Tag: #autoimmune

Autoimmune issues, Diet, Fitness, Health and Fitness, Healthy Eating, NonGMO, wellness

GMO Corn – Are you eating it?

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After watching the very informative film, Genetic Roulette (you can stream this on Amazon for $3.99), I realized that most gluten-free people have been making a grave mistake with our gluten free diets.

For ten years, corn has been my carb-of-choice because it was “safe” for me. Tex-mex restaurants were my go-to for dining out, but guess what? Unless it’s an organic Tex-mex restaurant, we’re adding to the health problem that’s forced us to be gluten free in the first place.

Corn is the most compromised grain when it comes to GMO’s. Everything I’ve read and watched has convinced me that my auto-immune disease is a result of the chemical companies and what they’re doing to our grains.  “Leaky gut” syndrome is a result of the chemicals (BT toxin) on corn that are designed to explode the stomach of the bugs that get on the corn. Problem: those same chemicals have worked great on our small intestine, breaking down the lining of the small intestine, allowing our food to leak into our bloodstream and then confusing the immune system’s function of determining what is an actual virus or bacteria and what is simply our food that has not been digested correctly. Our small intestine is ultimately our immune system and once it’s comprised, it takes daily focus to repair it.

Protect your kids, save yourself and learn more about the chemicals that are in some of our most common foods and what they are doing to your body. The increasing cancer, diabetes, autism and heart disease rates are not a coincidence with our changing food supply. Our health issues rising correlate almost exactly with the introduction of chemicals into our food supply. Keep in mind that most of the chemicals, antibiotics and hormones in American food are not allowed in other countries. GMO’s are more dangerous than anyone wants us to know. Start healing your immune system today by not buying anything except Non-GMO foods. Every time we purchase a GMO product, we support the chemical corps that have infested our food with their chemicals.

I don’t know about you, but I’m tired of being a science experiment. Check this out: http://www.nongmoproject.org

Healthy Eating

7 Day Kale Kleanse Challenge

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Can I get a “woot, woot” for kale? Anyone? No, okay, okay, I get it. Maybe kale isn’t the sexiest food in the world, but when you look at what kale can do for your body, it IS the sexiest food around and your body can’t get enough of it!

Kale

Kale is a nutrient-dense green leafy vegetable that is not only full of vitamins, calcium, folates, healthy omega-3’s and fiber, it can help us build muscle as it helps the body burn and clear out fat. So, if getting lean, fortified and healthier sounds like a good start to 2015, let’s do this Kale Kleanse together!

Get Klean in 2015!

So honestly, kale is my nemesis. I wish so much that I loved everything about the flavor and the texture, but it’s just not my favorite, in spite of the fact that I know how good it is for my body. But, I have found that if I prepare it in some of my favorite things, such as kale pesto, kale-o-mole and kale smoothies, it tastes great! So, it’s my 2015 resolution (and first resolution I can remember) to eat 1.5 lbs of veggies each day, the majority of those being green. I know this nutrient-dense plan will fortify my body in the way it deserves to be fortified. I ask a lot of my body, and this year I’m going to give it my gratitude by giving it nutrient-dense foods.

If you want to join me on my journey, come on! Let’s get started with the Kale Kleanse!

The Kale Kleanse officially begins Monday, January 12, 2015. But start your preparations now by cleaning out your pantry, cutting anything artificial out of your diet, especially colors, sweeteners and MSG and go grocery shopping for clean foods. If you drink coffee, switch to decaf to minimize withdrawal symptoms. Eat gluten free grains, cut refined sugar and no dairy. Starting to clean things up before a cleanse can really help you feel better during your cleanse.

Tell me how you’re getting ready to start your Kale Kleanse. I’d love to hear your favorite kale recipes and what you might like to see during the kleanse.

 

 

Fitness

Pull Your Navel into Your Spine

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Why do Pilates teachers love to say that?

Well, try it right now- pull your navel into your spine and see how long you can hold it.

Whew…harder than you thought and boy was that good for you!

How was it good for you? You got a stronger core, a stronger back, increased strength in the pelvic floor…wow, the list goes on and on! Try it a few more times.

When you pull that navel into your spine, you engage your deep core muscles and that helps to support your spine. Our spines are meant to be flexible, thankfully, but they do need support and that is what the core muscles do for us. Those muscles include stabilizing core muscles (transverse abdominus), flexion and extension core muscles (the 8 pack), the obliques (rotation), and your deep core moving muscles, the psoas (which connect to the top of your leg bone and help to pick your legs up). More muscles that work with the core are the back muscles, latissimus dorsi (largest muscle in the body), back extensors, inner thighs and the glutes. The core is actually made up of a lot more than just abdominals, but all of these muscles work together to support your spine and that helps us age better, move better and feel better.

Athletes need strong cores to swing (bats, gold clubs, tennis rackets, throw baseballs, you get the idea), to run (the psoas), to do yoga (oh yeah!), it’s called the core for good reason, it’s the powerhouse of the body, and the stronger yours is, the better off you’ll be and that’s a promise!!!

Do you have any supercharged core exercises? What’s your favorite way to work you abs? We’d love to hear about it :O)

Healthy Eating

Why Is Nutrition So Confusing?

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Eating is easy, eating healthy has become a full-time job. I love nutrition. As a health coach and fitness trainer, I’m constantly having conversations with people about food. My clients are educated people with the best of intentions for their health and nutrition, but everybody is confused about what exactly is good for them, and I understand why.

As a constant researcher of nutrition, I’m shocked by the toxic substances that are allowed in even our “organic” foods. The labeling is tricky, the ingredients are hard to say, which usually means they’re bad for you, but not always. We know red #40 causes everything from ADD to tumor growth, but food makers continue to use it. What??? And don’t even get me started on all the other food dyes (but, please check this out: http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2011/02/24/are-you-or-your-family-eating-toxic-food-dyes.aspx). I get it, they’re trying to make money, but come on, at the expense of the American people? The good news is that we choose. We vote with our dollars, so every time you’re grocery shopping, remember that.

So, who is looking out for us? Who is allowing this? Why isn’t the control of these terrible substances regulated and kept out of our food supply? Aren’t we protected by the “powers that be?” The answer is a simple “no.” If you want to protect your family from the myriad of health problems food is causing, including death, you’ve got to educate yourself and your family. As parents, it’s our job to teach our children to become responsible people that can go out and function in the world. What’s the primary thing they need to function? Nutrition, and if they don’t know what that is, how can they be living life to the fullest? Finally, here’s the definition of nutrition in Medicine per dictionary.com, December 2014:

nutrition nu·tri·tion (nōō-trĭsh’ən, nyōō-) 
n.
1. The process by which a living organism assimilates food and uses it for growth, liberation of energy, and replacement of tissues; its successive stages include digestion, absorption, assimilation, and excretion.

So the next time you or your kids are about to drink a soda (20oz contains 16ish packets of sugar) or eat oddly-colored snack foods (the food companies refer to processed snack foods as “negative calories” because they’re designed to make you hungry for more junk) think about that definition, read the ingredients and ask yourself “How is this nourishing me and family?” Are those artificial sweeteners causing behavioral issues, are those artificial colors causing an inability to learn? Is so much sugar making it hard for your body to regulate insulin? These things are BAD and you don’t have to eat them. You choose what goes into your body and for the most part, that of your family. If you offer healthy foods, they’ll crave them, because that’s what the body needs. If we eat junk foods, we’ll crave those because they’re made to make you crave them with chemicals. Our nourishment comes from vegetables, fruits, nuts, meats, eggs, ancient grains (gluten-free), and water. Don’t underestimate what nutrition can do for you and what  bad “food” can do to you. Help your kids grow strong, grow smart and become educated on what food means to them. This is how we can change the future of food, and thereby our world.

If you want more information on how the food companies are much more concerned about dollars than your health, please check out Pulitizer-prize winning author Michael Moss’s book, Salt, Sugar, Fat, it’s a real eye-opener: http://michaelmossbooks.com/books/salt-sugar-fat/. Remember that when a food is making a health claim, it’s not for your benefit, it’s just their marketing efforts.

Are you eating a nutrition-dense or calorie-dense diet? Can you feed yourself or your family without processed foods? Why or why not? I’d love to hear from you.

 

wellness

Living With Intention- 5 Simple Steps

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A favorite phrase I use when teaching fitness is by Joseph Pilates, (I’m paraphrasing) “Movement without intention has no value.” It’s impossible not to think of how that carries over into every moment of the day, if we’re living consciously or want to live consciously. Here are some ways that every day can have more value, more awareness and more intention in everything we do.

1. Breakfast- I find that if I start my day with a cookie (even a healthy cookie, and that does happen) the rest of my day is shot. I know there are many common sense reasons having to do with the chemical reactions in my body, but there is unequivocally a thought process for the rest of the day that says “oh well, I had cookies for breakfast.” On the other hand, if I start my day with eating a healthful, fuel-filled, nutrient-dense breakfast, I find myself craving healthy foods for the rest of the day. And worst of all, if I skip breakfast, I tend to have no appetite. Not eating breakfast (within 1 hour of waking) is the fastest way to gain weight and it’s so disrespectful to my body. Eating with intention is probably the most important thing we do because it fuels our lives.

2. Kindness- I love to listen to a positive, inspiring book on Audible on my way to work. This inevitably makes me a better person in every circumstance. It is my intention to be kind and helpful to everyone I see (even the person that cuts me off on the road), but it’s not always easy. Listening to positive messages of love and acceptance helps me to remember that the best I can be is when I find patience, understanding and positivity within myself and offer that to anyone and everyone else.

3. Exercise- If I can just do some intended movement before starting my day, I’ll move better the rest of the day. Being a fitness teacher is gift from that perspective, but I have a lot of days that I’m working from home or on the computer. Consciously getting up, moving and caring for how my body works makes me more productive, thoughtful, creative and free all day, even if I don’t break a sweat. I’ll do a plank to down dog, a back stretch, maybe some lunges and hip flexors stretches, any movement early in the day keeps my intention of moving my body in a healthy way on track.

4. Work- I work for myself, so staying focused and keeping productivity high is a must. Having a productive work day is kind of like having breakfast. If I start my day off with some work-related goals, I find I’ll not only accomplish those goals, but each goal leads me to several other things that add up to a very productive day and that helps me sleep better. Sometimes my best approach to work productivity is to make myself a list the night before on my phone and then I can check off each item through the day. It’s a great feeling when I’ve checked off every item and I’m ready for the next day, bring it on.

5. Sleep- Getting up early and to bed on time requires setting a schedule and sticking to it. Fortunately, I grew up on a farm, so getting up early was just part of the day. It’s carried over with me and getting up early makes going to bed early easy, because I’m tired. Sleep is truly everything to our health, positivity, energy levels, exercise and how our body metabolizes food. Stay busy during the day, break a sweat when you can and you’ll have a good night’s rest.

These may seem like simple things, and they are, but living with intention requires awareness in all of these areas of life and when we can set our goals and accomplish them, we are happier, healthier people with so much more to offer to this amazing world. I love the book from years ago “Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff,” it’s so true, but live for the small stuff, it’s what makes the big stuff.

wellness

5 Changes That Could Save Your Child and Your Health

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I often hear from friends and clients (I’m a health coach, fitness trainer and Pilates teacher) that their doctor has prescribed this or that medication for their child’s ADD, ADHD, autism, Asperger’s, allergies, asthma, anxiety, depression, etc. What if you could make HUGE improvements to your child’s symptoms and behaviors by cleaning out your pantry? Would you do it? It seems like a simple question and an obvious answer, but I’m confronted daily with the disconnect between our processed food environment and what’s going on with our health.

My 10 year-old son, James, was diagnosed with Asperger’s, Tourette’s and allergies when he was very small, but the diagnosis was wrong, he did have symptoms, but it wasn’t his body that was sick, it was our diet. James no longer has symptoms of Asperger’s or Tourette’s and he’s never taken any medication for those diagnosis. We’ve changed his life (and ours) forever, by simply changing our diet.

James was 18 months old when we began to notice him changing. I did not allow any of his vaccinations to be done on the doctor’s schedule, we did them, but on James’ time, not the pediatrician’s. Between 18 months and 3 years old he became more and more withdrawn. He had violent outbursts when he was unhappy, spitting, hitting, kicking, saying every bad word he could conjure (they were minimal, thankfully). His anxiety attacks were devastating. He reminded me of a spooked horse, unable to focus on anything but fear. It was heart-breaking to watch and I’ve never felt so helpless as a parent.

After James was born I was diagnosed with an autoimmune disease. Looking back, I’m so grateful for that diagnosis. The medication offered to me had awful side effects that I couldn’t get past, so I found a holistic doctor. The doctor drew several vials of blood, informed me they would run some tests and said to stop eating anything with yeast or gluten until my results came back. Within about 48 hours the pain I’d lived with for 8 months subsided, just like that. And a side effect of this simple change was that my lifelong asthma vanished- never to be heard from again (10 years later).

At 8 years old, after a week long bout of Tourette’s “barking” and considering hospitalizing James to stop the Tourette’s episode, we opted to try cleaning up James’ diet. We took him off all simple carbohydrates (including grains). He ate only vegetables, fruits, meats, eggs and nuts. Within 48 hours his “barking” tic had reduced to a barely audible “chirp” that continued to improve as the weeks went by. James’ anxiety has vanished. He never has violent outbursts. He no longer has tics. He could not be a more pleasant, sweet, loving and endearing human being. He is my sweetest and easiest child (out of 3). It was a long road- but we are healthy and symptom-free, simply by changing our diet.

Here are the 5 things that made a HUGE difference for our family:

1) No gluten
2) No sugar
3) No dairy
4) No preservatives (like MSG, yeast extract, nitrites)
5) No artificial coloring

Processed foods are causing unprecedented illness. Will you try these changes in your home? What’s stopping you? Please- leave a comment and let me know how I can help you.

wellness

Can Stress Make You Fat?

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Unfortunately, stress will cause our bodies to store fat and especially right around the belly. Some more bad news is that it becomes an even bigger problem as we age because our hormones are changing and when we get stressed our bodies get more out of balance than when we were younger and it becomes harder for the body to “re-set.”

Cortisol is a good thing. It signals your body to respond appropriately to stress, the problem is that we often stay stressed and we don’t give our bodies a chance to re-set from stressful days at work, stress with kids, and stressful thoughts. Should I have eaten that? Did I pack the kids lunch? Did I do a good job on that important project for my boss? These thoughts creep into our head all day long and sometimes while we sleep. And Cortisol goes up.

Often stress leads to sleep loss, another reason that we store fat around the belly. Our Cortisol levels should be down at bedtime, but when our brains are overloaded with the days events and what tomorrow brings, it’s hard for us to settle down and get into a healthy, deep sleep. So, we wakeup tired and the whole process starts again the next day.

Constantly bombarding our systems with panic-alarm thoughts followed by panic-alarm moments of concern throughout the day prevents our bodies from re-setting the alarm button and getting back to a normal state.

Sound familiar? Sound depressing? It’s not so much, because like almost everything that has to do with your body– you can control this. GET EXERCISE. DO YOGA. DO PILATES. So we know that exercise helps us sleep better, produces good endorphins and helps us feel better all around, add yoga and/or Pilates into your routine and in addition to all the good feeling endorphins, you will learn to breath.

Just breathing deeply is the easiest way you can restore your Cortisol levels to normal, resetting your body for tomorrow and signaling your brain that it’s time to settle down, relax and sleep.

So, if you’re laying in bed tonight, worrying about what tomorrow is going to bring or what could have gone better today, let it go. Breath in, feel your lungs expand fully, and then breath out, letting go of every worry, every tense muscle, every self-doubt. Continue breathing deeply until you have fallen into the blissful state of sleep your body needs, your Cortisol level will go down and you’ll wake up ready to face tomorrow with all of the joy and vitality you were meant to live your life with.

Please feel free to send me questions anytime, I love it!

Mardee Calkins is an ACE certified personal trainer, wellness coach, double certified Pilates teacher, a PMA certified Pilates instructor, Spin instructor, registered yoga teacher, Kettle Bell Instructor, Rebounding instructor, expert at using food as medicine, author and mom of three.

wellness

Is it important to use all natural or organic products?

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The answer is YES, YES, YES.

The skin is the largest organ we have and it absorbs everything we put on it. We know this from skin patches being used by the medical community for everything from birth control to pain management. So if we’re eating organic and putting chemicals onto our skin with make-up, skin care products and cleaning supplies, we’re exposing ourselves to more chemicals than we would get in our food.

The human body is an incredibly complex system. Our bodies are all natural and it’s important that we keep them that way.

There’s a dangerous amount of chemicals in everyday things from diapers to sunscreen and in the food we eat. Most of us have been touched by cancer in some way and we all understand that from the best athletes to children, we’re all at risk. One of the ways we can have some control is by what products we use for ourselves and our families in addition to the food we eat.

It’s been reported over and over that women eat several pounds of lipstick over their lifetime. That’s a great example of why we need to use all natural or organic products on our bodies.

We only get one body, so if you want your body to last and serve you well, stay organic and all natural, just the way you came into this world.

Are you organic? Do you feel it’s important? Why or why not?

I love questions and comments, so please, feel free to offer me your thoughts. I love it!

Here are some great companies where you can find wonderful organic and all natural products:

https://www.honest.com/shop

http://www.juicebeauty.com/store/all-products.html

http://www.seventhgeneration.com

Mardee Calkins is an ACE certified personal trainer, wellness coach, double certified Pilates teacher, a PMA certified Pilates instructor, Spin instructor, registered yoga teacher, Kettle Bell Instructor, Rebounding instructor, expert at using food as medicine, author and mom of three.

Healthy Eating

Acid, Alkaline and Inflammation

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Have you or anyone you know had cancer, an autoimmune disease, or heart disease? Most of us have lived through one of these issues, or know someone who has. All three problems have one common denominator: inflammation. As a matter of fact, almost all of our health issues start with inflammation. Even common allergies cause inflammation and in the next ten years modern (western medicine) is going to become tuned in to this problem and how we can minimize inflammation in our bodies. Controlling inflammation is the key to staying healthy and controlling it starts with keeping your body alkaline.

Acidity and alkaline in the body can be a little confusing, but it’s very important for the body to remain alkaline for many reasons, most of all to keep inflammation at a minimum. So put simply, acidity causes inflammation and being alkaline minimizes inflammation. Staying alkaline can make all the difference in how a person with an autoimmune disease feels.

How do you get alkaline?

Let’s start by looking at how a body gets acidic. And, like most things that have to do with how you feel, acidity comes from what you put in your body.

Acidic foods include: meats, table salt (not sea salt), milk (a huge offender), sodas, coffee, chocolate (heartbreaking), sugar, alcohol, cheese, and some grains.

So, one of the best ways to get alkaline is to try to eliminate these often tasty items from your diet.

Why? Because being acidic can cause lots of serious problems ranging from general inflammation to life-taking cancer. Other potentially serious acidity problems include: osteoporosis (an acidic body will steal from the bones), kidney problems and cardiovascular disease. So… you really don’t want to be acidic, even if you don’t have an auto-immune disease.

What are some things you can put into your body each day to make it alkaline?

It’s easy :O)… most fruits and vegetables, apple cider vinegar (in place of acid causing regular vinegar), and adding half a lemon in water. Adding these things to a meal that may have some acid-forming foods provides balance for the body. If you’re feeling inflamed, avoid the acid forming foods and drink lots of lemon in water. See if that helps how you’re feeling.

Some great books that discuss the importance of staying alkaline are Clean, by Alejandro Junger, M.D. and The Paleo Diet, by Loren Cordain, Ph.D. Both books address autoimmune diseases and have some great ideas on how to care for the body holistically.

Got some thoughts about acidity and alkaline? I’d love to hear it!!