Author Archives: bethgil

A New Look At Cholesterol: It’s Not Just the Numbers

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If you go strictly by the numbers (and what you’ve been conditioned to think), you will  believe that cholesterol is bad. If your total cholesterol number or your LDL cholesterol is high, some health care providers might recommend that you make dietary and lifestyle changes to bring down your cholesterol levels (that is, if you are lucky). Or if you happen to flag a certain higher level of total cholesterol or LDL, you could be instructed to take a statin drug like Lipitor or Zocor right away.

But what happens when your cholesterol drops too low because of statin drugs? Not a pretty picture! You need cholesterol to make your steroid hormones, like pregnenolone, DHEA, progesterone, testosterone, and estrogen. And you want those hormones at optimal levels for good sex drive and happy mood, brain sharpness, to preserve your muscles, and so much more. So, too low isn’t good either.

The good news is that when it comes to cutting edge cholesterol testing, it’s not strictly a numbers game anymore. Recent technology advancements not only have created smart phones, pad computers, Facebook, and Twitter, but also advanced analysis when it comes to all kinds of health measures, including heart health and cholesterol testing.

For example, I was recently tested for my total cholesterol, LDL cholesterol, HDL cholesterol, and triglycerides. In addition, I was also tested for the size, density, and number of LDL and HDL particles. My total cholesterol was 214 and my LDL was 135, a little high according to conventional standards if you go strictly by the numbers. Dangerous?  A red flag? Not necessarily. Here’s why: My HDL was good and my triglycerides were low. And I had normal levels of the small dense LDL particles. These small dense LDL particles are atherogenic (meaning they deposit fats and calcium in the arterial lumen) to form problematic plaque. Think of small dense LDL particles as small sticky guys that can easily penetrate the endothelial wall and create trouble. Lp(a) is another small, dense LDL that is involved in thrombosis –which is the formation of a blood clot inside a blood vessel. I was fortunate to have low levels of this particle, as well. In the world of LDL particles, it goes beyond number…it’s also a matter of size. Less is better and bigger is better!

New advancements in testing can help you get a better picture of what is really going when it comes to your heart health and help you make a better decision, along with your doctor, about whether or not you need to be concerned or go on a statin drug. After all, most drugs have side effects and the decision to start a drug needs to be carefully evaluated with your doctor.

To help you better understand the overall effects of cholesterol on your body, please take a look at the handy chart I’ve included with this post. (And be sure to read my next blog post for more about statin drugs, including some of the side effects like memory loss, depression and diabetes.)

Excerpt from FDA NEWS RELEASE,  Feb. 28, 2012

FDA announces safety changes in labeling for some cholesterol-lowering drugs: 

“Important safety changes to the labeling for some widely used cholesterol-lowering drugs known as statins are being announced today by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.”

“These products, when used with diet and exercise, help to lower a person’s “bad” cholesterol (low-density lipoprotein cholesterol). The products include: Lipitor (atorvastatin), Lescol (fluvastatin), Mevacor (lovastatin), Altoprev (lovastatin extended-release), Livalo (pitavastatin), Pravachol (pravastatin), Crestor (rosuvastatin), and Zocor (simvastatin). Combination products include: Advicor (lovastatin/niacin extended-release), Simcor (simvastatin/niacin extended-release), and Vytorin (simvastatin/ezetimibe).”

Two major changes to the statin labels include:

“Certain cognitive (brain-related) effects have been reported with statin use. Statin labels will now include information about some patients experiencing memory loss and confusion. These reports generally have not been serious and the patients’ symptoms were reversed by stopping the statin. However, patients should still alert their health care professional if these symptoms occur.”

“Increases in blood sugar levels (hyperglycemia) have been reported with statin use. The FDA is also aware of studies showing that patients being treated with statins may have a small increased risk of increased blood sugar levels and of being diagnosed with type 2 diabetes mellitus. The labels will now warn healthcare professionals and patients of this potential risk.”

 

 

Transition with Ease into Fall and Shorter Days

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Transition into fall and shorter days (meaning less natural light) can be a tough transition for lots of people, including me. I am a spring/summer girl and feel very charged and happy by longer days and sunshine. I am affected by natural light or the lack of it, as are lots of people around the country, especially women. Lack of light may upset your sleep-wake cycle and other circadian rhythms. And it may cause problems with a brain chemical called serotonin that affects mood. Serotonin is your brain chemical that makes you feel happy, positive, confident, flexible, and easy going. Lack of sunlight leads to decreased serotonin levels in some people, which can result in anxiety, nervousness, irritability, PMS, cravings for sweet and starchy snacks, and insomnia.

So what do I do during this transition into winter to keep my serotonin levels up and stay happy?

I exercise several times during the week (even if just for 20 to 30 minutes) to keep my serotonin levels elevated. Exercise has been shown to increase serotonin. And if you can exercise outside during the daylight hours, even better! Like a quick walk at lunch time.

I am also very careful with sugar and excess carbohydrate intake, as these foods will raise my serotonin levels temporarily, but end up crashing them an hour or two later. Instead, I eat more protein to ensure that I am getting the specific amino acid to make serotonin, which is tryptophan! I make sure to get a little protein with each meal. Tryptophan is found in foods like turkey, beef, chicken, and eggs. Tryptophan is found in smaller amounts in nutritional yeast, milk products, nuts, seeds, banana, and pumpkin.

During the shortest days of winter, I also take specific nutritional supplements to help me make more serotonin. Targeted nutrition is an incredible effective way to support your unique chemistry and brain balance!

Light therapy or bright light treatment is also highly recommended. I have not tried this yet personally, but am looking into investigating it this month! I will let you know how it goes!

If you are affected by the change of season and feel blue in the fall and winter months, please check out my targeted nutrition program page. I would love to work in partnership with you to put together a specific diet and nutrient plan to elevate your mood all winter long!

What’s Eating You May Be What You’re Eating

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When it’s time to eat, you know you shouldn’t bite off more than you can chew. Yet, you’re overwhelmed by your choices of food. Are they good, bad or neutral foods? How will they affect you? Or perhaps you just eat and run…grabbing the most convenient food, without taking the time to even care about it.

Instead, you ought to make good decisions on what to eat and find foods that truly nourish, sustain and lift you, and not the ones that drag you down. But it’s not that easy to do, right?

Do you want to get at what’s eating you?  I can help you get to a place where you intuitively know what foods will provide you with the most energy, make your brain alert, and help you maintain your desired weight. I’ve cooked up a simple recipe, so you know beforehand if a food will make you feel sleepy, cause you to be foggy-brained, or pack on 2 to 3 pounds of dead weight. When you have the right recipe, you’ll know what foods you can eat socially and for fun every so often without a significant impact and what foods you just need to stay away from permanently.

Have I whet your appetite now? Great! First, I want to assure you that getting to that point won’t happen overnight, but it can happen within a pretty short time frame – like 3 weeks.

Here’s how: By eliminating specific foods (especially the top allergenic foods) from your diet for a period of just 3 weeks, you easily start to notice the shifts in your energy, brain sharpness, sleep patterns, and overall mood. Plus, you can also easily assess if you lose that bloated weight, just by the way your clothes fit or looking at the bathroom scale. After the 3 weeks, you re-introduce the foods that you eliminated, and again notice the changes in your body to discover whether a food is nourishing and sustaining you or if it is just eating away at you and dragging you down. This process creates food awareness. In this crazy and fast paced world, you need to re-connect with food to avoid or stop major health consequences.

How can I help you? When you join my 3 week cleanse program, I will show you how to eliminate the top allergenic foods, and then learn how to re-introduce these foods back into your diet. You will see which ones are your friends and which are your foes. In a supportive group setting, and in the convenience of your own home, you will discover your own potential food culprits…and safely bring them back into your diet. CLICK HERE to find out more.

Does this process work? My boyfriend discovered through this food awareness method that his brain feels energized by carrots and avocado. And he falls asleep after he eats ice cream. I feel energized and sustained all morning with a higher protein breakfast and lots of veggies. What foods give you long term energy and make your brain feel alert? What foods make you tired and lethargic? When improve your own food awareness, you will be able to stop living to eat and begin enjoying eating to really live.

My Beef With Fatty, Hormone Filled Red Meat

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Before you take your next bite of that big juicy burger or thick prime steak, you might want to “beef up” your knowledge about the findings in a recent British Study reporting that the average person, eating large amounts of corn- and soy-fed red meat had increased risk for heart disease, diabetes, and colorectal cancer. Another recent study by the U.S. National Cancer Institute claims that consuming red meat contributes to a host of health risks, including cancer, heart disease, Alzheimer’s, and stomach ulcers.

No wonder so many people (including me) have a beef with red meat from corn- and soy-fed cows filled with hormones and antibiotics, instead of leaner cuts from grass-fed, drug-free cows or buffalo. Today’s modern lifestyle and tastes have taken a toll on everyone’s health. That has me concerned…and it should have you thinking carefully about eating all that dangerous, fat-laden red meat loaded with antibiotics and hormones.

Here’s why you should care about what goes into the beef you consume. Grass-fed cows are leaner and have less saturated fat. They also have higher amounts of the Omega 3 fatty acids, which are protective when it comes to heart disease, cancer, and diabetes, because Omega 3 fatty acids help decrease inflammation. On the other hand, corn and soy (the kind of feed for the majority of cows) are high in the Omega 6 fatty acids, which are pro-inflammatory in excess. And, as I’ve mentioned in many of my posts, inflammation is at the core of many chronic degenerative diseases and can lead to all types of imbalances.

I think it would be interesting to do a study of people eating only pasture-raised, grass-fed animals. I believe eating leaner, antibiotic- and hormone-free beef could help ward off all those chronic, degenerative diseases, and a medical study is needed to substantiate.

For an easy solution to rid your system of toxins and reduce inflammation, I’ve found that a cleansing and detoxification program is an ideal place to start. Why? Because a cleanse program immediately addresses the bad or potentially harmful foods you’ve been ingesting. To learn more about how a cleanse can help you, CLICK HERE for free information.

The Energy Cycle: How to Get Back Your Get-Up-And-Go Part 7—Endocrine Imbalance

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To this point, I’ve posted six blogs on the ways your get-up-and-go is being sapped. I’ve covered food sensitivities and allergies, caffeine, stress, toxins and preservatives, fat storage and exercise. Now this is the seventh, and final, post, which is on the effect of endocrine imbalances.

When it comes to energy levels, you can’t ignore endocrine imbalances, either. These include low thyroid function or tired adrenals.

However, addressing endocrine imbalances is a separate topic that requires a lot of attention. But just to put it out there, toxins and allergenic foods can contribute to low thyroid function. And chronic stress and blood sugar imbalances can make your adrenals gland tired.

For an easy solution to getting back your get-up-and-go, I’ve found I’ve found that a three week cleanse program is an ideal place to start. Why? Because a cleanse program immediately addresses the toxins and blood sugar imbalances that affect your thyroid and adrenal gland functions.

To learn more about how the 3-week cleanse can help you, CLICK HERE!

And please, be sure to read (and re-read)all seven blog posts in this series on getting back your get-up-and-go.

The Energy Cycle: How to Get Back Your Get-Up-And-Go Part 6—Exercise

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This previous five posts in this educational 7-part blog post series have told you about the effects of food sensitivities and allergies, caffeine, stress, toxins and preservatives, and fat storage. Exercise and its effect on your energy is the topic I’m discussing in this post.
Exercise and just moving the body, in general, help you sleep better. And better sleep, in turn, gives you more energy.

But what do you do if you’re simply too tired to exercise? It’s not easy to muster up the willpower to go to the gym or go for a run if you feel completely, utterly exhausted.
Lack of good sleep makes you too tired to exercise. Not exercising makes you feel tired, exhausted, sapped of energy. What do you do?

Over the past several years, I’ve found that a three week cleanse program is an ideal way to start. The reason? A cleanse program immediately promotes deeper sleep. And better sleep helps rid you of that sluggishness. Once you have more energy, you’ll wake up refreshed and ready to exercise.

To learn more about how the 3-week cleanse can help restore your get-up-and-go, CLICK HERE!

Don’t stop now. For still more information, please read the seventh and final blog post in this series, which covers endocrine imbalances.

Granola Recipe – A Must Have!

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I recommend preparing as much as you can on the weekend for the week ahead. Just makes it a whole lot easier to eat healthy during the week!

I made this granola recipe on a weekend and enjoyed it during the entire week. And I was able to get other things done while the granola was in the oven!

Home Comfort Granola adapted from the Flavors of Health Cookbook

Ingredients:

2 cups quick-cooking oat flakes (If you have a gluten sensitivity, consider Bob’s Red Mill gluten free quick cooking oats)
½ cup raw unsalted sunflower seeds
½ cup chopped walnuts
¼ cup flaked coconut
½ cup coconut oil
1/3 cup maple syrup
1 TB pure vanilla extract
2 tsp freshly grated ginger
1 tsp ground cinnamon
½ tsp sea salt

Topping:

1 cup raw wheat germ (also can use gluten free oat bran or ground flax if adhering to a gluten free diet)
¼ cup raisins
¼ cup dried cherries or cranberries

Method:

  1. Preheat oven to 275 F
  2. Combine oats, seeds, nuts, coconut flakes, coconut oil, maple syrup, vanilla, ginger, cinnamon, and salt in a heavy ovenproof pot or cast iron pan. Stir gently over low heat with a wooden spoon until thoroughly combined.
  3. Transfer mixture to two parchment-lined baking sheets, spreading out evenly. (I used one large baking sheet and that worked just fine!)
  4. Bake for 50 minutes, stirring every so often.
  5. In the last 15 minutes of baking, add the wheat germ and dried fruit.
  6. Serve with unsweetened nut, rice or coconut milk (I added a little bit of seasonal fruit and ½ scoop of protein powder as well). Store leftovers in an airtight container in a dark cupboard.

Cookbook Recommendation:

Flavors of Health by Ed Bauman, Ph.D. and Lizette Marx, N.C., is a beautifully illustrated cookbook featuring nutritious and delicious beverages, soups, spreads and dips, main entrees, and desserts. I love the Cooking “Pearls” included throughout the book; like how to poach an egg or how to remove pomegranate seeds from a pomegranate! Wish I had known this last pearl last fall when I made a big persimmon and pomegranate salad…took a long time to get out the seeds! Also scattered throughout the book are nutrition gems which give you the history and healing properties of selected foods! And Ed and Lizette are just good people!

The Energy Cycle: How to Get Back Your Get-Up-And-Go Part 5— Body Fat

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So far in this 7-part blog series, I have told you about a number of ways you’re losing your energy, including the effects of food sensitivities and allergies, caffeine, stress, and toxins and preservatives. This fifth post in the series talks about the how extra body fat storage is robbing you of your get-up-and-go.

Blubber. Lard. Flab. No matter what you call that extra body fat, it’s another energy enemy.

Fat around the belly is not just a place to store extra calories. Fat around the belly is very active, secreting all kinds of inflammatory chemicals. In fact, fat around the belly, also called “visceral fat,” has even been labeled as another endocrine organ by some folks.

Inflammation resulting from belly fat leads to all types of imbalances…including abnormal insulin responses. Yes, again, inflammation and imbalanced blood sugar affect your energy levels.

So how do you deal with extra body fat and to help get back your get-up-and-go?
You can start with a three week cleanse program. It can immediately help rid you body of the harmful fat it’s storing.

To learn more about how the 3-week cleanse can help you, CLICK HERE!

Plus, be sure to watch for the rest of this 7-part blog post series to find out how lack of exercise and endocrine imbalances can affect your energy.

The Energy Cycle: How to Get Back Your Get-Up-And-Go: Part 4— Toxins and Preservatives

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In part one of this 7-part blog series, you read about “Processed Foods, Food Sensitivities and Food Allergies.” In part two, it was “Caffeine and Sleep Quality.” Part three covered “Stress and Fatigue.” Now this post discusses how your get-up-and-go is being stolen from under you every day by “Toxins and Preservatives.”

Certainly, you just can’t ignore common toxins, such as preservatives in foods, chemicals, industrial pollutants, and heavy metals like mercury. These all take a toll on your energy levels, especially if you are not doing a good job of getting rid of these toxins from your body.

One of the primary organs of detoxification, is the liver. But, if the liver becomes overburdened from years of toxin overload, it is less efficient at doing its job.  This can cause a buildup of toxins in your body, especially in your fat stores. An issue that I will discuss in the next blog post in this 7-part series, which will also cover exercise and endocrine imbalance.

The immediate question is how do you detoxify and help the liver do its job more efficiently?

To help get back your get-up-and-go, a three week cleanse program is an ideal place to start. It can immediately help detoxify your body and get back your get-up-and-go.

To learn more about how a 3-week cleanse can help you, CLICK HERE.

The Energy Cycle: How to Get Back Your Get-Up-And-Go: Part 3—Stress and Fatigue

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In part 1 and 2 of this blog series, I’ve dealt with “Processed Foods, Food Sensitivities and Food Allergies” and “Caffeine and Sleep Quality.” While these are important considerations when it comes to what causes you to lose your get-up-and-go, you can’t forget how stress is sapping your energy every day.

Chronic stress, like dealing with commute traffic and being over-scheduled, certainly rob you of your vital energy day-in and day-out. You’re just not designed to be in a chronic stress state24/7.

Additionally, chronic stress taxes your little adrenal glands over time. The reason? Those are the glands that secrete your stress hormones, certain sex hormones and help manage blood sugar.

Being chronically stressed also sets you up for too much time in the “sympathetic” state, and not enough time in the “parasympathetic” state.  When it comes to the sympathetic and parasympathetic systems, it’s all about balance. The sympathetic nervous system activates what is often termed the fight-or-flight response, increases heart rate, makes pupils dilate, and inhibits digestion.  The parasympathetic state slows down the heart rate, stimulates digestion, and stimulates good liver and kidney function, among other things.

So you can see that if you are in the sympathetic state way too often, your ability to digest and absorb nutrients from your foods, your liver’s ability to detoxify harmful substances, and restoration in general will be greatly affected.

But these are only some of the concerns robbing you of your energy. To discover how toxins and preservatives, fat storage, exercise, and endocrine imbalances affect energy, continue reading this 7-part blog post series, “The Energy Cycle: How to Get Back Your Get-Up-And-Go.”

And to help get back your get-up-and-go, you can start with a three week cleanse program. It can immediately help detoxify harmful substances from your body and help stimulate good liver and kidney function.

To learn more about how the 3-week cleanse can help you, CLICK HERE!