I write a lot about the importance of nutrition and exercise for overall health, weight loss, and prevention of disease and certainly, the importance of these things can’t be overstated, but there are couple other important factors that we sometimes miss.

I occasionally have clients who despite a close-to-perfect diet and a regular exercise regime still struggle with health problems or are unable to lose weight. Even for myself, when I get sick or have trouble getting baby weight off, there is usually a common cause: stress!

What Stress Does to the Body

This is a topic that I occasionally see addressed my mainstream medicine occasionally, but they often just mention emotional stress and tell people that they need to relax more. This topic is being addressed much more in the alternative healthy communities lately, and I believe that this might be the missing link for many people who can’t seem to break through a plateau or still struggle with health challenges.

While stress is often thought of as a strictly emotional and mental problem, there is a growing amount of evidence that is has a host of physiological effects as well. One study found that a chemical released when the body is in a stressed state, Neuropeptide Y, causes fat cells to open and store fat rather than burn it. Another study found that, especially in women, higher cortisol (stress hormone) leads to weight gain around the waist, even in otherwise slender women.

Another study found that stress shortens telomeres in cells at a faster rate, leading to premature aging and the increased risk of diseases that accompanies it.

Stress can impact hormones and fertility as well. When cortisol is high in the body, progesterone is often low because the body uses progesterone to manufacture cortisol. This is often why stress and elevated cortisol levels correlate with trouble conceiving or maintaining a pregnancy. While natural progesterone cream can be helpful, it is important to address the causes as well.

Other physical reactions associated with high stress levels are:

• Hair loss (from prolonged stress)
• headaches
• insomnia
• dry mouth
• increased incidence of heart disease and stroke
• higher incidence of allergy
• muscle pain or twitching
• hormonal and menstrual troubles
• increased incidence of eczema and psoriasis
• slower healing from all illness

Types of Stress

Mental and emotional stress are often considered the culprits in stress related problems, but there are also physical stressors that can cause the same problems. Before stress can be reduced, one must figure out what is causing it in the first place.

Certainly, lifestyle factors, hectic schedules or a busy job (like motherhood), can cause stress, but so can other factors like:

• eating foods that the body is allergic or intolerant to (even if you don’t know you have the allergy)
• not getting enough sleep
• toxins in your home or environment
• an underlying hormone imbalance
• leptin or insulin resistance

What To Do About It:

Effectively dealing with stress requires an integrative approach that not only addresses the causes of stress (mental, emotional, physical) but also works to actively reverse the damage that has already been done. For me personally, this is one of my toughest health challenges to address, since even though I know what I should be doing, I don’t always have time to fit it all in.

To start, we definitely must address the basics:

• Physical Stress: While some physical stress is good (Sprinting, lifting weights, etc) other types can be harmful (chronic cardio, lack of sleep, etc) and dietary causes also create a physical stress. A poor diet, especially one that includes any foods you are intolerant or allergic too can create a stress reaction in your body, even if you minimize other types of stresses. To help reduce physical stress, eat a solid real-food diet, get enough sleep and avoid toxins when you can. See the supplement and sleep info below for some practical tips.
• Emotional Stress: This one can obviously have many causes, but can often be addressed by working through tough relationships, making time for prayer and meditation, keeping a gratitude journal to focus on the positive and making time to unwind.
• Mental Stress: Similar to emotional stress, this type of stress is often helped my meditation, time management, and organization to only need to focus on one tast at a time.

Since this is one of my biggest struggles personally, I’ve been experimenting lately with ways to reduce stress and wanted to share some of the ones that seem to be working for me:

Supplements:

If some of your stress is physical, or if you have any type of inflammation in your body, there are some supplements that can really help reduce the effects on your body. Especially if you struggled with food allergies for a while before being diagnosed and removing foods from your diet (or if you have celiac disease or autoimmune disorders) removing the offending foods is only have of the solution.

It is also important to address the inflammation in the body and help the body heal. Even with an optimal diet, there are some supplements that can help reduce inflammation and decrease physical stress in the body:

• Fermented Cod Liver Oil/High Vitamin Butter Oil Blend  (also great for remineralizing teeth)- This combination, or even just regular Fermented Cod Liver Oil contains high levels of antioxidants and is great for reducing oxidative stress in the body. It contains high levels of Omega-3s and Vitamins A, D and K, which help to reduce inflammation (including arterial inflammation). In some studies, it was shown to improve glucose response in patients with both type 1 and type 2 diabetes. It has also been shown to be helpful in patients with Colitis, IBS, Crohn’s and other digestive issues, which is important since these conditions create tremendous physical stress in the body. I personally take Fermented Cod Liver Oil daily, as do my husband and kids.
• Probiotics: If there is any kind of intestinal damage from food allergies or leaky gut, or if a person has yeast overgrowth or intestinal disturbances, probiotics can be a tremendous help in normalizing gut bacteria. These can also be especially beneficial for children, whose gut bacteria is still forming. Stress hormones also deplete the natural gut bacteria and can lead to further problems.
• Gelatin- I’ve written about it in depth before, but Gelatin helps sooth the digestive system and reduce inflammation. It’s anti-inflammatory properties also make it great for joints and joint pain. Personally, I take it for the skin and hair benefits and many people take it to help reduce inflammation. There is some evidence that it can help reduce stress hormones since stress hormones tend to be stored in the muscle tissue of animals. Most people don’t get enough gelatinous and bone tissue from animals and eat an disproportionate amount of muscle meat, so regularly taking Gelatin can help balance this out.
• Magnesium- Another one that I’ve written about in depth before, but Magnesium has excellent anti-inflammatory properties. Practically everyone is deficient in it, due to declining soil magnesium levels, and it is an easy thing to supplement. Kevin Cottrell, who is well known in the Paleosphere was able to reduce his C-Reactive Protein from 5.4 (semi-dangerous level) to 0.44 (excellent level) in a month using Magnesium and Cold Thermogenesis (more on that soon). Some people have trouble digesting Magnesium effectively, especially if they are highly deficient, so Topical Magnesium Oil is helpful for those people. It is also available in capsule or drink mix (fizzy like soda) form.
• Let Food Be Your Medicine: Consuming lots of healthy fats, antioxidant rich foods and healthy protein sources will also help your body countaract the negative effects of stress.

Sleep

Even if diet and exercise are great, not getting enough sleep will have a tremendous impact on stress levels and on overall health. One study showed that one night of missed or very interrupted sleep was enough to give a healthy person the blood sugar levels of a diabetic or pre-diabetic. Other studies have shown that getting less than 5 hours of sleep a night can impact driving ability and cognitive function the next day.

There is also information linking lack of sleep to higher risk of heart disease, stroke, cancer or chronic disease. Lack of sleep is also linked to weight gain, which for some is reason enough to start sleeping more!

Cold Therapy

 Balancing Leptin Levels and using Cold Thermogenesis, as suggested by Dr. Jack Kurse, has been greatly effective in balancing stress hormones, leptin levels and even speeding weight loss for some people. I’m in the middle of a self-experiment with his protocol now and will be writing more about it soon, but anyone with high levels of inflammation, diabetes, or joint problems might benefit from reading his information now.

Are you stressed? How do you deal with it? Let me know!

Reverse Pyramid Training

Reverse Pyramid Training, or RPT, is considered by many, including myself, to be one of the most effective training methods for putting on muscle and/or strength with the least amount of time invested.  When training for strength, you need to limit volume due to the high intensity of the sets.  Since you are typically working with 70-90% of your 1RM (1 Rep Max, the maximum amount of weight you could lift a single time), each set is very taxing on your central nervous system.  For this reason, low rep RPT is usually limited to one or two main exercises per workout, with the other exercises performed in a less intense fashion. Furthermore, a de-load week, a week where you reduce the weight to approximately 80% of normal so that the body has some extra time to recover, is usually done every 4^th week (i.e. push the weights for three weeks, then spend a week taking it easy).  To help illustrate a RPT strength workout, below is a sample back workout.

The workout is started with everyone’s favorite exercise, deadlifts, done in a RPT fashion.  You’ll do 2 sets, with 4-6 reps per set.  For the first set, go all out, BUT do not go to failure.  You should rarely, if ever, go to failure due to the risk of burning yourself out as well as regressing in strength.  Once you finish your first set, drop the weight enough to be able to do an extra rep (i.e. if you did 4 reps, decrease the weight enough that you can do 5 reps, usually about 10%).  Rest approximately three to five minutes, and then do another set stopping before failure.  You should be out of breath after each set, especially with deadlifts.  Rest five minutes, then move onto weighted chins.  Again the rep range will be 4-6; however, this time you’re doing three sets.  Just like deadlifts, the first set will be max effort, stopping just before failure.  Weight will be dropped by about 10% between each set, and the rest interval is three minutes with a five minute break after completing the exercise and moving onto bent-over barbell rows.  For this exercise, the Starting Strength method will be employed, in which you take your 7RM weight (the amount of weight you could lift 7 times before failure) and attempt to do three sets of five (always stop before failure).  Once you are able to achieve five reps for all three sets, you increase the weight by 2.5%.

Progression of exercises done in RPT fashion should be done as follows: once you reach the upper end of a rep range, increase the weight by 5% and work back up.  The individual sets should be progressed independently.  For example, if you can easily get six reps on your second set of deadlift, then increase the weight for the second set on the next workout by 2.5-5%.

The split I have found to work the best is pull, push, legs done on either Monday, Wednesday, Friday or Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday (you need a day of rest between each workout and at least two days between the pull and leg workouts due to deadlift).  The only exercises done in RPT fashion (with max effort on the first set) are the big compound lifts: deadlift, weighted chins, bench press, and squats.   The exercises that are not designated RPT or SS should be completed with about 2 reps short of failure.  The following routine proved to be very effective during my last cut, enabling me to retain if not improve strength while on a caloric deficit.

Sample Workout:

Monday- Pull

Deadlift – 2 x 4-6 (RPT)

Weighted Chins – 3 x 4-6 (RPT)

Bent Over Barbell Rows – 3 x 5 (SS)

Preacher Curls – 2 x 8-10 (Optional)

Wednesday – Push

Bench Press – 3 x 4-6 (RPT)

Standing Press – 3 x 5 (SS)

Incline Dumbbell Press – 2 x 6-8

Weighted Dips or Scull Crushers – 2 x 8-10 (Optional, but highly encouraged)

Friday – Legs

Squat – 3x 6-8 (RPT)

Leg Curl – 3 x 5 (SS)

Lunge – 2 x 8 (per leg)

Standing Calf Raise – 3 x 8

If you have serious issues with one of the exercises listed above, there are suitable substitutions (i.e. leg press if squats hurt your lower back or incline barbell bench press for incline dumbbell bench press, etc.).  DO NOT, however, start adding exercises.  If you are doing RPT correctly, then this is more than enough volume.  By the time you finish the workout you should be tired and ready to feast on your post workout (PWO) meal, rich in protein, fat, AND Carbs.

Carb Cycling

Carbohydrate cycling, where you eat more carbohydrates on workout days and less on rest days, is an important factor in gaining strength without excessive fat.  But, before I go any further, I need to explain that carbohydrates are not the enemy.  Studies have shown that as long as dietary protein and fat are sufficient, a diet that is higher in carbs results in approximately the same amount of fat loss as one very low in carbs (any difference in weight loss was due to extra water weight loss on the low carb diet)³.  The key is to ensure that you obtain healthy fats (such as saturated fat) and protein (be careful not to overdue protein as it does have a toxicity range), filling the rest of the calories with non-toxic carbohydrate sources (I prefer sweet potatoes, bananas, and white rice).  Furthermore, intermittent carbohydrate consumption actually produces benefits toward hormone regulation.

Eating a consistent low carb diet (under 100 g or 400 calories per day) makes gaining muscle and strength either very difficult or impossible (trust me, I have tried and failed with that one).   The caveat to this is if you are new to lifting or coming back from an extended break, in which case you will likely gain strength/muscle no matter what you do.  Studies have shown that eating low carb for extended periods of time, especially at a caloric deficit, will cause multiple hormone levels relating to metabolism to decline.  For example, active T3, a thyroid hormone that plays a major role in energy production, fat-burning and muscle gain, will decline when not enough cellular energy is available over time (i.e. low calorie or low carb diets)².  Another example is leptin, a hormone that has an effect on the production of epinephrine, T3/T4, neuropeptide-Y, and many others (all hormones that affect the metabolism)¹.

And if those aren’t reasons enough for you, the cycling of carbohydrates can make the cycling of calories effortless.  By keeping fat and protein approximately the same on a daily basis, adding a large carbohydrate rich meal right after working out will not only bring your calories up on workout days (crucial for strength gains), but it will also help you negate the above hormonal issues while still losing weight in the long run.  If your goal is to gain weight, it will help keep the fat gains to a minimum while putting on lean mass.

The reason the optimum time to ingest excess carbohydrates after working out is due to their insulinogenic effect and their contribution towards replenishing glycogen stores.  Contrary to the belief that ketones can be used to fuel the muscles during high intensity workouts, the truth is that the body requires glycogen for this type of activity².  When on a ketogenic diet, the liver and kidneys are able to make a limited amount of glucose, however, much of it gets used by the brain and other bodily functions.  Therefore, after performing an intensive workout, especially if done fasted, you have the lowest glycogen reserves, meaning you can then eat a sufficient amount of carbohydrates before the body starts storing it for future use (a.k.a. fat).  Furthermore, the insulin spike that is caused by ingesting a large amount of carbs (insulin spikes are necessary for maintaining healthy hormone levels) will aid in shuttling nutrients to the muscles, which is desirable for both muscle gain and recovery².

A good PWO meal has a somewhat equal amount of protein and carbs (if not slightly higher in carbs) and a good dose of fat.  Don’t be afraid of eating a sizable amount of calories; in fact, I think this should be the largest meal of the day.  I personally am a huge advocate of raw milk, and my post workout meal is usually ½ gallon of raw milk and 3 bananas (about 280 g).  The meal has over 100 g of carbs, over 72 g of protein (optimum casein-whey blend from the milk), and over 72 g of fat (of which 50 g is saturated fat).  Do whatever works for you (i.e. if you can’t or don’t drink milk, don’t go down a pint of raw milk because I do it).  My wife is currently unable to drink milk, therefore her current PWO meal is 350 g of potatoes, 100g of onion, and 2 cloves of garlic cooked in 2 Tbsp coconut oil, 2 pastured eggs cooked in 1 Tbsp butter, and 2-4 oz. grass fed ground beef with seasoning and cooked in 1 Tbsp coconut oil. Both my wife and I also taper carbohydrate consumption throughout the rest of the day, with the last meal of the day only consisting of about 10% carbohydrates (by calories).

With the RPT program outlined above, enough calories to sustain muscle growth, and the cycling of carbohydrates, you have the tools needed for sizable strength gains.  If you have any questions feel free to ask, and as always, let me know how it works for you.

-Marcus

(1)  Havel, P.J.. “Control of energy homeostasis and insulin action by adipocyte hormones: leptin, acylation stimulating protein, and adiponectin.”Current opinion in lipidology 13 (2002): n. pag.http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11790963#. Web. 14 Feb. 2012.

(2)  Hofmekler, Ori. Maximum muscle and minimum fat: the secret science behind physical transformation. Berkeley, Calif.: North Atlantic Books, 2008. Print.

(3)  Johnston, Carol S, Sherrie L Tjonn, Pamela D Swan, Andrea White, Heather Hutchins , and Barry Sears. “Ketogenic low-carbohydrate diets have no metabolic advantage over nonketogenic low-carbohydrate diets.”American Journal of Clinical Nutrition83.5 (2006): 1055-1061. Print.

Check out Marcus’ Blog to learn more about strength training (and for a yummy cilantro pesto recipe!). Ever trained for strength? Do you cycle carbs? Let me know below!

These were delicious and very simple to make! These could easily be made ahead of time to have on hand all week, and they could be made with other meats as well. They are delicious with green onions and feta (if you eat dairy).

Prep Time: 5 minutes          Cook time: 10-12 minutes          Servings:12

Ingredients:

• 12-24 pieces of nitrate free ham (Can use 1 or 2 pieces per cup-round slices work best)
• 12 eggs
• 2 green onions
• feta or other cheese to top (optional)

How To Make Them:

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
2. Line each compartment of a regular (12) muffin tin with 1 or 2 pieces of ham (or other luncheon meat)
3. Crack one egg into each compartment
4. Bake for 10-12 minutes, depending on how firm you like the yolks to be. If you prefer soft or runny yolks, cook 8-9 minutes.
5. Top with green onions, feta or other desired toppings and enjoy.

What is your favorite on-the-go breakfast? Any unhealthy options you wish there was a healthy version of? Share below!

Are you having trouble losing weight, despite nutrition changes or lots of exercise?

Do you ever crave sugar or carbohydrates, especially at night?

Do you have an afternoon slump and a huge second wind in the late evening?

If you said yes to any of the above, chances are that your sleep (or lack thereof) is sabotaging your health and it could be the missing link between you and your goals.

We’ve all heard how important sleep is, but it turns out that it is likely even more important than we thought.

I recently read the book Lights Out: Sleep, Sugar and Survival, which though poorly written in parts, has a lot of good information on the science behind the importance of sleep. I’ve also gotten about 20 emails in the last week from readers who have an almost-perfect diet but still are struggling with weight, depression, skin issues or other problems… so I decided this post was well overdue.

It turns out that lack of sleep impacts your health (and your heart disease and cancer risk) just as much as a bad diet or constant exposure to toxins.

A report published by the CDC 11 years ago showed some fascinating evidence linking lack of sleep to cancer. The study reported that profoundly blind women had less than half the breast cancer risk of women with normal vision and profoundly blind men had less than half the risk of prostate, lung, colon and other cancers as normally sighted men.

Even more interesting, this reduced risk of cancer was not present in those who were legally blind but could still see light.

This led researchers to investigate the link between exposure to light (especially after the sun has gone down) and rates of disease.

Further studies revealed that night shift workers have higher rates of many diseases and that blue and green types of lights (from computers, TVs, alarm clocks, mobile phones, etc) are the worst offenders.

Why Light?

The hormone Melatonin is secreted by the brain during night-time hours and when a person is sleeping. Melatonin also happens to be one of the body’s most powerful antioxidants.

When a person misses even a few hours of sleep, Melatonin levels decline sharply, which can lead to an imbalance of many other hormones. Proper melatonin balance is especially important for keeping estrogen in check as it reduces estrogen production in the body.

This link between estrogen and melatonin helps explain why the correlation between lack of sleep and reproductive cancers is so strong. It also shows why proper sleep is absolutely vital for maximum fertility and healthy reproduction.

As one study showed:

Two groups of laboratory rats were injected breast-cancer-causing agents. One of the two groups was injected with Melatonin – sometimes called the hormone of darkness. Studies showed that the melatonin in the rats prevented them from getting breast cancer; the other group of rats that did not receive melatonin was not prevented from getting breast cancer.

Since estrogen in the body also promotes fat storage, this also helps explain the link between lack of sleep and weight gain or inability to gain weight.

Lack of sleep also interferes with insulin levels and makes the body crave carbohydrates and sugars. This makes dieting difficult to impossible and often causes weight gain.

Light During Sleep

It turns out that even if you are getting enough sleep, having lights of any kind in the room can still lower Melatonin levels enough to cause problems. Some people are more sensitive to this than others, but for some, having complete darkness is vital.

So cover the windows with blackout curtains, get rid of the nightlight and cover the alarm clock!

How To Get Enough of the Right Kind of Sleep

It’s certainly easier to acknowledge that sleep is important than it is to actually get enough of it (*ahem* speaking from personal experience here as sleep is my biggest health challenge).

If you’re having trouble with any of the above issues or are struggling to reach your health goals, give yourself two weeks and see if getting enough sleep makes a difference.

For the next two weeks, try this:

• Sleep for at least 8.5 (preferably 9) hours a night.
• Minimize or eliminate blue light after dark (TV, Computer, etc)
• Sleep in complete darkness where you can’t even see your hand in front of your face (no clock  light, nightlight, etc)
• Cover windows with blankets or blackout curtains
• Sleep with the temperature below 70 (68 is optimal) for optimal Melatonin production (Bonus: you save on your heating bill)
• Be in bed before 10 pm if at all possible
• Avoid caffeine after 2 pm
• Drink some chamomile tea or other relaxing drink to help fall asleep if you have trouble adjusting

Here are some other tips to help improve your sleep.

Do you get enough sleep? If not, will you take this two week challenge? Tell me about it below!

William Davis, MD, is a preventive cardiologist whose unique approach to diet allows him to advocate reversal, not just prevention, of heart disease. He is the founder of theTrack Your Plaque program.

He started recommending a wheat free diet with his patients because wheat products raise the blood sugar more than a snickers bar. Besides blood sugar improvements, he was surprised to see his patients also experience: "weight loss of 25 to 30 lbs over several months, marked improvement or total relief from arthritis, improvement in asthma sufficient to chuck 2 or 3 inhalers, complete relief from acid reflux and irritable bowel syndrome symptoms, disappearance of leg swelling and numbness. Most reported increased mental clarity, deeper sleep, and more stable moods and emotions."

Check out Dr. Davis' Blog Here]

Enter Dr. Davis:

1. How did you come to the conclusion that wheat is harmful in its current form?

I learned just how bad wheat was when I asked patients in my cardiac practice to remove it from their diet. I did this because 80% of people I’d meet for the first time were diabetic or pre-diabetic, situations that double or triple heart disease risk. In an effort to minimize this situation, I applied a very simple fact: Two slices of whole wheat bread raise blood sugar higher than 6 teaspoons of sugar, higher than a Snickers bar. (Most people are unaware that the glycemic index of whole wheat bread is among the highest of all foods.)

So I asked everyone to remove wheat to observe the blood sugar effects. People would come back after a 3-6 months and, indeed, their blood sugars and HbA1c (a measure of prior 60 days blood sugar) would be much lower, even to the point at which some diabetics were no longer diabetic. But people told me plenty more: They lost 30 pounds, lost 4 inches from their waist, felt better than they had in 20 years with more energy, less moodiness and deeper sleep. They told me how they experienced complete relief from acid reflux, irritable bowel syndrome, migraine headaches, hand and finger arthritis and joint pain, sinus congestion and chronic sinus infections. They told me about how their asthma improved so much that they threw away three inhalers, their rheumatoid arthritis was so much better they were in the process of reducing medication, their ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s had improved so much that no medication was required any longer, their leg edema had disappeared and rashes were gone.

At first, I dismissed it as pure coincidence. But the effects became so frequent and consistent that the conclusion became unavoidable: Wheat was the underlying cause for an incredible array of health problems and weight gain, and that eliminating was key to astounding health.

And note that this was not gluten avoidance for the gluten-sensitive; this was wheat avoidance for everybody, as it was a rare person who didn’t experience at least some measurable improvement in health, if not outright transformation. I now recommend complete wheat avoidance for all my patients, as well as anyone else interested in regaining control over health and weight.

2. How is wheat consumption linked to heart health?

Wheat consumption causes heart disease. It’s not cholesterol, it’s not saturated fat that’s behind the number one killer of Americans; it’s wheat.

The nutrition community has been guilty of following a flawed sequence of logic: If something bad for you (white processed flour) is replaced by something less bad (whole grains) and there is an apparent health benefit, then a whole bunch of the less bad thing is good for you. Let’s apply that to another situation: If something bad for you—unfiltered Camel cigarettes—are replaced by something less bad—filtered Salem Cigarettes—then the conclusion would be to smoke a lot of Salems. The next logical question should have been: What is the health consequence of complete removal? Only then can you observe the effect of whole grains vs. no grains . . . and, from what I witness every day, you see complete transformations in health.

Consumption of wheat, due to its unique carbohydrate, amylopectin A, triggers formation of small, dense LDL particles more than any other common food. Small, dense LDL particles are the number one cause for heart disease in the U.S. The majority of adults now have an abundance of small LDL particles because they’ve been told to cut their fat and “eat plenty of healthy whole grains.” This situation of excessive small LDL particles can appear on a conventional cholesterol panel as higher levels of LDL (“bad”) cholesterol, along with low HDL cholesterol and higher triglycerides that often leads to statin drugs. When more sophisticated lipoprotein testing is obtained, then the explosion of small LDL particles becomes obvious.

Compound this with the increased appetite triggered by the gliadin protein in wheat that acts as an appetite-stimulant, and you gain weight. The weight gained is usually in the abdomen, in the deep visceral fat that triggers inflammation, what I call a “wheat belly.” Wheat belly visceral fat is a hotbed of inflammation, sending out inflammatory signals into the bloodstream and results in higher blood sugar, blood pressure, and triglycerides, all adding up to increased risk for heart disease.

Say goodbye to wheat and small LDL particles plummet, followed by weight loss from the wheat belly visceral fat. Inflammation subsides, blood sugar drops, blood pressure drops. In short, elimination of wheat is among the most powerful means of reducing risk for heart disease.

3. What other conditions have you seen to be associated with wheat consumption?

A shorter list might be what conditions have not been associated with wheat consumption.

Gastrointestinal consequences of wheat consumption include the common conditions of acid reflux and irritable bowel syndrome symptoms of gas, cramps, and diarrhea. People with inflammatory bowel diseases such as ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease experience improvement and, sometimes, complete relief from cramps, pain, diarrhea, and bleeding.

Brain and nervous system effects range from mood disruption, such as depression, to behavioral outbursts in children with ADHD and autism, to triggering of hallucinations in people with schizophrenia and mania in people with bipolar illness. Wheat can also inflict direct damage on the brain and nervous system and show up as a condition called cerebellar ataxia, the progressive loss of balance and bladder control, and peripheral neuropathy, the loss of feeling, usually in the feet and legs. A British research group, for instance, has found that 50% of unexplained peripheral neuropathy can be blamed on wheat. There’s also the recent detailed description of gluten encephalopathy, or dementia from wheat by the Mayo Clinic; diagnosis is usually made at autopsy.

Joint pain and swelling are common accompaniments of wheat consumption. The most common form involves the wrist and fingers. Others experience relief from back pain and hip and knee pain with eliminating wheat, especially if weight loss from the abdomen develops, since this belly fat serves as a repository for inflammation; lose the wheat belly, inflammation subsides.

Skin conditions commonly improve or disappear with wheat elimination. Common conditions like acne improve, as well as a long list (enough to fill four pages) of other skin conditions from granuloma annulare, to allergic dermatitis, to gangrene.

From the head down to the toes, there is no body system not affected by consumption of wheat.

4. What are the most important things to understand when it comes to wheat consumption?

I believe one of the most crucial aspects of the wheat conversation for people to understand is that the gliadin protein in wheat acts as an appetite-stimulant. People who consume the gliadin protein in wheat consume, on average, 400 more calories per day. People who eliminate the gliadin protein of wheat consume 400 calories less per day, even if calories, fat grams, or portion sizes are unrestricted.

I think that this fact has been used to advantage by Big Food. Put wheat flour, and thereby gliadin, into every product you can, you increase appetite, increase consumption, increase sales. I believe this explains why wheat flour can be found in the most improbable places like tomato soup and licorice.

The gliadin protein in wheat exerts this effect on the human brain because it is degraded to a group of compounds called exorphins, or exogenous morphine-like compounds; these effects that can be blocked with administration of opiate-blocking drugs. Yes, the appetite-stimulating effect of wheat can be completely disabled by administering the same drugs that heroine addicts take to block their “high.” Studies in volunteers have demonstrated that people administered opiate-blocking drugs have much reduced desire for cake, cupcakes, and cookies. A drug company filed its application in early 2011 for the drug naltrexone for weight loss; in clinical trials, naltrexone was successful, with participants losing 22 pounds per month by reducing calorie intake 400 calories per day.

As long as wheat remains a part of your diet, you will not have full control over impulse and hunger. Calorie consumption is higher, especially for carbohydrate foods. Weight accumulates, particularly around the middle. Eliminate wheat, on the other hand, and you regain normal physiologic control over hunger.

5. If a person decides to eliminate wheat, should he/she turn to “gluten free” alternatives or what type of diet have you found to be optimal?

First, I believe we should return to real, unprocessed foods as often as possible. It means eating vegetables, raw nuts, meats, fish, eggs (including the yolks), cheese, healthy oils like extra-virgin olive and coconut. I do not believe that we should count or limit calories, especially after we’ve eliminated the potent appetite stimulant, wheat. If you miss baked goods, I provide recipes in the Wheat Belly book, as well as on The Wheat Belly Blog (www.wheatbellyblog.com). These recipes for chocolate chip cookies and cheesecake, for example, are wheat-free, nearly sugar-free, low-carbohydrate and are generally healthy enough to eat anytime with none of the adverse health consequences like weight gain or bloating.

I strongly urge people to avoid commercial gluten-free products. This is because, in place of wheat flour, these products, such as gluten-free whole grain bread, are made using cornstarch, rice starch, tapioca starch, and potato starch. These powdered starches are among the few foods that increase blood sugar higher than even whole wheat. It means these foods trigger weight gain in the abdomen (“gluten-free belly”), increased blood sugars, insulin resistance and diabetes, cataracts, and arthritis. They are not healthy replacements for wheat.

6. Ok, a tough one… can you give us a 10-15 second elevator speech that can help us explain the reasons to avoid wheat to doubting friends and relatives?

Sure. The American public needs to be aware that agribusiness and Big Food companies have sucker punched you. They have learned how to use this Trojan horse, wheat, harboring its hidden gliadin protein that increases appetite.

Wheat is a weak opiate. Eat wheat, you want more wheat, you want more carbohydrates. The gliadin of wheat is converted to exorphins, morphine-like compounds that can be blocked with opiate-blocking drugs.

Even worse, we’re advised by our own government agencies like the USDA and Health and Human Services that whole grains are good for us and we should eat more. Eat more “healthy whole grains,” we eat more, we gain weight, we acquire all the health consequences of wheat and weight gain such as hypertension, high cholesterol, arthritis, acid reflux, and diabetes. Big Food makes out, Big Pharma makes out; we all pay the price.

The epidemic of diabetes and obesity has been blamed on us. We’re told that Americans are overweight and diabetic because we are gluttons and we’re lazy. I don’t buy it. I believe the majority of Americans are fairly health-conscious and try to get at least some exercise. I do not believe we are that different from, say, the people of 1950 or 1960. I think we’ve been duped into blaming ourselves, when all along a big part of the blame should be placed on this corrupt product of genetics research, propagated by agribusiness, and put to profitable use.

…

If you haven’t already, check out Dr. Davis’ book Wheat Belly. I’ve found that is a great resource, especially for friends and relatives who have trouble grasping how “heart-healthy-whole-grains” could possibly be bad.

Have you read Wheat Belly? Noticed any health improvements after removing grains? Share below!

Enter Andrea DuCane…

The modern woman is a busy creature. Whether working full time and raising a family or staying home with 2 or 3 children, she doesn’t have time to spend 3 hours driving back and forth to a gym to work out for an hour.

If this sounds like you, you’re not alone. Trying to fit in an exercise program while juggling the many facets of contemporary life is hard, if not impossible for many women these days.

According to recent research, you should work out 4-5 times a week, if not every day. That can be tough to do, considering people are driving more, commuting longer distances, living further away from the conveniences of gyms or parks.

Thank goodness, there is an answer to this dilemma, it’s called Russian Kettlebells.  Lucky for you, in the last 5 years the availability of quality kettlebells, DVDs, and experienced RKC’s has grown as fast as the price of gold.

I’ve been on this bandwagon since the very beginning, and as a working mom I will share with you some very simple tips and a sample workout.   As a Master RKC, I have gone deep into our Hardstyle School of Strength, as a busy working mom, I’ve put focus into how to train smart and quick for the best results.

First, I must put in a plug for both my DVD’s, “The Kettlebell Boomer” and “The Kettlebell Goddess”.  “The KB Boomer”, don’t let the name fool you, is designed to get people started training with kettlebells in a safe, progressive manner.  It has a very detailed instructional section, with 4 levels or modifications taught for each exercise. Followed by 2 complete workouts with 4 athlete’s each doing a different level.

The Goddess DVD, is meant for those already familiar with kettlebells, but want a DVD, that has both follow-along workouts (6 in total) as well as the only dvd that has a “Design-Your-Own” workout.  You can pick and choose which exercises you want to do and any given day.

So you have 2 great references on how do certain exercises as well as 30-40 min workouts to follow along.

Let’s say you have a very limited amount of time to workout and you want the biggest bang for your buck?  Well I will give you some tips, and give you a sample quick – high payoff – workout.

I will start by assuming you have at least one Kettlebell. In some cases I may describe and recommend double kettlebell exercises.  I have to add here that the BEST way to get a quick, intense and effective workout is with double kettlebells.

I highly recommend you get two kettlebells of the same or nearly the same size.

You should be able to complete the workouts in fewer than 30 min. and as little as 10 minutes, depending on how much rest you give yourself and total sets.  As I said earlier, these are designed as quick and effective workouts. They are very simple only a couple of exercises per workout.

Mark SURE you warm up with some joint mobility work (see Pavel’s Super Joints) and stretch out your hip flexors, hamstrings and hips (half pigeon or figure 4 stretch).  Both my DVD’s offer very thorough joint mobility warm ups and cool down stretches.  Believe me, I’m as particular with my warm up and cool down exercises as I am with my Kettlebell drills!

Get your kettlebells, make some room and keep a towel and water handy… here we go!

BEGINNER/INTERMEDIATE WORKOUT:

Round 1:             Swing (your choice, 2-handed, 1-arm, alternating or doubles)

:30 work, :30 rest

:30 work, :25 rest

:30 work, :20 rest

Start back at beginning and repeat as many times as you can. Add more rest if you are not as conditioned, keeping at :30 rest the entire time. Build up to 10 min. (or more!)

Round 2:            Plank for :30, followed by overhead carry :30  repeat over side.

Start with the plank and end with the plank so you get 3 sets of planks with one :30 carry each arm. If you feel it’s not enough just add another set.

ADVANCED WORKOUT: must be experienced with Kettlebell cleans:

Round 1:            Long cycle clean and press (can do with doubles, do one round and rest),  ladder: 1-5, change arms.  Note; long cycle means you clean before every press.  If you have time repeat 1-2 more times.  If this is easy, you have too light of a Kettlebell.

REST  30 seconds-1:00 min (depends of time and fitness level)

Round 2:            Long cycle clean and squat (same as above)

VERY FAST WORKOUT:

Double Kettlebell Front Squats

3 sets of 5,  or  4 sets of 4

Give yourself enough rest between sets about a 1-2 min.

Double Kettlebell Presses

3 sets of 4-6 (best to do less reps with heavier weight, but you it feels easy for you with the kettlebells you have do an extra rep per set.

…

Andrea offers more instruction and advice at her site, KettlebellFitness.com.

[Note from WM: I'll be posting some basic how-to videos and pictures for the stretches and exercises Andrea mentions in the next few weeks!]

I love coffee and nothing says Fall like pumpkins! Once upon a time I had a spiced pumpkin latte from Starbucks and it was wonderful but I can’t justify consuming that much sugar these days (much less paying $7 to consume that much sugar!)

Instead, I’ve been making this easy recipe that can be made stove-top or in a crock-pot (crock pot tastes better). It tastes very similar to the Starbucks version (from what I remember) but doesn’t need any sugar or added orange color.

As soon as I get this, I’ll be throwing this recipe in to make pumpkin ice cream…. I’ll let you know how it goes!

This recipe is Paleo/Primal friendly and definitely kid-approved. It can be halved to make a smaller batch or doubled/tripled for a festive party drink.

Spiced Pumpkin Latte Ingredients

• 4 cups of Unsweetened Coconut Milk (or 2 cans of coconut milk) [Note: If using homemade coconut milk, make extra thick and strain well for good flavor and texture]
• 1/4 cup canned pumpkin without added sugar
• 2 tablespoons of natural vanilla extract
• 1/2-1 tsp of pumpkin pie spice ( or 1/2 tsp cinnamon and a sprinkle of cloves and nutmeg)
• 1 cup of strong coffee or 3/4 cup espresso
• Heavy cream for whipping (optional) [note: can also use the cream that accumulates at the top of a can of coconut milk.

How to Make It:

1. Pour all ingredients except heavy cream into crock pot.
2. Use immersion blender or whisk to mix well.
3. Turn crock pot on high for 2 hours until hot and flavors are incorporated.
4. Whip cream in blender or by hand with a dash of vanilla and top lattes (optional)

Notes:

• This can also be heated on the stove top for a faster version, though the spices don’t incorporate as well and it tends to thicken.
• For times when you will want it out for longer than a couple of hours, just use the “low” or “keep warm” setting instead of high.
• If you are using canned pumpkin and won’t use the whole can, freeze the rest in ice cube trays and keep in a bag for future batches.
• The iced version is pretty good too

What’s your favorite fall drink? Share below!

I had another post scheduled for today, but after I got a magazine in the mail from our local hospital (that I have somehow been subscribed to) and visited a friend who had just had a baby in the hospital, this was on my mind.

The article above is from the magazine from our local hospital.  It is supposedly “Your guide to a balanced meal.”

I’ve included the text of the article in bold below with my (highly cynical) commentary after.

Chances are your dinner plate is shaped like a circle, not a triangle. So it makes sense to think of your family’s food choices as part of a circle too.

Ok, we can chalk up one true thing from this article. My dinner plate is indeed shaped like a circle. I wonder how many government dollars it took to figure that out. As for the whole food choices being a circle, it reminds me of something I’ve heard before about food choices… oh yeah… “cause its the circle, the circle of life” (from the Lion King).

That’s the practical idea behind the government’s new MyPlate icon, which replaces MyPyramid. With MyPlate, what you see in the icon directly relates to what you put on your plate.

Brilliant yet again! That old Food Pyramid (which gave King Tut Heart Disease) certainly was outdated and all of us dumb people lacking in government credentials couldn’t really figure out that you were just telling us to eat lots of carbs, some fruits and veggies and very little meat, fats, oils and sweets. Of course, since your health advice has been such a smashing success over the last few decades, I can see why you’d want to update it!

An Easier Way To Eat Healthy. MyPlate is a simple visual reminder to build yourself a healthy plate at mealtimes. For busy parents, it’s a quick and easy way to tell at a glance whether children are getting a balanced meal too. Just remember these basic rules of thumb:

-Make Half the plate fruits and vegetables -  heavier on the vegetables. Include red, orange and dark green veggies and colorful fruits.

One thing we agree on! Vegetables (and some fruits) are good and you should eat them. Of course, you guys lump potatoes (a tuber and a starch), corn (a grain) and even french fried into this category, but we agree there. Also, I’d suggest more like half the plate of green, leafy veggies and some fruits on top, but that’s a small point of difference (I say tomato, you say potato, but whatever).

Thank goodness all of us busy parents have you to help us figure out what is healthy for our kids. Without you, we might never figure out that feeding them McDonalds every day or letting them drink soda is not a good idea. What a relief!

-Make the other half grains and protein. Emphasize 100 percent whole grains, like whole grain breads, brown rice and pasta. Select fish and beans for some of your proteins, and when you pick poultry or meat as your protein food, chose lean cuts in small portions.

Great idea (sarcasm). We should certainly eat more grains than protein, since protein is only vital to hundreds of reactions in the body and is needed for cell growth and repair. Grains on the other hand… we need lots of those (sarcasm again!) to be healthy and get our fiber. We definitely shouldn’t worry about the fact that they are not nearly as nutritious as proteins, vegetables or healthy fats. We should ignore the harmful gut-eroding glutens, lectins and phytates which are causing autoimmune disease at record rates. In fact, since a couple pieces of whole wheat toast skyrocket blood sugar just like candy (See FatHead for explanation), candy must be good for us too!

As for the 100% whole grain thing! Thank goodness for those wonderful bread plants and pasta stalks. I’m so glad they don’t have to grind the grains up into small particles, which would increase the surface area and make them affect the blood sugar even more!

We should definitely eat beans instead of meat too, because it has some protein (and lot of carbs). When we combine the carbs from the fruit over on the other half of the plate with the hearthealthywholegrains on this side and the carbs from beans, we might just be getting close to the 300+ grams of carbs we are supposed to be eating a day according to you guys, even if we are diabetic.

As for fats… those evil arteryclogging saturated villians… certainly they should be avoided. Never mind that they are needed for minor things like hormone production, satiety, healthy reproductive function and more and that they don’t actually make you fat (or cause heart disease)… avoid at all costs. Eat candy instead.

Pour a glass of fat-free or low-fat milk. You’ll get as much calcium and other important nutrients as from whole milk but with less fat and calories.

Oh yes, do that! Of course, the vitamins in milk like the synthetic Vitamin D in minuscule amounts do need fat to be absorbed, but who cares if you are absorbing them, as long as you are getting them! You can’t have your cake and eat it too (unless of course, you use wheat flour and count it as your hearthealthywholegrains).

And calories, those are the bad guys! It doesn’t matter at all if they come from grains and carbohydrates (which raise the blood sugar, get stored as fat and wreak havoc on the body)  or proteins (which are needed for important functions like cell repair) or fats (which are a much more dense and effective source of fuel). As long as we limit those calories, we are A-OK! In fact, someone once gave me a bottle of fat free, calorie free, salt free salad dressing. I might just drink the stuff!

And dairy, we need lots of that! Of course, all other animals don’t drink milk after infancy, but dairy is such a healthy source of (relatively nothing since they pasteurize and process it all out) everything, we should drink it too… maybe instead of the salad dressing!

Keep Portions Sensible! Think small dinner plate not supersized platter.

Well shoot… I was soooo looking forward to that gigantic salad I was going to have for dinner. but of course, that would be way more than half the plate of vegetables, so that isn’t good, and the other half would be lots of meat (and not the lean kind) with good ol’ fatty olive oil drizzled on top and nary a grain or dairy in sight. Yep, better not eat that! It won’t be nearly enough nutrients and way too much protein and fat.

What should I eat instead? Maybe a couple slices of blood sugar boosting whole wheat toast with some hummus, an apple and a potato… yep that would fit, as long as I wash it down with the fat free dairy…. sounds so much more nutritious to me!

And I should probably keep some of those super-healthy (sarcasm) 100-Calorie packs with me at all times so that I can eat small portions throughout the day because not eating every 2 hours would be like fasting, which would cannibalize my muscle tissue (or not!).

STEP UP TO THE PLATE. MyPlate was developed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Wait, what? The U.S. Department of AGRICULTURE is telling us what we should eat? You mean those guys who approved Monsanto’s request to grow genetically modified crops and test them on their own? The same guys who bailed out Domino’s Pizza (lots of saturated fats there) to give the dairy industry a boost? That same organization who’s leader was once a top proponent for Monsanto’s push for genetically modified crops?

Now why would the USDA have any interest in telling us what to eat? They only regulate foods like corn, wheat, soybeans, processed dairy, factory meats…. oh wait! Oh… its all starting o make sense now! (Note to self: consider hiring USDA for brilliant marketing campaign)

It’s designed to translate the government’s 2010 Dietary Health Guidelines for Americans into practical information that you can apply to your meals. Together, these tools help you get the right number of calories for reaching and maintaining a healthy weight. That’s crucial at a time when obesity rates have hit epidemic levels.

How wonderful that we have those sweet, unbiased people at the USDA (who regulate all those heart healthy whole grains and low fat dairy) telling us to eat more heart healthy whole grains and low fat dairy. Surely, they are just concerned about the health of consumers and don’t care  one bit about where their funding comes from.

Measures like these will certainly reduce obesity, just as they’ve been doing for the last couple of decades under the government’s guidance (obesity rates have been rising). If only all of us dumb Americans had been smart enough to figure out that that pyramid thing was trying to get us to eat more whole grains these last few decades, we’d all be thin and healthy by now and heart disease and diabetes would be things of the past! (statistics show we actually eat less fat than we did a few decades ago).

[I'm practically choking on sarcasm by now, in case you didn't notice!]

Many people also don’t eat the variety of foods needed for optimal nutrition and health. Both adults and children often come up short on fiber, potassium, calcium and vitamin D.

MyPlate helps you to remember to choose a varied diet.For gauging portion sizes, the old guidelines talked about servings. The new oens refer to cups for fruit, vegetable and dairy and ounces for grains and proteins – units more familiar to home cooks

Yes, we need more varied whole grains! Of course, vegetables have more fiber and potassium… and foods like sardines and bone broth (lots of fat!) have more calcium… and we could get some Vitamin D from, you know, the sun… but we do certainly have to include those grains and dairy in our variety.

There are hundreds of fruits and vegetables, but we can’t let all that variety cover more than half our plates! where would the beans go? and the lean meats cooked in oxidized vegetable oils? Certainly, we must limit our vegetables to half our plate so we can make room for our whole grains and small portion of lean meat…

The article concludes by giving you resources to read more from the USDA (sorry, not linking to it!) and the hospital’s own website. You could even hire a dietitian to help you eat all that stuff in case you still can’t figure out that you are supposed to eat a lot of hearthealthy whole grains.

I wonder when the USDA and the medical community are going to figure out that these recommendations won’t really help anyone be healthy. Of course, where do people go when they get sick? The hospital!

What a coincidence!

As for me? The MyPlate recommendations won’t be on my plate! But this might…

What do you think? Is this article just bad health advice or a brilliant marketing scheme?

Coconut cream concentrate (also sometimes called coconut butter) is an incredibly tasty and filling way to get in your healthy fats! It is my favorite on-the-go treat, and I even keep a small jar in my purse for times when the kids or I get hungry while out.

It is super easy to make and can be flavored with cocoa powder, nuts, dried fruit, etc for yummy variations. If you like coconut at all, this is a great way to enjoy it!

Homemade Coconut Cream/Butter Ingredients

• 1 cup of shredded coconut or coconut flakes
• 2-3 tablespoons of coconut oil
• Optional flavorings including: real vanilla extract, chopped nuts, raisins, cocoa powder, chia seeds
• Food processor or high powered blender (I use a vita mix)

How To Make Coconut Cream

1. Pulse the shredded coconut or coconut flakes in the blender or food processor. At first, it will be powdered, then it will start to stick to itself and become smooth like almond butter.
2. When it starts to get thick, add 2-3 TBSP of melted coconut oil and keep blending until smooth.
3. add any flavorings and mix by hand
4. Store in a jar, in or out of the fridge or take as an on-the-go snack.
5. Enjoy!

Insultingly easy, I know! It’s one of my favorite ways to eat coconut. What’s yours?

If you fall in to that category, taking a minimum effective dose (MED) approach to Wellness can help make the adjustment less overwhelming so that you don’t give up simply because you don’t have enough time.

The basic concept here is finding the minimum amount needed to accomplish the greatest change. This applies in both nutrition and fitness, and in many cases, more is not better!

In my experience, nutrition accounts for about 80% of one’s physique, and that in most cases, 20% of effort creates 80% of the results in fitness. (Mark Sisson and Tim Ferriss have both explained various forms of the Pareto Principle as well).

As Ferris explains,  two important MEDs to remember when it comes to fitness and health are:

1. To remove stored fat- do the lest necessary to trigger a fat loss cascade of specific hormones.
2. To add muscle- do the least necessary to trigger local and systemic growth mechanisms.

Put another way: water boils at 212 degrees F. This is the MED needed to boil water. Raising the temperature more will not make the water “more boiled” so it is simply a waste of energy.

For health, this means isolating the most important factors that will create the greatest change. If you are trying to achieve noticeable results quickly, here are a few MED suggestions that I’ve found to be effective with myself or with clients.

Nutrition MEDs:

• Getting rid of all processed white foods (grains, sugar, starches) while limiting fruit and natural sugars and avoiding drinking calories (soda, diet soda, juice, etc)
• Eating protein first thing in the morning. Ferriss suggests 30 within 30 – eating 30 grams of protein (3-4 eggs) within 30 minutes of waking.
• Getting enough fat – 1-2 TBSP of coconut added to the diet does wonders for many people
• Veggies at every meal!
• Eating 1 TBSP almond butter mixed with 1 TBSP coconut oil right before bed
• Fasting once a week
• Optimizing Vitamin D

Fitness:

• Kettlebell MED- 75 consecutive swings with max weight done 3 times a week. Work up to 150 continuous reps.
• All out sprints once a week. Tabata’s are best (20 seconds max effort, 10 seconds rest, repeat 8 times) by running or on stationary bike.

Lifestyle:

• 7.5-9 hrs of sleep, every night! This makes more of an effect on health than most people realize.
• Drinking 32 ounces or more of water immediately after waking up.
• Making goals actionable and concrete (I will deadlift 200 lbs, or I will lose “x” inches) rather than obscure (I want to be healthy and thin)
• Taking a before picture and keeping a food journal if weight loss is the goal

If you are looking to make a health related change and need some accountability, head over to the Wellness Mama Forum and create a Wellness Journal where you can post before pictures, pictures of your food, meal log, questions, etc.

What are your health goals? Have you found any MEDs related to health or fitness? Share below!