Sorry guys, not this time

So sorry boys and girls but I just can't get a post out before we leave for Christmas.  I had this brilliant idea in my head about fats and such, but I just can't properly research and write it in the time that is left.  And being the obsessive-compulsive perfectionist that I am (*snigger*) I just can't put it up half-assed.  So when I get back.  Unless someone wants to talk about something else - hint, hint.

In the meantime, here is a fantastic article by a heart surgeon.  Read it and decide for yourself:

http://www.tunedbody.com/heart-surgeon-declares-really-causes-heart-illness/#

See you in 2015 :)

The Big D

I have been sick.  Really sick.  I fought the funk and the funk won kinda sick.  Not flat out thankfully, I had just enough energy to get through the school runs/meals/homework/everyday basics.  But I confess I napped in between!  While I was sick I thought a lot about detox.  Hence the name of this post.

I also got to thinking that maybe I should share some of my own health challenges with you guys.  It's not all hearts and flowers health wise on this end.  More like congested liver, compromised bowel function and smelly emissions (Mommy, did you fart AGAIN?!?!)

When I was a little girl, people used to tell me my eyes were so black I looked like a little witch. Truly, you had to get right up on me to see my pupils in all that dark iris.  I used to think it was pretty cool, a novelty, and I really liked witches.  Now that I've studied iridology, I realize this wasn't such a great thing.  All that darkness meant one seriously murky eye, what has even been called "sewage eye" (charming, right?) and what I did not know is that it would mean a long road of detox that's still ongoing today.  But I am one of the fortunate ones.  My irises now reflect the color of someone who isn't as full of shit (not literally anyway).  I photographed my Mom and Dad's irises when they were here after Tomas was born.  I knew when I saw the photos of my Mom's eyes that she would never live long enough to clear her color.  Her eyes were as dark as mine were in childhood.

I don't have any magic pill (as there is no such thing) or great formula for cleansing my body.  I try to eat what I crave as long as that craving isn't unreasonable (see previous post), I eat a lot of raw food, I drink a lot of water, I exercise a few times a week, I try to get enough sleep, and I just listen to my body in general.  Yours will tell you what it needs.  This has been a long, slow road.  Maybe it would go faster if I wasn't so fond of red wine and a cigarette at night after my kids go to sleep.

Here's the thing I have found though - the road has a LOT of potholes, nay SINKHOLES in some places!  What have I experienced?  A rash all across my belly, from my neck up to my face and in between my toes that itched like crazy and stuck around for about 3 months.  Sores (ulcers) opening up on my arms and legs.  Swollen knuckles that eventually cracked open.  Hands so dry they cracked as well.  Hair loss.  Extremely dry eyes. Low, low, low energy.  Probably more that I've wisely forgotten or I'd be saying screw it all and going out for Ben & Jerry's.

Let's get to the liver instead.  The liver has a big job every day.  Not only is it responsible for the breakdown and elimination of the by-products of basic metabolism, but it also has to deal with the extra load of all the toxic substances we encounter on a daily basis through pollution, pesticides, food additives, drugs, household
chemicals, the list goes on and on.

So back to detoxification.  Let's talk a bit about what exactly is involved.  I will try to keep this as simple as I can, but if something is confusing please feel free to post your questions!  The process is generally divided into phase I and phase II.  Think of phase I as the "breaking things down" phase and phase II as the "building new substances" phase.  Not all raw materials go through both phases, but in order for a substance to enter phase II it must have first completed phase I.  In phase I, cytochrome p450 enzymes move in and through a series of chemical reactions convert an extremely harmful substance into a more benign substance.  Some of these materials become water soluble and can be eliminated through the kidneys, lungs or skin.  In phase II, there are several pathways, each involving its on "special ingredient" that conjugates (binds) with the broken down p450 substance to create water soluble from fat soluble compounds.  The problem with fat soluble compounds is that they can only dissolve in fat, making them particularly susceptible to storage in fatty tissues.  This is why rapid detox is not a good idea - you have no idea what is stored in your fat cells, and if it all gets released too quickly it can completely overwhelm your detoxification pathways.

Just for the sake of information, the pathways are:  sulfation, glucoronidation, glutathione conjugation, acetylation, amino acid conjugation, and methylation.  Overall, the main nutrients needed by these pathways are B vitamins (including folic acid and B12), magnesium, zinc, vitamin C,
sulfur, amino acids, essential fatty acids, and trace minerals as co-factors.

Foods that are good for the liver are bitter foods:  any dark green leafy vegetables, beetroot, cruciferous vegetables, high quality protein, garlic, onions, and artichoke.  Milk thistle is a great herb for liver cleansing and support.  There are some great liver cleanse teas out there, but I gotta warn you - they are NOT nice tasting!  They work, but don't expect good flavor!

Here's a little something I whipped up last night that fits the liver bill, sorry I don't have a photo...

1 beetroot, peeled and cut into bite-size pieces
1 small onion, chopped
1 sweet potato, scrubbed and cut into bite-size pieces (I had to peel mine as the skin was a bit nasty)
handful of spinach
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1 thumb-sized piece of ginger, peeled and chopped
1 tablespoon coconut oil
1 tablespoon creamed coconut

Heat creamed coconut and coconut oil in a wok over medium heat.  When they start to melt, add the beetroot and sweet potato.  Cook covered for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally and adding water if things start to stick.  Add in the onion, garlic and ginger and cook for another 20 minutes or so, until the beetroot is a little softer.  Uncover, add in the spinach and cook just long enough to wilt the spinach slightly.  Spoon onto a plate and enjoy!  I drizzled some apple cider vinegar and hemp seed oil over the top of mine.  I also thought about adding in chopped dates, goji berries, sunflower or pumpkin seeds, and shredded coconut.  I had to stop myself from making a huge portion!

"I've got a gut feeling about this..."

Yeah, you do, and with good reason.  There is such an extensive nervous system lining the digestive tract (the enteric nervous system) that some researchers have taken to calling it a second brain.  The longest nerve in the body, the vagus nerve, runs from the base of the skull all the way down to the abdomen and encompasses several organs along the way, including the heart and lungs. Interestingly, 90% of messages carried between the brain and digestive system along the vagus nerve only travel one way.  You would be inclined to think top to bottom?  Other way round.  The folks who discovered this were fairly shocked too!

Why do I bring this up?  I just read a really interesting article in an alternative medicine journal that
questions whether our intestinal flora (aka gut bacteria or microbiome) actually manipulate us into eating what THEY want.  Your internal ecosystem is an incredibly diverse population.  Generally you hear of the microbiome divided into "good" bacteria (eg - the lactobacillus organisms) and "bad" bacteria (eg - e.coli).  Now, they all have their place and are all necessary for the continued optimum function of the ecosystem and thus the organism.  Problems arise when a particular type of bacteria find themselves outnumbering the other types.  When the "bad" bacteria are in charge, it appears that they can be capable of sending messages up the vagus nerve to make us crave the foods they feed on, mostly fat and sugar.

When I was in school and during clinical practice, it was often mentioned by my teachers that we would find that the foods people were craving were the very ones that were causing their problems.  I always thought this was so counterproductive to the function of the human body and could never quite understand how this could be so.  Could this be the answer?  Are those naughty bacteria making us eat twinkies?



The human body never ceases to amaze me in its simultaneous simplicity and complexity.

What do you think?

Picky, picky

It's taken me a bit of time to jump in with this first post.  Big surprise?  Not really.  I tend to be a *bit* of a perfectionist and obsess a *bit* about how to make things ideal.  No more.  Here ya go, warts and all (including colloquial spellings!)

I named this post "Picky, picky" because I thought I would write about something I deal with on a daily (ok, hourly) basis - picky eaters.  I know that picky-ness is not relegated to the realm of children, but hey - this is where most of my experience in that department comes from.

Frustrating doesn't even BEGIN to describe some meal times.  You know, when my kids were younger they would eat anything.  When did that change?  When did their taste buds become so refined that broccoli was immediately identified as a poison?

I've read a few articles lately that say pickiness is a natural defense mechanism - kids should be wary of foods as a way of protecting themselves from accidentally ingesting something harmful.  If that's the case, then why are french fries and chicken nuggets universally acceptable?  Stick that in your scientific method!

So here's where I find myself:  as a nutritionist, I know basically what my kids need.  As a mom, I gotta figure out how to get that into them.  What I wanted to share with this post is some of the little tricks I've learned or been handed along the way:

• Milled chia seeds are my BEST FRIENDS!  The whole ones are great as well, but when you're trying to be sneaky the milled ones don't stick in your teeth.  They are an incredibly high source of omega-3 (severely lacking in most diets), calcium, iron, magnesium, selenium and zinc.  I sprinkle them on homemade pizzas, put them in smoothies (only a tablespoon here, they do absorb liquid), add them to pancake, waffle and french toast batter, throw them into potato cakes, the list really is endless.  Oh, and if you're making meat balls, they're a better binder than egg!
• Thanks to my sister Angie for letting me know that a kale leaves no taste in smoothies.  Small amounts don't even change the color if you are using dark fruit like blueberry.  
• Carrot juice mixes well with other juices. 
• Ground almonds (almond flour) make the best cookies and muffins, coconut flour makes the best muffins and cakes.
• Finely grated zucchini (courgette), carrot, broccoli, cauliflower, any veg really can make its way into sauces (especially tomato based) undetected.
• Boil cauliflower with potatoes and mash them all together.  

These are just a few little tips I wanted to share, as it's late here in Ireland but I really didn't want to wait another day to put up this first post.  

Now I want you to share with me - what are your tips for picky eaters?

And as a little bit of lagniappe (I am a southern girl after all) here's my favorite recipe for spelt tortillas.  Incredibly easy to make, versatile (they are the base for my pizza) and they freeze well too - bonus!  I often make a double batch and freeze for another time....

Spelt Tortillas

2 1/2 cups spelt flour

1/2 tsp. pink Himalayan, sea salt or salt substitute

2 tbsp. melted butter

*10 tbsp. water

Mix flour and salt together.  Mix butter and water, then stir into dry ingredients until just mixed. Scoop it up in hands and shape into a ball.  Knead it for 2 or 3 minutes.  Cover with a damp cloth and let rest for 30 minutes - very important as letting it rest will make it easier to roll out.  Divide dough into 8 pieces.  Shape into a circle with your fingers, then roll each piece as evenly as you can on a lightly floured surface, flipping over every few strokes.  Cook on a medium-high heat setting in a lightly oiled or sprayed pan (VERY lightly, I even rub off most of the oil/spray with paper towel). When the tortilla starts to bubble, it is ready to turn.  Cook evenly on each side.

*the original recipe calls for 10 tbsp water, but I've always used more than that.  I start with that amount and then slowly add bits of water in until I've got a dough that is solid but not sticky.