Nutri-Living Blog

On May 1st, 2012, I am happy to announce the launch of my new book, The Complete Idiot’s Guide ® to DASH Diet Cooking. The DASH (Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension) Eating Plan is a dietary program developed by the National Institutes of Health and has been proven to be one of the most effective and healthy diet plans available today.

It’s a healthy, balanced eating plan, low in sodium, rich in vegetables, fruits, whole grains, and low fat dairy products. Meats, nuts, beans and legumes are all permitted, although red meat, added sugars, and added fats should only eaten in moderation. The primary intention and benefit of the plan is to reduce the effects of hypertension. However, the DASH plan has also proven to be an effective weight loss and diabetes-friendly diet plan.

Read more »

Filed under: Cardiovascular / Heart Health, DASH Diet, DASH Diet Cooking, diabetes, Energy & Vitality, Food & Nutrition, Uncategorized on April 16th, 2012 | No Comments »

Are you ready to clean out the old and begin the new?

If you are, you may want to consider a Detoxification program.

If you are like many others, springtime is a time when you begin to refocus on your health. Many of us have spent the winter months allowing our routines to fade with the added stresses of the holiday season. We have eaten too much and exercised too little. It is time to get back on track!

Why is detoxification important?

Today, we are exposed to synthetic, often toxic chemicals on an unprecedented scale.

• Industrial chemicals and their pollutant run-offs in our water, pesticides, additives in our foods, heavy metals, anesthetics, residues from drugs, and environmental hormones are trapped within the human body in greater concentrations than at any other point in history.

• Every system of the body is affected, from tissue damage to sensory deterioration.

Many chemicals are so widespread that we are unaware of them.  But they have worked their way into our bodies faster than they can be eliminated, and are causing allergies and addictions in record numbers.  More than 2 million synthetic substances are known, 25,000 are added each year, and over 30,000 are produced on a commercial scale.

Only a tiny fraction is ever tested for toxicity.  A lot of them come to us from developing countries that have few safeguards in place.  This doesn’t even count the second-hand smoke, caffeine and alcohol overload, or daily stress that is an increasing part of our lives.

How can I tell if I’m toxic?  Signs and Symptoms

Neurological signs and symptoms include: Headaches, Alzheimer’s,Memory loss, Learning disorders, Parkinson’s disease.

Endocrine signs and symptoms include: Cancer, Thyroid Dysfunction, Adrenal/Stress, Fertility Problems, Abnormal pregnancy outcomes

Musculoskeletal signs include: Joint Pain/Chronic Pain, Chronic fatigue syndrome/Fibromyalgia, Muscle weakness

Multiple Chemical Sensitivity signs and symptoms include: Increasing sensitivity to exogenous exposures: odors, medications, etc. Allergies, Immune Dysfunction

Read more »

Filed under: Anti-aging, Chronic Disease, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, depression, Detoxification, Fibromyalgia, Food & Nutrition, Food Allergies & Intolerances on March 26th, 2012 | No Comments »

Meditation Method for Accessing the Quiet Place Within – by DavidPaul Doyle

A quiet mind is a peaceful mind. A peaceful mind is a mind that is joined in awareness with its Source.

There are many ways to quiet your mind to become aware of your Source — to become aware of the Presence of Love within you. Some of the methods we typically hear about include: doing what we love, listening to music, being in nature, being present with another or with an activity we are engaged in, and consciously breathing. All of these examples, and any other example that helps us to quiet our minds, have something in common — they are all demonstrations of relating with love.

When we relate to anything with love, we are joined in awareness with our Source, which is Love.

When we relate in a loving way to any thought, feeling, sensation, person, circumstance or any other “thing” we can identify or “label” in any way, we are joined in awareness with the Love of Source within us.

The mere fact of relating with love immediately restores our awareness to our True Nature.

In this moment, you can pick anything that you are aware of to practice this. You can pick something that you see with your eyes, something you hear with your ears, something you feel emotionally or physically, something you visualize within your mind, or any other thought or belief that you become aware of within you. Take any one of those items and simply relate to it in a loving way. Relate to it with compassion, understanding, kindness, acceptance, a blessing, gratitude, or any other “flavor of love” you can imagine.

When you do, you are in fact joining with the Source of all Love within you, which I call God.

When you join with Source in this way — consciously, with intention, and an open heart — your mind will become quiet because you are thinking with God. When you relate with love, you’re relating with the consciousness of your True Self. When you are joined with that consciousness, the ego becomes quiet and you quickly find yourself in that quiet place within where your True Voice can be heard.

You can practice this process with your eyes closed in meditation or you can practice this with your eyes open while moving about the world, relating to whatever you notice in a loving way.

Practice relating to what you become aware of in the world in this loving way, and see what happens when you do. Notice if your mind quiets down when you relate with love. Notice what happens to your judgments, fears, and resistance the moment you open your heart and relate to anything with love.

Read more »

Filed under: Love, Meditation, Spirituality and Personal Growth, Stress Management on March 3rd, 2012 | No Comments »

Enjoying an active and healthy sex life is essential to our wellbeing, and the foods we eat play a large role in whether we are in ensuring we feel in the mood.  Ten super foods to help increase libido include:

Pumpkin Seeds
Pumpkin seeds are one of the few foods that contain zinc, which is vital ensuring us vibrant sexual desire. Zinc is especially helpful for men as it helps to build healthy testosterone levels. These yummy seeds are also a rich source of omega 3 fatty acids, which are mandatory for sexual wellbeing.

Chocolate
Women have compared chocolate to sex for decades. Now research is revealing a strong scientific link between the two.  According to Italian researchers, women who eat chocolate regularly had the highest levels of desire, arousal and satisfaction from sex. Try eating dark chocolate

Celery
This sexual stimulator boosts a powerful substance known as androsterone, which is an odorless aphrodisiac in male perspiration that arouses the woman…or at least ensure they take a second glance.

Read more »

Filed under: Love, Uncategorized on February 10th, 2012 | No Comments »

Are you SAD?

Shorter days make many people feel anxious, especially as to-do lists grow longer near the holidays. But if you’re sleeping and eating more and you’ve felt depressed in past winters, you may have seasonal affective disorder (SAD).

Decreased daylight causes a decrease in Vitamin D and a hormonal imbalance in millions of people each fall and winter that leads to depression. It can begin in October or November and becomes more severe in the winter. If you know someone who always seems to feel great in spring and summer, but down in fall and winter, it may be seasonal affective disorder.

In addition to its seasonal nature, noticeable symptoms are craving carbohydrates and being tired or sleeping more. These symptoms may be accompanied by decreased energy, sadness, weight gain, loss of interest in sex, withdrawal from friends and family or difficulty concentrating on and accomplishing tasks. It is most common in women and among people in their 20s, 30s and 40s, but can affect children and older adults too.

Fortunately, initial treatment for SAD is easy. People with seasonal affective disorder almost always respond to light therapy. Seventy to eighty percent significantly improve within a week. A study performed in Canada tested light therapy against the commonly prescribed fluoxetine (Prozac) for SAD patients. The study found that both treatments relieved symptoms equally well, but the light therapy worked much faster, showing positive results in less than one week! Phototherapy has no known side effects, other than the potential for overuse. When you compare that to the multiple known side effects of prescribed antidepressants it makes sense to try the natural alternative first.

Light therapy increases the amount of vitamin D produce by the body, but some people may need more vitamin D. That’s where high-quality vitamin D supplementation can be very beneficial. If you’re dealing with seasonal affective disorder and suspect your vitamin D level is low, work with a healthcare provider to test your levels to verify your vitamin D status, and then work to get them back up to normal. Some people may need to take between 2000-6000 IU per day for several weeks to reach adequate levels and reverse symptoms of SAD.

Read more »

Filed under: Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, depression, Vitamins & minerals on February 5th, 2012 | No Comments »

Workers with severe radiation exposure at the Fukushima nuclear plant had major reduction in cancer risk when supplemented with vitamin C and other anti-oxidative nutrients. Sixteen men aged between 32 and 59 years worked 5 to 6 weeks in a radiation contaminated area, collecting contaminated water, measuring radiation levels, operating heavy machinery, and removing debris. Blood samples were obtained to measure whole blood counts and blood chemistry, plasma levels of free DNA, and 47 cancer related gene expressions.

Four workers who took intravenous vitamin C (25,000 mg) therapy before they went in, and continuously took anti-oxidative supplements during the working period, had no significant change in both free DNA and overall cancer risk.

Read more »

Filed under: Cancer, Orthomolecular Nutrition, Vitamins & minerals on February 1st, 2012 | No Comments »

It’s Dr. Deirdre here with a very special announcement!

As always it’s been my intention to provide you with the latest and most cutting-edge information and tools you need to heal yourself from fibromyalgia and to take advantage of the amazing resources available to you from the top medical professionals and leading health experts who can help you.

To better serve your needs and desires I have brought together 10 TOP FIBRO EXPERTS from across the globe in this, our 2nd edition of Fibromyalgia Insider Secrets: 10 Top Experts E-book and audio series. This is truly a work in progress containing all of the latest and greatest treatment strategies and protocols available to you today.
Read more »

Filed under: Chronic Disease, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, Fibromyalgia, Food & Nutrition on January 31st, 2012 | No Comments »

Can your personality affect the likelihood that you’ll develop a health condition? Some scientists believe that may be the case with fibromyalgia.

There is no known cause for fibromyalgia, a condition that is characterized by chronic widespread pain for unknown reasons. A new study investigated the behavioral and psychological factors of the disorder.

The researchers discovered common ground in the personalities and behaviors of patients who suffer from the condition.

Read more »

Filed under: Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, Fibromyalgia, Stress Management on January 24th, 2012 | No Comments »

Over the last 30 years there has been a dramatic increase in the incidence of obesity in the United States and around the world. Check this site out to see the trends of obesity from 1985 -2006 in the United States. The causes of obesity are complex and likely multifold. It would be easier if we could just point the finger at increasing portion sizes, consuming too much fast food, too much fat, or our inactive lifestyles. Those are contributing culprits, but they aren’t the only ones.

In the United States this increase in obesity also has paralleled a shift away from the use of sucrose (table sugar) toward the use of High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS). The consumption had increased >1000% from 1970 to 1990 and continues to increase today. Why the increase in consumption? Is it healthier? No, HFCS is more sweet, prolongs shelf life and is cheaper to produce when compared to sucrose (table sugar), making it a good choice for food and beverage manufacturers.

This association led to a hypothesis that an increase in fructose intake from HFCS is a causative factor for obesity. HFCS is substantially higher in fructose content than sucrose; HFCS bypasses physiological processes that regulate satiety (decrease in hunger). Soft drinks are sweetened with HFCS; Soft drink consumption has increased.

Read more »

Filed under: depression, diabetes, Food Additives, Hypertension / High Blood Pressure, Hypoglycemia, Uncategorized, Weight & Wellness on December 16th, 2011 | No Comments »

Waking up in the middle of the night?

How well are you sleeping lately? Do you wake up between 1:00 and 3:00 a.m. on a regular basis? This is a common symptom I hear from clients who are struggling with low energy and don’t understand why. Functional wellness gives us a clear understanding of the physiology behind what is typically going on in this instance:

If we look at the typical American diet that is full of refined carbohydrates and simple sugars we can then see the chain reaction this leads to in our bodies. When you flood your bloodstream with these refined and simple sugars, your body increases its insulin production to force all that sugar into your cells. For a moment, your cells have a quick source of energy. But that energy is used up very quickly and because of the large increase in insulin, your bloodstream is left in a state of hypoglycemia.

Read more »

Filed under: Fibromyalgia, Food & Nutrition, Hypoglycemia, Sleep, Stress Management on December 3rd, 2011 | No Comments »