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“Can’t candy coat this…this is simply f*cked up”

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Guest Article by the founder of Pangea Organics, Joshua Onysko.

“Something to chew on when you think about health care….” is how the post began from the founder of Pangea Organics, Joshua Onysko. He’s a friend who has been advocating for and designing healthy products his entire life. As I read on, I realized his words had to be shared. So here is the post:

“Kellogg’s spent $32 million last year in advertising Pop Tarts alone. Coca-Cola spent $269 million advertising its flagship product (Coca-Cola). Pepsi spent $150 million just to advertise the brightly colored sugar-water that is Gatorade. It’s the sugar water for people who do sports. These are numbers that Marion Nestle, professor of nutrition, food studies, and public health, highlighted in a lecture at New York University on Thursday night. “Think about what that money could do for education, for social welfare,” Nestle implored. “But that money is spent getting people to buy sugar.”

Americans spend roughly $3 trillion on healthcare annually, about 40% of that spending is used to treat illnesses related to sugar consumption, I’ll do some math for you…that’s over $3k a person a year to treat sugar issues. That’s just sugar.

Less than one half of one percent of all agricultural subsidies went to production of fruits and vegetables in 2017.

Despite the fact that fruits and vegetables are the only foods that experts encourage us to eat with abandon, all fruits, vegetables, and nuts are considered “specialty crops” by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Less than 5% of land planted with food goes to growing fruits and vegetables. More than 50 percent goes to growing soybeans and corn, to feed animals and refine into sugar.

Can’t candy coat this…this is simply f*cked up.

Last year over $72 billion was spent on ADHD drugs. Do you see where I’m heading? If I was a parent I would be burning sugar fields in protest. Taking ADHD drugs and consuming sugar is like taking the poison an the antidote in the same pill.

So that’s sugar. Americans also spend a cool $100 billion on tobacco, the industry spends $8.5 billion on advertising and up until a few years ago we were actually subsidizing tobacco farmers. What does all this puffing cost tax payers? We spend $300 billion a year treating tobacco related illness. Put that in your pipe and smoke it.

Drug and alcohol addiction costs Americans a cool Trillion dollars a year. We could give every person over 18 a check for $4000. The alcohol industry spends $2 billion a year in advertising. Cheers!

In short 72% of our annual healthcare spending is spent treating poor lifestyle choices. Let that sink in.

Our nation has so many systemic issues, so so many. Our political system has mastered the art of distracting and dividing us from the real issues. We need to realize that we can only get from where we are now, to where we need to be by working together and educating ourselves on real issues we are facing every day.

Shall we?

Feel free to share.”

Please do.

Kick Your Sugar Addiction

Addicted to Sugar? 6 Suggestions to Blast Cravings

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Sugar cravings are a beast, and my dear friend, Dr. Frank Lipman, has some wicked smart advice for tackling them. Make sure to read the article all the way through, as his strategies are sound and smart. As most of you know, sugar is highly addictive and can wreak havoc on everything from your waistline to your complexion. Please read and share this insightful article from Dr. Lipman and his team at Be Well

Have you ever noticed how when you’re short on sleep, stressed-out, or exhausted, you tend to crave carbs? Especially the crappy, nutrient-free variety that, under normal circumstances, you could easily resist?

Turns out that when it comes to cravings, your gut plays a far bigger role than previously thought and sheer willpower will not be enough to defeat them. So, how to loosen their steely grip and slay cravings for good? Here’s where to start:

CAVING IN TO CRAVINGS ISN’T A FAILURE OF WILLPOWER

Cravings are probably one of the most common barriers to maintaining a healthy weight and/or dropping extra pounds. They’re also adept at sabotaging your diet, so when you give in to them, poor choices and pangs of guilt are almost inevitable. But where do those craving come from? Why is it so hard to physically resist their siren call even though in our heads, we know better? Turns out, your brain isn’t solely driving your cravings. New research has shown that those thousands of bacterial strains—good, bad, or indifferent—that live in your gut are influencing your behavior. Some of them are driving cravings as an evolutionary survival mechanism, so you’d be wise to pay a lot more attention to the fuel you’re filling up on.

SIDESTEP THE CRAVINGS CREATORS

Inside your intestines, you’ve got trillions of bacteria—collectively known as the microbiome—that are sending messages to the brain. When you give them the wrong foods (like sugar and processed foods), the bacteria wind up sending unhealthy messages to your brain instead of healthy ones. However, when you eat a fiber-and-nutrient-dense food like broccoli, the bacteria feast on the fiber, digest it, and release a gas that goes right up to your brain (with help from the vagus nerve), essentially telling it that it’s been well-fed—no need for the cheesecake! So, simply put, if you avoid foods that generate the cravings messages, you’ll stop cravings before they start.

YOUR BELLY’S CHATTING WITH YOUR BRAIN

According to a recent study by the University of Glasgow and Imperial College of London, the foods you eat impact both the microbiome and your brain. This means that what you feed your belly bacteria matters even more than previously thought because it influences cravings, not to mention mood and emotions. It all starts with short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs), the chemicals that are made in the colon when you eat certain foods, particularly fiber (which, by the way, your helpful, or “good” gut bacteria, thrive on). Those SCFAs in your gut then send signals to your brain, and depending on what you’ve eaten, SCFAs activate feelings of satiety or trigger cravings.

In the study, when shown images of high-calorie foods, participants who ate foods that produced SCFAs showed a reduced area of activity in the reward centers of their brain—in other words, less craving. What’s more, participants also ate 10 percent less food, adding credence to the idea that SCFAs can play a role in supporting weight-control efforts.

DIG IN TO THE CRAVINGS KILLERS

So, to help kill cravings, you’ll need to feed your gut bacteria more of the foods that trigger SCFA production. Which foods will do the trick? You can start with an L-Glutamine supplement, which can help your cravings for carbohydrates. Also eat lots of fiber-rich prebiotic foods – your body can’t digest the fiber on its own, but your good gut bacteria loves to feast on it. These prebiotics break down into substances that help keep your body healthy, in balance, and less prone to cravings and blood-sugar crashes. Those prebiotic edibles are easy-to-find, everyday staples  like asparagus, artichokes, beans, broccoli, dandelion greens, garlic, jicama, leeks, and onions. To enjoy their crave-taming effects, shoot for one or two servings a day.

C’MON, GET HAPPY

Fiber goes beyond just curbing cravings: It can help boost your mood. It’s important to realize that all of the brain neurochemicals, particularly serotonin and dopamine, are actually made in your gut. In fact, most of your serotonin—aka your body’s naturally occurring “feel-good” chemical—is made in the gut, not your brain. So again, getting more fiber into your gut has a profound positive effect on mood and emotional health. In other words, when you’re eating well and feeling good, cravings have considerably less power (or may not come up at all), versus when you’re eating poorly and producing few, if any, feel-good chemicals.

MANAGE YOUR MICROBIOME

Tired of cravings conning you into making lousy food choices? Then push back and show ’em who’s boss. Follow this crave-curbing road map and before you know it, you’ll be on easy street —and you may even drop a few pounds to boot:

  • Get into fiber—ideally, at least 30 grams a day, but if you’ve not been eating much fiber, integrate it into your diet slowly to give your body time to adjust.
  • Spread it out throughout the day—shooting for roughly 10 grams of fiber per meal is an easy way to get you to think about where to sneak more fiber into your daily diet.
  • Pile on fiber-rich prebiotics—foods like asparagus, artichokes, beans, broccoli, dandelion greens, garlic, jicama, leeks, and onions will curb cravings. Low-fiber foods will have the opposite effect.
  • Hang onto your stalks and stems—never cut them off! Think of them as the ultimate fiber-loaded treat for your good bacteria, so let the bugs feast, as frequently as possible!
  • Take a probiotic—a good quality probiotic can help restore and sustain the beneficial gut flora that keeps your microbiome healthy and in balance.
  • Balance meals and snacks—every time you eat, make sure there’s a balance of fiber, protein, and good fat on your plate to fill you up, give your gut bacteria plenty of fiber to feed on, prevent cravings, and keep blood sugar stable.
  • Hold the sugar—when you stop eating sugar-packed foods, cravings retreat, so ditch processed foods and baked goods, which are loaded with sugar—and devoid of the fiber your microbiome needs to prevent cravings.
  • Cast a wide culinary net—don’t get stuck in a rut eating the same healthy foods all the time. A more diverse, nutrient- and fiber-rich diet will give your microbiome more healthy material to work with, which in turn will tamp down cravings and help keep immunity strong.
  • Remember who’s boss—yes, the bacteria in your gut are manipulating cravings, mood, and emotional health, but ultimately you are in charge of how you feed them. My recommendation? Take care of your bacteria with nutrient- and fiber-dense foods at every meal—and they’ll take care of you.
calmpopsicles

A Supplement for Kids When Things Get Stressful

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When I saw this article from my friends at Natural Vitality, it really rang true. Our pediatrician first turned us on to magnesium, and now our entire family takes it.  So take a peak at this article from my partner, and please share with those you love.

To help counteract the stress of daily life, we need healthy magnesium levels to balance out the calcium in our bodies. While calcium makes muscles contract, magnesium lets them relax. This interplay is what allows us to combat not only stress but also muscle cramping, fatigue, constipation, insomnia, anxiety and depression.

Unfortunately, about 80 percent of people don’t get enough magnesium through diet alone. That’s why many adults use magnesium supplementation to restore balance. But what about kids? Between academic, social and other pressures, kids are no strangers to stress—and many of them struggle with stress-induced sleep as well as digestive and emotional disorders.

“Magnesium promotes muscle relaxation; so it can help kids relax so that they calm down and fall asleep more easily,” says Tamara Evans, ND, a naturopathic physician in Maui, Hawaii. “It can also help with constipation and muscle cramps. Kids who deal with these things may do better with a more equal magnesium–calcium ratio.”

How Much?

The Food and Nutrition Board (FNB) establishes dosage recommendations for supplements. Here are its upper intake levels—the maximum recommended dosage—for supplemental magnesium in kids:

1–3 years: 65 mg
4–8 years: 110 mg
9–18 years: 350 mg

The FNB has no established dosage recommendations for magnesium supplements in children under 12 months; so you’ll want to work extra closely with a doctor before giving magnesium to an infant. And remember: if you decide to give your child supplemental magnesium, it needs to be balanced with calcium.

“Magnesium can be safely supplemented in kids at a 1:2 ratio with calcium—for example, 125 mg of magnesium and 250 mg of calcium,” says Evans.

Diet is another important factor to consider when deciding how much magnesium to give your kids.

“When thinking about magnesium dosage, you’ll want to consider your child’s diet first,” Evans points out. “If they have a lot of dairy in their diet, they’re probably getting quite a bit of calcium; so the 1:2 ratio should be adjusted accordingly.

“As is true of any supplement, we certainly don’t want to give kids too much magnesium,” says Evans. “If you’re unsure about the proper dosage, talk with your child’s doctor. They can consider the child’s weight and dietary needs before making a recommendation.”

What Form?

Oxide. Citrate. Malate. Glycinate. Chelate. The list goes on. Magnesium supplements come in a variety of forms. They also come in different formats—pills, drinkable powders and creams.

“Many forms of magnesium are appropriate for kids, but I typically recommend magnesium citrate,” Evans says. “It is cost-effective and more easily absorbed than many other forms.”

Kids Natural Calm Multi is made with magnesium citrate.

“Any type of delivery system is fine, whether it’s capsules or powders or creams,” says Evans, “as long as parents are aware of the dosage.”

school lunch

School Lunch Can Be Done Right: 16 Examples

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Over 31 million children in the United States consume most of their daily caloric intake at school. For many children, it may be the only food they eat regularly each day. But improving the quality of school lunches offers an effective way to ensure that half of what children eat is healthy, nutritious, and sustainably grown. School lunch programs that source organic, local, nutritious, and sustainable foods impact children’s health and also the health of our planet. Food Tank has compiled a list of 16 school lunch programs making strides to improve children’s health.

  1. The Baltimore Public School System, Baltimore, Maryland: The public school system in Baltimore was the first to adopt “Meatless Mondays,” which benefit students’ health as well as the environment. BCPS serves locally grown fruits, vegetables, and milk, and teaches its students how to grow their food at Great Kids Farm, a 33-acre teaching farm.
  2. The Berkeley Unified School District, Berkeley, California: The Berkeley Unified School District is committed to serving nutritious, delicious, and locally grown food to students. All processed foods, hydrogenated oils, high fructose corn syrup, refined sugars, refined flour, dyes, nitrates, additives, and chemicals are banned. Local, organic milk is served throughout cafeterias in addition to organic fruits and vegetables as much as possible.
  3. The Burlington School Food Project, Burlington, Vermont: The Burlington School Food Project provides free breakfast and dinner to 4,000 students in the Burlington School District. The project is dedicated to serving local food from farms in the area and was chosen as a model Farm to School program by the USDA in 2010.
  4. Farmhouse Café and Bakery, El Prado, New Mexico: The Farmhouse Café sponsors school garden projects, which serve over 450 meals a day at participating schools and teach children how to grow vegetables and make healthy food choices.
  5. The Finnish National Board of Education, Finland: Finland was the first country in the world to serve free school meals dating back to 1948. School meals are designed to support students’ health and to give them energy for their studies. Local fish, vegetables, fruit, and grains are featured on students’ plates to form tasty, colorful, balanced meals. Finnish law requires that half of the plate be filled with fresh and cooked vegetables.
  6. The French Ministry of National Education, France: School children in France are required to sit at the lunch table for at least a half an hour to eat a full meal. Fried food, foods high in fat, ketchup, and sweets are all limited. Meals are well-balanced and include vegetables, a warm main dish, cheese, and usually fruit for dessert. The government charges families on a sliding scale, which averages US$2.56–3.12.
  7. The Healthy Schools Campaign, Chicago, Illinois: Over 350,000 students in Chicago public schools eat healthier food thanks to the Healthy Schools Campaign. Produce is regionally grown, and chicken is raised without antibiotics in nearby Indiana.
  8. Italian Ministry of Education, University, and Research, Italy: Rome has an incredibly progressive school food program. About 150,000 meals are served daily at 740 public schools. Ninety-six percent of meals are made from scratch, and 70 percent of ingredients are organic. Much of the produce and meat is local or regional, and menus reflect the seasonality of crops grown in the region.
  9. The Good Earth School Lunch Program, Marin County, California: Over 4,000 children in twelve schools throughout Marin County participate in the healthy, organic, and nutritious Good Earth School Lunch Program.
  10. Kitchen Garden Project, United Kingdom: Celebrity chef Jamie Oliver launched the Kitchen Garden Project to teach primary school children in the U.K. how to grow, cook, and consume fresh and local produce. The Kitchen Garden Project believes that introducing children to fresh fruits and vegetables at a young age is crucial to developing life-long healthy eating habits.
  11. Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science, and Technology, Japan: In Japan, school lunch is referred to as Shokuiku, which translates to food and nutrition education. The free school lunch program aims to promote mental and physical health and is based on government-established nutritional criteria. The program encourages sustainability by promoting environmentally friendly food production in local communities, encourages table manners, and celebrates the enjoyment of eating.
  12. Shelby County Nutrition Services, Tennessee: Over 110,000 students are served breakfast and lunch daily at Shelby County public schools, where Nutrition Services focuses on providing nutritious, healthy food to improve educational achievements. Nutrition Services are connected with the Farm to School Movement, which aims to serve healthy meals in school cafeterias, provide agriculture and nutrition education, improve student nutrition, and support local and regional farms.
  13. Ministry of Education South Korea: Over 800,000 school children in the public school system in Seoul receive hot, healthy lunches at school. The healthy and nutritious meal reflects Korean cuisine. Students are served protein, rice, kimchi (pickled vegetables), and other vegetables on the side.
  14. The Sitka “Fish to Schools” Program, Sitka, Alaska: The Sitka “Fish to Schools” Program aims to enhance students’ understanding of local seafood resources by including locally-caught seafood in the school lunch program. Students also receive education about the local fishing culture.
  15. Urban Sprouts, San Francisco, California: Since 2006, Urban Sprouts has partnered with schools throughout San Francisco to provide garden-based education in which students experience planting, growing, harvesting, and consuming crops directly from the school garden.
  16. Wellness in the Schools, New York, New York: Wellness in the Schools (WITS) encourages healthy eating, environmental awareness, and fitness as a way of life for public school kids in New York City. WITS forms partnerships with school leadership, teachers, chefs, coaches, parents, and kids, to develop and implement programs that provide nutritious foods, environments, and opportunities for kids to play, learn, and grow.

Originally published at Food Tank.

organic food

How Important is Teaching Good Nutrition?

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For well over a decade, I have known Dr. Alan Greene and his wife, Cheryl.  He is not only a leading MD out of Stanford in pediatric health, but they are also parents of four. The other day, I received this note from Dr. Greene.  It is such an important message that I wanted to share it with you.

Please read and share with those you know raising our future.  

With all that we know about tobacco, how can people still smoke? Easy. They’re enticed by big business; they enjoy it; it’s cool; and it’s very, very habit forming.

Now for the shock–poor nutritional choices cause every bit as much cancer, death, disability, and chronic disease as cigarettes do. The modern American diet is public health threat number one. With all that we know about junk food, how can people still eat it? Easy. They’re enticed by big business; they enjoy it; it’s cool; and it’s very, very habit forming.

When I was growing up, my father grew tomatoes in our backyard. These vine-ripened tomatoes were absolutely delicious–far better than any others I can remember having. As plants grow, the new growth is built from materials taken from the soil. Nothing can be incorporated into plants unless it is present in the soil. Plants grown in depleted soils are just not the same. Commercial fertilizers can put the basic required minerals back into the ground, but this simplified soil is not as rich as organically maintained soil. Plants do the best they can with whatever materials are available.

When my daughter was born, she weighed 7 pounds, 6 ounces. By the time she was 8 years old she weighed over 50 pounds. All of the materials for this dramatic increase in size came from the food she has eaten. Like the tomato plant, Claire’s body does the best it can with available materials.

When I look at my children playing football in the park, I am looking at structures built from the food they have eaten, the composition depending on the nutrients that were available at the time. When you begin to really see this, you begin to feel differently about hot dogs…

Getting children to eat well is far easier said than done. For the next 5 weeks in this newsletter, I’ll give you some tips for making delicious and healthy changes. We’ll start today with the foundation principle. This won’t solve the challenges by itself, but without this principle, other tips won’t work as well in the long run.

Sometime around 9 months of age, many babies begin to think that smooshed baby foods are not where it’s at. They develop an intense desire to eat whatever it is that they have seen you eating for the past 9 months. This is a critical part of child development because your child will begin to strongly imprint your health patterns. Eating junk food while offering our children vegetables just doesn’t work.

I can remember the brave little face of my son. Daddy was drinking a cup of coffee. My boy kept asking for a sip. I declined by saying that it tastes yucky to kids and making a face. He persisted, and I gave him a little sip. His face combined shock, disgust, and disappointment. His eyes got big and watered. Then he smiled and said, “More.” It reminded me of the time I smoked a cigar offered to me by an older boy on a scouting trip. Kids’ desire to imitate at this stage is a deep, powerful force. Tap into it.

Many of us have unhealthy habits that we’ve accumulated over the years. The miracle of having a child is often our best opportunity to shed those habits that don’t serve us and to develop new ones that do. Our parenting instincts make it easier to do something for our children that we would not do for ourselves alone. These changes, of course, directly benefit our children as they follow our examples. They also benefit our children by giving them healthy, energetic parents, both now and in the years to come. They add freshness to our marriages or adult relationships. And of course, they are what our own bodies are crying out for.

So when your child begins wanting food from your plate, let it be fresh fruits and vegetables plus whole grains. When he or she wants to taste what you are drinking, let it be something you would be happy for your child to drink. Don’t let your baby’s foray into the world of adult foods be potato chips, French fries, or sugary treats.

Of course, budding toddlers will want some foods that you don’t eat. They won’t take all the ones that you do. Still, don’t miss out on the power of imitation to make healthy eating habits natural for your child. And remember, we can’t give something that we don’t have.

When you give children good nutrition, you are giving them the nutrient building blocks that literally become the eyes you look into; the knees that get scraped; the bones that support their growing bodies; their inquisitive, curious brains; and the hearts that pump quietly night and day down through the years.

For an in-depth look at infant nutrition, check out my book Feeding Baby Green.

Naturepedic_EOS_Organic_Mattress

EOS Classic Mattress

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Have you ever bought a mattress, only to change your mind after sleeping on it? I honestly never thought about it. I gave so much thought to the food in our kitchen, but was always rather mindless about this purchase.

That is until I met the founder of Naturepedic.

Did you know? We spend 30% of our lives in bed and on our mattresses. Think about it. 8 hours a day. Day after day, year after year. It’s an intimate relationship!

At Naturepedic, they get it. They want you sleeping on the safest ingredients possible, so they built their beds that way.

They believe your bedroom should be the showroom. Well…..I’m not quite there yet! I love the privacy for our bedroom. It feels like it could be tucked away in a private cottage at the beach! Which was intentional, as it is super personal and our oasis from the craziness of having four kids!

But man, does Naturepedic get it. And they have choices!

We checked out their showroom in Denver. I took our littlest with us, and she was in heaven. The first thing you will notice is how good their 
showroom smells. Their products are made with organic cotton and wool. The mattresses are not made with ingredients you can’t pronounce, they are not coated with chemicals or doused in ingredients that could combust at any moment that you may have never thought about.  They are made in Ohio in a factory that I’ve had the luck of visiting, by people and a family who cares.  The founder started the company after the birth of his first grandchild.

When you walk into a store, you will quickly realize that there are a lot of choices, and with their layer swap program, you can swap out any 3″ comfort layer within 90 days. Even after 90 days, you can still order new layers and change the support or comfort of your mattress without having to replace the entire mattress. In other words, you get to custom create your bed and mattress.

How do I know?  We did it. My youngest and I went into their Denver showroom. We had no idea what we were doing. Seriously, I can’t remember the last time we bought a mattress. And with custom bedding, enabling you to choose what you want on each side of your mattress (!), I was so grateful for their help. We chose the EOS Classic. With their 12″ profile, the EOS organic mattress can transform from an extra-firm all the way to a plush—on either side. So if you want one thing and your spouse wants another, they’ve got you covered.

It consists of a 3″ top comfort layer and an 8″ bottom support layer – all wrapped up in our signature EOS organic mattress encasement for premium quality and performance plus a finish that screams luxury!

If you’re not sure what to choose (I honestly had no idea, I knew I just didn’t want something too soft and squishy!), you can try one! You can always swap out your comfort layer(s) for free within 90 days and only pay for shipping (details). For those with latex sensitivities, you can build your dream organic mattress by substituting latex for microcoils.  And that is truly awesome, as I have a sister with a latex allergy, and she would need to do just this.

I had never given any thought to all of these pieces.  Unlike memory foam and some latex mattresses, the EOS helps you avoid harmful chemicals and unnecessary additives so you can “breathe easy.” Improve your indoor air quality and reduce your chemical exposure by eiminating these chemicals in the first place. The EOS has been thoroughly tested for chemical emissions and helps promote a cleaner, more chemical-free sleep environment. They’ve won and been awarded many times over.

On top of that (or inside of it!), Naturepedic uses only U.S. grown and certified organic cotton as filling for its mattresses and buys directly from USDA certified sources. Organic cotton is the purest form of cotton and a healthier alternative to synthetic fabrics and foams. This increases purity, organic reliability and support for U.S. farmers.

Talia Gold

Talia’s Letter: Food Allergies and Living a Life at Risk

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Recently, I heard from Elynne Gold, the mother of a 15 year old who is now speaking out about life threatening food allergies.  She wanted to get the word out about her daughter’s advocacy.

Talia’s parents raised a strong and beautiful advocate. No one choose this condition, it chooses you. What you then choose to do with it is up to you.

We hope that Talia’s letter will serve as an inspiration.  It is introduced in an email that we received from her mom.

Talia and her family

My 15-year-old daughter suffered her 5th severe anaphylactic reaction within the past  year and a half this past weekend. Post reaction is filled with extreme anxiety about food allergies. One evening after this reaction, while not sleeping, she sat awake in bed writing her thoughts on her phone. She really believes she needs to do something.

As a 15-year-old what she feels she can do is help raise awareness. Awareness about the severity of food allergies and how they shouldn’t be taken lightly. How they should be understood. How they shouldn’t be a “joke.” I awoke in the morning to the following text.

She sent to me what she had written laying awake at 3:00am. She wants to share. We want to share. This is the text:

TALIA’S LETTER

Here is a little something I think is so crucial for everyone, no matter who you are, to read…

I am included in the 1 in 13 children who was born with severe, severe anaphylactic food allergies.

To most people on the street, they don’t think much of it (“Oh it’s not a big deal, she just won’t eat nuts”), and others even call it a blessing in disguise (“You’re lucky you are allergic to all those things and can’t eat it because you don’t give in to unhealthyfoods”). If I learned anything from a young age, it’s that you can’t always blame those who don’t understand, and that is the point of this message. Anaphylactic reactions, like the kind I have, are life threatening, and in the heat of the moment it is a battle between life or death.

I’ve had five severe reactions in the past year and a half, and each time it doesn’t get any less scary. Since I was a little baby, my parents knew about my severe allergies, which were to many foods. They knew the severity of it, and kept me safe. I only ate what my mom cooked, brought my own food to restaurants, and followed the simple rule of “no ingredients, no eat.” Luckily as I grew older I outgrew some of my allergies, leaving me with remaining allergies to peanuts, all tree nuts, eggs, dairy and peas.

As I grew more independent the reactions began to start. I won’t go into major detail of the events of each reaction, but each one included the same symptoms of horrible stomach pain, nausea, confusion/dizziness, loss of consciousness, and most importantly I was not able to breathe.

My epinephrine auto-injector, a life line for an allergic person, saved my life four times. But the thing about all these reactions is I was being diligent. I was being careful. I thought I was being safe. But it was the lack of understanding of anaphylactic allergies in the world that played a huge role in all my reactions.

I always express to everyone always how severely allergic I am to peanuts, tree nuts, eggs, dairy and peas to take precaution; and at restaurants to clean out the equipment so I am safe. And I can say it 1000 times, but in truth I am trusting these employees with my life. From accidentally ingesting almond milk that is contaminating my fruit juice, because the employee didn’t listen and clean out the blender, or from a granola bar packaged on poorly cleaned equipment that was shared with nuts, I suffered severe repercussions.

I am 1 in 13 people who live with this curse, who feel as though it’s not fair they can’t grab a juice with a friend without risking crossing the line of life or death. Life with allergies is not glorious, or lucky, and it never will be. But with the spreading of allergy awareness we can help save so many lives and protect those that do have to live this way.

Knowledge and awareness can turn a person’s life with anaphylactic allergies from a doomed ending to a hopeful one, to a happy one. Life with allergies stinks, but we have the power to save many, with only the price of knowledge. So contribute. Spread food allergy awareness. Turn someone’s fear into hope, and give them, people like me, a happy ending.

—Talia Gold – 15 years old

gut-health-happy-tummy-

How Magnesium Eases Constipation

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You guys know that I am a huge fan of magnesium. I’ve written a lot about it being a magic mineral that helps address so many issues—anxiety, sleep, stress and more. Our pediatrician first turned us onto it when our oldest started middle school (go figure!). But there’s something else that magnesium helps alleviate that nobody wants to talk about—constipation.

Constipation is a chronic issue that can undermine your energy, digestion and detoxification, as well as fuel inflammation and disease. Who hasn’t experienced that?  Thankfully. there is so much talk about gut health today. While there are several underlying reasons that can cause constipation, you can often get things moving—and gain relief—with a plant-based diet and the help of magnesium.

How Magnesium Eases Constipation

The body needs adequate magnesium to keep your digestion running smoothly. Studies have shown low magnesium intake correlates to higher rates of constipation. Conversely, magnesium supplements have been shown to work better than bulk laxatives in some patients with constipation.

The reason why magnesium citrate is an excellent choice as a gentle laxative is because it works in two ways. First, magnesium helps to relax muscles within the intestinal wall, increasing your ability to go to the bathroom. Second, magnesium works as an osmotic, pulling water into the bowels and making stool softer and easier to move.

How to Get Enough Magnesium

Getting enough magnesium through your diet is becoming increasingly difficult. Even if you eat lots of good sources like beans and leafy greens, most of today’s crops are grown in soil so depleted in minerals that even the healthiest food is low in this essential mineral.

Supplementing with Natural Vitality’s Calm will ensure you’re getting enough of this foundational mineral to help keep your bowels running smoothly. As with vitamin C, you can’t overdose on magnesium—anything above the amount needed by the body will be eliminated through the bowels, kidneys or through sweat. If you experience an uncomfortable laxative effect, simply decrease your dosage or space it out over the day.

I hate that our food and the soil we grow it in isn’t as healthy as we want it to be. I wish we could get everything we needed in our diets, but it is becoming increasingly tough, and I am grateful for my partners like Natural Vitality for the work they do to keep our lives running smoothly.

parentstress

Got Stress? Meet “Nature’s Chill Pill”

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21st century living requires us to manage stress. Sometimes it gets out of control: our endless news cycle, politics, a new diagnosis, bullying, social media. The list goes on and on.

What few people know is that our ability to fight stress can be impacted by how much magnesium we have in our system. Most Americans are actually deficient in magnesium. Some estimate that as many as 75% of us are deficient in this mineral.

Is that a big deal? I had no idea until we met with our doctor. But it is. Our bodies use magnesium in a number of systems: cardiovascular health, brain health, adrenal health, muscle and bone health and hormone health.

Magnesium is a dietary mineral that is essential to over 300 enzyme reactions in our bodies. It also is part of over 600 metabolic functions. Its ability to fight stress and anxiety has given in the nickname “nature’s chill pill.”

So where can we find it?

  • Almonds
  • Sunflower seeds
  • Avocados
  • Spinach
  • Pumpkin seeds
  • Cashews
  • Black beans
  • Brazil Nuts
  • Peanut butter
  • Whole grain breads
  • Avocado
  • And supplements (see below).

Signs of Magnesium Deficiency

A lot of us are walking around deficient in magnesium and have no idea. I didn’t know until our pediatrician alerted us to the symptoms. Some of the signs of magnesium deficiency include:

  • Anxiety
  • Inability to sleep
  • Brain fog
  • Inability to concentrate/focus
  • Frequent muscle cramps
  • Dark circles under the eyes
  • A short fuse for stress
  • Sleepless nights
  • Facial tics
  • Restless leg syndrome
  • Constipation
  • Headaches

Granted, these symptoms can mean a lot of things, so always meet with your doctor to discuss magnesium and how adding a magnesium supplement might be able to help you and your family. That’s how we first learned about it. Our pediatrician recommended it for our entire family, speaking to how deficient Americans are and how easy it is to supplement. We are huge fans of Natural Vitality’s CALM. The kids love it, too. There’s a reason magnesium is called a magic mineral. And once you know better, you can do better.

And given how stressful the world can be, it’s reassuring to know that “Nature’s Chill Pill” can help us tackle it.

My friends and partners over at Natural Vitality are offering free samples HERE to get your started.

 

Food-for-Thought

Watch and Share: Food for Thought Webinar with Dr. Frank Lipman and EWG

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I was asked by my dear friend, Dr Frank Lipman to moderate this month’s Be Well Workshop. It featured Dr. Lipman, a NYC-based physician and the founder of Be Well and Ken Cook, founder of Environmental Working Group (EWG).

It was a very important conversation, in which we talked about the correlation between our food supply, the rise of chronic disease and conditions, and the influence that money has had on the science. All experts shared their mutual viewpoint on the issue and encouraged consumers to take action.

“What we are realizing is that the food system from the 20th century cannot feed 21st century families. We are too allergic, we are too diabetic, we are battling too many autoimmune conditions and too many diseases—and we need food that’s free from a lot of the ingredients we’ve been using the 20th century.”  —Robyn O’Brien

“I always suggest to eat as close to nature as possible. I have this motto: if it’s made by god, it’s probably good; if it’s made by man, be careful. So I encourage patients and readers to know the source of their food, know your farmer, shop at farmer’s markets, speak to your farmers and encourage them to know their clients’ needs.”
—Dr. Frank Lipman

“Do something that’s going to make you feel successful; make you feel like you are on a winning streak and that might mean just making some slight changes in the produce aisle; more and more choices available in large grocery stores are now organic than before, like potatoes, carrots, spinach, fresh lettuce—all of these are a significant portion of the organic produce supply because of what consumers have done and how farmers have responded.” —Ken Cook

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