Gluten-tag

If anyone gets that title reference I'll be so happy to know there's other extremely dorky people out there also. Which would be great. Anyway! Hello:) Today I want to spread the word on GLUTEN! It's the protein in wheat, rye, and barley, but.... it's in all processed foods too - as a stabilizer, to amp up the "whole grain," for kicks - it's just everywhere. And the tough part is there's a ton of different names for gluten too. Only it's hidden under multi-syllable unpronounceable ingredients that should be giant red flags for things you're about to put in your body anyway. But what you need to know is that gluten allergies are very common. The more I read and listen to people discuss this topic, or nutritional topics in general, the more I hear them say how destructive it is to your body pretty much across the board. It's also often talked about as the problem that goes most undiagnosed in our country. I say ok, maybe if we're just talking about nutrition! Insert your own joke about humanity here.

But, so what happens with this allergy is your body treats any gluten that enters into your system as a poison, and in turn creates antibodies to destroy it. Even if we stopped the biology of it right there you can imagine how run down your body would get fighting this stuff day in and day out as you unknowingly eat your toast in the morning. Well after a while the lining of your digestive tract becomes unable to absorb food properly. Basically stuff goes right through you and the snowball affect begins. You can eat incredibly healthy and a lot of it just goes to crap... which is what happened to me! So I've been in the transition to a gluten-free diet for about a month now. I say transition because it's so hard to eat gluten free! Lucky for me I already ate pretty healthy, but to give up all things wheat: so breads, pastas, flour, beer, and not to mention learning to decode all those multi-syllable ingredients I was talking about, has taken quite a bit of trial and error. At first I was kind of bummed. I thought here I am with a food blog and I can't eat anything! Because remember I was lactose intolerant too** so all dairy was out. But I can't wait to continue this blog and discuss all the ways I am so NOT deprived, and how much I've actually flourished being inadvertently forced to dissect my diet and eat real, natural foods. Foods that go to work in my body instead of wasted.

There are other biochemistry issues involved here, but that's the meat of a gluten allergy. What I want to bring by telling you all of this is that there's a real revolution in food science just beginning to make some mainstream headway. It used to be that nutrition was only something to consider once problems began to emerge. Once you had abused your body to the point of deterioration. But I want to be part of the people working to change that culture so nutrition stops being an afterthought and begins being what it should be, which is the starting point and foundation of all health - mind, body, soul, teeth, hair, boogers, everything. And I realize that like any new concept some might be resistant to change at first, especially if all you've heard your whole life is the food pyramid or less. But I challenge you over the next couple of blogs to keep an open mind because I'm going to share with you the trends brought out in the nutrition community - and I think you'll be surprised! But I'll share all my references too so you can direct any questions, or become fans of the people who have worked hard to find out what's really going to make your body a well-oiled machine. I know I'm excited!  Also, feel free to email or comment me anytime. That's all for now, more later...

Sar

p.s. There's a website where you can look into getting tested for gluten allergies: www.cyrexlabs.com. Search under their "cyrex tests & arrays" link.

**sometimes lactose tolerance can be regained after your gut heals with a gluten-free diet! Cross your fingers for me! I've already integrated small amounts of cheese again, and prospects look good!  

Since When?

Hi! Oh how I've missed you! : ) A lot, I mean, so, so much happened during the 3 month hiatus I accidentally took writing this blog! I moved, started a new job, and began my first semester back at school -- all while discovering what has made probably the biggest difference in my life to date... But I'll get to that soon! I also took a lot of time to think about how I wanted to continue this blog. The content had already shifted toward informative health rather than tips for eating cheap, healthy and quick so I knew something needed to change. I listened and read as much nutritional talk as I could, particularly Sean Croxton's podcast and website.* He does such a freaking great job covering a variety of nutrition topics with an unbiased ear that it spurred tangent after tangent of curiosity. The only thing is his guests are all really educated.... yuck, I know. Just kidding! But they are like PhD status, years in the industry, could tell you from tongue to toilet on the cellular level what's happening when you bite into food. Which I love... I love bio-babble, but I have a hunch that it's not a commonly shared enthusiasm. So I got kind of consumed in the fascination of it all and let topics just marinate in my brain. What I've decided is I'd like to use this blog to motivate and facilitate how important what you put into your body is and why. I hear a lot of people say, "just tell me what I should eat," but that's the difference between teaching a man to fish and just handing him a trout. Instead I want to continue to break down any cool information I think may help you understand the relationship between food and health -- in a way that those of us who are still working on our PhD's, or not, can understand. So stay tuned, let me know how I do! 

The other factor that put a kink in blog production was I found out what I thought was lactose intolerance was actually a gluten sensitivity! I had suspected for a little while that something just wasn't right -- here I was writing a food blog, loving nutrition, eating healthy, getting enough sleep and exercise, managing stress well, and I still didn't feel awesome. I was extremely tired all the time, taking naps nearly every day, unmotivated, unexcited, irritable, uncommunicative... just not the way a healthy 24 year old should feel. And without too much detail I'll say things were a little off, um, digestively, too. So I've been on a gluten-free diet for just shy of a month now, and already the turn around is amazing!  I'll save the rest of the details about what gluten is and my transition off of it for later, but for now I just wanted to write a little something to say that I'm back and keep an eye out for new blog posts! More later... 

Sar

*http://undergroundwellness.com/

WHOLE-Y FOOD!

   Hi:) I went to Whole Foods for the first time today. Wow. That place is kind of a shock to the senses when you first walk in... People and food were everywhere! It was awesome. You can seriously spend days in there and still not understand the variety of foods they offer. There's a sample of something new and fresh around every aisle. You could eat breakfast, lunch and dinner while you explored because they have buffets and short-order cooks throughout that mecca of cuisine. I ate from their salad bar. My pickings included fresh kale, roasted sweet potatoes, and lentils. Did I mention there was a wine tasting going on in the store, too? Yeah.

For me, someplace like that awakens the impulse to branch out and indulge my palate. I love to try what I've never had or seen before. But I understand that everyone doesn't share my enthusiasm, and basically, people are going to eat what they're going to eat. What I don't understand though, is the disconnect some have between what they put in their mouth and either the scale, their energy level, or their mood. I want to help with that! What you put in your mouth directly correlates with the way your body functions. Food is fuel before anything else. You have to know what's going to rev you up and what's going to slow you down. I'll begin a series on specific food groups tomorrow that will really help you organize your diet and find those speed bumps that are slowing you down. Talk to you soon, more later:)

~ Sar

A Series of Analogies

Hello again! I hope everyone enjoyed their feasts and took the opportunity to indulge in the tips from my last post while pigging out! I definitely did. So Happy Thanksgiving to you and your families:) Today I want to talk about something that's as backwards as baseball caps in the 90's: not eating breakfast. It's like using jumper cables every time you start your car. It's like filling the bathtub with individual pots of water. Like carrying sacks of pennies instead of bills. Um, no thanks, right? If you had a choice, why would you do that? Both options get the job done, but one is clearly more efficient. Well, when you don't eat breakfast, it's sort of like picking the harder one - the longer route. Your body has to do all kinds of rearranging to feed itself, and the damage it causes is not worth it. This one small step is actually the biggest leap you can take in becoming healthier.

My best friend asked me the other day, "Sarah," she said, "Why am I not hungry in the morning if I don't binge on snacks late at night... but if I do eat late, I wake up starving?" It does seem like the opposite should be true, but it's actually your body playing tricks on you. When it's been 10+ hours since a meal the body starts to think you're starving. So it shuts off the receptors in the brain that trigger hunger sensations and goes about using other resources for energy to function. A lot of times people think excess fat with be used for fuel and you'll lose weight from not eating breakfast. Negative. The real place your body targets first for food? Your muscles! Yep. Your body eats it own muscles. And without going into too much detail I'll say your muscles are a huge factor in having a good, high metabolism. So when my sweet best friend doesn't feel hungry, it's because her body has already gone into starvation mode. **  

Anyway, this is one of the only times you should eat even if you don't feel hungry. It's also the perfect time to not feel guilty for having that extra whatever, because your body needs it and it's got all day to burn those extra calories off. Chances are, if you eat a big breakfast you won't go crazy at lunch when normally your hunger pangs have come back and made you ravenous from going without. Remember to still eat good stuff though! Eggs, anything whole grain, turkey bacon/sausage (flavored with something - it tastes, well, not savory), grapefruit, nuts, yogurt, granola, etc.... and not empty, sugary calories. But seriously, something is better than nothing here. And yes, you can make the time! My favorite morning treat is whole grain toast, two slices, one with honey and raisins, and the other with either peanut butter or red pepper hummus. So let me encourage you to find a favorite of your own:) Keep your body running smooth, take this small step, eat breakfast! More later...

~ Sar

** Don't believe me about the muscles thing? Here's a couple articles that go more in-depth on the process. Don't worry, they're reader-friendly!

http://www.articlesbase.com/nutrition-articles/what-happens-when-you-starve-yourself-874862.html

http://www.articlesbase.com/weight-loss-articles/what-does-my-body-do-in-starvation-mode-646848.html

Hey, it's ok

 Hello! Happy weekend everyone! Today was the first Saturday I haven't had to work in months... Hooray for that. I can't tell you how much better the weekend is when it doesn't include the early shift on Saturday. I'm sure many of you already know the pleasure or can sympathize -- and for those of you who did have to work, yuck, sorry. But it's going to be Sunday now! For me that means a family brunch feast followed by a solid afternoon nap. For you it might mean a feast in front of the tv for the game. Go Bears! Or some kind of activity where you eat with less inhibitions than you would during the week. Everyone needs a break, right? I couldn't agree more. It's no fun to be completely health-obsessed every single day just like it's no fun to work every single day. So while no permission will be given to jump off the deep end, I'll gladly share with you my tips to indulge without derailing.

First understand the relationship between different aspects of your diet. For example, 'weekend' food is probably going to be a.) high in fat b.) high in salt c.) high in sugar or d.) all of the above. That's alright, we're going to pretend like there was no other option and you had to eat it. To balance the fat, eat fiber. Fiber. Soluble fiber attaches itself to excess fat and escorts it out of your body via... well, poop. It doesn't work like a magic eraser, but it will help get rid of some stuff your body won't use for fuel. So if you can't turn down that extra chicken wing doused in sauce or that pizza slice, also leave some room for an apple, a couple pieces of broccoli, those almonds, or my favorite - a FiberOne bar for desert**.

Second, if what you ate is high in salt, well, you'll be just like the rest of us. Americans have very high-sodium diets because of all the preservatives in our foods and our affinity for fast food. So chances are you went over the suggested daily value of salt without even trying. Whoops! To help with that, eat potassium. Potassium and salt are inverses, which means they can balance each other if one gets out of hand. Foods like bananas, potatoes, oranges, and orange juice are all great sources of potassium -- you're basically set with any fruit. Double bonus since most also have fiber.

Sugar, unfortunately, is still just something to minimize. You can't really offset it because your body needs so little of it even in it's most natural form. And although there are many negative side effects for too much sugar, I won't bring down your weekend by listing them. I'll just say that it does eventually turn to fat, and we already talked about how to help with that. Fiber. I also want to say that of course a somewhat consistent exercise routine will allow more wiggle room with calories... Now if that doesn't motivate you to get your body moving I don't know what will! And there's no substitute for a good exercise routine, but on the days you let your body rest you can still help maintain balance. Anyway I hope you make the most out of your Sunday and can put some of these tips to good use! More later...

~Sar



**Disclaimer: seriously, if you eat a FiberOne bar, you'll be on the pot in the next 3 hours