Do you someone suffering from mental health issues?  Chances are you do.  Over the past twenty years the rise in things like depression, ADHD, anxiety, learning disabilities and behavioral problems is nothing short of staggering.  And the rise in pharmaceuticals to treat these issues is equally staggering.  About one in five Americans are on some form of anti-depressant.

A few weeks ago I asked one of the members of my GET AT THE ROOTS 12 week weight loss program to shoot a little video.  We were on week 11 at the time and the topic for week 11 is Brain Chemistry Deficiencies (Mental Health Issues would be an equally suitable name).  It was a bit off the cuff but I think we captured a good testimonial to the power of nutrition when working with these issues. Keep Reading »

Summer sure seems to fly by here in the northeast.   Seems like one minute it’s the Fourth of July and the next it’s Labor Day.  I hope you enjoyed yours and were able to get away for a little bit.

Other than a few glorious days on Cape Cod I spent much of my summer teaching three weight loss classes around the Pioneer Valley.  It was my first time teaching them and I spent tons of time hunkered over my computer preparing for each week’s class.  That’s OK though because I enjoyed teaching them and now that I’ve taught my first round of classes, I feel a lot more confident, prepared and excited to teach them again. I’m also excited to announce the new Fall dates!  And to offer an early bird sign up discount.

But first let me explain very briefly what makes this program different from others.

It’s a new 12 week program called GET AT THE ROOTS and it’s truly different from any other program out there.  Because at its core, it’s not so much about weight loss as it is about getting the body healthy.  When the body becomes healthy, weight comes off naturally and easily.  It does this in two ways:

1) Via food. Class members learn the difference between real food and processed food.  Most Americans have become so disconnected from real food that they don’t know what it is anymore.  For example, breakfast cereal is not real food.  Neither is skim milk, margarine and most vegetable oils.  And then of course there’s the obvious junk that comes out of a box, a can or a drive through window.

There is no calorie restriction.  No counting points. No weighing food.  No pre-packaged meals. No synthetic shakes. No gimmicks. We simply learn what foods to choose that switch the body’s metabolism from fat storing to fat burning.

Exercise is encouraged but not absolutely essential.

Here’s what John Devries, who lost 20 pounds had to say,  “I’ve been exercising regularly for years but couldn’t understand why I wasn’t  losing weight.  With Craig’s program, it became clear and more importantly, easy.  I never went hungry, never felt deprived or bored with my meals.   I will continue to follow these common sense dietary principles for the rest of my life.”

2) Via education. Class members learn to address their underlying issues that prevent both weight loss and good health.  For example, the first four weeks of the program are spent on various aspects of the digestive system and learning how to correct things like heartburn, bloating, IBS, food sensitivities, constipation and yeast overgrowth.   Further modules address fatty acid deficiencies, stress and mental health challenges like depression and anxiety.  For that reason, anyone with a chronic health challenge can do this program.

Here’s what Carol Anderson had to say, “I wanted to lose a little weight but I did this program more to learn more about the connection between diet and health.   Diabetes and heart disease are in my family and I’ve seen the toll it’s taken on my loved ones.  After 12 weeks I lost 6 pounds, my blood pressure went down and I’ve stopped taking my cholesterol meds.  Most importantly, I feel better.  I don’t feel that need for a sugar or caffeine fix in the mid-afternoon anymore.  I’m even sleeping better.”

New classes will start again at the end of September.  The dates, times and locations are listed on the link below.

As for the early bird discount, starting today, September 6^th and ending next Monday night, September 12^th, anyone who signs up in that time will get one week free on the program.

Space is limited so don’t delay!

All the details are included here:

http://www.pvnutritionaltherapy.com/weight-loss/

As always, if you have any questions, don’t hesitate to contact me.

A few weeks ago I wrote a series of blogs on the three resources I use most to convince and inspire people to shop for real, local foods.  The first was Nourishing Traditions by Sally Fallon, the second was the documentary Food Inc. and the third was the experience of shopping at farmers markets compared to supermarkets .

Now when it comes to farmers markets in America, there’s good news and there’s bad news.  The bad news is that many places in our country still have little access to fresh, real foods.  I call these real food deserts.

I grew up on Long Island, the classic example of a real food desert.  There are still some farms here and there but they’ve mostly been converted to parking lots, condos, golf courses, shopping malls and suburbs with lawns that soak up chemicals instead of the roots of real food.  We’re all familiar with these real food deserts.  If you live in a real food desert, this blog is for you.  And if you don’t, I bet you know someone who does.

The good news is that as the awareness of our broken, toxic food system grows more and more people are looking for ways to opt out of the conventional system.  Many businesses and farms are becoming savvier by using the internet and online ordering systems to reach concerned consumers who are seeking organic, non-GMO, pastured, grass fed foods.

One such local business here in the Pioneer Valley is Valley Green Feast.  Valley Green Feast is a local, organic foods delivery service.  All you have to do is go to their website, www.valleygreenfeast.com, order from a wide variety of foods from a variety of small farms in the area and they bring it right to your door.  How great is that?!  Literally, the farmer’s market at your doorstep.  No check-out lines, more time at home, smaller gas bills and of course, great quality food!

More than that, Valley Green Feast is a worker-owned collective that supports local farms by expanding their consumer base.  They are working to make real, healthy food more accessible to more people.

I think there’s a huge market for this sort of thing out there and I hope more services will be offered like this around the country.

In fact, the last year I lived on Long Island I was part of a food co-op that received weekly shipments of food from Amish country.  A number of Amish farms had partnered together and set up an online ordering system.  Once a week they would deliver to various locations around the New York-New Jersey-Connecticut tri-state area.  It was absolutely fantastic.  I had dozens of amazing choices right on my computer screen – pastured eggs, cultured vegetables, raw cheeses, yogurt, butter, soup bones, soup stocks and an amazing variety of grass fed meat products.   It was a one stop real food shopping heaven and saved me tons of time.

Certainly setting up these online systems and having the capacity to ship and truck fresh food around to different locations is no small task for many farms.  But I see a huge potential in this sort of thing.  And hey, if the Amish can do it, I think others can too.

Regardless of where you live though, many farms are starting to do this.  This is great if you live in a real food desert with no access to healthy local foods.

A fantastic online resource is www.eatwild.com .  They have a state by state directory of over 1300 pasture based farms.  In particular, check out their “Farms that Ship ” link.

Here are two such sources that are quite popular online:

www.uswellnessmeats.com
www.vitalchoice.com

Another great resource for finding these farms is the Wise Traditions quarterly publication put out by the Weston Price Foundation .  It’s included with your membership to the foundation which is only $40 per year for individuals and $25 if you’re a student or senior.  At the back of the publication you’ll find a section called “The Shop Heard ‘Round the World” with dozens of businesses and cottage industries selling various nutrient dense foods.  In recent years I’ve noticed this section keeps growing and growing.

So if you know someone who lives in a real food desert, please help me spread the word about these wonderful online resources.  In particular, if you know someone who lives in the southern Pioneer Valley where’s there’s less access to the farms of the upper Valley, please help me make them aware of Valley Green Feast. They’re a very new business and many people could really use their services.

Finally, I know what you may be thinking, “Yeah but this is all so expensive!”  Maybe.  But maybe not. As I’ve said repeatedly in previous emails, what is the cost of your health?  Even if your health insurance can cover the costs of medications, doctors visits and even hospitalization, what’s the cost of living with sickness?  What is the cost to not develop the lifestyle diseases of type II diabetes, obesity and heart disease?  I can only answer that question for myself which is to say that for me personally, the extra money I spend each month on real food is well worth it to me.  Most importantly, I feel better.

And I think you will too.

When people come to see me we go over a handout called The Blood Sugar Control Diet.  It helps get sugars out of the diet and thus is useful for a myriad of chronic health issues.  This handout details what to eat for proteins, carbohydrates and fats.  It further differentiates the good carbohydrates from the bad carbohydrates and thus has further sections for grains, fruits, vegetables and dairy.  I’ll tweak things depending on what I think each person can or cannot handle.  For example, some people are more ready than others to give up all sugar, refined grain products or say, diet coke.

Regardless, there’s one thing I underline on this handout that is essential for everyone and it has nothing to do with specific dietary changes.  It’s so important that I always have a red pen on hand to underline it for emphasis.  As I’m underlining I always say this, “This is absolutely the most important thing on this handout.  None of this is possible unless you do this one thing.”

This is exactly what I underline:

This way of eating does take a little planning, but is well worth the effort.

In other words, you have to cook a little more to eat healthier.   It’s hard to get around the fact that to minimize processed foods, to stop eating sugar and to start making real changes, that you have to spend a little more time in your kitchen.  This doesn’t mean you have to be Julia Child!  As I like to say, “You don’t have to be a chef, but you do have to be a cook.” Big difference.

This can be intimidating for many people, especially those with full time jobs.  But with a little planning and a little preparation it’s amazing how quick and simple it can be to eat well at home.

I have yet to find a fish or a vegetable that does not work beautifully with a simple sauce of butter and lemon.  Olive oil, salt, pepper and an herb or two work equally well.   Soy sauce, ginger and garlic are pure magic in my book for red meats and green vegetables as well.  And as far as I’m concerned, the crock pot is one of the greatest inventions of all time.

I always try to help my clients with simple strategies for eating well in a way that isn’t completely overwhelming.   Trust me I’m certainly no chef myself.  But I am a cook.  I’ve realized that I have to be in order to nourish myself and feel well.  With a little practice, patience and persistence, you can have quite the repertoire of delicious home cooked meals within a very short time.

There are so many great cookbooks and websites that can turn almost anyone from a microwaving, hot pocket eating, processed food junkie into a real food cook.  As I’ve mentioned previously, Nourishing Traditions is a personal favorite of mine.

However, there’s nothing quite like learning from others in person.  And it’s a heck of a lot more fun.

On that note I’d like to give a shout out to my friend Molly Merrett.  Molly is very active in the local food movement here in the Pioneer Valley and she has recently started a series of cooking classes using local foods.  I’ve taken a few of them and they’re really great.  I always learn something new from Molly’s classes be it a recipe, a new technique for chopping vegetables or a new way to hold a knife so that I don’t slice my finger off!  Trust me that last one is an important skill to learn.

Check out this short video of Molly and myself at her last class:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S9OChvWBuCg

If you’re in the Pioneer Valley, Molly’s next class is this Saturday, August 20^th from 2-5pm at the Friends Meeting House in downtown Northampton.  You can find out more about her classes at www.localfeastcookingclasses.blogspot.com .

If you’re not in the Pioneer Valley, I bet if you google your town name with “cooking classes” you might find more options than you realized.   It’s a great way to learn some new recipes and meet some people as well.

I’ve been lucky enough to have traveled quite extensively through Asia.  I’ve seen many great cities, historic temples, jaw dropping architecture and beautiful landscapes.  I met a lot of amazing people, had a lot of great experiences.  But when I look back on those travels, there is one thing that really sticks out, one constant that seemed to follow me wherever I went.

The markets.

How I looooooved the markets of Asia.

It was and still remains the thing I most adored about the places I visited.  You see, for someone like myself who grew up going to supermarkets, the markets of Asia provide quite a shocking contrast.  Let’s just say that in the markets of Asia there is no fluorescent lighting, minimum wage produce workers that don’t smile (who can blame them), disgruntled high school cashiers that don’t smile, and that sickening, life-deadening elevator music playing in the background.  And of course, there is no processed food.

Most Asian markets are vibrant beyond explanation.  The vivid colors, the succulent smells of herbs and spices, curries and simmering soups, the freshly caught fish leaping out of their buckets and crates, the bizarre and exotic fruits and vegetables, the busy flow of people and animals, carts and mopeds, all intersecting in these somewhat random but patterned processions, all of which sweeps you into this almost trance-like state of sensory stimulation.

Below are just a few pics I took while perusing the markets of Burma.

I’ve uploaded a few more onto my Facebook page.  You can check them out here :  http://on.fb.me/qwreyM And please give my page a “like” while you’re at it!

My point of this is that in most places in Asia, this is how people get their food.  No one’s selling Cheetos.  It’s all fresh and it’s all local.

You may have had similar experiences in other areas of the world – Europe, South America, Africa, etc. This is how people do it and have done it for hundreds if not thousands of years.

And this is what we need to return to in America.

Now I know that’s quite unrealistic right now.  I know we’ve created an industrialized system that’s woven into the fabric of our culture.  It’s not going away anytime soon.  There are certainly other forces that have created this system.  But make no mistake about it – it’s killing us.

Most of the food you get in conventional supermarkets is killing us.  It’s full of sugar, preservatives, chemicals and toxic oils.  The animal products are factory farmed, full of hormones and chemicals.   The fruits and vegetables are grown in deficient soils and sprayed with pesticides and insecticides.  And more and more it is becoming genetically modified.

We can no longer ignore our escalating health epidemics and their connection to industrialized food.  This awareness is growing and it’s growing fast.  And as a result, farmers markets are growing.  And that is the third and final secret weapon, my ultimate secret weapon.

Secret weapon #3: Your Local Farmers Market

Now most farmers markets are relatively small right now.  Most take place only once a week.  And most pale in comparison to anything you’ll find in the cities of Asia.
But what resonates with people is when they compare their experience at a farmers market to a supermarket.

There’s something that appeals to not only the senses at your local farmers market but also to the heart.  There’s something that just feels right.  Something that intuitively says, “This is the way I should get my food”.  There’s sunshine.  There’s smiling faces.  There’s conversation.  Maybe there’s even music – real music with real people playing real instruments.

Of course, it’s more than just the aesthetics.  Farmers markets are less taxing to the environment than supermarkets.  The average food item in a supermarket travels 1500 miles from farm to fork. Farmers markets support local families, they support our local economies and they are an investment in our future by helping to maintain the integrity of our local food systems.  And of course the biggest reason of all is that the food at farmers markets support good health!!

And little by little as these markets make their way across the American landscape, as they grow, as they become more accessible and maybe even more convenient, maybe someday our farmers markets will become so crowded and vibrant that they’ll look like this:

http://www.wimp.com/vegetablemarket/

Pretty amazing, huh?

Of course I am kidding.  But you get the idea.

If you’re in western Massachusetts, check out the Tuesday Market in Northampton.  It’s my personal favorite.  But wherever you are, make the effort to get out there and support your local farmers markets.  It’s important!  Check out www.localharvest.org for a list of all the markets in your area.

Lastly, don’t forget:  Food, Inc. is on PBS tonight!  If you missed last week’s blog, Food Inc. is my second nutritional weapon of choice.

So there you have it.  My three secret nutritional weapons revealed!  To review, the first is the book Nourishing Traditions by Sally Fallon.  The second is Food Inc.  And the third is your local farmers market.  The clients of mine that follow through on these are always the ones that seem to lose the most weight and make the best progress with whatever health issue they’re dealing with.  Coincidence?  I don’t think so!

It wasn’t too long ago that I was at a party and as so often happens, the topic of nutrition came up.  Somehow the conversation moved to factory farms.  I started talking about the horrific treatment of animals in these places and before I could even get the next sentence out of my mouth, one woman put her hand up and with agitation said, “I don’t want to hear any more about this!  It is too upsetting!”

I know full well that this person continues to shop at conventional supermarkets, the realm of factory farmed animal products.  And I know full well this person has the financial capability to not shop in conventional supermarkets.  Essentially what this person was saying was that it’s too upsetting to change her habits and that convenience is more important than conscience.

Don’t get me wrong.  I know a lot of people are financially strapped in America today.  Many cannot withdraw their hard earned money from cheap, industrialized food.  But many can and choose not to out of convenience.

This is the choice many of us face today in America.  And yes, it’s not comfortable.  It can take more time and money to shop for healthy foods.  But when you consider the alternatives, a little more time and money now can perhaps save you a lot more time and money in the future.

As a child recently proclaimed in a popular TED talk, “you can pay the farmer now or pay the doctor later”.

Because let’s face it.  Our health care system is really a sick care system.  It’s strength is treating and managing disease, not prevention.

This is where I come in with my second nutritional weapon (see my previous blog post for my first weapon of choice).

Secret weapon #2:  Food, Inc.

You’ve probably heard of it.  Maybe you’ve seen it already.  It was nominated for an Academy Award in the Best Documentary category a few years ago.

This food documentary exposes the horrors of industrialized agriculture, horrors that most of us have been blindly supporting for most of our lives.  This film will educate you, scare you but most importantly, inspire you to step out of the industrialized system.

Trust me, I get it.  We’re all stressed beyond belief in this country.  I know it’s not easy to change old habit patterns.  But as Michael Pollan says at the end of this documentary, you get 3 votes a day – breakfast, lunch and dinner.

Three votes to not support factory farming and in so doing, three votes to not support cruelty to animals.  You get three votes to not support genetically modified foods and in so doing three votes to not support the evils of corporate agriculture.  You get three votes to support organic, local food.   You get three votes to support health in you, your children and your local economies.

Maybe you can’t use all three votes each day for local and sustainable.  That’s OK.  Make it one vote and go from there.  Do what you can.  But I bet if you watch Food, Inc. you’ll cast three votes more often.

Oh and look, it’s being broadcast for free on PBS on August 9^th!

http://www.pbs.org/pov/foodinc/

And if you really can’t wait you can watch it right now on YouTube:

http://bit.ly/mZkXva

Next week, I will reveal my final secret weapon, the ultimate secret weapon.   I promise it has nothing to do with me.   I won’t be promoting any of my services.  I’m just sharing what I think is the absolute most powerful tool for convincing you to eat healthier and to support real, local, sustainably grown foods.

See you next week!

I’m guessing that somewhere in the past several years you’ve heard a lot about food.  Maybe you read a book, an article or watched something on TV that raised an eyebrow about our broken food system.   I’m also guessing that sometimes you feel overwhelmed by the onslaught of information.

You don’t know who to trust, who to believe anymore. Your doctor tells you one thing, your nutritionist tells you another and the avalanche of media resources tells you a million different things as well.

This is where I come in with my three secret weapons.  These weapons are nothing more than a book, a movie and an actual physical place (the ultimate secret weapon, which I’ll keep secret for now).   They are my chosen resources to communicate simply and clearly what we should eat and why.

I’ve read hundreds probably even thousands of articles and books, watched countless talks, have studied countless perspectives.   But again and again, I return to these three, my secret weapons of choice.

The reason is that they do more than appeal to the intellect.   They appeal to a deeper conscience within us, a deeper sense of who we are, of our connection to our food, to the land and to each other.  They motivate us to make dietary changes not just for personal health reasons (though that’s certainly a motivating factor) but also out of a deeper concern for our community, our country, our planet.  They inspire.

So let’s start with secret weapon number one, probably the weapon I use most often.

Secret weapon #1:  Nourishing Traditions by Sally Fallon

This is a cookbook based on the dietary principles of traditional cultures.  And it’s just, well, 600 pages.  I know, I know, you’re thinking, “600 pages! I don’t have time to read 600 pages”.  But I bet you have time to read 60 pages.  That’s all I ask.  Just read the Introduction (which is the first 60 pages).

The Introduction is the best educational resource I’ve come across for explaining what’s wrong with today’s nutritional science and what’s wrong with our food system.

You see when I’m consulting with people I only have so much time to assess their current diet and lifestyle and to communicate the dietary changes that will help them.  I may explain how carbohydrates are broken down into sugar in the body and why we may need to restrict them, how cholesterol and fat are vital to weight loss or why vegetable oils are unstable and make poor cooking oils, etc. etc.   And I know many of these ideas go against the grain of mainstream thinking.

So I use Nourishing Traditions as a tool to extend upon many of the ideas I’ve touched on in the consultation.   I use it to make my clients feel confident.  And those who read it are often my most successful clients.  Light bulbs go on.  Nutritional myths are exposed and shattered.   Many go on to say that the book becomes their personal nutritional bible.

But beyond the science of proteins, fats and carbohydrates, which Sally details, I also use Nourishing Traditions to empower people.  Because nutrition is not just about the science of nutrients and how they work in the body.

It’s about where our food is coming from.  How it’s produced and how it’s raised.  This is the essence of nutrition. This determines its nutrient density.

Sally makes a good case for the food preparation traditions and growing practices of traditional cultures and in so doing communicates a broader picture than just the science.  Science can be helpful but you have to read a lot of it to start realizing there’s a lot of good and bad science out there.  If I had a dime for every time I heard the phrase, “According to research…” or, “According to a recent study…” I’d be a rich man.  All you have to do is insert that phrase into any statement about anything and most people will believe you.

And when it comes to food we’re learning that thousands of years of food traditions are a much better gauge of a food’s nutritional value than anything modern science can tell you.  Traditional people didn’t sit around the campfire discussing the caloric content of their food.  They didn’t discuss the science of proteins, fats and carbohydrates.  But they probably discussed things like crop rotation, soil quality, animal migrations and weather patterns – natural cycles that dictated the nutrients in their food be it plant or animal origin.

And they knew how to maximize nutrients in their food without knowing anything about nutrients.  Maybe they framed it as a “great spirit” that lived in their food or a “divine energy”.  Today, we call it vitamins and minerals and anti-oxidants and turn into this somewhat lifeless and boring scientific discussion where everything can be explained by chemical reactions.

Sally honors both – the science and the traditions.  And she explains it so simply.

Here, I’ll even make it easy for you:

http://amzn.to/oivo0V

And please don’t buy this on kindle! This is a book that needs to live and breathe in your kitchen.  Trust me, it will not collect dust.

OK, see you next week when I reveal my second nutritional weapon.  Here’s a hint:  it’s a doc that understands the importance of food!

That’s right.  You read the subject line correctly.  It’s not a mistake.  Nor is it a gimmick.  I’m dead serious.  You really do need to eat more bacteria for good health.

But first, this blog is a continuation in a series detailing the underlying issues that can prevent not only healthy weight loss but good health in general.  So let’s review real quick.

The first and most important underlying issue is Blood Sugar.  You have to get sugar out of your diet.  The second is Digestion, more specifically, correcting the acidity in the stomach so that our food can start to digest properly.  The third was Digestion again, with a focus on food sensitivities and leaky gut in the small intestine.

Now here’s the fourth:

Underlying issue #4:  Digestion!

OK, I promise, this is the last topic on digestion.  But digestion doesn’t end in the small intestine!  It ends in the large intestine, and that’s what today’s blog is about.  This is an area that causes so many problems for so many people.

So let’s continue our journey south in the digestive process.

After your food leaves the small intestine, whatever is left, moves into the large intestine for recycling and excretion.   Here’s where things get interesting.  Because here, in your large intestine, lies a microbial world so rich, so dense and so complex, that scientists are learning new things about it all the time.  I liken it to the Amazon rainforest and you could think of it as a separate ecosystem living entirely within us.

In this ecosystem lies about five trillion (yes, that’s trillion with a T) bacteria which is about five times the cells that make up your body.  About five hundred different species have been discovered.  We can’t live without them and they can’t live without us.  It is essential that they are healthy and thrive as they play dozens and perhaps hundreds of roles in our body.  They enhance the uptake of vitamins and minerals, keep the lining of the large intestine healthy, benefit the immune system and help with the production of some hormones, to name just a few.

However, within these hundreds of different species lie harmful ones.  Scientists estimate that about 80% are beneficial and 20% are harmful.   But if the microbial ecosystem is healthy, the good guys keep the bad guys in check.

Enter the Standard American Diet.

This is the equivalent of all-out war on our friendly gut flora.

Because guess what the bad guys love?

Sugar.

Now the bad guys start gaining an upper hand on the good guys.  One bad guy in particular is known as candida albicans.  Candida is very common in women.  It’s a yeast and when it gets out of balance it can cause yeast infections amongst many other problems.

Guess what else wreaks havoc with our friendly flora?

Antibiotics.

Anti-biotics which translates as ‘anti-life’ are prescribed by doctors to kill harmful bacteria within us.  While this may be necessary, antibiotics also kill beneficial bacteria.  Probiotics which  translates as ‘pro-life’ are supplements that contain bacteria that occur naturally in our digestive system, particularly our large intestine. This is why probiotic supplements are often used after a round of antibiotics to re-populate the gut with good, health promoting bacteria.

But let’s not forget diet!  Many practitioners are quick to prescribe dozens of costly supplements without taking care of the root cause – poor diet.

So obviously, removing sugar from the diet is key.  Another important thing to do is to eat more cultured foods as these are Nature’s true probiotics.

All traditional cultures, before the advent of refrigerators and freezers, consumed cultured foods on a regular basis.  Culturing foods preserves them for long periods of time.  It’s a natural process by which the starches and sugars in fruits, vegetables and dairy are chemically broken down by naturally occurring bacteria and converted into lactic acid.  Thus culturing is also referred to as lacto-fermentation. Lactic acid preserves food and prevents spoilage.  More importantly these chemical changes have some remarkable health benefits.  They are truly super foods with powerful healing properties.

Probably the most common cultured food in America is yogurt.  Yogurt, as well as other cultured dairy products, is often well tolerated by those with dairy sensitivities.  Casein, the protein in milk is difficult for many to digest.  Culturing pre-digests casein.  Lactose, the sugar in milk can also be difficult for some to digest.  Lactose intolerance is a common condition in which the body lacks the ability to break down lactose. Culturing pre-digests lactose.  Thus even those with lactose intolerance can tolerate most cultured dairy products including butter, buttermilk, cheese, kefir, sour cream and crème fraiche to name just a few.

The second most common cultured food in America is probably sauerkraut which is just fermented cabbage.  Other common cultured vegetables include kimchi, a spicy Asian sauerkraut (and my personal favorite), pickles, beets and carrots.  Most of these can be found in health food stores.  However, there’s nothing simpler and easier to make than fermented fruits and vegetables!  Store bought or home-made, learn to incorporate these foods into your diet on a regular basis.

So I hope you understand why correcting digestive issues are so vital to overall health.  Along with balancing the body’s blood sugar by reducing sugar and processed foods, many health issues will start to correct.  Digestion and Blood Sugar Balance – these are truly the twin pillars of good health in the body!

Truth be told, there are many more underlying issues that can prevent good health.  Fatty acid deficiencies, mineral deficiencies, dehydration, toxins and stress are a few examples.  But for simplicity sake, work with Digestion and Blood Sugar Balance and I’m confident you’ll make progress.

Finally, seats are filling up fast in the Get at the Roots! 12 week weight loss/wellness class. Classes start this week so if you’re interested and/or have questions, feel free to contact me.

I’m truly excited to teach this fantastic new program here in western MA!   Each week we detail a different underlying issue of poor health and how to correct it.  Guess where we start with the first four classes?

I hope by now you know the answer.

Underlying cause #3: Food Sensitivities

It always amazes me when people come to see me with dozens of foods they are supposedly allergic to.  What no one ever tells them is that it’s usually because their upper digestive system is not breaking their food down properly.

First let’s distinguish between a food allergy and a food sensitivity.  A food allergy is a reaction to a protein in a food.  It’s often a severe reaction.  A food sensitivity is an allergic-type reaction to a non-protein substance and the severity of the reaction varies greatly.  Most food sensitivities are a lot more subtle than true food allergies and they can be difficult to identify.  But what unites both of them is often poor diet and poor digestion.

If the stomach is not breaking down the food properly, undigested food assaults the small intestine.  The small intestine is where our food gets absorbed into our body.  You could say that our food doesn’t really become us until it passes through the delicate lining of the small intestine.  Under normal circumstances, the food is thoroughly digested before it enters the small intestine so that it can easily pass through the lining.

However, if something passes through that lining that shouldn’t, your immune system is waiting and ready to take care of the foreign invader.  About 70% of our immune system lies in our gut.

But if food doesn’t get broken down properly, it can damage the lining of the small intestine.  Things start leaking through in inappropriate sizes.  This is known as “leaky gut”.

This sets the stage for food allergies and sensitivities as well as a whole host of immune issues such as asthma, skin conditions and autoimmune conditions.

Furthermore, inflammation develops in many areas of the digestive tract.  Now we have all these conditions that end with -itis.  Something that ends with -itis literally means inflammation.  So now we have gastritis, inflammation in the stomach.  Ileitis, inflammation in the ileum.  Pancreatitis, colitis, diverticulitis, ulcerative colitis, etc.  Get the point?

Medications deal with the inflammation on the symptomatic level.  They may or may not help but they never address the root cause.

And what’s the root cause?  Again, poor diet and poor digestive function.  We keep throwing fire (poor food) on the fire (inflammation) and wonder why we have digestive problems.

In reality, most food sensitivities and  food allergies can be resolved through a period of removing the offending food and healing the digestive tract.

How to do this?

Number one, make sure your stomach is breaking down food properly.  Make sure the blender is set on high!  My previous blog detailed steps for correcting poor stomach function.

Number two, stop eating pro-inflammatory foods.  Unfortunately, there are a lot of pro-inflammatory foods out there.  Basically, all processed foods promote inflammation in the body.  Sugar is at the top of that list, which I’ve discussed at length.  Next in my opinion are grains, especially those that contain gluten.

So for starters, let’s remember that grains, even whole ones, are high in starch.  Starch is essentially long chains of glucose molecules.  Glucose is sugar.  Now that’s not necessarily a bad thing as glucose is essential for life.  The problem is that we juts consume so dang much of it in America.  Think of the standard American breakfast – cereal, pancakes, waffles, bagels, toast, muffins, pastries.  In other words, grains, grains, grains, grains and more grains.  And most of that are refined grains.

Food for thought:  Grains are fed to cattle in factory farms to fatten them up.  Could the same dynamic be occurring in the US population?

“But I eat only whole grains”, you say.  OK, good.  But grains are still hard on the body’s digestive system.  Traditional cultures, soaked, sprouted and fermented grains.  This makes them more digestible.  It also makes them more nutritious.

The food industry is not interested in doing this.  Don’t ask Kellogg’s, Nabisco, Quaker Oats, General Mills or any other giant food corporation to do this anytime soon.  It takes time and care to prepare grains properly.  Time and care are not profitable.

And then there’s the gluten issue.   Gluten is the main protein in wheat, barley and rye.  It’s a very complex protein and it’s hard on the body’s digestive system.  Furthermore, most wheat is the US is genetically modified and sprayed with pesticides.

This does not mean you need to give up grains forever.  Grains can be very healthy for many people. However, I would recommend keeping them to a minimum for some time, especially for weight loss. And if you’re having a chronic digestive issue, consider a strict elimination diet for 2-3 weeks.  You can do this for any food that you suspect is giving you problems.

Dairy, soy, corn, eggs are the more common foods that can cause many problems for people.  The saying, “One man’s food is another man’s poison” is very true.

But if you’re experiencing a long term chronic issue and/or an inability to lose weight, start with eliminating grains and monitor your symptoms.  I bet you’ll feel much better.

Finally, if you’re going to consume grains, choose sprouted grain products which you can find in health food stores.  Sprouted grains have a smaller gluten content, higher nutrient content and are easier on digestion.

Another good habit is to soak grains overnight in warm water with a tablespoon or two of an acidic medium such as whey, yogurt, kefir, buttermilk or lemon juice.  Soak in equal parts water for a minimum of 7 hours and up to 24 hours.  In so doing the cooking time of grains is dramatically reduced.  Oatmeal soaked overnight for example needs only to be a simmered for a few minutes.  Truly instant oatmeal!

OK, be honest.  Are you overwhelmed by the thought of having to give up grains?  Does the thought of going breadless send shockwaves of terror through your body?

Admittedly, it can be a little overwhelming to do this on your own, especially if you’re experiencing a long term chronic digestive issue.  This is where a qualified Nutritional Therapy Practitioner can help.

So next time we’ll continue our journey south in the digestive process and discuss the fourth underlying issue that can prevent weight loss and good health.  Yes, it is still related to poor digestion.  This is why the first four weeks of the new twelve week weight loss/wellness program I’ll be teaching are spent on correcting digestive issues.  It is so vital to healthy weight loss and good overall health in general.

Stay tuned.

Nutritional Therapists look at the human body like the roots of a tree.   Feed the roots and the tree thrives.  Feed the roots of health in the human body and the body thrives.  In Nutritional Therapy, we call these roots Foundations.   When these Foundations crumble, the health of the body crumbles.  For most people that equates to weight gain.  Weight gain is just a symptom of underlying imbalances in these Foundations.

If you’ve been reading these blogs I’ve already discussed at length what is in my opinion, the #1 underlying cause of not only weight gain but also poor health in general:  Blood Sugar Balance.  Everyone must have stable blood sugar to be healthy.   Too much sugar will raise cholesterol, withdraw minerals from your body, suppress the immune system, lead to heart problems, type II diabetes, etc. etc.  I’ve talked at length about this so I don’t want to repeat myself.   Just read some of my recent posts and that will get you up to speed.

Beyond sugar, there are other underlying issues that contribute to weight gain and poor health.   Over the course of the next several blogs, I will detail these underlying issues and tell you what you can do about it.

But before we dig in, a shameless act of self-promotion.   In a few weeks I’ll be starting a 12 week weight loss program that is designed specifically to get at the roots of weight loss.  If you live in the Pioneer Valley and would be interested, please check out the ‘weight loss program’ link right here on my website.  My friend, Nancy, has created a short video describing the program.

OK, no more self-promotion!

Ready to truly get at the roots of your weight issue? Let’s go!

Underlying Cause #2:  Digestion

50% of all Americans have some degree of digestive dysfunction.   You can eat a healthy diet but if you don’t have the digestive capacity to break down and absorb the nutrients in your food, you cannot be healthy.  I see this all the time.  Heartburn, bloating, constipation, IBS and candida are just a few common digestive problems that are afflicting more and more people at younger and younger ages.

Let me ask you a question:  Why are antacids the best selling drugs in America?

Don’t answer.  I will tell you:  Because they work!

However, they solve a symptom not a cause.  Let’s understand why.

Your stomach is akin to a blender.  That blender must be on high speed to break down your food so that it can be easily absorbed in the small intestine.  And the acid in your stomach determines the speed.  It drives digestion.  What happens if that blender speed slows down, if that acid diminishes?  You guessed it, digestion slows.   Undigested food now sits in your stomach.  You feel bloated.  You feel sick.  Remember your stomach is much warmer than room temperature.  It’s hot in there!  So now the food starts to ferment, putrefy and expand.  You burp after meals.  You get gassy.  Your breath stinks.

If a little of that putrefying food refluxes back into your esophagus, you get a burning sensation.  This is heartburn.  Unlike your stomach, the lining of your esophagus is not made for the acid.  So it burns.

So you take an antacid.  The burning stops.  But the underlying issue persists.  So you start taking antacids like Tums, Rolaids, Alka-Seltzer or Pepto-Bismol.   But then they stop doing the job so you move up to more powerful drugs known as acid blockers that literally shut down the acid producing cells in your stomach.  Prilosec and Zantac are two examples.

So the question is what is the underlying cause of low acid levels?   At the top of that list would be nutrient deficient, processed, sugar-laden foods.   To produce stomach acid, your body needs things like zinc and B vitamins for proper production.  The S.A.D. does not provide the raw materials for this.  Things like overeating, over consuming carbohydrates, stress, alcohol and of course antacids themselves have been show to diminish acid production as well.

And when this happens, our metabolism slows.

Digestion is also a north to south process.  Poor acid production also affects things further south in the digestive process.  If food is not broken down properly, it assaults the intestines with just that, undigested food.  And more problems result.

So what to do?

If you’re deficient in vitamin D, you take vitamin D, right?  Deficient in minerals?  Take minerals.  Well, when the acid in your stomach becomes deficient, it is no different.   Supplement with acid!   You might be surprised to learn that all health food stores sell supplemental hydrochloric acid for use as a digestive aid.  Dosing can be a little tricky as some need more than others, so be sure to see a qualified practitioner.

There are many other things that can boost the body’s acid production.  One of the most low tech methods is to take a little apple cider vinegar before meals.  Various herbs and bitters are known to help as well.

But to me the most important thing is the diet.  I’ve seen so many cases of heartburn and stomach problems resolve with dietary changes alone.  Start there.  Reduce the starches and sugars in your diet and see what happens.  At the top of that list would be refined carbohydrates.  Next would come grains, even whole ones, as they’re hard on the body’s digestive system.  You might find that not only do your digestive symptoms improve, but the numbers on the scale start going down too.

So Nutritional Therapists always help people with their digestion.   Together with balancing the blood sugar, these two are in my opinion, the ultimate Foundations.   I call them the twin pillars of good health.  Because when they start to correct, many of the other roots of the tree start to correct on their own.

Of course, if we’ve been eating the SAD for decades, it can take some time for the roots to start thriving again.  In the next blog, I’ll detail some of the other roots that need additional attention and support as well.

Stay tuned!