How To Know if You Have a Food Intolerance

You can probably recognize an actual food allergy.  Classic symptoms would be hives or difficulty breathing.

But food intolerances are harder to spot. They may not appear immediately and you may mistake the symptoms for a variety of other issues.

More and more people have food intolerances these days, even kids. As our food supply is more chemical, and the “natural foods” have more pesticides and are genetically modified, the human body is faced with trying to break down and metabolize an entire new type of ingestibles.

You can’t really call some of this “food” anymore, since lab-created chemicals or chemical/food hybrids won’t actually support human life.  These pseudo-foods will kill slowly, and they won’t support healthy physiology and function of organs and glands, so the quality of life suffers. This is why many obese people are actually starving at a cellular level.

The benefits of addressing food intolerances include:

1) Easier weight loss   2) better, deeper sleep   3) reduction of cravings  4) less PMS 5) mood stability  6) less bloating  7) improved immunity.

Even if you don’t suspect that a food you are eating is bothering you, check out this list. You may be surprised.

A short list of symptoms that could point to food intolerance includes stomach pain, reflux, ear infections, frequent illnesses, red cheeks, eczema, joint pain, frequent diarrhea/constipation, asthma, temper tantrums, fuzzy thinking, fatigue, headaches, failure to thrive, excessive gas, and sleep disturbances.

On one hand, eliminating foods that your body can’t handle will help. On the other hand, improving digestion, from stomach to gut, is also vital. Food intolerances are an indication of “leaky gut” which means that the gut wall is compromised and toxins or undigested foods are able to pass through to the blood. Normally the body is very protective of what goes into the blood, and anything that slips by the protective mechanism is going to trigger an immune response, and may lead to chronic inflammation-one of the main risks for heart disease.

Probiotics and digestive enzymes can be used by most people to support healthy digestion and replace the protective gut “bugs” that guard the intestinal walls. Fermented and cultured foods also help. We now know that food is not just a matter of putting gas in your tank. It is also a means of maintaining a strong fortress against disease.

So, if you have some puzzling symptoms, consider that something you are eating may be causing you digestive distress and compromising your immune system. It is far more likely that you are suffering from inflammation than a serious disease. But chronic inflammation from a gut and stomach that are not working correctly leaves you susceptible to disease. So, catch it early. You will feel so much better for it.

Lose Weight Easier and 7 Other Reasons You Should Consider a Detox

I don’t think there is anything you can do that will give you more health payback than detoxification programs. Here are the reasons you might consider. You reward yourself with treats, and detoxification is a gift you can give yourself.

1.     Toxins get stored in organs and fat tissue. No matter how much water you drink, they will not flush out without herbs and supplements to pull them out.

2.     We are exposed to dozens of toxins every single day. The air we breathe is polluted, the water we drink often has chemicals, our food has pesticides and chemicals, we take medical and street drugs (including antibiotics) and alcohol. The body cannot handle this toxic overload.

3.     Many symptoms we suffer are not genetic or “just the way it is”. Allergies, digestive issues, constipation, skin acne and rashes, sleep difficulties, irritability and depression, PMS, easy weight gain and difficulty losing weight may all be related to our toxic burden. Detox and these symptoms may disappear or diminish.

4.     Every type of detoxification you do will improve your health and decrease your risk of serious disease such as auto-immune issues like Hashimoto’s thyroid disease, cancer and Diabetes. Money cannot always buy back health. It takes action to be healthy and you have more control than you realize.

5.     Drugs, alcohol, sugar, coffee, snack foods, and other food cravings are often caused by toxins circulating in the body. If you follow a healthy eating plan while you detoxify cravings will be drastically reduced.

6.     Once your main detoxification organs are over-worked, it is only a matter of time before the cells of the organs are compromised and this leads to a breakdown of the organ called degeneration. The liver, kidneys, lungs, intestine and skin all must be relatively free of chemicals and toxins to avoid symptoms that become serious disease.

7.     How you look and how you age is very dependent on the state of your health. Vibrant skin, sparkling eyes, shiny hair, a lean and toned body are often seen in young people. When you see this in older people, you know they are following a personal plan to maintain their health. Detoxification is vital to this plan because the toxins will not go away on their own.

There are many types of detoxification and you don’t have to suffer or starve yourself to do a program. We can help. Book a free 15 minute consultation to discuss the best type of detoxification for you or call us and we can send you what you need.

How Your Thyroid Can Be Your Best Friend

I love the thyroid gland. It is like the conductor to your hormonal orchestra. The thyroid has many important functions from regulating metabolism to supporting your immune system and keeping you cheerful and full of energy. Helping your thyroid to work well is vital for long-term health. Most people do notice the symptoms of low thyroid function. But if their blood work comes back normal and their MD says it is not an issue, what does that mean?

Blood work identifies disease markers. It does not identify functional issues. But long before a disease sets in, there have been signs and symptoms that function was off. Medication is not the answer, and if you do medicate it may mean staying on medication for a life-time.

This is where Natural medicine is the answer. There is a large gap between perfect health and a serious disease state. And many people fall into that gap, with no answers until the situation worsens and a disease does occur.

So, prevention is staying up-stream from disease. You have to know where you are at before you can know which direction to go. Symptoms can help you to get your bearings and find a course of action that will not only prevent you from getting worse, but also greatly enhance your energy, and your life. Since you are not taking any dangerous medication, there is no liability in using natural and nutritional medicine.

First of all, it is important that you do get some proper medical care if you have serious symptoms. An enlarged thyroid, unexplained weight loss with severe dry hair and skin would be thyroid symptoms that require evaluation by an MD. Blood tests can identify or rule out serious conditions, and that is important.

For those of you who have symptoms that do not resolve, but your blood work is normal, here are some of the things to look for.

Easily fatigued

Depression and mood swings

Weight gain and difficulty losing weight

PMS

Sleepy during the day

Sensitive to cold

Constipation

Dry skin

Reduced initiative

Hard to think or remember

Thinning hair

Waking up unrefreshed

Restless sleep

Morning headaches

If you have these symptoms, book a free 15 minute consultation to find out if natural medicine can help you at 818-562-1400.

Many people who are overweight do have low-function thyroid. And doing a natural thyroid program may help the weight come off more easily. It will also improve general health and disease resistance. So, it is well worth exploring the possibility of thyroid issues.

Slimmer people may also have thyroid issues. Sometimes the thyroid can be over-active, and that is just as unhealthy. Or else they have other things they are doing to speed their metabolism and weight has not yet become an issue. This might change after childbirth or menopause.

Every gland in your body has the job of producing chemical messages that can race through the blood and bind with other glands and organs and tell them what to do next. Think if hormones like carrier pigeons. In order to get the message at the other end, there must be a place for the birds to land. So, organs like the heart and liver, and other glands like the ovaries and adrenals, have receptor sites on their cells. The hormone-bird lands, and the message can be read.

Today we have many substances in our food supply and environment that hog the landing site for the hormones by blocking the cell receptors. Plastics, soy products and synthetic hormones used in products like birth control pills, fall into this category. So, the glands are trying to send messages to each other and there is no place to land. Then the gland sending the message may start sending louder messages (more hormones) to try and get through.

If there are deficiencies of minerals, proteins, fats or vitamins, there may not be building material to make hormones, and the gland itself may be too tired to do its job. This is pretty easily remedied by changing eating habits, lifestyle and adding in natural medicine and herbal support in the form of concentrates that have the exact nutrients needed for healthy glands and strong, active hormones.

We can help. We love thyroids and we can help you get the life you enjoy with a healthy thyroid that works like it is supposed to. Call us at 818-562-1400.

Easy Colon Cleanse-10% Off

Good Way to Start 2015!

In my last blog I wrote about the importance of colon health. Our processed foods and stressful lifestyles make it difficult to stay healthy. I know that it may be difficult for many people to commit to a full detox program, so I have been researching an easy colon cleanse that anyone can do.

Benefits include less bloat easier weight loss, immune support, better digestion, and you may even find improved sleep and energy.

The products include a herbal Cleanse supplement, only two capsules per day, some great Probiotics, and digestive enzymes.  You take the products for a month. Ideally you eat a very healthy diet during that month of protein, vegetables, good fats and fruit and avoid alcohol, grains, sugar and coffee as much as possible. You can add in the SP Complete super nutritious shake if you like and juicing is a great idea.

Even if you cannot stick to the diet completely, at least you are doing something to improve your health and lower cancer risk. There should be no uncomfortable side-effects.

We can mail out the products to you if you cannot make it in to the office. So, let us know if you want a healthier intestine as a good start to 2015. Mention this blog and get 10% off the price of the supplements for the cleanse!