The Power of Plants: Herbs for Digestion

Plants are powerful, there is no question about that.  

The best part about it is, if you know how to use them correctly they can be your allies in health for the rest of your life.  Think about just how many types of plants there are out there, and how often they get passed by when we need them the most.

For those who have had experience with digestive upset, due to disease or acute infection, you know how difficult it can be to relieve the symptoms that come along with that (and just how badly you can want relief).  I myself have dealt with having a digestive disease since childhood, and have gone through almost every possible treatment and remedy over the many years of being afflicted.

Since I started using plants, herbs and food as my go to treatment, I find it is a rare occurrence that I need to go for anything else.

I have found that it is most gentle, especially when trying an herb for the first time, to try it in a tea form.  Some I would recommend only to ever have in tea form.  When herbs are used as tinctures or essential oils they can sometimes be too strong, especially at first.

Herbs for Digestion

Peppermint 

Relaxes the muscles of the digestive system, helping to ease symptoms of digestive upset.

Fennel Seed 

Not only filled with more antioxidants than Vitamin E, but also proven to be a powerful anti-inflammatory.  Helping many chronic diseases like bowel disease, arthritis, cancer and Alzheimer's.  The reason it works so well in digestive diseases is, it's ability to relax the lining of the intestines, and at the same time reducing the inflammation.

Chamomile 

More commonly known as a soothing tea for the mind, but also soothing for the belly.  

Properties of chamomile include anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, antispasmodic and also contains antioxidants.

Ginger

The nausea reducer.  No matter the reason from pregnancy, to food poisoning to motion sickness, reach for ginger first when it comes to nausea.  Also aids in relief for heartburn & digestive upset. 

Cinnamon 

Has been proven to be an effective fighter against various types of bacterias including those that cause food poisoning, staph infection, urinary & bladder infections, and H. pylori that is linked to stomach ulcers and cancer. 

Foods good for Digestion
Check out "The Holistic Mama's" fantastic post on Probiotic filled foods!

Fermented Foods

Fermentation creates natural probiotics in foods, the essential gut flora necessary for optimal digestion.

• Umeboshi Plum & Ume Vinegar - Aids in digestion with antibacterial properties
  • Tamari Soy Sauce - Contains antioxidants, anti-cancer properties & aids in digestion
  • Miso - Contains antioxidants, anti-cancer properties & aids in digestion
  • Yogurt - The most commonly known food to contain the good bacteria, probiotics (can be made at home from coconut or almond milks) 
  • Pickles & Pickle Juice -  Aids in digestion, filled with probiotics
  • Sauerkraut (fermented cabbage) - Aids in digestion, filled with probiotics
  • Pickled Vegetables - From beets to peaches, you can pickle pretty much anything and get fantastic benefits!

High Fiber Gluten-Free Foods 
(be sure to purchase all of these organically to gain the health benefits)

Coconut

Coconut has many forms and are all delicious and filled with tons of health benefits you might not expect.  Coconut comes in the form of...

Flour, Extra Virgin Oil, Cream (canned), Milk (carton or homemade), Water, Shaved or Flaked

- High in the oh so important friendly fats that act in the body as fat burners

- High in fiber coconut flour is wonderful to cook and bake with in a vast array of recipes.

- Antibacterial & Antifungal:  Fighting things like strep throat, acne & candida

- Filled with Antioxidants: Called catechins, they are great colon cancer fighters.

- Anti-inflammatory: Good for many conditions caused by inflammation

Raw Almond
Almonds can be used in many ways and also have a few forms...
Flour/Meal (made from blanched almonds), Whole, Slivered, Milk (carton or homemade)

- Filled with the friendly fats that aid in disease prevention and cholesterol regulation.
- Contain vitamins E & B, as well as essential minerals.
*Learn how to make your own almond or coconut milk yogurt with extra probiotics in a slow cooker from the Holistic Mama

Winter Squashes
These come in many varieties such as...
Butternut, Spaghetti, Acorn, Pumpkin, Buttercup, Carnival, Delicata, Kabocha, Sweet Dumpling

- High in B & C vitamins which boost mood and immune function
- Contain folic acid: Especially important for pregnant women
- Richly colored veggies like these contain good amounts of carotenes: Good for eye health

Berries
Some high fiber berries include...
Blueberries, Raspberries, Strawberries

- Rich with antioxidants.  Great for immune function
- High in vitamin C, B, E, A & zinc. Helpful in eye, brain and immune function.

Avocados
A fruit? A vegetable? No matter what you call it, they sure are packed with goodness!

- Rich in anti-inflammatory & antioxidant nutrients: Cancer fighting
- High in the friendly fats: Good for cholesterol regulation & brain function
- Contains folic acid and B vitamins: Helpful in heart health

Brown Rice
Come in short, medium and long grain varieties.
Experiment with all to see what you like best.

- Has plenty of folate & B6 for a heart healthy food
- Vital minerals include: calcium, magnesium, iron, potassium, zinc & more!

Quinoa
(pronounced; Keen-wa)
One of the few non-animal based foods that is a Whole Protein


- Great source of magnesium, iron, calcium & more
- Contains vitamin B for brain health
- Has antioxidants like maganese & copper: Goof for cancer & disease prevention

*To learn wonderfully detailed information about healing herbs & spices you can incorporate into your daily diet, read Bharat B. Aggarwal's book, "Healing Spices" 

Happy Eating Everyone!!!

Breaking Down Dairy: Can you do it?

I just love that people are becoming more aware of their food choices (for the most part).
It is such an empowering thing we can do for ourselves.
Taking control of our health through our food, and thus through our wallets, will be the smartest thing you will ever do.  Not to mention it is quite satisfying giving your dollars to a hard working farmer, rather than a large faceless pharmaceutical corporation, that's for sure!

I have noticed over the past few years, the most common food items that are purchased organically are dairy products.  If you are going to start somewhere with organics, it may as well be in the dairy department (along with fruits and veggies of course!).  

Many of us with digestive diseases tend to have a problem digesting dairy products (whether we choose to admit it to ourselves or not).  Most of my teenage years I ignored the after effects of things like butter, ice cream, yogurts & cheeses and continued to eat them mindlessly.
But the moment I began to live a more mindful life, and really took charge of my health through food, everything changed!

I am sure most people have heard of lactose intolerance, the body's inability to breakdown lactose, a prevalent sugar found in milk.  A less often talked about part of diary that can cause gastrointestinal problems and more, is a protein called casein.  Casein can also be used as an additive in certain foods, so be sure to read your labels.

Some symptoms to look out for if lactose might be a problem for you...

abdominal pain/cramping, bloating, diarrhea, gas, nausea, or vomiting.

Symptoms if you may have a casein allergy or sensitivity might be...

swollen skin wherever contact has occurred, stomach bloating, rashes, hives, generally irritated skin, nasal or sinus congestion, sneezing, coughing, watery or irritated eyes, and coughing or wheezing.

*Be sure to consult with your physician if you think you may have a casein allergy

Eating too much dairy for all people can also show up in ways you might not expect like...

mental fog, headaches, joint pain/stiffness, chronic sinus infection or post nasal drip, sluggishness, acne

To find out if dairy is causing problems for you simply eliminate it from your diet for a few weeks and note any changes that may occur in your mental or physical state.

Goat vs. Cow
Some say that cheese from goat milk is easier to digest, but I still believe that this is such an individual thing.  It is certainly not a hard and fast rule that a goat cheese will not affect you the same way a cow's milk cheese will. If you are interested in experimenting with this yourself, I highly suggest using very small quantities. Also making sure that you wait at least 3 days before trying it again to see how your body reacts and how you feel.

*Aged cheeses tend to have less lactose & casein vs. soft cheeses.
Try a cheese like a Spanish Raw Naked Goat Cheese, or an aged Raw Parmigiano Reggiano

Raw vs. Pasteurized
It has been said by some raw milk advocates that raw milk does not react the same as pasteurized milk in people with lactose intolerance.  Now, I am definitely an advocate for raw dairy, from a purely nutritional aspect.  But, in my personal experience I can not drink milk or have most milk based items, raw or not.  There is no arguing that raw dairy has all of the great nutrients that are supposed to be there, and that pasteurization kills pretty much everything good in dairy.

Even though milk, ice creams, yogurts and butter are out of my diet, the world of raw cheeses makes my body a happy one.  Not every raw cheese will be okay for everyone.  There are only a small number of cheeses that have proven to be okay with my body.  Some are from goat, some from cow, and some from a mix of both, but all are aged and raw.
Again, I just have to repeat how dairy affects someone is a very individual thing.
I will quote the age old proverb on food,

"One person's medicine, is another person's poison"
So, just because someone else said it worked or did not work for them and their digestive disorder, that certainly does NOT mean it will work for all people with the same condition.


Happily there are many options for those with sensitivities to the 
lactose and casein in dairy!

A few years ago I discovered a product that revolutionized how we ate in our home.
GHEE
What is ghee?
Commonly known as clarified butter.  From grass fed organic cows is best.
This is simply butter that is heated, it will separate, and the portion that is removed contains all of the lactose and casein that was in the butter.  And you are left with a delicious buttery ghee that can be used in any way one would use butter.

What is better than Ghee?
Extra Virgin Organic Coconut Oil Ghee (made from grass fed cows)
Basically a wonderful company decided to mix together two amazingly nutritious fats, and what you get is simply fantastic.  It contains a 75% / 25% ratio of Coconut Oil and Grass Fed Ghee.
Can be used anywhere in place of butter or oil in most recipes.

Extra Virgin Organic Coconut Oil

The most nutritional oil you can use.  The thing that makes it so fantastic is, it is perfect for high temperature cooking. It has a high smoke point which means the oil's molecular structure wont change as you heat it.  Oils like extra virgin olive oil and flaxseed oil are wonderful, but don't have a high smoke point, so are better if you eat it in its natural state, unheated.
Use coconut oil to replace butter or ghee in most recipes for a delightful dish.

Dairy-Free 'Milk' Choices
Organic Almond milk is our favorite, next to coconut milk.
The beauty of both these milks is, you can make them yourself in a blender!
Of course you can always purchase these in your grocery store in a carton.  I suggest using the unsweetened versions.  I don't like having 'hidden' sugars in my foods, if I want something sweet, I want to sweeten it myself.
There are also rice milks, but they tend to have a much higher sugar content due to the process of making the milk from rice syrup.  So, I don't really love rice milk for that reason.  Nor am I a big supporter of soy milks. They have been known to interfere with hormone production in people if consumed on a regular basis.  And if it is not made from organic soy, the process they use to grow and extract it is super scary.  Find out more on the dangers of GMO, non-organic soy here.

Canned Organic Coconut Milk
Great to replace heavy cream in almost any recipe. 
This milk is often called coconut cream, since it is much thicker than the thin coconut milks from the carton.


So, if you think living a lactose, casein or dairy free life is impossible, think again!
These days it could not be easier, or more delicious.
There is a replacement for pretty much anything, and doesn't that feel good!

Happy eating everyone!

Hydration, Digestion & Water Quality: The Vital Truth

The unfortunate truth is most people just don't drink enough water.  We sometimes forget that our bodies are about 70% water, and our vital organs need water & oxygen to survive and thrive.

It is especially important for people with digestive disorders to be sure that they are getting an adequate amount of water per day.

When I speak to most people about their water intake one of the first responses I get is, "Does coffee count as water?"

The answer is a resounding NO.

Drinks like coffee and alcohol actually dehydrate you, so if you are only drinking coffee throughout your day, you are doing yourself a huge disservice.

The next question is most often, 

"How much water per day is enough?"

There is a simple formula that will work for anyone.

Divide your body weight in 1/2, and that is the number of ounces of water you should try to drink a day.  But, that is not to say you should ever force yourself to drink water if it does not make you feel good.

It is amazing what drinking a simple glass of pure water can do for you.  

If you are not getting enough water throughout your day it can potentially cause...

• fatigue 
• headaches
• irritability
• constipation 
• you can also misinterpret your brain's signal for thirst as hunger (so next time you think you need that extra snack, have a big glass of water instead)

Now you may think all water is created equal, but that could not be more wrong.

These days our water is polluted with factory runoff, prescription drugs of all kinds, high levels of chlorine, and that is just the tip of the iceberg.

When it comes to bottled water, don't be so fast to put your trust in them.  There have been companies that have been caught filling their bottles with tap water and selling it as natural spring water.  Another reason bottled water is not the safest, is the way they are packaged, stored and shipped. 

The plastics they use can leach harmful chemicals directly into the water, and when stored in warehouses or trucks when exposed to heat the chemical leaching process is exponentially faster.

Over the years I have tried many types of home water filters, including the most popular ones. 

These days there are only 2 types of water that I can confidently recommend as the safest and most pure forms of water.

1. Find a natural spring by you!  

You'd be surprised how close a spring might be to your front door.

The kicker, its FREE!  Yes, I said free.  

Just find your local spring at

Find a Spring

and be sure to bring plenty of glass water jugs or mason jars with you!

2. Water filtration system by Dr. Mercola 

(read his article or watch is video for great information on water)

He has a very affordable under or over the counter unit, but also has a whole house filter to be sure all of the water in your home is safe & clean.

I hope this helped to shed a bit of light on how important such a simple thing like water is. 

Try to keep a bottle of water with you at all times to help remind you to keep up your intake.  And be sure to invest in a high quality stainless steel or glass bottle to be sure you are keeping your clean water as pure as possible!

Happy hydration to you all!