After the experience I have had recently to identify my personal food allergies, I believe that everyone should consider being tested for food allergies.  And anyone who suffers from any chronic health issues should definitely get tested to identify if there are any foods that may be contributing to the way you feel, and your chronic poor health.  More pills to alleviate the symptoms doesn’t really solve the problem.  And it is possible, and probable that your health will improve if you nourish your body with the right foods, and avoid foods that your system cannot process or handle efficiently.

I have struggled with inflammatory issues almost my whole life.  As a child, the joint pain in my ankles had me popping anti-inflammatory pills like candy.  As an adult, I have had 3-4 flares of Optic Neuritis (an inflammation of the optic nerve which causes blindness.)  Lucky for me each time I’ve had to take high dose steroids to reduce the inflammation my eyesight has been restored.  But the fact that my system was so inflamed that it caused me to go blind in the first place IS something to take notice of.  Not to mention the back pain, joint pain in my hands, tender spots throughout my body, being tired all the time, depression…and the list of how I used to feel  eating allergy-laden foods goes on.

Personally, I’ve also had a bit of extra belly fat (inflammation in my gut…)  And it has always been practically impossible for me to ever lose weight.  The only way my weight has ever changed was to fast or stop eating – and THAT’s not a healthy way to live either!

My family practice doctor, eye doctors, and the rheumatoid specialists I saw for my eye never seemed concerned about the foods I was eating.  In fact, I specifically asked the rheumatoid specialist if there was anything I should eat, or avoid that would help heal my body and get me off steroids – and she almost laughed at me, commenting that what I eat has no relevance on my inflammatory issues!

But I’m here to tell you that what you eat DOES make a difference in how you feel.  And because we are all unique individuals, don’t assume that because it’s a food that should be, (or is advertised and marketed as “healthy”) that it is a healthy food for you – unless you’ve done your due diligence and had allergy testing done to identify it’s safe to eat.

Here are the Top 8 Food Allergens:

1. Milk
2. Eggs
3. Peanuts
4. Tree Nuts
5. Fish
6. Shellfish
7. Soy
8. Wheat

These are by far not everything you might be allergic to.  With any food you eat, your body has the potential to be allergic to it.  Some allergic reactions happen almost instantly.  (like not being able to breathe…  or breaking out in hives.)  But other reactions might not be as noticeably tied to what you eat.  Because of a potential  24-48 hour delay – you may find it difficult to actually tie symptoms you feel to the foods you have eaten.

Before the Holidays, I had blood allergy tests and a stool analysis taken to check my gut flora and tell how well I’m able to assimilate what I’m eating.  OH MY!  What a wake-up moment…

So I thought that as a Pilates teacher & health professional that I had a pretty good and healthy diet, but EVERYTHING that I was eating that I thought was “healthy” and good for me, was causing a reaction in my system! 

And nobody ever told me that if you had a latex allergy there were FOODS to avoid! (Bananas, Avocados, and Mangos) are somehow related to latex…  So I think I’m eating healthy to put bananas & mangos in my smoothies, and getting my good fats with a couple of avocados a week…but in reality – I’ve only been contributing to the inflammatory problems in my system with these and all the other foods I’d been eating.

So how have I had to change my lifestyle to eat allergy-free foods?

• I’ve cleaned out my kitchen cupboards of every food & spice that I need to avoid to stay healthy.
• I’m reading every label before I buy a product
• For the most part if it’s not a fresh/ whole food, I’m avoiding it.
• A little bit more meal planning, prep, and cooking.
• IF I eat out, making good choices and asking for specially prepared allergy-free foods.
• Rotating the foods I eat, so I don’t eat the same foods every day.
• Adapting recipes to only use allergy-free ingredients.
• STICKING WITH MY HEALTHY FOODS LIST AND AVOIDING EATING MY IDENTIFIED ALLERGEN FOODS.

How has this helped so far?

• I FEEL 100% better!
• My energy level is higher
• I am sleeping more soundly
• I am physically (& mentally) stronger
• I have lost 6-7 pounds in only  4 weeks.
• My belly is flatter
• My face is thinner
• I am Happier!

I am amazed at how quickly and dramatically the inflammation in my system has gone down in only ONE month by avoiding foods that I’m allergic to and only eating foods my body can digest and process easily! 

It was a little overwhelming when I discovered what I was in for and needed to change to make this positive improvement in my overall health and allergy-free eating plan.  But with the support of my good friend Kirstin Carey, owner of the amazing Nourish 123 restaurant, who understands eating with food allergies, the help of my doctor who ran my tests, along with my family to accept a new meal plan – it hasn’t been as bad as I expected….And the benefits of my improved health are making it easy to stick with my new healthy eating plan.

If you are on a personal journey to improve your health, and checking for food allergies is something that you have not done yet.  I highly recommend you consider finding a physician in your local area who can assist you with this.

It is a positive, life-changing, health-improving experience to live and eat with an allergy-free lifestyle!

For more information about food allergies here are a couple of helpful resources:

Arizona Food Allergy Alliance 

Nourish 123 

It’s a challenge to find soy-free mayonnaise! 

I am so excited to have found tubes of soy-free mustards and mayonnaise.  These portable condiments are going to be great for meals out, and will be my new traveling companions for healthy soy-free toppings for sandwiches and burgers.

The clerk chuckled when I asked about soy-free, and high fructose corn syrup-free products and said that in Germany he’s not sure they use soy in anything, and high fructose corn syrup is banned!  Not sure if this info is accurate – but it makes me want to shop more globally to find healthier things to eat.

Since I don’t make it to Lawrence often, they’ve got a fabulous website so I can order from home!  I’m definitely looking forward to checking out more of their products!

If you’re looking for interesting European products, or soy-free mayo to go – check out this market!

Did you know that according to the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America, Soy is among the most common foods that cause allergic reactions?

Since my detox experience last year, I’ve been really trying to pay better attention to my food choices, and have come to realize how eating things that I’m slightly allergic to affects my system.  For most of my food allergies – thankfully I don’t need an epi-pen.  But that really shouldn’t give me license to eat things I know aren’t great for my system.

I’ve known for years that I’m allergic to peanuts and beans.  Especially peas & lima beans – really everything in the bean family is an allergy problem for me.  But it wasn’t until chatting with my friend Kirsten Carey who runs a fabulous gluten-free, soy-free, lactose-free, nut free restaurant in Scottsdale, AZ – Nourish123, that I realized Soy is a bean!  Know that sounds funny…you’d think I would have put this together a little bit sooner.

Soy milk, and Chinese food were things I quickly realized I needed to give up.  Then I started reading labels…

Soy lecithin is a binder in many, many foods – most chocolates & chocolate chips contain soy.  Soy sauce is used as a flavor enhancer in many sauces & dishes.  Soy is in most mayonnaise and salad dressings.  Most vegetable oils contain soy.  Many of the foods in your kitchen contain soy, and I seriously doubt you can eat out at a regular restaurant and avoid soy.

Here are other terms that imply soy is an ingredient:

• Glycine max
• Hydrolyzed vegetable protein (HVP)
• Lecithin
• Miso
• Mono-diglyceride
• Monosodium glutamate (MSG)
• Natto
• Tempeh
• Tofu
• Vegetable oil
• Vitamin E contains soy bean oil

And this is just what we are eating!

Did you know that soy is also a commonly used ingredient in medicines, cosmetics, lotions, creams, and ointments? 

For me, with a known soy allergy, slathering skin care products on my body that contain soy are just as harmful as ingesting it!

I have had to seriously adjust my lifestyle to work on becoming soy-free.  Know I’m not 100% soy-free yet, and thankfully the repercussions of small amounts aren’t causing me major distress.  But I can tell you that the less soy I eat, finding skin-care products that are soy-free (along with avoiding several other things I know I’m allergic to…)  I am breathing better, feeling stronger, my digestive system is starting to work better – finally!!! I am more energized, and noticeably healthier.

It takes a bit of work to clean the soy out of your kitchen, but for me – the benefits of becoming soy-free are life changing in a fabulous way!

To learn more about Soy Allergies click the link to AAFA.

If you too are striving to stay healthy & Soy-Free and have product recommendations, or healthy recipes – please post a comment & share!  And here’s hoping that if enough people start to take action and stop using soy-based products, that we can get better allergy-free options on the shelves for healthy, whole-food, soy-free living.

So far the Olympics have been met with both tragedy and success!  Is there a sport that I don’t like to watch?  Not yet…Most of the winter sports have me sitting on the edge of my chair and seem to be for speed demons!

Last night the commentators were quick to point out that Winter Olympians are a fearless bunch, and I have to agree.

Here’s a quote from American Todd Lodwick on his comparison of real-life to ski jumping.

“The best way I can describe it is to go up onto the thirtieth floor of any building, and then get in the car and drive that car off the top roof, and then land safely. That is pretty much what it is.”

So I’ve got to ask…

1. Would you willingly volunteer to take a wild ride like this? And not just once…but over and over again until you’re confident, in control, and know that 99% of the time you’re going to land safely!
2. Would you even consider jumping if you had the slightest thought that you might fail?
3. Does this sound like FUN to you?

These great athletes from all over the world have spent endless hours practicing their sports, paying attention to diet, nutrition, cross-training, injury-prevention (or rehabilitation) and many have still had to work, take care of their families, and handle other responsibilities.

And they are now reaping the benefits of their dedicated efforts by being the best in their sports and selected to represent their country in the Olympics!  Way to go – I’m proud to cheer you on!

If these athletes can juggle life with Olympic training to achieve success in their sports, perhaps those of us with regular lives can also strike a balance to achieve success, whether it’s for fitness, business, or other endeavors. The drive, determination, and motivation that these athletes share definitely lights a fire of inspiration under me to make better choices and continue striving for success until I reach my own “Olympic-sized” dreams.

Do the stories of Olympic athletes help to motivate you? I’d love to hear what’s helped inspire you to stay focused on achieving your dreams.

There are two sides to every coin and since the not drinking much has gotten me to where I am now and I’d like to change, I’m now headed to the drink more water side of the fence to see how this new “drink-more-water” habit affects my weight-loss efforts and overall health.

There seems to be some debate about the philosophy of drinking 8 glasses of water a day.  Is it true, does, it work, has it really been proven that it’s a required health fact that we need eight glasses of water a day to survive?  I found an article on Web MD, “Benefits of Drinking Water Oversold?” that says evidence is lacking.  And in his book “Water: for Health, for Healing, for Life:  You’re Not Sick, You’re Thirsty!” Dr. F. Batmanghelidj MD shows the crucial benefits of drinking water for our health.

So I suppose we each need to listen to our bodies and decide what’s best for us!  Since our body is made up mostly of water, and coffee, tea, and colas are documented to cause dehydration, it makes sense to me that perhaps a little more H2O in my daily diet isn’t such a bad thing!

My water glass is empty, and I’m actually getting kind of thirsty…  Time for me to close this post and head to the kitchen for a  refill, but before I go, I’m curious…  How much water do you drink daily and why?

Leave me a comment below, share your thoughts, and let’s explore the benefits of drinking water for health together!

If you feel like you’re wandering and confused about your choices and what to do to really get results from your exercise program and weight-loss efforts, I’d encourage you to seek the wise counsel of an experienced health and fitness expert, or perhaps a nutritionist to help you sort out the details and fine-tune a fitness and eating plan that is realistic for your schedule and will help you confidently move forward in the right direction.

Another thing to keep in mind which has helped me a lot this week is a bit of advice from David Wolfe’s Longevity Now Program:  We feel deprived and like we’re missing out when we start taking things away.  Kind of like taking candy from a baby!  Instead focus on adding good healthy things to your day, whether it’s exercise, more rest, meditation, better food choices, or supplements.

By focusing on what your ADDING to your lifestyle to become healthier, you might discover that the not-so-healthy habits will disappear without you feeling deprived.

This shift in perspective has made a huge difference in my mindset and the choices I’ve made this week.  Hope that perhaps it will help you on your journey too!

Have a Fit and Fabulous Day!

A few weeks ago I was in Key West.  There was a Palm Reader on the street that we passed by every day we were there.  Now I’ve NEVER had my palm read, but felt drawn to this guy.  I didn’t do it the whole week – and on the last night finally got up the courage to sit in his chair!  It was interesting, his comments were spot on – and he gave me a remedy to help my stomach.  Mind you I didn’t tell him anything, or ask any questions – I just sat down and showed him my hands.

I have had some sort of inflammatory issue in my gut for many years…(I’m thinking since I was about 12)  Know that it has prohibited any type of weight loss and proper usage of nutrients.  I also tore my rectus more than 8 years ago, and things in my belly are slow if impossible to heal.  It’s much better, but I can do almost nothing and feel it begin to tear again and I don’t really know what will set it off until it’s too late.  So it’s been a long haul getting me back to health, and after quite a few years of not being able to use my abs for support – I’ve managed to create all sorts of compensation patterns for torso control, support, and movement!

I can either laugh or cry about this since I teach how important it is to have your center working properly for whole-body health!  I continue to learn new things all the time about my body and what it needs to continue on the journey to optimal wellness, and to get there ALL of our muscles and organs have to function properly.

Ok, back to my palm reading experience…  He told me to drink the juice of 1 raw potato, 1 raw carrot, and a handful of grapes, every morning for a month.  On the first day of my juicing experience, as I was sitting at my computer and slowly sipping on my potato juice, I decided to surf the web and see what I could find about the benefits of potato juice, since it’s not something I’ve ever considered putting in my juicer, and here’s a bit of the info I found:

Raw Potato Juice Has the Following Medicinal Virtues:

• It is one of the most alkaline foods
• It dissolves away uric acid and lime
• It helps prevent the fermentative process in the intestines
• It helps the growth of friendly bacteria in the digestive tract

Raw potato juice has been used to benefit scurvy, rheumatism, digestive system disorders, skin blemishes, swelling, and I even found an article about the benefits of drinking raw potato juice to help cure cancer!

I’m not sure that I can condone or believe that Potato juice is a cure-all.  This is food not medicine we’re talking about here.. But I do believe that everything happens for a reason, and we get the information we need when we are ready and open to receive it.  I know that this interesting little drink is definitely beneficial for me and my stomach (and how from reading my palms was I given the info is beyond my comprehension…)  But I’m grateful for the messenger, and that I took a bit of time to research why it was recommended.

It’s been a few weeks now… I feel stronger, more energized, and it’s getting easier for me to push my abs to do more without strain.  My food and diet choices are changing too.  Don’t know who’s out there reading this that’s looking for something interesting to consider for improved digestion, but you might look into the benefits of potato juice and see if it’s appropriate for you!

But it’s a new year and time to re-focus and get back on track with better habits.  I know I can’t do it all at once, it will take small steps everyday to keep me headed in the right direction with my eating habits. I’ve been cleaning out closets and cupboards this week and am looking forward to moving myself forward to a thinner and sleeker me in 2010.

I had an opportunity to listen to David Wolfe give a raw foods lecture a few years ago, and have continued to be interested in moving my lifestyle to more of a fresh, whole, and raw diet.  The best I’ve felt in my whole entire life (and the easiest it was for me to maintain a healthy weight, was 5-6 years ago when I was consistently doing and teaching Bigu Qigong for weightloss and weight management.  I believe we know the right things to do to make better choices, but time, habits, and emotional patterns sometimes hold us back in fear from reaching our healthy potential.

David’s lecture was very inspiring and I’ve been ordering products from Sunfood Nutrition for the past couple of years. If you’re looking for some great resources, information, and healthy food products, this is a great place to go!

I’m getting back on track for better nutrition…will post updates on my progress for discipline, consistency, and overcoming my emotional fears and challenges that, in the past, have gotten in the way of my achieving optimal nutritional health! I hope that perhaps this link to Sunfood Nutrition will help you on your journey to better health too!

Have a Very Happy and Healthy New Year!