http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dr-mark-hyman/wheat-gluten_b_1274872.html

Another great resource on this topic is a book written by Dr. Davis called Wheat Belly.

Cancer and cancer treatments tend to cause nutrition-related side effects, making maintaining a healthy diet very difficult for pleural mesothelioma patients. Now more than ever it’s important to make sure you are getting the nutrition, vitamins, and minerals you need to stay strong. We realize that sometimes during cancer treatment, eating anything is tough – so here are a few pointers to help make every bite count and guide you to a healthy, well-balanced diet that is easy on your stomach.

Stay hydrated: Getting enough fluids is a key part of any health diet. If you are receiving chemotherapy it is best to get 8-10 glasses a day as many symptoms associated with pleural mesothelioma and its treatment actually result from dehydration.

Protein is a must: Protein and calorie-dense foods are essential to sustaining energy, fighting infection and healing from cancer therapy. Protein is especially important because it helps you heal faster. Getting protein from natural food sources is recommended but if none of those is working for you, try adding natural protein powders – such as non isolated whey, rice or pea protein to your diet. There is no single diet for people affected by cancer. It all will depend on you, the type and progression of your cancer, the treatment you are receiving, and what you want to eat and achieve. Scheduling an appointment with a nutritionist is a wonderful way to help you work out the best plan specifically for you.

For more information on dealing with your pleural mesothelioma diagnosis and nutrition tips, please visit www.pleuralmesothelioma.com/cancer/nutrition.php

It is called San Juan 7-Grain made by Canyon Bakehouse (www.canyonbakehouse.com) and unlike many other frozen options, this was fresh.

In addition to it tasting delicious, unlike many other gluten-free products, this one is 100% whole grain and definitely gets my approval!

Check it out!

http://www.everydayhealth.com/cholesterol/experts-weigh-in-on-cholesterol.aspx

Our body is equipped with mechanisms to combat all types of stresses. Many of us don’t realize that stress is not just emotional, but can also be physical stress from exercise, stress from illness and stress of everyday demands.

One of the most powerful defenses our body has is the adrenal glands. Proof that good things come in small packages, these glands weigh less than a grape but are responsible for regulating your reaction to stress. The two adrenal glands sit on top of each kidney and their main function is to store and excrete the essential hormone Cortisol. These hormones are crucial for regulating our body’s homeostasis and under or over production as you can imagine, would throw our body off balance. The adrenals are responsible for determining the way you will cope with the stress factor being presented to you.

Cortisol plays a part in a myriad of processes (and not just stress they way we may think) including:

• Blood sugar levels
• Fat, protein and carbohydrate metabolism
• Immune responses
• Anti-inflammatory actions
• Blood pressure
• Heart and blood vessel tone and contraction
• Central nervous system activation

Our body will always produce a certain amount of Cortisol and like many things in life, it is something we can’t live without but also can’t get too much. Cortisol levels will normally flare during times of stress,but they should return to normal after that stressor is gone.

The problem is that in today’s world, the stress is constant. Constant stress can turn thousands of chemical pathways in your body upside down and cause normal bodily functions like converting food to energy and absorbing nutrients to become less effective or even completely shut off. When your body is repeatedly “switched on” and it never gets the relief it needs, chronic illnesses arise and only get worse with time. This makes stress one of the most severe and devastating strains on your health.

To explain this a bit better, let’s look at a pack of zebras.

It’s a beautiful day and the zebras are happily grazing in a field when all of a sudden 3 huge tigers come out of nowhere. The zebras see the tigers, realize that there is danger and start running away like crazy. (In this case Cortisol is released as they go into fight of flight mode and that Cortisol is used to actually help them run faster which shows its beneficial effect when there is a true emergency). The tigers may catch one of them if they are not fast enough but the others will outrun the tiger and eventually stop running once the chase stops.

The next day the zebras are grazing happily and back to their normal selves. They are not thinking “Oh no, what if the tigers will come back!?” or “What if when I am trying to run away my hoof will get caught on a rock and make me fall!”

Their stress comes and then it goes away allowing them to recover where as in many of our lives, we have big stresses that may go away but among them there are usually smaller constant stressors and worries that never allow our adrenal glands to actually rest.

Effects of malfunctioning adrenals on the rest of your body

1. Under stress, Cortisol delivers glucose to the body to help the fight or flight mechanism function properly. If Cortisol is consistently doing this, blood sugar levels are constantly high, which can lead to hypo/hyperglycemia, energy problems and even diabetes.

2. Cortisol levels will make the body favor fat storage, also known as visceral fat. Furthermore, since Cortisol elevates blood sugar levels, this can increase hunger and promote overeating. It can also influence cravings and stimulate appetite. Cortisol regulates energy and selects the “right” source to get energy from (carb, fat or protein) depending on your physiological state. This is why Cortisol can have such a tremendous effect on weight.

3. In normal production, Cortisol works as an anti-inflammatory hormone, however we need certain levels of inflammation in our body to fight off bacteria and illness. If Cortisol is continuously elevated, it constantly suppresses some of the beneficial inflammation which can make you sick more often and take longer to heal.

4. Elevated Cortisol levels can also affect your digestion. Your gastrointestinal system is run by the parasympathetic nervous system, an antagonist of the sympathetic nervous system. In other words they can’t run at the same time. So if Cortisol has triggered the sympathetic system, which controls skeletal muscle, your digestion and absorption is going to be compromised. This can lead to an array of complications, including ulcers.

In addition to the above, unbalanced Cortisol can also lead to:

Cardiovascular disease

Fertility problems

Insomnia

Depression and mood disorders

Chronic fatigue

Low Libido

Cravings for sweet or salty foods

In addition to obvious stressors, it is also possible to elevate stress levels by hidden triggers such as overindulgence or sensitivities to foods, air pollution or lack to sleep. 

Conventional Approach

Western medicine is finally starting to recognize adrenal insufficiencies and the Cortisol connection but unfortunately the testing is still behind the times.

Conventional labs such as Quest and Labcorp use a 24 hour urine collection to look at total Cortisol or a onetime snap shot level through blood. The problem with these methods is that we need to see Cortisol throughout the day, not just at one time or just total Cortisol.

Our natural Cortisol levels should ideally be at their highest early in the morning and then should gradually go down throughout the day with the lowest level in the evening which promotes good sleep.

Testing total or random Cortisol level does not give us an understanding of what is happening and how the levels are connected thus not allowing us to determine if the adrenal glands are really working properly.

Let me give you an example. In a healthy person, a good Cortisol output would look something like this:

Morning – 18                Range 13-24

Early Afternoon – 7       Range 5-8

Late Afternoon – 5        Range 4-7

Evening – 2                   Range 1-3

Total  = 32

This shows a nice “ski slope” curve with a good level in the morning and then slowly diminishing throughout the day. When someone is under stress and the adrenals are not functioning properly, it is common to see levels in the morning diminish but night time levels go up and then we may see something like this:

Morning – 13                Range 13-24

Early Afternoon – 7       Range 5-8

Late Afternoon – 5        Range 4-7

Evening – 7                   Range 1-3

Total = 32

As you can see both have a total of 32 which is in the normal range but the second shows a very clear stress pattern of lower morning and high evening levels.

This would never show up on a total urine Cortisol and hence the main reason why adrenal issues are missed by that conventional test. The story is similar with the onetime snap shot because if someone took a blood test at 8am and came out with a level or 15, it will appear all is great but we need to know how that 15 compares to the levels the rest of the day.

Our Approach

For this reason we use The Adrenal Function Profile. The test is done through saliva which allows for an easy and quick way to check Cortisol throughout the day by collecting a small amount of saliva in a plastic vial 4 times throughout the day.  In short you would be spitting into a plastic tube and that will then be sent to the lab for analysis. 

 The profile also measures another stress hormone called DHEA. An increased Cortisol level and a decreased DHEA level is an indication of a chronically stressful physical or mental condition. With these results, we can pinpoint not only the imbalance itself, but also the specific time of day it is happening. Once we find the problem, a combination of stress reducing lifestyle changes, food, supplements and herbs can be used to rebalance the gland to its normal function.

The nice thing about this work is that if the body has what it needs, it can start to heal. While the foods and lifestyle changes should be kept up, the herbs and supplements are usually used on a temporary basis because once the adrenal glad is back on track, keeping it there with good nutrition allows us to maintain all the good results.

As with most natural products, there are many types and thousands of brands. How do you choose the right probiotic for you?

In our practice, we find that stool testing for bacteria can identify the exactly strains of bacteria that is right for every person, however if your digestive issue is not severe or testing is not something that is in your budget, going for something general is also ok.

The thing to remember is that the word probiotic is sort of like saying the word dog. As with dogs where there are various breeds, probiotics are made of various strains. If you need to protect your house, you will go with a Rottweiler where as if you need a cute dog to play with, you may go with a Chihuahua. The same goes for probiotics. Different stains have their own individual benefits and can help you with anything from diarrhea to constipation, gas to indigestion and much more. With this in mind, if you have a problem with constipation, you would benefit most from strains geared towards that issue, where is if you have colits, crohn’s disease or other inflammatory bowel diseases that tend to cause looser bowels, you will need strains formulated for diarrhea. If you don’t have any specific digestive issues but want to maintain good health and immunity, more general combination of strains would be recommended.

For this reason, we carry various probiotics so that we can support these different complains. Our Recolonize 1 probiotic contains 25 billion organisms with 5 billion of them coming from a strain called Saccharomyces Boulardii in just one small capsule. This combination works exceptionally well for anyone experiencing diarrhea from a digestive disorder or loose bowels from antibiotic use. 1-2 pills per day can correct symptoms in as little as 2 days. Recolonize 1 uses room temperature stable stains that do not have to be refrigerated and are guaranteed stable through their expiration which makes it a great product for travel.

Our Probiotic Synergy powdered probiotic from Designs for Health contains a combination of strains specifically used to move bowels and is excellent for constipation, hard stools and “pellet” stools. It also contains inulin which is a prebiotic that is used as food to feed the probiotics and help them colonize in the intestines.  Probiotic Synergy contains 20 billion organisms in ½ of a teaspoon and can be titrated up to achieve as high of a dose as needed. It is best when refrigerated.

Orthobiotic plus from Ortho Molecular is our more general probiotic with 6 different potent strains. It comes in pill form, does not need to be refrigerated and is guaranteed to contain 20 billion organisms at its expiration.

If you are looking to correct a digestive issue or just want to improve immunity and overall health, give probiotics a try, your body will thank you.

Browse our selection of recommended Probiotics.

While this is not always the easiest question to answer in short, we would like to give you a little more information about what to look for. First off, you need to know that not all multi vitamins are created equal. Drug store brands may seem complete, but when looking further at their ingredients, they are far from that. In addition, those brands contain fillers, thickeners and additives that are not good for your health.  We recommend reading all the ingredients carefully and paying attention to not just the active, but also the inactive ingredients. You will be shocked to find that many of the popular drugstore brands can actually contain as many as 5 artificial colorings, trans fats and even aluminum yikes! You may have heard the recent media frenzy about potential negative effects of vitamins and one of the reason for some of these wacky results are just this, bad ingredients that are harmful to your health in poor quality vitamins. You can also read more about this issue by clicking here.

One of the most critical things that you can do to improve your health is to ensure that you are obtaining a needed amount of vitamins, minerals and nutrients on a daily basis.  Because our soils are depleted and our food is more processed, it is extremely hard to get everything you need from our everyday diet and that is where a multivitamin can come to the rescue. Health food store and professional brand multi-vitamins are the best choices because they contain potent and natural ingredients with no fillers or artificial chemicals so you can be assured that you are taking something every day that will actually help your overall health.

We carry several of the best multivitamins to appeal to the needs of our various clientele. Twice Daily Multi is one of our most popular multivitamins and contains a high amount of energizing B vitamins as well important minerals and extracts with just 2 pills per day. Our DFH Complete Multi, Prenatal Pro and Metabolic Synergy are the most complete with extra calcium and magnesium, iron and blood supporting nutrients. Calcium and magnesium are fairly bulky in nature and it is impossible to fit enough of them into one pill along with all the other nutrients. For this reason, the above 3 multivitamins are dosed at 6 pills per day. You can take 3 with breakfast and 3 with dinner or 2 pills with each of your three meals. If you are not used to taking vitamins, 6 pills per day may sound like a lot, however please be assured that if you find a multi-vitamin that is a one-per-day, there is no possible way it will contain all of these necessary ingredients. Furthermore, your body can only absorb a certain amount of nutrients at one time which is why taking something twice or even three times per day if possible will allow you to get more from your multivitamin. If you take something that has a large dose in one, you may not be getting all the benefits from your multi.

Belegenza specializes in clean and environmentally friendly products that are free of chemicals, harsh detergents and silicone which can clog the scalp. Instead, they are fortified with natural oils and vitamins to nourish your hair for a shine you have to see for yourself.

Not all shampoos are created equal and we have tried hundreds before finding ones that were worthy of  being it in our shop. We love Beleganza’s Illustriuos shampoo which can be used by all hair types and works especially well for hair that is colored, dry or damaged. If you have hair loss or thinning hair, Belegenza’s GrowOut shampoo and strengthener is a must. It is a vitamin enriched peptide complex that targets alopecia and positively affects the hair growth cycle to stimulates cell communication which promotes better hair growth and helps slow premature hair loss.  To seal in the moisture, Belegenza has 2 fabulous conditioners, Dramatic Daily for everyday use and Romance Deep Conditioner for a weekly moisture filled treatment. Belegenza products DO NOT contain Silicones, Sodium Laureth Sulfate, Salt, Petrolatum, Phthalates or Parabens. 

If you are starting to see the effects of the winter cold on your hair, let Belegenza natural shampoos and conditioners give you a hand, you will not be sorry. And don’t forget about the holidays, they can make a great gift.

On Oct 13^th Alyssa (our weight loss nutritionist for those who have not had the pleasure of meeting her yet) and I will be hosting a workshop to discuss the difference between Weight Loss and true Fat Loss and how to utilize Body Composition Analysis.

Every participant will get their body composition measured with the BIA and we will be discussing how to understand your results along with real solutions based on the readings. We will also talk about common mistakes people make in weight loss programs and how to mitigate them with your body composition results.

Please join us on Thursday, October 13^th at 7:30 pm for this exciting seminar

80 park Avenue, Entrance on Newark Street in Hoboken

Fee – $10 at the door.

As always, please feel free to pass on to any friends of family members who may be intrested.

(The seminar will start at 7pm but we ask that you arrive anytime between 6:50 and 7:20 so we can measure your body composition prior to the talk. If you are in the Hoboken area you can also stop by our office any other day prior to the seminar so we can take your measurements, just call ahead.)

A little more about BIA

What is it?

Simply explained, BIA measures the impedance or resistance to the signal as it travels through the water that is found in muscle and fat. The more muscle a person has, the more water their body can hold. The greater the amount of water in a person’s body, the easier it is for the current to pass through it. The more fat the person has, the more resistance to the current. BIA is completely safe and it does not hurt. In fact, the signal used in body fat monitors cannot be felt at all either by an adult or child.

How is it performed?

While the person is lying down, 4 electrodes are attached to the foot and hand and a small electric signal is circulated.  The person’s height, age, gender and weight along with other characteristics such as body type and physical activity level are entered in a sophisticated computer system. The results show:

• Body fat percentage
• Total pounds of fat
• Total pounds of muscle
• Total pounds of water
• Total body water with a differential of water both in and out of the cell

Advantages to using this method

• Clearly differentiates between muscle and water.  This is essential especially in the beginning of a weight loss program. (It is common to lose water and gain muscle or vice versa, but a net weight would miss this.)
• Much more precise than scales and hand held devices which measure body fat
• Does not have personal error as with calipers
• Computer system provides a progress graph citing every gain and loss in each body compartment from each visit to accurately track progess.

We hope you can join us and see how you can achieve true fat loss and keep it off for good.

If you are not able to make the workshop and would like more information on getting your body composition analyzed and starting a weight loss program, please do not hesitate to contact us.

I always hear amazing things about green smoothies but have never gotten the courage to make one at home – till now. There was always fear of not knowing what to put in it, worries about clean up as well as being afraid of buying lots of vegetables and not using them.

I watched my mother in law make one this past weekend and it helped me realize just how simple it is. All you need is a powerful blender, some veggies, fruit and optional protein powder.

I use the Vitamix which is fantastic but any powerful blender should do.

Put in about a quarter cup of water and then add 2 cups of leafy greens. I tried kale, swiss chard, spinach and red leaf lettuce. To give it a nice taste you can add half a cup of either fresh or frozen fruit. You can also add a natural protein powder such as Dream Protein or Paleo Meal DF for an extra protein boost. Blend and enjoy!

I was always worried about cleaning the blender but it was easier than I ever realized. You don’t even have to take the blender apart to clean it. Just rinse in the sink or for a better clean, fill with water and a drop of soap and put back on the blender base for 30 seconds and then rinse. Voila!

I have been doing a smoothie every afternoon this week and feel an energy difference already. I also noticed that my skin seems clearer and hair is shinier and its only been a week. The other benefit is that when making them this way, you get to keep all your fiber versus juicing your greens. Plus juicers are way harder to clean and I personally think just way more effort than smoothies.

If you are very busy and don’t have time to wash all the veggies, you can buy them already prewashed in a bag. The whole thing should not take more than 5 minutes from start to finish! You can’t go wrong!