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by Mike Geary
Over the last couple years, I’ve perfected a daily digestion-healing plan that’s worked wonders for me, as well as some of my friends and clients.  Quite literally, I’ve had some friends that either had chronic “runny stools” or constipation, and this type of plan has totally fixed their issues.

A side effect of the digestion-healing meal plans below is that most people start to lose body fat faster by eating this way too!

Keep in mind that I’m not “prescribing” anything here as I’m not a doctor, and this is solely my observation on what’s worked for me and several friends of mine that have tried my plan, which is based on science.

First step in healing digestion issues:

First, you need to identify if you have any food allergies, intolerances, or sensitivities and try to minimize or completely avoid those foods. For many people, wheat, soy, and conventional dairy are 3 issues that come up most frequently.

With that said, keep in mind that certain types of dairy, such as grass-fed Kefir can actually be a very strong healer of digestion issues due to the extremely powerful probiotics in kefir which help to fix harmful bacterial imbalances in your gut.  And kefir is also 99% lactose-free since the friendly bacteria pre-digest almost all of the lactose.  So kefir ends up being one of the most digestible forms of dairy.

Also, keep in mind that it’s generally either the lactose in dairy or the proteins in dairy that some people can be sensitive to.  But many people don’t realize that they can still reap the health benefits of dairy fat, including the CLA, vitamin K2, and omega-3’s of grass-fed butter and cream without anything more than traces of lactose or dairy protein.

If you don’t currently know if you have a sensitivity to gluten, one test that you can consider running on yourself is to completely avoid any wheat-based foods (that means no bread, muffins, pasta, cereals, crackers, etc) for 2-3 weeks and see if you notice a considerable improvement in your digestion and your bowel movements.

Many people are quite pleased to find that their digestion problems start to go away within the first 2 weeks of eliminating wheat from their diet, as the constant inflammation that can be caused by gluten (and other antinutrients found in wheat) in the digestive tract subsides once they stop eating so much bread and cereal.

This should be obvious, but to be clear, you also need to avoid junk foods that are loaded with sugar, trans fats, corn syrup, and chemical additives too, as these all can cause digestion problems and other health issues.

Ok, now that you’ve eliminated foods that might be causing inflammation and other digestion problems, you need to start HEALING your digestive system…

Second step – foods that HEAL the digestive system:

I’ve been amazed at the power of fermented foods (loaded with probiotics) and how dramatic the improvement to digestion and bowel movements can be, since many digestion and bowel issues are caused by either a harmful bacterial imbalance in the gut and/or too many foods that cause inflammation.

I’ve had at LEAST 6-8 friends of mine that started trying a similar food plan that I lay out below and their chronic constipation, runny stools, or indigestion completely cleared up within one week of starting this type of plan.

Keep in mind that the VARIETY of probiotic sources is what I consider to be most important, as each type of food or source has different strains of good bacteria that have different health benefits to your digestion or immune system.

Even though I’ve always eaten healthy at least for the last 15 or so years, I didn’t focus more on probiotic intake, except intermittently, until the last year. Over the last 8-12 months, I’ve focused a LOT more on getting DAILY sources of probiotics instead of just occasional, and the results have been phenomenal to my digestive system!

In previous years, I would only occasionally eat fermented veggies like kimchi or other krauts, and I would occasionally drink kefir a couple times per month.  But that’s changed, and my digestive system is LOVING my new plan.

My personal daily plan for PERFECT digestion:
Morning (first thing)

• 1 serving of this superfoods-cocktail mixed with unsweet iced tea (7 Billion probiotics + 76 superfood ingredients all in a delicious drink)
• Organic coffee with grass-fed real cream* (good source of the healthy fat CLA, and vitamin K2 for heart health)

*Organic Valley brand has a great pasture-raised cream that I’ve found at many grocery stores.

Late morning

• 3 eggs (over-easy is my favorite, plus slightly healthier than scrambled since scrambling can oxidize some of the cholesterol)
• Chicken, turkey, or bison sausage
• Half an avocado
• Fermented veggies* (a nice pile of them)
• tea (green, white, or oolong) with tiny bit of raw honey
• 1 serving of ProX10 microencapsulated probiotics (protects the probiotics through the stomach to the intestines — the most powerful probiotic supplement I’ve found)

*The fermented veggies are also a particularly powerful source of probiotics with different strains from what you get in yogurt or kefir for different health benefits for your digestive system and immune system.  I rotate a different type of fermented veggies each week and have found some really tasty varieties at Whole Foods or at a local health food store… my favorites that I rotate are kimchi (Korean style), fermented carrots (carrot kraut), fermented beets (beet kraut), and one that I found called Jungle kraut, which seems to be purple cabbage, carrots, etc.

I’ve noticed that some people that don’t like the taste of typical fermented cabbage dishes end up really liking the fermented carrots or beets instead.  TMI alert:  Several friends have told me that their years of poop problems completely cleared up after only 1 week or so of including fermented veggies each day with their meals as well as Kefir.
Afternoon snack

• 1 cup plain or greek full-fat Kefir (grass-fed) with added 1 tbsp chia seeds, 1-2 tsp of real maple syrup, and 1/2 tsp of vanilla (if you don’t like the tangy taste of plain kefir, try it the way I make it here and I’m pretty sure you’ll LOVE it!)

*Kefir is a super-healing food for the digestive system.  Remember that natives of the Caucasus mountains in eastern europe routinely live to over 100 years old and one of their favorite daily drinks is full-fat Kefir!  Kefir has quite a bit more probiotics than yogurt (2x-10x more), plus is generally 10 or more strains of probiotics vs only 3-4 strains in most yogurts.  Most types of kefir have anywhere from 7-50 Billion probiotics per cup depending on brand.

Note that according to their website, Lifeway brand kefir is made from 100% grass-fed dairy in all of their products even though they don’t include “grass-fed” or “pasture-raised” on the label.

Dinner

• Some sort of meat – grass-fed steaks, chicken, or wild fish typically
• Some form of steamed veggies or vegetable side dish
• Fresh greens salad with real homemade olive oil dressing

I’ve found that one of best ways to get and stay very lean is to keep dinner based around a healthy type of meat, cooked veggies side dish, and a raw veggies salad.  It keeps the evening meal relatively low-carb with minimum impacts on insulin, but loaded with nutrition and hormone-balancing healthy fats.  It also keeps the meal gluten-free and fairly easy on the digestive system.
Late night snack

• Handful of nuts (pistachios, almonds, or pecans are my favorite, and loaded with nutrition) and a small square or two of extra dark chocolate
• 1 cup of caffeine-free tea such as chamomile, rooibos, mint, or tulsi tea (each have their own unique antioxidants)
• 2nd daily serving of ProX10 microencapsulated probiotics

 

Once or twice a week, I’ll also grab a Kombucha tea (a fermented probiotic tea) if I’m out and about, which is another good source of probiotics, although not as powerful as the others I listed in the above plan.

There you have it!  Again, this is NOT a prescription for any health condition… this is solely my personal digestion-healing plan that I’ve used with great success and that many of my friends and clients have used to fully HEAL many of their digestion and bowel problems.

 

— By Leanne Beattie, Health & Fitness Writer

 

Convenience foods and snacking go hand in hand. Unfortunately, many of these convenient snacks also go straight to our waistlines. When “snack packs” appeared on the market just a few years ago, dieters rejoiced! Now, they could easily count calories and enjoy their favorite snacks at the same time. In fact, the 100-calorie snack packs proved to be so popular that sales have skyrocketed to almost $200 million in under three years. But how healthy are these snacks and should we even be eating them at all? Do good things really come in small packages? Let’s break down the snack pack facts.

Some dietitians and behavior experts believe these small 100-calorie packages are ideal for foods that we should only enjoy in limited amounts anyway, such as chips, cookies and chocolate bars. Numerous studies have shown that when a food container is larger, people will eat more. In fact, they’re more likely to eat until they reach the bottom of a box or bag, without even realizing how much they’ve eaten until all the food is gone. Therefore, smaller portions sizes will help you eat less, right? Well, new research published in the Journal of Consumer Research found that smaller “snack” packages encouraged participants to eat nearly twice as much, often without hesitation, than people who ate from larger packages. The built-in portion control of snack packages may help some people curb mindless overeating, but this theory works only when you limit yourself to one package. If you consume more than that, the benefits are lost.

Hunger Satisfaction
While the snack packs are winners for portion control and short-term satisfaction, they typically lack hunger-controlling nutrients (fiber, protein and healthy fats). This means that they won’t control your hunger for long and may lead to further snacking and higher calorie consumption over the course of the day. A handful of nuts or a piece of fruit could stave off the munchies for around the same number of calories while also providing key nutrients like fiber or healthy fats.

And despite the fact that the labels on these snack packs claim “0 grams of trans fats,” many still contain hydrogenated oil—the prime source of trans fats. Legally, manufacturers can label products as trans-fat-free if they contains less than 0.5 grams of trans fat per serving.

The Price of Convenience
While there are plenty of 100-calorie choices on the market, from chips to cookies and crackers to pudding, you’ll pay a higher price for these conveniently packaged snacks. Snack pack manufacturers charge as much as three or four times the price of conventional packaged foods. For example, a box of six 100-calorie packs of chips weighs only 95 total grams but costs around $3.00. That’s about the same price as a full-sized bag of chips, which contains three times as much food. More single-use packaging also means more waste from an environmental standpoint.

But judging by the explosive growth of the market, many dieters are choosing to pay more in order to avoid temptation. While you could simply divvy up a bag of chips or crackers into smaller portions yourself, many people don’t want to spend the time. If you can’t control your eating when faced with the full-sized version of your favorite snack, but you can eat just one smaller-portioned bag, a 100-calorie snack pack might be worth the extra money and help you reach your weight loss goals.

Smart Snack Alternatives
If you want a healthy, low-calorie snack but don’t want to pay the premium for convenience, here are some healthy snacks you can prepare yourself. You’ll save money, reduce waste, and stay fuller longer with these 100- to 200-calorie ideas that you can portion out yourself.

• Low-fat cottage cheese (4 oz): 80 calories
• Raisins (50 or about 1 oz): 85 calories
• Skim milk latte (8 oz): 85 calories
• Air-popped popcorn (3 cups or 1 oz): 95 calories
• Graham crackers (8 small rectangles): 100 calories
• Thin pretzel sticks (48 sticks or 1 oz): 100 calories
• Celery (5 pieces) with peanut butter (1 Tbsp): 100 calories
• Unsweetened applesauce (1 cup): 100 calories
• An apple (small) with low-fat cheese (2 oz): 150 calories
• Baby carrots (10) with hummus (1/4 cup): 150 calories
• Peanuts (a handful or 1 oz): 160 calories
• Raw almonds (a handful or 1 oz): 165 calories
• Low-fat yogurt (6 oz): 175 calories
• Tortilla chips (12 chips or 1 oz) with salsa (1/2 cup): 175 calories
• Whole wheat Ritz crackers (10 crackers or 1 oz) with peanut butter (1/2 Tbsp): 175 calories

By Paige Fowler,

Things are looking even brighter for the sunshine vitamin. Maintaining healthy levels of vitamin D could protect against brain damage and Alzheimer’s disease as you age, according to University of Kentucky researchers.

Using rats, scientists simulated human equivalents of low, normal, and high levels of the vitamin for several months. The low threshold was 10 times below what’s considered healthy—a level you could reach if you’re not getting enough D from your diet or sunlight, or if your levels are depleting due to aging, explains study author D. Allan Butterfield, Ph.D.

The study found that the vitamin-deprived group experienced an increase in amyloid-beta deposits and free radical damage in the brain, which are hallmarks of Alzheimer’s disease. The low-D rats also showed impaired learning and memory in tests. Previous lab studies suggest that sopping up enough vitamin D reduces neural inflammation associated with free radical damage and also protects the health of signaling pathways that prevent amyloid-beta deposits from taking root in your noggin, Butterfield says. While the results haven’t yet been shown in humans—to this same degree, at least—researchers believe that the effect would be similar in people.

Make sure to eat plenty of vitamin-D rich foods like fatty fish, fortified milk, and yogurt this winter, and spend at least 10 to 15 minutes outdoors in the sun each day. Start today, too: “A proactive approach when you’re younger may be necessary to lower your risk of long-term consequences of vitamin D deficiency,” Butterfield says.

Aim for 1,000 IU of vitamin D daily. Combine a multivitamin—most contain 400 IU—with an 8-ounce serving of OJ and a bowl of cereal and milk. Both contain 100 IU when fortified. Or consider a 3.5-ounce piece of salmon with dinner—it packs 360 IU.

By Cassie Shortsleeve

Try these three tips today to enjoy your favorite foods sans the guilt:

Earth & Turf Burgers
Roast and grind mushrooms and swap for half of the beef. It’s an obvious calorie- and fat-reducer, but adds more umami—the flavor of savory or what literally makes your mouth water—and this therefore increases flavor impact. It’s a win-win.

Oatmeal or Barley Risotto
Swap grains for rice in indulgent recipes. Substitute Stella cut oats for risotto rice, and quinoa or millet for a fried rice dish. This is a great way to add health benefits and come off as a creative genius.

Apple Turnover
Substitute combinations of cinnamon or vanilla where sugar is called for. Our minds register cinnamon and vanilla as sweet, but they aren’t. This is a great way to cut back on calories and bad carbs.