Tag: Peak Nutrition and Wellness

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The Monday Mention – Why Stomach Acid Is Good For You by Jonathan V. Wright M.D. and Lane Lenard, Ph.D

The Monday Mention - Why Stomach Acid is Good for You

I’ve been lucky, I think I’ve only ever experienced heartburn once in my life. It woke me from a deep sleep and had me frantically digging through my kitchen cupboards at 3am, looking for some sort of relief. We aren’t milk drinkers, so I couldn’t try that old remedy. I had a surprisingly empty medicine cabinet for a pharmacist, only some first aid cream and bandages. No Tums, no Gaviscon, no aBISMALly pink Pepto-Bismal. I decided to use my half awake, “sciency” brain and tackle the acid with its known nemesis – a base. Baking soda to the rescue. I mixed it with some water and took it like a shot. It was, well, it was awful.  Not something I’d want to have to do regularly. It took a little time, but the fire finally subsided enough for me to crawl back into bed, bedside my blissfully unaware husband, praying that the inferno wouldn’t return.

For many people, the discomfort of heartburn, indigestion or reflux is a daily occurrence. Just walk through the stomach section of any pharmacy and you’ll see just how prevalent these issues are. In my years in the pharmacy, prescriptions for acid reflux medications flew off the shelves. It was an equal opportunity Rx too! Men, women, young and old. Everyone needed their “stomach pills”. But just because these tummy troubles are common, does not mean they are normal. Instead, they are a sign that there is something amiss and your body is letting you know that all is NOT normal.

Why are there so many “fire breathers” around these days? Why do so many people produce such vast quantities of stomach acid that they need to be on a medication to control it? The truth is, they don’t. Over-production of stomach acid is a very rare condition (Zollinger-Ellison Syndrome) and it only affects about 1 in 1 million people.  There can be a couple of factors at play here. One is that certain dietary and lifestyle habits can relax the Lower Esophageal Sphincter (LES). The LES is the gateway between the esophagus and the stomach and it is meant to stay tightly closed to prevent stomach acid from coming into contact with the unprotected tissue of the esophagus. When you only experience symptoms once in awhile, simply changing some habits and avoiding those foods that trigger your symptoms will often suffice. 

The most common cause though, the ROOT cause, of these symptoms is actually insufficient stomach acid. Yes, wrap your brain around that. The current recommended remedies for heartburn and indigestion not only fail to treat the cause of the symptoms, but contribute to them and many more problems. This is the concept behind the book Why Stomach Acid Is Good For You by Johnathan V. Wright M.D. and Lane Lenard Ph.D. 

Wright and Lane propose that it is a lack of stomach acid that causes heartburn, indigestion and GERD and to properly treat the cause, the acid must be replaced. Drugs prescribed for these conditions turn off production and decrease stomach acid even further. They appear to help because they cover up the symptoms (your body’s way of messaging you that something is wrong), but they are actually potentiating the problem. So why is low stomach acid a bad thing, if it makes us feels so much better? 

Stomach acid plays a vital role in digestion. One of the key components of the gastric juices is HCl (hydrochloric acid). HCl is necessary to break proteins down into amino acids, which can then be absorbed. Many other nutrients require an acidic environment for absorption as well. Stomach acid is also the starter pistol or trigger for almost every other event in the digestive sequence. Without stomach acid, digestion functions about as well as car on empty.

The acidity of the gastric juices makes the stomach a sterile environment. Stomach acid kills pathogens that we ingest with our food. As well as protecting us from infection, this acidic environment prevents bacteria from surviving in the stomach and interfering with the digestion of certain nutrients. The negative consequences of low stomach acid continue to affect our digestion all the way down the line. I discuss the consequences (ad nauseam) in THIS blog post, if you want to get into the nitty gritty!

I found it interesting to learn that the cells that produce HCl (parietal cells) decrease as we age. Much of the malnutrition we see in senior citizens maybe caused by low stomach acid and treatable with acid supplementation. The authors discuss how nutrient deficiencies caused by low stomach acid may contribute to several conditions from depression all the way to rosacea. Besides nutrient deficiences, the book also looks at how low stomach acid leads to large, undigested protein molecules. These can make their way through the lining of the small intestine (made “leaky” by the damage of bacteria growing in the low acidic environment of the stomach). These large food molecules enter the bloodstream. They are not broken down enough to be recognized by the immune system, are tagged as foreign and attacked. Overtime, this immune system activation can cause food sensitivities and contribute to the development of autoimmune conditions.

Although I did find the authors somewhat wordy and repetitive, there was a lot of good information in this book. The link between low stomach acid and the myriad of problems it may contribute to makes common sense, even if there are few quality studies to support some of these claims. (I mean, a drug company is not likely to fund a study that may show their product is unnecessary at best and harmful at worst!)  As it was published in 2001, it would be nice if there were a newer edition of the book to highlight any current information in this area. I don’t know that I can agree wholeheartedly with some of the authors’ ideas that low stomach acid may be the out right cause of certain diseases. I certainly can agree that it could be a contributing factor and, as such, it is prudent to optimize stomach acid and digestion in all conditions. 

Do you have signs of low stomach acid? Work with a Functional Nutritional Therapy Practitioner to learn how to better support your digestion!

Please note, that if you are currently on a medication that lowers stomach acid, I am NOT recommending that you stop this treatment. Seek out a Functional Nutritional Therapy Practitioner (like moi), who can help you make some dietary and lifestyle changes that support digestion. Once those are in place, you can talk to your physician (or ideally your FNTP and physician can work together!) to discuss whether you need the medication, create a plan to wean off the medication and possibly start some acid supplementation, if needed, all while monitoring your symptoms.

Rating 3.5 Peaks
My Rating 3.5/5 Peaks

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Are You Getting Enough Water?

One of the best things we can do to support our health is to ensure we are consuming enough clean water. Unfortunately, water is the single most common nutrient deficiency in the American population. How can this be? Well, in the land of Venti lattes and Super Big Gulps, we are often choosing to “quench” our thirst with beverages that not only make us lose more liquid than we obtain from drinking them, but are also addictive and keep us coming back for more. As someone who has a love-hate relationship with cold brew and unsweetened iced tea, I’m ALL too aware of how easy it is to fall into the “just one more cup” trap! 

Are You Getting Enough Water?

A person’s water consumption is not merely dictated by their preference for one beverage over the other. Age, race and socio-economic status have also been shown to play a role. Both children and older adults are more at risk for dehydration. Children are reliant on an adult to provide them with a source of good hydration and they have a larger surface area to body mass ratio. This allows more water to be lost to the environment through evaporation from the skin. Older adults have a reduced thirst signal, which means they do not recognize the body’s need for water as readily. Portions of the population that are of lower income and less educated also tend to have lower water consumption. One wonders why this would be, when water is arguably one of the least expensive beverages. Perhaps lack of access to good quality water plays a role. Most surprisingly to me is that teenagers who drink less water have also been found to eat less fruits and vegetables (themselves the best source of water in food), get less exercise and consume more fast food and soda. By under hydrating, they create a downward spiral, as they adopt habits that lead them further into dehydration! 

Your hydration status is dependent on two factors – fluid intake and fluid loss. An imbalance between these two factors can have negative health consequences. It takes relatively little water loss to experience signs of dehydration. As little as 1 to 2% loss of body water can impair a person’s cognition. Most people don’t realize that even mild dehydration can cause changes in short term memory, visual acuity, mood, concentration and reaction time. These symptoms are alleviated when euhydration (normal body fluid levels) are met. Imagine the changes to people’s well being if they were properly hydrated! 

Water plays so many important functions in the body. From regulating body temperature to cushioning our joints to allowing the kidneys to filter and remove wastes by producing urine, our body cannot function without water. In fact, water is the nutrient that carries ALL other nutrients to the cells in our bodies – this is why we cannot go more than a few days without water. Our cells essentially starve! Water is also a necessary ingredient in the production of stomach acid. Without enough stomach acid, we can’t properly digest our food and absorb the nutrients our bodies need to function properly. Although the body does produce a small amount of water through its metabolic processes, the majority of the water we need must come from the foods and beverages we consume. Unlike camels, we cannot store water and must get an adequate amount daily. How much water your body needs will vary on a daily basis, depending on how much water you lose via sweat during exercise, how hot or humid the climate is and if you are ill. Ensuring you consume an adequate amount of clean water, eating lots of water rich vegetables and fruit and avoiding dehydrating beverages such as soda, coffee and alcohol are great steps toward making sure your body is well hydrated and preventing the serious consequences of chronic dehydration. 

Calculate your water requirement! Are you meeting your body’s needs?

Though it’s very uncommon, it is possible to drink too much water. This can result a condition called water intoxication, where levels of sodium, potassium, and other electrolytes become diluted. Adding a pinch of quality, mineral rich sea salt to your water bottle can help ensure these electrolytes stay balanced and allows your body to utilize the water more effectively.

Certain medical conditions may make you more prone to water retention and you should discuss your hydration habits with your physician before increasing your daily intake.

These conditions include:

  • congestive heart failure
  • kidney disease
  • uncontrolled diabetes

Changing a habit can be hard, especially if there are addictive substances like caffeine and sugar drawing you back to them again and again. Make a plan to increase your daily consumption by a cup or two daily. Try replacing one of your water depleting beverages with a “spa” water or non-diuretic herbal tea. Before you know it, your hydration game will be on point!

Until next time – Happy Hydrating!

Taco Seasoning Mix

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It’s Tuesday folks and do you know what that means? It means that it is TACO Tuesday in our household! Tacos are in regular rotation around here, usually served as a taco bowl topped with fresh tomato, cilantro, guacamole, dairy free sour cream and, of course tortilla chips (Siete Foods and Thrive Market both have some great grain free chip options)

One positive that I hope is coming out of this period of self-isolation that we are all finding ourselves in, is that more people are cooking at home and realizing that preparing healthy meals with real ingredients CAN be done and that you feel better for it!

Healthier Taco Seasoning

So let’s walk through my taco routine shall we? First, I brown up some grass fed and finished ground beef (usually 2 pounds for our 2 person household because, duh, LEFTOVERS!!), I add in some colourful bell peppers and onion and let it all cook down, then I grab a packet of taco seasoning mix from the pantry..

WOAH – put the brakes on Nelly!  No pre-packaged seasoning mixes for this cook! While they may seem super convenient and, let’s face it, were pretty much a staple in most of our childhood kitchens, whipping up a batch of your own taco seasoning is :

  • quick
  • easy
  • cheaper than store bought
  • customizable to your own taste
  • can be made in bulk so you are ALWAYS ready for Taco Tuesday 🌮
  • most importantly, free of the additives you find in those store bought packets

I know, some of you are thinking “Seriously Shannon, it’s JUST spices!” – but let’s break it down, shall we?

So here are the ingredients in the red and yellow packet o’seasoning from MY childhood memories:

Chili Pepper, Maltodextrin, Salt, Onion Powder, Spice, Corn Starch, Sea Salt (Potassium Magnesium Chloride, Salt). Contains 2% Or Less Of: Vegetable Oil (Canola, High Oleic Soybean And/Or Sunflower Oil), Corn Flour, Silicon Dioxide (Anticaking Agent), Citric Acid, Sugar, Natural Flavor.

I’ve bolded the ingredients that are not needed and that, in general, are not at all health promoting.

  • Maltodextrin – a sneaky way to say REFINED SUGAR
  • Salt – while salt is not bad for us, unless specified as SEA SALT, it has usually been stripped of most of its minerals and we are left with just sodium and chloride. Too much of this “naked” salt can lead to electrolyte imbalances and impair kidney function.
  • Corn Starch and Corn Flour – Likely added to bulk up the mix, act as a thickener and keep mix from sticking together. The issue with these ingredients is two-fold. Firstly, a vast majority of corn is genetically modified. We do not yet know the health ramifications of GMO crops. We DO know that the majority of GMO crops are engineered to be herbicide tolerant. This means that the use of toxic herbicides has increased dramatically since GMOs were first introduced. Besides the health risks and toxic burden from our food being exposed to these herbicides, the heavy use of these chemicals is producing more resistant weeds and bugs that, you guessed it, require the use of even MORE chemicals (https://www.nongmoproject.org/gmo-facts/). Secondly, corn is known to be cross-reactive and may cause symptoms in people who are sensitive to or allergic to gluten.
  • Sea Salt – Ok – I’m fine with this ingredient, but I’m left wondering WHY they need salt of both the naked variety AND sea salt? Why not just use all mineral rich sea salt? Things that make you go hmmm 🤔
  • Vegetable Oil – These oils are rich in Omega 6 fatty acids and most of us already get way more omega 6 than we need. An imbalanced Omega 6 to Omega 3 (from foods like fatty fish, flax seeds, walnuts) ratio prevents our bodies from being able to properly control inflammation. This is made worse by the fact that these oils are prone to oxidation and very easily damaged during processing, manufacturing and in our bodies as we metabolize them. These pesky, fragile oils create free radicals and damage our cells.
  • Silicon Dioxide – I had to do a bit of research on this anti-caking additive. Silicon Dioxide is found naturally in foods like leafy greens, beets and bell peppers and is generally considered safe to consume. Synthetic silicon dioxide is often manufactured so the particles are extremely small (nano particles), which provides better anti-caking ability. There are some concerns that there has been insufficient studies done regarding the effects of these nano particles on health. The European Food and Safety Administration has recommended that the EU adopt stricter guidelines until further studies are done.(https://efsa.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.2903/j.efsa.2018.5088)
  • Citric Acid – Most manufactured citric acid is made using the fungus Aspergillus niger, which is a known allergen. Although more research is needed, there have been case studies surrounding inflammatory reactions caused by manufactured citric acid (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6097542/#sec0005title). If you really need that citric acid kick in your tacos, try going old school and get your citric acid from, well, CITRUS. A squeeze of lime over the top of your taco bowl and you are all set!
  • Sugar – Refined sugar is devoid of any nutrients and, in my opinion, totally unnecessary in tacos! Sugar, especially highly refined white sugar, is toxic to the body. The body needs to use other valuable nutrients to metabolize and clear it from the system. And, in case you forgot, we already have another source of sugar (maltodextrin) in this mix. Sneaky, sneaky, sneaky!
  • Natural Flavour – Seems legit, natural is good right? While natural flavours have to have an original source that is plant or animal, the mixtures concocted in food manufacturing laboratories can also contain many different chemicals, preservatives and solvents. As long as the original source is plant or animal, it doesn’t matter what else is added, it can still be deemed “natural flavour”. 

Now all this info is great and eye-opening, but it can definitely feel a little overwhelming when you are cruising the grocery aisles. A good rule of thumb is – if you don’t know what the ingredient is, your body definitely won’t know what it is either. Stick to single ingredients as often as possible, aim for packaged foods that contain 5 (real, pronounceable, recognizable) ingredients or less and look for ways to circumvent the use of processed and packaged mixes that are cheaply and easily made at home!

My Taco Seasoning mix is pretty darn good as is, but don’t be afraid to experiment with the ratios. Want to leave out the salt and season your meat to taste? Do it! Want to up the spice factor? Let your freak flag fly! Can you use it for more than just tacos? Absolutely! I put this stuff on pork shoulder, beef roast and have even used it on steaks in a pinch. Once you realize how much easier and healthier it is to make your own mix, those little packets will be a thing of the past.

I usually triple (at least!) this recipe so that I always have some on hand. To use, I mix 2 to 2.5 tablespoons per pound of meat with some water to form a loose paste and add it to my cooked ground beef and veggies. You can also just sprinkle the spice mix in and add a bit of water to the pan, like my hubby does. Different strokes for different folks! It all turns out yummy! Feel free to play around with the proportions to suit your individual tastes!

Enjoy! Taco Tuesdays just got a whole lot healthier!

Print Recipe
 Taco Seasoning Mix
An easy, affordable and healthy version of a pantry staple. All the yum without any of the ick!
Course Seasoning Mixes
Cuisine Mexican
Keyword seasoning, taco
Prep Time 5-10 minutes
Servings
pounds of ground meat
Ingredients
Course Seasoning Mixes
Cuisine Mexican
Keyword seasoning, taco
Prep Time 5-10 minutes
Servings
pounds of ground meat
Ingredients
Instructions
  1. Add all ingredients to bowl and mix thoroughly. Store extra in an airtight container for future use. For each pound of ground meat, use 2 to 2.5 tablespoons of spice mix. Adjust to taste.
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The Monday Mention – Wired to Eat by Robb Wolf

The Monday Mention - Wired to Eat by Robb Wolf

I have been following Robb Wolf since he released his first book, The Paleo Solution, back in 2010. Our CrossFit community had formed a book club of sorts and Robb’s book was first on the list. Since then, I’ve followed along as he’s broadened his reach into podcasting, seminars and health coaching. I enjoy his no-nonsense, humour laden writing style so when he released his second book, Wired To Eat, I knew it would be making it to my bookshelf fairly quickly.

In broad terms, Wired To Eat focuses on exactly that – ancestrally, we are wired to eat as much as we can for survival. Our ancestors needed to eat all they could when food was plentiful to prepare for times of famine. In today’s world of hyper palatable, processed foods that are super convenient to procure or even have delivered right to your home – our wiring is creating a multitude of problems. As the author states, if you are “not fat, sick and diabetic, you are, from a biological perspective, ‘screwing up’” (pg.13). We ARE wired to eat, but to eat foods that are whole and unprocessed and to have to expend a lot of energy sourcing these foods. Modern diets are devoid of both of these factors and we are paying the price. By following the concepts laid out in Wired To Eat, readers can work toward balancing their blood sugar, decreasing insulin resistance, repairing their appetites and preventing chronic disease states.

Although both of Wolf’s books are similar in style and promote a “Paleo” style approach to eating, I found it interesting to see how his dietary lens has shifted in the last decade. Wired To Eat focuses much more on people’s bioindividuality. Yes, he still promotes the paleo approach and a low carbohydrate, whole foods diet, but he specifies that this way of eating is just a starting point. It is a way to rewire your body to a whole, natural foods appetite and then focus on customizing it to your own unique needs. The book focuses mainly on carbohydrate tolerance by testing the affects of certain carbohydrates on blood sugar levels. The main takeaway, however, is that no one diet is perfect for everyone and we must do the work to find out what works best for our own “wiring”.

The bioindividual approach of this book lines up perfectly with my beliefs as a Functional Nutritional Therapy Practitioner. Beyond diet, the author also delves into the importance of non-dietary factors, such as sleep, community, stress and movement on one’s overall health. He spends a lot of time on these areas, seeing them as pillars of health, just as important as diet. These are all areas of focus in my practice as well.

I think this book would be a good, informational read for any reader. So many people try a “Paleo” style diet as a last resort and I feel we must educate people to incorporate a whole foods, ancestral type diet before they are in crisis. The information in this book can be quite scientific and some may feel a little overwhelmed by it. However, Wolf does a great job making the information as approachable and enjoyable to read as possible. I think Wired To Eat would be a great resource in combination with working with a Nutritional Therapy Practitioner who can clarify specific ideas and be available for further discussion. Anyone who has become “carb-phobic” would also benefit from this resource, as it can slowly guide them through the process of adding in certain carbohydrates and finding out how well they handle them.

Wired To Eat highlights the importance of bioindividuality. It delves deep into the why and how of personalized nutrition and how lifestyle choices also play a vital role in one’s health. Through his humour and casual writing style, Robb Wolf makes these topics both accessible and enjoyable for his readers and provides a plan that makes changing one’s dietary outlook and health doable.

Rating 4.5 Peaks
My Rating: 4.5/5 Peaks


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The Monday Mention – The Omnivore’s Dilemma by Michael Pollan

The Monday Mention The Omnivore's Dilemma by Michael Pollan

There’s something you should know about me… I’m a bibliophile, a bookworm, an avid reader. Whatever you want to call it, there is nothing I love more than immersing myself in a good book – especially when the sunny Pacific Northwest summer days turn to day after day of drizzle. Now, I’m no snob when it comes to my reading material – give me a mystery, a biography, an old classic or a science laden textbook – heck, even the back of a shampoo bottle – and I’m a happy camper. So I’ve decided I should use at least some of the hours I spend with my nose buried in a book as fodder for this blog and share my thoughts on some of my favourite, and maybe not so favourite, health and nutrition related tomes.

First, a Favourite….

In The Omnivore’s Dilemma – A Natural History of Four Meals, Michael Pollan confronts the seemingly simple questions of “What should we eat?” and “Where does my food come from?”. By tracking four meals back through the food chain, Pollan discovers that the choices we make when it comes to our food reach far beyond merely deciding meat or vegetable, low fat or high fat. The Omnivore’s Dilemma is less about choosing from the variety of foods we COULD eat and more about determining what we SHOULD eat, as these choices not only affect our health, but have political, ethical, environmental and financial consequences as well.

Throughout the book, Pollan takes us through the sourcing of meals supplied by three different food chains, the industrial, the organic (both industrial and pastoral) and the hunter gatherer. Tracing these meals back to their roots provides some surprising and disturbing insights related to each of these food systems. Industrialized corn, by being massively overproduced and subsidized by the government, has found it’s way into virtually everything we eat — whether it is the feed used to produce meat, high fructose corn syrup or other additives used in processed foods. The variety we see at the grocery store is really an illusion, as the industrialized food system has turned our society of omnivores into specialized eaters of corn (pg. 117). Ironically, the mountain of corn produced on farms each year cannot support the farmers themselves, either physically (as it must be processed to be eaten) or financially. Today’s monoculture farms are really nothing more than food deserts (pg.34).

The organic food system, through absence of chemical fertilizers and pesticides, is undoubtedly healthier than the basic industrial system. The differences between the two, however, stop there. With mono crops and their need for fertilizers (even if organic) due to soil depletion, the petrochemicals used in shipping and the use of synthetics in food production, organic now resembles industrial more than ever. The industry uses marketing and catch phrases to lull the consumer into believing what they are buying is good for them, the animals and the environment.

Conversely, the pastoral farm system (absolutely my favourite section of the book) relies on a symbiotic relationship between the earth and animal and between different species of animals, as well. It’s a system that recognizes the bio-individuality of the animal and lets them express their innate instincts. This type of sustainable system creates an ecological loop, where waste basically ceases to exist. The environmental and moral benefits of this way of farming are obvious but, as Pollan recounts, not without its own set of issues. There is little support for the sustainable farmer as he has no need for the chemicals, machines and fertilizers sold by the companies that are most likely bankrolling the policy makers. Lack of subsidies and regulations forbidding the slaughter of animals on site all add to the cost of the food produced. As such, sustainable food is seen as something only the moderately wealthy can afford. This is another aspect of the Omnivore’s Dilemma explored in the book – does the money saved by buying government subsidized, mass produced, nutrient poor food offset its cost to our health, environment and ethical well being?

My much loved copy. Shoved into carry-on bags, left out on the patio and thumbed through relentlessly, I’ve read it several times and I think it has a few reads left in it!

The final meal prepared by the author was one he hunted and gathered himself. Pollan readily admits that this is not a viable way to source all food in today’s world, but in exploring this simplest of food chains he was able to re-establish a connection to and a gratitude for his food that is lacking in most standard food systems. He also explores the idea that America’s lack of culinary traditions (wisdom passed down by our ancestors informing us of what we should eat and how it should be prepared) leaves us prone to confusion and “Omnivore Anxiety” (Pg.300). Without guidelines provided by our culture, we are more apt to follow the advice of so-called experts, the slick words of marketers and sadly, end up with a fad diet not tailored for us, but for the pocket books of big business.

I would implore anyone who eats food to read this book. Whether you eat industrially, organically or sustainably, you should know where your food comes from so you are making educated choices. One reason I chose to review this book is because, as a Nutritional Therapy Practitioner, I advise clients to source food from sustainable producers as much as possible – food that is local, seasonal, nutritionally dense and, in many cases, more expensive than what, on the surface, looks to be the same product sold at the grocery store for less money. Being able to discuss how your food choices affect your health, the environment and even influence the food economy is vital. The observations Michael Pollan makes in The Omnivore’s Dilemma align well with the principles of Nutritional Therapy and delve further in to the question of what we should eat than just looking at what is healthier for the individual. The more we educate ourselves, the less complex the Omnivore’s dilemma becomes. By gathering this knowledge, we empower ourselves to make changes that benefit our wellbeing, the wellbeing of our land and animals and the wellbeing of our food system as a whole. Joel Salatin, the “Godfather” of sustainable farming practices, is quoted in the book as saying, “In nature, health is the default. Most of the time pests and disease are just nature’s way of telling the farmer he’s doing something wrong” (pg.321). Perhaps the same could be said of our human diet. The rise in chronic diseases that we are experiencing could very well be Nature’s way of telling us that what we are eating is wrong.

My Rating – 5/5 Peaks

References

Pollan, Michael. The Omnivore’s Dilemma: A Natural History Of Four Meals. New York : Penguin Press, 2006. Print.