This & That

1.Do you have NAP syndrome (Dr. Mark Hyman)= “not enough pain” syndrome?   Sometimes,  unless we are in a panic or under severe stress, we don’t make lasting changes in our behavior. Covid is a time to choose new adaptive behaviors, rather than choose new (or old) maladaptive behaviors. So I recommend British physician Dr. Rangan Chatterjee’s new book:  “Feel Better in Five”.  Five minutes to make significant changes! 

2.Studies I heard this week suggest that in quarantine-like situations, 45% of people gain weight and 35% of people lose weight. Covid quarantine is a great time to observe what we are eating…or not eating. Keep a loving posture towards yourself, keep a food journal if it helps, and focus on emotional gratification as something different than oral gratification. What makes you happy?  A movie? Walk? Dance for a few minutes (put on your favorite music for 5 minutes an have yourself a little boogie!),  FaceTime with a friend? Music? Fresh air?

3.Keep on with your nutrition:  

a.hydrate at LEAST an 1/2oz. of water per pound of body weight.  Weigh 160 lbs?  Then you will drink 80 oz of spring water minimum= 10 cups of water per day.  And adjust:  add in  more if exercising, detoxing, having a glass of wine, or dealing with a chronic or acute health condition. Avoid plastic bottles!

b.Eat the rainbow of veggies and limited fruits. Pick local and organic whenever possible.

c.Choose 2 root veggies every day. Your gut bacteria will thank you. 70-80% of immunity is in your gut. 

d.Choose healthy proteins and good fats.

e.Eat a form of fermentation every day:  pickled veggies, yoghurt (I avoid cow dairy so I choose coconut yoghurt), kefir, kimchi, sauerkraut, miso, whatever you like, so you can give a diversity of inoculation to your microbiome. Store bought kombucha is increasingly full of sugar and frequently not fermented long enough to grow robust bacteria, so make yours at home if you can. 

4.Seek out a heart connection.  Have a “heart snack” (Dr. Chatterjee). Find anyone in your day to spend 5 minutes with, put away social media and distraction , connect with someone you love. I work with many “carers”.  If you are caring for kids, parents, others,  find someone for five minutes that you are not taking care of.

5.One of the questions I am asked the most is “what are the good fats to eat”?

I like the list in Dale Bredesen’s new book:” The End of Alzheimer’s Program”.  On p. 117 he says: 

a. olive, avocado, walnut, macadamia, sesame, perilla, algae, MCT, coconut, red palm oils:   cold pressed and organic 

b.avocado, nuts, seeds, coconut, cacao butter, fatty cold water fish, egg yolk (pastured hens)

c.ghee, butter, lard (from pastured animals)

Do not eat a fat to which you believe you have a known sensitivity or reaction.

6.Do you also suffer from FLC syndrome (Dr. Mark Hyman)= “feel like crap” syndrome?  In addition to following the above recommendations, cut out sugar, alcohol, gluten, and dairy for 3 weeks and see if you don’t feel better!  Or contact me for the most accurate allergy and food sensitivity testing in the world (according to Mayo Clinic , Stanford, and many other doctors) to find out.  For example, I’ve found out I cannot touch gluten or cow dairy, ginger or turmeric, so I feel at ease with non-gluten starch like quinoa and goat ghee, goat cheese and other herbs and spices.

Each of us has to make our own “food playpen”, that circumference of foods that are safe and nurturing for our bodies.  Since every person in the USA is now dealing with more than 270 different toxins per day, our bodies tolerance for foods has decreased. Each of us needs to step carefully to reduce the inflammatory response that some foods will trigger.  Without testing, the biggest food groups to which humans react are gluten (wheat, barley, rye, and many additives), dairy, tree nuts, eggs, soy, peanuts, and shellfish/fish. 

Stay safe and well! Happy to report that not one of my nutrition clients world-wide has had Covid-19!