Deanna's Blog
That tiredness, bloating, skin rash or brain fog you've been experiencing could be the result of food intolerances. These discomforts we tend to write off as normalcy can be directly related to what you're eating, and the way to know for sure if what you’re eating is causing you trouble is to try an elimination diet.
To make it simple, an elimination diet consists of you avoiding certain foods for a few weeks. After you get these foods out of your system, you'll begin reintroducing them to your diet one at a time. If you have kids, it’s much like starting them on solids and watching for any symptoms of sensitivities, but in reverse.
Food Sensitivity Symptoms
Intolerances aren’t always a major allergic reaction with a swollen tongue and puffy eyes. In fact, the majority of food intolerances present themselves as common discomforts such as dry skin, itching, bloating, digestive upsets, headaches, fatigue, migraines, and achy joints and pains. You might only have one of these or a combination of them.
Yes, it sounds like just about every other illness, but you might find that with an elimination diet, you’ll pinpoint the source of that mysterious bloating that isn’t during your period and actually be able to do something about it, finally! You’ll feel more like yourself, and you’ll be aware of what foods cause inflammation for you.
Of top importance is getting rid of any chronic inflammation you may be dealing with. Over time, it can cause significant damage and lead to illness. Don’t panic if you only feel these symptoms once in a while, but if you feel like this daily, for example, fogginess when thinking, small aches, skin issues, or bloating, you should definitely try the elimination diet to see if you can get back to feeling like yourself.
How to Do It
Want to get started? The elimination diet has 2 phases. The first one is about eliminating while the second one is about reintroduction. You should keep a rigorous journal to help you spot any changes, good or bad.
- The Elimination Phase
During this phase, you must eliminate any foods you think are triggering symptoms for about 2 or 3 weeks. Most of these are things like dairy, citrus, corn, nuts, eggs, seafood, pork, gluten, wheat, and nightshade vegetables. Generally, you’ll notice your symptoms clear up which will mean you’re ready for the next phase. If nothing changes, you should schedule a checkup with your doctor as soon as possible.
- The Reintroduction Phase
Next, you’ll slowly start bringing those eliminated foods back onto your plate. Only introduce one food group at a time over a period of 2 to 3 days. Be watching for those symptoms we mentioned. If anything you reintroduce sets off your symptoms, then you know you need to eliminate it.
One word of caution though: some of you may find several groups of reintroduced food to bring your symptoms back. Should that happen to you, schedule a checkup with your doctor or see a dietitian to help you get the right nutrition while avoiding the foods that trigger your symptoms, so you don’t become nutritionally deficient.
All you need now is the willingness to devote the time. You will be saving yourself a lifetime of discomfort, and the time you invest is absolutely worth it.
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What do you do when your mood is off or you’re stressed to the max?
Eat ice cream? Binge watch Netflix? Call your bestie?
After reading this article, you may consider yogurt, a handful of walnuts, or maybe even some dark chocolate as your go-to mood-boosters and stress-busters.
Today, we’ll unpack some of the exciting (and preliminary) new research about the link between your gut health and moods/stress.
We’ll talk about your friendly resident gut microbes (mostly bacteria), probiotic foods and supplements, as well as foods to feed those gut microbes and probiotics (aka “prebiotics”).
WHAT THE HECK ARE “GUT MICROBES? ”
Oh, our friendly “gut microbes.”
They are the trillions of microbes that happily live in our gut. They help us by digesting foods, making vitamins, and even protecting us from the not-so-friendly microbes that may get in there.
Believe it or not, these friendly microbes have mood-boosting and stress-busting functions too!
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Is just about everyone taking creatine to help them reach fitness goals?
Creatine is, actually, the most popular ergogenic (athletic-enhancing) supplement in history!
And there is always new research coming out about it. I mean ALWAYS.
If you don’t have the time or desire to sift through the tons of studies, I have a pretty nice summary here for you.
The bottom line is that there are a few reasons why it is so popular!
DOES CREATINE HELP PERFORMANCE (ACCORDING TO THE SCIENCE)?
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Caffeine is sometimes called “the world’s most popular drug”.
It’s a very common naturally-occurring stimulant found in coffee and other foods/drinks.
Its main effect is on the brain, helping to increase alertness and reducing fatigue. It’s also used for fat loss and in sports training.
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The keto health craze is here!
And if you’re wondering whether you should try it or not (especially if you’re an athlete), you need to read this!
The idea behind the diet’s popularity is that it can literally train your body to burn fat as fuel. This means your metabolism actually changes. You stop burning carbohydrates (your body’s preferred fuel), and start burning fat (and ketones) as fuel.
You become “fat adapted.”
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If you want to lose fat, improve metabolism, and experience other health benefits all without giving up your favourite foods, intermittent fasting might be for you!
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Saturday, 01 September 2018 13:14
Leaky gut, autoimmunity, and mental health - What are the links?
Written by Deanna
The gut (a.k.a. digestive tract) is not just a tube that absorbs nutrients and gets rid of waste - it’s a complex alive system that’s a huge foundation of health. And not just gut health, but the overall health of our bodies and minds. We know how important it is to get all of our essential nutrients from food - and this is a big part of what our digestive tract does. But, there is way more to the story than just that.
Natural Brain Chemicals and Your Mood
Brain and mental health concerns affect a huge number of people. But, where does it all come from? Does it start, or continue, because of the way the brain and nervous system is working?
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Wednesday, 20 June 2018 17:13
The Microbiome-Gut-Brain Axis: What you need to know for brain and gut health
Written by Deanna
Until recently, we didn’t know how much our gut and brain interacted. Some people thought that our brains controlled everything we did, consciously and subconsciously.
They were wrong!
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Omega-3s get a lot of notoriety - and for good reason! Not only is one of them essential for good health, but we don’t get enough of them in our diets.
Omega-3s are a kind of fat. Fats are not just a storable source of 9 calories per gram. Different fats are used by our bodies for different essential functions. They’re part of the membranes that surround each cell, and are especially important in the brain and nerves. They can mediate the effect of our immune cells as well as influence the production of neurotransmitters and hormones. Omega-3s are anti-inflammatory, and have health benefits for the heart, brain, and our mental health.
More...
Breathing is a part of life that's of utmost importance, but something we rarely spend much time thinking about -- our bodies naturally take care of this task for us without any thought. There's nothing sweeter than taking a deep breath of fresh mountain air, or breathing in the salty air as you look out over the ocean. But how often do you consider the air you breathe day in and day out in your living space?
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Vitamin D: Are you getting enough?
Vitamin D is an essential fat-soluble vitamin. It’s sometimes called the “sunshine vitamin” because our skin makes it when exposed to the sun.
It’s also the most common nutrient deficiency!
Like most vitamins, vitamin D has many functions in the body. It’s mostly known for its ability to help build strong bones. But, vitamin D is also important for a healthy immune system, digestive system, heart and mental health, blood sugar regulation, fertility, and resistance to cancer.
FUN FACT: Vitamin D is the vitamin with more scientific articles published since 2000 than any other vitamin.
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Saturday, 10 March 2018 22:05
Inflammation, diabetes, heart disease, and excess body fat
Written by Deanna
Diabetes and heart disease are on the rise worldwide. They’re serious chronic (long-term) conditions. They have a few other things in common as well.
For one thing, they’re both considered “lifestyle” diseases. This means that they tend to occur in people with certain lifestyles (i.e. not-so-awesome nutrition and exercise habits, etc.).
They’re also both linked with excess body fat, as well as inflammation.
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Mental health issues have a huge impact on society. Some suggest that their impact is larger than any other chronic disease, including heart disease or diabetes.
There are so many factors involved in complex conditions like mental health issues. Science is just starting to unravel one of these factors - inflammation.
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