Nell Stephenson's Blog, page 16

Can A Vegan Diet Support an Optimal Gut Microbiome?

For many reasons, a vegan approach to eating is not conducive to supporting optimal gut health.

This is not to say one should not be plant-based (important to differentiate that the two labels are not necessarily one in the same); rather, as veganism is the practice of abstaining from the use of all animal products, it goes without saying that one who opts to follow this manner of eating would not partake of some of the most important foods that are known to be conducive to promoting optimal gut health.

Read on to learn a bit more!

The gut microbiome is the community of trillions of bacteria that live in your digestive tract and elsewhere throughout your body. Collectively weighing about three pounds,  the same weight as our brain, these bacteria outnumber our human cells by a factor of about 9 to 1 (1).

When your microbiome is balanced, your body stays healthy, promoting good digestion, clear thinking, balanced mood, and glowing overall health.

On the flip side, when your microbiome goes out of balance and symptoms such as brain fog, depression, anxiety, bad skin and insomnia short term and later on, obesity, diabetes, and cancer are just some of the disease states which can ensue.

So how does one determine the fate of their own gut’s microbiome?

Easy!   We all chose what we put in our mouths and we are what we eat.

Best foods?

Fresh, whole fruits and vegetables; in particular, asparagus, carrots, garlic, Jerusalem artichokes, jicama, leeks, onions, radishes, and tomatoes are Microbiome Superfoods, with exactly the kind of fiber that feed many beneficial species.

Fermented foods such as kimchi, raw sauerkraut, fermented vegetables, and kefir, such as that which is made from coconut are natural probiotics that replenish your friendly bacteria (2).

Probiotics in the form of capsules, pills, or powders that contain live bacteria can supplement a healthy diet as well; but first having quantitative testing done to determine which probiotics you need for your own gut flora can be helpful, such as the GI Map Test (3)

Bone Broth (4)

The age old panacea also helps in balancing gut flora which is the ratio of good and bad bacteria that is vital to our gut microbiome as well as provides a daily dose of gut repairing collagen and keratin, a crucial part of healing a leaky gut.

And what to steer clear of?

Grain-based carbohydrate foods, sugar, and artificial sweeteners, which may cause dysbiosis, together with increasing the consumption of vegetables and fermented foods which promote beneficial bacteria (5).   As if we needed another reason to say goodbye to gluten as well as gluten-free grains.     The cons far outweigh the pros in the gut health conversation.

Soy and soy derivatives, which  are everywhere, from tofu to edamame to protein bars and powders and even nutritional supplement are to be avoided like the plague. Over 90 percent of the soy mass-produced in the United States is genetically modified (GMO). Much of this soy is “Roundup ready,” meaning it gets doused with more pesticide than you care to find out. Studies show Glyphosate (the active ingredient in Roundup®) leads to dysbiosis and then leaky gut. It also acts as an antibiotic in your gut and blocks the enzymatic pathway found only in bacteria that creates the three essential amino acids—phenylalanine, tyrosine, and tryptophan—needed by the body (7).

Legumes can also be inflammatory; rich in anti nutrient compounds phytate (phytic acid) as well as lectins, beans can do a number on your GI Tract. Phytate is mainly found in seeds, grains and legumes and phytate reduces the absorption of minerals from a meal. These include iron, zinc, magnesium and calcium.

Lectins, found in all food plants, especially in seeds, legumes and grains may be harmful in high amounts, and interfere with the absorption of nutrients (8).

With the exception of the leaves and the berries, all of the items in the picture above are no-gos when it comes to an anti-inflammatory, gut healing diet.

Incidentally, celery juice for gut health?

Studies are underway to determine its validity and certainly while it would appear to be risk-free, to simply add celery juice to your protocol without removing the big, bad inflammation causing agents would be remiss.

All roads lead back to the suggestion to eat real food, once again.

A natural human diet, consisting of in season, local and ideally organic veggies in abundance, mindfully sourced wild proteins in moderation (we’re talking the size of the palm of your hand), and rich, natural fats.

This is what food is.

No need to worry about deciphering labels if you’re eating food which isn’t in a package!

So… vegan?

Not for gut health.

To eliminate soy, all grains, nuts, seeds and beans in a vegan approach is to leave one with no protein sources, other than the trace amount one would procure from vegetables.

To reiterate, one needn’t shift to a meat-heavy diet; that’s not what an authentic ancestral approach is, anyway, for the record.

Think of it in the sense that when we eat what we’re meant to be eating as human animals, in the proper ratios, and most importantly, from mindful providers with the best interest of their animals, our planet and subsequently, our bodies at heart, we’re acting in the most symbiotic manner with the most benefits for all.

Don’t make the same mistake I did, years ago when I was trying to heal my own leaky gut.   Two years of being a hard core vegan only made me sicker.

While it was tough to get out of that headspace, it was well worth it.

And in all honestly, I knew it early on; I was just too stubborn and entitled at the time to admit it.

The number of people who have written to me to ask for help extracting themselves from a similar situation is astounding; although I wouldn’t dictate a one-size fits all approach to eating, just consider if what you’re eating is really making you thrive.

And if you’re reading this thinking about how you’ve got every GI symptom in the book, or maybe just a few, it may well be time to finally pay attention to what your body, your temple is telling you.

Gut health?  Eat real food.

(1) https://www.huffingtonpost.com/dr-raphael-kellman/the-microbiome-diet-evolv_2_b_6436122.html

(2) Kellman, Raphael, and Linda Mark. The Microbiome Diet: the Scientifically Proven Way to Restore Your Gut Health and Achieve Permanent Weight Loss. Da Capo Lifelong, 2015.

(3) https://www.diagnosticsolutionslab.com/tests/gi-map

(4) https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5470704/ 

(5) https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/arti...

(6)  Hyde J. The Gut Makeover. London: Quercus Editions Ltd; 2015.

(7) https://www.mindbodygreen.com/articles/the-best-and-worst-foods-for-gut-health 

(8) https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/how-to-reduce-antinutrients#section1

 

Bone Broth, Baby!

“Is it ok for me to drink bone broth while I’m breast-feeding?”, a woman who’d purchased my bone broth asked in an email she’d sent me.

With some of the information doled out to pregnant women in terms of what they should and should not be eating, it’s no wonder many would have questions about whether or not something as beneficial as bone broth would be safe to eat.

After all, according to ACOG (1), those who are expecting should avoid:

Unpasteurized milk and foods made with unpasteurized milk
Pate
Raw and undercooked seafood, eggs, and meat
Solid fats from animal sources

(and although it’s off topic, worth mentioning what is recommended,  (2):

“Breads and Grains: The body’s main source of energy for pregnancy comes from the essential carbohydrates found in breads and grains. Whole grain and enriched products provide important nutrients such as iron, B Vitamins, fiber and some protein, even. You can get the required amount of folic acid from fortified bread and cereal. Depending on your weight and dietary needs, you should consume anywhere between 6-11 servings (6-11 oz) of breads/grains daily.  (Because we all need to load up on these fillers, right?)
Fruits—Fruits can be fresh, canned, frozen, or dried. Juice that is 100% fruit juice also counts (how nice that actual juice counts, too!)
Vegetables—Vegetables can be raw or cooked, frozen, canned, dried, or 100% vegetable juice (no mention of sugar or salt content in canned veggies… hmmm).
Protein foods—Protein foods include meat, poultry, seafood, beans and peas, eggs, processed soy products, nuts, and seeds (care to expand at all on sourcing of the proteins which are actually viable protein options and maybe to separate them from those which are actually inflammatory legumes (hello, soy!).
Dairy—Milk and products made from milk, such as cheese, yogurt, and ice cream, make up the dairy group. (And these are all apparently excellent choices so long as they’re not raw, but fine if they’re skimmed with sugar added, yes?)

Detect a little sarcasm?

I digress; even to this day, for as long as I’ve been teaching in this space, I’d be fibbing a little if I pretended this erroneous advice didn’t stir up some emotion.

Perhaps even more so on this particular topic as we’re dealing not just with one’s own picture of health but that of their new baby.

So, let’s put these silly suggestions aside and get back to common sense, starting with looking at why bone broth would be a great food to include both for mom and baby:

Even before your baby is born, bone broth is an essential must-drink while pregnant.  In those early days of pregnancy, bone broth can be a godsend for a lot of mamas-to-be as it is a good way to keep up your nutrient intake when you’re feeling unable to eat. These reportedly include calcium, magnesium, and potassium—all nutrients that are just as necessary after the morning sickness passes (3).
Broth contains blood-building properties to restore the blood and fluid lost in giving birth. The broth contains minerals and nutrients to strengthen the body and it is deeply hydrating for breastfeeding moms who require extra fluid intake for breast milk production. In addition, the cartilage found in broth helps with strengthening the bones and supporting tendons and joints postpartum (4).
The benefits of feeding your baby bone broth are numerous (5):

EASY TO DIGEST: As babies have an ever-developing digestive system, it’s typically difficult for a newborn or infant to digest foods that humans can. As such, many babies miss out on important nutrients like iron. These vitamins and minerals not found in breast milk can be found in a nutritious bone broth. Bone broth is easy to digest and offers babies a lot more nutrients.

HIGH BIOAVAILABILTY: While many foods offer great nutrients, bone broth has one distinct advantage: the vitamins and minerals found in this elixir are easily digested and offer high bioavailability. Your baby will absorb these nutrients easily and benefit greatly.

PREBIOTIC: Babies have guts and digestive tracts that are not fully developed yet. As such, a parent needs to help develop a child’s gut. Many recommend yogurt or kefir as a baby’s first food for this reason. However, bone broth offers similar benefits, as the elixir will improve the good bacteria in your child’s stomach and more.

NUTRIENT DENSE: As babies are notoriously fussy eaters, it can be difficult to get them the perfect nutrient profile. Many babies only want a couple of spoonful of “people” food before whining. If you can ensure that little amount of food is bone broth, you’ll be sure your little one is getting a ton of vitamins, nutrients, and collagen.

Any downsides?

Nope.

Just be sure you’re careful about sourcing your bones if you’re making your own (keep them local, ideally, 100% grass fed and finished beef,  pasture-raised poultry or pork or wild game), not overcooking it to cause oxidation or purchasing from a reliable, mindful supplier if you’re going the prepackaged route.

If you have a functional medicine doc you’re working with during this magical time of life, get his or her recommendation as to whether or not there are any unique parameters specific to your personal journey.

If not, and your doctor is of the completely Western mindset, don’t be surprised if you’re cautioned against it; just as with the dietary recommendations shared above, it takes a bit of common sense in order to interpret which food suggestions will actually benefit both you and baby.

Moms and babies have consumed bone broth at least since the time of Hippocrates (6); if nearly 2,500 years of humans have been drinking the elixir, we can be confident there may be something to it.

Real food always takes precedence!

(1) https://www.acog.org/Patients/FAQs/Nu...

(2) http://americanpregnancy.org/pregnanc...

(3) https://www.wellandgood.com/good-food...

(4) https://www.kitchenstewardship.com/in...

(5) https://nothingbutbroth.com/bone-brot...

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

Is “Going Meatless” Really the Right Message?

A few weeks ago, WeWork announced it is “trying a new tactic in the push toward corporate sustainability by saying it is committed to being “a meat-free organization.”(1)

“The global network of shared office spaces said in an email to employees last month that they will no longer serve or pay for meat at WeWork events and want to clarify that this includes poultry and pork, as well as red meat.”

While some companies employ tactics like reducing paper waste with less printing, offering vouchers to those who commute on bikes rather than cars and growing roof top gardens as a means to create a positive impact on the world, WeWork’s new edict is meant to take the green workplace to a new level.

Is sending out the message that consuming meat as a blanket statement really the best way to approach this idea?

Granted, improperly, inhumanely sourced meat from conventional feed lots and stockyards undoubtedly created a tremendously detrimental effect on our planet, our animals and subsequently, other beings who ingest said animals.

But to categorize all meat, regardless of source and ethical rearing and slaughter, under one large umbrella and dictate that all of it contributes negatively to our planet or is somehow ‘not green’, is an approach which is ignorant at best.

Some important considerations worth factoring in how much credibility one decides to give to the concept that going meatless automatically means supporting a healthier planet include:

 The “meatless” tag does not automatically mean good for you or good for the planet.  Incidentally, confusing labeling is not particular to the vegan theme;  a gluten-free, or more recently Paleo-Approved label does not by any stretch of the imagination mean that the product inside is a healthy option.   The mere fact that a product has to be packaged in a label in the first place speaks volumes.   And while I’m certainly not suggesting we never eat anything from a package, the majority of our diets, regardless of which protocol we may opt to follow, would best serve our bodies as well as our planet are those which are local, sustainable, organic and in-season veggies.  These can and should be eaten with regularity, and they naturally fall into the vegan category, as well as Paleo and gluten-free, without having to be tagged as such.
Plant-based does’t have to mean vegan.   Remember as you read this, that I consider myself to be a recovered vegan.   Recovered in the sense, that when I was that angry, stereotypical person who boycotted all things from animals, regardless of from where and how they were sourced, I wasn’t doing anything to help further the very cause I was so passionate about supporting – animal welfare.  I am now, and have been for nearly two decades now, an advocate of a real food approach (call it Paleo if you wish); and in actuality this means that on a daily basis, whether I’m in a keto phase or cycling back into adding strategic carbohydrate (such as yam or fruit), my protein consumption, always mindfully sourced, remains on the lower side compared to the other two macronutrients, fat and carbohydrate, which fluctuate according to activity level, training, racing and recovery.  I consider myself plant-based, even on the higher fat days in which 80% of my calories come from fat, as even they are largely coming from plants.  Is a meal consisting of kale, avocado, blueberries, olive oil and local, wild-caught black cod all of which I purchased from the local farmer’s markets not as green as, or less damaging to our planet than a plastic tub of quinoa salad with soy dressing and a tempeh burger from the local health food shop?
When properly managed, raising animals on pasture instead of factory farms is a net benefit to the environment (2). To begin with, a diet of grazed grass requires much less fossil fuel than a feedlot diet of dried corn and soy. On pasture, grazing animals do their own fertilizing and harvesting. The ground is covered with greens all year round, so it does an excellent job of harvesting solar energy and holding on to top soil and moisture. Grazed pasture removes carbon dioxide from the atmosphere more effectively than any land use, including forestland and ungrazed prairie, helping to slow global warming.
Many of the commonly used protein sources in a meatless approach to eating are harmful to the environment.  Let’s take one of the worst offenders:  soy.   The expansion of soybean plantations into forests is also contributing to climate change. Deforestation is responsible for about 15% of all the global greenhouse gas emissions caused by people.  Conversion of forests to soy plantations in the Amazon particularly threatens the climate. The Amazon’s forests contain 90-140 billion tonnes of carbon—that’s 9-14 years of current global, annual, human-induced carbon emissions (3).   It’s not just soy; forty-three percent of bread’s greenhouse gas emissions can be attributed to the fertilizers used to grow wheat. Of that percentage, two-thirds of the emissions come from actual fertilizer production, which relies heavily on natural gas (4).
A method of eating based on local, seasonal foods that naturally occur (whether by growing in the ground, swimming in the water, running across the land or flying in the sky) is the most authentic, most human way of eating.  Lots of plants, mostly veggies and some fruit in moderation combined with moderate portions of mindfully sourced proteins from wild animals.  It’s natural.  It’s genuine.  It’s the food chain.  It’s not packaged.  It’s delicious (fresh, in season foods taste incredible with little to no need to doctor up flavor or taste with sauces, toppings or seasonings).  When I was vegan, I would cringe at the thought of any animal not being humanely treated, and to this day, as someone who does eat meat, poultry, fish and game, I still do.   Yes, an animal still dies.  But when it’s a humane, merciful death, it’s vastly different from one which occurs at the hands of a manufacturing plant which views the animals as little more than commodities, if at all.

If we’re going to make strides to help the planet restore itself to be more green, we have to dig much deeper than just announcing going meatless is the way to go.

Action like this labeling which exist to our peril.

It’s very much akin to calling oneself Paleo (or gluten-free or vegan for that matter) and then looks no further than whether or not a packaged food item is tagged as such, it’s far too easy to continue to be unwell, overweight, foggy-brained, have joint pain and GI distress if what we’re eating is still refined, processed, lacking in nutrient density, not local, in season or fresh.

One simple way of sifting through all the nonsense is go back just a few generations and think about what our great-grandparents ate.

Wherever in the world you might be reading this blog post, keep that in mind the next time you set out to procure your next meal.

How fresh is it?

How far did the items on your plate travel to get to there and how many steps did it take from where it grew, ran or swam to your table?

While one-size fits all isn’t the way to go, and certainly, differences exist between what each of us can eat, and what our genetics have determined before we were even born.

Yet across the board, there are certain commonalities we can all benefit from.

Most of us don’t eat enough veggies.

Most eat too much sugar, including too much fruit.

Many aren’t mindful about where the food we put into our bodies is coming from.

And perhaps what might be the biggest shame of all; many feel it’ll be too time consuming to make changes.

Convenience is king, and who has time to spend hours each day shopping and cooking, right?

Think again; yet one more reason to keep local and in season.

With one or two succinct trips to the farmer’s market, local grocer or even CSA delivery per week, and a couple of one or two hour sessions in the kitchen, we can all do our part to prepare, fresh, nourishing real food to satisfy our own and our family’s food story in an easy but elegant manner.

With food being medicine and the most important piece of the foundation of the path to achieving optimal health, how can there be any justification to not make the little time it requires?

So, meatless?

Maybe so, now and then.

Certainly, I’m not suggesting shifting to an all protein diet by and means; but tread lightly when making such a huge shift not only in what you eat but what you feed the family and consider all the consequences.

Then, ask yourself what your intuition tells you.

In my honest option, the answer has always lied in balanced simplicity:

Eat Food.  And Move.

 

(1)  http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-meatless-wework-20180720-story.html#

(2) http://www.eatwild.com/environment.html

(3) http://wwf.panda.org/our_work/food/agriculture/soy/impacts/

(4) https://www.treehugger.com/green-food/whats-environmental-impact-loaf-bread.html

Anxious? Stressed Out? Listen to Your Gut.

When you’re trying to make a difficult decision, do you over analyze, or listen to your gut?

Do you ever feel like you have a case of the jitters, or butterflies in your stomach, either before a race or an important meeting?

Who hasn’t?

Furthermore, these expressions don’t come out of nowhere; after all, the gut is sensitive to emotion; a range of feelings can trigger symptoms in the gut because the brain and the gastrointestinal (GI) system are intimately connected (1).

The trick, however, is first learning and accepting that truly, everything does go back to the gut when we are talking about any aspect of health.

It’s much more straightforward to think about this when a more obvious issue occurs; if we have a stomach ache, we’re likely to think back about what we last ate and whether or not that might have caused the problem.

But how often are we doing this when we have a more chronic issue?

Or more importantly, perhaps, how often are our doctors promoting that conversation?

Not too often.

With the exception of someone who’s working with a holistic practitioner or functional medicine doctor, the chances of being asked about what you’re eating during that first visit (or any visit thereafter, for that matter), even when you’re in the office of a gastroenterologist are quite slim.

And if you’re not being prompted to think about what you’re eating at all, the chances of learning about the importance of the gut brain axis are slim.

Case in point: an article in today’s New York times, which focused on the current methodology involved in treating ADHD in children (2).

There have been huge strides in Western Medicine in the past century and there are many cases in which a hybrid of Eastern and modern approaches can have a synergistic approach to treating certain conditions, but at the same time, all too often it is the case that the foundation of our health – what we are eating – is overlooked completely in favor of addressing symptoms with a pill.

The title, “When Medicines Affect a Child’s Mind and Behavior” might lead one to believe the the article would integrate some facet of pros and cons to ADHD medications and alternatives with less or even no side effects when compared with commonly prescribed drugs.

Instead, the piece, written by a pediatrician, focused on “the discussion that needs to take place around medicating a child in distress, and how the doctor and the family should monitor medications when they are prescribed.”

It goes on to involve mention of one doctor who avoids going right to medications and might suggest cognitive behavioral therapy first as well as the importance of monitoring sleep quality of kids who are being medicated.

There’s also talk about how a family might emotionally handle this sensitive topic and the importance of having dosage being closely monitored.

Yet in the entire piece, not a single mention of what the child might be eating that could be contributing to, or completely causing the ADHD in the first place, nor their physical activity level.

Even a child who is not eating an obviously detrimental diet of fast food and candy can be creating inflammation in his or her gut by:

Ingesting too much sugar (it’s hidden in everything; 74% of packaged foods have it (3))

Eating too many grain-based products (even gluten-free products have been found to be inflammatory(4) and tend to be high in sugar)

Not eating enough fat, and not eating the right fats, including properly sourced saturated fats (6) can also contribute to inflammation, gut dysbiosis and consequently to ADHD, anxiety and a host of other emotional or behavioral challenges )

And if they’re spending barely any time moving, and all their free time on devices with screens?

Research shows that physical activity sparks real, positive changes in the brain that increase attention and improve mood. What’s more, exercise is an inexpensive, self-prescribed, and accessible supplemental treatment option for adults and children with ADHD (6).

Consider the typical American Modern Diet, and consider how the typical American looks today and then compare both to one century ago.

Keeping this in mind is one way to easily sift through so much of the nonsense in the media when it comes to the latest pill or powder, the newest trend that just doesn’t seem quite right or the latest magical diet that promises an end to your years of yo-yoing all by counting foods, regardless of where they’re sourced, by a point system.

Just think back to what your grandparents, or great grandparents ate.

They were not eating items in packages, snacking all day long and finding it hard to get their bodies moving.

They ate plants that grew where they lived, fish that swam locally and animals that were hunted in the area in which they lived.

Nothing had to be called organic, in season or local because it just was.

This was food… and this still is food.

Having this simple piece of understanding and knowledge, and keeping it in mind, always, is crucial at developing your own, as well as your family’s optimal eating plan to create health, wellness and well being for a lifetime.

Sure, there may be a time and place for modern day meds, but let’s not make the mistake of making that step one and at the cost of skipping over the entire foundation (eating food and moving).

https://www.health.harvard.edu/diseas...



http://sugarscience.ucsf.edu/hidden-i...

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

10 Scientific Facts About Diet and Inflammation

Exercise and the ADHD Brain: The Neuroscience of Movement

Fighting Inflammation: Real Food First and a Bit of TCM

Inflammation.

We are seeing this word everywhere these days and it’s about time.

I’ve certainly been writing about it for some time now and having been an advocate of what I call a food-first approach, I’m often leery of the latest and greatest trends that come to market.

But recently, I had the pleasure of testing out something I truly believe can be an important part of a complete anti-inflammatory protocol, an easy to swallow (pun intended) TCM (Traditional Chinese Medicine) supplement.

The impact of eating a highly processed, non-food diet is finally beginning to register, slowly but surely.

We create inflammation not only by ingesting things that are no longer (or may never have been) food, but also by lifestyle choices we make, both positive and negative.

Smoking, excessive drinking, prescription side effects and exposure to toxins, both obvious and hidden as well of lack of proper rest and recovery can all contribute to the body reaching an inflamed state, one in which chemicals from the body’s white blood cells are released into the blood or affected tissues to protect your body from foreign substances. This release of chemicals increases the blood flow to the area of injury or infection, and may result in redness and warmth (1).

All of the above are not surprising in that none are regarded as being healthful in any way.

But what about things we do that have positive impacts on our overall lifestyle and wellbeing that cause inflammation?

While it may sound like an oxymoron, one of the best things we can do for our bodies – move them – can actually result in inflammation, too.

The good news is that unlike the list of bad activities to engage in from the prior paragraph, for which the most obvious thing to do is to simply stop doing them, the answer for reducing exercise related inflammation is not to stop it.

Quite the contrary in fact; the answer is to continue to engage in your preferred method of movement but to make dietary and lifestyle changes to bring down the inflammation and as a result, continue to develop as an animal in motion, which we all are meant to be, in effect.

Endurance related trauma that leads to inflammation can lead to adaptation. Exercise induced muscle damage leading to the inflammatory process results in an increase in satellite cell behavior in skeletal muscles (2).

Inflammation is defined literally as “to set on fire.” The accepted definition of inflammation in a sports research setting is a “normal part of the biological response to harmful stimuli.”

Inflammation is a normal response to any assault to the body from varying sources such as bacterial infection or exercise. The end goal of the inflammatory process is to restore homeostasis.

This, by the way, is precisely why regularly taking an Advil to ward off inflammation is a bad idea; not only does it halt the body’s natural response to heal and then grow, it actually creates an acidic environment in the body (3), making it even more inflamed!

So what, then, do we exactly need to do to naturally address the inflammation we experience from exercise?

First and foremost, eat a diet consisting of real food.  In season, local, organic vegetables in abundance, specifically those which are leafy and dark green. Ample natural fats from a variety of sources: olive oil, coconut oil, raw avocado, pasture fed lard, grass fed tallow (and ghee, if you include dairy in your regime) as well as raw, sprouted nuts and seeds in moderation, so long as you are not following an AIP plan. Mindfully sourced proteins in moderation, such as wild, local wild caught fish, grass fed meats and pasture fed poultry and pork

Second, consider adding meditation to your day to day.

Research has shown that chronic stress is connected to changes in C-reactive protein and your immune system. Taking 10 to 15 minutes a day to be quiet, reflect, or meditate can have huge health benefits (4).
Next, don’t forget to sleep, sleep enough and sleep well. A lack of sleep leads to everything from weight gain, cardiovascular disease and inflammation. Though still a growing field of research, preliminary studies have shown an association between sleep deprivation and elevations in CRP.
Get your broth on.  Bone broths contain minerals in forms that your body can easily absorb: calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, silicon, sulphur and others. In addition, they contain chondroitin sulfate and glucosamine, the compounds sold as pricey supplements to reduce inflammation, arthritis and joint pain. (5)   You’re never going to beat fresh with powder!
In addition, consider carefully chosen supplementation. Specifically for me, having been a long time believer and receiver of acupuncture, I’ve taken my share of TCM pellets, powders and potions. And while I am sure I’m in the minority – I actually like the flavor of said herbs – there’s now an incredible new product on the market that covers most of you who actually do not like the idea of holding your nose to swallow something that tastes less than palatable to you.  A friend and colleague of mine, Simone Wan M.S. L.Ac (5), has recently launched the revolutionary product I mentioned above In fact, one of her key ingredients in her ‘inflammation’ blend was included in a clinical trial that was one of the ingredients that helped reduce fatigue and enhanced recover in athletes (6)! I recently tested it out as part of my training recovery protocol (along with my bone broth, of course!) and found it to be easy to mix, tasty and effective. Check it out here; she’s offering 15% off your first purchase with the code paleoista.

Making sure to have a good understanding of what inflammation really is, and creating a healthy, food-first recovery protocol to support growth and healing is a key component of each and every one of our own paths toward optimal health.

(1) https://www.webmd.com/arthritis/about...

(2) https://firstendurance.com/exercise-i...

(3) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ibuprofen

(4) https://www.prevention.com/health/a20...

(5) https://www.westonaprice.org/health-t...

(6) http://practicalartofhealth.com

(7) https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1...

Creating Optimal Health for Performance

Does what you see in the image above look like what you’re eating on a regular basis?

Local, in season, organic veggies.    Ample natural fats.  Moderate, mindfully sourced proteins.

If so, you’re eating food.  Eating food is a good thing.  Eating things which are not food… not so much.

So if you’re interested in a lifetime of optimal performance and you’re not eating real food, it may be time for a change.

Optimal performance: a level or state of something which is the best one could achieve.

What do you think of when you read the phrase?

A world-class athlete? The CEO of a billion dollar company? An Emmy Award winning actor?

How about performing in each and every category of your life, from work, to being a parent or spouse, sibling, mentor, teacher or, of course, athlete?

How many magazine articles have you read which tell you the same old thing, time and time again?

“The secrets to permanent weight loss”.

“How to curb those afternoon sugar cravings”.

“Tone up those thighs once and for all”.

Or perhaps my very favorite,

“Which trendy diets to nip in the bud”.

Regardless of which expert is writing the article or doing the podcast, do you ever find yourself feeling even more confused or worse, like you must be doing something wrong since everything you’ve tried simply hasn’t worked thus far?

One of the top reasons this could be the case is that often times, we’re not told to listen to the single most important person in the picture, the one expert who really knows us best – ourselves.

Crazy as it may sound, in this day and age we honestly must turn inwards and become our own doctors, for lack of a better word.

At the end of the day, each of us is the only one who knows how we feel and no pre-written diet plan, Youtube workout video or list of the top ten best vegan foods for energy are going to supersede what our own bodies tell us.

Easier said than done?

Maybe so… but if you had the information you needed to interpret the cues your body is desperately trying to tell you, would that change the picture?

Over the past two decades of working with clients, one thing that’s become crystal clear is that with all the influx of conflicting information out there, people are confused.

It’s grown incredibly difficult to decipher which new diet to latch on to, what trend is worth checking out and who’s behind each pearl of wisdom that we come across on our daily dose of media.

Whether it’s the latest cleanse, the newest energy drink or a complete overhaul involving eliminating entire food groups, the light at the end of the tunnel is the knowledge and if we go straight back to basics, in that, the answers are revealed.

And it doesn’t take a degree in nutritional science to sort this out; rather, simple common sense can lead the way, once the journey is begun with a peek into the proverbial Pandora’s box.

In other words, once we’re given the tools to begin questioning anything that doesn’t seem rational when it comes to eat, how much to eat and from where to get it, begins to become so second nature that we no longer need to look outside ourselves for the answer.

Case in point: I went through years of gastrointestinal illness, with several misdiagnoses and subsequent prescriptions intended to address the symptoms of the root cause, which was never deduced by any test or doctor, nor was what I was eating ever questioned.

After my final visit to a GI specialist who told me there was actually nothing physically wrong with me, and that I really just needed Prozac (no joke), I took matters into my own hands and began my own research.

I opened my own Pandora’s Box when I learned that something I’d been eating my whole life which I thought was very good for me, yet was actually toxic to my body (gluten) , was the main culprit for years of distress.

Back in the early 2000s, when I learned about an authentic Paleo approach, is when reality hit hard: if, for my whole life up to that point, I had been under the impression that whole wheat bread (which my mom, a lifelong hippie, had been baking herself), and grains in general were a great source of fiber, carbohydrate and B vitamins, what other foods, (or food by-products for that matter) might also be less than ideal for optimal health and performance?

Or worse, what might be making me ill?

This began the process of beginning to assemble my own tool kit of what I’d need to create my own strategic eating blueprint, my path toward optimal health and performance in life as a whole.

And since then, I’ve had the honor of working with individuals and groups from places all around the world who share a common goal: to get to the root cause of what’s in the way of achieving optimal health and as a result, being able to perform optimally on a daily basis.

The best part?

Since we’re dealing completely with my food-first approach, there’s no risk involved, no wondering about which supplements, powders or pills to take or how often to integrate the latest crazy trend.

And while taking supplements or homeopathic remedies have their time and place, as do prescription medications from functional medicine practitioners if someone’s food story is not in perfect place and position, it would be akin to building a house with no foundation.

With the right education, we can create a feeling of empowerment as we create a strategic eating blueprint designed to support a long and healthy life of vibrant energy, focus and (there’s that word again) performance.

Join me for a unique opportunity to begin paving the way to carve out the first few key steps in creating your own path toward creating optimal health.

Eating Real Food for Endurance

Must it be energy bars?

Homemade energy bars may be a way to go, and are certainly a superior option than downing highly refined sports ‘nutrition’ products that often contain gut-busting additives, but what if you’re a fellow fat-adapted athlete, who prefers to have fat as their primary fuel source?

If you were to go on a multi day cycling trip, how would you fuel yourself?

How would you balance the demands of long hours of riding day after day without compromising the nutritional values you’ve already found to suit your body in terms of performance, gut health and ample recovery?

After spending the last 10 days on an epic cycling camp in the French Alps, I felt compelled to share the experience of how I fueled for this type of training while abroad.

Not so much about ‘how to fuel for a multi day event’, averaging 6-7,000 feet of climbing and 100 kilometers of riding per day, as this is something I’ve incorporated quite a while back.

Arguably, it was easier to fuel for this cycling block as compared to ironman because the efforts tended to be longer and more aerobic, with the long climbing intervals still being at low threshold.

This paved the way for the ability to eat real food during the rides, given that I was working primarily aerobically, allowing my body the blood supply it would need to digest small amounts of food during the exercise.

In effect, the only true difference is that rather than approaching each day in a fasted state as I normally would, I’d top off the tank with a bit of banana and hard boiled egg, olive oil and salt before heading out for another day’s journey up the mountains.

Rather, it was how to fuel on a day to day basis in a place where vegetables seemed to be few and far between, while starchy, grain based foods were easy to come by.

Not only are they easy to come by, they are regarded as the normal, and even healthy way to start of a day, whether one is off to climb on the very course where some of the stages of the Tour will be held or simply off to a day at the office (or whatever the definition of a day in the office might be).

I was truly put to the test this time; I’ve written and spoken many a time about how there’s always a way to put healthy eating into practice, that one can find good options everywhere and that we can always make do with some sort of veggies and protein.

Language barrier aside (my husband speaks fluent French), many of the cafes, restaurants and bistros we dined at simply didn’t have veggies on their menu.

And to make matters even more confusing, often, those that did have a veggie option didn’t actually offer veggies; nine times out of ten, the side of veggies was actually a side of snow peas or green beans.

Worth noting: the literal translation for veggies in French is legumes; not exactly what we’ve come to know and fall in love with when we are actually looking for kale, broccoli, cauliflower and anything else leafy and green!

So what was the solution?

Pile on the few veggies that were on the menu, mainly lettuces, which were lovely and fresh and then, go on a hunt!

I was able to find a surprisingly nice array of local veggies in a nearby shop; broccoli, bell peppers, more lettuces and range of stone fruits, the latter of which came in perfectly timed, given that I’d intentionally planned on shifting my macros a bit less in favor of high fat while upping the carbs for all the training.

By adding zucchini and roast potatoes to my evening meals, a couple of pieces of fresh fruit during the day to my meals in addition to the morning banana, I was able to create an eating plan that wasn’t a million miles away from how I eat at home.

I didn’t have to compromise the core values of what I know to be true for my own body, including:

gluten is a bad idea for me, as are all grains
eating a carb heavy diet is unnecessary for me, given my history of having been following an authentic Paleo approach for nearly 15 years now, with a bit of keto cycled in over the past three years
eating anything I have proven to myself through trial and error that I know doesn’t sit well with me, or worse, that actually makes me feel ill, is unequivocally out of the question

The third point is perhaps the most important of all; knowing what our body tells us and then choosing proactively to nourish it, rather than punish it.

Food can be medicine and when administered properly, is the foundation of our path toward optimal health and wellness, whether or not it includes performance in sport, or performance in life overall.

Physically, I came away from the camp feeling stronger with my cycling skills and technique.  In all honesty, I didn’t know how my body would handle ten days of endurance riding as I’ve never done anything like that before.

It was an incredible experience and on a personal note, I’d highly recommend this type of getaway to anyone who is looking for a way to challenge themselves, be they a cyclist or not.

Having a high performance mindset gaps the bridge far more than just sport and work; it’s the belief in oneself that raising the bar in all aspects of life is the very thing that creates the goals we need to be the best version of ourselves we can be.

Do I Need Powdered Collagen?

With the growing awareness of gut health, gut dysfunction and the gut brain axis, a plethora of products have popped on the market, each claiming to be a panacea of one sort or another.

Some are valid.

Probiotics undoubtedly can play a significant role in healing a leaky gut, as can fermented foods;  shifting away from a carb-heavy, standard American diet towards a more authentic manner of eating by incorporating more sustainable animal fats, proteins and an abundance of in season, local vegetables also provides a key component of the foundation of eating one’s way to optimal health.

So where do all the new products we’re now seeing on the shelves of even the most mom and pop health food stored fit in, if at all?

And how can we tell if we need these powders, pills and potions?

Let’s start with one item in particular, which is near and dear to my heart… err, gut: collagen, as it pertains to gut health.

As someone who suffered from leaky gut for years and was able to heal it through cutting out inflammatory foods and opting for a nutrient dense, Paleo approach to eating, my interest is piqued any time I learn of any new product, supplement or even recommendation meant to help correct this often grossly overlooked health concern.

Collagen in powdered form is not just available in stores, it’s everywhere.

Gone are the days when no one knew what fat coffee was or when it was challenging to try to explain to people that eating a real Paleo diet did not, actually, involve eating dinosaur meat.

But with the awareness of incorporating authentic, whole foods (such as fresh local veggies, mindfully sourced proteins and a variety of natural fats) as part of the protocol in addressing gut health, comes the opportunity in the market for supplements to be used in place of the real deal.

Not just in place of, incidentally, but sometimes even in addition to.

This was brought to my attention just the other day when a client mentioned he’d been enjoying his grass-fed beef bone broth as part of his new eating protocol… and that he’d been mixing in the powdered collagen powder he’d purchased at the heath food store.

Is this necessary or supplement overkill?

Let’s review.

One of the main reasons to drink bone broth as part of one’s regime to address leaky gut and inflammation is that bone broth is rich in minerals that support the immune system and contains healing compounds like collagen, glutamine, glycine and proline. The collagen in bone broth heals your gut lining and reduces intestinal inflammation (1).

Collagen is the most important structural protein in the body; in peptide form (also called hydrolyzed collagen), it’s the most bioavailable and most easily digested.

Gelatin, collagen that has gone through partial hydrolysis, making it into a gel, is beneficial for restoring strength of the gut lining and fighting food sensitivities, helping with the growth of probiotics in the gut, and supporting healthy inflammation levels in the digestive tract (2).

To understand the difference between collagen versus collage peptides, remember that collagen peptides and gelatin are made by breaking down full length collagen molecules. 

Because collagen peptides are more easily absorbed into the bloodstream than gelatin, eating real food sources which are rich in these compounds as well as those which boost peptide absorption will maximize your body’s ability to reap all the benefits.

Foods high in vitamin C, such as citrus, red peppers, strawberries, guava and kale as well as foods high in sulfur, such as broccoli, cauliflower, arugula and garlic aid in the development of collagen (3). 

In general, eating lots of veggies and a variety of fruits will enhance collagen production. 

No surprises there!

Cutting sugar is also helpful as sugar destroys collagen and elastin.

Most importantly, remember that incorporating your daily bone broth is only part of the story; clearing out your diet from inflammatory bad-guys in addition to the obvious white sugar creeps and boosting your intake of local, in season leafy greens, good fats and properly sourced proteins completes the foundation of your gut-healing path to creating health.

Choosing to add supplements or not is best done with the right about of information, properly sourced specific to your own needs by acquiring data from testing provided by your naturopath or functional medicine doctor.

Granted, there are great options on the market now for powdered collagen and even powdered bone broth, which make for good choices when getting the freshly prepared golden elixir might not be an option, but whole food is always superior to powdered.

While there are some fantastic options over the counter and on the shelves these days, it makes no sense spending extra cash and potentially harming your body’s natural balance if you don’t need supplements in the first place.

Take the safest route possible: start with your food-first (no risk) approach and see how far you get.  

Then as you begin to see improvements, gauge where things may still be falling short and then choose to see a wellness professional who is truly going to look at the whole picture of your health and not just write you a prescription for a digestive medication (or prozac, such as what I experienced at my last appointment with the GI specialist, after being told not to cut out foods with gluten for fear of not being able to get ample fiber).

Remember, food is medicine!

https://draxe.com/the-healing-power-of-bone-broth-for-digestion-arthritis-and-cellulite/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3358810/
https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/are-collagen-and-bone-broth-the-keys-to-youthful-skin_us_5910a946e4b046ea176aedc3?guccounter=1

How I Healed My Gut Through Food

I can vividly recall the days when I felt the way the woman in the photo shown above illustrates.

Painful stomach aches, bloating and every GI issue in the books.

For so long it was an absolute mystery; after all, I grew up eating real food.

It was the early 70s, my mom was a hippie and much of the food we ate came from what she grew in the garden, cooked on the stove or baked in the oven.

Sugar wasn’t allowed; in fact I had never even heard of a cookie until one day while watching the one show that was permissible — Sesame Street — I asked my mom what exactly was cookie monster eating?

Her response: he’s eating a potato cookie! This was followed by her baking a potato, cutting into circular slices and then presenting me with a round object that looked very much like the food I’d seen the furry blue muppet eat just an hour earlier.

Yet with all her best intentions, and what I now know to be an extremely nourishing, alkaline forming, anti inflammatory diet ticking off all the boxes (local, in season, organic, wild), somehow, I was always prone to stomach distress.

It actually goes back further than even what I can recall; as an infant still in diapers, my mom took me to the pediatrician to find out what might be the cause of my irregular digestion.

His response proved useless; nothing more than a mere suggestion to make sure she wasn’t ingesting too much fat which would potentially be causing an issue to me through breast milk.

The stomach distress remained mild for years; we chalked it up to me simply having a ‘sensitive stomach’ (thanks to another doctor’s synopsis) and I grew used to having stomach pains on a regular basis.

It didn’t prevent me from being a healthy, athletic kid; I swam on the swim team, ran and always active, and was only occasionally sidelined by real pain.

Once the pain became more intense and more frequent, the visits to specialists, and even a few trips to the E/R began.

Imagine my horror when, at age 14, the physician doing my intake in the E/R asked me, right in front of my dad, if I might be pregnant!

(That would be a big NO)!

Over the course of the next few years, I would experience varying degrees of pain, irregularity and overall discomfort (both physical and emotional ; not exactly easy to fear leaving the house in case of being too far from a restroom).

I would also experience several misdiagnoses; IBS (which we now know is a meaningless catch all), colitis, possible Crohn’s, all with accompanying medication and no question about what I was eating.

I also took away some of the most ridiculous pieces of nutritional advice including that I should avoid eating veggies as they were too taxing on the digestive system and trying to focus only on eating easy to digest foods such as white rice or toast, to give my GI tract a rest.

At that point, I was well into my twenties and was working on my degree at USC, studying exercise science and nutrition.

The dietary advice I thought to be sound was further underlined by what I was learning at school: eat a high carbohydrate, low fat diet.

I’d begun my foray at that point into endurance training as well, so by then, not only was I feeling great distress on a daily basis just in day to day, but when it came to training and racing, I was constantly sidelined by immediate trips to porta-potties, gas stations or even mom and pop store fronts who might be kind enough to let me use their facilities.

Something had to give.

I began researching.

How could I change what I was eating in order to allow my body to begin to heal itself?

Maybe a vegan diet was the answer.

I’d tested the waters with it earlier but only for a short period of time.

Could there be any truth to the idea that I was hurting my body by ingesting meat? And then, there was also the love of animals angle.

I committed to it, and I committed hard. I said goodbye to all animal products I was eating, wearing, using and in retrospect, became a bit militant about it.

I was in my early 20s, I had a degree from a renowned university and so as far as I could tell, I was entitled and I knew it all.

I even had a McVegan pin and a long list of the top ten reasons why being vegan was the only was to go.

I knew enough to not follow a silly vegan diet- one which may be animal-free but also lacking in nutrition, such as the type in which one eats pasta, bread and cereal.

I ate tons of organic, in season veggies. I ate avocados and coconut oil. Sprouted nuts and seeds in moderation; all of which still comprise much of my current diet, incidentally.

But I also ate beans including soy. And I ate grains. And I would occasionally eat the pseudo meats, which now seems like such an oxymoron to boycott eating animals yet opt to eat manufactured food items made to look, smell and taste like them.

About six months into my foray as a vegan, I began dreaming about eating fish. I’d wake up feeling guilty because I believed it to be wrong.

I forced my way through it for another 18 months until I finally gave in and had my first bite of what I now call my gateway protein: fish.

It would be a year or two before I would incorporate other flesh but my reason for doing so was more than two-fold and more than selfish.

First and foremost, I had an epiphany.

All the time I had spent boycotting eating animals, I was doing so in a very ignorant an inappropriate manner.

I was categorizing the good guys with the bad guys and sending out the message that they were all bad.

In other words, the Monsantos of the world with the local, grass fed farmers and the farmed-fish providers along with the wild fishermen.

One is unethical, in it only as part of food as an industry at any expense and without thought for the humane treatment of another being.

The other is the opposite: raising animals in a mindful manner, providing humane living conditions or hunting in the wild, focused only on creatures that live exactly where they’re supposed to live and at the appropriate time of year.

I realized that it’s not until we separate these two vastly different practices that we will see a demand for the humane provider’s prices come down and a decrease in the demand for low-cost, improperly raised animals.

I learned about the vast difference between the impact of grass-fed beef compared to conventionally raised beef, not just on the human body when the beef is ingested, but also on the environment.

And I educated myself on the one topic at the heart of it all which was whether or not it was ethical to eat animals.

Slowly, I began to reintroduce wild fish in small quantities back into the regime and while I felt I was recovering better from workouts and feeling more energetic during the day, my stomach issues hadn’t come close to dissipating.

Desperate, I went to yet one more specialist and asked for a test for Celiac Disease, in early 2000s.

This was before we had the current awareness of gluten sensitivity, allergy and intolerance, but I’d already begun to do a little research on the topic.

My results came back negative and the gastroenterologist advised me that I should absolutely not stop eating gluten containing foods because doing so would impair my ability to get enough fiber and B vitamins.

He then suggested I take prozac and sent me on my way.

Please  Join me on medium  and learn how the story continues!

Good Fat / Bad Fat and My Top Five Faves

Good Word / Bad Word : FAT

Have you ever stopped to consider how odd it is that we use the very same word to describe one of our three key macronutrients, an essential part of our survival as well as to categorize someone who is at an unhealthy weight?

FAT.

In our society today, it sure sounds like a bad word.

As such, in keeping with our conditioning that began a few decades ago, preaching that the macronutrient version of the word was something we needed to avoid in order to not embody the bad, overweight version of the word has helped lead us down the path to being fat-phobic, but of the wrong fat.

Sure, no one wants to become overweight, but if we follow a real, authentic human way of eating which includes far more fat (the good word) than we’ve been told we need, we won’t have to fear becoming fat (the bad word).

Fat the macronutrient is absolutely integral in our body’s ability to function properly.

Triglycerides, cholesterol and other essential fatty acids store energy, insulate us and protect our vital organs. They act as messengers, helping proteins do their jobs. They also start chemical reactions that help control growth, immune function, reproduction and other aspects of basic metabolism.

Furthermore, the cycle of making, breaking, storing and mobilizing fats is at the core of how humans and all animals regulate their energy. 

Fats help the body stockpile certain nutrients as well. The so-called “fat-soluble” vitamins—A, D, E and K—are stored in the liver and in fatty tissues. (1)

None of the above is likely revolutionary information to anyone, but it’s important to remember that we actually need to be eating fat.

What’s trickier, is knowing what fat to eat and from where to get it, and how much.

Sourcing of fat, just like the other macro nutrients is of utmost importance and one fat is far from being equivalent in nutrition to another fat.

Comparing the fat you’d ingest if you were to cook in canola oil in a pan to prepare some eggs to what you’d nourish your body with if you used, instead, tallow from grass-fed cows is akin to comparing the proverbial apples to oranges.

For years, we thought that canola oil was our friend, myself included in this picture.  In part, this was true as it was originally created in the 70s naturally, but in the mid 90’s, Monsanto came up with a GMO version.

Do you know what it even is?

Canola oil is a Canadian invention that’s backed by Canada’s government, cheap to manufacture, and many packaged or processed foods contain it. As of 2005, 87 percent of canola grown in the U.S. was genetically modified, and by 2009, 90 percent of the Canadian crop was genetically engineered. (2)

Canola oil works well as an industrial oil and has been used in candles, soaps, lipsticks, lubricants, inks, biofuels and even insecticides. (3)

Yum!

There are reports that it has caused many kidney, liver and neurological health issues. This makes sense since there are other reports that GMO products like corn and soy also can cause negative health effects.

Let’s compare this to grass fed tallow.  

High in CLA, (conjugated linoleic acid) consuming grass fed meats and tallow provides a multitude of benefits including fat reduction, increase in lean muscle mass, reduced risk of diabetes, reversal of arteriosclerosis, and a marked reduction in tumor growth (4).

Studies have even shown its high content of CLA helps in fat loss (the bad word!) (5)

Perhaps the easiest way to look at it is to think about what fats occur naturally and which have been manipulated, adulterated and so highly processed, it would be hard to even think of them as food any more.

Avocado, yes. Olive oil, yes.  Coconut oil, yes.   These three are perhaps the ones that are the easiest of all go-to fats, but don’t deprive your body of the health benefits of incorporating the humanely sourced animal fats, too.

Duck fat, grass fed tallow, pasture fed lard… you get the idea.

How much?  

That depends on many factors but chances are you can afford to eat more than you currently are.

The trick, of course, is not simply adding fat to your current regime without decreasing the amount of calories you’re currently getting from carbohydrate (including fruit) and possible protein, if you’ve taken to following a high protein protocol.

To say one should eat unlimited amounts of fat is inaccurate.    Too many calories are too many calories.

However, if we eat enough fat, we’re much more satiated versus too little fat so, when balanced, we tend naturally to end up perhaps slightly lower in calories anyway.

It’s not one-size fits all, so giving a recommendation that everyone should do what I do would be inappropriate.

You may find like I do that a combination of keto and paleo is what suits you best, but both approaches to eating, while safe and sound when properly implemented, are easy to get wrong with all the products that have come to market.

I feel my best when I intermittent fast on Mondays and Tuesdays after longer training on the weekends, getting my fat from my top five faves (avocado, coconut oil, olive oil, duck fat and grass fed ghee / MCT in my tea), then as the week progresses, adding in some strategic carbs around workouts… and work.

There’s a time and a place for a Paleo smoothie or a keto energy bar, but without knowing the basics of macronutrient balance, one can still find themselves low on energy, foggy minded and even carrying around too much fat (the bad word).

Short of working with an expert on keto or paleo, one simple manner of transitioning into a higher-good-fat type of eating approach is to track your intake as it is, as well as how you currently feel, how you sleep, how often you use the bathroom and how you perform, not just in sport but in life.

Then test out a day where your calories remain the same, but instead of four servings of fruit during the day, add veggies and some fat, keeping protein roughly in the moderate range.

See what your macros look like then, and notice how you feel.

Notice how you feel.

The key to any successful eating regime is to always listen to your body and know when too much is too much and vice versa.

Simply put, if your template of a daily plate consists of a plethora of in season, local, sustainable veggies, a palm sized amount of mindfully sourced protein and a lot more fat than you thought you needed, you’re in great shape.

Bonus:  you have that little something extra for wiggle room.    Glass of vino?  Premium dark chocolate?   You’ve got it.

Balance.  

When you’re eating real food and moving, you’re building the very foundation of your own path towards optimal health.

https://publications.nigms.nih.gov/insidelifescience/fats_do.html
http://www.canolawatch.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/20110309_FPJ_Aut11_Beckie.et_.al_.pdf
https://draxe.com/canola-oil-gm/
http://www.eatwild.com/healthbenefits.htm
https://academic.oup.com/ajcn/article/85/5/1203/4632999