Ayurveda and Weight Loss - Part 1

8/1/2021

Ayurveda and Weight Loss Part 1: The Doshas and Weight Gain - Getting to the Root Cause

and Ayurveda and Weight Loss
Part 1: The Doshas and Weight Gain - Getting to the Root Cause

Before we jump into the subject of ayurveda and weight loss from an Ayurvedic perspective, it’s important to understand how the 3 doshas operate in the mind and body in order to grasp how they affect weight gain and weight loss and then, of course, how we use Ayurvedic principles to correct the imbalance. In case you’re brand new to Ayurveda, the doshas are the three governing forces in Ayurveda that determine our physical traits, our personality traits, our emotional and psychological tendencies, and what type of diet, lifestyle, and environment is best for us.   There are three doshas: vata, pitta, and kapha. The doshas are made of the 5 elements, and you can find a short video on my website about the 5 elements. The link to that video is in this slide right here, and it’s also in the comments. I would check that out when you can to learn a little more about the foundational principles of Ayurvedic medicine.

First and most importantly, let’s talk about Vata’s role in Ayurveda and in weight gain and weight loss.

Vata is made of the elements of air and ether. Air is the element that governs all movement in nature, in our bodies, and in our minds. Ether is the container for all the elements; it’s the space around us and through which we connect to others. I like to help people understand ether by mentioning that it tends to deteriorate the other elements when it increases and that it increases in our bodies and minds as we age. That’s why our hair, our skin, and our bones become thinner into old age and also why our minds often become more unstable as we age.   So vata, by nature, is cold and dry (like air and space), mobile (like air), and also unstable (like the ever-changing air and the diminishing quality of space, or ether).

If someone has a lot of vata in, what Ayurveda calls, their “constitution” (the unique combination of the doshas with which they were conceived), they will naturally have thinner bones, thinner skin, and smaller features. They also will have a greater tendency to be unstable in their ability to complete projects, stay on course, remain still for long periods of time, or even to focus on one thing at a time. When severely out of balance, people with a great deal of vata dosha will experience greater tendency for fear, worry, and anxiety. Someone who has been working on balancing the vata in their constitution might overcome some or all of these challenges, but these will, most likely, always be tendencies for them.

These individuals, who naturally have a lot of vata dosha in their constitutions, often have a harder time gaining weight due to the variable nature of air and the diminishing quality of ether; their digestion tends to be variable, which makes it harder to absorb nutrients, and therefore, harder to produce tissue (fat, muscle, bone, etc.) from the food they eat. To help balance those individuals with a lot of vata in their consitution, Ayurveda prescribes a very nourishing and grounding diet with lots of fats, oils, nuts, root vegetables, grains, and even some meat and dairy to help them build tissue, AND Ayurveda prescribes lots of spices (think ginger, cumin, cinnamon, asafoetida/hing, basil, thyme, fennel, etc.) to help them digest, break down, and absorb the nutrients from these heavier foods from which they can then produce healthy tissue. To help balance their minds and allow them to focus, Ayurveda prescribes routine in and around their meals, their waking and sleeping times, and their daily habits and work schedule. Ayurveda asks that they slow down, breathe, and bring their consciousness back into their bodies and out of the “ether,” so to speak

Now, maybe you’re thinking, why is Meghan telling me about people who have a hard time gaining weight? What does this have to do with weight loss? Well, stay with me; we’re going there in just a moment.

So next, let me tell you about pitta and kapha doshas. Pitta dosha is made of the element of fire and a little bit of water element. You can think of the water as something that has to exist to contain the fire, like the mucous membranes that line our digestive tracts and protect us from the hydrochloric acid and digestive enzymes secreted by the digestive organs to break down our foods. You can think of the fire element as any metabolic or transformative process in the body, like the breaking down of our food into absorbable nutrients and the creation of healthy bodily tissue from those particles; in the mind, you can think of fire as the transformation of sensory input into concepts, ideas, and even wisdom.

Pitta, by nature, is hot due to the fire element, a bit oily due to the water element, and also a bit mobile and unstable, due to the constant movement of fire. If someone has a lot of pitta in their Ayurvedic constitution, they will have moderate features, moderate bones, moderate skin…that fire transforms their food into tissues and then burns off the rest. It is very efficient. People with a great deal of pitta are able to be pretty moderate and focused in their studies, their projects, and in their work; they also tend to be passionate in their relationships. They have a great ability to focus, lead, and get the job done. When they are out of balance, however, this focus can turn into intensity, and their clear, sharp minds can become critical, judgmental, and angry. Again, someone with a great deal of pitta can overcome these challenges, but they will always have tendencies toward these imbalances.

Pitta people tend to be able to maintain their weight fairly easily due to the efficient nature of their metabolism and the strong nature of their digestion. Certainly, if pitta overloads the digestive tract, there can be weight gain, but as soon as they put their mind to it or get back to a balanced way of eating, they will usually have an easy time dropping excess weight. In fact, if pitta gets too intense or out of balance, that fire can turn into a conflagration, causing weight loss as it burns up the tissues of the body. Eventually, that fire will dry out all the water element containing it, creating dryness that looks like vata. That fire might even completely burn itself out, just like it does in nature, leaving a cold, dry environment, again looking like a vata imbalance. This is important to note in that it is one way the doshas can “trick” us. What looks like a vata imbalance, has actually resulted from a pitta imbalance. Keep this in mind for later…

When pitta is out of balance, we ask them to do similar grounding practices that we ask of vata; we also want to give them heavier, nourishing foods, but we don’t give them the heating spices that we give vata; we focus on more cooling herbs like cilantro, coriander, chamomile, and mint. We ask them to lighten up and take life a little less seriously by bringing some play and fun into their day. We might even ask them to loosen up in their daily schedules, work less, lower their intensity level, and laugh more.

Stay with me; we’re getting close to bringing ayurveda and weight loss all together for you.

Finally, we have kapha. Kapha dosha is made of earth and water, the heaviest of the five, Ayurvedic elements. Earth represents all the structures in nature, in the body (bodily tissues), and stability in the mind. Water represents anything with innate moisture in the body (bodily fluids) as well as flow in the mind.

If someone has a lot of kapha in their constitution, they will tend to have thicker tissues—bones, skin, hair—and bigger features—eyes, lips, nose, etc. They might also have more innate moisture in their body, producing more sweat, more mucous, and even more breast milk and menstrual fluids in women. Due to the abundance of earth and water in their constitution, kapha people are more easy-going and do things a bit more slowly than vata and kapha. They tend to be a bit slower in making decisions, completing projects, and even moving around in the physical world. While their mind moves a bit more slowly sometimes, they retain information very well, and they are dependable. Think tortoise over hare here. You can imagine, then, kapha digestion tends to be a bit slow as well, so it’s important for them to avoid overloading the digestive system by keeping portions a bit smaller and maybe even fasting sometimes to increase the ether or space in their system so they can move a bit more (more air) and increase their metabolism (more fire).

When kapha is out of balance, weight gain, lethargy, and lack of motivation (being “stuck” in the mud…which is what happens when earth and water combine, right?). They might even be really resistant to change, or stubborn and set in their ways. So, to balance kapha back out, we want them to do all the things modern diet culture tells us to do to lose weight: reduce our portion sizes, eat a plant-based diet and limit carbohydrates, move more to sweat, eat spicy foods that increase the metabolism, and sit less. We also want them to get out of their comfort zone and try something new; kapha tends to be very attached to a routine, so we will ask them to change it up and vary their day-to-day schedules. We might also ask them to let go of their attachments to possessions or even relationships no longer serving them in the hope that their bodies will follow, letting go of excess weight no longer serving them.

All right, so we’ve established that weight gain, therefore, is a kapha imbalance. Now, you might already be asking important questions, like, “I really identify with vata, but I consider myself overweight. So which am I? Kapha or vata?” Great question! That’s where we need to differentiate your nature with your imbalance.

Your Ayurvedic constitution is also called your “prakruti;” it’s the unique combination of the doshas with which you were conceived. Think of it as the expression of the elements through your genes. So if you have a lot of vata in your original constitution, or prakruti, you’ll always have tendencies toward “all the vata things,” like anxiety, worry, fear, inability to focus, variable digestion, dryness, etc.

These symptoms could also be considered your “vikruti,” which, in a nutshell, means your current imbalance. What are you working with right now? For someone with a lot of vata, that’s usually what I mentioned before: anxiety, constipation, gas and bloating after meals, dry skin, etc. For someone with a lot of pitta in their original constitution, or prakruti, their imbalances might look like anger, criticism, work-aholism, burning digestion, diarrhea, skin rashes, etc. For someone with a lot of kapha in their original constitution, their imbalances, or vikruti, will usually look like lethargy, sleepiness after meals, slow digestion, mucous in their stool, swelling/edema, metabolic issues, etc. Any constitution, or prakruti, could, however, have an imbalance, or vikruti, in any (or even all three) of the doshas. So could you be largely vata in your prakruti, but have a kapha imbalance, or vikruti, like weight gain? Absolutely.

One of the beautiful things about Ayurveda (one of the really important take-home messages I want to bring to you today) is that Ayurveda seeks to pinpoint the ROOT CAUSE of our imbalances. And this is important when we talk about weight gain in that I rarely see a kapha constitution come to me, needing or wanting to lose weight. Why, you ask? Well, I think kapha people have kind of figured out how to balance out their issues. They’re just not that hungry most of the time, and if they eat too much, they really pay the price. They’re also not always the most interested in change. I, therefore, see a great deal of vata and pitta constitutions coming to work on weight loss. They don’t like the current state of affairs in their bodies, and they want it to change…and fast! But here’s the kicker: this mentality (“I’m uncomfortable, and I want change now!”) is what caused the weight gain in the first place.

And now the big reveal…drumroll please…

YOUR VATA AND/OR PITTA IMBALANCE CAN CAUSE THE KAPHA IMBALANCE, OR WEIGHT GAIN.

Is your mind blown? OK, maybe not, but I think it’s really interesting to think that moving too much, doing too much, and overloading our senses caused our bodies to get bigger. So let’s make sense of that from an Ayurvedic perspective.

How does this type of weight gain work? It’s helpful to recall that vata is made of air (movement) and ether (space). It’s also helpful to note that any time we change, vata increases. Think of the nature of change: there’s movement from one thing to another (air element), AND you have to give up one thing for another (that creates a space, or void…or ether element). Even change that is considered “good,” like marriage, forces you to give up some freedoms that come with being a single person. Even getting a promotion at work forces you to give up some freedoms that come with less responsibility, right? On the other hand, we have change that is considered “bad,” like the death of a loved one. That can create a big space, or a great deal of ether, and, therefore, vata in our lives.

What happens when you make big changes all the time? Here’s an example I see a lot: getting a divorce, moving to a new city, starting a new job, and then getting involved in a new relationship. That’s a lot of air (movement/change) and ether (leaving/giving up things, people, and places).

Here’s another example: losing a lot of weight in a short amount of time. Let’s say you gave up carbohydrates for a ketogenic diet (there’s definitely some ether there in leaving behind carbs), adopted intermittent fasting (more ether/space in that your stomach is now empty for a large part of the day), and took up a very rigorous high intensity interval training program (LOTS of air/movement…and the kind that really aggravates vata with all the stopping, starting, and “bursts” of activity). OK, so you get the idea here: change and movement create vata.

Well, what happens when you don’t bring in opposite qualities to balance out the vata? You guessed it: it runs WILD! Did you know “dosha” actually means “flaw,” or more literally, “stain”? Yep, the job of the doshas is to express themselves fully; your job is to balance them out.

So what happens to the person who gets a divorce, moves to a new city, starts a new job, and then begins a new relationship and never slows down long enough to truly take care of themselves?   I’m willing to bet they either get sick and/or they gain some weight. Similarly, what’s the tragic ending for the person, who did too much too fast by losing a bunch of weight in a short amount of time? They gained the weight right back…and then some. Ugh.

Bottom line: if you don’t balance out vata by slowing down, getting into a routine around sleeping and working, eating nourishing food in the right way and at the right times, your body will do it for you. You will be drawn to things that comfort you. I don’t know about you, but for me, that’s food, glorious food. Because of the way we evolved through the millennia, the human brain craves sugar and fat to increase all those feel-good hormones in the brain and “store up” for another famine. If you’re depriving your body of food by dieting all the time, your ancestral brain thinks you’re in a time of famine. So when you finally break down and break open the bag of cookies, it’s going to persuade you to hoard those calories until it’s sure there’s no threat of starvation.

“Comfort food,” moreover, consists largely of the elements of earth and water, which create tissues and fluids in the body, necessary for survival. These elements and our bodily tissues also “ground” us.” So if you’ve been floating off into the ether on a vata “cloud” of activity and change, putting on weight is the body’s way of making you heavier and bringing you back down to earth, or ”grounding” you, so to speak. Again, if you don’t take the time to ground yourself through moderation, daily practices, and basic self-care, like sleep, your body will do it on its own with a big ‘ol, kapha, fat hug. So now you’ve still got a vata imbalance AND a kapha imbalance. Thanks a lot, right?

And don’t take my word for it, science tells us that when we don’t get enough sleep and/or stress levels rise, our hunger hormone increases (called ghrelin), our satiation (those that tell us we’re full) hormones decrease (called leptin), and our stress hormones (like cortisol) that tell us to actually hold on to fat to prepare for imminent danger or potential famine, increase.

I also want to recognize that if you’ve got a lot of pitta, or drive, in your constitution, this can cause you to take on too much as well. The fire of pitta’s intensity can burn brightly, creating a similar environment in which a person adopts extreme practices, extreme work hours, and even extreme ways of thinking. The air of vata is needed to fan the flames of pitta, so now vata and pitta become “partners in crime,” pushing a person to do more and in a smaller window of time. That fire can sustain this for a while, but this typically leads to burnout, which can look like a nervous breakdown, a complete inability to “do” anything anymore/depression, an autoimmune disorder, or even cancer. At the very least, we can be drawn to unsupportive coping mechanisms like overeating, which again, can cause a kapha imbalance on top of a pitta, or even pitta-vata, imbalance.

Thank you for reading part one of my series on Ayurveda and Weight Loss. If you'd like to take the live course version (recorded), please email me: meghan@meghanhays.com.

About Meghan Hays: Meghan Hays offers Ayurveda Salt Lake City and throughout the United States (by Zoom cal). If you are looking for Ayurveda Salt Lake City, please contact Meghan today for an Ayurvedic Consultation. Meghan is a graduate of the California College of Ayurveda and is currently pursuing a Doctorship in Ayurvedic Medicine.

Please Contact Meghan by email: meghan@meghanhays.com

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Ayurvedic Diet - Guidelines for Healthy Eating Wisdom for Best Digestion

7/19/2021

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Ayurvedic Diet - Guidelines For Healthy Eating.

Did you know that as soon as you LOOK at your food, your brain tells your digestive system to start secreting specific enzymes to digest specific foods--it's an amazing historical system that REMEMBERS how to digest foods you've eaten before!

Did you also know your brain prioritizes and engages in a low level of distraction, or sensory input all...the...time?

What does this mean for digestion, you ask? Well, if you're engaged in work, TV, movies, even really intense or emotional conversation, while you eat, your brain will prioritize the other stuff before it works on digestion. Those digestive enzymes, bile salts, etc. aren't going to be produced as accurately or as effectively as they could have been.

This means you're more likely to get gas, bloating, cramping, even diarrhea directly after a meal you ate when watching TV or doing work versus a meal you ate, calmly, free of technology, and in a peaceful environment.

This is why Ayurveda says 80-85% of digestive problems can be solved not by what you eat but HOW you eat.

So next time you sit down, try these Ayurvedic Diet Healthy Eating Guidelines:

1) Step away from work and technology (all screens, including phones, TV, tablets, etc.). If possible, sit outside or in a peaceful environment. Make your eating area/dining table beautiful to look at with fresh flowers, pretty cloth napkins, etc. Make this seemingly mundane habit SACRED. This is, after all, how you nourish, heal, and produce bodily tissue.

2) Once you sit down, close your eyes and take 3 deep breaths or say grace, express silent gratitude, or feel love for all the plants, animals, and people who contributed to the meal in front of you. If you eat with your family or friends, see if they'd like to join you. If you're shy and in a group, just take a deep breath to calm and ground yourself before digging in--no one has to know.

3) Once you begin eating, CHEW THOROUGHLY. This can be life-changing for some. If you're like me, you've been "scarfing" down your food for a lifetime, maybe always finishing your plate first. Instead, focus on the act of chewing. There is no magic number; just try to chew each bite until the food is a consistent texture. This can take care of SO many digestive issues for most.

4) If you're alone, enjoy the silence. It's only a few minutes, after all, and it's a great way to get yourself "used to" being with yourself, especially if you have resistance to a meditation practice. This can be a big step in that direction. If you're in a group, keep the conversation uplifting and light; now is not the time to bring up politics or religion...two topics sure to cause indigestion.

5) Eat only until your are about 70% full. This will differ from person-to-person, but a nice guide can be your cupped hands. If you can eyeball what amount of food might fit into them (it's actually quite a bit), you'll just about hit the 70% full mark for your build/structure (ie. the bigger the person, the larger the bone structure/hands, the larger the amount of food; vice-versa for a smaller person with a smaller build and smaller stomach). This is a great way to maintain or get back to your ideal weight for your particular structure and metabolism.

But give yourself time to find what 70% is . You shouldn't be hungry for at least 3 hours if you eat just enough. If you're bloated or not hungry again for 5+ hours, you probably ate too much. Hungry again after just 2 hours? You might need to eat a bit more. Experiment and be patient as you get back in touch with your natural hunger and fullness cues. It can take time.

5) After you eat, sit for 10-15 minutes. I love to use this time to read for pleasure. It's a wonderful segue between eating/digestion and getting back into the workday. If you truly don't have time to enjoy a few minutes of sitting after a meal, at least take 3 deep breaths or take one more moment of silence to keep your nervous system calm and grounded before getting back into your workday or activities.

6) Avoid drinking cold liquids with your meal. This slows down and impairs digestion. In addition, limit any liquid with meals to just 1/2 cup of warm or room temperature water or herbal tea. Any more will, again, interfere with digestion.

7) Wait to eat again for 3 or more hours before eating again to allow food to pass through all 3 stages of digestion (stomach, small intestines, and large intestines). If you simply wait until you have natural hunger cues (stomach "rumbling"), you're set. This, again, just like the 70% full rule might take some time if you're used to working through meals or ignoring bodily urges because of busy-ness or creative pursuits.

If you eat too soon, you'll take away energy from the stage of digestion in which your last meal or snack still is. It's like dumping raw rice on top of half-cooked rice...you'll end up with burnt rice, cooked rice, and some raw rice. Allow your food to fully pass (fully "cook") through all the digestive stages before eating again.

8) Consider taking an Ayurvedic Digestive Formula, depending on your prakruti and/or vikruti (Ayurvedic constitution and current imbalance(s)). You'll want to consult with your Ayurvedic Practitioner to know exactly what you need. I usually make my patients their formulas, but here are the pre-made formulas I recommend from Banyan Botanicals:
Vata Digest
Pitta Digest
Kapha Digest

To Learn More About The Ayurvedic Diet - Here is a great article from Banyan Botanicals

How did you eat today? Let me know if you have any questions or comments!

meghan@meghanhays.com

Sending love and good digestion to everyone out there!

If you would like to learn more about Ayurveda in general - Visit My About Ayurveda Page

Meghan Hays is an Ayurvedic practitioner in Salt Lake City.
If you are looking for Ayurveda Salt Lake City or in Park City Utah, please use the e-mail above to contact her for your initial consult or Book Now .

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The "Real Mediterranean Diet"

6/13/2021

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This article is a summary of an article from the February 2020 issue of Eating Well magazine. Link here.
In 1948, Leland Allbaugh, an American scientist, was intent upon bringing modern medicine, nutrition, and conveniences to the poorest regions of Greece (whose citizens, then, had the lowest per capita income in Europe). When he made it to Crete, whose citizens had the lowest income levels in Greece, he expected to find a sickly and malnourished population. What he found, instead, inspired many future studies about this region of the world and their abundance of health.

Allbaugh found Cretans had a "surprisingly good" diet, as well as an exceedingly low rate of chronic Western diseases. They had barely any incidence of cancer and only suffered about a third of the heart disease-related deaths as Americans at the time. One of the most interesting things to note was that people on the island of Crete had been eating this way for thousands of years (all the way back to the Minoan period around 2000 BC!).

This study inspired Ancel Keys, Ph.D., to travel to Crete about ten years later. Keys used the island's subjects as a "pilot population" for his "Seven Countries Study." His wife, Margaret, termed Cretans exemplary lifestyle and diet as "The Mediterranean Way."

Here are some of the things Allbaugh found in his 1948 study:

Lesson 1: Carbs, Carbs, Carbs!

OK, don't go grabbing your white bread and Frosted Flakes just yet. Cretans ate an incredibly rough barley bread, or "rusk," and this was the staple of their daily diet; in fact, Allbaugh found that 39% of Cretans' daily calories came from whole grains. Archaeologists, who studied Minoan and early civilizations of Crete, found this whole grain bread was so tough that it actually wore down their teeth.

(Tangent alert! If you've read the incredibly interesting and compelling book Breath by James Nestor, you'll know chewing is incredibly important for the structural health of our human skulls and, therefore, our sinus and upper respiratory structures. In fact, when the advent of "processed" grain (ie. soft bread) came about, our human evolution really suffered, giving us everything from crooked teeth to chronic problems associated with mouth-breathing, snoring, and sleep apnea. Incidentally, if this interests you, I highly recommend this book!)

OK, back to whole grains. So what's the modern lesson here?

Switch to 100% whole wheat or 100% whole-grain bread products (look for sprouted grains, like Ezekiel Breads, for an extra punch of nutrition), and get at least one daily portion of wheat-free grains, like oats or barley...stuff you can sink your teeth into and well, chew. Go for at least 28 grams of fiber a day. Want to regulate your bowel habits and reduce your cholesterol? Eat cooked oats every morning. If you commit to this, I promise your colon and heart health will improve dramatically in a very short amount of time.

Lesson 2: No Sugar for You!

This is incredibly un-fun to write, but Cretans basically ate no sugar. They had a measly 50 calories a day from local honey and grape must. This is about 3 teaspoons of added sugar daily. Guess what Americans are averaging these days? 23 teaspoons daily! This is more than Cretans ate in a week. Yikes. So it's safe to say, Cretans (at least from 2000 BC to 1948 AD) didn't eat desserts or pastries. They ate fresh, seasonal fruit. Even the regional delight "Greek yogurt" is unsweetened. Most of us know excess sugar in the diet not only has implications for higher risk of Type 2 Diabetes, but it's also associated with higher risks of cancer and heart disease.

So what's the take-home message here?

Cut out added sugar by reading labels. Aim to get no more than 25 (women) and 36 (men) added grams of sugar a day. Most labels these days differentiate "Sugars/Added Sugars" from "Carbohydrates." What's more, if you aim for those 28 grams of fiber a day, it'll be tough to also get in that added sugar; in other words, you'll more naturally end up eating whole foods and less added sugar.

Lesson 3: Eat Your Greens...and also Fruits!

This is one of the most interesting "tid-bits" from the article that I found. Around 1450 BC, the Minoans ceased to govern their island, and over many centuries, Crete was conquered and occupied again...and again. These foreign invaders exported all of Crete's best produce: namely, lemons, figs, and raisins. Cretans, therefore, were left to fend for themselves and forage in nature.

Lo and behold, there is a bounty out there to be had by scavengers, and a huge part of Cretans' diets became "horta," a broad array of 100 edible plants, like purslane (containing high amounts of short-chain omega-3 fatty acids, shown to reduce blood pressure and cholesterol and lower the risk of heart disease and type 2 diabetes) and dandelion greens (you know, that annoying "weed"...also an Ayurvedic wonder-food that can help ward off liver disease and cancer). Not only did Cretans eat an abundance of wild greens, they also ate a great deal of onions, tomatoes, cabbage, and eggplant, which grow easily in extreme conditions and easily in household gardens.

Similarly, Cretans' "staple fruits" are some of the highest in nutrient density: grapes, pomegranates, and melons (they put Americans' top three fruits, apples, oranges, and bananas, to crying shame). Not to mention the average Cretan consumed 432 pounds of produce annually! Today, each American only gets about 220 pounds annually (neither statistic includes potatoes, by the way...pretty sure most Americans get those in the form of fast-food French fries...).

Lesson here:

Eat plants at every meal, and eat the rainbow--the more variety, the better. Get leafy greens (especially the bitter ones that fight cancer, like kale, chard, dandelion, and cruciferous veggies like broccoli, cabbage, and cauliflower) and colorful fruits (especially dark-colored ones like berries and pomegranates with the most cancer-fighting antioxidants) into your diet everyday. I always add half a cup of mixed berries to my morning oatmeal and cook green veggies into my lunch and dinner.

Lesson 4: OK, here's where you might get happy...because it's where we talk about WINE!

So we all know the studies go back and forth...and back and forth...on health benefits of wine. Are 1-2 drinks beneficial, or is alcohol just plain poison?

Here are some scientific facts: red wine is rich in polyphenols, which are the same antioxidant compounds found in olive oil. These guys keep platelets from building up and clotting blood vessels, improve cholesterol, and improve blood vessel function.

Here are some interesting facts to note about the people of Crete and their wine consumption: Cretans drank mostly red wine ("krasi") and always with meals. This is interesting in that some research suggests there is a synergistic relationship between food and wine that promotes heart health better than drinking wine alone. Speaking of "alone"...wine did exactly the opposite for Cretans. As the article states, "[R]egular wine consumption clearly enhanced a general culture of intergenerational sociability--another key pillar in the health and welfare of the long-live Mediterraneans." They weren't drinking to drink; they drank as part of family-style, sit-down meals, everyday, which led to familial and friendship bonds. This strengthened their hearts and supported their mental health. (This speaks to the difference in how many of us consume our food. While every meal was a family or community event for Cretans; for many of us, meals are just something to get out of the way while we stare at a screen.) Allbaugh says Cretans might not have been completely upfront with how much wine they actually consumed out of fear of judgment from the Americans; his research, however, shows that alcohol only accounted for 1% of their total, daily calories. (BTW: two, 6oz glasses of wine account for over 10% of your total calories, if you were to consume 2000 calories in a day.) So maybe they consumed a lot more wine than they appeared to, but they sure consumed it differently from many in today's world.

Bottom line here:

Don't start drinking if you don't already, and approach everything in moderation. Remember, HOW you consume things often matters more than WHAT you consume. So occasional wine with a meal, shared with people you love, could improve your heart health.

Lesson 5: Fat is Friend--Not Foe!

And here's where we talk about olive oil...lots of olive oil. While only 1% of Cretans' daily calories came from wine, a whopping 40% of their calories came from olive oil. In fact, Allbaugh said, to a foreigner, their food seemed to be "swimming" in oil. Olive oil, incidentally, contains monounsaturated fats, which have been shown to lower LDL ("bad") cholesterol and raise HDL ("good") cholesterol, which probably accounts (among their other habits) for Cretans low incidences of heart disease.

Experts say that Cretans in the 1940's were probably consuming olive oil harvested when the olives were still green or early-harvested, which means their olive oils were even richer in antioxidants than your typical olive oil. Greener olives contain higher levels of oleocanthal, which is a highly potent antioxidant with anti-inflammatory effects. Oleocanthal has been shown to reduce risks of heart disease, diabetes, and cancer.

Bottom line:

All extra-virgin olive oils have oleocanthal, but it's worth looking for "early harvest" EVOO, which is a bit more "grassy" than average EVOO. Since EVOO has a higher smoke point (rendering its anti-oxidants basically useless), use it to "finish" meals by drizzling it on veggies, grains, and dishes, and make your dressing out of extra virgin olive oil to punch up the nutrients in your salads.

Lesson 6: Protein from Plants is Power

Even though Cretans would have had access to a very lean, low-in-cholesterol meat from goats, the first domestic animal the Minoans brought to the island around 3000 years ago, they only ate about 7 ounces of goat or other red meat a week (many Americans eat this much in one meal...steak house, anyone?). Cretans, additionally, only at about 6 ounces of fish each week and an average of 2 ounces of poultry a week. This blew my mind!

While there was access to a little fresh milk and cheese, the bulk of Cretans protein came from legumes (think: chickpeas, fava beans, and lentils) and nuts, like almonds, chestnuts, and walnuts. This means, combined with the protein from all those whole grains they were eating, Cretans' diets commanded a whopping 76% of their protein from...you guessed it...PLANTS. With all that heart-healthy fiber and phytonutrients, it's no wonder this community of people had such low risk of heart disease.

Lesson learned:

If you want to live as long and healthfully as the Cretans, make beans and nuts your protein staples, and "garnish" your diet (if you are an omnivore) with lean cuts of meat and poultry several times a month.

Start off slowly, however: if your household is full of carnivores, start out with one day a week of plant-based eating (ie. "Meatless Mondays"); begin to replace red meat with poultry (ground turkey instead of beef or pork); add another day of the week in which you eat seafood-based meals (look for wild-caught over farm-raised fish). Take it one meal at a time, and soon, you'll be trimmer and healthier than you ever thought possible!

Finally, Lesson 7: Portion Control...It's a Thing

So here's one of the most interesting (I know, I know--I think it's all interesting) points to note: when Allbaugh described his study subjects back in 1948, he said they were a pretty hungry bunch. Most Cretans only consumed around 2500 calories a day. You're thinking, "That's a lot of calories, isn't it?" Well, it's about as much as the average, modern American eats, and we mostly sit at desks all day. What you must take into account is the back-breaking physical labor most Cretans did every day; so 2500 calories pretty meager in comparison to actual energy needs.

Additionally, Cretans tended to eat 6 smaller meals a day, instead of 3 squares we are so used to; some studies suggest this is a more effective way of keeping cholesterol and insulin levels in check (both risk factors for cardiovascular disease and Type 2 diabetes, respectively). Cretans also fasted, in accordance with the Greek Orthodox calendar, on Wednesdays and Fridays (not to mention various religious holidays throughout the year that required the same). This, interestingly, mimics the 5 days of eating and 2 days of fasting a week some studies show can promote longer life span and keep blood sugar levels stable. Things that make you go, "Hmmmm," right?

Take-home:

Pay attention to your portion sizes. Ayurveda says to eat until you're about 70% full so you food has room to "mix" and digest. This is tricky, but if you slow down and pay attention to eating your food (instead of staring at your phone or the TV), you'll begin to find what this means for you. This is also the best way to achieve an ideal body weight for your frame. And, don't worry, if you're hungry again in a few hours, do what the Cretans did and eat another small meal.

I hope you found this as interesting as I did! I think some really important take-homes are: eat more plants and less animal protein AND enjoy your food (and wine!) in good company. The Cretans loved spending time with their families and friends, and they loved to dance. Isn't that what life is all about anyway: whom we love and who loves us? Bring that joy into every meal, and you'll surely live a little longer...or at least a little more happily. Thanks for reading!

Meghan Hays is an Ayurveda Practitioner in Salt Lake City. If you are looking for Ayurveda or an Ayurvedic Clinic in Salt Lake City, please contact Meghan today.

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My Ayurvedic Morning Routine Can Keep You Well and Healthy:I'll Take Your through My Own Morning Ayurvedic Practices!

4/26/2020

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I'd like to start off by writing that YOUR AYURVEDIC MORNING ROUTINE BEGINS THE NIGHT BEFORE. If you don't go to bed at a decent hour (10/10:30pm) and get a good night's sleep (7-9 hours), you won't have the energy to wake with the sun and perform your morning routine. That being said, let's look at what Ayurveda recommends (and what I attempt to do most mornings...hey, I'm human too!):

1. Wake with the Sun. Okay, I know I've already lost some of you. This one is a tough one for me--always has been, but I can tell you, when I go to bed at an appropriate time (see above), I am WAY more apt to wake by 6:30/7am. Why, you ask, is it important to wake with the sun? Just like animals in nature, humans have circadian rhythms, or "sleep-wake cycles." These rhythms correspond to daylight and darkness and, therefore, affect your hormones, which then affect when you are alert, when you are sleepy, when you are hungry, etc. If you align your habits properly with the day (in a nutshell: wind down when the sun goes down and get going when the sun comes up), your hormones, adrenals, nervous system, and digestive system function properly. Guess what happens when these are functioning properly? Your IMMUNE SYSTEM is also functioning properly to help you ward off disease and fend off pathogens. Mis-align yourself over a long period of time (you'll see this, often, with night-shift workers), and you increase your odds of lowering your immune system and developing chronic disease and autoimmune disorders, or even just getting sick more often.

2. Empty Bladder and Bowels. Most of us wake up and pee first thing in the AM. Some of us are lucky enough to have a bowel movement first thing in the morning too. No worries, if you're not. As long as you're having at least one bowel movement a day, you're considered "regular" in Ayurveda. If you're not having at least one BM a day, you are considered constipated, and you might want to consider a consultation to rectify this (often, a few super-simple changes go a long way). According to Ayurveda, all disease begins in the digestive tract, so having an efficient and healthy elimination pattern is integral to disease prevention. If you have at least one bowel movement daily, your digestive tract (one of your first line's of defense against pathogens) is acting efficiently in moving potentially harmful waste matter out of your body. You can help along healthy elimination patterns with a classic Ayurvedic formula, called "Triphala." It's a blend of three different fruits, which nourish and cleanse the tissues of the body and encourage healthy bowel habits by "tonifying" the tissues of the colon, which then respond properly to elimination urges. I make my own capsules with the powdered formula, but you can also purchase ready-made tablets here from Banyan Botanicals. And you can read more about Triphala here. I often recommend taking two tablets with warm water before bed. Give it a few days to rectify your bowel habits.

3. Tongue Cleaning. This is a classic Ayurvedic practice that improves oral health and stimulates your digestive system. (The tongue is, after all, the first and most visible organ of the digestive tract--one of your first lines of defense against pathogens and disease!) Right after you void your bladder/bowels, go to the sink (wash your hands!), and grab your tongue scraper/tongue cleaner--even before you brush your teeth. Check out the coating, if any, on your tongue. (In Ayurveda, coating on the tongue indicates toxicity, or "ama," in the body.) Gently scrape your tongue from back to front, rinsing your tongue cleaner with water after each pass. I usually scrape 6-10 times, depending upon how much coating I find on my tongue that morning. BE GENTLE--you don't want to damage your taste buds or cause any bleeding. After this, I typically rinse my mouth out with warm water, and then I might do some oil pulling with coconut oil, followed by brushing my teeth with a little baking soda. My mouth feels squeaky clean and hydrated!

You can purchase a tongue cleaner here.

You can read more about tongue cleaning here.

4. Hydrate! I know it looks like a lot, but I've truly only spent about 5 minutes on my morning routine at this point. So next, I'm all about hydration. Theoretically, you've just spent 8 hours fasting (sleeping) with no liquids, so you should be pretty thirsty. Dehydrated tissues are breeding grounds for pathogens, like viruses. (More on this below.) I drink 8-16 oz of room temperature water--NEVER cold--it's too jarring for the nervous and digestive systems, and it diminishes your ability to digest food. If you have a slower digestive system (get gas and bloating after meals or are prone to constipation), you should consider drinking warm water instead of room temp. Add a squeeze of lemon or a teaspoon or two of apple cider vinegar to stimulate digestion and liver function. This will typically stimulate a bowel movement for those who don't wake up with the urge.

5. Walk/Get Outside in Fresh Air and Sunshine. To put some more perspective on this, I'm still only about 10 minutes into my morning routine, so there's plenty of time to step outside, get some Vitamin D, and enjoy Nature as it awakens...and take Stewie the dog on the first of his multiple, daily walks. (Do you ever listen to the birds as the sun comes up? They're amazing!) This is one of the most "sattvic," or peaceful, times of day, and I highly encourage you to check it out. The lower, less potent angle of the sun still delivers Vitamin D (essential for longevity, disease prevention, and immune system function) without the damaging effects of its angles later in the day. Ultraviolet light from the sun is antimicrobial in nature (kills pathogens, viruses, etc.), so now is a great time to use the literal "force of nature" to improve your health and prevent infection. You could take this time to stroll and breathe and enjoy the peace and calm of this time of day, or you could certainly use it to get your heart-rate up (more on this below).
PLUS: Daily cardiovascular activity has been shown to reduce the chances that those infected with COVID-19 end up with acute respiratory distress/on a ventilator.

6. Practice Yoga, Pilates, or Calisthenics/Stretching. Speaking of getting your heart rate up: Ayurveda encourages daily movement that brings us to a slight sweat and then brings us back down again. You could certainly count your morning walk as your daily movement, but body-weight-bearing and flexibility exercises, 2-3 times a week will go even further to keep your bones strong, muscles and joints healthy, and prevent age-related issues, like falling. I find that 20-30 minutes of yoga, Pilates, or calisthenics (body-weight training, like push-ups, lunges, squats, and planks), combined with stretching, does the trick for me. This keeps my muscles toned and strong, gets my heart rate into a fat-burning zone, and stimulates my metabolism. You can check out my YouTube channel for some free, workout ideas.

7. Neti (Nasal Irrigation) and Shower The World Health Organization is saying that nasal irrigation/cleaning of the sinuses is just as important as hand-washing in the fight against COVID-19. Why? Your nasal passages are one of the body's first defenses against pathogens and disease. Neti/nasal irrigation/nasal cleansing not only rids your sinuses of potential bacteria, viruses, and pollen (hello, spring allergies!), but it HYDRATES the mucous membranes of your sinuses. If your mucous membranes are dry, pathogens have an easy opportunity to make a nice home for themselves. If your mucous membranes are hydrated and "slippery", the pathogens sit on the surface of the mucous and nasal secretions and eventually drain down your sinuses and into your throat, where you swallow them. There, the hydrochloric acid in your stomach kills them. This is why keeping your nasal passages AND your digestive system strong and hydrated is so important. They are an interconnected defense system against viruses and bacteria.

Here's how I perform neti:
Add 1 cup (8 oz) warm water (about 100 degrees F is optimal) to 1/2 teaspoon sea salt (use salt WITHOUT iodine, so no "table" or Kosher salt). I boil my water (for safety--use distilled water if you are worried about the quality of your water or get water from a well system) first thing in the AM, pour it into my neti pot, then allow it to come to body temp while I walk outside. I find it takes about 25-30 minutes to come to the perfect temperature after boiling. I usually set a timer so that I don't forget. (Using water that's too cool is ALMOST as uncomfortable as using water that's too warm/hot.) Dip your pinky finger into it to see if it feels right. Use a candy or regular thermometer to get it just right, especially if you're new to this practice. If it stings, you probably didn't add enough salt or the water is too hot. The water should be salty enough to mimic your body's own salinity.

Place the pot spout at the opening of one nostril, lean FAR forward from your waist, and tilt your head away from the pot, until water runs out of your other nostril. If water runs down your throat, you haven't tipped your head far enough forward--try again--it can take a little practice! I pour half the pot through one nostril, and then I pour the other half through the other nostril. Then I blow my nose over the sink (it's going to be all water--you might see a little mucous) and then into tissues or a towel. I also bend over (like in forward fold) and lean over with my head tilted in both directions to get out any remaining water. DO NOT close one nostril to clear the other while blowing your nose--you could damage your ear drum.

Here's a link to the ceramic (I avoid plastic whenever possible) neti pot I use.

Here's a link to a brief description of and video (scroll down a bit) on how to practice neti/nasal rinsing.

You should also know that the practice of neti brings moisture to the tissues of the body, so for about 10 minutes after you irrigate your sinuses, you'll be blowing your nose and ridding your sinuses of excess mucous. This is a great time to take a quick shower, and some people even perform their nasal irrigation IN the shower.

8. Apply Oil to the Body (Abhyanga) and Sinuses (Nasya)

A huge part of Ayurvedic self-care involves application of oil to the body (inside and out), which keeps us protected from disease and hydrated (think: anti-aging!).

Abhyanga:
After I shower, I apply oil to my entire body, which is an Ayurvedic practice called abhyanga. It is, by far, my favorite Ayurvedic practice--I love it! Traditionally, abhyanga is done BEFORE exercise/applying heat to the body. You apply warmed oil (run hot water over the bottle or check out my method below) in long strokes to the limbs and circular strokes to the joints. This stimulates the lymphatic system AND builds your immune system (called "ojas" in Ayurveda). Put on some old sweats/clothes you don't mind getting a little oil on or designate just for this purpose, then perform your exercise or yoga asana. (Some like to take a warm bath or steam instead.) This increases heat in your body, opens your pores, and the oil "cooks" into your skin, where any herbs or medications in the oil can infiltrate your bloodstream. Then, you rinse off in the shower (preferably no soap or only where you need it--incidentally, ladies, you should never use soap on your genitals, as it imbalances the PH levels, leaving you prone to infection) and then "pat dry" to leave a thin and protective layer of oil on your body (think of it like "armor" for your day!). I prefer to use oil after my shower, when my body is already warm, and I find this more practical for those of us, who are accustomed to applying lotion, etc. after bathing. PSA: skip the lotions! They are chock-full of chemicals and petroleum products. Sesame oil, almond oil, sunflower oil, jojoba oil, coconut oil, and olive oil are all better options. Depending upon your doshas/Ayurvedic constitution, you will want to pick an oil that keeps you balanced. Sesame, almond, and olive oils are best for dry, thin skin (vata). Coconut, sunflower, and jojoba oils are best for inflamed, irritated, red, or oily skin (pitta). Mustard seed or a light application of sesame oil is great for thick, naturally moisturized, or itchy skin (kapha). After I apply my oil, I slip on a robe I designate just for this purpose and allow the oil to soak in 20-30 minutes, while I perform my breathing and meditation exercises (below), before dressing. FYI: you will have no problems with oil and your clothing if you choose the right oil for your skin, apply the right amount, and give it 20-30 minutes to absorb.

Here's the herb-infused coconut oil I use (choose the sesame oil version if you have dry skin/vata).

Here's what I use to warm my oil while I'm in the shower--I light the candle just before I jump in the shower.

Here's more instruction on how to perform abhyanga and how to choose the right oil.

Nasya:
Since a neti practice (sinus irrigation above) can actually be a bit drying to some (as it brings moisture to the tissues in the form of mucous, but then as you blow your nose and "cleanse" the tissues, those who are already a bit dry can be left feeling "stripped"), applying a little oil to the sinuses ("nasya" in Ayurveda) can give you back that protective barrier to prevent pathogens from taking their hold on your tissues. I use Banyan Botanicals tri-doshic "Nasya Oil." I truly believe that this has been one of the main reasons (along with neti) I haven't suffered from allergies over the past several years (since I've started this almost daily practice).

Here's the link to an article with a video link on how to do perform nasya.

9. Breathing (Pranayama) and Meditation
Okay! We're in the home-stretch! Keep in mind, I'm still only about an hour into my morning routine, depending on how long I spend exercising. And this next set of practices can only take 5-10 minutes, depending on how much time you have to spend on them.

Pranayama:
If you've been getting my Friday Yoga/Healthy Back videos, you'll already be familiar with this breathing exercise, which doctors around the world are recommending to help exercise and clear/expectorate your lungs to avoid infection and keep your immune system up:

Inhale DEEPLY for a count of 5--fill your lungs completely.
Hold your breath for a count of 5 (don't rush!).
Exhale COMPLETELY for a count of 5--empty your lungs.
Perform 5 rounds, and on the 5th round, instead of exhaling, cough forcefully a few times to expectorate the lungs.

This routine helps "exercise" and clear the smallest alveolar sacs at the ends of the lungs, which don't get lots of work, unless you do intense cardiovascular or breathing exercises everyday.

I LOVE alternate nostril breathing (nadi shodhana) and do five rounds of this each morning, which takes about 5 minutes. Here's a link for instructions on how to perform alternate nostril breathing. I use a ratio of 4 counts for inhale, 16 counts to retain/hold my breath, and 8 counts to exhale. FYI: you have to get a full, deep breath on those first 4 counts to be able to comfortably hold your breath for 16 seconds without creating anxiety of panic, so work up to this and be patient or simply eliminate the retention.

Meditation:
There are SO many ways to practice meditation. There are apps, like Calm and MNDFL, and there are many styles, like Zen, Transcendental, felt-sense, etc. It's worth finding a practice that works for you. If you have a "monkey mind" that loves to go all over the place, a guided meditation is probably best for you. In other words, I wouldn't try to just sit down and focus only on your breathing--you'll become frustrated very quickly. That being said, the point is not to STOP thinking--good luck with that. The point is to FOCUS the mind to come into the present moment. When you do that, Ayurveda says, you stop time, and the body ceases to age. I'm sold! There are so many health benefits to meditation, including lowered blood pressure and increased immune function. I also like to do my self-energy/Reiki work at this time, which is another form of meditation all on its own. If you're a beginner, start with just 3 minutes and work your way up from there, just adding one minute at a time every couple of weeks.

At this point, you could dress or have breakfast or whatever you want! Morning routine is done, and I GUARANTEE you will such a better day if you simply choose 2-3 of these practices to work on each month. Don't try to do it all at once; I can also guarantee you'll either become overwhelmed or burnt-out and give it all up. Choose just 2-3 (or one!) that resonate(s) with you, and work on it/them for a good month. It's taken me years to get all of these practices under my belt, and I still struggle with my breathing/meditation--those are the first ones to go if I'm feeling unmotivated or short on time, but they're the ones that make me feel the best. I hope you modify, "tweak," and make these practices work for you.

Feel free to email me with any questions--I hope you found this informative and helpful! I love sharing this information with you!

Meghan Hays is an Ayurveda Practitioner in Salt Lake City Utah, and is Certified by the California College of Ayurveda.

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Your Guide to Intermittent Fasting: What Is It?How to Do It SafelyIs it Right for You?

3/11/2020

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I'm sure you've heard all the buzz about "intermittent fasting" lately--and I think it's definitely a buzz-worthy topic with lots of health benefits (more on that below). Did you know, however, that the ancient practice and medical wisdom of Ayurveda has always advocated a certain amount of fasting in your everyday-diet? Yep. For thousands of years, Ayurveda has touted the benefits of keeping your digestive system clean, healthy, and strong by:

seasoning your food properly (this will depend upon your unique Ayurvedic constitution),
eating only until you are 70% full, and
only eating again, once your last meal has been completely digested.

This translates as waiting (or "fasting") at least 3 hours between meals/snacks...4-5 hours is truly best, unless you have hypoglycemic (low blood sugar) tendencies.

Not only should you be "fasting" between meals, but, according to Ayurvedic tenets for optimal health and digestion, you should also finish your last meal at least 3 hours before you hit the hay. Yep, you heard me. This means, if you go to bed at a decent hour (around 10pm), you should finish dinner by 7pm. This is a natural, daily fast of, roughly, about 12-13 hours (if you figure that most people eat breakfast around 7/8am).

"Why should I fast overnight," you ask? I will gladly tell you, if you don't mind a little reading. We should start with the liver, an AH-mazing organ. The liver performs over 500 metabolic functions in the body (whoa!). Some of its functions include the manufacture of bile, which helps us break down and emulsify the fats we eat. It also helps "clean up" the blood, by recycling old red blood cells and dumping those into your bile. Also, did you know that EVERYTHING you eat or put on your skin (and therefore into your bloodstream) must pass through the liver for filtration? Your liver is a hard-working organ, my friends.

And wait! Your liver is not just hard-at-work during the day. Nope, unlike you, who's snoozing away and blissfully unaware, the liver is doing its "janitorial duties" at night. The liver cleans up your blood and removes toxins (or substances it might perceive as "toxic," like gluten, chemicals, metals, etc.) that were stored in the cells of your body throughout the day. So if you eat too closely to bedtime, and your liver has to keep busy by aiding to digest your dinner or bedtime snack, it won't be able to do "clean up on aisle 6." In other words, your liver will be too busy digesting food to mop up the possible garbage you introduced into your system during the day.

Think of it this way: just like you, your liver is less effective at doing its job when it has to multi-task, "splitting" its energy among many different jobs. Let's face it, you know what a crappy night's sleep you get when you pig out right before you go to bed: you're hot, uncomfortable, and keep waking up, only to emerge as "rested" as a passenger on a red-eye flight from Los Angelos to New York City. (Rested? Not...at...all.) This all happens because you've overloaded your digestive system and liver.

So what, exactly, am I trying to tell you?

WE SHOULD ALL BE "INTERMITTENTLY FASTING" ANYWAY, EVERYDAY, ABOUT 12+ HOURS, BETWEEN ABOUT 7PM AND 7/8AM.

Now, are there studies, showing health benefits of longer fasting times? Yes! But what I've just described is a really simple way to get started. Why would you want to try to fast for 14-16 hours (which is what most studies are suggesting you'll want to eventually aim for to really reap the benefits of intermittent fasting), when you can't even go from dinner to breakfast without having a snack? Start with the overnight fast, people--I promise you will suffer so much less!

So what are the benefits of going a little longer on your fast (say, going 14-16 hours, or only eating during an 8-10 hour window)?

Well, for starters, you'll probably shed a few pounds. In one study, there was a 3% reduction in weight, BMI, and percent body fat, as well as a 4% reduction in waist circumference for those who limited their eating to about 10 hours out of the day (that's a 14-hour fast).

Improved digestion and sleep: I have clients who have all but cured themselves of acid reflux, heartburn, and even insomnia by simply laying off food for just 12 hours! I highly recommend giving this practice a shot if you suffer from any of these disturbances.

And while that's nice, the bigger benefits come in the area of blood sugar. Because we have been told for a few decades now that "snacking," or eating every 2-3 hours, is "really good for our metabolisms" (which, I will point out, has absolutely no scientific basis or factual evidence to support it), our blood sugar is constantly elevated. Our liver never gets a chance to grab all that stored fat in our cells because we're constantly supplying it with a usable source of energy/sugar (ie. all those snacks you're eating!). People who fast for 16 hours at a time (which is basically skipping breakfast or dinner), have much healthier and responsive blood glucose markers AND lowered cholesterol (probably because the liver has been better able to process fat/lipids/cholesterol).

Additionally, when we give the liver a "break" between meals (just like when we're sleeping), it can do a little clean-up and help rid the body of toxins, dead cells, and even bacteria and viruses. Worried about your immune system these days? Who's not? By fasting (even just overnight, like we should be anyway--see above), you'll improve your immune system and do a "mini-detox" everyday!

FINALLY, the cells in your body undergo a process called "apoptosis," which essentially means that a cell dies when it's time to die. If this doesn't happen, the un-destroyed cells could go on to replicate and further destroy cells around them. These out-of-control cells are called "senescent" cells (they're, in effect, "senile"!). This is (in a nutshell) how abnormal cells become cancerous. When you fast, this triggers natural apoptosis. What am I saying? When you fast, you reduce your risk of cancer!!!

Here's what I want you to take away from this little rant of mine: THERE ARE MANY WAYS TO FAST TO IMPROVE YOUR HEALTH, AND THEY DON'T ALL HAVE TO BE EXTREME. Here are the steps you can take to see what works for you and ensure that you don't pass out from hunger or take everyone down around you in a state of hanger:

If you're a newbie to fasting, start out by simply waiting to eat your next meal/snack until you are actually, genuinely hungry. (Remember those things called "hunger pangs"? Yeah, you should try to get to know them again.)
Once you've mastered this, stretch out the time between meals a little further. I try to wait about 5 hours between meals. Yes, I get hungry because my liver is telling me, "Hey! We're out of sugar in here!" But guess what? If you don't feed it, it HAS to draw upon stored fat to create more fuel. Score! At that point (and you may have experienced this), your hunger pangs will probably go away for another hour or so. Again, if you are prone to hypo-glycemia or really, truly suffer when you're hungry, this might not be right for you. In this case, go back to #1 and proceed to #3.
Finish dinner 3 hours before bed. Go the natural 12 hours between dinner and breakfast that nature intended for you. Give your liver a chance to do its amazing, all-natural, "detoxication" processes overnight, and you'll never have to do a "cleanse" again...unless you just like drinking green juice. (I have to admit: I do!)
Once a week or more, stretch out the window in which you fast overnight. Have breakfast a little later or eat dinner a little earlier. Eventually, you might find that you can go 14-16 hours without eating. (I do this most mornings by just sipping herbal tea and water. Then I eat an early lunch around 11:30am. And yes, I also eat an early dinner around 6pm.)
Once you've created a more "flexible" metabolism (it doesn't send you into shock when you skip a meal), try going a whole day with just water and herbal tea to really give your liver and digestive system a break. See how you feel. Many people do this once a week or once a month. One doctor in the field of fasting says that, if everyone would do a 3-day water fast just once a year, we would reduce our risk of cancer by 99%!!! I'm not there yet, but let me know if you do this. Many people are finding health benefits from fasting a few times a year or even a few times a month.

FINALLY, and most importantly, LISTEN TO YOUR BODY. IF YOU HAVE ANY DIAGNOSED HEALTH CONDITIONS, PLEASE CONSULT WITH YOUR PHYSICIAN OR HEALTH CARE SPECIALIST BEFORE TRYING ANY OF THE ABOVE SUGGESTIONS

Feel free to email me with any questions--I hope you found this informative and helpful! I love sharing this information with you!

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Fish Oil Supplementation for Heart, Brain, Cancer & Inflammation Protection

2/15/2020

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I'm sure you're aware of omega-3 fatty-acids, and maybe you even know that they're considered "good," or beneficial, fats. Perhaps you know fish oil is one of the absolute best sources of omega-3 fats around. Did you know, however, that most Americans are extremely deficient in this important source of fat?

Before I dive into why we aren't getting enough omega-3 fatty-acids in our diets, you'll need to know about omega-6 fatty-acids. Omega-6 fats are found largely in vegetable oils (sunflower, canola, soy, and corn) as well as processed foods (fast foods, baked goods, "junk foods" like cookies and chips, etc.).

In ancient times, humans ate a diet, composed of an ideal ratio of omega-6s to omega-3s, or a ratio close to 4:1 (omega-6 is a little higher than omega-3). Today, the average American consumes close to a whopping 20:1 ratio of omega-6s to omega 3s. WOW!

So what's the big deal? This imbalance of omega-3s to 6s is a huge contributor to the most common of age-related diseases: cardiovascular disease, obesity, dementia, and metabolic syndrome (a cluster of disorders, including abdominal obesity, high blood pressure, high cholesterol and triglycerides, high blood sugar, insulin resistance, and high risk for Type 2 diabetes), not to mention general inflammation (a state that sets us up for auto-immune diseases, chronic illnesses, and cancers).

While omega-6 fatty acids, in abundance, seem to cause inflammation in the body, omega-3 fatty-acids actually reduce inflammation in the body by reducing the production of compounds that cause inflammation.

Omega-3 fatty-acids are also extremely important for proper function of the brain and nervous system. Omega-3 fatty acids comprise your brain cell membranes, which generate and conduct electrical impulses, which play a role in everything from movement, to speaking, reasoning, and memory formation/recall. Omega-3s also make up myelin, which insulates the fibers of your nerve cells, AND omega-3s increase levels of a hormone-like protein, which promotes "brain-plasticity." This helps the brain respond to changes, form new memories, recover from injury, and maintain cognitive function.

Are you seeing a pattern here? Omega-3 fatty-acids keep our brains healthy and young! With the rise of diagnosed dementia and Alzheimer's, it seems like a no-brainer (no pun intended!) that we'd want to get as much of this in our diets as possible.

From an Ayurvedic standpoint, those who are naturally drier and more prone to anxiety (vata dosha in Ayurveda) would benefit greatly (maybe even the most) from Omega-3 supplementation in that the Omega-3s pacify an overly-active nervous system and reduce dryness throughout the body. Those who are more prone to heat, inflammation, and intensity (pitta dosha in Ayurveda) would also greatly benefit from more Omega-3s their diets, due to Omega-3's anti-inflammatory and soothing effects on the nervous system and tissues of the body. Those prone to weight gain and tissue accumulation, which can include plaque accumulation in the vessels of the body, compromising brain and heart health (kapha dosha in Ayurveda), would likewise benefit from an increase in Omega-3s in that it reduces risks associated with high cholesterol and heart disease. Bottom line: WE COULD ALL BENEFIT FROM THIS AWESOME NUTRIENT!

Here are a few more reasons to increase your Omega-3 fatty-acid intake, especially from fish oil:

For Autism and ADHD: lower intake of omega-3s in early life is associated with autism and ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder)
For general brain health: supplementation with fish oil in adulthood helps maintain cognitive function
For Alzheimer's disease: taking fish oil containing 1700mg of DHA and 600 mg of EPA, daily for 6 months, slowed the rate of cognitive decline in patients suffering from Alzheimer's disease!
For Depression: people who suffer from depression have lower levels of omega-3 fatty-acid intake
For Post-Partum Depression: pregnant women taking omega-3 fatty-acids (with 1206 mg EPA and 609 mg DHA) saw a decrease in symptoms of post-partum depression
For Heart Attacks and Stroke: when supplementing with 2000 mg fish oil (930 mg EPA and 750 mg DHA), patients at high risk heart attacks and stroke saw a reduction in heart attacks by 70% and other coronary events (like stroke) by 60%
in a similar study, omega-3 supplementation reduced the rate of death due to cardiovascular causes by 20%, reduced heart attacks by 31%, and reduced strokes by 28%
a recent study on fish oil showed a 28% reduction in heart attacks, a 50% reduction in fatal heart attack risk, and 22% reduction in angioplasty procedures (opening a narrowed coronary blood vessel, often with a stint)
For High Cholesterol: high concentrations of EPA in fish oil have been shown to reduce cholesterol levels
For Risk of Death from Any Disease: those with higher blood levels of omega-3 have a reduction in the risk of death from any cause, with a 7% lower overall risk of dying from any disease gained by each additional 200 mg of fish oil consumed per day
For Skin Cancer: in one trial, 4000 mg of omega-3 supplement each day protected the skin from the harmful effects of solar radiation - the damage caused by sun exposure was reduced, including a 35% improvement in sunburn protection and significant reduction in DNA damage (which contributes to skin cancer)
For Colon Cancer: in one study, 2000 mg of omega-3s daily reduced the number of precancerous cells on colonoscopy inspection, reducing the risk of colon cancer
For Prostate Cancer: in a clinical trial, participants with prostate cancer were given 5000 mg of fish oil daily, leading up to surgery; when they underwent surgery, pathologists found that those men demonstrated a significant reduction in proliferation of cancer cells (less aggressive tumors = better control with treatment and long-term survival)

And the list goes on...and on.

So how much should you take? Experts agree that daily doses of about 2400 mg of EPA/DHA from fish oil is important for maintaining blood levels, which benefit the brain, nervous system, cardiovascular system, and all the cells of the body. NOTE: "EPA" and "DHA" are two sources of omega-3s found in fish; they are the most bio-available (easiest for the body to digest, absorb, and put to use) forms of omega-3. Unless you live on the water and eat fresh fish at every meal, it's really tough to get 2400 mg of EPA/DHA into your diet, so supplementing is optimal.

Are there vegetarian sources of omega-3s? Yes, "ALA" is a vegetarian source of omega-3s (found in flaxseeds, hemp seeds, walnuts, and seaweeds); however, your body has to undergo several metabolic processes to convert ALA into EPA, and not everyone's body is efficient at these processes. This can largely depend upon your genetics, as well as your diet and nutrient levels in that the body needs an adequate supply of B3, B6, magnesium, and zinc to undergo these conversion processes. With overfishing of our ocean's fish populations and pollution (mercury content in fish), I wouldn't blame you if you decided to go with a plant-based approach to your omega-3 consumption. So again, if it works for you, supplementing with fish oil is ideal, but amping up your intake of plant-based omega-3s is always a great idea!

If you're having your blood levels tested, you'll want an omega-3 index of 8% to 12%.

If you're going the fish oil route, you'll also want to make sure you use a high-quality fish oil with maximum EPA and DHA. Here's the brand I use (I take 3 capsules a day with meals for better absorption).

I hope this helps elucidate how omega-3 fatty-acids and daily fish oil supplementation can assist to improve your health. As I mentioned, it's not a "magic pill," but it sure is an amazing one!

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Vitamin D Supplementation for Cancer, Disease, and Alzheimer's Prevention and Protection

2/1/2020

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You've probably heard about supplementing with vitamin D over the past few years, and maybe you've even had your blood levels tested to see if you need it. Most medical and health professionals will tell you that you need at least a blood level of 30 ng/mL of vitamin D (or "25-hydroxyvitamin D"). A great deal of research, however, shows us that we should strive for closer to a blood level of 50 ng/mL or more (up to 80 ng/mL) in order to achieve meaningful benefits.

While we manufacture vitamin D on our own through exposure to sunlight, there has been a recent rise in very low levels of vitamin D in Americans. This is most likely due to decreased time outside in direct sunlight and without sunscreen (which is a result of the awareness and fear of skin cancer) and also due to increased time in front of screens and technology (which leads to decreased time in Nature, outside, in sunlight).

I couldn't believe how low my own vitamin D levels were a few years ago (17 ng/mL!!!). I spend time outdoors every, single day, during daylight hours, for about an hour each day, so I was really surprised by my results. I've been supplementing daily ("mega-dosing" at first with up to 10,000 IU/day) for a few years now with easy-to-assimilate vitamin D drops. (Here's the link to the product I use.) My levels are back up in a good range, and I feel confident that I'm now getting the health protective benefits of higher blood levels of vitamin D.

So what, exactly, are these benefits? Instead of going into too much detail, I'm going to list the results of studies to help you see the "big picture." (If you're interested in the actual medical studies and medical journal articles, just shoot me an email, and I'll send you the references.)

In a recent study, called "VITAL", supplementing with just 2000 IU of Vitamin D daily showed a 28% reduction in heart attack risk.
In the same study, African Americans, who received this low-dose vitamin D, benefitted the most in reduction of cancer risk by 23%. (FYI: African Americans, as well as all people of color, are prone to having inadequate vitamin D blood levels.)
A gynecological study showed that increased vitamin D levels in women are associated with a lowered risk of pelvic floor disorders AND 45% reduced risk of urinary incontinence.
Vitamin D-deficient women have been found to have greater odds of developing breast cancer and a whopping 253% higher risk for colon cancer, compared to those with the highest levels of vitamin D.
One study found that higher levels of vitamin D in men prior to a prostate cancer diagnosis were associated with improved survival rates.
In receiving chemotherapy for colon cancer, those given higher doses of vitamin D supplementation (8000 IU then 4000 IU a day, as opposed to 400 IU a day) were 36% less likely to suffer from cancer progression or to die after treatment.
Even more studies show a direct correlation between increase in dosage and decrease in mortality: that the higher the level of vitamin D given, the lower the risk of cancer or dying from cancer.
Further studies show a direct correlation between increase in blood level vitamin D and decrease in cancer risk or death from cancer in general: the lowest risks (up to 35%) were in those with 55 ng/mL or higher.
In animal models of Alzheimer's disease, activated vitamin D helped clear the brain of amyloid, which is the toxic protein that can build up and contribute to Alzheimer's pathology, AND supports neurogenesis, or the formation of new healthy brain cells.
Countless human studies show that higher vitamin D blood levels are associated with reduced disability and cognitive impairment following stroke.
Higher blood levels of vitamin D are associated with more beneficial gray matter in older adults. (Gray matter is the brain tissue, where nerve cell bodies reside and form functional connections with other cells, including the cerebral cortex, where cognition, executive function, new memory formation, and memory recall occur.)
Being vitamin D-deficient is associated with a 75% increase in the likelihood of developing depression in those aged 50 and older.

There are SO many more studies about the benefits of supplementing with vitamin D and about the correlations between higher levels of vitamin D in the blood and lowered levels of everything from cancer, to dementia, to cardiovascular disease, to depression. I personally know people who have greatly relieved their migraine and headache frequency, as well as seasonal affective disorder, just to start.

Where should you start? Request a blood test to see what your vitamin D levels are. Remember, many experts suggest that a blood level of 50-80 ng/mL of vitamin D is ideal for the optimal protection of cancer, cardiovascular disease, and cognitive decline/dementia. You can get a blood test from your physician, but independent companies, like Life Extension (www.lifeextension.com), offer them as well, and they're super-affordable without the hassle of going to a doctor's office or dealing with insurance.

How to supplement? Many experts suggest taking between 5000 and 8000 IU of vitamin D3 daily (if you are a heavier or larger person, experts recommend a daily dosage on the higher end). Vitamin D3 is best absorbed with food that contains fat (so with a meal). Better yet, use a liquid Vitamin D3 (tasteless and odorless) to experience the benefits without taxing your digestive system or having to swallow a pill. (Again, here's the link to the product I use.)

Hope that gives you some food for thought about vitamin D. It's something I personally believe just about everyone should be supplementing with; if we did, I think it would reduce a great deal of suffering and disease. I hope you consider checking your levels and seeing where you are. Knowledge is power!

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