By Christiane Northrup MD on May 18, 2012
Modern medicine operates much like a farmer who fixes his fences only after the horses or cows have broken out. Hence, most serious health conditions incubate for years before they are diagnosed. This is certainly true of type 2 diabetes.
A couple of weeks ago, I read a timely article in Life Extension magazine entitled “Glucose: The Silent Killer.” In addition to summarizing all of the really bad things that excess blood sugar can do to your body, the article documented an important fact: By the time you are diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, you’ve actually had blood sugar problems for years. (Note: Do not confuse type 1 diabetes with type 2 diabetes. They are really very different. Type 1 is an autoimmune disease, which begins in childhood and requires insulin. Type 2 diabetes, also called diabesity, is related to your diet and lifestyle.)
I certainly knew this to be true, and I have written about it in my books. But there is a new piece to the puzzle: We’ve set the range for normal blood sugar too high. Recent studies indicate that fasting glucose levels should be in the range of 70–85 mg/dL. Unfortunately, most standard labs give the upper limit of normal for a fasting blood sugar at 99 mg/dL. That’s too high!
In addition, blood sugar levels after a meal should not spike more than 40 mg/dL higher than your fasting level. This means that your blood sugar level should be in the range of 110–125mg/dL one or two hours after a meal.
After reading this compelling new data on blood sugar, I decided to test my own blood sugar on a regular basis to see how I was doing—to take my health into my own hands. Taking control of your health starts with knowing where you stand. You don’t need to wait! I sure didn’t. (I have a family history of cardiovascular disease, so doing what I can to keep my blood sugar normal is a good way to support my heart, and so forth.) The first thing I did was consult with my Facebook community. I have a lot of “experts” there — individuals with diabetes who regularly check their own blood sugar. After getting some opinions, I bought a One Touch Ultra Glucometer on Amazon.com, along with lancets and blood sugar strips. Ingenious, simple, and oh-so empowering!
I quickly discovered that my blood sugar never went above 120 mg/dL. Probably because I have pretty much quelled my excess sugar cravings over the years by focusing on lots of activities that bring sweetness into my life in other ways besides eating sugar. This includes dancing tango in close embrace, listening to good music, de-cluttering my house, doing work I love, and taking long baths while reading good novels or looking out the window at the river. I have created a personal paradise for myself. This process has taken a lifetime and began in earnest during perimenopause—the time of life when most women first develop blood sugar and blood pressure problems.
I encourage you to do the same. Be kind and gentle with yourself if you’re not there yet. (I realize that I am reporting from the front lines here!) Bringing sweetness of other kinds into your life will bolster your health, allow you to enjoy your life even more, and help you curb those carb cravings! Don’t get me wrong. I crave a gooey chocolate brownie, just like you might. So, from time to time, I indulge without going overboard and savor every bite. But I want to continue to flourish in the personal paradise I’ve created. And that means doing what I can to keep my blood sugar levels normal.
If you’re checking your blood sugar levels regularly, if you’ve figured out a way to curb your sugar cravings, or if you just like what you’ve read, please leave a comment here or on my Facebook page.
This information is not intended to treat, diagnose, cure, or prevent any disease. All material in this article is provided for educational purposes only. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health care provider with any questions you have regarding a medical condition, and before undertaking any diet, exercise, or other health program.
Photo credit: Steve Rothman
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By Alexandra Jamieson on May 16, 2012
When I was 25 years old, I got sick. Not just a cold or flu, or even a string of colds and flu.
Here I was, in the “prime of my life,” but I felt exhausted every day, was putting on pounds like never before, had migraine headaches several times a week, feeling depressed, and couldn’t stop slurping up caffeine and grabbing chocolate throughout the day.
Getting sick was one of the best things that ever happened to me, because it was a huge wake-up call.
I can’t stand not feeling well. And to feel that bad for weeks and months was just more than I could take. I went to a doctor who asked me about my symptoms. When I explained how I was feeling, I was given two prescriptions: one pain medication for my headaches and one anti-depressant.
This is not the answer, I thought. I never filled those prescriptions.
So, What Are You Eating?
Instead, I reached out and looked for a more holistically minded doctor. I knew my mom had some food allergies, and I wanted to find out if I had any sensitivities.
Sitting on the examination table in this new doctor’s office, I was surprised to see posters with vegetables, pamphlets talking about vitamins and supplements, and a diagram of the human body with energy meridians and acupuncture points all over it.
When my doctor finally arrived and sat down across from me, one of his first questions wasn’t “Why are you here today?” or “What are your symptoms?” Instead, he asked, “What is your daily diet like?”
That one question blew the case wide open! I started to detail my diet at the time:
Breakfast: cereal with milk and coffee or a pastry with a latte on the way to work
Lunch: pizza and soda, subway sandwich and soda, or hamburger with fries and … you guessed it, soda
Snacks: salted nuts, chocolate, another latte, crackers and cheese, maybe an orange
Dinner: pasta with meat and cheese, Chinese take-out, soup and garlic bread, turkey sandwich with potato chips … you get the picture.
Nary a fresh fruit, rarely green vegetables, and often soda and caffeine throughout the day. Oh and sugar – lots of sugar.
This doctor didn’t recommend any painkillers or anti-depressants.
Instead he talked with me about how my diet was causing my discomfort, as well as my weight gain and lack of energy. He gave me a sample list of menus for the week, and suggested some books to read. He also told me that my sugar intake was feeding yeast in my body called “candida albicans”.
And he told me I should go off sugar and caffeine to help my body recover, balance and start to heal. He said, “Alex, you need a detox.”
I had about five minutes of freaking out, and then something clicked – I had been feeling so bad over the last few months, even giving up sugar wouldn’t be so bad if it helped alleviate some of the pain and suffering.
The diet he recommended was wheat-free, sugar-free, caffeine-free and excluded all animal products except a few eggs a week and some salmon.
I began to read everything I could and learned that a vegan diet, totally free of animal products, was an additional way I could improve my health.
I jumped in with both feet. I didn’t know what I was doing, but I started eating tofu for the first time, learned to enjoy stevia in my herbal tea, and only ate a small piece of chocolate a couple of times that first week. The first few days were really tough.
But, about 7-10 days later, I remember waking up and feeling – awake! It was amazing. I actually got out of bed and felt rested – and it was the best feeling ever. It was so easy to continue on this new eating plan because I felt so much better. I had energy to start going to the gym five days a week.
It was freeing and enlivening to take out the foods that were hurting my body. And I began to learn how to cook foods that would actually help me feel better and heal! Vegetables and whole grains were a revelation.
I also had the energy and clarity to look at the rest of my life and realized that my diet wasn’t the only thing that needed detoxing. I was unhappy with my career path, so I found a new job and went back to school. I wasn’t connected or passionate in my intimate relationship, so my sweet boyfriend and I went our separate ways.
Once I started pruning the dispassionate things from my life, my energy and life opened up even more, and things really took off! My new career of healthy chef and holistic health counselor was fun, soul-filling, and interesting. I started dating new people and found deeper, more intimate relationships.
Detoxing and Weeding – My Two Favorite Pastimes
Looking back, it all makes sense.
See, I grew up in my parents’ garden. We had weekly chores that included raking, stacking wood, and cutting the lawn. Weeding and pruning were my favorite chores.
I love looking at a plant and finding what doesn’t need to be there, removing injured or dying flowers, branches and leaves, and cutting away the dead wood.
Taking away the useless, even harmful parts of a bush or tree help it grow stronger, create more blooms and leaves, and result in a more vibrant plant.
That’s what detox is like for people, too.
I love looking at someone’s diet and lifestyle, getting into the details about how they feel and what foods they choose. Finding and cutting away the harmful, useless aspects of a persons diet and life empower them to grow stronger, feel energized and create a new, powerful way of being.
Getting Clear, Without Judgment
My career is filled with opportunities to help people – teaching, writing, sharing healing recipes, information and products. I get to explore new and old methods of detoxing all the time – and the results are glorious. My clients all come from different places and backgrounds, but they all have two things in common – a desire to feel healthy and a “knowing” that choosing different foods can help them feel whole.
Clearing away the “dead wood” of my diet was the first step toward growth and healing. Once the no-longer-passionate lifestyle fell away, I found that my energy and life totally opened up, and amazing things became possible.
I’ve since published three books and traveled the world premiering “Super-Size Me” with my son’s father, Morgan Spurlock. I live in New York City and have incredible friends and colleagues who continually inspire me.
While my diet and lifestyle aren’t always as “perfect” as they were in the beginning, I now recognize the signs faster that my body and energy are off balance. One chocolate dessert and one glass of wine usually make for a pretty groggy, impatient mommy in the morning.
Looking at your own diet and lifestyle, ask yourself: What is my body truly needing right now? Does this serve my life? What can I remove to help my body thrive and heal? Are there different choices I could be making that will energize me, help me succeed and live with delicious vitality?
For more information on how to optimize your life, visit deliciousvitality.com.
Photo credit: clogsilk
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By Guest Blogger on May 8, 2012
In the past couple of months I experienced an unprecedented bad case of eczema. What started off as an innocuous patch of dermatitis, contained on one of my fingers, spread angrily all over my chest and stomach and onto my back, and finally, to each of my four limbs.
It wasn’t pretty, and it eventually got me really down, which obviously did not help!
Since becoming an almost organic vegan, my diet has been more or less in first gear over the past few years, so I knew that the eczema was caused by the stress I was experiencing in my current living situation. So much so, that the only thing that finally cleared it up was taking a few weeks away from the environment. No amount of fresh green vegetable juice seemed to help clear this completely, affirming my theory that your mental health can manifest in your physical health.
While I tried to get my stress levels under control, a good friend told me about bathing in oatmeal to sooth inflamed skin. The porridge bath, as I now like call it, is cheap as chips and really easy!
There are just two easy steps:
1. Take the leg of an old pair of pantyhose, and fill it with about a cup of oatmeal.
2. Tie it off, and immerse it in a warm bath
Make sure that you keep the bath water warm, as lounging in hot water warms your blood, which, if you are prone to eczema or psoriasis, can further inflame the skin.
The water will become milky after a few minutes, and the ball of oatmeal will drip with a thick porridge between your fingers when you squeeze it.
The thick, syrupy-like oat milk feels amazing when massaged into your skin and (even if you don’t have eczema) is an excellent natural moisturizer in its own right. Plus, it’s cheap enough to regularly bathe in.
The Mind and Body Connection
In addition to your physical self, the bath is also beneficial for your mind. It’s the perfect time to meditate and let go of any stresses that may have caused unnecessary worry during your day or week. Visualize what happened to cause you to feel how you do, accept it and then try to let it go.
I have a few meditations that I have used to help relieve stress and ultimately my clear skin, but my favorite technique for letting go is the visualization technique. Unlike other meditations, the visualization technique requires you to envision what you want. Not only did I want peace of mind, but I also wanted clear skin.
I have three meditations that helped me to achieve this:
1. Visualize yourself breathing in grey matter, or the worried feeling you have, as you inhale through your nose. As you exhale through your mouth, visualize yourself releasing the worry, in the form of pink or golden sparkles.
2. Visualize your body as the color red, which represents the rash. Concentrate on watching the angry red slowly change to an alkalizing green color, which starts at your toes, and then slowly extends all over your body, until it finally creeps up to your head, where any red remains are released with each exhale.
3. Visualize the steam coming off the water as representative of your stresses, and watch it dissipate into the atmosphere. This is basic, but effective.
The scenarios are limitless!
I realize that to some people it might sound a little bit crazy, but it really does work!
This technique was inspired by a colleague with whom I used to work. She told me that when she had cancer, she would spend days meditating by visualizing her body as a real-life game of Pac Man. Her good cells were represented by a hungry Pac Man who would go around her body, slowly conquering all of the cancerous cells, until they had all been swallowed and destroyed.
Eventually, along with a few other fundamental life changes, she was declared cancer free.
Pretty impressive!
The mind can be as powerful a tool as we choose it to be. Just as we exercise our bodies, we also need to exercise our minds by way of meditation to create the lives we want: healthy, happy and stress-free.
Caitlyn Smith is a music- and veggie-loving wayfarer who discovered health and wellness after a cancer diagnosis in 2006. She lives on the north coast of Australia, and is committed to revolutionizing the way we approach food, health and our busy lives.
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By Kristen Suzanne on May 2, 2012
As a raw vegan chef, author and teacher, I’m often asked, “Is it necessary to take supplements if I’m on a balanced, organic raw food diet?” I used to assume not, based on the idea that a raw diet is the food that humans evolved to eat. Well, it turns out I was wrong. No matter how well you eat, I think it is essential to supplement.
Here’s why:
Paleolithic humans foraged from hundreds of species of wild (unhybridized) plants that grew in rich soils that had never been farmed (let alone farmed with pesticides and herbicides). In modern society, the best you can hope to achieve is to eat all or mostly organically grown plants of maybe a few dozen varieties, most of which have been hybridized over generations to maximize appearance, size and calories rather than nutrition, and farmed on the same land over and over. Even with the best organic farming practices, minerals don’t just appear from nowhere…. Soil loses some of its punch with every crop unless some artificial or natural process replenishes the minerals (volcanoes, glaciers, etc.). In short, even the best of modern food isn’t anything like what our pre-agricultural forbears ate, and to get adequate levels of some nutrients, you’d have to eat more food than is humanly possible. Supplements are, quite literally, part of the cure for modernity.
But perhaps the main reason I supplement, in addition to those mentioned above, is that paleolithic humans did not evolve to maximize longevity, such as living into one’s 90s. (Their lives were so perilous that they rarely lived to be 40.) Over the years, many things break down in our bodies and don’t work as efficiently as when we’re young, and it’s accurate to say that this process is “natural”… except that we’ve made it worse with an unavoidable daily attack from environmental toxins. And so here, at least, is one instance where I’m more than happy to deviate from nature’s plan and use some nutritional science and technology to reach my goal of becoming a centenarian. In fact, I’m philosophically closer to being in the camp of Ray Kurzweilian (of “Singularity” and life extension fame). He takes hundreds of pills a day. Actually, I only take between 0-25 pills a day (sometimes more if I’m taking a lot of chlorella tablets), of up to 15 kinds, depending on what’s going on in my life. My husband does as well; a different set of supplements unique to his situation.
There are many things to consider with the art of supplementation, and a good place to start is with your doctor and blood tests. Every year I get the annual run-of-the-mill blood test for basics, and I also get a micronutrient test that my naturopathic doctor orders. We take these results into consideration, along with many other things. I’ll vary what I take based on my goal for longevity, the physical activity of my life, as well as whether I’m pregnant, breast-feeding, trying to conceive (fertility), stressed, ill, looking for more energy, cleansing, detoxing, hormonal and/or traveling (considerations: ease of packing, where I’m traveling and for how long). I also split up my supplements and take them in two or three batches throughout the day. Some are taken with food; some are taken on an empty stomach.
Although my supplement repository changes, there are some staples that I like to include “almost” always. I say “almost” because there are times when I just plain have a supplement-free day. The following is a list of supplements you’ll routinely find on my countertop or in my refrigerator (in addition to some food-source “supplements,” like Brazil nuts for selenium). I also include a list of supplements that I “frequently” have in my life. Remember, the items below are just a partial list of everything I take. Furthermore, I’m constantly researching and experimenting, meaning I’m always trying new things that I’m not ready to recommend yet but I may in the future. Note: If you are pregnant or breast-feeding, be sure to check with your physician or midwife before taking supplements.
I almost always take vitamin B12 (as methylcobalamin), probiotics, multi-vitamin, vegan DHA+EPA, vitamin D (I prefer D2 because it’s vegan and effective). I frequently take: digestive enzymes, chlorella, magnesium, vitamin K2.
For more by this author, visit kristensraw.com.
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By Guest Blogger on May 1, 2012
A few years ago, I was introduced to a friend of a friend who happened to be a vegan. As a recently enrolled student at The French Culinary Institute, where meat and dairy reign supreme, I was in awe. I could never be as motivated and devoted as him, I marveled to myself. The idea of removing all animal products from my diet seemed like an impossible mountain to scale.
Fast forward three years later, and here I am, not only a proud, life-loving vegan, but a raw one at that. As it turns out, living on an animal-free and health-conscious diet is just about the easiest thing I’ve ever accomplished. After following a vegan lifestyle for close to two years, I felt a calling to take my lifestyle and health to a higher level. It is, after all, really easy to reach for the not-so-healthy vegan snacks. You’ve been there, right? The cupcakes, brownies, nachos ? I’m getting tempted just thinking about it. I wanted to go further and reach higher.
So what’s the deal with raw? Any fruit, vegetable, nut or seed is on the table in whichever way you choose to serve it. Nothing can be cooked above 118 degrees and your food is always unprocessed. The skinny is that every single whole food contains its own specific enzymes that may help us digest and absorb the nutrients in that fruit, vegetable, nut, etc. How amazing is that? By cooking the food, those very helpful, hardworking enzymes are broken down. When we don’t get these enzymes directly from the source (aka: raw food), we may develop digestive problems, nutrient deficiencies and sad immune systems.
While many people grimace at the idea of seemingly fussy parameters, it truly is the simplest approach to your health and diet. Breakfast can be as easy as a green juice or a sliced fruit salad, and a snack is as foolproof as a mixed nut trail mix with dried fruits. If you’re a foodie like I am, fear not. Raw food can also get pretty, crazy gourmet. I’m talking layered lasagnas, chocolate parfaits and spinach spanakopita, here. You can honestly eat what you want, when you want, for the first time in your life, and feel great and be at your healthiest.
Crossing over to the raw side can be an intimidating thing. Not only are you experimenting with new ingredients and “un-cooking” techniques, but your body is also getting used to the new lifestyle you’ve so consciously chosen for it. Simple recipes should be your calling card for the first couple of weeks. Transition slowly and choose to go raw until dinnertime, or aim for 75 percent raw foods each day. You’ll notice the difference almost immediately, and experience a lightness and clarity that will motivate you to keep on trucking. I like to refer to the following recipes as gateway goodies to a raw diet ? dishes that take a matter of minutes and will leave you feeling like a superhuman.
This classic soup is a great, refreshing choice during the summer months, and also makes an elegant appetizer for a dinner party or main course for an al fresco lunch.
Chilled Cucumber-Mint Soup
Serves 2 entrée portions or 4 appetizer portions
-2 hothouse cucumbers, peeled
-1 avocado
-½ clove garlic, sliced
-1 scallion, chopped (both white and green parts)
-1 teaspoon ground flaxseed
-2 tablespoons fresh mint, chopped
-½ teaspoon sea salt
-ground black pepper to taste
-olive oil (optional)
-sliced fresh mint for garnish
Place the first seven ingredients in a blender and cover with cold filtered water. Blend until the soup is smooth and creamy, and add more water if you prefer your soup on the thinner side.
Strain through a fine mesh strainer, then pour into serving bowls. Top with freshly ground black pepper, a drizzle of olive oil and thinly sliced fresh mint to garnish.
For breakfast, dessert or both ? this smoothie is whatever you want it to be. Fortified with the superfood of superfoods, cacao, anyone can be won over by this decadent treat.
Cacao Super-Smoothie
Serves 2
-2 ripe bananas
-¼ cup pitted dates (soaked for two hours)
-1 ½ tablespoons raw almond butter
-2 tablespoons raw cacao powder
-½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
-pinch of nutmeg
-almond milk
Place the first six ingredients in a blender and cover with almond milk. Blend until smooth, about one minute. Toast to your rawmazing self, then drink up!
If you prefer a thicker, milkshake-like consistency, freeze the peeled bananas first.
Cristi Young is a New York City-based writer and chef who is inspired by love, books, vegetables and chocolate. She can be found dishing about health, wellness and cooking on her blog, where all appetites for life are welcome.
Photo credit: Luke Chan
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