Nell Stephenson's Blog, page 12

Flu Shot… or Prevention Through Food?

FIGHT A COLD + BUILD IMMUNITY

Flu season is just around the corner; have you gotten your flu shot yet?

After all, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), between 5% and 20% of the U.S. population comes down with the flu each year, and as many as 200,000 people are hospitalized for flu-related complications (1).

But is the answer really to be found in a vaccine?

Almost half of Americans seem to feel this way, based on the 43% of us who opt to receive it each year, especially those who are ‘high risk’, such as the elderly, babies over six months old… and pregnant women (2)!

Reasons to get it?

Just one and it’s rather obvious: to avoid getting the flu.

And reasons not to?

The CDC reports mild side effects from the flu shot include soreness, redness or swelling at the injection site, low-grade fever and aches as well as rare but serious side effects can occur, including allergic reactions, difficulty breathing, swelling around the eyes or lips, hives, racing heart, dizziness and high fever (3).

Not to mention that the strain of any given flu shot may not protect against other versions that rear their ugly heads.

In addition, it’s not just the flu vaccine that’s injected into your body when you receive it; other ingredients in the mix include (4):

1. Antibiotics — To prevent bacteria formation during production and storage, manufacturers add antibiotics such as gentamicin or neomycin.

2. Formaldehyde — As a flu vaccine ingredient, formaldehyde is used to deactivate and decontaminate the flu viruses and toxins in the vaccine.

3. Chicken egg proteins — Historically, most flu viruses have been grown in fertilized chicken eggs, as this environment allows viruses to grow and reproduce. Viruses are separated from the egg and added to the vaccine after completing development, with some traces of chicken egg proteins being transferred. As such, people with an egg protein allergy should rethink getting a flu shot.

4. Canine (dog) kidney cells — Instead of being grown in chicken eggs, two vaccines, Flucelvax and Flucelvax Quadrivalent, are grown in a canine kidney cell line and inactivated with a detergent called cetyltrimethylammonium bromide.

5. Gelatin: — Pork-based gelatin acts as a stabilizer for the purpose of helping to maintain the flu vaccine’s effectiveness from production to use, and shields the vaccine from harmful heat- or freeze-drying effects.

6. Thimerosal — Thimerosal is a preservative that contains approximately 50 percent mercury. While it’s no longer found in most pediatric vaccines, it’s used in multidose vials of flu vaccines to help prevent contamination by bacteria, fungi or other germs as the vial is repeatedly used.

So what to do if you want to best arm yourself against getting what might turn out to be a nasty virus but prefer a more natural line of defense?

Focus on your gut as the core part of reducing inflammation in the body.

When our bodies become inflamed, external factors that typically might not be problematic become much more of a threat.

Since our guts are where are sickness (and health) begins, if we opt to reduce inflammation in our bodies through what we eat, we can boost our immune systems without risk and keep flu-free on our won.

While a certain amount of inflammation in the body, such as what we might experience after a tough workout, is a good thing because it helps the body recover, if infection or recurrent injury occurs, inflammation can become a chronic condition that can lead to other, more serious, health issues.

Chronic inflammation causes certain substances in the immune system to tell other parts of the immune system to kick into action. Once the immune system receives these messages, it will get to work by attacking bacteria and viruses, starting to increase blood flow, clearing out dying cells, and repairing unhealthy tissue; this is referred to as an “inflammatory response.” (5)

While there are other factors to consider in reducing systemic inflammation, such as overall stress and stress management, how we sleep, rest, recover and move, if our eating isn’t intact, we’re missing a huge part of our health foundation.

By eating a diet rich in net- alkaline forming foods and avoiding foods that are known to create an acidic pH and subsequent inflammation such as sugar, processed foods, gluten, grains, and dairy products, we can set the stage for allowing the gut to begin to heal.

Next, by adding in regular doses of gut-boosting foods which specifically help to fight off the flu, we further allow the gut to not only heal but to flourish.

Below are my top five go-tos to keep nasty cold or flu bugs at bay:

Bone broth is once again the star of the show. The gelatin found in bone broth is a hydrophilic colloid. It attracts and holds liquids, including digestive juices, thereby supporting proper digestion and inhibiting infection caused by cold and flu viruses due to its medicinal qualities which significantly mitigating infection (6).
Raw garlic raises blood levels of T cells, garlic ensures that the immune system is well prepared to meet and disarm the viruses responsible for common cold and the flu (7).
Oil of oregano helps your lungs recover from a bout with a cold or flu by thinning the mucous, allowing for easier breathing and faster removal of the infecting virus (8).
Turmeric is a spice that belongs to the ginger family; Curcumin is its most important bioactive ingredient with a number of exceptional medicinal properties including as a remedy for cold and today we will understand the modern science behind it
Oysters contain more zinc per serving than any other food making it far superior that taking a zinc lozenge hidden in a candy!

While the decision to get a flu shot for yourself, aging parents or children is a personal one, by having a more informed approach to what you may be getting with that flu shot as well as some more naturopathic alternatives (and risk free) to test out, you’ll be able to make the best decision that you’re most comfortable with.

It never hurts to have more information!

(1) https://www.sharecare.com/health/cold...

(2) https://www.bustle.com/p/how-many-adu...

(3) https://www.livescience.com/40279-flu...

(4) https://articles.mercola.com/flu-shot...

(5) http://thescienceofeating.com/2017/10...

(6) https://healthimpactnews.com/2014/hom...

(7) http://www.progressivehealth.com/can-...

(8) https://www.livestrong.com/article/49...

What’s in Our Baby Food?

Oh, Baby!

With my son’s 4 month birthday having come and gone, we’re learning what to look for as he will likely soon start displaying cues that introducing real food in addition to breast milk is just around the corner (1):

Good head and neck control
Ability to sit upright when supported
Showing an interest in food on my plate
Opening his mouth when food is offered

My gut feeling is that the first foods I’d like to give him will include avocado, liverwurst and egg yolk and fortunately, we have a holistic pediatrician with whom we will be able to bounce ideas around to make sure we introduce foods in the right order and quantity.

I knew she was on the same page as us when she confirmed there’s no need to add foods we don’t even eat, such as rice cereal, to his repertoire!

Having worked with many moms as one of my main client demographics over the past two decades, I’ve been able to see the range of moms who like to cook and make all their baby’s own food to moms who prefer to buy it, and everything in between.

But now that we’re in the thick of it, I thought I’d do a little investigating just to see what options currently exist out there for moms who do opt to purchase ready made food for their little ones.

While there are companies out there that are paving the way with real, unadulterated food for our little ones, such as Serenity Baby Food (2) and Tummy Thyme (3) the bulk of what’s out there is still highly processed, lacking in nutrient density… and very high in sugar, even those that look great on the shelves and tout the infamous organic label.

Last year, Gerber was the leading baby food and snack brand in the United States with sales amounting to approximately $235.6 million (4).

And while statements about their “quality ingredients, grown from strict soil standards, made with natural fruit and held to FDA standards” are all well and good, there’s still an issue at hand and it’s a big one: sugar content and overall macro nutrient balance in what we’re being sold to give our babies.

The American Heart Association recommends that kids 2-18 should have less than 25 grams or 6 teaspoons of added sugar daily for a healthy heart (5) while the USDA suggests that Americans limit their sugar consumption to 10 percent of daily calories, which is equivalent to 12 teaspoons or about 200 calories in a 2,000-calorie diet (6).

How about those under 2?

Considering an average newborn needs to consume 120 calories per kilogram of weight each day to grow into a healthy child, a 10 pound infant would need 546 calories per day (7).

Combining the two directives above leaves you with 10% of 546 calories from sugar, 55 calories or roughly 1 Tablespoon, about 14.79 grams.

So how is it that many of the baby foods on the market for infants not only have 2-3 times that much, they also have no fat and very little protein?

Not surprisingly, the information we are presented with in terms of what should be giving our children to eat is just as confusing as we are told we need as fully grown humans.

It doesn’t take a scientist; if we think outside the box and consider whether it really makes sense to feed our babies a high carbohydrate diet versus one which is more balanced, we can begin to make heads or tails of this.

When we look at an authentic, ancestral diet for humans, the foods we would eat would include those which grow in the areas we live, seasonally, as well as animals that ran across our lands or swam in our local waters.

There wouldn’t have been refined carbohydrates, packaged and processed foods, ‘diet’ anything or food so refined they’d been literally stripped of all nutrient density.

We speak and read about this often now in common conversation as it pertains to adults, and the growing number of inflammatory related dis ease conditions plaguing our society today.

So how about the youngest of us?

Why would we feed our own children anything less the most optimal foods we can get our hands on?

The breastfeeding conversation is a hot topic; I’ve already experienced how important it is for me as a blogger and an educator in the nutrition space to chose my words wisely so as to ensure that my goal is merely to share information I’ve learned on my journey as a new mom, in order to help other moms and to be clear it’s not coming from a place of judgement if someone chooses to use formula, for example.

Similarly, the goal of this post is to point out that we’ve got to look beyond a commercially prepared baby food in a glass jar labeled as organic as the only standards we apply as filters when it comes to what we give our babies.

If we can make our baby’s food at home out of the very same foods we’re feeding ourselves – local, in season veggies in abundance, fruits low in sugar, ample natural fats and moderate portions of mindfully sourced proteins – fantastic!

Not only a time saver, it’s far more cost effective to take the very same yams you’ve baked, mix them with some ground bison you’ve sauteed and blend them with some steamed broccoli, drizzled with olive oil, the very same meal you served yourself and the rest of your family.

Even if you are someone who’s not that comfortable in the kitchen, being in the role of a new parent might just be the impetus you need to start learning.

What a gift to be able to teach your kids from a very early age how to source and cook their own healthy foods!

Studies show that getting kids involved in the kitchen, through cooking classes or at home, makes them more likely to choose healthy foods (8).

Feeling like you’re not as healthy as you need to be yourself, in order to set a great example on the eating and moving front?

It’s never too late to start; having the blessing of a new baby in your life, for whom you have the opportunity to create optimal gut health from the very beginning may just be that impetus you need to get the whole family started on their path to greater health!

(1) http://raisingchildren.net.au/article...

(2) https://myserenitykids.com

(3) https://tummy-thyme.com

(4) https://www.statista.com/statistics/1...

(5) https://www.heart.org/en/healthy-livi...

(6) https://www.nal.usda.gov/fnic/dietary...

(7) https://www.livestrong.com/article/50...

(8) https://www.cbsnews.com/news/teaching...

COLLAGEN PEPTIDES + BONE BROTH: WHAT’S THE DIFF?

You’re drinking bone broth each and every day and you’re being careful about what you eat.

So do you really need to be downing those powdered collagen protein supplements?

And what’s the difference between the two anyway?

Let’s start with the definitions.

Bone broth is actually a hybrid of broth and stock. The base is more stock-like, as it is usually made from bones, sometimes roasted in advance, but there can sometimes be some meat still attached (1).   It’s typically made over a long period of time in a slow cooker over low heat with the addition of a small amount of vinegar.  We use organic cider vinegar in ours; at a ratio of 1 Tablespoon / 28 quart pot, which acts as a catalyst to extract healing compounds from the bones and connective tissue.

And collagen peptides?

You also know them as gelatin:  a translucent, colorless, flavorless food ingredient, derived from collagen taken from animal body parts. Brittle when dry and gummy when moist, also called hydrolyzed collagen, collagen hydrolysate, gelatin hydrolysate, hydrolyzed gelatin, and collagen peptides. Commonly used as a gelling agent in food, medications, drug and vitamin capsules, photographic films and papers, and cosmetic (2).

The list of health benefits associated with drinking properly sourced and prepared bone broth is endless; because it directly addresses the root cause of many illnesses, inflammation in the gut, it’s an essential part of healing a leaky gut and subsequently many health concerns.

It’s not just the collagen in bone broth on its own; it’s a real food diet eaten in conjunction with it.   

Eating a diet rich in leafy green vegetables is ideal as plants offer rich sources in collagen building blocks and, in addition, provide nutrients not found in sufficient quantities in meats or broth alone.

What’s more, bone broth may provide vitamins and enzymes, but they get denatured from heat as the broth cooks, rendering them less useful to the body (3), further underlining the importance of eating fresh, raw, in season, organic vegetables in abundance?

So do we need both bone broth as well as powdered collagen peptides?

Not necessarily.

As with any supplement, the first and most important thing to remember is it is just that : a supplement, something that completes or enhances something else when added to it.

Second, as a Harvard Study showed, supplements can plug dietary gaps, but nutrients from food are most important (4).  If the diet isn’t sound, then a supplement may be more indicated compared to a real-food based, authentic Paleo approach, for example.

Bottom line:  once again, it goes back to food being medicine and supplements being considered as add-ons to fill in any gaps.

Whether coming from a place of dis ease and wanting to heal yourself (starting with healing your gut) or choosing to go from existing in a space of feeling so-so to creating optimal health and thriving, not just surviving, making fresh, seasonal, locally sourced food what you’re eating on a daily basis the foundation of what you eat is key.

Eating nutrient dense, gut boosting foods regularly and minimizing, or removing, those which cause inflammation will begin to pave the way to gut health and as a result, to addressing many health concerns.

Bring on the broth!

https://www.epicurious.com/ingredients/difference-stock-broth-bone-broth-article
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gelatin
https://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2015/02/10/384948585/taking-stock-of-bone-broth-sorry-no-cure-all-here
https://www.health.harvard.edu/staying-healthy/should-you-get-your-nutrients-from-food-or-from-supplements

Why Am I So Tired?

You’re getting a good night’s rest, exercising regularly and being mindful about what you’re eating.

So what is the deal with this fatigue, and is it just fatigue, or chronic fatigue?

Low blood sugar from going too far with low-fat and counting calories or following an ‘unusual’ interpretation of a keto diet?

Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS) is more than just feeling tired all the time and it’s not remedied by simply getting more sleep.

It’s a medical condition of unknown cause, with fever, aching, and prolonged tiredness and depression, typically occurring after a viral infection (1).

Current research speculates there are varying possibilities that could cause or contribute and they include viruses, weakened immune system and hormonal imbalances.

If you, or your doctor suspects you have CFS, be prepared to hear that, “There is no cure for chronic fatigue syndrome” and that treatment focuses on symptom relief, including low doses of some antidepressants that also can help improve sleep and relieve pain (2).

Gentle exercise is often recommended as well as creating ideal sleeping conditions, but that’s typically where the conversation stops.

What you’re eating is unlikely to be addressed, even though it could be the single root cause of developing the presentation of CFS, and fatigue in general, in the first place.

Subsisting on a Standard American Diet (SAD) that relies heavily on grains, dairy, simple carbohydrates, sugars, and unhealthy oils can contribute to gut dysbiosis or “leaky gut” which can lead to autoimmune disorders and other ailments such as chronic fatigue, inflammatory bowel disease, rashes, diabetes, mental disorders, and other health related problems.

To add insult to injury, the modernized human being has typically had their fair share of gut damaging antibiotics and prescription drugs which only serve to further throw off the intricate balance in one’s digestive tract (3).

The end result is a gut, where 80% of our immunity lies (4), which is inflamed and unable to ward off toxins in all forms, that continues to grow weaker with continued consumption of the foods that were causing damage in the first place, being further expedited through the addition of medications, furthering the downward spiral.

However, if we stop the process by shifting our focus proactively to removing inflammatory foods and replacing them with nutrient dense foods that nourish and heal the gut in its entirety, we can subsequently reduce and eventually resolve symptoms by creating optimal gut health through food.

Bone broth in particular makes the top five list of must-haves in healing a leaky gut and addressing both fatigue and overall lethargy as well as chronic fatigue (5):

The gelatin in bone broth protects and heals the mucosal lining of the digestive tract.
The amino acid l-glutamine in bone broth is the main amino acid the gut uses to repair the intestinal lining.
Broth contains chondroitin and glucosamine, which repair joints and reduce inflammation.
Fish bone broth also offers an extra boost in that it provides iodine and thyroid-strengthening substances; many who are suffering from CFS are also dealing with auto immune issues, making thyroid support even more important.

While other significant factors may well be contributing to CFS such as mold or chronic Lyme, not having a solid, real food foundation in place as part of your path to healing is an incomplete protocol at best.

Food truly can be medicine; we simply need to leave the idea of healing overnight through a pill without regard for consequence that often results from a quick-fix in the long term.

Even if you’re not experiencing what you suspect are symptoms of CFS and instead are simply feeling tired all the time, consider what you’re eating.

Too many carbs (even fruit), not enough fat, no properly sourced animal protein, not enough veg and just not enough attention to what’s being consumed overall can all create a frequent sense of fatigue and lethargy, but the good news is that we can take matters into our own hands and begin the healing process from the cellular level.

Yet one more reason to get your broth on!

1 https://www.healthline.com/health/chr...

2 https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-c...

3 https://thepaleodiet.com/paleo-foods-...

4 https://www.amymyersmd.com/2015/02/4-...

5 https://myersdetox.com/healing-power-...

ADDRESSING IBS NONSENSE

“I suffer from IBS”.

How many times have you heard this… or perhaps said it yourself?

IBS affects between 25 and 45 million people in the United States. About 2 in 3 IBS sufferers are female. About 1 in 3 IBS sufferers are male. IBS affects people of all ages, even children (1).

Years ago, I, too, was given this ‘diagnosis’ when I was in the midst of my own gut dysfunction.

The third or fourth gastroenterologist I saw, advised me that whatever I was eating was not likely playing too large a role in how I was feeling and that I should absolutely be taking a medication to control it.

And while there does not exist a test to definitively diagnose this condition, current treatments include medications with mild to serious side effects such as (2):

Alosetron, designed to relax the colon and slow the movement of waste through the lower bowel and has been linked to rare but important side effects, so it should only be considered when other treatments aren’t successful.

Eluxadoline (Viberzi), which can ease diarrhea by reducing muscle contractions and fluid secretion in the intestine, and increasing muscle tone in the rectum. Side effects can include nausea, abdominal pain and mild constipation…and pancreatitis

Rifaximin (Xifaxan), an antibiotic can decrease bacterial overgrowth and diarrhea.

Lubiprostone (Amitiza), which can increase fluid secretion in your small intestine to help with the passage of stool. It’s approved for women who have IBS with constipation, and is generally prescribed only for women with severe symptoms that haven’t responded to other treatments.

Linaclotide (Linzess), which also increase fluid secretion in your small intestine to help you pass stool… but it causes diarrhea.

Since symptoms of what is often categorized into IBS can also be symptoms of other gut or inflammatory related conditions, an approach to treating which solely focuses on medication alone (and can also recreate some of the very symptoms the patient is suffering from) seems incomplete, not to mention premature.

In other words, there is a time and place when a doctor prescribing and a patient subsequently taking a medication would make sense, but how can it be that this is what we see as the very first course of action?

For me, trying to get to the root cause made more sense and is what I opted to do.

And after 20 years have passed and I’ve had the opportunity to work with many clients, from many different background but all sharing the same presentation of symptoms, I believe IBS to be a catch all phrase.

Not quite sure exactly what this patient has going on, and we don’t actually have a test to determine this… but let’s just say it’s IBS.

Fortunately, as we learn more about the gut brain axis and the relationship between gut health and the overriding health of our entire bodies, we as patients are less likely to settle for diagnoses that leave us perhaps feeling worse, once the medications’ side effects are factored in, but certainly leave us more confused and what we can eat, and how much and when.

The good news is that we can begin our own self testing simply by implementing eating strategies that are far more likely to create a healthy gut and move away from inflammation that so many have system wide.

Broadly put, an approach which reduces or removes foods which are causing inflammation and adding foods that will promote restoration of the gut lining is crucial.

Below are the top five strategies I use with private clients as a foundation for creating the very first steps toward their path to healing their gut.

It’s certainly not a one size fits all approach, but most of us can benefit from cleaning things up in order to learn more about how what we are eating is determining how we feel.

NIX THE SUGAR + DECREASE CARBS, INCLUDING FRUIT

Quite possibly the most inflammatory substance in our bailiwick and certainly the one with zero health benefits, white sugar just needs to go. Don’t forget, however, that grains and beans can also lead to inflammation (3) as can a diet in which too many calories are coming from carbohydrate in general, including too much fruit.

DITCH THE MAN MADE FATS AND OILS / UP THE NATURAL FAT

Toss the toxic canola, the sunflower and the corn oils and bring in the grass fed tallow, the pasture raised lard and the duck fat. These ‘ancestral’ fats didn’t lead to health concerns when our great grandparents ate them and they won’t do so with us, four generations later, either.

SOURCE YOUR PROTEINS PROPERLY

If the beef on your plate contains traces of GMO grain, antibiotics and pesticides sprayed on the grains it ate… you’re eating it, too. Better off eating proteins that you can be sure came from reputable and humane providers in your community. Balking at the price? No need; only small portions are indicated for any of us. There’s simply no time when any of us needs to sit down to a 12 ounce steak multiple times per day… or week!

DRASTICALLY INCREASE LOCAL, IN SEASON, ORGANIC VEGGIES

Nutrient dense, high in fiber but low in net carbs and the richest source of a vast array of micronutrients, these are truly our food powerhouses

INCLUDE GUT HEALING FOODS

Fermented foods, foods rich in pro and prebiotics and bone broth are key in helping to rebuild a strong gut

Other life events can certainly contribute to gut dysfunction; stress and lack of sleep and relaxation are absolutely a part of this picture, so the road to health must include attention to these key contributors as well.

If you’re suffering, and coming from someone who lived this for decades, I know how awful it can be, why wouldn’t you start with the one risk-free thing you can have complete control of: your diet?

I believe it to be quite empowering; when a client definitely puts together the fact that when they eat a particular food, they react in a certain way and can therefore choose not to eat that food, it’s incredibly transformative for them to finally feel like they are beginning to see the light at the end of the murky tunnel of subclinical health, through food.

Food is Medicine for Everyone: Gut Health for Dogs

It’s not just those of us who walk around on two legs that benefit from eating real food in order to create optimal health.

Our entire growing family, which now consists of three humans and two dogs, eats more or less in the same manner, with the exception that the five of us have varying macronutrient ratios.

We all eat different portions and combinations of in-season, local, organic veggies, a bit of fruit, properly sourced protein in moderation and a wide variety of fat.

The taller humans also enjoy coffee as well as sometimes chocolate, wine and mezcal, while the shorter one is currently on 100% breastmilk.

The four-leggeds, with a different digestive tract, eat a different macronutrient balance compared to us, while even Chris and I don’t follow the same plan to the tee.

The one thing we all have in common, however, is that what we’re eating is food which helps to keep our gut biome flourishing and best able to prevent inflammation from occurring.

This preface is important to understand as I begin the story of a recent occurrence in out home: Preston had to be rushed to the hospital last weekend and although his diagnosis was in fact almost the worst we’d feared (bloat), two things kept us from being panic stricken.

One, we acted quickly. We are a Weim family through and through and Daisy, our Weim who passed away five years ago at the ripe old age at 15, also developed bloat when she was 9, and survived, so we knew what to look for.

Two, we are confident in the way our dogs exercise and eat, two things which, together, will create ideal healing for Preston.

What’s bloat?

It’s far more serious than a person feeling bloated.

Bloat happens when a dog’s stomach fills with gas, food, or fluid, making it expand. The stomach puts pressure on other organs. It can cause dangerous problems, including lack of blood flow to his heart and stomach lining, a tear in the wall of his stomach, a harder time and in some cases, the dog’s stomach will rotate or twist, a condition that vets call gastric dilatation volvulus. It traps blood in the stomach and blocks it from returning to the heart and other areas of the body. This can send your dog into shock (1).

In our experiences with both Daisy and Preston, they began to demonstrate the symptoms of pacing, inability to settle down and the telltale sign of a hard, distended abdomen.

In both cases, we wondered if we were overreacting, and in both cases, we weren’t. We observed both for two to three hours and then opted to take them in to emergency care and thank goodness we did.

Our options?

Emergency surgery… or euthanasia.

The latter wasn’t even an option for us.

So both dogs, nearly 10 years apart, had the major surgery to open the abdomen, untwist the stomach and staple the stomach to the wall of the abdomen in order to prevent it from occurring again.

Preston came home a couple of days later and is back to his regular routine of eating his raw food based diet, along with even more of the one thing we’ve all become much more focused on of late: bone broth.

It’s not just we humans who benefit from it and it’s certainly not only for dogs when they’re recovering from surgery, and more than it is only for humans when we have a cold.

Bone broth consumption for dogs includes many benefits such as (2):

Joint Health

Bone broth is loaded with amazing compounds such as hyaluronic acid, chondroitin, and glucosamine which allow for protection of joints. Their joint healing power can be used in treating osteoarthritis.

Digestion

Toxic parasite treatment, over vaccination and inappropriate diet could cause a leaky gut in your dog. This is a condition in which the tiny holes found in the lining of the intestines to allow digested nutrients enter the body cause an enlarged and increase in a number of the holes. Bone broth can be used in treating this condition.

Immunity

Bone broth is rich in many nutrients including gelatin, vitamins C, D and K, potassium, calcium, magnesium, silicon among other minerals.

Skin and Hair

Bone broth helps in maintaining a healthy coat and hair and help keep the dog well hydrated. All these contribute a great deal to the overall health of the skin and dog coat.

Detoxing

Bone broth contains amino acids that can help in cleaning up the kidneys and liver. By getting out toxins lodged within the body, these organs are protected and can carry out their functions.

Here’s a tip: it’s no extra work to make bone broth for your pets.

Save the bones from all the meals you prepare for your family in the freezer until you have enough to fill your Dutch Oven or slow cooker. Then, cover it almost to the top with water, a splash of organic, cider vinegar, place it in the oven and hit go for 24 hours.

This is exactly what I do in my home.

The broths I sell at market, of course, are a different story and made starting with raw bones in a commercial kitchen.

If you’re not keeping up with bone need in order to produce enough on a regular basis for the whole family, check in with the vendors at your local farmer’s markets to inquire about if they’re 100% organic, grass fed and finished and raised on pasture.

No farmer’s markets nearby? Not to worry as we can also refer to great online sources such as US Wellness Meats in order to buy mindfully raised bones.

Of course, if you’re in the LA Area, you can also come by the farmer’s markets and check out my broths. I also sell a dog food supplement which I make from all the bits that fall off the bones in the cooking process.

We are happy to report that Preston is at home, eating well and resting, the latter of which is likely the trickiest part of all of it: all of us on Team Stephenson like to move… and move a lot!

Gut heath for all of us!

https://pets.webmd.com/dogs/gastric-v...

Bone Broth for Dogs Benefits, Recipes and Serving Portions

Menopause, Inflammation and Food

Irregular menstrual cycles, heavy bleeding, excessive sweating and hot flashes, mood swings, fatigue and weight gain (1).

Is it really a given that all women have this to look forward to when we reach menopause?

Menopause typically begins in our 40s or 50s, but the average age is 51 in the United States and an estimated 61% are experiencing some of the symptoms above.

Typical treatments offered by many doctors include low-dose antidepressants, prescribed to control mood swings and hot flashes and anticonvulsants, given to helps to reduce extreme hot flashes (2).

While these medications may help with some symptoms, they can also elicit commonly experienced side effects including hives, itching, skin rash, inability to sit still, restlessness, chills or fever and joint or muscle pain (3).

Is there anything else we can do to offset symptoms without signing up for these other uncomfortable reactions?

Enter food as medicine.

Did you know that many of the foods we are told are healthy options are actually quite inflammatory and can worsen menopausal symptoms?

And that on the flip side, there are some easy to source and cook things we can add to our repertoire that will reduce said inflammation?

And why is inflammation even relevant in the topic of menopause anyway?

Because of declining estrogen levels.

Estrogens have anti-inflammatory properties, so the loss of these hormones can also lead to increased inflammation, which can exacerbate autoimmune conditions.

In addition, estrogens play a major role in the collagen and elastin network of the skin. Losing estrogens means losing dermal collagen production (4).

And on a deeper level, losing estrogen directly affects our gut microbiome, which, not surprisingly affects sex hormone production and vice versa , that in turn affects systemic immune responses (5).

Everything truly does go back to the gut; an optimal gut biome supersedes ones age or gender.

There’s zero we can do about our genetics or our age, but 100% we can do with our epigenetic!

This is not only exciting, it’s empowering, and not particular to addressing menopause.

Add to that the fact that the very same anti-inflammatory way of eating to create a healthy journey through all phases of menopause is the same foundation for navigating through auto immune dis ease, addressing permanent weight loss, improving mental focus and many, many more benefits.

What to do?

Nix processed carbohydrates.

We’re not talking about only the obvious highly refined, packaged items. Don’t assume grains and beans get a hall pass in terms of being ‘healthy’ options. Not only are they shown in studies to be inflammatory (5), they can contribute to an unfavorable shift in micronutrient balance, potentially contributing to too many calories coming, in effect, from sugar.

Reduce sugar. In a big way.

Yes, of course sugar is a carbohydrate, but in this case, it needs its own heading to be clear. Avoiding sodas and candy is a no brainer, but the lines get blurred when it comes to the messaging around fruit. Fruit is natural, yes, but too much fruit is too much sugar. Period. One way to approach fruit intake is to do so strategically, matching the amount of fruit you have with the physical activity you engage in. And over time, make it a goal to shift away from even needing that in order to support your athletic or fitness endeavors; becoming a more efficient fat burner is something that most can benefit from and is tied to many health benefits.

Eat enough (but not too much) protein and source it properly.

Meat, poultry, game and dairy that aren’t organic and mindfully raised on pastured are also sources of estrogen as animals consume GMO grains. Don’t make the mistake of thinking that plant-based must mean vegan and go heavy (or at all) down the soy path. Soy (almost all of which, in the US, is GMO), is estrogenic in nature, further disrupting what’s already at issue.

Get enough collagen… in your food

Loss of collagen is directly tied to low estrogen levels, and is one of the first visual signs of menopause. Estrogen keeps the skin thick hydrated and when estrogen is low, hyaluronic acid, our natural moisturizer, declines. Powdered supplements are now readily available, but there’s no replacing the real deal: properly sourced and curated bone broth

Eat copious amounts of organic, in season, leafy greens

Nutrient dense, loaded with minerals, vitamins and micronutrients, crucifers are a natural source of DIM that helps to balance the ratio of protective and dangerous estrogen metabolites

Eat more fat, and keep it varied

Since sex hormones are made from fat, high-fat diet can help improve both estrogen and testosterone levels, helping increase libido. Don’t stick to the basics of olive oil and avocado alone; be sure to incorporate saturated fat as well, including coconut oil and mindfully sourced animal fats such as butter, grass fed tallow, pasture raised lard and duck fat. Delicious, satiated and great for boosting gut (and brain) health, helping balance blood sugar to boot!

Of course, getting proper rest and moving your body every day are also key parts of the equation to sail through menopause (or at least not suffer as much) but without food as the foundation in place, results achieved won’t be nearly as optimal.

Take this bull by the horns and show menopause who’s boss, ladies!

Just as we needn’t heed all the messaging we are given about ‘what to expect when we’re expecting’ or any of the silly, negative potential things we ‘might’ experience when running our first marathon (etc.. etc…) , we can decide early on that we’re going to research and then proactively approach whatever life event we’re about to embark upon and have the exact outcome we plan to.

https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-c...

http://mayoclinic.org/diseases-condit...

https://www.drugs.com/sfx/fluoxetine-...

http://www.dermalinstitute.com/us/lib...

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/arti...

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/arti...

Feeding Our Babes Real Food

When I was pregnant, I became well aware of the advice given to my new, albeit temporary demographic in terms of what we should be eating to support our baby’s development.

Directives ranging from ‘just get in 500 more calories per day’ to ‘be sure to consume three low-fat servings of milk per day for calcium’ to ‘always have Saltines on hand to combat nausea’ were amongst my favorites.

And while I disagreed with much of what was suggested to me by the OB I was visiting prior to finding our midwife, I hadn’t even begun to see the tip of the iceberg I’d come across once my baby was born and the breastfeeding conversation began.

Fortunately, I am able to nurse my son without issue, but I’m well aware that there are many mamas who cannot, for one reason or another.

What the mom’s diet looks like, proper positioning of the baby’s latch and overall health of both people play a role in whether or not the breastfeeding happens immediately… or if at all and sadly, many woman are not provided the basic information and education they need to get off to their best potential start from day one.

I feel very fortunate that I was able to learn about latching on in particular; being in completely new territory, I could see how easy it would be to decide too soon that it just wasn’t going to work.

Sadly, not only do many women find breastfeeding problematic in the very early days, starting with the time right after birth in the hospital; often, it’s made to look as though giving an all formula diet to their babies can be just as health boosting for both mom and baby alike.

Benefits of breastfeeding are many, some of which include (1):

Cells, hormones, and antibodies in breastmilk help protect babies from illness. This protection is unique and changes every day to meet your baby’s growing needs and serves to help create the healthiest of baby gut biomes.

Research shows that breastfed babies have lower risks of many illnesses

Breastfeeding leads to a lower risk Type 2 diabetes, breast cancer and Ovarian cancer in moms
Breastfeeding keeps mother and baby close. Physical contact is important to newborns. It helps them feel more secure, warm, and comforted. Mothers also benefit from this closeness. The skin-to-skin contact boosts your oxytocin (a hormone that helps breastmilk flow and can calm the mother)
Your breastmilk changes to meet your baby’s needs. As your baby gets older, your breastmilk adjusts to meet your baby’s changing needs. Researchers think that a baby’s saliva transfers chemicals to a mother’s body through breastfeeding. These chemicals help a mother’s body create breastmilk that meets the baby’s changing needs.
Women who breastfed their babies said it helped them get back to their pre-pregnancy weight more quickly

The reality is that trying for only a very short period of time, or not even trying at all, isn’t without consequence, if putting our little humans on a course of formula is presented as the only other viable option.

So what’s going on? Why aren’t women given the support and education they need from the very beginning to try to support their efforts in these crucial, early stages of their baby’s lives? Less than half of mothers are breastfeeding for the first six months (2) !

Given the state of our ‘health care’ model, a hugely lucrative business model, it’s not too difficult to make assumptions: not breastfeeding costs money.

Formula and feeding supplies can cost well over $1,500 each year. As your baby gets older he or she will eat more formula, so costs increase.

Compare that to a prescription drug that one might not actually need to be taking.

A typical doctor’s visit for someone with knee pain might consists of a quick 10 – 15 minute chat, a pain medication being suggested and the patient being sent on her way to the pharmacy to pick up the pills.

The pain is decreased short term, but the patient never found out why her knee hurt in the first place, so she needs more pills.

Which cost money.

And while breastfeeding can hardly be compared to an injury, the parallel is that in an ideal world, it simply should not be the case that our doctors are not giving us all the information, not looking at us holistic beings with a holistic approach and giving us bandaids without ever addressing a gaping wound.

But in many cases, this is reality.

And to add insult to injury, sourcing a nutrient dense formula in the US is far from being as easy as just stopping by the local grocery shop to pick some up.

The most widely sold baby formula in the US, Enfamil, whose tag line is to ‘nourish the brain first’ boasts the following ingredient panel for their Enfamil A.R. (2)

Nonfat milk, vegetable oil (palm olein, soy, coconut, and high oleic sunflower oils), rice starch, lactose, maltodextrin, and less than 2%: Mortierella alpina oil,# Crypthecodinium cohnii oil,** vitamin A palmitate, vitamin D3, vitamin E acetate, vitamin K1, thiamin hydrochloride, riboflavin, vitamin B6 hydrochloride, vitamin B12, niacinamide, folic acid, calcium pantothenate, biotin, ascorbic acid, choline chloride, inositol, ferrous sulfate, zinc sulfate, manganese sulfate, cupric sulfate, sodium selenite, sodium citrate, potassium hydroxide, taurine, L–carnitine.

Despite all the research claims and studies listed on the company’s site, how can this particular formula compare to breastmilk from a mom who’s been eating real, whole food?

It can’t.

There are absolutely healthier, cleaner and more pure versions of formula, but how many women on a tight budget can consider these an option?

And why is it that in our country, where less than half of moms are breastfeeding, 100% of moms in other societies breastfeed 100% of the time?

In the desert of northern Namibia, there’s an ethnic group that lives largely isolated from modern cities. They’re called Himba, and they live in mud huts and survive off the land.

Moms still give birth in the home. And all moms breast-feed (4).

How do we find a happy medium between the fast paced life of living in the US, with all its associated stressors of ‘modern’ living and a tribal societal model?

Through education.

We don’t see the same thread in family lineages that is evident in tribal societies, where we naturally turn toward our moms or grandmothers for help, guidance and support.

But just as with nearly every other expectations that we are told about, as though it were fact, when it comes to what we as pregnant women are going to experience, we can change our course of action.

A little bit of self teaching and reaching out to experts in our communities, mixed with a little bit of faith and remembering that our bodies really do know what to do, we can preempt what might otherwise have been a disaster and create an optimal breastfeeding scenario.

I’m writing this from a place of compassion for other moms out there who might not have had as easy a time with breastfeeding to encourage them to learn, like I did, and possibly even to try again.

Not to judge anyone who chose formula after not being given some necessary information prior to making this decision.

As moms, we simply have to support each other and those around us who are moms to be in order to get these important messages out.

If we stand behind the ideas that food is medicine and that health (as well as dis ease) starts in the gut, we can’t rationalize that giving our babies a formula of powdered soy and hydrogenated oil is even a conversation.

The answer isn’t about making better formula; it’s about teaching our moms and learning from one another how best to eat to support our own health, significantly improving our chances of being able to nourish our young ones in the most natural, intrinsic way.

Real food for us, real food for our babies.

https://www.womenshealth.gov/breastfe...

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/cdc-more...

https://www.enfamil.com

https://www.npr.org/sections/goatsand...

RESPECT THE PLANET: DRINK BONE BROTH

How many times have you heard it: “meat is bad for the planet”?

On PETA’s (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) website (1) is the following statement:

“When land is used to raise animals instead of crops, precious water and soil are lost, trees are cut down to make land for grazing or factory-farm sheds, and untreated animal waste pollutes rivers and streams. In fact, it has such a devastating effect on all aspects of our environment that the Union of Concerned Scientists lists meat-eating as the second-biggest environmental hazard facing the Earth.”

Understandably, if those are the only two sentences one ever read, it would be easy to see why converting to a vegan lifestyle might make sense.

Except for two things:

The statement groups all animals and methods of raising them into one category and does not differentiate between mindful, humane approaches of raising animals, which truly have the best interest of animals, humans and the planet at the top of their priority list, and those which gauge profit as the single most important thing.

A vegan diet does not automatically translate to a healthy one, not for the person or for the planet. If one makes the switch, how often are they looking not just at whether or not any particular food items consumed have animal products but what the item is packaged in, where it was produced and how far it traveled, and how inflammatory the ingredients might be?

As someone who was a hardcore vegan myself for two full years (including all clothing, personal care products, honey… even almost to the point of considering making the dogs I was fostering at the time vegan, much to my own embarrassment), I can speak to the cause from the standpoint I had then just as much as the position I have now.

I am plant-based now.

And I eat meat, fish, game and poultry. All of them. Not just boneless skinless chicken breast, but dark meat, fatty cuts, skin, guts and of course, bone broth.

So how is this plant-based?

Because upwards of 80% of my diet is still coming from local, organic, in season produce (nearly all veggies).

I choose to consume my calories in a macronutrient format which is high fat (80%, and again, many of which come from plants) for a few days per week, then moderate fat (50%) the other days of the week.

Carbohydrates shift ever so slightly, based on activity level and incorporating strategic carbs, but protein stays moderate – only 10-15% of my diet and always, always only from the most sustainable, earth-friendly sources.

And while it’s a fact that factory farming is “an atrocity to the planet. 2% of U.S. livestock facilities produce 40 percent of farm animals, and when you raise thousands of animals in one small space, you’re left with a lot of waste. This is a form of animal rearing that is very unnatural, and as such leaves a devastating environmental footprint.” (2)

However, when we consider natural farming, it’s a completely different conversation.

There are benefits to the planet, aside from allowing us humans to continue to consume the small amounts of protein which are the very reason our brains developed as they did(3).

These include but are not limited to fertilizing soil, eliminating pests and predators. Animals that can be fed off of food waste and whey, such as pigs, are incredibly easy on the environment. Likewise for cows that are fed grass, which are on balance and benign from an environmental perspective (4).

Which leaves only one fair comment about the ethics of mindfully sourced animals for human consumption: an animal still dies.

No two ways around it, this is a fact.

But even if individuals do not personally don’t resonate with eating (mindfully produced or sourced) meat, fish or wild game, a concise understanding of the impact of a gross shift to ‘anything labeled vegan’ is not necessarily the best move.

I have found in my nutrition practice that many clients who are in different stages of the very complex path of healing a leaky gut often experience a stop along the way in which they, like I did, implement a vegan diet and often, only to their own detriment.

Unless one is particularly savvy on the potential for inflammation caused by a diet not just high in grains, including those that are gluten-free, and beans, both of which contain anti nutrients, but in which highly processed foods also abound, it can be the case that GI symptoms go from bad to worse once this methodology is followed.

One way we might choose to address this issue is to simply look back at what our ancestors ate. We needn’t even attempt to go that far back; just by thinking about what our grandparents ate is a huge step in the right direction.

Of course, there would be variability based on what part of the world one lives in, but suffice it to say that 100 years ago, most people were not eating inhumanely sourced burgers anymore than they were consuming vegan nacho cheez popcorn.

Neither are healthy for anyone involved or the planet, neither are going to contribute any degree of nutrient density and both lead in the wrong direction of where we want to go with moving away from dis ease and toward health.

But looking at what our family, going back just a few generations, ate, can be the perfect template.

In some way, shape or form, they likely would have been eating veggies (and fruit ) that grew where they lived and seasonally, along with meat or fish they would have procured naturally.. and that’s it. Perhaps an occasional something special here or there on the rare occasion they’d have the chance for something unusual.

That’s it.

Much simpler once we spell it out that way!

Along with that, of course, comes bone broth.

And why, specifically is that also very good for the planet?

Because its an important component of the nose to tail approach to eating in which nothing is wasted… even down to the bones.

So, assuming your bone broth is made from properly sourced bones, drinking it regularly is going to help not only with your gut health with all the goodness of keratin, collagen and all the amino acids, but help with the health of the planet, thanks to throwing one less thing away.

(1) https://www.peta.org/about-peta/faq/h...

(2) https://articles.mercola.com/sites/ar...

(3) https://www.livescience.com/23671-eat...

(4) Fairlie, Simon. Meat: a Benign Extravagance. Permanent Publications, 2011

Running Postnatal: How Soon is Too Soon?

99% of American women who deliver babies in the US are doing so in a hospital setting (1), typically under the care of an OB/GYN; as such, after baby is born, assuming you haven’t had any major complications, once you leave the hospital, the next time your own health will be assessed will be at your 6 week follow up.

Six weeks?

After ten months of carrying and growing a human inside?

And while books, websites, blogs and podcast on the topic of pregnancy expectations, concerns and questions abound, information on what happens after the magical moment when you welcome your baby into the world is mysteriously absent for the most part.

I’ve written before about my own learning on the importance of understanding the postpartum period (and I don’t mean postpartum depression; there are many other facets in this period to familiarize ourselves with) and one additional focal point I feel must be addressed is the healing of our bodies.

In detail.

Do a quick google search for postpartum and chances are high that most of the top results are to do with postpartum depression.

As a whole, we’re uncomfortable talking about this important topic, often so much so to the point of women feeling ashamed to mention that they’re having incontinence, painful sex or simply just not feeling right when they return to exercise after their OB gave them the ok to do so.

And we assume all we need to do are kegels, without even knowing if we’re doing them properly!

Subsequently, we settle for what the current health care model offers us, many times not asking questions and certainly not even talking about our concerns with friends or family.

One way in which this came to light for me personally was learning about, then experiencing working with a physical therapist who not only specializes in women’s health, but pre and post natal women’s health.

Heather Jeffcoat was referred to me by both my midwife and doula; fortunately I learned about her prior to my son being born so I was able to get a head start on learning about my own pelvic floor health, strength and stability.

Not only did seeing her prenatal afford me the ability to get a base line for which she could compare my recovery to postnatal, I was also able to get an assessment for how my labor might go, what exercises and stretches I might do in order to prepare for the big day.

An internal exam was performed and not only did I learn that I was not performing my kegel exercises properly, I learned about the anatomy of my own body.

How funny that I’d never even blinked an eye that female (or male) internal anatomy was not covered in any course I took at university – including anatomy, general physiology, exercise physiology or kinesiology!

As if muscles and ligaments such as the levator ani muscles, and the transcervical, pubocervical, and sacrocervical ligaments were somehow less important than Vastus lateralis, Vastus medialis and Vastus intermedius!

A thorough understanding of our own bodies and how each muscle and ligament works, particularly for the purposes of this post in pregnancy, is crucial to understanding how we can heal.

6 weeks post birth, I saw my midwife for my follow up exam and she agreed it was then time for me to return to PT for an internal assessment.

In my case, since my baby was low in my abdomen and pressure was concentrated primarily on the bladder, the corresponding ligaments became stretched and consequently, they need a bit more time to heal and return to normal length and elasticity.

Which, thanks to a healthy diet and proper exercise routine, they will and without the need for surgery or intervention.

So running can wait a bit longer – it’s simply not worth it. Long walks, hiking, yoga and swim ( as well as upright cycling to achieve a preferable pelvic angle for now) provide plenty of variety and time with my son to get my workout fix in each and every day.

While I’d planned on the NYC Marathon being my return to racing, if I need to defer to 2020, so be it.

But what about all the women who are unaware of all of this?

Other than a brief check of any incisions, in terms of organs and or connective tissue, other than the ovaries, uterus and cervix, chances are slim that anything else will be evaluated… unless the patient actually already has the information about what to ask and is also comfortable broaching the topic (2).

This poses a high risk, not just for you other mamas out there who are athletes, who build up running far too soon, ignoring that strange sensations you’re having that somethings not quite right ‘because your doctor said you were fine’, but for women who are simply trying to go about day to day life and feeling unsure if they’re properly healing ‘down there’ as too many of us refer to our own bodies.

There is not even any real research that shows exactly how long women should wait to exercise after giving birth. According to guidelines from the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, physical activity can be “resumed as soon as physically and medically safe.” (3).

And this is being determined in the brief, 10-15 minute exam by a doctor who may or may not have any pelvic floor specialization.

In researching for this article, I came across one story for reference in which a woman who had started to experience debilitating, painful constipation and occasional incontinence that grew worse with time, which took five years from the birth of her second child before she was finally diagnosed with a rectocele (an injury in which the rectum bulges into the vagina, creating a pocket where stool can get trapped) (4).

Another woman spoke about having to rush to the hospital after feeling something was ‘falling out of her’ after hiking to discover she had a grade III prolapse of the bladder.

We owe it to ourselves to take the lead on learning about our bodies so that we can best prepare for being the best moms we can be (in this instance) ; no different from digging deep through all the nonsense that exists in terms of what we should be eating to support not only a healthy pregnancy but a healthy, optimal lifestyle from a health perspective.

No matter what stage you are in pregnancy, or if you’re not pregnant at all, don’t be shy about seeking out a practitioner near you who specializes in this field and can help you get all the information you need to have a complication free birth and recovery.

And don’t forget to tell the other women in your life about it, too!

https://www.npr.org/sections/health-s...

https://www.parents.com/pregnancy/my-...

https://www.outsideonline.com/1962241...

https://www.romper.com/p/the-6-week-p...