Heather K. Jacobsen's Blog, page 4

Why Can’t We Get Diet and Nutrition Right? TEDx talk.

Although I am somewhat practiced in public speaking and don’t get too nervous when discussing a subject I know pretty well, doing a TEDx talk is probably one of the most nerve-wracking things I’ve ever done!  Check out my discussion on why can’t we get diet and nutrition right?  I’d love to hear your thoughts.

 

Why Can’t We Get Diet and Nutrition Right? TEDx talk.

Although I am somewhat practiced in public speaking and don’t get too nervous when discussing a subject I know pretty well, doing a TEDx talk is probably one of the most nerve-wracking things I’ve ever done!  Check out my discussion on why can’t we get diet and nutrition right?  I’d love to hear your thoughts.

 

GOING GLUTEN-FREE: 7 Surprising Facts You Should Know if You Want to Achieve Dietary Success

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I’m so excited to have my first book, GOING GLUTEN-FREE, now available in print, as well is in e-book format. Now you have two great ways to learn about going gluten-free! ????

Find both versions on Amazon or Barnes & Noble, and electronic versions at Apple iBooks or most other ebooks formats. If you don’t have an ebook reader, you can simply download a PDF at Smashwords.

EDITORIAL REVIEW:

“If you are new to the gluten-free diet, or are continuing to experience symptoms, Heather Jacobsen may have just the answers you are looking for. ” Ron Hoggan, Ed. D, author of Dangerous Grains and Cereal Killers.

DESCRIPTION:

Written for gluten-free dieters and their doctors, this condensed and easy-to-digest compilation of years of medical and nutritional research explains why people may not be healing on the gluten-free diet as we know it, and offers solutions for modifying that diet so that the reader can begin to truly heal.

For instance, did you know that 50% of celiacs also show sensitivity to dairy? Did you know that there are parts of wheat besides gluten that could be causing you harm? Did you also know that products labeled “gluten-free” can contain some amount of gluten in them, and that the threshold of how much gluten is safe is actually controversial? These topics and more are explained in the book. The author also provides links to further resources.

Whether you are new to gluten-free, or have been gluten-free for a while but still aren’t feeling 100%, this book will help you to regain control over your health.

 

GOING GLUTEN-FREE: 7 Surprising Facts You Should Know if You Want to Achieve Dietary Success

I’m so excited to have my first book now available for pre-order! Be among the first of your friends to get it.

EDITORIAL REVIEW:

“If you are new to the gluten-free diet, or are continuing to experience symptoms, Heather Jacobsen may have just the answers you are looking for. ”

Ron Hoggan, Ed. D, author of Dangerous Grains and Cereal Killers.

DESCRIPTION:

Written for gluten-free dieters and their doctors, this condensed and easy-to-digest compilation of years of medical and nutritional research explains why people may not be healing on the gluten-free diet as we know it, and offers solutions for modifying that diet so that the reader can begin to truly heal.

For instance, did you know that 50% of celiacs also show sensitivity to dairy? Did you know that there are parts of wheat besides gluten that could be causing you harm? Did you also know that products labeled “gluten-free” can contain some amount of gluten in them, and that the threshold of how much gluten is safe is actually controversial? These topics and more are explained in the book. The author also provides links to further resources.

Whether you are new to gluten-free, or have been gluten-free for a while but still aren’t feeling 100%, this book will help you to regain control over your health.

*************

GOING GLUTEN-FREE, is now available for pre-order. Be sure to lock in the special pre-order price of $2.99. Shortly after it goes on sale, the price will increase. You can purchase for pre-order at most places where e-books are available, even internationally, including: Amazon, Apple iBooks, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, and Blio. If you don’t have an ebook reader, you can also download a PDF at Smashwords.

As a bonus, the book contains a 50% off coupon for the step-by-step program, 30 Days to a Whole, New Gluten-Free You.™

PhD – not for me

So here I am. More than a year later, after pouring my soul into the pursuit of higher academic study, I’ve realized that a PhD just isn’t going to be for me. There was the big cross-country move that took place this summer and whose plans were put in motion almost a year ago. That took up way more time than I had. And we’re still not done settling into our new home.

Then there was the reality of logistics to consider, balancing time and money with being a mom and having a life. And besides, the return on investment is probably just not going to be worth it at this time in my life.  Combined with the fact that I hadn’t had luck in finding the right PhD program, I think it just wasn’t meant to be. I am somewhat saddened by this notion, but mostly for my ego. See, with a PhD behind my name, I thought maybe people would finally take what I say seriously. Maybe people would see that I am smart.  Maybe I would be invited to a table of thinkers who together work on moving things in the right direction for the greater good.

Instead, I will have to find another way to get my work out there. So I have been working on something else…. a book proposal. All that I have learned and written about over the past few years really should see the light of day, and I thought getting a PhD was the way to further my reach. But maybe it isn’t. Maybe publishing a book is the way, instead. And while I work on getting the full blown book finished and getting a literary agent and/or publisher, the more condensed version in e-book format is almost finished. I can’t wait to launch it soon. Stay tuned…

Do what makes you come alive

Don’t ask what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive, and go do it. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive. ~ Howard Thurman

I’ve spent so much time with my nose to the grindstone on many fronts — researching and understanding my own health problems (now mostly resolved), furthering my career (by means I’m still mapping out), as well as attempting to be the best mother possible — that I’ve forgotten what makes myself come alive. That might sound cliché. But it is well known that when women become mothers, they put themselves last. And so it has been for the past… almost a decade now.

Living life. Feeling alive. Experiencing the joie de vivre has always been a deep part of my soul. Sadly, this all but disappeared when I developed severe and debilitating insomnia, food allergies, brain fogs and more, starting with the birth of my first child, and continuing on through my second pregnancy and into my second post-partum. I had a very troubled thyroid which led to chronic illness that no one could see, let alone fix. And I had to crawl out of that dark hole all by myself. Being a new mom with an infant and a toddler who both needed me constantly, did not make it easier.

But I did it. It took many years, and quite a few tears, but I brought myself back from the depths of chronic illness, fatigue and depression. And my two wonderful kids made it through unscathed. In fact, they’re thriving now.

Moving to New England has become a fresh start for me. My kids are no longer in need of “babysitting” and so now we can enjoy life together. Because we had no summer camps set up, no family vacation plans, and because I am their primary caretaker (happily so) I was “forced” to take my kids to the beach all summer. This, in turn, forced me to slow down my pace of life, and stop to think about the things that really matter to me. All work and no play, makes mommy a bore!

The  littlest of things are beginning to bring back my lust for life – spotting a pileated woodpecker on our weeping cherry tree; naming our resident rabbit “Uncle Pete;” attacking the weeds in the overgrown flower beds of our new front yard; picking out which Witch Hazel tree to plant for winter showcase; trying to catch sand crabs with the kids; discovering a bike trail through the woods just behind our house; perfecting my strokes along the perimeter of the swim area at our local beach, while watching the sun’s rays taper through the silent verdant water underneath. These are things that bring me back to present reality and fill my soul with joy once again.

In this process of renewal, I’ve learned to let go of some things (e.g. the constant tuning into social media), and bring back those things that I’ve neglected (e.g. designated time for reading books). Photography and creative writing both used to make me come alive, but somewhere along the way they fell to the bottom of the priority lists, too.

That is no longer the case. From here on out, I’ve decided that if it doesn’t make me come alive, it isn’t worth doing. And I’m not talking about doing the dishes. You can actually come alive while doing dishes, too (here’s a post I wrote on that…).  But if I’m spending endless hours on tasks that squelch my soul rather than quench it, without return on invested effort, there is no longer any point in doing it.

Instead, I’m going to go do those things that make me come alive.

Do what makes you come alive

Don’t ask what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive, and go do it. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive. ~ Howard Thurman

 

I’ve spent so much time with my nose to the grindstone on many fronts — researching and understanding my own health problems (now mostly resolved), furthering my career (by means I’m still mapping out), as well as attempting to be the best mother possible — that I’ve forgotten what makes myself come alive. That might sound cliché. But it is well known that when women become mothers, they put themselves last. And so it has been for the past… almost a decade now.

Living life. Feeling alive. Experiencing the joie de vivre has always been a deep part of my soul. Sadly, this all but disappeared when I developed severe and debilitating insomnia, food allergies, brain fogs and more, starting with the birth of my first child, and continuing on through my second pregnancy and into my second post-partum. I had a very troubled thyroid which led to chronic illness that no one could see, let alone fix. And I had to crawl out of that dark hole all by myself. Being a new mom with an infant and a toddler who both needed me constantly, did not make it easier.

But I did it. It took many years, and quite a few tears, but I brought myself back from the depths of chronic illness, fatigue and depression. And my two wonderful kids made it through unscathed. In fact, they’re thriving now.

Moving to New England has become a fresh start for me. My kids are no longer in need of “babysitting” and so now we can enjoy life together. Because we had no summer camps set up, no family vacation plans, and because I am their primary caretaker (happily so) I was “forced” to take my kids to the beach all summer. This, in turn, forced me to slow down my pace of life, and stop to think about the things that really matter to me. All work and no play, makes mommy a bore!

The  littlest of things are beginning to bring back my lust for life – spotting a pileated woodpecker on our weeping cherry tree; naming our resident rabbit “Uncle Pete;” attacking the weeds in the overgrown flower beds of our new front yard; picking out which Witch Hazel tree to plant for winter showcase; trying to catch sand crabs with the kids; discovering a bike trail through the woods just behind our house; perfecting my strokes along the perimeter of the swim area at our local beach, while watching the sun’s rays taper through the silent verdant water underneath. These are things that bring me back to present reality and fill my soul with joy once again.

In this process of renewal, I’ve learned to let go of some things (e.g. the constant tuning into social media), and bring back those things that I’ve neglected (e.g. designated time for reading books). Photography and creative writing both used to make me come alive, but somewhere along the way they fell to the bottom of the priority lists, too.

That is no longer the case. From here on out, I’ve decided that if it doesn’t make me come alive, it isn’t worth doing. And I’m not talking about doing the dishes. You can actually come alive while doing dishes, too (here’s a post I wrote on that…).  But if I’m spending endless hours on a task that is deadening my soul and showing no signs of rewarding me for its efforts, there is no point in doing it.

Instead, I’m going to go do those things that make me come alive.

PhD – not for me

So here I am. More than a year later, after pouring my soul into the pursuit of higher academic study, I’ve realized that a PhD just isn’t going to be for me. There was the big cross-country move that took place this summer and whose plans were put in motion almost a year ago. That took up way more time than I had. And we’re still not done settling into our new home.

Then there was the reality of logistics to consider, balancing time and money with being a mom and having a life. And besides, the return on investment is probably just not going to be worth it at this time in my life.  Combined with the fact that I hadn’t had luck in finding the right PhD program, I think it just wasn’t meant to be. I am somewhat saddened by this notion, but mostly for my ego. See, with a PhD behind my name, I thought maybe people would finally take what I say seriously. Maybe people would see that I am smart. Maybe I would be invited to a table of thinkers who together work on moving things in the right direction for the greater good.

Instead, I will have to find another way to get my work out there. So I have been working on something else…. a book proposal. All that I have learned and written about over the past few years really should see the light of day, and I thought getting a PhD was the way to further my reach. But maybe it isn’t. Maybe publishing a book is the way, instead. And while I work on getting the full blown book finished and getting a literary agent and/or publisher, the more condensed version in e-book format is almost finished. I can’t wait to launch it soon. Stay tuned…

Where do I fit in?

That’s the next big question. If I’m going to pursue a PhD, where would I do it? Obviously it’s got to be a program that allows a multi-disciplinary track, and one that I can pretty much design myself. It also has to be close to home, since I can’t really uproot my family in pursuit of my own higher education. Luckily, it looks like we are in for a move to New England and there are tons of great schools up there. So I’ve started inquiring about some of the programs in the area to see if I can find a good match.

And I learned right away that I better be careful about how I word my interests.

At one school, I asked about their Medical Anthropology program and told them that I was interested in “the epidemic of gluten sensitivity, food allergies, autoimmune disorders, obesity, our modern (US) food system, and implications for the paleolithic diet and paleo nutrition.” In the email response that I got back, I could feel the professor bristle as he said,

I think the Paleo diet “movement” is problematic on several grounds: 1) there was no one paleo diet, it varied over time and place, and in some places probably included wild grains; and 2) human biological evolution is continuous, although granted most of human history was spent prior to the origin of plant domestication.

He also said that it is “certainly a challenge” to have one’s research have an effect on people’s diet (even though I had asked more broadly about how my research could have an influence on our health system).

Oops. I didn’t mean to upset anyone, really. I’m not a cross-fitting, paleo pushing, fanatic. I just know there is ample anecdotal evidence of people reversing chronic diseases by eating a paleo diet, as well as scientific evidence of some of its health benefits [1], [2], [3]. And I am genuinely interested in this. As well as how the Inuit, Masai (and others’) diets compare to the SAD (Standard American Diet) in parallel with chronic diseases amongst these same civilizations. And why some American Indian tribes are actually reverting to pre-colonial diets… When I tried to explain myself, by saying that it doesn’t really matter what we call the diet, but that there is a movement among Functional doctors to treat chronic disease with food, and that’s what I’m interested in, another professor told me that the “science just isn’t there.” But I was told to feel free to call them anyway to discuss the program more. I will wait until I can better explain my interests, without ruffling any tail feathers.

In the meantime, I tried a second school, which has as an Epidemiology department, as well as a Medical Anthropology program AND a Microbiology department. What could be better? Sounds right up my alley! But I haven’t been able to reach the ONE Anthropology professor who might be inclined to take on a student (I was told), and it’s been over a month. Guess he’s in the field somewhere. I haven’t been able to meet with the Epidemiology professor either, because she’s working on a big grant application. But the head of the microbiology lab did tell me curtly that he doesn’t have any room for the upcoming year. That is, for 2015-2016. And that kind of puts a damper on things. Would that mean I would have to waylay all classes for another year if I wanted to go to that school?

I’m not too excited about the idea of postponing school. Again. Mostly because of my age. I mean, I still feel youthful, but time moves at a faster clip once you’re in your 40s. And I don’t want to be finishing college just as my kids are thinking about starting!

In the meantime, I will continue my search…

 

REFERENCES

[1] Frassetto LA, M Schloetter, M Mietus-Synder, RC Morris Jr and A Sebastian. 2009. Metabolic and physiologic improvements from consuming a paleolithic, hunter-gatherer type diet. European Journal of Clinical Nutrition (2009) 63, 947–955.

[2] Jönsson T, Y Granfeldt, B Ahrén1, U Branell, Gr Pålsson, A Hansson, M Söderström and S Lindeberg. 2009. Beneficial effects of a Paleolithic diet on cardiovascular risk factors in type 2 diabetes: a randomized cross-over pilot study. Cardiovascular Diabetology 2009, 8:35.

[3] Lindeberg S, Jönsson T, Granfeldt Y, Borgstrand E, Soffman J, Sjöström K, Ahrén B. 2007. A Palaeolithic diet improves glucose tolerance more than a Mediterranean-like diet in individuals with ischaemic heart disease. Diabetologia. Sep;50(9):1795-807. Epub 2007 Jun 22.

Where do I fit in?

 

That’s the next big question. If I’m going to pursue a PhD, where would I do it? Obviously it’s got to be a program that allows a multi-disciplinary track, and one that I can pretty much design myself. It also has to be close to home, since I can’t really uproot my family in pursuit of my own higher education. Luckily, it looks like we are in for a move to New England and there are tons of great schools up there. So I’ve started inquiring about some of the programs in the area to see if I can find a good match.

And I learned right away that I better be careful about how I word my interests.

At one school, I asked about their Medical Anthropology program and told them that I was interested in “the epidemic of gluten sensitivity, food allergies, autoimmune disorders, obesity, our modern (US) food system, and implications for the paleolithic diet and paleo nutrition.” In the email response that I got back, I could feel the professor bristle as he said,

I think the Paleo diet “movement” is problematic on several grounds: 1) there was no one paleo diet, it varied over time and place, and in some places probably included wild grains; and 2) human biological evolution is continuous, although granted most of human history was spent prior to the origin of plant domestication.

He also said that it is “certainly a challenge” to have one’s research have an effect on people’s diet (even though I had asked more broadly about how my research could have an influence on our health system).

Oops. I didn’t mean to upset anyone, really. I’m not a cross-fitting, paleo pushing, fanatic. I just know there is ample anecdotal evidence of people reversing chronic diseases by eating a paleo diet, as well as scientific evidence of some of its health benefits [1], [2], [3]. And I am genuinely interested in this. As well as how the Inuit, Masai (and others’) diets compare to the SAD (Standard American Diet) in parallel with chronic diseases amongst these same civilizations. And why someAmerican Indian tribes are actually reverting to pre-colonial diets… When I tried to explain myself, by saying that it doesn’t really matter what we call the diet, but that there is a movement among Functional doctors to treat chronic disease with food, and that’s what I’m interested in, another professor told me that the “science just isn’t there.” But I was told to feel free to call them anyway to discuss the program more. I will wait until I can better explain my interests, without ruffling any tail feathers.

In the meantime, I tried a second school, which has as an Epidemiology department, as well as a Medical Anthropology program AND a Microbiology department. What could be better? Sounds right up my alley! But I haven’t been able to reach the ONE Anthropology professor who might be inclined to take on a student (I was told), and it’s been over a month. Guess he’s in the field somewhere. I haven’t been able to meet with the Epidemiology professor either, because she’s working on a big grant application. But the head of the microbiology lab did tell me curtly that he doesn’t have any room for the upcoming year. That is, for 2015-2016. And that kind of puts a damper on things. Would that mean I would have to waylay all classes for another year if I wanted to go to that school?

I’m not too excited about the idea of postponing school. Again. Mostly because of my age. I mean, I still feel youthful, but time moves at a faster clip once you’re in your 40s. And I don’t want to be finishing college just as my kids are thinking about starting!

In the meantime, I will continue my search…

 

REFERENCES

[1] Frassetto LA, M Schloetter, M Mietus-Synder, RC Morris Jr and A Sebastian. 2009. Metabolic and physiologic improvements from consuming a paleolithic, hunter-gatherer type diet. European Journal of Clinical Nutrition (2009) 63, 947–955.

[2] Jönsson T, Y Granfeldt, B Ahrén1, U Branell, Gr Pålsson, A Hansson, M Söderström and S Lindeberg. 2009. Beneficial effects of a Paleolithic diet on cardiovascular risk factors in type 2 diabetes: a randomized cross-over pilot study. Cardiovascular Diabetology 2009, 8:35.

[3] Lindeberg S, Jönsson T, Granfeldt Y, Borgstrand E, Soffman J, Sjöström K, Ahrén B. 2007. A Palaeolithic diet improves glucose tolerance more than a Mediterranean-like diet in individuals with ischaemic heart disease. Diabetologia. Sep;50(9):1795-807. Epub 2007 Jun 22.