Beck Anderson Yoga & Wellness Hammock

When I first met him, he was 315 pounds and approximately 5’10″. He was pre-diabetic, had high cholesterol, using acid blockers, blood pressure medication and a sleep machine.

I’ve been consulting him since September. Eight months.

A conventional nutritionist or doctor would prescribe a low-fat, high carbohydrate diet and say the prescription drugs are helping his body stay healthy. At the worst, they would add a statin drug to his medication routine.

A conventional nutritionist would say nothing about cod liver oil, high vitamin butter, sea salt, or grass-fed meat. Heaven forbid they would suggest a probiotic or the GAPS (Gut And Psychology Syndrome) protocol.

But I did.

We spent hours in his kitchen removing processed, boxed “food” items with soy, hydrogenated oils, colorings and additives. I felt a twinge of guilt when I donated two laundry baskets of food at the food shelter: less-fortunate people shouldn’t be subjected to that “food” either.

We restocked his kitchen with nutrient-dense, full-fat foods. We found grass-fed protein, pulled in organic produce and talked about balancing blood sugar levels (super important for pre-diabetics).

Despite the nay-sayers and the calorie-in/calorie-out advocators, he stuck to our plan. He changed his lifestyle to a point that was slightly uncomfortable – but, as in every business takeover, there has to be a significant lifestyle change to prove that something is going to happen.

And something [good] did happen.

The first few week he spent eating through the six stages of the Introduction Diet to the GAPS protocol (purpose: to heal his gut). He lost a significant amount of weight all at once. Afterwards his lifestyle food plan is about healing his body on the inside. The excess weight is a symptom of what is wrong on the inside. So dietary changes are NOT about losing weight, although excess fat will not be sustained.

Now he’s wavering between being strict about what form nutrients take as they enter his body (generally a GAPS diet) and being a bit more indulgent. It’s a balancing game.

Now, eight months after we began, his blood test shows normal triglyceride and glucose levels. His doctor is helping him wean from his blood pressure medication. After more weight comes off, he’ll be able to wean off his sleep machine. He has Barrett’s esophagus and knows it is essentially a precursor to esophageal cancer. He knows the acid blocking medicine is not something to be ambivalent about and (soon!) he’ll be ready to begin the road of weaning off the acid blocker too.

He knows the road will be long, but he’s made a long-term committed to his health.

Last week I posted about how I’m re-staring the GAPS diet, and it’s almost been one week and I haven’t had any painful sessions with my midsection.

What is so amazing and simple and beautiful is that the same digestive problems causing–or that caused–my stomach aches is the same digestive problems people with autism, depression, schizophrenia, etc. suffer from! Maybe that isn’t so “beautiful,” but it is simple and amazing. Our bodies are spectacular because no matter what junk we put in the system, it will do it’s best to digest what little nutrients it can find, eliminate the trash and avoid a complete melt down. All at the same time. Sometimes the body is so depleted of nutrients and so overgrown with poison that it simply goes under.

It’s kind of like your bank account. If you keep mixing Monopoly money with U.S. dollars and keep spending the same amount of money every month… eventually your bank account will be empty.

I hope that analogy makes sense when I reread this in the morning.

My diet these days consists of grass-fed, organic, (mostly) local animal protein in the form of chicken, beef, pork, raw cheese and eggs from a friend. I’m also eating plenty of vegetables and some fruits. I made a crazy green juice last week; sadly it just tasted like the one apple I put in, not the whole bunch of kale I added.

P.S. I don’t recommend trying to juice avocado.

Coming soon!

A sample of my new GAPS Menu Mailer.

Near the end of 2010, I had just started the Gut and Psychology (GAPS) Diet as created by Dr. Natasha Campbell-McBride. The next month I posted about how much better I felt in my body, my digestive system was working better and I didn’t crave carbohydrates or sugar. I was a GAPS fanatic!

As time went on, I grew a bit lazy or perhaps I forgot where I had been. I started eating non-GAPS food just a bit at a time until I had completely weaned myself back into a healthy regular diet. Because I definitely still eat healthy (just ask my husband), but sometimes “healthy” eating doesn’t quite cut it.

A few weeks ago I wrote about my inflamed stomach. My digestive system is sluggish, I’ve noticed weight gain and stomach aches sometimes throughout the day. I thought these symptoms were gone! Obviously something about the GAPS diet worked and something about my healthy “regular” diet doesn’t work.

So today, March 1, is my first full day on the GAPS diet.

What is the GAPS Diet?

The GAPS diet was created by Dr. Natasha Campbell-McBride, who cured her son of autism. Dr. Natasha wrote the book Gut and Psychology Syndrome: Natural Treatment for Autism, Dyspraxia, A.D.D., Dyslexia, A.D.H.D., Depression, Schizophrenia.

GAPS is a diet to help people heal from digestive disorders, food allergies as well as physical, mental and emotional problems.

On the GAPS Diet, you are allowed meat, eggs, fats, non-starchy vegetables, bone broths (chicken, beef and fish stock), and organ meats. The GAPS Diet also includes lots of fermented foods such as yogurt, kefir, sour cream, and naturally fermented sauerkraut. Dairy is restricted at first, and then slowly introduced (most people find they can overcome dairy allergies).

The GAPS diet is not about cutting out all the tasty food! The photo above of the Cappuccino Cupcakes? They are on the GAPS.

GAPS Diet Resources

GAPS Diet Books

Gut and Psychology Syndrome: Natural Treatment for Autism, Dyspraxia, A.D.D., Dyslexia, A.D.H.D., Depression, Schizophrenia by Dr. Natasha Campbell-McBride

GAPS Guide (Simple Steps to Heal Bowels, Body and Brain) by Baden Lashkov

Internal Bliss – GAPS Cookbook (Recipes designed for those following the Gut and Psychology Syndrome Diet)

GAPS Diet CDs

Gut & Psychology Syndrome – Gut & Physiology Syndrome 5 Set CDs 2009 WAPF Conference

Meal Plan

Stay tuned – I’ll be offering a GAPS Meal Plan Service soon!

Supplements

Here is one place to find GAPS supplements: GAPSdiet. They have the GAPS books and BioKult (one of the most powerful probiotics for digestive healing) and some other great items.

If you are looking for a good source for Fermented Cod Liver Oil, contact me or shop at my store.

My friend and I just received our order from Cultures for Health and inside was a packet of Kefir grains! Which is exactly why I’m writing about Kefir today.

If you are a Kefir fan, you probably know about the low-fat, sugary kefir sold in the grocery store. Maybe you buy it because the idea of making it at home sounds like a lot of work or maybe you avoid it because you know it’s not the healthiest food. Or, maybe you don’t know what in the world I’m talking about.

Kefir is a probiotic drink containing a symbiotic colony of yeast and bacteria, much like Kombucha. Typically people just call it the Mother.

Kefir "Mother"

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I feel absolutely ridiculous admitting this, but I am only human. And sometimes I end up shrugging my shoulders and saying “do as I say, not as I do. I’m only human.”

Tuesday was one of those days. (more…)

The Long Life Cocktail is great for increasing elimination and balancing hormones. This drink is filled with emulsifying enzymes from unsweetened cranberry juice that will help digest fat globules in the lymphatic system, and the psyllium (or ground-up flaxseed) will help bind toxins so they aren’t reabsorbed in the body. Flaxseed binds to estrogen receptors and interferes with enzymes that convert various hormones to estrogen and may help control estrogen dominance and the resulting water retention and weight gain.

This recipe is from Ann Louise Gittleman of The Fat Flush Plan.

Long Life Cocktail

Ingredients

4 oz unsweetened cranberry juice (Knudsen’s, Trader Joe’s, Mountain Sun’s)
28 oz water
1 tsp powdered psyllium husks OR 1 TBLS freshly ground flaxseed (or ground and then refrigerated)

Directions

1. Mix unsweetened cranberry juice and water together to make Cranberry Water.
2. Mix 8 oz of Cranberry Water with either psyllium husks or flaxseed

Mix the psyllium quickly and drink even quicker. It may be easier to get down with a straw. Drink 1 glass morning and night.

If you are on medications, take them a few hours either before or after drinking the Long LIfe Cocktail as the fiber can inhibit the effectiveness of prescription medications.

Through the Introduction to GAPS Diet, this was a hit at our diner table. My husband who is not on GAPS, was able to eat foods he enjoys while I was able to commit to healing my gut. Win-win!

What is GAPS?

It stands for Gut and Psychology Syndrome and is a diet created by Dr. Natasha Campbell-McBride a neurologist and pediatrician practicing in England. It’s a healing diet and has been used to cure all sorts of ailments – from ADHD to autism, schizophrenia to constipation. Dr. Campbell-McBride actually healed her own son of autism. That is pretty amazing.

In her book, Gut and Psychology Syndrome: Natural Treatment for Autism, Dyspraxia, A.D.D., Dyslexia, A.D.H.D., Depression, Schizophrenia, Dr. Campbell-McBride writes that she has never seen an autistic child with a healthy gut. The GAPS diet, based on the Specific Carbohydrate Diet, heals and seals the gut lining using easily digestible foods and a heavy dose of probiotics. One of the main components of the diet is Bone Broth, which is easy on the digestive system and can help to heal allergies and Celiac, detoxes the liver and promotes bone building.

This recipe is from The GAPS book.

Chicken & Broth Vegetable Dinner

Ingredients

Meat. Options include the leg or shoulder of lamb, a joint of pork, a joint of beef, a pheasant, 2-4 pigeons, 2 quails, a joint of venison, a whole chicken, turkey legs.
Water
Salt
Pepper
Dried herbs to taste
Bay leaves
Sprig of rosemary
Broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, small onions, etc

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 300 F.
2. Place meat in a large casserole with a lid. Fill the casserole dish 2/3 full of water. Add salt, pepper, dried herbs to taste, bay leaves, a sprig of rosemary. Place the lid on the casserole and bake in oven 5 – 6 hours.
3. About 40 – 50 minutes before dinner: add broccoli, cauliflower, whole peeled small red or white onions, brussel sprouts, carrots, etc.
4. When you take the casserole out of the oven, you can serve the stock in bouillon cups with dinner. Or just serve the whole dinner in soup bowls.
5. Meat stock leftover from this dinner can be used as a soup base and/or nourishing drinks.

Activated charcoal, also known as activated carbon, activated coal, carbo activatus, n.: a form of carbon that has been processed to make it extremely porous and thus to have a very large surface area available for adsorption or chemical reactions. (more…)

In the health food section at my local grocery store, there is a healthy amount of space dedicated to soy products. If an unsuspecting person decided “I want to eat healthy,” and went to the Health Food Section uninformed, he or she would assume all items in the section were healthy. But is soy healthy?

Soy was first used in Asia as a cover crop to enrich soil. Much later Asians used it to season and enrich their meals, only after the Chinese learned to ferment soy beans to make foods like tempeh, natto and tamari. In the West, soy was first used to make paper coatings, glues and even in fire-fighting foam. In the 1950s food companies began producing soy isolate and soy lecithin. Now soy is everywhere: soups, imitation meats, non-dairy creamers, infant formulas, cereals, protein powders, etc.

MYTHS and TRUTHS:

Myth: Soy foods provide a complete protein.
Truth: Like all legumes, soy beans are deficient in sulfur-containing amino acids methionine and cystine. In addition, modern processing denatures fragile lysine.

Myth: Soy formula is a good alternative to infants who are not being breastfed.
Truth: Soy food contain trypsin inhibitors that inhibit protein digestion and affect pancreatic function. In test animals, diets high in trypsin inhibitors led to stunted growth and pancreatic disorders. Soy food increases the body’s requirement for vitamin D, needed for strong bones and normal growth. Phytic acid in soy foods results in reduced bioavailability of iron and zinc which are required for health and development of the brain and nervous system. Soy lacks cholesterol, essential for the development of the brain and nervous system. Megadoses of phytoestrogens in soy formula have been implicated in the current trend toward increasingly premature sexual development in girls and delayed or retarded sexual development in boys.

Myth: Soy food can prevent osteoporosis.
Truth: Soy foods can cause deficiencies in calcium and vitamin D, both needed for healthy bones. Calcium from bone broths and vitamin D from seafood, lard and organ meats prevent osteoporosis in Asian countries–not soy foods.

Myth: Soy is good for your sex life.
Truth: Numerous animal studies show that soy foods cause infertility in animals. Soy consumption enhances hair growth in middle-aged men, indicating lowered testosterone levels. Japanese housewives feed tofu to their husbands frequently when they want to reduce his virility.

Myth: Eating soy is good for the environment.
Truth: In one soy crop in Cordoba, the monoculture has been detrimental for the forests and pasture lands. Because of the expanding soy crops, cattle raising farmers have bene displaced, increasing land conflicts and evictions, as well as deforestation. The deforestation rate in Argentina is 0.8 percent per year, twice as high as the Amazon area (0.38 percent). But in Cordoba the deforestation rate is 2.93 percent – almost four times the national average and thirteen times the global average (0.23 percent). Researches at at Cordoba’s National University stress the direct relationship with the advance of the agricultural frontier, especially the cultivation of annual crops, primarily soy.

HEALTH CONCERNS

Soy is difficult to digest, which can cause gas, bloating and general discomfort. Fermented forms, like the tempeh, natto and tamari are more easily digested.

93% of U.S. soy has been genetically modified (GM): meaning the crop has been altered by a virus or bacteria with a certain trait, most commonly the resistance to a weed killer. We have been using GM foods for the past decade so we do not know the long term effects of these foods on our health. But the studies that have been completed thus far, begin to paint a bleak picture. Article: 15 years of GM Soybeans in Argentina

Soy can interfere with thyroid function, negatively affecting your metabolism.

SUMMARY

Soy can interfere with thyroid, its difficult to digest and does not allow us to fully absorb minerals. Soy is deficient in essential amino acids, contain trypsin inhibitors leading to stunted growth and pancreatic disorders, increases our need of vitamin D, has no cholesterol content, is deficient in calcium, lowers testosterone in men and increases infertility. It may cause early puberty in girls and late puberty in boys. It is not a complete protein that our bodies can use.

Crops like soy are increasing the deforestation rate in certain countries. The more soy consumed, the more soy planted, the higher the deforestation rate.

Traditionally soy was used as a condiment in fermented form and Asian cultures always used soy sparingly and traditionally processed (fermented). Soy milk, soy powders or protein bars did not exist in that culture of healthy soy foods. Research shows that soy’s benefits are inconclusive and may prove harmful for your body and the environment. If you enjoy soy, use sparingly and find traditional ways to ferment the product.

References:

Weston A Price
Kaayla Daniels PhD, CCN
Weight and Wellness

Ever wonder what to do with your left over ground beef from Taco Night (other than make more tacos, obviously)?

Try this!

Taco Stuffed Green Pepper

Serves 2

Ingredients

2-3 Green Peppers
All left-overs from Taco Night

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 250.
2. Halve and core green peppers and stuff with ground beef, place in oven for about 30 minutes or until green pepper is slightly tender.
3. Top with whatever is left from last night: lacto-fermented salsa, tomatoes, avocados, sour cream, shredded cheese, etc.

Hosted at Simply Delish Saturday.