovel some of it. It’s one of the best forms of exercise you can get provided that you use proper form and take the right precautions.
- If you’re normally athletic and in good shape, consider learning a new winter sport such as skiing or snowboarding.
- If you’re more sedentary, consider lower-impact sports such as snowshoeing, cross-country skiing, tobogganing, or skating.
- Plan your social activities around your exercise plan, and allow your friends and family to get in on the fun—and the exercise—too.
Indoor Fitness Tips
- Remember the benefits of exercising at home. Consider buying a treadmill or exercise bicycle and some hand weights or stretch bands and exercise in front of your TV instead of being a couch potato.
- If you’re not really an exercise-at-home kind of person, consider joining a gym. They often have special membership prices at this time of year, and most of them also offer courses in things like yoga, martial arts or aerobics.
- At work or on the way there, take the stairs rather than the elevator or escalator.
- Turn your housework into an exercise program, staying active by dancing your way through the vacuuming, mopping, and window washing. It’s more exercise than you think, and it has the extra benefit of keeping your house clean.
- If it’s really too cold to be outside, go to the mall and do some “mall-walking,” getting your exercise and your shopping taken care of at the same time.
Remember—every season offers its own unique opportunities to get healthy and stay fit. During the winter months, all it takes is a little creativity and a willingness to adapt. The change of pace can do you good!
If you haven’t been physically active in a while and you’re kick-starting a new fitness routine, we encourage you to check with your doctor first. This is particularly true if you have known health conditions or are prone to injury. We can be a great resource when it comes to designing structured exercise programs that help you meet your goals. Call or visit our office today!
How Do the Microbes in Your Digestive Tract Affect Your Health?
Our bodies are filled with microbes, including bacteria, fungi and viruses. The complete collection of microbes in our body is called our “microbiome”. It is unique to us and is believed to affect our health in many different ways.
In our intestines, the most abundant microbe is bacteria. There is currently great scientific interest in whether these bacteria might somehow play a role in either causing disease or preventing it. Michael Snyder, PhD, Director of Stanford University’s Center for Genomics and Personalized Medicine says, “There’s a good chance your microbiome is associated with every disease you can think of. And the area where bacteria have a huge impact is your gut.”
The Role of Gut Bacteria
Gut bacteria are absolutely essential to our lives and our health. Gut bacteria help us digest our food, make vitamins and signal immune responses. Scientists have discovered that everyone’s collection of gut bacteria is unique, and those with diseases often have a different amount or combination of gut bacteria than people without those diseases. The goal of current research is to discover what mix of bacteria healthy people have versus the mix that people with disease have, and to find ways to improve the mix for better health. In this way, doctors might also be able to detect certain diseases earlier, leading to more effective treatment.
Which Diseases May Be Linked to Gut Bacteria?
Scientists are still exploring this question, but studies have shown an association between gut bacteria and obesity, Chron’s disease, colon cancer, ulcerative colitis, and diabetes. One recent study showed that people with more of a certain inflammatory bacteria in their gut and fewer of another kind of beneficial bacteria are more likely to have rheumatoid arthritis.
Interestingly, gut bacteria may even be connected with cognitive and psychological disorders such as depression, ADD, anxiety, autism, OCD and Alzheimer’s disease. This connection may be due to the gut microbes’ ability to create molecules that impact brain function.
How Can We Improve Our Mix of Gut Bacteria to Achieve Better Health?
Rigorous research into the human microbiome is still in its infancy. However, it is safe to say that not all types and combinations of intestinal bacteria are created equal when it comes to their effect on our broader health. There is also some evidence that we may be able to influence the mix of microbes in our gut through our food choices. Just to be clear—this is NOT to say that changing any one particular aspect of your diet—substituting one sort of food for another, for instance—will result in a cure for any particular disease. However, do we know enough about a healthy overall diet and its impact on our body’s function and well-being to be able to recommend lowering sugar intake (sugar, bread, pasta, potatoes) and increasing fruits, vegetables, lean meats and healthy fats (olive oil, avocados, etc.). These changes contribute to a healthier nutritional profile, which clearly leads to better overall health and weight maintenance.
Some nutritional experts also recommend eating fermented foods containing live active cultures (such as yogurt, kimchee, kefir, miso, kombucha and sauerkraut) or taking probiotic supplements to support the colonies of “good” bacteria that live inside your gut. If you do choose to take probiotic supplements, there are a few things you should keep in mind:
- The probiotic supplement you choose must contain the right strains of bacteria to promote good health.
- The probiotic supplement must be of a good quality so that the bacteria strains they contain are active when you take them.
- Your digestive system is a very hostile environment. For probiotic supplements to do any good, enough of the good bacteria in them must be able to reach your intestines alive.
Nutrition can be a very complex subject, and our understanding of it is constantly evolving based on scientific research and clinical experience. If you’re interested in learning more about nutrition and health, please call us at Oblander Chiropractic at 406-652-3553 or visit our office!
Can Chiropractic Adjustments Reduce or Reverse Autism?
Today, we want to share an interesting article from Natural News. Chiropractic adjustments can facilitate amazing healing! We have been blessed to see it! While we cannot claim that chiropractic adjustments can cure or alleviate every condition, we hope this article will give our readers a sense of its potential! It is truly incredible what chiropractic adjustments can do!
Chiropractic adjustments shown to reverse autism in three-year old girl
(NaturalNews) A recent case study reported in the Annals of Vertebral Subluxation Research suggests that chiropractic adjustments can help reverse and prevent autism and issues related to the autism spectrum. The patient was an adopted three-year-old girl who was born at 28 weeks weighing 2 pounds, 5 ounces by a woman who had a history of prior drug abuse. After two years of abnormal behavior and receiving multiple “autism” diagnoses from medical doctors, her parents decided to take her in for a thorough developmental evaluation. Five critical items were failed: social/emotional, communication, cognitive, adaptive/self-help and sensory.
Little girl’s life changed by chiropractic
The child’s parents brought her to a local chiropractor, presenting with a cocktail of horrible symptoms including common neurological autism manifestations, unrelenting headaches, acid reflux, vomiting, sleeplessness and seizures. Subluxation-based specific chiropractic care was performed on the patient, which resulted in complete resolution of her headaches, acid reflux, vomiting and sleeplessness within one month. Significant improvements in autism-related issues were also noted, including calm behavior, increased eye contact, happier demeanor, improved attitude, increased focus and attention, and an initiation to sound out words. The study reports that the girl continues to progress as evidenced by a significantly increased vocabulary, continued improvement in attention and focus, and complete lack of epileptic episodes.
According to her mother, the patient from this case study has been “off all of her medications, she’s making improvements with her occupational therapists, speech therapists, even her pre-school teachers are noticing a big difference. I’m getting my little girl back – look, she’s making eye contact with me, and even starting to say a few words! She’ll use her hands to do the motions to the Itsy Bitsy Spider song!” Her mother cannot stress enough the impact that chiropractic care has had on her daughter.
Natural health experts speak out
According to Dr. Matthew McCoy, a chiropractor, public health researcher and editor of the journal that published the study, “If you damage or compress or otherwise interfere with the neurological structures in the spine this can have far reaching implications on the functioning of the body. Through research reports like this we are finding that correcting the misalignments or abnormal motion associated with these spinal problems reduces the nerve interference and people experience improvement.”
The authors of the study stated, “We believe that working together, chiropractors, MDs, occupational therapists, and other health care provides will see results by managing the root cause(s) and not just the various symptoms presented by ASD children.”
Vertebral subluxation
“Finding the cause of autism, and not simply masking the symptoms, is the most effective way of managing the disease,” one author of the study says. One such risk is thought to be spinal misalignments and/or abnormal motion of the spine, termed “vertebral subluxations” by chiropractors, which result in structural and neurological interference to the spine and nervous system. It is this interference that may cause a cascade of neuroendocrine events that lead to abnormal cholesterol metabolism. The theory is that, once those spinal distortions are corrected, the body is better able to balance its physiology.
Not surprisingly, other researchers have found similar results in regard to diseases in the autism spectrum being managed by chiropractic adjustments, and this case is one of several emerging studies describing this phenomena.
The authors call for further study in a controlled environment.
Sources:
Amalu WC. Autism, asthma, irritable bowel syndrome, strabismus and illness susceptibility: a case study in chiropractic management. Todays Chiropr 1998;27(5):32-47.
Marini NSC, Marini SC. Improvement in autism in a child coupled with reduction in vertebral subluxations; a case study and selective review of the literature: case report; review. J Pediatr Matern & Fam Health Chiropr 2010; 3:107-115.
Cleave J, Alcantara J, Holt K. Improvement in autistic behaviors following chiropractic care: a case series. J Pediatr Matern & Fam Health Chiropr 2011; 4:12-13.
Hoffman N, Russel D. Improvement in a 3 1/2-year-old autistic child following chiropractic intervention to reduce vertebral subluxation. J Vert Sublux Res 2008; 7:1-4.
Cohn A. Improvement in autism spectrum disorder following vertebral subluxation reduction: a case study. J Pediatr Matern & Fam Health 2011; 4:87-91.
http://science.naturalnews.com
http://science.naturalnews.com
About the author:
Eric L. Zielinski, DC (c), MPH (c) has devoted his life to natural health and wellness for over a decade. Inspired by the timeless principles in the Bible, Eric’s mission is to seek out ways to provide people with simple, evidenced-based tools that they need to achieve the Abundant Life. Formally trained as a chiropractor, Eric’s primary approach is to serve his patients and clients through natural health care, nutrition counseling, spiritual mentorship, and empowering life strategies!
The Key to More Independence in Your Senior Years? Start Walking Now!
Will you be able to maintain your independence as you reach your golden years? Recent research indicates that the answer to that question may actually depend on how you answer another question: “Can you comfortably walk a quarter of a mile?”
If your answer is “No” you’re not alone. 24 million older Americans have trouble walking that far, and 13 million more can’t walk a quarter-mile at all. According to a new article published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), this puts these people at a huge risk of becoming disabled and losing their independence.
In recent years, inactivity (leading a sedentary lifestyle) has been found to be a major risk factor for serious conditions like cancer, heart disease, diabetes, and stroke. In fact, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released a report suggesting that inactivity is now killing more people every year than smoking. Inactivity is an even larger problem for older people because without exercise they begin to lose muscle mass and their sense of balance deteriorates more quickly. This puts them at increased risk of injury from falls—the leading injury-related cause of death among seniors.
In the JAMA study, researchers in eight states worked with people in their 70s and 80s who reported that they had developed a sedentary, inactive lifestyle. At the beginning of the study, these people were (on average) active less than 20 minutes a week. As a result, they were considered at high risk of becoming disabled due to lack of strength in their legs.
The study participants met twice a week to perform simple exercises to strengthen their legs and walk in a group, and were also asked to walk more at home. The goal for all participants was to engage in 150 minutes of activity each week and to become fit enough to walk a quarter of a mile without any outside assistance (other than using a cane). Interestingly, the quarter-mile distance wasn’t chosen by researchers at random. Rather, this distance is significant because city planners use it as a “livability” reference point. A city is considered “livable” if all the goods and services you need for day-to-day life are attainable within a quarter-mile of the closest public transportation stop. This means that if you can’t easily walk a quarter-mile, you may have effectively lost your ability to lead an independent life.
At the end of the 2.6-year JAMA study, all participants were able to comfortably walk that distance, and all felt that their general health and mobility had improved. Even more important, a significantly smaller percentage of them had become temporarily or permanently disabled, compared to people of the same age who had maintained a sedentary lifestyle.
The clear message from this study is that you can (quite literally) take steps TODAY to improve your own odds of staying healthy, happy, and independent in the future. Developing a new walking habit is a great way to ensure that you’re getting enough exercise while maintaining your mobility. Plus, it doesn’t cost anything and it doesn’t require any equipment more elaborate than a comfortable pair of shoes. And—maybe best of all—walking is an activity that you can do either socially as part of a group or on your own. Many local communities around the country even have seniors clubs that organize walks on a regular basis.
The key to aging well is to stay healthy, stay active and stay engaged. Building good habits now can make all the difference years from now. If you’d like to learn more about how you can keep your musculoskeletal system in good working order, just call or visit our office at Oblander Chiropractic today! Our phone number is 406-652-3553.
Why Do Schools Perform Spinal Screenings?
Many schoolchildren around the country are required to undergo spinal screenings at school when they enter certain grades. Some states require a simple manual spinal screening, while others do the screening alongside a mandatory BMI assessment and checks for chronic health conditions. In many states, spinal periodic screenings are offered on a voluntary basis, and local school districts (as well as local health departments) are encouraged to conduct them as a complement to screenings done by chiropractic physicians and other private healthcare providers.
Why exactly do schools provide spinal screenings? The answer is pretty simple. While each of the 50 states has its own standards for when and how screenings are performed, as well as who should perform them, they all share the same basic goal: detecting early signs of scoliosis.
Scoliosis a condition that involves an abnormal lateral curvature of the spine—either to the left or to the right—when viewed from the front or back. The curvature can occur in any part of the back (though some areas are more common than others) and can vary in degree from slight or moderate to severe. Scoliosis is just one of many conditions that can affect the spine, compromising its ability to support the body’s frame correctly and potentially causing reduced strength and range of motion. If left untreated, it can result in deformity and serious damage to major musculoskeletal structures and internal organs.
Before regular screenings were implemented and information on scoliosis and other spinal curvature disorders was widely disseminated, these conditions often went undetected or were already severe when diagnosed. As a result, many children never received treatment at a time in their development when it could have made a significant difference to their health and quality of life.
According to the Standards for Scoliosis in California Public Schools, published by the California Department of Education-Sacramento, signs of scoliosis appear “in about 10% of the population although only about 2% develop a condition which would need medical treatment. Girls necessitate treatment about 8 times more often than boys. A front to back curvature (kyphosis) is not as prevalent as scoliosis, but it affects boys slightly more often than girls. It is most important to detect the condition as early as possible so that treatment can be provided. Without treatment, undetected scoliosis can get worse rapidly during the growth years and result in physical deformity, limitation of physical activity and other more serious complications.”
Common symptoms of spinal curvature include a bump over the shoulder blade, one shoulder or hip higher than the other, unequal distance between the arms and body, and clothes that don’t seem to fit properly. These signs often go unnoticed—and they are easily confused with poor posture.
The first, subtle signs of curvature frequently start to emerge in early adolescence. However, they regularly go overlooked. In children and teenagers who are otherwise healthy, an abnormal curvature nearly always progresses without discomfort. And since adolescents are very often shy about their bodies, they tend not to see primary care physicians on a regular basis. Thus, a young person (and his or her parents) may have no idea that something is wrong. This is one reason that The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends spinal screening as part of a preventive health visit at 12, 14, and 16 years of age.
It is important to understand that early signs of an abnormal curvature don’t necessarily mean that the curvature will persist or become more severe. Early diagnosis is complicated by the fact that it’s generally impossible to distinguish which slight curves are likely to develop into a serious deformity and which are not. This is why early detection is so important. In many cases, all that is necessary is close observation of the child’s growth and possibly special exercises for flexibility. If the curve does start to develop (most often during the youngster’s time of rapid growth), further progression of the curve can often be halted by wearing a back brace—but only if it is worn before bone growth is complete.
If scoliosis becomes severe, spinal surgery may become necessary. In recent years, school-based spinal screening programs have provided the opportunity for early detection, regular monitoring, and reduction in the need for potentially risky and expensive procedures.
Regular preventive healthcare is important for everyone, but it’s particularly important for children, whose bodies are developing in so many important ways. While periodic spinal screenings should be a part of this preventive care, they are not typically included in checkups or wellness visits. Remember that chiropractic physicians are specially trained to diagnose and treat structural conditions that affect the musculoskeletal and nervous systems, including scoliosis. We encourage parents to take a proactive approach to their children’s spinal health. If you have a teenager at home, please consider making an appointment for a spinal screening. Just call or visit our office to learn more!
Chiropractic Patients Less Likely to Suffer Drug Reactions
Most people experience back pain, and many of these patients use drugs for pain relief. A 2014 study1 found that of older adults with chronic back pain, 72% of them were using some kind of analgesic to help cope with the pain. Another study2 found that 32% of back pain patients in their analysis were using prescribed opiates for relief.
It’s unfortunate that so many patients depend on drugs for musculoskeletal aches and pains, especially when chiropractic is an effective and safe way to not only relieve pain but also prevent future pain episodes.
Now a new study3 shows that chiropractic also is linked to a lower risk of adverse drug reactions in patients with back pain. In this study, the authors looked at the medical records of over 19,000 adults in New Hampshire who had at least two doctor visits for back pain. 9.810 of these patients used chiropractic care; 9,343 patients used regular medical care. The researchers analyzed the number of adverse drug effects (ADEs) experienced by the two groups.
The authors found:
- Younger patients were more likely to use chiropractic care.
- Non-chiropractic patients tended to have more health problems, in general, when compared to those who used chiropractic.
- Chiropractic patients experienced 51% fewer adverse drug reactions (.4% vs .9%) compared to medical patients.
- 15 non-chiropractic patients were diagnosed with drug withdrawal, while zero chiropractic patients had drug withdrawal.
This study had some limitations, as the study data didn’t include details about the types of drugs the patients were using or how frequently they were using medications. But the authors conclude that the “utilization of chiropractic care may be associated with reduced risk of ADEs; however, no causal relationship has been established.”
Another study by the same group of researchers found that chiropractic patients were 55% less likely to be prescribed opiates for their pain and had lower health care bills.
With the opiate epidemic in the US, it’s critical that we find non-opiate approaches to back pain treatment. Chiropractic is about restoring health without the use of drugs. By helping the body heal naturally, chiropractic can help you stay well and help you avoid unnecessary adverse drug reactions, too!
- Enthoven WT, Scheele J, Bierma-Zeinstra SM, Bueving HJ, Bohnen AM, Peul WC, van Tulder MW, Berger MY, Koes BW, Luijsterburg PA. Analgesic use in older adults with back pain: the BACE study. Pain Medicine 2014 Oct;15(10):1704-14. Doi: 10.1111/pme.12515.
- Ashworth J, Green DJ, Dunn KM, Jordan KP. Opioid use among low back pain patients in primary care: Is opioid prescription associated with disability at 6-month follow-up? Pain. 2013 Jul;154(7):1038-44. doi: 10.1016/j.pain.2013.03.011.
- Whedon JM, Toler AWJ, Goehl JM, Kazal LA. Association Between Utilization of Chiropractic Services for Treatment of Low Back Pain and Risk of Adverse Drug Events. Journal of Manipulative & Physiological Therapeutics 2018 May 26. pii: S0161-4754(17)30136-7. doi: 10.1016/j.jmpt.2018.01.004.
Today’s article was written by Michael Melton and is shared from the following website:https://www.chironexus.net/2018/06/chiropractic-patients-less-likely-to-suffer-drug-reactions/
A Quick, Healthy Side Dish!
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Taking Responsibility for Your Health
We had to share a great blog post today from elsewhere on the web! We hope you will read and enjoy!
No one else is responsible for your health and your body, except for you. No-one knows your body like you do.
You simply cannot delegate your health to anyone else and still expect to stay vibrantly well and healthy.
If you don’t take personal responsibility for creating your health, here is a very frightening, but real possibility… the results you get in your health are going to make someone else happy, but not you!
Food companies want you to become addicted to their highly refined, highly processed fake foods. Diet companies want you to eat their diet foods. Big pharma wants you to be on prescription drugs.
These profit-driven companies are very happy to take your money but they will not take responsibility for the quality of health that you experience. If you hand over your health to them, in the hope that their illusory advertising promises are real, you may be faced with the possibility of living out a life filled with disease, food addiction, frustration, stress, anxiety, and unhappiness…
Taking responsibility for your health gives you food freedom.
You can create an incredible sense of ‘freedom around your food’, when you begin to look at your diet and your health. When I awoke to the concept of taking responsibility for the food I ate and the thoughts I had, I started making vastly different choices for myself. I started reading food labels and studying them. I started getting proactive; asking different questions, shopping differently and eating differently.
Here are three things you can do today to begin taking responsibility for your creating your health.
1. Create an enjoyable and sustainable relationship with food.
When I began to heal my body, I knew I was going to make some changes to the way I ate, along with the way that I treated myself. I spent time dedicated to finding a way of eating that would be sustainable for me, based on my goals, food preferences, and lifestyle.
I asked myself the question, “Can I see myself eating like this tomorrow, next week and even next year?” When I found a style of eating that worked for me, I kept it and continued to refine it as my health journey progressed. With a few minor adjustments along the way, it is still the way I eat today – almost 12 years later!
Take care to eat foods that are as close to their natural state as you can, (with minimum intervention by man or machines and no ikky added chemicals). Primarily I ate a plant-based diet, high in whole grains, vegetables and fruits diet that were local, seasonal and organic where possible.
Along with eating sustainably, another thing that worked for me was moving away from the idea of deprivation. Since I loved food, I knew that I needed to change my focus from the rhetoric of dieting dogma and the idea of total elimination to something far bigger and more exciting.
2. Integrate my little-known but powerful ’80-20 Rule’.
While I was searching for a way to eat that allowed me to enjoy my food and still be healthy I stumbled upon the concept of ‘the 80:20 Rule’ and I decided to apply it to what I was learning about food.
Simply put, I began to eat about 80% real, natural foods and 20% lightly processed foods. This allowed me the flexibility to enjoy healthier versions of all of my favorite foods. I loved eating nutritious food that was good for me, tasted delicious and fulfilled and satiated me.
Today I wouldn’t want to eat or live any other way!
3. Take responsibility for detoxifying your body gently.
Another key distinction was that I started paying attention to the quality of food. I started to notice that some food was more processed and higher in toxicity than others. I began to favor food that was less processed and therefore had fewer toxins in it. As I reduced the toxic load I was ingesting, it allowed my body to begin its’ own natural process of detoxification and self-healing. As I began the process of gentle detoxification, my energy levels surged and to my delight, my waistline began to reduce…
Over time, I stopped eating all fake foods. This included processed and manufactured foods such as fast-foods, artificial flavorings, colorings, preservatives, additives, processed and refined white flour, white sugar, high corn fructose syrup (HFCS) or glucose-fructose syrup and all dangerous trans-fats.
You don’t have to make radical changes overnight (in fact I recommend that you don’t!). Instead, take your time to explore and find healthier substitutes for your favorite “fake foods.” Make your changes slowly but surely. Take baby steps to begin cleaning up your diet.
How to get started.
You do not have to be a medical doctor or a dietician to know how to get healthy or to take positive steps in the direction of taking responsibility for your wellbeing.
There are so many easy things, that anyone can do, that can radically transform your life, just like it did mine. Remember that claiming back your health is journey. Just take one more step, and then another. Make the choice to take responsibility to find what foods work for your body and enjoy the process of carving out your personal path to vibrant health and wellbeing.
I did it, and I know that you can too.
Today’s post was written by Katrina Love Senn and has been shared from the following website: http://www.katrinalovesenn.com/index.php/articles/natural-health/82-who-is-responsible-for-your-health