Gluten With a Side of Grumpy

Rick is the scientist in the family.  I mean, the man has a pre-med degree - we ought to use it somewhere, right?  This comes in handy when we need to mix up our own natural carpet shampoo or when the children need help with their homework.  (We all know I can sing, dance and cook and that those three are the extent of my talents and abilities.)

However, I recently played "mad scientist" and ran my own little experiment because of a suspicion I had.

You already know that Craig has been gluten free for awhile and while having one person in the family who cannot consume gluten will drastically reduce the amount of gluten the rest of the family takes in, it doesn't completely eliminate it. 

You have to be very intentional about going completely gluten free. 

Gluten is one of those hidden ingredients that lurks around every corner.  It hides behind names you know to look for like wheat, cake flour and bulgar.  However, it also sneaks in under the aliases of semolina, couscous, matzo and durum.

About a month ago, I began to notice what I thought was a trend.  (However, I have millions (slight exaggeration) of things I think I notice that never actually materialize so I have learned not to mention all of them to Rick lest he think I'm nuttier than I really am.)

I began to notice that on the days after I consumed gluten, I was irritable.  If you google symptoms for gluten intolerance, you won't find irritability there.  So, this one had me stumped for awhile. 

It all started with a sandwich.  I fixed a sandwich for lunch with nitrite-free lunch meat, organic cheese and mayo, and a little organic lettuce.  The bread was whole wheat so in my mind I was consuming what I thought was a fairly decent lunch.  (Too bad I combined it with a few organic (but fried) chips and some organic (yet high-fat) dip!  Yum!  There's the possibility I had a few organic m&m's too for dessert!) 

The next day I woke up ready to chew on my family.  Everything they did that morning drove me nuts.  Rick and I had a huge fight which led to everyone leaving angry and me going back to bed.  I hadn't slept well the night before which didn't help matters any.

With all of the "analyzing" that we had to do with Craig in the beginning to figure out if he was just a) tired or b) actually reacting to a food - I have learned to sit back and wonder.  Am I grumpy because I didn't sleep well?  Am I irritable because of something I ate?  Am I mad because I haven't had coffee yet?

After this happened two or three times I began to notice a trend .... It always followed a day on which I had consumed gluten.  It wasn't always a sandwich, but it was always a day after gluten.

What's more is that I noticed that I never slept well after consuming gluten.  You won't find that symptom listed in the gluten intolerance list either.  Gluten intolerance is associated with stomach upsets - cramping, diarrhea, bloating, constipation .... but they never mention poor sleep and irritability.

I decided yesterday that I would run my little experiment one more time before telling you about it.  I've made sure to be at different points in my cycle so that hormones cannot be blamed.  I have made sure that I've remained gluten free for at least seven days before attempting to play scientist (since gluten intolerances can sometimes show up three days after ingestion).  And I have made certain that I have taken all of my regular vitamins and supplements and that I have been fully hydrated (at least 80 oz of water the day before) so that everything is as "normal" as possible.

Granted, my findings nor my un-scientific experiment will never be published in a journal.  However, my point is that so many times we wake up "on the wrong side of the bed" after having not slept well and do we EVER look at what we ate the day before as the "culprit"?  Or - let me flip the tables a bit.  How many people do you work with that seem "hormonal" or bipolar to an extent when in reality, they may simply be dealing with a gluten intolerance that (like me) has very little effect on their gut, but every bit of an effect on their emotional well being?  How many suffering from depression are actually just fighting a food allergy/intolerance?  No, I'm not discounting depression as something very real.  However, no - I'm not discounting certain (processed, artificial) foods as being every bit responsible for our cancers, our diabetes, and our depressions.

I'm going to make a very bold statement that will absolutely infuriate some, but I believe it with all my heart: 

Every single symptom/ailment/sickness you have can be in some way or another traced back to your food. 

Our food has the power to heal or to kill.  What we put in our bodies either strengthens us for the fight or it weakens us (or actually takes us down making us ill and/or diseased).

What will you put in your temple today?

Rejoicing!

Today is possibly the funnest post (not to be confused with funniest) I’ve gotten the opportunity to write.  Today we are rejoicing with “Family R.” 

They are a precious family that Rick and I have known for about two years.

They recently began noticing that their son’s behavior and anger problems had escalated from “sometimes inconvenient” to “completely out of control.”  As a first grader, their son - “K’s” - behavior had led to repeated trips to the office as well as numerous other punishments. 

Friends and family members encouraged them to take K-Dawg to see a counselor or a therapist.  Others recommended they get him on medication.  However, K’s mom had been reading our blog (as well as another one by a mom with the same story) and decided to give food a chance to heal before filling her son with meds.

We had lunch last Friday and swapped stories.  I recommended she make a visit to our chiropractor since she and her family are local.  She took me up on that offer and I am ABSOLUTELY BUBBLING OVER WITH JOY to report that K-Man is allergic to eggs, gluten and red & blue dyes.  

That may sound a littler weird to be joyous over such a diagnosis, but I’m standing on the other side of that tornado and know what is just around the bend.  Here stand two parents grieving over their child and wanting desperately to be able to help him.  And just yesterday they learned exactly how and that it will not a) fill him with synthetic materials with numerous side effects, b) cost a fortune, or c) require a medical degree to navigate.

By refusing to believe that Special K is too much to handle or broken in some way and by taking his health into their own hands – being his advocate – they are setting him up for success and I could not be more happy to participate as a cheerleader on the sidelines.  We asked them to take his picture and be ready to share it in six weeks when this story makes it onto our Success Stories page.  Stay tuned – you won’t want to miss it!

(((Side Note:  While many of you contact me with your stories, your questions, and your successes, please know that no story or information is ever published without your direct permission.  "Family R" has read through and approved everything written above and added:  "BTW, he loves the idea of being "special". He wants to be the ONLY one in our family who is on a special diet...we're secretly doing more than he knows, but he's totally buying in to this. Plus, I secretly and successfully smashed the pills up into his PBJ for lunch as well as hid them in a fruit/ice cream smoothie. I was pumped! I'll keep you briefed on all the little successes we see along the way.  Thanks from the very bottom of my heart, [name]")))

The Day My Rib Knocked Out My Eyeball

It started as just a dull kind of ache.  You know, that definitely-there-but-not-quite-bad-enough-to-take-anything type of pain?  In fact, I really didn't think much of it.  However, slowly but surely my left eye was beginning to hurt worse and worse.

Eventually it was a throbbing pain and I began searching through the medicine cabinets looking for any medicine that didn't get thrown out in the "big purge of unhealthy products".  I came across a popular decongestant and was just fixing to pop two when a thought crossed my mind.

"You might be throwing it all away."

I know - it's not particularly profound, but it's the thought that appeared through the blinding fog of the eye pain.

For months now we have been completely organic not taking in any food that wasn't completely free of preservatives and/or pesticides.  We have not taken one medication.  We have not applied one product be it lotion, shampoo or soap to our bodies that was not completely natural.

And for what?  So I could throw all that hard work away for two little pills?

So, I stuck them in my purse (just in case) and headed to the man with the answers .... otherwise known as our chiropractor.

Now, if you're a cynic this is where the road stops for you.  Go ahead and click the "x" and head out because what I'm about to tell you is too freaky even for the tree huggers.  I mean, I've shared with you about "muscle testing" before and that one is weird enough.  However, what I'm about to tell you takes the cake and the icing and the sprinkles and the caramel syrup.  Oh!  And that little red cherry that is loaded with Red Dye #40.

Ok, I'm assuming if you're still here you are looking for wild and crazy so here it is:  (Today is Friday the 13th after all!)

I arrived at our chiropractor's office and told him the sinus pressure behind my left eyeball was more than I could handle.  I needed him to fix it.  So, he began checking various acupressure points to see if he could get to the bottom of it.  I was just sitting there calmly talking his ears off when he pressed a point in my back that caused me to yelp.  (It's funny.  I never considered myself part puppy dog, but yelp is the only word that can describe the sound I made.)

"I take it that's sore, huh?"  he said. 

I proceeded to tell him that yes, that part of my back was sore, but I could live with that if he'd just fix my eyeball.  This is when he walked around to the front of me and pressed on the two sinus pressure points that rest above our eyes. 

"That sore?"  he asked.

"No..."

What he explained to me then (that I'll share with you today) made my head spin.  He proceeded to explain to me that if my eyeball pain was in any way, shape or form connected to sinus pressure that the two points on the front of my face would be so sensitive (like that point in my back) that I would not let him press on them.  He went on to say that the eye pain I was experiencing was directly related to my rib.

Hannah Montana say whaaaahhhh?  (Sorry, having a six year old daughter has apparently rubbed off on me.)

At this point I looked for the hidden camera.  I mean, how gullible do these people think I am?

However, it was true.  Given some extreme stresses in our life at this point at this particular visit, my tense muscles had pulled my Rib #2 out of line.  The tendons and muscles connected to Rib #2 had compensated, but had in turn had to pull and tug the muscles of the left side of my neck.  Those tendons and muscles run up the back of my head and then connect to my eyeballs.  So - Rib #2 was causing my eyeball pain.

I gotta tell you that I'm one of the most gullible people on Earth so even though I wanted to hope and believe him, I knew better.  I still was not convinced that even though he said that he had pushed Rib #2 back in place that it was actually going to fix my eye.  But, would you believe that gradually as the day wore on my eye got better and better?  And the next morning I woke up and it hurt even less and within 48 hours I had no more eye pain.

The words that come to mind are "bizarre", "weird", "crazy".  I'm sure you can think of a few as well.

However - I ask you:  How many times have you been to your family physician and told him about some random pain or symptom you were experiencing?  (For me - a million.  "Hey Doc, my left knee hurts when I twist ....")  And how many times did your family physician check to see if your rib was out of place or you were simply dehydrated or you were intolerant of a particular food?  No, he might have attempted to get to the root of the problem, but more than likely he pushed an antibiotic or a high-dose pain killer at you and sent you on your way.  Am I right?

I am still amazed at how God designed our bodies to heal naturally and what an important role natural-focused (and educated) doctors can play in that.

I have taken that decongestant back out of my purse and it is resting quietly in the cabinet again.  I haven't had a sinus headache in months so why I'm keeping it I'm not real sure.  Maybe it's a security blanket.  Maybe it's my backup.  (Old habits die hard you know?)  Or maybe since the box is red, it simply matches my kitchen decor.  Whatever purpose it serves in that cabinet right now is better than any purpose it would serve in my body.

Happy Friday.  May your weekend be filled with quality time with those you love, good wholesome food, laughter and zero eyeball pain!

For Your Viewing Pleasure

Good Thursday morning!  It is a beautiful rainy day here in Pflugerville, Texas and while I don't have anything earth shattering for you this morning, I do have a funny quote and a few recommendations.

I read this on my daily email this morning and thought it worth sharing:

"Did you ever stop to taste a carrot?  Not eat it, but taste it?  You can't taste the beauty and energy of the earth in a Twinkie." - Astrid Alauda

That is one thing I have to say I'm consistently amazed at.  Organic, whole, quality food tastes so much better than what we used to eat.  We went to Serrano's a few weeks ago just to get out of the house and give me a break in the kitchen.  I kept taking bites and adding salt thinking maybe they'd forgotten the salt in their beans or in their taquitos.  Finally, when Rick felt like I'd clogged my arteries enough - he mentioned that food that wasn't organic didn't have near as much of a taste.  So true, so true.

If it's raining at your house today (or sometime this weekend), consider having a movie watching festival.  Here are three that I would highly recommend and that changed our lives upon viewing:

Super Size Me - Yes, it's a few years old now (produced in 2004), but if you haven't taken the plunge and watched it - you need to.  I believe you can watch the entire thing online on Hulu if you go here.  Or, if you have Netflix, you can rent it there as well.  Although I haven't been in awhile, I'm sure a video store (like Blockbusters or Hastings) would have it also.



While examining the influence of the fast food industry, Morgan Spurlock personally explores the consequences on his health of a diet of solely McDonald's food for one month.

Food Matters - This one is quite possibly my favorite because of the wealth of knowledge it contains.  My favorite part is the story about the guy healed of cancer by simply using Vitamin C.  You have to see it to believe it!  You can go here to watch the trailer.  (Then if you'll do a search for "food matters" on youtube you can watch it in segments.)  Or - you can always rent it on Netflix.

"The focus of the film is in helping us rethink the belief systems fed to us by our modern medical and health care establishments. The interviewees point out that not every problem requires costly, major medical attention and reveal many alternative therapies that can be more effective, more economical, less harmful and less invasive than conventional medical treatments."

Food, Inc - I'm not going to lie - this one had me sick at my stomach for days.  It also made me angry.  There are so many things going into our foods that we have no idea about.  There are so many restrictions on farmers these days.  This documentary is truly eye opening.

This is the official Food, Inc website where you can buy the DVD.  Or, you can watch it on Netflix or find bits and pieces of it on Youtube.  I warn you though, this one is not an easy watch.

"In Food, Inc., filmmaker Robert Kenner lifts the veil on our nation's food industry, exposing the highly mechanized underbelly that has been hidden from the American consumer with the consent of our government's regulatory agencies, USDA and FDA. Our nation's food supply is now controlled by a handful of corporations that often put profit ahead of consumer health, the livelihood of the American farmer, the safety of workers and our own environment."

100th Day Celebration

 We had a party at our house last night.  No, it wasn't any one's birthday - not even our anniversary.  We celebrated Craig's 100th good day at school!  Way to go Craiger!!

Craig brings home a folder each night that I sign and return.  It contains a calendar that his teacher marks each day to let me know how his behavior was at school.  If there is a stamped smiley face, he had a good day.  Otherwise, she will write in it and tell me what kind of problems he had.  (Sometimes there hasn't been enough space for all the writing!  [gulp])

If you look back to September before we figured out this entire food allergy thing, he has writing on almost every day.  However, after that - each month the writing is a little less and a little less.  And - even better - it is writing about how he was "running in the hallway" (something I consider much less offensive) instead of "kicking his teacher".

Craig decided to count all his smiley faces last week to see how many he had.  He's pretty proud of them.  At the time, he had 98 so I told him we should have a party when he hit 100.

Nothing like a little motivation!  The little guy hit 100 just 2 school days later. 

We celebrated by eating dinner in front of the t.v. and then making some homemade ice cream.

The ice cream maker didn't freeze quite as fast as I was hoping, so I grabbed the back up Rice Dream Ice Cream out of the freezer and we had that instead.  (Shhh!  Don't tell the kids!)

We then turned on the "hip hop music" (as Julie calls it) and had a dance party in the den right before bed. 

Why?

Maybe that's the question popping into your head.  Why go to all that trouble?

That's simple.

We're celebrating a life that's been redeemed.  Every single day is a complete and total wonder to us as we praise Him for bringing back our little boy.


** Make sure you check out our newest Success Story:  Gayle!

You CAN Afford to Eat Healthy!

$950.

Do you have any bills at your house that are $950 / month?  Maybe that's your house/rent payment.  Maybe that's your combined car payments.  Or, maybe that's your combined credit card payments.  Ouch!

$950 was our grocery bill one month when we first started this health journey.  When you combined that with medical bills that were over $500/month then we had what you might call a problem.  (I mean, if you call the vein on the side of my husbands forehead popping out a problem.)

Without me bringing in an income right now, we cannot swing $1400/month on health.  Maybe that's hypocritical in your eyes.  However, if I really analyze it - how realistic would it be if we could swing $1400?  I mean, how can I open this website and try and help as many people as I can by teaching them what we've learned and yet spend that much each month?  Because while you might be able to swing it, the majority of people cannot swing that amount each and every month.

So, I set out to try and figure out how to eat this way, live this way, breathe this way - for less - and here is what I've learned:

Coupons Work EVERYWHERE

If you watch TLC, you've probably seen the show Extreme Couponing.  It's an awesome show, but don't expect to be able to pull off those kind of savings eating well.  Yes, you can use coupons to get chips, cereals and sodas for free.  But, in all my research you will never find coupons that will get you organic apples, oranges and bananas for free.

However, before you give up - I have a rainbow in this storm.

While there are some things that you will just always pay full price for if you want to eat healthy, you can save money in other areas so that overall you reduce your grocery spending.

Coupons work and they work everywhere.  However, you rarely see people using coupons at Sprouts and especially Whole Foods.  (That must be nice!)  That doesn't mean that you CAN'T use them though!

The first time I ever used coupons combined with things that were on sale at Whole Foods, I saved $25 off my total bill.  The cashier asked me if she could take a picture of my receipt because she'd never seen anyone save so much there.  Twenty Five dollars isn't a large amount in the grand scheme of couponing, but every little bit helps.

Whole Foods puts out a coupon list each week that you can get in their store and also online.  Then, I take those coupons and see if the manufacturer of each good offers a coupon online as well.  I do the same thing at Sprouts.

You can maximize your savings if you combine your coupon with what is on sale.  For example, if they put Udi's Gluten Free White Bread on sale, I use a dollar off coupon I found online combined with a $1.50 off coupon they put in their flyer combined with their sale to get the bread for $3.00 instead of the usual $5.99.  It's not free (like on Extreme Couponing) - but it's much less expensive and it's one of the only breads my son can ingest.

Order in Bulk

This is one that won't make you a millionaire, but every little penny counts.  Whole Foods (and Sprouts as well I think) have a hidden secret.  If you order any item by the case, they will give you a 10% discount. 

So, how can we work that to our advantage?

Well, if you find you're eating a lot of something (like Udi's bread or Kettle potato chips, like us) then it would benefit you to order it by the case.  (A case is 8, 10 or 12 items.  It varies depending on the item.) 

So, how can we work this EVEN MORE to our advantage?

I like to wait until they put a particular item on sale and THEN I jump in and order it by the case.  For example, my most recent find was my favorite sweet tea:  Sweet Leaf.  This tea is normally sold for $1.50/bottle making it a treat I enjoy only on occasion instead of each and everyday.  However, recently it went on sale for $1/bottle.  So, I ordered a couple of cases taking advantage of the 10% off making each bottle actually $.90 instead.  Now, that's a bottle of tea I can enjoy each day!  (At least - that is - until I run out.)

Order Online

I know some of you that read this and I know you're terrified to order things online.  You're going to need to get over it for this part of the savings.  (And it's going to be a very important option for those of you not living in a city.)

Truth of the Day:  Things online are (almost always) less expensive than in the store.

I have found this to be true over and over again on this journey.  I know what you're thinking:  "Kristen, you're losing when it comes to the shipping!"  However, I've only paid the shipping on one item in the last six months.

My favorite way to find out if I can get a grocery item for our home cheaper online is to visit Amazon.  (However, I have also found good savings ordering directly from the manufacturer so don't forget to try that as an option!)

My most recent finds on Amazon include our Amazing Meal (that we drink daily) and the kid's favorite gluten-free, egg-free, dye-free, salicylate-free, artificial-sweetener-free, sulfite-free cereal:  EnviroKidz Leamin' Lepur.  I found the Amazing Meal at a 25% discount and the cereal at a 50% discount and got free shipping on both.  Score!

Farmers Markets

It's a little bit hard to shop at a Farmer's Market if you don't eat vegetables.  However, this is where you can seriously save in your grocery budget. 

If you live in the Austin area, it is very easy to find a farmer's market near you.  You could start here in your search.  (If you don't live in the Austin area, I'll be happy to help you locate the market nearest you.)

My favorites (so far) that are near me are the market on Saturday mornings at Lakeline Mall, the Pflugerville market on Tuesday afternoons and the Dell Diamond on Wednesday afternoons.  Lakeline has about 50 vendors and they have everything from seafood to flowers to dog treats to vegetables.  Pflugerville is small, but good.  Their selection of vegetables is awesome and they happen to have a gluten free bakery that brings cupcakes that my kids adore.  Dell Diamond is made up of about 25 vendors and their selection of vegetables is great as well.  They have meat, plants, bread, honey and even some ice cream as well.

What do you need to know before you go?

1)  Farmer's Markets only take cash.  (There is an ATM on site if needed.)
2)  Farmer's Markets deal in whole numbers.  Nothing is marked $3.99.  It's all $4 even or $3 even.  For some reason, this makes me feel like I'm spending less.  You have to watch yourself!
3)  Farmer's Markets offer baskets of vegetables instead of weighing in some cases.  I buy my cucumbers by the basketful (small basket - about 5 cucumbers) for three or four dollars.
4)  Farmer's Markets house some seriously friendly people.  Our churches could take lessons.

Meal Substitutions

We substitute our breakfast each and every morning with a shake.  The one we have chosen is outlined on our Products page.  The reason we've chosen to do this is three-fold: 

a) It is much healthier than anything else we could choose for breakfast.  It's loaded with probiotics, vitamins, nutrients, etc...

b) It enables us to "coast" through that part of the mornings, yet make a wise decision in the meantime.  I don't know how morning go at your house, but ours are packed with lunch making, kid dressing, folder signing chaos at times.  In all of the confusion and chaos I have been known to just grab a cupcake or some cold pizza.  Having this "plan" enables me to not have to think about breakfast and be able to focus on getting everyone out the door.

c)  It is actually less expensive for us because we aren't using the cereal, the milk, the eggs or the bread each and every morning. 

(This is also great for weight loss, but we're talking about how to save money on your healthy grocery bill.)

Meat Straight from the Rancher

If you want to save money, go straight to the source!  That's what we've done with our meat supply.  I order straight from the rancher which a) helps the rancher and his family, b) assures me I'm getting quality meat and c) cuts the middle man therefore cutting my cost.

Instead of paying $5.99/lb of organic, grass-fed, antibiotic-free, hormone-free ground beef, I now pay $4.50/lb.  That tends to add up each night at dinner! 

(If that still sounds pricey to you, it might be because you're still paying $1.97/lb at one of the large grocery chains.  If you have time later, you might want to take a look at what's really in that meat your eating.  Here's a few things:  red dye (to make it look pretty), hormones (from when the cow was alive), preservatives (so it will stay on the shelf longer).  Why do those things matter?  Well, that's another blog post for another day, but do you think it's any coinsedence that our cancer cases, diabetes cases, autism cases, and even just plain obesity cases are at an all time high?  I don't.)

While I order our meat an entire month at at time (because I have a deep freeze), I also have reduced the amount of meat we ingest.  Rick and I have a little laugh each time we eat a meal without meat because a year ago this was completely foreign to us.  I mean, it can't be a real meal unless there's meat, right?!

Our meat (for the entire month) now costs me less than $150.  If that still seems steep to you, divide it out.  Let's say we eat 20 dinners a month that contain meat.  If you divide that, it comes out to $7.50 per meal.  That's $1.87 per person.

Go here to find a rancher near you.

Wash, Wash & Rewash

Let's say that you just cannot afford organic fruits and vegetables.  Maybe you're a single parent doing the best you can.  Maybe your spouse was laid off from their job.  Maybe you spend all your money on the organic beef and can't do the other.

Whatever the reason, this would be my recommendation:

Wash the fruit or veggie with a vegetable wash.  Then, soak the fruit in a mixture of water and Agrisept.  (Agrisept can be found on our Products page.)  Agrisept is known as being an extremely powerful anti-fungal, anti-parasitic, anti-bacterial, anti-viral product.  While you wouldn't be getting all of the benefits of organic produce, you could eliminate so much of the bad just by using Agrisept.

One other tool you might employ is peeling.  This is a good rule of thumb if you can't go completely organic:  If you are going to eat the peel (like an apple or pear) buy organic.  If not (like a grapefruit or cantelope), buy conventional.

Articles

If this particular post hasn't been long enough for you (ha), then take a look at some of these for more information and a little extra reading.

Can you afford to eat right?  I don't think you can afford NOT to!

How to Cook Whole Food from Scratch - And Keep Your Day Job  Or, like me - it has become my day job!

Your Family Could Be Eating Organic Food for the Same Price as Processed Foods - or Less This one is a goody!  Don't miss it - very eye opening!

Six Foods that will Give You the Most Health "Bang" For Your Buck - These are staples in my house!  (except the raw milk ... we use rice milk when possible)

A Special Request

One last thing before I head out .... I am now getting about four phone calls or emails a week.  Some of them come from friends.  Some of them come from friends of friends.  Some of them come from complete strangers who found our site in their search for truth.  Their calls/emails range in degree from children with behavior problems to serious diseases like Lupus.  Our desire is to help as many families as we can.  Who can you tell about our site?  Who could you email?  Would you be willing to post it on your Facebook wall?  Help us out by passing it on.  Maybe you don't need it, but bets are - someone you know does!

Why You Can't Lose Weight

Last March (2010) we paid off the last of our debt and so I decided to reward myself with a gym membership.  I became a gym junky going to the gym everyday and working out on the elliptical and then lifting weights.  When school let out for the summer, Rick joined me in my junkiness and started going with me.  However, I began to notice something.

Rick began working out like a crazy man and began losing weight.  I had a three month head start on him and hadn't lost a pound.  Not one.

I realize jealousy is not the appropriate emotion to feel here; however, it's what I felt.  I mean, yes - I was happy for the man.  But mostly - I was jealous.

Why is it that we can follow a strict eating plan and we can work out and we can run ourselves crazy trying to lose weight and then only lose 5-10 pounds or sometimes nothing at all?  Well, that's what I hope to touch on today.

Reason #1:  Food Allergies

If you have tried everything to lose weight and the pounds just will not come off, I'd like to tell you two things:  #1)  I so get it!  I feel your pain!  And #2)  Your problem might be food allergies.

You can call it a food allergy, a food sensitivity or a food intolerance.  Whatever you choose to call it - it will cause you to retain water and fat.  I love this article as I feel it hits the nail on the head.

It might be that you're simply intolerant of gluten.  Maybe it's something like corn or soy.  Or - you might be one of the "unlucky" ones like Craig and find that you're allergic to everything but cardboard.  However, whatever it is - if you would quit putting it in your body, your body would do two things.  First it would shed the water it's retaining.  That would lead to a 5-10 lb initial weight loss usually in the first week.  (Granted, you will probably suffer some headaches, maybe upset stomach, and even some grumpiness during this time as your body suffers from a little bit of withdrawal.  Good times!)  However, after that first week your body will respond to what you've been trying to do to lose weight.  If you're working out, it'll begin responding.  If you're eating salads everyday for lunch, it'll begin responding to that.  But - it will refuse to respond (by letting go of water and fat) as long as you're feeding it the exact allergen that is causing the trouble in the first place.

How do you figure out what food or substance your body doesn't like?  It's simple.  Go to a chiropractor that does muscle testing.  Wherever you live you can find one fairly close.  Get on the internet or the phone and begin calling or emailing asking if the chiropractor you're considering does muscle testing.  It is painless and takes less than 1 minute to check for a substance.  You don't even have to get adjusted (popped) if you are uncomfortable with that.  (I have two chiropractors in the Austin area that I would highly recommend.  Just shoot me an email.)

Reason #2:  Candida

This one isn't pretty.  I apologize.  However, it's a huge problem and it's relatively unknown on so many levels.

Candida is defined by dictionary.com as "A yeastlike, parasitic fungus that can cause an infection (candidiasis) such as athlete's foot and vaginitis."  However, before the men check out, it's not just a problem for women.  Candida affects millions of women and men.

This is my favorite article regarding candida because it covers more than just the "norm" when it comes to thinking about yeast.  Essentially, candida is a yeast infection that begins in the digestive system and spreads little by little to other parts of the body.  How?  Well, birth control pills, antibiotics, cortisone, and chemotherapy kill the good bacteria in our system that keep candida in check.  I don't know about you, but I've taken 3 out of those 4 at some point in my life!

For me, candida began affecting my bladder.  I'll spare you the details, and just suffice it to say that bladder problems plagued me for years before I discovered that candida might be the cause.  Candida can cause a multitude of symptoms ranging from bladder problems (like me) to depression, sinus infections, and muscle aches.

However, one of the products we recommend has been proven to combat Candida:  Agrisept.  You can find it on our products page and we'll be glad to share a regiment that has been recommended for fighting Candida.

Reason #3:  Your Workouts

I'll confess that when I learned about Peak 8 Exercise, I was furious.  How many hours did I spend on elliptical machines last year not losing ANYTHING?

What I learned is this:  If you want to lose weight, get a good workout, do your heart some good (call it whatever you want) - you must work your heart ANAEROBICALLY.  I was spending hours on ellipticals and sweating and panting, but only working my heart AEROBICALLY.

There's a difference.  And the difference is in the weight loss my friend.  (Ok, it's in the heart health part of it too.  But, who cares about being healthy?  I just want to be skinny!)    ;)

Here's how it works:

There are three types of muscle fibers in your body -

1. Slow (red muscle, which contains more oxygen)
2. Fast (white muscle)
3. Super-fast (white muscle)

When you work out like I was, "… [T]he blood supply is going to the red muscle. The white muscle really doesn't get a lot of blood because it doesn't need a lot of blood. It gets its energy from the stored up energy in your body. That's six to eight seconds worth of stored up energy and through the oxygen you breathe for 30 seconds or less."

I wasn't using my white muscle while on the ellipticals.  But, the white muscle is where the weight loss is.

When you work your super-fast fiber, it forces your heart to work anaerobically.  "If you don't work all three muscle fiber types and energy systems, then you're not going to work both processes of your heart muscle. Many mistakenly believe that cardio works out your heart muscle, but what you're really working is your slow twitch muscle fibers. You're not working the anaerobic process of your heart... traditional strength training and cardio only works your slow twitch muscle fibers. Your body kicks in these slow twitch muscles first, in an effort to not recruit your fast twitch muscles or work your heart anaerobically."*

You can go here to watch a few videos and read up more on Peak 8 Exercises.

In the meantime, if you're trying to lose a few pounds why don't you consider figuring out which foods your body doesn't tolerate well and cleansing your body with some Agrisept.  Then, after you've educated yourself, add in the Peak 8 Exercise and I bet I won't recognize you the next time I see you! 

* All quotes from http://fitness.mercola.com/sites/fitness/archive/2010/11/13/phil-campbell-on-peak-8-exercises.aspx

Meat Glue

Weak stomach?  I hope not!

Today I have a very disturbing video for you regarding the state of the meat we're putting in our bodies.  I had no idea that there was such a thing as "meat glue".

If you've got five minutes, this is worth the watch!

Then, if it upsets you enough - go here to find a farm near you where you could get hormone free, antibiotic free, healthy beef, chicken and pork.  (Or give us a call and we'll help you find healthy meat near you.)

(Make sure you check out our Tools & Success Stories pages as we have new information there!)

Rice Milk

Why do they call it "lactose intolerant"?  When I was a kid, I was "allergic to milk".  I'm sure my mother would testify to the fact that considering she was hospitalized four times from exhaustion my first year of life, there was definetely more than an "intolerance" going on.

It does seem kind of anti-climactic, don't you think?  I mean, considering the signs and symptoms that occur when one cannot consume dairy, you would think they would call it something like "The-Worst-Stomach-Pain-Ever (sans labor)".

Maybe you're lactose intolerant.  Or, maybe you've read some of the debates on milk verses soy verses almond or rice milk and have discovered (as we have) that (dairy) milk is actually not good for you.

WHAT?!!  I remember the first time I ever heard that.  Dairy is one of the major food groups!  I've seen the chart - fruits, vegetables, dairy, meat.  You have to get all of them to be healthy, right?

However, the more I studied (mainly for my son at first) - the more I realized that unless the milk is raw (straight from the cow to my mouth), it is "dead".

Oh my word!  How many sippy cups of milk did I feed to my children?

At first, I turned to soy milk thinking (like most of the rest of America) that it was a healthy, logical choice.  However, most of the soybeans grown today are genetically modified.  It is extremely rare to find organic soy grown in the U.S. 

So, until I could find a proper "substitute", I put my family on organic dairy milk.  I wasn't happy with it, but at least I knew they could use it safely in their cereals and I could use it in recipes.  However, the cost of organic milk has nearly forced us to take out a loan!  (Can I get an amen?) 

But, those days are over.  Until Rick (and Bubbles) will let me put a cow in our backyard, we are going Rice Milk all the way baby.

That's got to be expensive too, right? 

Not when you make your own! 

Did I just see you roll your eyes?  (I know my brother just did.  He has already informed me that he thinks I've gone off the deep end.)  However - stay with me here.  I was AMAZED at how simple it was.  (Not to mention inexpensive!)

Wait.  What about all the nutrients ... the calcium you'll be missing?  Again, unless you're drinking it straight from the cow, the milk you're drinking is dead anyway.  Pasteurized milk doesn't have the nutrients raw milk has.  (And frankly, if you're that worried about calcium, supplement with a Calcium supplement.)

HOW TO MAKE YOUR OWN RICE MILK

Are you excited? 

You're going to need:

8 oz organic long grain brown rice
8 cups water
more water for diluting
mason jars (or other storage containers)
blender

Begin by washing the rice thoroughly.  Bring 8 cups of water to a boil and add the rice.  Reduce the heat to low and allow to simmer for 3 hours.  (I stirred mine occasionally so that it wouldn't stick to the bottom.)

Fill the blender halfway with cool water.  Fill the other half with the rice "soup".  Blend until smooth. 

(I made the first batch with just water and rice.  However, after the second batch, I began putting maple syrup and cinnamon into the blender to give the milk a sweeter taste.  I will continue to do this until we are used to used to the change.  You could also just put a tablespoon or two of organic sugar in if desired.)

Strain the mixture so that the milk separates from the unblended rice.

Pour into mason jars (or other storage containers) and refrigerate.

Eight ounces of rice made 6 1/2  (16 oz) jars of rice milk.  (Roughly 7 cups - or almost half a gallon)

Let's talk prices.

I paid $.82 for the rice.  That's $.82 for a half gallon of milk or $1.64 for a gallon.  Since I had to purchase the mason jars for the first time, if you factor in their cost, I paid $5.46 for the first gallon.  (However, that will only be a one time fee and oddly enough is still cheaper than most organic milk.)

We have used the rice milk so far in oatmeal and in smoothies and no one has been able to tell a difference.  Well, that's not entirely true.  Rick said his wallet can already tell the difference!

Welcome!

We're so glad you're here!

We introduced Body, Soul & Mind almost a month ago and today we're officially launching the website.  Thanks for stopping by!  We'd love to hear from you.