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If you’re in pursuit of achieving better health, you should be tracking – where you’re at, where you want to be and what’s standing in your way.

Setting aside time each month for personal reflection helps us determine some important things as we move through the process of change. Here are some reasons I use it personally and professionally:

1. Brings awareness to our present state. This can mean physically or mentally/emotionally, and all are equally important. What is currently going on with your health? Are you where you want to be?

2. What challenges have you encountered over the past month? What did you do to move past those challenges? This helps us see what we were up against and how strong we really are when need be.

3. Allows us an opportunity to analyze what we might have been able to do differently to stay aligned with our goal. This is not about judging yourself, this is about learning from experience – so that you can take that information and use it in future similar situations.

4. What areas of your life did you strengthen and cultivate? Yes, pat yourself on the back! Maybe you learned a new skill like yoga or you built new friendships or came up with new strategies to use moving forward. Whatever it is, celebrate it!

There are so many benefits to personal reflection not listed here but rest assured, it will bring awareness, understanding and transformation if you practice it monthly.

Below is a FREE template that I love to use for reflection and staying aligned with my health goals. Grab yours now!

Monthly Reflections

The history of sugar is a fascinating but troubling story. If you have time to do a little research, you might agree. We won’t delve into the depths of that today but I do want to speak to what happens when we consume sugar and ways you can reduce your cravings for sugar in a sustainable way for the benefit of longevity and better health. 

If you crave sugar (or foods that easily convert to sugar like bread, pasta or rice etc.), feel like you lose control with sugary foods and eventually eat more than you planned to have, you are not alone. 

Did you know that the term “White Gold” is a phrase used for both sugar as well as cocaine? 

They share some common reactions in the body; both have very similar effects on the brain, causing the release of the neurotransmitter dopamine as well as activating opioid receptors.  

Dopamine and opioids activate the reward centers in our brains, make us feel good and provide us with quick energy, all of which cause the body to want more and more. The more we consume sugar, the more we need to reach that state of “high” we previously experienced. Essentially, we build up tolerance and crave more and more over time. 

And, withdrawal is HARD! 

One of the bigger issues with sugar cravings versus cocaine addiction is that sugar is available (legally) everywhere we turn. And just to make matters more complicated, food is a necessity for human survival unlike cocaine or other recreational drugs. 

So, we are a society addicted to sugar, using it in the mornings to get us up and running, in the afternoons to make it through a busy day, and even in the evenings as a means to relax and enjoy our lives. It’s found in every corner of the grocery store, even in “healthy” soups and other products we wouldn’t expect to find it. 

For all transparency, there are other reasons we might crave sugar, one of which is the overgrowth of organisms in the digestive tract. An in-depth look inside the microbiome via a comprehensive stool test is the best way to determine if your sugar cravings are tied to imbalances in the gut. Reach out if you are interested in learning more about this connection. 

So, how do you break up with sugar in a way that doesn’t feel overly stressful and feels more like a positive than a negative? 

1. Start your day with plenty of protein – having a breakfast packed with plenty of protein helps stabilize blood sugar levels and curb sugar cravings throughout the day. 
2. Go slow – my motto with most things is “make small changes over time” – stress is real in most of our lives and trying to kick sugar in a day (or a week!) can cause even more stress which is unhealthy. Simply choose small ways to replace your favorite sugary treats with healthier options. If you want some tips, reach out! 
3. Keep things interesting – Sometimes we reach for sugary foods because we feel bored with food in general. Finding new and exciting recipes or recipe inspiration in cookbooks, magazines, social media or even old family favorites, can help keep food feeling fresh and interesting and in turn you feel less drawn into the quick but temporary excitement that sugar offers your brain and body. 
4. Have a plan and food available as often as possible. When we are hungry, we are most likely to negotiate with ourselves regarding sugar. Surround yourself with healthy snacks and easy to grab meals so that when you find yourself feeling hungry or in need of some energy, you have the right fuel to put into your body and reduce your desire for sugar. 

Of course kicking the sugar habit takes time and patience so give yourself grace as you move through the process of reducing sugar in your day to day life. The more distance you put between you and refined sugar, the less inclined you are to think about it. Your taste buds change pretty quickly as well so you will (soon enough) be able to have small portions of sweet treats and not feel as triggered by them because they will seem less appealing to you overall. 

Take it slow but move in the right direction and your body and mind will thank you!

Be well,

Cecili, CNTP

One of my favorite quotes is “Those with chronic illness aren’t faking being sick. They are actually faking being well.” 

We (those of us with chronic health issues) oftentimes will put on a happy face outwardly while actually feeling like we are falling apart on the inside. 

Chronic issues leave us overwhelmed in many ways. When we initially experience the onset of symptoms there’s a rush to figure out what’s going on and how to fix them. After months and months of dealing with the stress, exhaustion, and fear of not feeling well, we begin to lose hope.

In the beginning, we may openly share our feelings with family and close friends. However, as long periods of time pass, we tend to go silent and turn inward.

• Many of us don’t want to sound like a hypochondriac.
• Many of us don’t want to worry our loved ones.
• Many of us don’t want people to see us as weak (even though we are some of the strongest people around!).
• Many of us don’t want to admit (out loud) how scary it is.
• Many of us don’t want to bring attention to ourselves and how our lives are changing because of our health issues.

There’s a lot that goes on inside that even those closest to us may not fully understand or know about.

Chronic issues tend to move through cycles of high symptom activity and calmer dormancy. We have our own emotional cycles that we move through as well. There are five stages that we can cycle through over and over again: denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance.

If you are smiling even when you are scared, overwhelmed, anger or any other difficult emotion, know that there are many others, myself included, that do the same.

Halloween is such a fun time of year. I love seeing all the kids dressed up and so excited. I love that it marks the beginning of the holiday season. I usually start thinking about new fall recipes that include soups and hearty foods that I haven’t considered for months. That said, it does feel like feel Halloween has become the gateway to a three month long season of over indulging in too much sugar. Something that can cause roadblocks in our pursuit of health goals.

So, how do we enjoy the Halloween season (let’s face it, it’s not just a day anymore!) without causing too much harm? Especially for our kids who love to trick or treat!

I could keep the list going as there are plenty of options on the market that are healthier options than just was lines the front of the stores as we walk in but I just wanted to give you some ideas to try. Explore from the options listed above, these are brands we trust and they also have other varieties to choose from.

Wishing you a happy, healthy and safe Halloween!

Top 5 reasons your tired

Fatigue is one of the most common complaints we hear about from our patients. To help them reach their goal of increased energy, we have to better understand what is driving their exhaustion to begin with. Many times, there’s not just one single reason people feel tired, so we really have to engage in critical thinking.

Luckily, there are some common factors involved in fatigue that help us narrow down the contributing factors so that we can get results for our clients. 

1. Poor digestion and absorption – if the digestive system is not functioning properly it leads to an inability to absorb nutrients effectively. Energy comes in the form of food. If you are not effectively breaking down and absorbing your food, you can be left feeling overly tired. Symptoms like bloating, gas, constipation and loose stool or urgency issues coupled with fatigue can all be red flags indicating you need to find out more about what might be going on.   

Comprehensive testing can not only help us determine someone’s vitamin and mineral status but also helps us understand a patient’s digestive function, allowing us to create a plan of action to correct imbalances and function.  

2. Chronic Stress or anxiety – stress and anxiety interrupt proper digestion and have a negative impact on sleep. Additionally, stress can lead to adrenal insufficiency, a situation where the adrenal glands can’t keep up with the production of enough cortisol. Cortisol is a hormone that is released by the adrenals to help regulate blood pressure. When we are stressed, we release higher amounts of cortisol. The more stress or anxiety we encounter, the more cortisol we use and the system can become overtaxed, leaving us exhausted. 

3. Blood sugar dysregulation – feeling fatigued after meals or repeatedly feeling tired in the afternoons can be signs of blood sugar dysregulation. Sometimes low blood sugar is the issue but insulin resistance could also be at play. If you feel that your fatigue is situational in this way, you should consider having your blood sugar and insulin levels checked by someone that is willing to run the right markers and knows how to analyze them.

4. Thyroid dysfunction – hypothyroidism or low thyroid function leaves people feeling constantly fatigued. Most practitioners will only run a TSH (thyroid stimulating hormone) and maybe T4 blood test, missing very valuable information that helps us fully understand the whole picture when it comes to thyroid function. Adding T3 gives a more in depth look at thyroid function and Reverse T3 is helpful as well. If you are feeling tired all the time, consider working with someone that is a thyroid expert and knows what tests to run and how to approach correcting thyroid function.

5. Not engaging in enough body movement throughout the day – body movement increases circulation and therefore the amount of oxygen we receive throughout the day. Oxygen gives cells the energy they need to break down food which in turn gives us energy.

Our hectic lives and jobs that keep us bound to a sitting position way longer than humans were intended to sit, contribute to less body movement than is beneficial for our overall health and wellness but it also leads to fatigue. It may sound counterintuitive but the more you move your body the more energy you have. The less you move your body, the more tired you feel. And, it doesn’t take an hour of body movement every day to feel more energy. Simply getting up and walking around throughout the work day is helpful. Adding a short walk a few times a week before or after work can work wonders. Start small and work your way up, you won’t regret it! 

As you can see, there are lots of things to think about if you are suffering from fatigue. And, this is a partial list, to be honest. Working with a functional medicine practitioner means you will be asked all the right questions and have access to all the right testing options that can uncover answers to your fatigue once and for all. 

Reach out and schedule a consultation today! We would love to help bring energy back into your life. 

Gallstones are not the only gallbladder issue that can cause us to feel terrible.

The gallbladder is responsible for the release of bile into the small intestines during the digestive process that helps break down and digest fats. Bile is actually made in the liver and then transported to the gallbladder, basically a holding and concentrating tank for bile until it’s needed. There’s a lot more to bile than this but that’s for another day. 

Most people are familiar with the symptoms of gallstones. According to the Mayo Clinic, they include:

• Sudden and rapidly intensifying pain in the upper right portion of your abdomen.
• Sudden and rapidly intensifying pain in the center of your abdomen, just below your breastbone.
• Back pain between your shoulder blades.
• Pain in your right shoulder.
• Nausea or vomiting.

Here are some of the risk factors for gallbladder issues?

If the symptoms for gallstones don’t fit your symptoms but you experience indigestion, bloating after eating fats, acid reflux, or pain under the right rib cage, you may actually be suffering from gallbladder sludge.

What in the world is gallbladder sludge?

It is the buildup of bile that thickens causing the gallbladder to not be able to release it, forming what is known as gallbladder sludge. Over time, this sludge can form stones that can obstruct the gallbladder. Important note, gallbladder sludge isn’t always seen on imaging tests.

The symptoms for gallbladder sludge may seem very familiar to you….

• Indigestion
• Bloating and distention when you eat fats
• Reflux
• Diarrhea or floating stool
• Oil in the toilet after a bowel movement

If you have been living with these symptoms and nobody has considered that the gallbladder could be the culprit, you should know that there are some health issues associated with gallbladder problems. Mainly, gallbladder issues can lead to a deficiency in fatty acids and fat-soluble vitamins A, D, E and K which can cause a whole host of health issues like cardiovascular disease, neurodegeneration, and also negatively affect the immune system.

It may be necessary for short term use of supplements that support the liver and gallbladder in order to turn gallbladder issues around. And, body movement can be helpful as well. 

Reach out if you feel like you might need help, I know all too well how gallbladder sludge affects our daily lives! There’s no need to continue to suffer.

One of the most important, exciting and fascinating aspects in the understanding of human health is the human microbiome (IMO).

Do you remember when the world was waiting on pins and needles for the completion of the Human Genome Project? The research project that began in 1990 endeavored to sequence the human genome to determine how many genes we humans have and the significance of our genetic make-up where health and disease were concerned. What I remember most when the results were released in 2003 was that humans are no more genetically complex than the common fruit fly with roughly 20,000 protein-coding genes. Mind blowing.

While great advancements in human health and science have been made because of this research project, they seem small (to me) compared to that of the Human Microbiome Project that followed in 2007.

The Human Microbiome Project was established to identify the collection of microorganisms that reside in and on the human body that is referred to as the microbiome. Aside from labeling our roommates, researchers also wanted to understand the role they play, both individually as well as collectively, in human health and wellness. It was initially slated to be a five-year, worldwide effort but the research continues and has been the catalyst for an explosion of studies outside of the original project. My guess is that it will continue for as long as humans exist. In fact, over the past five years, there were more than 50k studies published on the human microbiome! What I love about the current research is that it has become more focused.

Some amazing information has come out of these studies and many of them show that imbalances in our internal ecosystem are directly related to clinical and chronic illness.

Of particular interest to me as a Nutritionist that works with people suffering from chronic digestive issues is the ongoing research on Inflammatory Bowel Disease as well as the intimate connection between the trillions of bacterial organisms that make up the microbiome and the function of the immune system.

Studies like this one published in Cell (2020) show that the immune system is reliant upon proper signaling by the microbiome before it will initiate an immune attack on undesirable organisms.

In October of last year, this study was published in Science Translational Medicine. It is a great example of the current research going into understanding how dietary habits may be contributing to the onset of Inflammatory Bowel Disease.

The list could go on and on but what I want you to take from this is that we have learned an enormous amount about how proper function of the human body is reliant upon the balance of some 40 trillion microorganisms.

Research has determined that the healthiest people have the most diverse microbiomes. So, how do you achieve a diverse microbiome? Here are three things that greatly impact the diversity and balance of the microbiome:

1. Eat a diversified diet packed full of as many fruits and veggies as you possibly can each week. Want a challenge that could be more difficult that training for a marathon?? Try seeing if you can eat 30 different fruits and veggies in a week. That seems to be the magic number.

2. Check your sleep cycles and stress levels. Both of these are naturally connected; if you don’t sleep well, you get stressed and if you are stressed, you don’t sleep well. A vicious cycle. The microbiome is very much affected by lifestyle factors such as these. Start a new practice of checking in on both of those items and come up with a plan to address either or both if necessary. Your gut will thank you!

3. The human gut microbiome can be easily disturbed upon exposure to a range of toxic environmental agents. Try to limit the usage of antibiotics, pharmaceuticals (if possible) and chemical exposure such as pesticides, food additives and flame retardants, just to name a few. Check out the Environmental Working Group to find out more about where harmful toxins might be lurking.

I will leave you with this:

Growing up I recall thinking that bacteria was a bad word, something harmful and scary. And they can be but what we have learned over the course of the last 100 years and more significantly, over the last decade proves that not only do we need bacteria to function properly, but we are also (genetically at least) more microbe than human!

Now, don’t forget to love your bugs.

I had never experienced what it felt like to not be bloated until about 7-8 years ago. We’re talking about decades of bloating!

I tried to pinpoint what might be the culprit to this uncomfortable and embarrassing symptom. I started paying closer attention to what I was eating and then began implementing some new strategies. The moment came as I was putting on a pair of pants. The pants were not new but this time, things felt different. There was no struggle and no super snuggle. I just stood in the closet and felt a sense of huge accomplishment.

What I learned over the years was that there are several different reasons someone might be experiencing bloating after meals:

• If you feel bloated after a meal with protein, you might be low in something called Hydrochloric Acid
• If you feel bloated after a meal high in starches, you could be low in pancreatic enzymes.
• If you feel bloated after a meal that has a lot of fat (good or bad, makes no difference) you could have gallbladder issues. (more on this topic soon)
• There are some people that actually say they are bloated after every meal, regardless of what they eat. All foods cause issues. You might be looking at a case of what is known as Small Intestine Bacterial Overgrowth or SIBO for short. More on this in a future post.
• If your bloating is dependent on portion size, you could be looking at an issue with the Gut-Brain Axis.
• Lastly, chronic constipation can lead to dysbiosis (imbalances in the microbiome) which can cause bloating.

To be honest, it can be tricky to determine which of these (or groups of these) could be the cause of your discomfort.

My first course of action would be to start journaling. I recommend including what you ate throughout the day, how you felt before and after each meal, snack or even fluid intake, consistency and frequency of your bowel movements, daily exercise, stress and any other symptoms you may have experienced throughout the day.

No fancy journals are needed (although if that motivates you, go for it). Just use a post it note or pad of paper, your calendar, even an app if you are technically inclined. Journaling can bring awareness to so many of our daily habits that we aren’t even thinking about and in turn, you could uncover some areas that might be causing your symptoms!

If after you have tried to pinpoint the culprit, you come up empty handed, give us a call! There is usually more to the story than meets the eye and we can guide you through the process of moving past your bloating once and for all.