How Is Inflammation Affecting Your Life?

Could inflammation be causing you to lose your motivation to move forward in your life? According to this article, that could very well be the case. If you have recently been ill and can't seem to get your mojo back, it could be due to low grade inflammation still in your body.

Our bodies are remarkable organisms. They do whatever it takes to stay alive and rebalance when we've been knocked off balance by an illness or anything else. It allocates resources needed to right itself and if that means knocking out the dopamine "system" so that we lose motivation to exert energy on something other than recovery, it will do so to allow all energy to be redirected toward recovery.

When your brain doesn't release dopamine, your motivation to perform diminishes. It seems that it may be possible that when there is something going on on your body that needs to heal, your body will shut down dopamine production in order to allow it to concentrate all efforts on healing whatever is wrong. So if you are suffering from chronic inflammation, it stands to reason that your motivation to do much of anything may be diminished. And apparently your immune cells are in charge of that decision. They can determine whether other systems in the body need to slow or stop what they are doing to conserve energy to be used in the healing process.

But what about when your body is in a constant state of inflammation? Because of our Standard American Diet, high levels of chronic stress, sedentary lifestyle, lack of exercise, lack of sleep, overuse of electronics, and exposure to environmental toxins, we are keeping our bodies in a low level (or sometimes maybe a not so low level) inflammatory state. Do you ever feel like you just don't want to do what you should be doing, like normal everyday activity? Maybe your body is trying to eliminate the inflammation you've grown so used to living with.

One of the biggest causes of inflammation in the body is the overconsumption of processed food, and more specifically added sugars, in that processed food. We become so accustomed to the lousy way we feel that we forget what it's like to feel well, healthy and energetic. Wouldn't it be nice to have your youthful vitality back? Wouldn't you like to be able to sleep deeply and wake up refreshed in the morning? Do you have a few (or maybe more) pounds to lose?

The removal of added sugar from your diet is one of the most impactful things you can do to significantly improve your life. I did it almost ten years ago and it was transformational for me. I lost 135 pounds, regained my vitality and have the energy of someone half my age. It was life changing. If you need help, it might be worth a conversation with a health coach.   

As a health coach, I work with women who are facing serious health challenges like heart disease, metabolic syndrome and diabetes or who have been diagnosed as having a precursor to a serious health issue such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol or high blood sugar. I help them make food and lifestyle changes so they can get healthy, live longer and enjoy a fuller, happier, more energetic life. If you would like to have a free consultation about the health challenges you have and the improvements you would like to see in your health, click here to schedule a no strings attached call.

Reflections

In light of the second person in my generation who died too young, I thought this was worth sharing again...

As I look back over the past several years at what my family has endured, it makes me wonder. I am one of 17 grandchildren of my maternal grandmother. Nana had five children, four of whom lived into adulthood. Nana lived into her nineties and was very healthy until she developed Alzheimer’s disease and basically wasted away. My mother died at 41 from cirrhosis of the liver and a subdural hematoma, but two other of Nana’s kids died in their 80s and one is still quite alive. None of them had much in the way of life altering diseases throughout their lives except Uncle John. He had COPD, which he developed I believe in his 70s. He lived into his 80s.

Then we get to my generation. I led the charge to change the family health history. I developed breast cancer in 2009. While being treated for that, we unexpectedly lost a cousin who was a year older than me. I believed she died from a bowel obstruction or something like it. Since then, we have had two more instances of breast cancer, prostate cancer and colon cancer throughout the group. We have also had an open heart surgery, life threatening pulmonary hypertension, my SCAD induced heart attack and another threatened open heart surgery for a different relative that is hopefully deferred indefinitely. Several of us have autoimmune disorders.  

What happened in our generation that was not present in our mothers’ generation or even our grandmother’s? What is different for us? I think there are a few factors at play here.

  

• Many of us would be categorized as being overweight or obese. 
• We have also seen quite a bit of fluctuation in weight both up and down in several members of the family. 
• There are a lot of Type A personalities in our clan.
• Our generation grew up with more convenience foods even though our mothers cooked at home.
• I feel like we have a lot more stress whether it's self imposed or from outside influences.
• We are over extended in many ways...again either self imposed or otherwise.
• There has been a fair amount of substance abuse like drugs, alcohol and food
• We eat out a lot more than we did as kids

I don't know what all that means or if it contributes to why we have so much more disease in our generation but it is something to think about, because most of us have kids. What are we doing or have we done to them and their futures? If I knew what I know now when I was raising my kids, I would have done many things much differently. I hope they do a better job with the next generation. I'll do what I can to make that happen.

As a health coach, I work with women who are facing serious health challenges like heart disease, metabolic syndrome and diabetes or who have been diagnosed as having a precursor to a serious health issue such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol or high blood sugar. I help them make food and lifestyle changes so they can get healthy, live longer and enjoy a fuller, happier, more energetic life. If you would like to have a free consultation about the health challenges you have and the improvements you would like to see in your health, click here to schedule a no strings attached call.

Life Is Fleeting

We're here...and then we aren't. When we are children we look at the adults around us and we think that they are so old. But before you know it, we're one of them. I lost someone today who was very dear to me. We were close as kids and as happens to everyone, life gets in the way and we drifted apart. But anytime we got together, we could chat for hours. I loved her like a sister. 

When we were young girls, we were pen pals. We would write letters to each other about the boys we liked or what was happening with our friends or with our numerous siblings (she had six and I had four). When my family moved to New Jersey, we spent the week before we moved with my cousins, her family, and I went to her school with her for the week until I had to move to my own new school. This was pretty cool because I was in eighth grade, very boy crazy and this was a whole new crop of boys to develop an imaginary romance with.

When we became adults, she married very young and I didn't get married for about another twenty years so our lives took different paths. We didn't see each other much except at large family gatherings where it was tough to talk. But when we had the chance to catch up, the years fell away.

She was a very skilled cardiac nurse and the family caregiver to all the "older" generation relatives as they became ill in their golden years. She also tended to the rest of us when we needed her medical expertise. I wonder if she cared for the rest of us at the expense of her own health. She developed pulmonary hypertension (PH) a few years ago and because of her expertise, was an active participant in her own health care. She found a doctor with whom she was able to collaborate on her care and they made an indomitable team.

Sadly, a few weeks ago she developed an infection that she wasn't able to shake despite several rounds of antibiotics. Some of the meds for her PH acted as an immunosuppressant and did not allow her body to fight the infection. In fear of the infection turning septic, the decision was made to temporarily take her off of the meds to allow her body to rid itself of the infection but things went bad very quickly and we lost her today.

I'm telling this story to remind you that life is short. Don't put off living for the perfect circumstances because they will never be perfect and you may run out of time. Take the vacation, run on the beach, use the good china, tell someone you love them. You may not get another chance. Don't wait for the pounds to come off or to get the perfect job or to find the perfect words. Just do it.

I love you Kathy and I will miss you forever.

As a health coach, I work with women who are facing serious health challenges like heart disease, metabolic syndrome and diabetes or who have been diagnosed as having a precursor to a serious health issue such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol or high blood sugar. I help them make food and lifestyle changes so they can get healthy, live longer and enjoy a fuller, happier, more energetic life. If you would like to have a free consultation about the health challenges you have and the improvements you would like to see in your health, click here to schedule a no strings attached call.

Are You Ready to Hear Some Truth About the Food You Might Be Eating?

According to Pulitzer Prize winning author Michael Moss, the food industry is up to some pretty sneaky business. Food companies employ scientists to "engineer" their food to make sure the exact amount of certain ingredients are in the foods to make them irresistible to the consumers. There is a lot of manipulation of ingredients to get just the right balance. 

Have you ever heard the term "bliss point"? The "bliss point" is the perfect amount of sweetness in a food that will keeping you always coming back for more. There is added sugar in all kinds of foods like, pasta sauce, bread, pizza, salad dressings, soups, you name it. If it's a packaged food, chances are very good it has sugar in it. The food companies want to make sure they don't add too much sugar, to make it too sweet and also obvious that there is sugar in the food, but also not too little so that it doesn't hook you.

Dietary fat, when it is of a high quality, is good for the body. However, manufactured foods are full of poor quality saturated fats that you may not even know is in there. It contributes to what the food companies call "mouthfeel" or the consistency of the substance in your mouth as you consume it. The more appealing the mouthfeel, the more you want to eat it.

Salt content of the food is very important. You know how you feel when you pop that first chip or french fry into your mouth. You just want to keep eating them. Well, the way the salt is shaped is very important in certain cases. The idea is for the salt to stick to the food and when it hits your tongue, it goes straight to the pleasure center in your brain. So the salt is a pyramid shape with the flat side against the food and the points landing on the tongue to quickly interact with your saliva.

Flavoring with sugar, fat and salt is not the only aspect of food engineering the scientists are involved in. If you are a potato chip fan, you likely prefer the noisier crispier chips and perceive them to have a better flavor than those that are not as crispy. 

There is also a term used in the food industry called "vanishing caloric density". A good example of this concept is Cheetos or some other puffed cheesy food. When you put one in your mouth, it quickly dissolves, leaving your brain with the impression of having consumed a negligible amount of calories and therefore can continue eating.

Sugar, regardless of what name it masquerades under, will make you gain weight. Don't be fooled by labels that say "made with real fruit" because the fruit is stripped of everything except the sugar and added to the product. It doesn't contain any parts of the fruit that provide value, like the fiber.

Low fat products are not necessarily better for you than their full fat alternatives. The fat that has been removed is usually replaced with loads of sugar and artificial flavor enhancers. So low fat  flavored yogurt can actually contain as much sugar as ice cream.

Don't fall for "all natural" on the label thinking of it as something that is healthy for you. All natural means nothing regarding the amount of sugar, salt or fat (all of which can be considered "natural" ingredients) contained in the product.

These days, the number one source of saturated fat in the Standard American Diet is cheese. Cheese is included as an ingredient in many foods, hidden and obvious. We get it stuffed into pizza crust, in all sorts of useable forms like cubes, tubes, strings, and tubs. Our consumption of cheese has tripled since we started eating "low fat" in the late 1960s/early 70s. We now consume about 33 pounds of cheese annually per person.

Did you know that we are not born liking the taste of salt? We start to develop that taste at about six months so when we feed young children processed and fast food, they will be looking for sources of salt by the time they are in pre-school. You can lose your taste for salt by simply stopping consumption of salty processed foods for about six weeks, at which time everything in packaged foods will taste way too salty.

Fat, salt and sugar are very valuable to the big food industry. Salt is needed as a preservative to allow foods to sit on the shelf for several months. Salt replaces more expensive herbs and spices and is also used to mask the unpleasant flavor of processed foods.

Even though the food industry has a pretty powerful approach to encourage us to eat poorly from their vast selection of processed foods, we can defend ourselves against that invasion on our willpower. Shop the outer edges of the grocery store. The farther into the middle you go, the more likely the food is not good for you. When you shop in the middle of the store, look around and not just at what is right at eye level. The biggest sellers and the items most filled with sugar, salt and bad fats will be right in front of you. Look up and look down for the less unhealthy selections. Better yet, stay away from that part of the store completely.

Avoiding processed foods is far from easy but it can be done with planning and preparation. Never go to the store hungry and shop from a list after you have decided what recipes you will be preparing at home. You will not only save yourself unwanted empty calories but you will also likely save yourself some money. It's a win-win. 

As a health coach, I work with women who are facing serious health challenges like heart disease, metabolic syndrome and diabetes or who have been diagnosed as having a precursor to a serious health issue such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol or high blood sugar. I help them make food and lifestyle changes so they can get healthy, live longer and enjoy a fuller, happier, more energetic life. If you would like to have a free consultation about the health challenges you have and the improvements you would like to see in your health, click here to schedule a no strings attached call.

Still Eating Red Meat? Maybe This Will Change Your Mind

We have been hearing for years that consumption of red meat contributes to an increased risk of developing cardiovascular disease. But now, according to this podcast, there are now three new reasons to avoid eating red meat. 

1. The amino acids in egg yolks and in red meat cause a chemical reaction in your gut that results in the production of a chemical called TMAO, which causes hardening of the arteries and "clumping" of your blood. This is not a topic that was discussed even ten years ago. This brings into question high protein, low carb diets like the paleo or keto diets.
2. The Lone Star tick bite causes an anti-body to develop in the human body so that the next time you eat red meat after a Lone Star tick bite, you could actually go into anaphylactic shock due to the severe allergic reaction it will cause. This reaction could be as severe as that of a person with a nut allergy.
3. Neu5Gc is a molecule naturally found on cell surfaces in mammals other than human. When humans eat red meat, it is introduced into the body. Because our bodies do not recognize this substance, we will form anti-bodies to fight it. Repeatedly eating red meat will activate the anti-bodies causing a chronic inflammatory response, which could lead to an increased risk of tumor formation and cardiovascular disease. 

There are other reasons to avoid red meat as well. The high amount of saturated fat in animal protein, leads to a build up of cholesterol in the arteries. Additionally, there is evidence to suggest that the presence of the saturated fat in red meat contributes to the risk of colon and breast cancer. Cooking meat at a high temperature changes the surface of the meat making it carcinogenic. The type of iron found in meat is called heme iron and is found to produce compounds that damage cells leading to the development of cancer.

There are also some benefits to eating small amounts of red meat. The iron contained in red meat is readily absorbable by the body. It's also a good source of Vitamin B12 that supports the development of DNA and maintains the health of nerves and red blood cells. It also provides zinc for a healthy immune system. And of course, let's not forget the protein for strong bones and muscles. there are other food sources for these nutrients that don't come with the warning that eating red meat does.

If you are going to eat red meat, it would be wise to follow these guidelines:

• Only eat red meat a few times per week. People who consume red meat daily tend to die earlier than those who do not.
• Use meat as a side dish rather than the main event in your meal. Do not allow it to take the place of vegetables, fruits and whole grains.
• Stay away from all processed meats like bacon, cold cuts, sausage, and hot dogs. These highly processed meats increase the risk of colon cancer.
• When choosing cuts of meat, go for the leaner choices like anything with the word "loin" in the name or filet mignon.
• Do not burn or sear red meat or use a high temperature to cook it. And don't cook it to "well done". If you use a grill, use indirect heat and a lean cut so the fat doesn't cause a flare-up or smoke. This causes a chemical change that is carcinogenic.
• When grilling, use less meat by making kebobs, alternating meat and veggies on skewers.
• Choose grass fed whenever possible. This is usually leaner and has more omega-3 fatty acids.

There are plenty of alternatives to achieve the nutritional benefit gained by eating red meat that are less detrimental to your good health. I'll talk about them in a later post.

As a health coach, I work with women who are facing serious health challenges like heart disease, metabolic syndrome and diabetes or who have been diagnosed as having a precursor to a serious health issue such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol or high blood sugar. I help them make food and lifestyle changes so they can get healthy, live longer and enjoy a fuller, happier, more energetic life. If you would like to have a free consultation about the health challenges you have and the improvements you would like to see in your health, click here to schedule a no strings attached call.

Dehydration - What You May Not Know

I've talked about adequate water consumption before but I believe it doesn't hurt to repeat a few things that are so important to your good health, especially this topic and especially while we are in the throes of summer. 

I read an article in the Health section of the newspaper yesterday that had some good points that I am sharing here.

• Don't wait until you feel parched to drink something. Thirst is just one symptom of dehydration. there are other ways that dehydration rears its ugly head in your life.
• dark urine - if your urine runs dark and you are not urinating much during the day, this could be an indication of dehydration
• dry skin - your skin needs water to stay hydrated. Your body will do what it can to protect itself so it will take moisture from wherever it is in the body to stay alive. 
• headaches, muscle cramps, sleepiness, irritability, confusion, fatigue - these symptoms can often be mistaken for signs of something else and not recognized as signs of dehydration
• convulsions and delirium - this is when dehydration can become life threatening
• Choose the right amount to drink. I always advise people to use their body weight as a gauge for how much water they should consume. Half the body weight in ounces of water is often an adequate amount to keep you fully hydrated. Some advice is to drink eight eight ounce glasses of water per day but it's important to take into consideration environmental factors, activity level, and how you feel. I would err on the side of caution and drink more rather than less than 64 ounces per day. You can develop water intoxication but that happens when you consume vast quantities in a short period of time. Don't do that. 
• The outside temperature doesn't have to be high for you to become dehydrated. If you tend to sweat a lot in the humidity or when the dew point is high, even though the temperature is somewhat moderate, you could experience symptoms of dehydration. Be sure to pay attention to how you feel and don't wait until it becomes critical to ask for help if you feel you need to.
• You need more than water to keep your hydration level up. When you are dehydrated or perspiring profusely, you need more than water to keep yourself healthy. You may need to replenish electrolytes like sodium and potassium. Choose a healthy alternative like coconut water to typical sports drinks that are often full of artificial ingredients and coloring.
• You may become dehydrated hours or days after you were in the heat. As I mentioned before, your body will do what it can to stay alive until it can no longer do so. This is when the signs of dehydration will show up.

The bottom line is, to prevent dehydration drink lots of water, especially if you are engaged in strenuous activity, wear weather appropriate clothing that is lightweight, light in color and loose fitting, limit activity in extreme heat to avoid heatstroke, and make sure to check on more vulnerable neighbors and loved ones. You can enjoy the heat but be sensible about it.

As a health coach, I work with women who are facing serious health challenges like heart disease, metabolic syndrome and diabetes or who have been diagnosed as having a precursor to a serious health issue such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol or high blood sugar. I help them make food and lifestyle changes so they can get healthy, live longer and enjoy a fuller, happier, more energetic life. If you would like to have a free consultation about the health challenges you have and the improvements you would like to see in your health, click here to schedule a no strings attached call.

Shame vs. Guilt...Do You Know The Difference?

According to Brené Brown, "shame is the intensely painful feeling or experience of believing we are flawed and therefore unworthy of acceptance and belonging. Women often experience shame when they are entangled in a web of layered, conflicting and competing social-community expectations. Shame creates feelings of fear, blame and disconnect." She also says that shame is a silent epidemic, something everyone experiences and is associated with depression, grief, anxiety, eating disorders, addiction and violence. 

Guilt, on the other hand is a feeling that something you did or thought was wrong...the deed was wrong.

There is a lot more to the psychology of shame and guilt that speaks to society's way of keeping our behavior managed which I won't go into. My purpose for discussing this is to help clarify the difference between being a bad person and doing something you might regret. 

So many people equate a moment of bad judgment with their value as a human being. I find this to be especially true of people who find controlling their weight or eating, challenging. This is particularly true of women. Much of our self esteem is wrapped up in how we think the world perceives us physically. When we don't maintain the appearance we think society expects of us, we diminish ourselves as valuable humans. This is not only very damaging to our self esteem but it can lead to some pretty self destructive behavior. 

When I was in my late teens, I would often go on starvation diets to reach some unattainable ideal weight. I may have been slightly overweight but depriving myself of food until I couldn't stand it, actually made me binge eat and gain back any weight I may have lost and then some.  My shame kept me from having a social life for years in my twenties, because I felt people were judging me for the weight I had gained. I'm sure some were but in my mind everyone was judging me. 

I still struggle with my weight. Even now, I am sometimes hesitant to go someplace where I should dress a certain way or can't cover up the way I feel comfortable. But I'm working on letting that go. Life is short. I deserve to live life to its fullest and so do you. 

Feeling shame about the way you look robs you of some great opportunities in life. You are worthy of all life has to offer you. Your appearance, weight, age, size, level of ability, intelligence, marital status or anything superficial does not define you as a person. Your character and integrity is what makes you the person you are. You are beautiful inside and out.

As a health coach, I work with women who are facing serious health challenges like heart disease, metabolic syndrome and diabetes or who have been diagnosed as having a precursor to a serious health issue such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol or high blood sugar. I help them make food and lifestyle changes so they can get healthy, live longer and enjoy a fuller, happier, more energetic life. If you would like to have a free consultation about the health challenges you have and the improvements you would like to see in your health, click here to schedule a no strings attached call.