I watched my grandfather suffer from Parkinson’s disease. It was difficult to watch. Before he died, my grandfather was a shell of his previous self. The man everyone knew and loved had disappeared long before death took him. His last years were spent in a wheel chair, and he was completely dependent on caregivers to feed, bathe and dress him. If only I knew then, what I know now about the Parkinson’s-gut connection.
Multiple Sclerosis (MS) is debilitating. The symptoms look like you’ve taken multiple diseases and thrown them all together into one awful mix. Common symptoms include pain, pins and needles, and muscle cramping in any part of the body. The pain can be constant and intense. Frequently bowel and bladder problems exist, which are problematic and can lead to embarrassing situations. Muscle weakness can cause breathing problems and extreme fatigue. Gut-health is an underlying factor in the development of the condition.
With regular frequency I am asked the question "is it okay to use frozen?" This question comes up when I am sitting with a client and we are coming up with meal ideas that the client likes and that include the recommendations I have made. When that question gets asked, the look on the person's face is usually a mixture of guilt and hope. Guilt, because that person is using frozen already, and hope because they desperately want me to answer "yes" for convenience sake. I always answer with a resounding YES! Fresh isn't always best.
Comic book villains are the evil characters that negatively influence other characters in a story, and cause havoc to society. I love watching the Marvel movies with my kids, and my 14 year old daughter is always attracted to the bad guys. She loves Loki in the Thor movies, and we have just finished watching Daredevil (Season 1) and she liked the character Fisk who plays the protagonist. It's her attraction to the duality of these characters that has made me pay more attention to the villains. In your gut story, SIBO could be that evil villain.
What is the best kind of diet for optimal health? For several decades there has been a large vegetarian movement, but more recently the Paleo movement has been gaining momentum. These two movements have some significant differences, yet there are strong advocates for both sides. So how is a person to know which way of eating is the best?
It's easy to get depressed or angry when you start dwelling on all the chemicals that get sprayed on our food supply. Food is meant to nourish us, but when herbicides, pesticides, and fungicides get sprayed on our food crops it means that we can't help but eat these toxic chemicals. When plants get sprayed they absorb these chemicals through their leaves and root systems, which means that the chemicals become systemic in the plants and are throughout the foods we harvest.
Did you know that good health depends on microbial diversity in your gut? The microbes that make your digestive tract their home play a key role in every aspect of your health. Your relationship with those organisms is a codependent one - you provide a dark, temperature-regulated home that has a constant food supply, and in exchange the microbes regulate every metabolic process in your body including things like immune function, blood pressure, fat storage, hormone function and blood sugar regulation.
When I work with clients I often end up working directly or indirectly with their doctors. Sometimes we'll be on conference calls together, sometimes a write a letter and other times my client just communicates information back and forth between their different practitioners.
Have you ever wondered what doctors your nutritionist uses?
Call the clinic to book a complimentary 15-minute meet & greet or to book your first full appointment. If you aren’t sure if I’m the right practitioner for you, start with the 15-minute meet & greet.
