“Ancient Wisdom for Modern Health.”

That’s the motto at Radiant Life Company, an online store that is a one-stop-shop for all things holistic health.  I’m excited to be able to offer one lucky reader a $100 gift card toward anything at the Radiant Life Company store!

From Supplements to Kitchen Products

Radiant Life has an extensive selection of products for healing, healthy living:

• Want to reduce toxins in your home? They offer affordable, top-quality air purifiers and water filtration systems.

• Want to eat right? They have a wide selection of everything from supplements to fats to sea salts.

• Want to beautify naturally? Browse their selection of nourishing skin care products.

… and that’s just the beginning!

Here are more of their popular products: 

This slick stainless steel dehydrator has precise controls and the deep capacity allows you to save time in the kitchen!

Earthing is a way to reconnect with the healing electrical charge of the earth. Radiant Life offers savings of over $100 on their Earthing Premium Starter Kit.

I take my fermented cod liver oil every single day. Radiant Life offers a variety of flavored and nonflavored varieties (I like the Cinnamon Tingle flavor the best!)

Enter the giveaway

First, click the link below to visit Radiant Life’s website (mandatory entry).

Then, use the Rafflecopter widget to complete the entry and to gain additional, optional entries! Also, this giveaway is open to my international readers.

NOTE: If you can’t see the link above, it’s because you have ad blocking software enabled or javascript disabled. Please disable your ad blocker or enable javascript to participate in this giveaway. a Rafflecopter giveaway

The post Giveaway: $100 Gift Card at Radiant Life Company appeared first on Empowered Sustenance.

Many of you know that I am a self-proclaimed Pinterest addict. Since I’m passionate about healthy recipes and healing nutrition, I follow many recipe and health boards and pinners. Not everyone I follow has the same nutrition philosophy as me, though. Bob Harper’s Skinny Rules list has appeared more than once in my Pinterest feed, and it never fails to thoroughly irk me. I can’t help but stage a mental debate over these rules every time I see that long yellow list.

These so-called skinny rules may lead to a temporary stress-hormone-fueled burst of weight loss, but it is not the key to real health and long-lasting weight management. These are the rules for yo-yo dieting. For emotional instability. For intense irritability. For feeling like a failure. As I discuss below, some of these rules will actually backfire and cause weight gain, hence the title of this post.

1. Drink a large glass of water before every meal. No excuses.

Likely, the point here is to fill your stomach up with zero-calorie bulk, so you eat less. Bad idea. First, any good relationship is based on trust (yes, I am going somewhere with this point). The same goes with our body relationship. We need to learn to LISTEN and to TRUST our own body. This doesn’t work if we literally drown out the voice of our body! Weight management entails learning how to gauge fullness, without “tricking” our body by filling up with water.

While a small amount of water before meals can help prime the stomach for digestion, too much liquids with meals can water down the stomach acid and gastric juices. This lowers the pH of the stomach, which can lead to protein maldigestion (and that, in turn, leads to a leaky gut, food allergies, and insufficient neurotransmitter production). Read my post on how to heal stomach acid naturally for more info.

2. Don’t drink your calories.

We should absolutely avoid things like soda and pasteurized fruit juices (although freshly pressed fruit  juices are full of vitamins and beneficial enzymes). Raw milk and homemade raw yogurt, however, are caloric beverages but are a fantastic source of nutrients and enzymes. So they absolutely have a place in the diet.

3. Slash your intake of refined flours and grains.

I do agree with this point, as my body has drastically healed while following a grain-free diet. Just remember: don’t fear carbs of natural sugars.  And many people can tolerate properly prepared (soaked or fermented) grains. I will discuss this in Point 10.

4. Get 30 to 50 grams of fiber each day.

This absolutely boils my blood. DO NOT force yourself to consume copious amounts of fiber in the name of satiation of regularity. The body can thrive with very little fiber, and excessive fiber damages the digestive tract and actually harms metabolism. Read my post Is a High Fiber Diet a Health Hazard?

Further, eating a high fiber diet with the large amounts of water that Bob recommends can actually distend the stomach, so it requires gradually more and more food to feel full (Source).

Remember, constipation is a SYMPTOM of poor digestion and/or a stressful lifestyle. Address the root causes of constipation instead of using harmful amounts of dietary fiber to correct bowel movements. This may include reducing stress, removing processed foods, reducing and/or eliminating grains, increasing good dietary fat, correcting stomach acid levels and more. Here are natural steps to correct constipation that may be a helpful “band-aid.”

5. Eat apples and berries every day. Every. Single. Day.

There are so many things wrong with this seemingly innocent suggestion:

• Most berries are extremely high in oxalates, which can be a problem for those with leaky guts, autoimmune issues, arthritis, or inflammatory issues. Read my post Oxalates: The Grain Free Diet Trap for more details.

• Many berries are also goitrogens, meaning they suppress thyroid function and they should be eaten in moderation by those with hyperthyroid issues.

• Raw apples are very high in pectin, which can be very hard to digest.

• Apples and many berries are high on the Dirty Dozen list for pesticides. Buy them organic or avoid them.

• Berries and apples are seasonal foods. I believe it is important to work towards a local, seasonal diet to support our environment and family farmers.

6. No carbs after lunch.

Protein should be consumed with a source of carbs for proper blood sugar regulation and digestion. Protein stimulates insulin, which stimulates for our muscle cells to assimilate amino acids. If sugar isn’t eaten to balance protein, insulin will pull sugar our of the blood, causing a sharp drop in blood sugar.

Additionally, eating a small carb-based snack before bed is proven to improve sleep. And sleep is very important to weight management.

Finally, that just sounds miserable. Meals should be balanced and delicious, and it’s kind of impossible to have a really delicious meal without any carbs. Delicious meals are also more satiating than a bland protein and veggies combo.

8. Learn to read food labels so you know what you are eating.

Actually, there is LESS of a chance you will know what you are eating if you are eating something that has a food label. Shop for food that does not have a food label. Try searching your farmer’s market for local produce, pastured eggs, and grassfed meats. If you know the source, then you will know what you are eating.

9. Stop guessing about portion size and get it right.

No. Do not obsess about portion size. Do not obsess about calories. That leads to an emotionally-draining relationship with food. See my post, 5 Reasons Why Calories Don’t Count.

Learn to reconnect with your body’s innate intelligence–your body will tell you when it is full and prevent over-eating, if you listen. One important step is to eat mindfully and slowly. Chew each bite at least 20 times and put your fork down between every single bite.

10. No more added sweeteners, including artificial ones.

Well, there is some truth in this. We should absolutely avoid artificial sweeteners. We should also avoid natural sugar-free sweeteners like stevia and xylitol when consumed without other carbohydrates, since these may trick the body into a state of hypoglycemia (read why I quit stevia). But we have no need to fear whole, natural sweeteners (in moderation) like RAW honey, pure maple syrup, and dates. I discuss the importance of natural sugars in my post, Sugar: Your Body Needs It.

11. Get rid of those white potatoes.

Okay, this has some truth. Potatoes belong in the nightshade family of vegetables and are a reasonably inflammatory food. White potatoes are also high in starch, a polysaccharide which is hard for those with damaged digestive tracts to digest.

But for those with healthy digestive systems and low inflammation, white potatoes can be a great source of healthy carbohydrates.

12. Make one day a week meatless.

This is fine. It is also a great way to stretch the grocery budget. Make sure to consume enough protein at meals without meat. Rely on nourishing meatless proteins (NO tofu!) like pastured eggs (I love eggs for dinner!). Properly soaked and cooked beans or legumes are tolerated by some, but can be hard on damaged digestive tracts.

13. Get rid of fast food and fried food.

Absolutely! Although homemade fries cooked in a healthy fat like beef tallow or coconut oil is a nourishing treat.

14. Eat a real breakfast.

TRUTH. Fuel your body with a balanced meal of carbs, protein and nourishing fats in the morning.

15. Make your own food and eat at least 10 meals a week at home.

This is not well stated–I don’t know if he means that you should prepare at least 10 meals a week or prepare all your meals but take them to work, etc.

There are 21 meals in a week and I think the vast majority of those meals should be prepared at home… not just 10. I think that it is best to make lunches at home or pack lunches to work or school.

16. Banish high-salt foods

Reducing high-salt foods usually entails reducing the processed foods in the diet. And while it is absolutely a vital step for health to reduce processed food consumption, it is NOT a healthy plan to restrict sodium

A low sodium diet is dangerous. Studies show that a reduced-sodium diet leads to health issues like systemic insulin resistance and a shorter life span. Further, adequate salt intake is necessary to hormone regulation, metabolism and hydration. Use unrefined sea salt, since it contains trace minerals, and salt your food to taste.

17. Eat your vegetables. Just do it.

I am going to blow some minds here: sometimes, vegetables are not ideal. Raw vegetables, in particular, can actually cause further damage in a weakened and inflamed digestive tract. In cases of hypothyroidism or a severely depressed metabolism, sometimes it is preferable temporarily favor easy-to-digest, “warming” foods like raw milk and fresh fruit juices. I recommend the book Eat for Heat for more info.

18. Go to bed hungry.

You know what happens when I go to bed hungry? I’m crabby and I can’t sleep well. And I would bet this happens to most people. This is another one of Bob’s rules that actually undermines weight loss: it is difficult to go to sleep while hungry, and sleep is SO essential to healthy metabolism.

19. Sleep right.

Well, that’s ironic. Bob is telling us to sleep immediately after he tells us to go to bed hungry.

But he is correct about this point. Sleep is a key part in healthy metabolism. If possible, be in bed by 10 PM, turn off the media one hour before bed, and sleep in a pitch black room.

20. Plan on one splurge meal a week.

This is another rule that I think can backfire as weight gain. I think it creates the mentality of depriving yourself for the majority of your meals… which is an unhealthy relationship with food! It may lead to the toxic Restrict and Repent cycle discussed in the fantastic book The Nourished Metabolism. Every single meal–not just a once-a-week-splurge– should leave you satiated and happy.

When it comes to supporting a healthy metabolism and maintaining your ideal weight, The Skinny Rules are not an effective solution.

Eat real food. Enjoy the cooking process. Sit down for meals, eat slowly, and eat mindfully.

Are you familiar with The Skinny Rules? What are your thoughts about them? 

The post Busted: Bob Harper’s Skinny Rules appeared first on Empowered Sustenance.

The Winner Is…

Congratulations to Sarah G. (sahara…@…com)! You’ve won the Paderno Spiral Slicer.

I’ve sent you an email, Sarah, so please respond in the next 72 hours. I look forward to sending you the prize, and I hope you enjoy making a variety of veggie noodles with it!

Another giveaway is coming soon!

I’m sorry that I can’t send everybody one of these spiral slicers. But be sure to check back next week and I will have a brand new giveaway with another awesome prize.

The post Winner: Spiral Slicer appeared first on Empowered Sustenance.

Identify Food Sensitivities and Reduce Stress

Why is it so important to identify and avoid foods to which we are sensitive? In a nutshell, food sensitivities equal stress and stress slows the metabolic rate, interferes with digestion and leads to a host of health issues.

Alternative medicine practitioners utlize numerous approaches to determine if an individual is sensitive or allergic to a substance. Common techniques include muscle testing and electrodermal biofeedback. All these approaches are based on the concept that the body exibits a stress response when a substance is not right for the individual at that time.

Unfortunately, it can be pricey and time consuming to get tested for food sensitivities by these practitioners. I’m excited to share with you an easy and FREE method for determining food sensitivities/allergies/intolerances at home!

The Coca Pulse Test for Food Sensitivities, Allergies, and Intolerances

One of the easiest methods to test for food sensitivities without special training or expensive equiptment is the Coca Pulse Test. Prestigous immunologist Dr. Authur Coca published this test in 1956, and it provides an accesible way to trace a stress response to a certain food. It is based on the phenomena of how stress affects your pulse rate: if you are sensitive or allergic to a food, ingesting that food will immediately cause stress which is manifested as an increased pulse rate.

Dr. Coca’s book is now public domain and available free on the internet. He directs you to record your diet for 5-7 days and record your pulse 14 times per day (before rising, before retiring, before each meal and at 30 minute intervals after each meal).

If you eat a food you are allergic/sensitive to, you will caluclate a quickened pulse after the meal at which you at it. Then, you can analyze your food journal with the recorded pulses and determine the foods to which you react.

Although the Coca Pulse test is free (no pricey food intolerance lab tests), I find it a bit time consuming and it can be hard to remember when to take your pulse. I prefer The LNT Coca Pulse Test.

The LNT Coca Pulse Test for Food Sensitivities

This is a modified verion of the Pulse Test that I find quicker, easier and altogether more preferable. I learned this tool as part of the curriculum at Nutritional Therapy Association, where I am currently training to become a nutritional therapist.

“LNT” stands for Neuro-Lingual Testing, which utilizes the communication pathways between the mouth and the central nervous system. Simply tasting a food sends messages throughout the body, and the body will communicate through a quickened pulse if this food is not ideal for you.

This verion of the pulse test allows you specifically test one food at a time and immediately learn if the food is beneficial or stressful to your body. It is like the instant-gratification method of Dr. Coca’s original test.

How to do the LNT Coca Pulse Test

1. Do this test 1-2 hours after eating or drinking anything. Start when you are mentally, emotionally and physically relaxed. Always take your pulse for one full minute… don’t take it for 30 seconds and multiply it by two.

 

2. While sitting, take a deep breath and slowly exhale. Take your pulse by counting how many times your heart beats in one exact minute. It may be easiest to feel your pulse by placing two fingers on the upper right side of your neck. Record this pulse rate.

 

3. Next, put a piece of the food in question in your mouth. It is okay to chew, but don’t swallow. Taste the food for at least 30 seconds. Then, take your pulse again for a full minute with the food in your mouth. Spit out the food and rinse your mouth with filtered water. If the pulse rate rises 6 or more points with a food, it indicates a stress reaction and that food should be avoided. Remember, food sensitivities can heal through diet and lifestyle changes, so it will be possible to re-test and reintroduce these foods after a period of healing.

 

4. Let the pulse return to the baseline before testing with a different food.

NOTE: If testing eggs, test the egg yolk and the egg white separately. Egg yolks are often better tolerated than egg whites.

Reversing Food Sensitivities and Food Allergies

Food sensitivities and even food allergies can heal with time and a nourishing diet. Sometimes, all it requires is temporarily eliminating the foods in question for a few months. Re-test the foods at intervals of 3 months to see if you can re-introduce them.

In more serious cases, a comprehensive protocol may be required to reverse allergies and sensitivities. The GAPS diet is an excellent tool for this, and is outlined in The Gut and Psychology Sydrome Diet book.

Have you been tested for food sensitivities? Have you noticed a difference when you avoid eating foods to which you are sensitive?

The post How to Test Yourself for Food Sensitivities appeared first on Empowered Sustenance.

I was driving to dance class yesterday when I stopped behind a bus at a red light. The advertisement on the back of the bus had an image with two hands making the shape of a heart, with the words “your badonkadonk” inside. Underneath, it read “No matter what you call it… have it checked.” You can see a picture of a similar advertisement on this NPR.org article regarding the campaigns. The campaign, funded by the Chris4Life Colon Cancer Foundation, aims to encourage people to get a colonoscopy to check for colon cancer.

Well, that’s really ironic. Because getting a colonoscopy isn’t a way to “love your butt” as the foundation would have you believe. While the procedure is sometimes necessary, I believe it is very important to be informed of the cons of colonoscopies before getting a routine one done.

Love your butt? Think twice before the colonoscopy.

The Chris4Life Foundation explains their mission on their website:

 The Chris4Life Colon Cancer Foundation is a national Colon Cancer non profit dedicated to permanently eliminating the threat of the disease through the discovery of a cure. As long as people are dying from this disease, we will be at the front lines of the fight.

After reading about the Chris4Life campaign, I immediately drew a parallel between it and the Susan G. Komen Foundation. This iconic breast cancer foundation once marketed a perfume to fund their cause… a perfume that contained potent carcinogens banned by the International Fragrance Association!

So how is Chris4Life similar to the Komen foundation? It claims to be an advocate of colon health, but colonoscopies aren’t always in our best interest.

Why are colonoscopies so harmful?

I really encourage you to think twice before having a routine colonoscopy. It’s up to you to weight the pros and cons. Here are some of the cons:

1. Colonoscopies wipe out protective gut flora

We have 4-6 pounds of bacteria in our gut. These 500 species of bacteria, often referred to as gut flora, play specific roles in homeostasis and growth, including nutrient absorption, mucosal barrier function, support of gut lymphoid tissue, and immune function (read more here.)

The “bowel preparation” procedure before a colonoscopy entails consuming substances that completely flush out the colon, leaving it squeaky clean for camera access. This “cleaning” process strips the protective bacteria and leaves the colon wide open for infection from yeasts, pathogenic bacteria, and even an infection from the scope itself. Which leads us to the next point…

2. Colonoscopy scopes present a risk of infection

The Mayo Clinic once sent out letters to patients of colonoscopies warning them that they could have been exposed to Hepatitis and Aids due to the procedure! Shockingly, it is extremely difficult (and some say impossible) to clean the endoscopes thoroughly enough to prevent infection and transmission of disease.

One 2003 article in the Los Angeles Times reported on the dangers of unsatisfactorily cleaned endoscopes:

“The nation’s leading manufacturer of endoscopes has known for a decade that some scopes contain cavities inaccessible to cleaning by hand but has failed to fix the oversight, said David Lewis, a University of Georgia research microbiologist who has conducted research for the federal Environmental Protection Agency on the issue of dirty endoscopes.”

The article originally contained the following statements, which have been removed from the online archived version! I leave it to you to draw your own conclusion about why these statements were withdrawn… but I’ll give you a hint: follow the money and the power. These original statements are recorded in the 2003 book, The IBD Remission Diet by Jini Patel Thompson.

There is wide consensus that it is difficult to sterilize the devices… without using temperatures so high that the scopes themselves become damaged. The scopes have numerous cavities that are difficult to clean, even by hand, critics say.

The most condemning statement removed from the online article said:

Lewis says Olympus, which provides 70% of the endoscopes on the U.S. market, has long been aware of cleaning problems associated with its product. In a patent filed in 1993, he says, the company wrote that at times “satisfactory cleaning cannot be achieved.”

Want to see some of the studies that reveal the contamination of endoscopes? This report (pages 11-15) lists numerous the studies.

3. Colonoscopies may cause colitis and Crohn’s

Gluteraldehyde, a common sterilant for endoscopes, has been proven to cause colitis! Residual amounts of this toxic substance on the endoscope may irritate the colon and lead to colitis.

Additionally, this sterilant is not effective in eliminating mycobacterium, the microorganism that has been identified in 90% of Chron’s disease patients. Contamination of endoscopes with this microorganism may actually cause Chron’s disease.

4. Colonoscopies don’t reduce mortality of colorectal cancer

Independent health researcher Konstantin Monastyrsky dug through the facts and medical journals. This is what he found:

• The American Cancer Society has stated that “there are no prospective randomized controlled trials of screening colonoscopy for the reduction in incidence or mortality of colorectal cancer.”

• The National Cancer Institute has said, “…it is not yet known for certain whether colonoscopy can help reduce the number of deaths from colorectal cancer.”

•  Screening colonoscopies are useless. A study in the New England Journal of Medicine found  that “the patients in all the studies had at least one adenoma detected on colonoscopy but did not have cancer. They developed cancer in the next few years, however, at the same rate as would be expected in the general population without screening.”

• Colonoscopies present the risk of colon perforation and bleeding.

• Virtual colonoscopies actually increase the risk of cancer by exposing you to high doses of radiation. The National Cancer Institute has stated, “Whether virtual colonoscopy can reduce the number of deaths from colorectal cancer is not yet known.”

 I encourage you to watch Konstantin’s report on colonoscopies. You can also read the transcript of his video here. I am also a fan of his book The Fiber Menace.

Want to prevent colon cancer?

I’m all for preventing cancer, and that is why I do not support colonoscopies. Instead, I encourage preventative health through a nourishing diet, lifestyle and mind-body medicine.

My colonoscopy experience

I’ve had not one but two colonoscopies in my short twenty years. As you may know, I struggled for years with extremely severe ulcerative colitis. It is really emotional for me to think about the hard times during those four years when I was in and out of hospitals, frequently attached to IVs and getting dosed with immense amounts of corticosteroids. That’s not happening ever again, now that I know how to reverse my colitis with diet and lifestyle. Anyways, back to my colonoscopies.

The first one was to diagnose my colitis. I’ll be the first to say that this was probably necessary, because we needed to know what was causing me to bleed from my rear for two straight weeks in a row (TMI? Sorry).

The second one was two years ago, during another severe flare. I try to release myself from the past here, but I’m still struggle with anger and grief around this episode. I was so weakened and malnourished rom my flare that my parents took me to the hospital where I was maneuvered in a wheelchair from waiting room to waiting room. I don’t even remember clearly what happened: I didn’t even have the strength to think, I was just helpless to what was happening. The next thing I knew, I was out for the procedure.

The purpose of this second colonoscopy was to find the extent of my colitis. In reality, the only purpose this procedure served was to prolong and intensify my symptoms…. my symptoms immediately worsened after it and the flare lasted longer than any previous flare. If I were fully cognizant at that time, I would have prevented that procedure. Unfortunately, my parents weren’t aware of the risks of colonoscopies and simply listened to the doctor’s detrimental order.

So that’s my experience with colonoscopies. Is my view of this procedure biased from my emotionally-charged experiences? Absolutely. But that still doesn’t change the facts about the health dangers posed by colonoscopies.

Steps to reduce risks of colonoscopies

Perhaps you are in the rare situation when you need a colonoscopy to diagnose a serious health issue. I wish I had know these important steps for reducing the dangers of a colonoscopies when I had mine.

1. Try to find a doctor who uses removable sheaths on the endoscope

There are a few clinics that use a disposable sheath on the endoscope. Since a new sheath is used for each patient, it won’t spread infectious diseases from person to person. But it may be difficult to locate a clinic that uses these sheathes, so it requires lots of phone calls and research to find one.

2. Eat an anti-inflammatory diet high in probiotics.

For at least two weeks preceding the colonoscopy, eliminate inflammatory foods such as grains and vegetable oils. Focus on homemade, fermented foods such as homemade raw yogurt and fermented vegetables to bolster gut flora. It is also advisable to supplement with a high quality probiotic.

3. Supplement with aloe vera juice

In her book, Jini explains how to prepare the colon for the invasive procedure:

“After you have administered the test prep – designed to clean the surface of your bowel as clean as the surface of your hand – drink 1/2 cup George’s Always Active Aloe Vera Juice every two hours until you have to go to the hospital. This will help heal damage to the mucosa from the test prep and also to strengthen the mucosal lining before the procedure.”

 It is also beneficial to drink a small amount of the aloe juice daily, on an empty stomach, for the week following the procedure.

4. Do the procedure without anesthesia

Konstantin recommends skipping the anesthesia for the colonoscopy:

“Those with a family history of colon cancer or otherwise at high risk probably should do a colonoscopy. But I suggest they request to have it done without general anesthesia. That’s where the majority of the risks are. The doctors do it that way not because the procedure is painful, but because they can ‘jam’ faster, and bill for anesthesiology.”

5. Administer a probiotic retention enema immediately after the procedure

The IBD Remission Diet book explains how to make and use a probiotic enema after the colonoscopy. This immediately repopulates the gut with high-dose probiotics to help prevent infection and lowered immunity. The enema should be additionally administered once a week for at least four weeks after the colonoscopy.

“Well, those things sound like a headache… is it really necessary?” Yes! Stripping your colon of it’s immunity and protective barrier is a HUGE deal, so it does call for some drastic protective measures.

Have you had a colonoscopy? Have you purposely skipped it?

Also, please use the sharing icons below to share this important information with your family and friends! Inform others what it really means to love your butt.

The post Love your butt? Skip the colonoscopy! appeared first on Empowered Sustenance.

Perfect Grain Free Pasta

This handy veggie slicer allows you to make pasta with zucchini, cucumber, sweet potatoes and more! Then, simply cook the veggie pasta, if desired, and add your favorite toppings.

Here are just a few ideas to get your creative juices flowing when it comes to veggie pasta options:

Zucchini Pasta with Creamy Avocado Sauce

Seafood Alfredo

Cucumber Pasta with Yogurt Sauce

…And that’s just the beginning! The Paderno Veggie Slicer makes healthy and grain free pasta dishes a breeze.

How to enter

Use the widget below to enter the giveaway. This is only open to U.S. residents.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

The post Spiral Slicer Giveaway appeared first on Empowered Sustenance.

I’m excited to announce that today is the first day to sign up for Village Green Network Premium! You may know that I’m part of Village Green Network (VGN), a circle of Real Food bloggers. I’m sure you recognize some of my blogging friends who are also in VGN, including:

Robin at Thank Your Body

Kristen at Food Renegade

Jenny at Nourished Kitchen

Heather at Mommypotamus

… and more!

Being a part of VGN means that I can bring you savings on real food and healthy living resources. Like remember the e-book bundle in April? You saved 90% on 30 e-books from these amazing bloggers.

What is Village Green Premium?

It is a Membership Club that gives you access to thousands of dollars in savings from your favorite bloggers and natural products from our advertisers. This means you can save big on our ebooks, classes, meal plans, ebook bundles and summit presentations.

You’ll also get steep discounts for Real Food, Supplements, Kitchen Items, Personal Care, and Cleaning Products from our sponsors. You may be familiar with these products and they include:

Pure Indian Foods’ ghee products

Branch Basics’ healthy cleaning supplies

Primal Pit Paste products

Radiant Life products

… and more companies!

Here’s how it works

You can subscribe to Premium monthly or yearly. Then, each month, you will get promo codes and discounts for numerous products. It’s that simple!

If you want to sign up per month, it is $4.99 per month. You score even more savings, though, by signing up for a full year at $49.

Special Launch Discount

You can save 20% on Premium for the month of June only. That means it is only $3.99 to sign up per month and $39 to sign up per year.

Transitioning to and maintaining a real food lifestyle takes an investment of both time and money, but it well worth it! VGN Premium saves you a big chunk of time and cash while you pursue a natural lifestyle. 

The post A special opportunity from you favorite bloggers! appeared first on Empowered Sustenance.

Is stevia bad for you?

As you know, the transition to real food is a journey. It doesn’t happen overnight. There are bumps in the road. It’s a learning process. One bump in my road toward healing? Stevia.

I’ll be honest… I previously used stevia with abandon, before I came to the conclusion that stevia does not support health. I added stevia to sweeten my tea and I occasionally I used it in desserts or baking, like my Coconut Flour and Stevia Zucchini Muffins.

I’ll admit: stevia is convenient. It dissolves instantly and works well in beverages or liquids. Further, because a little goes a long way, it is less expensive than many other sweeteners. But I’ve found that the cons outweigh the pros, and so I have quit stevia for good.

1. Stevia Taxes the Adrenals

Our bodies are not designed or evolved to handle calorie-free sweeteners–be it natural or artificial. Experiencing a sweet taste from a food that is not going to provide glucose confounds our body’s sugar-handling process. Kate, from one of my favorite health blogs Nutrition By Nature, explains how eating a sugar-free sweetener like stevia can trick the body into a state of hypoglycemia:

Stevia is “sweet” on the palate, so the body assumes it is receiving sugar and primes itself to do so. Glucose is cleared from the bloodstream and blood sugars drop, but no real sugar/glucose is provided to the body to compensate. When this happens, adrenaline and cortisol surge to mobilize sugar from other sources (liver and muscle glycogen, or protein, or body tissue) to bring blood glucose back up. (Source)

The frequent release of the stress hormones (adrenaline and cortisol) in response to the stevia-induced hypoglycemia is damaging to our adrenal glands and overall health. These stress hormones are designed to be utilized when we need to be in a flight-or-fight response–not when we are eating a meal. The consequences of excess stress hormones means a suppressed immune system, increased inflammation, and lower thyroid function… just to name a few!

Stevia isn’t going to affect everyone’s blood sugar in the same way or to the same degree. Some folks can eat stevia without a blood sugar rise, but many (perhaps most) people will experience this blood sugar rise. If you want to check, buy a glucose meter and test your blood sugar before and after eating stevia. Plus, if you are eating stevia with another source of sugar or carbohydrate the blood sugar rise will not be as harmful, since you are providing cells with some glucose. But blood sugar isn’t the only issue I have with this sweetener.

2. Stevia often contains other ingredients

The issue of other additives exists because we use processed stevia, not pure stevia leaves. Obviously, if you have a pot of stevia leaves growing in your garden, you can ignore this point.

• Glycerine: This is often found in liquid stevia extracts. Recently, I switched from my “natural” toothpaste to a homemade version to avoid glycerine. This solvent coats teeth and prevents the remineralizing process.

• Natural flavors: a.k.a “this could be anything.”

• Xylitol–Truvia is a popular sweetener made with stevia and xylitol. Although proponents bestow the title “natural” to this sweetener, I’ve never eaten Truvia because I’m not a fan of this uber-processed ingredient. Read this xylitol article at The Healthy Home Economist for more information.
  

• Dextrose–On the SCD/GAPS diet, I can’t eat typical powdered stevia because it often contains dextrose which is usually corn-based. But even if you can eat corn, dextrose most likely contains GMO corn… not good for you or our planet.

3. Stevia is super high in oxalates

If a leaky gut, food allergies, autism, asthma, kidney stones or arthritis is an issue for you, exploring a low-oxalate diet may boost your healing journey. I’ve already written a post about oxalates and why those on a grain free diet should particularly make themselves aware of this issue (read it HERE). This chart categorizes stevia in the Very High list for oxalates.

4. Stevia has an aftertaste

If you eat stevia, you know it has an aftertaste… and you do your best to convince yourself of the contrary. Raw honey (or pure maple syrup or sucanut or coconut sugar) tastes exorbitantly better. Period.

5. I’m not afraid of false Candida myths!

Many people favor stevia as a primary sweetener, because they are afraid of feeding Candida overgrowth. Stevia may not feed Candida, but going sugar free to address Candida overgrowth is a big mistake!

What is so wrong with the popular Candida Diet, a sugar-free diet that uses only stevia as a sweetener? I recently debunked candida myths and offered a safer, healthier alternative to the Candida Diet in my post Busted: Candida Myths.

 6. Stevia doesn’t support glycogen synthesis

Many people choose stevia over natural sweeteners like fruit and honey, but this is not a good choice. Fruit and raw honey, in particular, are excellently balanced sources of glucose and fructose, providing the liver with building blocks to create glycogen (glucose stores). Stevia, however, does not support glycogen formation.

Why is glycogen so important? When blood sugar is low, glycogen is broken down and released as glucose in the bloodstream. When the diet lacks sufficient glucose, there will be inadequate glycogen stored. If sugar is not immediately ingested to raise blood sugar levels, the body releases extra adrenaline and cortisol to convert muscle protein and fat into glucose. If this pattern is repeated, the frequent release of these stress hormone takes a toll on the body… and one of the most manifest symptoms of excess cortisol is abdominal weight gain.

Additionally, the body cannot convert convert inactive thyroid hormone T4 into active thyroid hormone T3 without adequate glycogen. The resulting hypothyroidism leads to slowed metabolism–and that means a host of symptoms such as weight gain, hair loss and lack of energy. Without adequate dietary sugars, the body cannot create and store glycogen.

I love giving my body some fuel in the form of raw, unfiltered honey instead of nutrient-void stevia. I believe that a sugar-free diet is detrimental (and by “sugar free” I mean free of healthy sugars… there is nothing wrong with eliminating white sugar, agave nectar, and corn syrup from the diet!). See my post Sugar: Why Your Body Needs It to learn why natural sources of sugar are important to metabolism and healthy hormones.

How do you feel about stevia? Do you love it, hate it or are you on the fence?

The post Why I Quit Stevia appeared first on Empowered Sustenance.

Today’s recipe is a guest post by Eileen at Phoenix Helix. She is using diet to heal her rheumatoid arthritis. You can visit Phoenix Helix on Facebook, too.

Hello, everyone! Lauren was kind enough to let me write a guest post today. She and I are on a similar journey of healing our autoimmune diseases through the GAPS diet, with adjustments according to our bodies’ needs. My challenge is rheumatoid arthritis, and you can read more of my story on my blog, Phoenix Helix. I made major progress with the GAPS diet, but after 6 months, I hit a healing plateau, which sent me into new areas of experimentation. With the help of the paleo autoimmune protocol, I learned that like Lauren, my body doesn’t like nuts (at least for now). So that means I too have become a fan of coconut flour baking.

Today I’m sharing with you a new recipe, featuring one of my favorite spring ingredients: rhubarb. If you didn’t grow up with a patch of rhubarb in your back yard, you might wonder what to do with those strange red stalks when you see them at the farmers market. Rhubarb is a vegetable that tastes more like a fruit, and has a sweet/sour flavor that works beautifully in pies, jams and baked goods. Today, I combine rhubarb with lemon and ginger for a muffin you won’t soon forget. If you want to try a savory application, I also have a delicious recipe for pork chops with rhubarb chutney on my blog.

Note: Get coconut flour here. 

About Phoenix Helix

Eileen’s blog, Phoenix Helix, focuses on healing autoimmune disease through diet and lifestyle. The Phoenix represents rising from the ashes. The Helix represents the magic of epigenetics – our ability to change the expression of our genes and therefore our health. Eileen has reduced her rheumatoid arthritis symptoms by 90%, without the use of steroids, immunosuppressant or biologic medication.

Do you have a favorite use for rhubarb? 

The post Rhubarb Lemon Lovin’ Muffins appeared first on Empowered Sustenance.

May Yays

My DIY standing desk, because it helps my posture, focus, and sleep!

My earthing mat, which I use at the aforesaid standing desk. Earthing reduces cortisol, supports health, and helps protect against the EMFs of computers.

Butternut Flatbread, which I enjoy for breakfast with raw honey and a sprinkle of cinnamon.

Dream a Little Dream of Me by Bing Crosby. It is eternally stuck in my head… and I don’t even care!

May Nays

My dear friend Caroline, who blogs at the awesome site Gutsy, is really struggling with her health right now. I’m sure she would appreciate it if you could keep her in your thoughts or prayers!

Real Food and Holistic Health Links for May

Have your heard of the Raw Milk Diet? It is a very temporary healing diet in which you drink only raw milk. Elizabeth at The Nourished Life shares the benefits she reaped while doing the Raw Milk Diet.

I always love Robin’s exercise tips. She shares how to get a flat stomach with three simple steps.

I can’t wait to try this recipe for cultured butter from Oh Lardy. Probiotics + butter… what could be better?

Hannah at Healy Real Food Vegetarian shares 7 Uses for Broccoli Stalks!

Have you eaten lavender before? This intriguing recipe for Lavender Lemonade sounds like a refreshing summer beverage.

Is is really beneficial to bathe your kiddos every day? Personally, I’m not a fan of daily bathing or using stripping soaps on my body.  I agree with Meagan’s post, “Does Your Child Need a Bath Every Day?“

I had no idea that you can make your own calcium supplement with eggshells!

And while we’re speaking about eggshells, did you know you can make an abrasive cleaning powder with eggshells?

For those of you who enjoy soaked grains, these Sourdough Waffles from The Elliot Homestead look drool-worthy.

Calendula is a very healing herb. I’ve bough calendula balm before, but in the future I will make my own with this simple calendula balm recipe.

I plan to pamper my footsies with this DIY ginger peppermint foot scrub.

Foam mattresses and cushions are more toxic than we thought. Bummer.

Get the benefits of probiotics in a sweet snack with this homemade cultured apricot leather.

P.S. You only have today and tomorrow to get one of my favorite health books, The Nourished Metabolism, at 35% off. Read more and get the book here. Happy metabolism healing!

The post May Link Love appeared first on Empowered Sustenance.