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Food Fitness and Fun – ByCandace

~ Good Health Made Simple

Food Fitness and Fun – ByCandace

Category Archives: Nutrition

Sugar Struggle

09 Thursday Aug 2018

Posted by ByCandace in General, Nutrition

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

#gaincontrol, #stopthestruggle, #sugaristhedevil

This topic is so big, it is difficult to know where to start and what to cover and not cover, as not to fall down the giant rabbit hole…..

The sugar struggle is real folks! We are living in the time in history in which we are surrounded by sugar. There is sugar in things that we don’t even realize there is sugar in. Having said that, if you are eating something out of a package, you are pretty safe to assume there is sugar in it….and probably added sugar in it.

Let me get one thing out of the way here….all food can be turned into glucose in the body. Yes, even fat. Yes, even protein. Yes, even salad. Given the correct circumstances….

But let’s get real….I’m not talking about real whole foods in this post. I’m talking about processed, man-made food-like products. The hyper palatable eatable food-ish products that keep us coming back for more. That make us “can’t eat just one”.

Video: Hyperpalatable Foods in Action

Sugar is the Devil

If you ask my closest friends what I say about sugar, they will tell you that I have been saying for many years “Sugar is the Devil”.

Because I know what sugar does to the body, I have an internal desire to not eat sugar or to not eat it very often or very much. I still go through times of eating way too much sugar; I get on that cycle of habit and training my body to want sugar at certain times. But guess what…I’m aware of it. My awareness allows me to identify why I’m eating sugar and then make the necessary life-style changes to reduce my sugar intake. Do I still eat some sugar? Yes.

The reason this works for me is because I tamed my sugar beast years ago. I balanced my blood sugar regulation. Got rid of my sugar cravings. I am able to moderate my sugar intake. Having said that….I am more of a salty kind of girl. I’ll take potato chips over cookies any day!

But guess what happens to those processed potato chips in my body? They turn to sugar (glucose) too.

Excess glucose in the body (sugar, carbohydrates) over a period of time (each person’s body is different) will create a metabolic state of insulin resistance. Insulin resistance is the first step towards the development of diabetes 2 and 3 (insulin resistance of the brain leading to Alzheimer’s). This is not a metabolic state you want your body to be in.

My Top Five Ways to Improve Your Body’s Ability to Process Sugar

(processed and natural sugars from all sources including carbohydrates)

  1. Sleep 7-9 hours per night (not getting enough sleep can cause temporary insulin resistance)
  2. Resistance Train/Lift Weights
  3. 4 to 6 100-yard or 30-second Sprints 1x to 2x per week
  4. Keep your Liver Healthy (cruciferous veggies, bitter greans, garlic, citrus, avocado, Beef Liver Capsules
  5. Throne Research – Berberine or Dr. Mercola Berberine

How-to Alter your Relationship with Sugar

Keeping it real: You have to want to make change. You have to want to be healthy more than you want to eat sugar laden food-like products. You are the only person responsible for what goes in your mouth. You have to take action.

Stop the Struggle

Below are a few programs I recommend to help you gain control of your sugar intake. You do not have to be perfect, but you have to be relentless.

  • The 21-Day Sugar Detox
  • JJ Virgin – Sugar Impact Diet Book & Program
  • Top 10 Big Ideas: How to Detox from Sugar

Other Resources

  • 3 Easy Swaps to Improve Your Health
  • Avoiding Disaster by Diana Rodgers, RD
  • Wired to Eat
  • Diabetes Without Drugs
  • How to Prevent and Treat Diabetes with Natural Medicine

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Vital Proteins Sampler Box

19 Saturday May 2018

Posted by ByCandace in Nutrition

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Tags

#collagen, #collagensamplerbox, #VitalProteins

If you have been curious about Vital Proteins’ most popular collagen products and want to explore different flavors, give the Sampler Box a try.

Vital Proteins Sampler Box

In the Sampler Box you’ll receive a box with 5 different types of to-go stickpacks in it:

  1. Collagen Peptides – Unflavored
  2. Marine Collagen
  3. Beef Bone Broth Collagen
  4. Strawberry Lemon Beauty Collagen
  5. Lavender Lemon Beauty Collagen

I use collagen peptides every day. It has made a massive difference in the health of my nails, hair, skin, and gut. I love knowing that I’m nourishing my body with the highest quality products I can.

For more information about Vital Proteins, please check out my introduction post.

Please be aware that I am an affiliate for Vital Proteins receive a small commission on purchases made through the links above.

 

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Kale vs. Cow

02 Friday Feb 2018

Posted by ByCandace in Books, General, Lifestyle, Nutrition

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Tags

#balancedbites, #bettermeat, #dianarodgers, #healthyanimals, #healthyplanet, #itsnotthecowitsthehow, #kalevscow, #organic, #qualitymatters, #sustainability, #thehomegrownpaleocookbook

I listed to a podcast this week by Balanced Bites called Kale vs. Cow with Diana Rodgers. This is a great podcast, please give it an attentive listen all the way to the end.

  1. Introducing our guest, Diana Rodgers [1:47]
  2. Kale versus Cow documentary [3:00]
  3. Emotion and humanity [10:16]
  4. Biodiversity and greenhouse gases [18:24]
  5. Ethics and intent [25:52]
  6. Food as a religion [34:49]
  7. About the documentary [42:02]

Diana Rodgers has devoted herself to all things that promote sustainability. There have been many one-sided documentaries that have come out as of late that are pure fallacy and biased statistics. Here are my thoughts on one of them in particular. She has taken it upon herself to create a documentary that is based on science and the truth of what animals do for the health of our soil and planet. Here is a link to her Kale vs. Cow the Case for Better Meat page. There are lots of fantastic resource links at the bottom of this page, I highly suggest you check out.

I am so excited about this documentary, as I trust her and know that she will provide accurate and truthful information. As her slogan goes: “It’s Not the COW, It’s the HOW”. Meaning that it isn’t the growing and eating of cows that is the problem it is HOW of the raising of the cows that is the problem.

Diana just put out a new post called: Make America GRAZE Again! It is full of fantastic information and videos.

Diana is on a roll! Her new post called: It’s Not the Cow, it’s the How: New Study Shows Grass-fed Beef Can be a Carbon Sink talks about a new study proving that by using better grazing techniques, farmers are able to “produce healthier cattle and regenerate soils”.

More and more people I know are choosing to eat Vegan. I am greatly concerned about their long-term health, because of this choice. People naively think that eating Vegan is “saving the animals” and is healthy for their body long-term.

Keep in mind that I do believe that eating lots of organic vegetables and fruit, nuts, seed etc. is very healthy for your body. Here are more of my thoughts on this subject.

I also believe that supporting the operations of factory farming practices is not a great choice. You do not have to become Vegan to not support these destructive practices. You just need to source better quality meat. Here is one of many posts that lists Quality Food Sources. The best part is that our bodies don’t need as much high-quality meat to be healthy, which is also more economical. So, you will be eating less meat and still getting the health benefits from it as well as supporting a soil and planet restoration way of growing animals and plants.

What most vegetarians and vegans fail to realize or admit is that not only are they still killing thousands animals and their habitats through the mass factory farming practices of growing vegetables and fruits, but also poising the planet, animals, and ourselves through the herbicides, pesticides, and transportation of these vegetables and fruits. The monocrop (definition: Monocropping is the agricultural practice of growing a single crop year after year on the same land, in the absence of rotation through other crops or growing multiple crops on the same land (polyculture). Corn, soybeans, and wheat are three common crops often grown using monocropping techniques.) growing practice is also a huge issue for the same reasons provided above, plus they are typically GMO products and hugely subsidized by the government.

The majority of vegans and vegetarians, I know, also eat a ton of processed foods, made with products from the monocrops. Eating vegetables and fruits out of season that are transported hundreds if not thousands of miles. Neither of these things are healthy for the planet nor to animals and I think not healthy for our bodies either.

I love Diana Rodger’s book The Homegrown Paleo Cookbook; perhaps this book will help my vegetarian and vegan friends learn to grow their own vegetables and fruits and maybe animals too.

If you are like me and are concerned about animals and the health of our planet, it is up to you to be fully informed to use your discernment and not believe everything that you are fed (pun intended).

Let’s go to the source, quite literally, the Bible (thus God) says that He gave us every moving things that lives to be food, just as He gave us green plants. God’s intention was for us to grow and eat animals. He wouldn’t have told us to do this, if it were unhealthy for us or the plant. While I found some of what is in this book to be a bit extreme, I love the history and ideas behind it; check out The Maker’s Diet.

I wish all my people well regardless of how you choose to eat. I pray each of you to be healthy and have life-long vitality.

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Adaptogens

14 Tuesday Nov 2017

Posted by ByCandace in General, Nutrition

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Tags

#adaptogen, #adrenals, #cordyceps, #foursigmatic, #stressmanagement

An adaptogen is “a nontoxic substance and especially a plant extract that is held to increase the body’s ability to resist the damaging effects of stress and promote or restore normal physiological functioning” Merriam Webster.

Stress runs rampant in our society. While I believe that we can avoid and mitigate (re-frame our thoughts/change our perspective/change our reactions) stress; some stress we cannot. We are constantly under states of stress that we weren’t 200 years ago. For example: me sitting under fluorescent lights in front of my computer all day at work is stressful on my body.

I think that everyone living in the modern world should take adaptogens. Including adaptogens in my daily routine has changed my life! It is not like a sleeping pill, you cannot take adaptogens one time and your stress response is magically fantastic; you need to consistently take them over time to really reap the benefits. I like to rotate the adaptogens I use.

Here are some of my favorite products:

  • Four Sigmatic – Adaptogen Blend
  • Four Sigmatic Cordyceps Exixir
  • TransFormation Enzymes – Transcendence ReZen
    • My functional medicine doc, Angela Scopel orders these for me.
  • Pure Encapsulations – Phyto-ADR – Hypoallergenic Adrenal Support Formula
  • Adaptogen-R3 TM Premier Adaptogenic and Stress Support Formula

Side Note: As with most things, quality does matter. You will get what you pay for.

Mark Sisson from Mark’s Daily Apple does a fine job discussing some adaptogens in the 4 articles below:

  1. Adaptogen Effects: American and Asian Ginseng
  2. More on Adaptogens: Ashwagandha, Astragalus, and Holy Basil
  3. Adaptogens: Maca Root, Sea Buckthorn Oil, and Schisandra
  4. Two Final (and Favorite) Adaptogens: Rhodiola Rosea and Bacopa Monnieri

Check out my post: Adrenals & Cordyceps

I also like MommyPotamus’ article The Beginner’s Guide to Adaptogens For Adrenal Support

I hope that you give adaptogens a try. If you do, leave me a comment and tell me all about it.

 

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Adrenals & Cordyceps

20 Tuesday Jun 2017

Posted by ByCandace in General, Nutrition

≈ 3 Comments

Tags

#adaptogen, #adrenals, #cordyceps, #foursigmatic

I believe that our bodies are created to heal themselves provided the right inputs. I believe that whole unprocessed foods, low sugar, good sleep, stress management, connecting with nature, frequent movement, having some fun with the people you love, and target supplementation will yield a healthy and vibrant body. I talk in more detail about all this in my post: “The Trifecta”.

A piece of my story….

A few years ago, I suffered an adrenal crash (aka: severe HPA Axis Dysregulation), unfortunately at the time it was thought it was just my thyroid. I was given a T3/T4 combination medication called Nature-Throid. Initially it made my symptoms worse (once some time passed the thyroid medicine started to help me). This caused me to start researching about other causes for my debilitating fatigue. This is when I learned about the adrenals. During my research I learned that my hypothyroidism was secondary hypothyroidism caused by my adrenals, as they are in the endocrine system that is tightly knitted together.

After a year of living with severe debilitating fatigue and doing everything I could think of, I finally got tested and learned that my cortisol output was really low, see my results below.

 

If you are really suffering, like I was, and you want to do some testing there are 4 point cortisol saliva test as well as 24 hour urine tests that can be done to test your adrenal function levels. Here is an interesting podcast on adrenal testing.

What is an adrenal?

The adrenals are two small glands located just above each kidney. The adrenals are responsible for the production of DHEA, sex hormones, corticosteroids, aldosterone, adrenaline, norepinephrine, and dopamine.

Dr. Alan Christianson is one of my go-to adrenal experts.

Over the past few years I’ve worked incredibly hard at healing my body and I’m still working on it! Something that I recently found that has been a needle mover for me is called Cordyceps. “Cordyceps is an adaptogen, not a stimulant, so it helps you produce and maintain steady energy levels. Cordyceps helps your body produce its own energy.”

What I’ve done and am doing….

I found Four Sigmantic through Ben Greenfield (who is a BOSS); here is the podcast. I had nothing to lose by trying out their products. Initially, I was afraid of cordyceps because I didn’t know enough about them yet to determine if they were something that I should take considering my adrenal history.

5 Mushroom Blend.JPG

I started with drinking their 5 Mushroom Blend which has benefits of antioxidants, adaptogenic property, liver support, glycemic balance, and immune system support. I found that this one was better for me to use later in the afternoon early evening time to ready me for bed.

10 Mushroom Blend

Then I switched to their 10 Mushroom Blend because it had cordyceps in it along with 9 other super medicinal mushrooms. It has changed my life!

I recently drank straight Cordyceps because they come in easy to carry packets. I used ½ a packet each morning.

What have cordyceps done for me?

My energy levels have been better and more consistent throughout the day. If I don’t take it, I can feel the difference. I’ve been taking ½ tsp daily for a couple of months; I think I can safely increase to the full recommended amount of 1 tsp. However, you can drink it more than one time per day if you need to.

More fantastic resources for you….

According to Dr. Jockers.com, the five benefits of cordyceps are improved kidney and adrenal health, positive effect on sex hormone production, helps with blood sugar control, and better brain health due to the anti-inflammatory properties.

I could go on and on with various resources that discuss similar finds on how healthy cordyceps are for us….but I won’t. If you want to check out what others have to say about it, check out Dr. Mark Hyman, Dr. Lam, as well as the previously mentioned Dr. Alan Christianson. There is also a very helpful YouTube channel called: Adrenal Fatigue Society.

Here is a podcast that I recently listened to that went into how and why not all cordycep supplements are created equal. I personally am only taking Four Sigmatic’s brand. Here is another podcast with Four Sigmatic’s Tero Isokauppila.

Where to go from here….

I think everyone is under some form or multiple forms of stress these days. It certainly will not hurt you to try cordyceps, since they are adaptogenic they will increase if you need increase or decrease if you need decrease; they adapt to your body’s needs.

If you have any questions please feel free to ask in the ‘comments’ of this post.

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Get to Know Your Coffee

16 Friday Jun 2017

Posted by ByCandace in Lifestyle, Nutrition

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

#10mushroomblend, #certifiedorganic, #coffee, #collagen, #focusonquality, #foursigmatic, #knowledge+action=power, #organicheavycream, #stevia, #VitalProteins, #votewithyourdollar

Between 50% – 60% of Americans drink coffee. These coffee drinking Americans drink on average between 2 – 3 cups of coffee per day. (all stats provided by Googling articles) Folks….that is a massive amount of coffee being consumed every year in this country.

According to Healthy Organic Woman, “250 pounds of chemical fertilizers are sprayed per acre on non-organic coffee beans”. Coffee Review says that if someone is concerned about unwanted chemicals in our coffee (which I am), we should buy coffee that is “free of pesticides, herbicides, fungicides, chemical fertilizers, and other potentially harmful chemicals”, buy coffee from “Yemen, Ethiopia, and Sumatra Mandheling”, and look for the word “sustainable” on the label.

Coffee Questions to Ask and Consider:

  • Is it Certified Organic?
  • Is the process being monitored by an independent agency?
  • Where is it grown?
  • Is it grown in the shade?
  • What altitude is it grown at?
  • Is it from a single origin?
  • Is it sustainably grown?
  • Is it Fair Trade?

There is a lot of back and forth on the web about whether mycotoxins in coffee is something we should worry about. It seems unlikely this is a major issue, but I think…better safe than sorry….so buy the best quality possible.

Side Note: Please think about not using coffee pods. Do you really want to be drinking coffee made through heated plastic? Do you want to fill-up our earth with used coffee pods? Purchasing coffee beans and grinding them yourself produces a very fresh yummy cup of coffee.

I challenge you to spend to little time on the web researching coffee brands and how their beans are grown and processed. This action can yield for you peace of mind and better long-term health. I hope you choose to spend the time to get to know your coffee.

As you may have noticed there are themes throughout my blog posts….quality matters…even/particularly with your coffee, vote with your dollar, and knowledge is power!

 My morning coffee…

Right now we are drinking coffee made from Certified Organic Fair Trade beans from Peru that we purchase at Sprouts. We grind our beans fresh every day and set a timer on the coffee pot so we have fresh yummy coffee every morning.

Coffee Cup

I LOVE coffee, however I choose to drink only one 8oz cup per day in the morning.

My Coffee Additions

  • 1 Organic Stevia Packet by Sweetleaf
  • 1/2 – 1 scoop of Pasture-Raised Grass-Fed Collagen Peptides by Vital Protein
  • 1/2 – 1 tsp of Four Sigmatic’s – 10 Mushroom Blend
  • Enough Organic Heavy Whipping Cream to create the taste and color I like

 

 

 

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Diet – The Short Version….

13 Saturday May 2017

Posted by ByCandace in Books, Lifestyle, Nutrition

≈ 3 Comments

Tags

#change, #eatallthethings, #eatrealwholefood, #norestrictions, #paleo, #priorities, #uncomplicated

THEN

Back in the 1990’s and 2000’s I was all about a Low-Fat diet. I thought I had to eat low-fat to be fit and health. Keeping in mind I was in my early 20’s I was fit, but I was not healthy. At all. Then I also became un-fit as well. I yo-yoed back and forth for years.

Side note: Even when I was eating low-fat, I was never really able to eat as low-fat as I thought I “should” be eating. I still don’t know what people eat to maintain super low fat intake.

Enter “The Paleo Solution Diet” by Robb Wolf. This is a great book – I highly recommend it!

I again was not healthy. At all. So, I dove into Paleo face first. Over a few years I became very health and fit again. It was fantastic! I felt great – I preformed great – I looked great!

Somehow I ended up messing around with a super low carbohydrate diet. Between the low carbohydrate diet and poor lifestyle factors, and after some time…I became unhealthy and un-fit yet again.

I’ve been working to flight my way back ever since. This time my body broke down to levels I did not know existed and wish I didn’t know.

NOW

Through all of my diet and health struggles…..this is what I’ve learned.

  • Paleo is not dogmatic (you’re the only person that can impose rules on yourself)
  • Low-fat diets will eventually break you
  • Low-carb diets will eventually break you
  • Excessive exercise will eventually break you
  • It takes longer to heal the broken than it takes to break

I will no longer cut out a whole macro groups (protein, fat, carb) from my diet ever again. It isn’t necessary and in the long run it will break you.

 

Eating protein, fat, and carbs is required.

I know….I know…. everyone is either still in the low-fat camp or all about the ketogenic diet – it is everywhere and I’m sure most people are super confused about it all.

Truth is everyone’s dietary requirements are different from everyone else’s and each person’s dietary requirements change throughout their lifetime.

Recommended Books

  • Wire to Eat
  • The Paleo Cure

Soooo…..I’m not a man…I realistically cannot speak to that….but I can tell you….as a women….while we can adjust our macros (protein, fat, carb) of how much of each we take-in we need to be eating all three. Maybe not at every meal and maybe not every day, but you need all three in your face…in your body if you want to maintain your life, health, well-being, fitness, hormones, sleep….etc.

I find that I personally do not do well with restriction. Restriction in anyway will send me into a tailspin. So, now….I do not tell myself that I cannot have something. I can have anything I want any time I want. It is my responsibility and my choice to eat something or not to eat something that I choose…knowing that it either helps me or hurts me and it either gets me closer to my goals or further away from my goals. I own it and I suffer or reap the consequence of my choice one way or the other (I don’t feel bad about it either way).

UNCOMPLICATED

This whole thing is less complicated than what folks make it out to be.

Eat whole real foods.

If you can answer yes to these three questions, then it is real whole food.

  • Did your food grow out of the ground, fall from a tree, or have a mother?
  • Will it spoil?

There are times when we will eat foods out of a box or a bag; this day in age it is inevitable.

  • Can you pronounce all the ingredient’s names? (if not, find a better quality product with simple/less/pronounceable ingredients)

Go back to basics.

Trust me I get it….while this is a simple approach….it isn’t necessarily easy. BUT there are lots of tools out there to help (including me). I have found that we can and will do anything that we determine is important to us.

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Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo – The Preverbal Pumpkin….?

19 Wednesday Apr 2017

Posted by ByCandace in Lifestyle, Nutrition

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

#calcium, #chiropractor, #codliveroil, #eatrealwholefood, #genetictesting, #grastontechnique, #mammogram, #menopause, #myofascialrelease, #perimenopause, #prevention, #thermograms, #ultrasound

Does turning 40 mean I’ve turned in to the preverbal pumpkin?

Last month I made a few different medical appointments, took off work for the morning so I could knock them out; later I realized that I looked like a masochist booking all these in one morning.

I started out my day getting blood drawn to get an update on how my Thyroid is functioning. I’m currently on Nature-Throid, which is a T4/T3 combo.

Then I saw my chiropractor to get Graston Technique and myofascial release on my calves, feet, and toes. Pure and utter torture! BUT it works!

Then I headed to get my “Well Woman Exam” at the gynecologist. It had been just shy of 3 years since my last exam; I personally do not think that I need to do it every year. I am not on birth control, have regular cycles, and have no symptoms or abnormalities occurring that would warrant annual visits.

However since ovarian cancer did hit close to me, I’m looking into genetic testing for myself to see if my risks are high enough for MD Andersen’s Cancer clinic will take me as a preventative patient.

This is where the day got interesting.

The doctor and location I went to is new to me, I wanted to find someone that was close to my home. This place received good reviews, so I decided to give them a try. I go in, fill out paper word, weigh-in, urinate in a cup (apparently me telling them I was not pregnant wasn’t adequate), and strip down to nothing but my socks. Man am I happy I wore socks that day!

The lady comes in the room and much to my surprise, she was the opposite of what I was expecting to walk through the door…..she explained she was not the doctor that she was a midwife and was it ok with me that she complete my exam. I said “yes” that was fine; I thought to myself….”oh yes…maybe she is a bit progressive in her thinking, education, and more up-to-date on research than the doctor would have been”. NOPE!

While she was very good at communication and executing the exam….the education and mind-set was very old-school and not accurate.

I think I heard “Now that you’re 40…..” at least 5 to 10 times! I asked her if “now that I am 40 if I’ve turned into a pumpkin or something” and she giggled and said “ya…kinda”.

Here are the three inaccuracies that jumped out at me when she was giving me the “now that you’re 40” recommendations.

  • “Now that you’re 40, you need to make sure you’re taking calcium”. Fallacy!
  • “Now that you’re 40, you need to start getting mammograms”. Nope!
  • “Now that you’re 40, you need to start looking out for perimenopause symptoms”. What?!?

Please allow me to break down my thoughts and provide some up-to-date resources, data, and information.

Calcium

The old-school way of thinking that we need to supplement with calcium is not accurate. We do not need to supplement with calcium to have strong bones or teeth or anything else that they claim taking calcium does. Calcium supplementation is correlated with increased heart disease, kidney stones, and premature death. Calcium can cause medical issues with the heart and kidneys.

Naturally because this is a very controversial topic there are lots of articles and arguments in both directions, mostly because “big dairy” doesn’t want to lose their customers and money because people don’t “need” to drink milk, eat yogurt, or cheese (however I do love eating cheese, because it tastes so yummy, not because I need it for calcium). Also, note who is paying for these studies…..is it “big dairy”?? Think about the fact that there use to not be calcium supplements….people ate vitamin and mineral rich foods and worked hard physically and they were healthy.

Calcium needs co-factors to be absorbed and used by the body; vitamins K2, D and A, magnesium, and zinc.

Side note: Rosita Extra-Virgin Cod Liver Oil has K2, D and A in it naturally as a food derived supplement. WARNING: Not all Cod Liver Oils, Fish Oils, nor Krill Oils are created equal. The fats in these products are very delicate and will go rancid very easy, thus the “fish burps”. Do not pick the product based on price….you could be doing more harm than good to your body.

To error on the side of caution, the best way to get calcium in your body is to eat real whole foods like leafy greens, cruciferous veggies, almonds, blackstrap molasses, cold-water fatty fish, bone broth, raw grass-fed dairy from A2 cows (if you tolerate it), goat, or sheep. But milk nor dairy products are necessary to obtain calcium.

For strong bones you should include resistance training and make sure you are getting all your vitamins and minerals in your diet.

Mammogram

This can be a very controversial topic. I’m going to try and keep this section as short as I can while hitting the highlights of the topic. I’ve ran across a plethora of articles over the years that discuss mammograms not being as beneficial as allopathic (traditional western) medicine claims.

What you need to know is that mammograms are not super accurate and have lots of false positives and false negative results. The big one for me is that there is a high amount of radiation associated with this test and radiation can cause cancer. Specifically ionizing radiation is a risk factor for breast cancer to develop (see Dr. Mercola article links below).

My conjecture is that the mammogram business is so big, creates many jobs, and makes so much money that not pushing them on women and not doing them doesn’t seem to be an option – because it “works” sometimes.

The alternative that I like is a Thermogram (see links below). Thermograms are a much safer and less invasive than mammograms. They can be used starting earlier in life and can be done more frequently without harm to your health. They also provide more accurate results.

A multi-pronged approach is best, use all the tools that we know and have, including mammograms when necessary. Do self-exams, do thermograms, do ultrasound and if necessary do mammograms and MRIs.

BUT, prevention of cancer is the real key.

What you put in and on your body, your lifestyle including sleep and exercise, and your hormonal/endocrine health are all very important in the prevention of cancer.

Perimenopause

Let’s start with definitions:

Pre-Menopause is the time when a woman is having regular menstrual cycles, fertile child bearing years.

Perimenopause is the time up to 10 years prior to the full stopping of your period (aka: menopause), during which a woman’s hormones are changing typically causing a variety of unpleasant symptoms.

Menopause is when a woman goes a minimum of 12 months consecutively without menstruation.

The truth is that every woman goes through menopause at different ages, therefore I deduct that women also go through perimenopause at different ages. Some women have very gradual long time symptoms and some women it hits like a freight-train.

It may in fact be me not wanting to face the fact that being 40 means that I am now old enough to experience perimenopause symptoms, due to just my age. My brain doesn’t want to comprehend nor accept this!

What I do know is that my lifestyle (aka: long-term chronic stress) broke my body down in such ways that directly affect my sex hormone outputs and I have been working a long time to rebuild my health and hormones. I still have regular menstrual cycles. This has motivated me highly to heal as quickly as I can so that I can better manage the impending perimenopause.

Encouragement: I believe that women can transition through perimenopause into menopause without it being miserable and traumatic. This isn’t common these days, but it is possible. As I learn more, rest assured that I will be writing and sharing what I learn.

Below are a few books that I recommend:

  • Before the Change: Taking Charge of Your Perimenopause
  • Sex, Lies, and Menopause
  • What Your Doctor May Not Tell You About: Premenopause
  • What Your Doctor May Not Tell You About: Menopause

Takeaways

  1. Do not take calcium supplements, get it from real whole foods. If you do take a calcium supplement do not take it by itself, take it with co-factors.
  2. Use more safe methods of breast cancer screening before subjecting your body to cancer causing radiation.
  3. Just because someone is 40 doesn’t mean that they are going to start perimenopause. However it does mean that one should get as healthy as ever possible before any major hormonal changes start occurring. Particularly the adrenal glands.

 

Below are links for you to read and research further the topics briefly discussed in this post.

Calcium Resources:

http://empoweredsustenance.com/avoid-calcium-supplements/

http://www.healthy-diet-healthy-you.com/Benefits_of_Calcium.html

https://paleoleap.com/calcium/

https://chriskresser.com/how-to-keep-your-bones-healthy-on-a-paleo-diet/

https://www.thepaleomom.com/why-dont-i-need-to-worry-about-calcium-2/

The following excerpt is from a PDF called “The Real Food Action Guide by: John and Ocean Robbins” Pgs. 7 – 8:

“John Robbins: For years, the dairy industry has been telling us that dairy is the best thing for healthy bones, that kids need to drink cow’s milk, and that milk is Nature’s perfect food. Actually, milk is nature’s perfect food for turning a 90-pound calf into a 450-pound cow in about 12 months. If it were true that we need dairy products to have strong bones, then the countries in the world with the highest dairy product consumption would probably have the strongest bones, and they would probably have the lowest rates of osteoporosis. Well, the four countries with the highest consumption of dairy products in the world, are: Finland, Sweden, the United States, and England. Now, the four countries in the world with the highest rates of osteoporosis in the world happen to be those very same four countries: Finland, Sweden, the United States, and England.

Ocean Robbins: This can actually seem kinda hard to believe, when we’ve all been inundated by ads telling us that the calcium in dairy products is the best way to build strong bones. Most of us have come to believe that this is just a fact of life.

John Robbins: Yes, but in reality it’s a fabricated myth designed to sell dairy products. Now, it’s true that milk has a lot of calcium, and that women, in particular, need more calcium then men do. But a famous study of 78,000 female nurses found that the relative risk of hip fracture for women who drank two glasses or more of milk per day, was nearly one-and-half times higher than for those who drank one glass or less per week. And another population that can need a bit of extra calcium is the elderly. Yet a study published in the American Journal of Epidemiology found that elderly people with the highest dairy product consumption actually had double the risk of hip fracture compared to those with the lowest consumption. Calcium is of course important. But dairy products are not the best way to get this important mineral. One reason is that the calcium absorption rates for green vegetables is so much higher than it is for dairy products. For kale, the calcium absorption rate is 50 percent; For Brussels sprouts, it’s 64 percent. But for milk, it’s only half of that – 32 percent.

If you want to have strong bones throughout your entire life, your best approach is to eat plenty of green leafy vegetables, to exercise regularly, don’t drink Coke or Pepsi because cola drinks are made with phosphoric acid that deletes calcium from bone tissue, and minimize your consumption of animal protein, which has a similar effect. You’ll feel better, your bones will be stronger, and your overall health will benefit in many other ways, as well.”

Mammogram Resources:

http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2016/10/25/mammogram-effects-risks.aspx

http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2015/10/14/mammography-promotion.aspx

http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2014/02/26/mammograms.aspx

http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2014/04/30/mammography-screening-programs.aspx

http://realfoodforager.com/3-risks-your-doctor-wont-tell-you-about-mammography/

http://realfarmacy.com/why-mammography-screening-is-being-abolished/

http://www.healthy-holistic-living.com/thermograms-safer-accurate-mammograms.html

http://realfarmacy.com/mammograms-cause-cancer/

http://thestir.cafemom.com/healthy_living/191875/women_told_having_fewer_mammog

http://www.saragottfriedmd.com/what-if-breast-cancer-dr-saras-prevention-top-10-list/

Perimenopause Resources:

http://www.bridgitdanner.com/womens-wellness-blog/2017/3/31/what-in-the-world-is-peri-menopause?rq=menopause

https://go.magicmenopause.com/waiting-list

https://www.drlovely.expert/

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Introducing: Nutreince

13 Thursday Oct 2016

Posted by ByCandace in General, Nutrition

≈ 3 Comments

I am super excited to introduce to you Nutreince by: Calton Nutrition.

Nutreince is a multivitamin unlike any other!

The Calton’s designed this multivitamin for maximum absorption. They have used a patented Anti-Competition Technology, which means the eliminates “over 45 absorption and health-blocking micronutrient competitions while providing more than 85 absorption and health-enhancing micronutrient synergies to greatly increase the benefits and utilization of many of the essential micronutrients found in nutreince”.

They also went to the trouble to make sure that the forms of the nutrients in the product are the active, complete, safe, and bio-available forms, so your body can actually use it. Nutreience is in a two mini-packet per-day powder that you add to water and drink. It should be taken within 20-30 minutes of a meal, one packet in the morning and one in the evening. It is 98% absorbable and supplies your body with 100% of the daily value of 20 vitamins and minerals.

Take the Micronutrient Sufficiency Quiz to see what nutrients you are deficient in.

Nutreince is great for children over the age of 4 or 54 pounds and it tastes delicious so they will love it! You can cut the dose in half for smaller children. It is also a fantastic source for 5-MTHF and folate (not folic acid) for pregnant women; not to mention it will not cause an upset stomach.

For more information and questions go here  and click on Nutreince and then click through the information tabs mid-way down the page; particularly the Q&A tab.

You can purchase a sample pack here (scroll 1/2 down the page) for $10.00 to taste the different flavors.
If you only pick one vitamin to take, Nutreince is the one you should pick!

I also highly recommend the Calton’s books – click here to buy:

  1. Naked Calories “reveals the naked truth about what you are eating and how your lifestyle habits may unknowingly be sabotaging your health”;
  2. Rich Food Poor Food “Grocery Purchasing System (GPS), is a unique guide that steers the consumer through the grocery store aisles, directing them to health enhancing Rich Food options while avoiding health detracting Poor Food ones”; and
  3. The Micronutrient Miracle “explains the truth about what you’re really eating and how your habits may be depleting essential micronutrients. It also provides an easy-to-follow 28-day plan to reverse these effects by restoring your depleted micronutrients”.

 

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Vegetarianism & Veganism

23 Friday Sep 2016

Posted by ByCandace in Lifestyle, Nutrition

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

#bonebroth, #energybits, #nutreince, #tinstarghee, #veganism, #vegetarianism, #VitalProteins

I have recently found that acquaintances in my life are choosing to eat vegetarian or vegan. I really did not want to get into a conversation or debate with them about their choice. But, it got me asking myself why they are choosing this? One person did tell me it wasn’t because of moral views, so why then? Well, I decided to put some thoughts and information out there in hopes of expanding some horizons.

Definitions

According to Google, Vegetarianism is defined as “a person who does not eat meat, and sometimes other animal products, especially for moral, religious, or health reasons”.

Also, according to Google, a Vegan is defined as “a person who does not eat or use animal products”.

Can You Be Healthy Long-Term?

Being a vegetarian or vegan and being healthy long-terms is not impossible, but it will likely be tough. I heard on a podcast not that long ago that was discussing vegetarianism and veganism and they were saying that it takes about 7 years for the long-term effects of missing nutrients and poor nutrient absorption to have a negative effect on their health.

Many folks who choose a vegetarian or veganism way of eating typically rely too heavily on grains, legumes, GMO foods, and highly-processed food-like products as the bulk of their diets. If you tolerate grains and legumes, it is ok to use them sparingly, however they are low in bio-available nutrients, they contain lectins and phytates, and can also contribute to intestinal permeability. It is helpful if you properly prepare them, soaking them overnight and allowing them to sprout before cooking them.  If you already have any intestinal permeability or inflammation they can wreak havoc. Generally speaking, these items also are not very nutrient dense, especially compared to other vegetable options. It is important to watch blood sugar issues with eating lots of grains and grain products.

Fruit is very yummy and do contain usable nutrients, but can cause increased issues with those with blood sugar problems and those who are fructose intolerant (avoid Agave). Eating some fruit is ok, but eating massive amounts of fruit all day isn’t a good idea.

A lot of folks also rely on soy products, which I say is a bad idea due to the estrogenic activity of soy. This is super important for men. Just say no to soy. Most soy is also GMO soy. If you choose to eat soy, I suggest you only eat traditionally fermented soy.

If the goal of either of these lifestyles is to be healthy, the main food items that need to be consumed is organic non-GMO vegetables, some fruit, and the use of supplements. Many vitamin and mineral deficiencies can occur over time from not eating animals and or animal products; for example: B12, iron, zinc, calcium, fat-soluble vitamins D and A, and other long-chain fatty acids like DHA and EPA.

Personal Opinion

I believe that having a plant-based diet is important. We should be eating a minimum of 2 – 3 cups of veggies with each meal. Eating a variety of foods is very important. Get them all and eat them all.

I also believe that the human body needs the bio-available nutrients that come from animal products (meats, organs, seafood, bi-products ie. Eggs, Bone Broth, Collagen Protein, Honey, Butter or Ghee.

I do not think that you have to eat meat or animal products with every meal to gain the nutrients your body needs. If you focus on the most nutrient dense the less you have to eat of them, like cold-water fatty fish, liver, pastured egg yolks, pastured bison or beef.

I believe that there are good and ideal ways for people to eat animals and animal products that do not involve large-scale factory farming practices ie. feed-lots and other confined animal feeding operations, closed-in chicken farms, or GMO plants etc. Vote with your dollar!

In my post Quality Food Sources, I provide my thoughts on sourcing our foods from responsible places. Regardless if you eat meat or not, you should be sourcing your produce from locally grown sources, the closer to you they are grown the less nutrients are lost and the less gasoline is needed to transport it. You can source responsibly raised and butchered meats, bones, and organs. With a little online research you can find local farmers and ranchers that are doing things in an ethically responsible way. If you have local farmers markets that is also a good place to start, they are usually there. Ask questions.

Small Rant:

It is naive to think that because you are vegan or vegetarian that your food doesn’t cause animal death. It does. The farming practices kill hundreds and thousands of animals and animal habitats. Why is it ok to kill a field mouse, mole, rabbit, snake, insect or bird and not a cow, pig, or deer? Anyway, that is not really a question….

The Bible says in Genesis 9:3 “Every moving thing that lives shall be food for you. And as I gave you the green plants, I give you everything.” There is A LOT more details in in Deuteronomy 14:1-29 and in Leviticus 11:1-47. The Maker’s Diet has a bunch of details in it too.

Recommended Supplements:

Purepea by: Designs for Health

Calton Nutrition – Nutreince

EnergyBits

Various Resources:

The Vegetarian Myth: Food, Justice, and Sustainability

The Vegetarian Myth (review by Mark Sisson)

The Omnivore’s Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals

17 Primal Tips for Vegans and Vegetarians

Sustainable Living

Joel Salatin

Sustainable Farming

Naked Calories: The Calton’s Simple 3-step Plan to Micronutrient Sufficiency

Live Beyond Organic Change Your Diet. Change Your Life. Change Your World

10 Important Items To Include In A Plant-Based, Vegan or Vegetarian Diet

What Raw Vegans Can Teach Us About Paleo: 12 Lessons For Supercharged Living

Why Vegetarians and Vegans Should Supplement with DHA

Meat: It’s More than Protein

Nutrient Showdown: Best Sources of Vitamins & Minerals

The Illusion of Nutrient-Dense Food

10 Vegan Diet Dangers

I’m not vegan anymore

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