Archive for September, 2009

The gut connection

Wednesday, September 30th, 2009

Typically people think that stress is about meeting deadlines, being stuck in traffic and having a high stress job.  Did you know though that stress is also placed on your body by eating the wrong foods, eating foods that you have intolerance to and not getting enough sleep?  When these hidden stressors are placed on the body over and over again they can cause hormonal imbalances as well as digestive issues that may lead to more complex illnesses such as autoimmune diseases.  Let us explain.gi-system3

First of all, 80% of your immune system lies within your gut.  Therefore, if you are eating foods that your body cannot handle this places stress on the GI system (gastrointestinal system).  When prolong stress is placed on the GI system good bacteria and flora begin to diminish and over time your protective mucosal lining will also begin to break down.  When your protective mucosal lining (Sig A) breaks down your immune defense breaks down and leads to leaky gut syndrome (visit our blog for articles written about leaky gut).  Leaky gut is when the GI system breaks down and gets porous holes in the intestines. Toxins, rather than be eliminated through the stool can leak out into the blood stream (which is not normal) causing the body to react against itself thus causing an autoimmune disease.  Let us say however, that this is not always how autoimmune diseases happen but if you do suffer from one we do recommend you perform gut testing to rule out food allergies/intolerances.

Going a bit further into the gut connection when the gut is stressed over time the hormonal system will begin to kick in.  Cortisol which is an anti-inflammatory hormone will be released to try to calm down the inflammation that is taking place in the gut.  The hormonal system will continue to release cortisol until the inflammation is gone but if you continue to eat foods that continue to irritate the gut the hormonal system will continue to try to release cortisol.  But guess what?  Your hormonal system will eventually get stressed and eventually your body will run out of cortisol and now not only do you have gut inflammation you now have a stressed out hormonal system and the inflammation continues and can become systemic.  What can be seen when the gut and hormonal system gets stressed are not only autoimmune diseases but one can suffer from skin reactions/rashes, end up with hormonal imbalances leading to low libido, PMS and night sweats as well as difficulty sleeping.

What we would like for all of you to understand from this blog article is that the digestive system, the hormonal system and the detoxification system (the liver) are all linked together.  Anyone of these systems can get stressed at anytime in any particular order and lead to being diagnosed with a disease.  We have helped many people who have come into our offices with an illness.  We run digestive and hormonal testing on all of our clients and each and every time we have found each of these systems stressed.  Each client goes on an individual healing protocol that is specific to their test results.  We help them to eliminate the hidden stressors found through the test results, get them on healing foods that reduce inflammation, we support the hormonal system through supplementation and teach our clients how to listen to their bodies so that the illnesses do not come back.  Gut testing and hormonal testing give many answers and are a great tool for knowing what is going on in the body.  For example a high morning cortisol is a clue that your body is trying to fight an infection. 

If you are one who is suffering from an illness and feel as if you are not getting better we recommend running gut and hormonal testing. These tests can be done in the comforts of your own home.  If you have any questions or concerns please feel free to visit us on our contact us page of our website and remember you become what you eat!

 

Lori Metroka-Nutrition & Wellness Specialist

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Weight Loss: Do’s and Don’ts

Sunday, September 20th, 2009

Many people come to us with the goal of losing weight,weight-loss21 but as we work with more and more clients we find that there are several common mistakes people make when trying to lose weight. In fact, some of these choices actually have the opposite effect and make people gain weight instead.  What’s most important to understand is:

You need to be healthy to lose weight, not lose weight to be healthy. Your body is a system of systems that all work together to keep your body healthy and in balance. So, if one system is out of balance it can affect your whole body. This is why a holistic approach to weight loss and improving health is so important. If your body is out of balance, you will have trouble losing weight and will probably feel a variety of other seemingly unrelated symptoms such as: energy highs and lows, fatigue, depression, neck or back pain, headaches, PMS and the list goes on and on and on. 

 

Read below to learn some things you should and shouldn’t do if your goal is to lose weight.

1.     Don’t : Skip Meals

Skipping just one meal puts your body in starvation mode. When this happens, you body panics because it doesn’t know when it will get food again so it stores your food as fat (a survival mechanism).


2. Do: Eat protein, carbohydrates, and good fat for every meal.

Learning your metabolic type (what ratio of protein, carbohydrates and fat your body needs to work best) is ideal. We can provide you with a simple questionnaire to identify your metabolic type.


3. Don’t: Assume more cardio will help you lose weight.

Depending on the health of your hormonal system, more cardio can actually make you put on weight. Imbalances in the hormonal system make it difficult to lose weight.


4. Do: Learn more about hormones and how deeply imbalances affect your health. 

You can sign up for our Hormone Health seminar (see our events page for more information) or contact us for a complimentary consultation. We can also recommend several useful books on the subject. 


5. Don’t: Do the same exercise routine over and over again.


6. Do: Add variety to your workout, and include exercises that help you with “working in” as well as working out.

Be sure to include weight training which boosts your metabolism and also “working in” exercises such as walking, yoga or meditation. 


7.  Don’t : Assume that “No Pain=No Gain”.

You can be doing your body more harm than good and could seriously injure yourself.


8. Do: Understand that “Pain=No Gain”.

It’s always best to have your exercise routine evaluated by a trusted Corrective Exercise Coach who understands the body and how to correct postural imbalances.  Contact us for more information.


9. Don’t: Assume that there’s a “One-Size-Fits-All” approach to getting healthy.

Just as we are all different on the outside, we are all also different on the inside. What’s key is to learn how to read the signals your body gives you (constantly) and to respond with what it needs. Only you ultimately have that information, we just teach you what to look for.


10. Do: Learn more about what your body needs so you can achieve your wellness goals.

If your not sure about one on one coaching, our Wellness 101 workshop is a great place to start. (See the events page for more information).

 

 Feel free to write in with stories or questions. We’d love to hear from you.

To your health!

 

Dorothy Lizak

Nutrition and Wellness Specialist

 

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Are you a supplement junkie?

Friday, September 11th, 2009

supplementsIf you walk into any health food store you will find a supplement for everything and you will be promised results, guaranteed! There is always a new craze and always will be but I am guessing that many of you out there have spent tons of money and don’t feel any better or look any different? Are you persuaded easily by supplement ads that promise weight loss, anti-aging or just general wellness?   If so, read on…

This blog article is not about bashing supplements but it is about giving you insight on when and how supplements should be used.  We use supplements in our office however, the supplements are used after running detailed lab work.  What you need to understand is that typically when you are feeling tired, have trouble sleeping, suffer from skin reactions, headaches, night sweats, and constant infections or just want to loose weight it is because something in your body is not in balance.  This is where people go wrong.  They usually walk into a store or see an ad on TV and they begin to self diagnose and self treat.  When you ask the clerk for some guidance they walk you over to the aisle for what they “think” may help you based upon what they know about the supplements themselves but what they don’t have is the information that is pertinent to you.  What you need to remember is that everyone is different and requires different supplements for treatment.

In our practice we believe that supplements are just that, that they supplement what is needed or lacking at the time until we get your body back into balance. As I mentioned above the body goes astray when it’s out of balance and the way it goes out of balance is through poor food choices, lack of water, lack of sleep and stress just to name a few.  So, these are the strategies that we begin to work on within our practice and help you by setting up a lifestyle plan.

So many times people need supplementation because they are lacking nutrients due to poor food choices.  If your diet (we define diet as a food plan…not a food restriction) consists of processed foods, sugar, caffeine and alcohol then it may be a good idea to begin slowly removing these items from your diet and begin eating more live foods:  organic meats, poultry, fish, fruits and veggies.  Remember supplements are meant to supplement temporarily not be a permanent fix or a quick fix for that matter.  Getting healthy and staying healthy takes times. If you would like more information about supplements or have comments please feel free to contact us or visit us on the web at www.replenishingsoul.com

 

Lori Metroka

Nutrition & Wellness Specialist

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How to Eat for Better Digestion

Saturday, September 5th, 2009

We all know that what you eat is0511-0808-0611-5255 important to staying healthy, but did you know that how you eat is just as important? In other words, eating high quality foods doesn’t necessarily mean that they are efficiently being digested, absorbed and utilized for nutrition and energy. The process of digestion is quite complicated, here’s a quick rundown of what happens every time you eat.

The digestive process begins in your mouth. It is here that enzymes from your saliva mix with food to break down carbohydrates in preparation of digestion. If you don’t chew your food thoroughly (it should be in liquid form when swallowing) the food particles you swallow are too large to be broken down in your small intestines. If this happens, nutrients in the food can’t be extracted for your body to use. In addition, stomach acids can’t kill unfriendly parasites and fungi hiding inside food particles that are too large. If this happens, these guys will end up staying in your body and often start breaking down your immune system.

When food enters your stomach, it mixes with more enzymes and HCL (hydrochloric acid) which breaks down proteins. HCL also kills unwanted parasites, bacteria, fungi and germs. Digestive enzymes and an adequate amount of  HCL are essential to a healthy digestive system. Food then enters the small intestine where it mixes with digestive enzymes from the pancreas and bile from the liver and is digested. Once digested the food then goes to the liver where it is processed and delivered through your bloodstream to your cells where it can be converted to energy or used by your body to rebuild or repair cells. Undigested food particles are excreted through the colon. A healthy colon is important because it contains friendly bacteria that produce several vitamins and helps prevent constipation.  

Eating too fast, eating on the run or eating while you work can severely disrupt all stages of this digestive process, leading to symptoms such as gas, bloating, headaches, burping, reflux, neck, shoulder and back pain, fatigue after eating, abdominal distension, constant hunger, bowel irregularity, muscle and joint pain and several others. By changing some habits, you can improve this process and get the most out of the food you are eating.

Tips for Better Digestion:

1. Eliminate stress while eating. The stress response impairs digestion, so if you are busy working at your computer or worried about what you need to get done, you are not digesting your food well.

2. Choose a peaceful spot where you can be relaxed while eating. 

3. Sit down for all meals (eating while driving doesn’t count).

4. Drink 1/2 glass of water 15 minutes before your meal.

5.  Chew your food until it is in liquid form (or at least 30 times). This also helps reduce over-eating (it takes your stomach 20 minutes to tell your brain that it’s full).

 

If you would like more personalized information on the health of your digestive system, please contact us. We’re happy to give you a complimentary consultation.

 

Dorothy Lizak

Nutrition and Wellness Specialist

 

 

 

References:

Chek, Paul “How to Eat, Move, and Be Healthy” 2004.

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