Feb 04

What’s All The Fuss About Wheat?

By Body

What's the Fuss About Wheat?Everyday at least 2 and sometimes as many as 10 people will ask about the effects that wheat may or may not be having on their health. Wheat is one of the most prolific and over used ingredient on our planet. It is estimated that 4 out of 10 people have wheat sensitivity. So why has this seemingly benign plant that has sustained generations of humans suddenly the bad guy?

In order to get the full flavor we have to take a look at the history of wheat in our culture. When I was growing up you could drive through farm country anywhere and see miles of four-foot high amber waves of grain flowing in breeze. Today they are whopping 18 inches high. This is due to the immense genetic changes that wheat has undergone in the last fifty years.

Wheat has been genetically modified, hybridized, cross-bred and introgressed to make the wheat plant resistant to environmental conditions such as drought, diseases and fungi. All of the changes have been beneficial in terms of the increase in yield from each acre and there is a significant reduction in diseases affecting the plant. Each acre now yields about ten times the yield of the same acre in the past, which has been very benefit to developing countries with limited available land for farming.

Scientists were so intent on increasing the yield of a crop that there were no animal or human safety tests conducted or required on the new strains that were created. After all it looked, performed and tasted just like wheat and that seemed to be enough. The problem is that each time a new modification of wheat occurred 95 % of the protein expressed in the offspring were the same but 5% were unique and not found in either of the genetic offspring. Our body does not recognize these unique proteins and see them as foreign invaders. Small changes in the structure of wheat will lead to a significant immune response to wheat protein for some and for others no response at all which is what creates part of the confusion. Your response depends on your genetic make up, sensitivity and the strength of your immune system to respond.

Wheat is also found in foods that you wouldn’t even consider which further magnifies our exposure to these protein molecules. It is found in salad dressings, canned and commercially prepared soups, instant drinks, condiments such as soy sauce, Worchester sauce, teriyaki and horseradish sauce and ketchup. Additionally it is found in dips, gravy mixes, luncheon and prepared meat patties, beer as well as synthetic and imitation chesses. This is not to mention the cakes, pastas, cereals and breads that we expect to contain wheat. So you can see wheat is everywhere and our bodies constantly have to deal with the bombardment of these protein molecules and some of use deal with it better than others.

Wheat sensitivity can present in many ways other than the traditional bloating, flatulence and bowel irritability that we commonly associate with food sensitivity responses. Wheat sensitivity causes an inflammatory response, which in turn lends itself to rashes, joint pain, asthmas symptoms, migraines, lethargy, cloudy thinking, sleep disturbances and many other symptoms.

Consider trying an experiment with yourself and eliminate wheat from your diet for two weeks. If you have sensitivity to wheat you should be able to see a difference in that period of time. In order for it to be a viable experiment you will need to eliminate all wheat from your diet, which necessitates reading labels and avoiding many processed foods.

For a more in depth understanding of wheat and its effects consider reading Wheat Belly: Lose the Wheat, Lose the Weight, and Find Your Path Back to Health by cardiologist Dr. William Davis. It is an easy read and very informative. For you convenience you can click the link above or you can find it on my website gibsonchiropracticclinic.com and click on the recommended reading tab.

Jan 09

Create Success in the New Year

By Spirit

Success in the New Year

Millions of people all over the world will have begun their new years resolutions on new years day. Statistically most will have failed by the second week of February. Certainly all have good intentions of actually achieving their goal when they begin but we humans are funny creatures in that were not big on “have to’s”. The word resolution is a “have to” all by it self. It is a resolve, firmness and a rigid determination. Most resolutions also involve some kind of loss and as humans we are not really big on that either.

Think about it for a minute. The three biggest resolutions entertained every year are loosing weight, quitting smoking and getting organized. Loosing weight almost always involves a loss of certain favorite foods and decreased portions sizes. Quitting smoking involves having to give up ritual, nicotine and for some an old friend. Organization at first glance may not seem like a loss and despite being helpful on many levels a certain amount of freedom is given up in that to stay organized we now must conform to new organizational guidelines forcing us to give up our precious piles.

I am not advising that you don’t set intentions for your new year but I am going to give you some suggestions that just may make those goals a reality long after February. First, think about one area in your life that you may want to make a change. After all we wear a lot of hats in our life. We are son and daughters, mothers and fathers, workers, partners, spiritual beings, dreamers, physical beings any many more. Pick just one aspect of your multifaceted life to improve that will make a positive change in your life.

Secondly, try to find a way that you can develop a habit for the thing you want to change. Developing a habit will lead to a ritual enabling you to be successful in whatever goal your trying to achieve. In this way you are adding to instead of detracting from and not experiencing loss. For example a good friend of mine wanted to achieve a closer relationship with his wife. They both lead extremely busy successful lives, which often leaves not enough down time together and it was his goal to make more time for them. Prior to this intention he would get up about an hour before his wife, have coffee, read his email and skim the paper. Later she would arise get dressed and they would say their goodbyes and dive into their day.

He didn’t want to give up his “me time” and decided he would continue to get up earlier than his wife, read email and the paper but decided to make his wife a cappuccino just the way she liked it and take it to her in bed and spend time talking and drinking coffee with her before they got started with their day. The first time he did this she was surprised and slightly skeptical but very soon became attached and looked forward to their “special time” each morning. He started that habit last year and it is still going strong, as is their relationship.

Last year I wanted to find more time to write. I was one of those people who wouldn’t get started on a project unless I had a big block of time, which of course rarely happened. Then I was introduced to this technique where you attempt to do projects in 25-minute intervals then rest for five minutes and continuing with as many of the 25-minute segments as time allowed for. This resulted in much more writing time and added to instead of detracting from my day. Subsequently, I have successfully used this technique for all kinds of projects.

Last of all make your intentions a life style change and don’t try to change your whole life at once. It is said that it takes three weeks to make a habit and three months to make a life style change. If you can create passion in what you are trying to change you will develop significantly more compassion for yourself and inevitably have more success than failure. It is equally important to acknowledge each success that you have no matter how small it may seem. Each success is movement in a positive direction. For example if decreasing you weight is your intention focus on the fact that you are healthier, lighter and feeling better not the fact that you didn’t loose exactly 15 pounds by February.

No matter what you are creating in this New Year I wish you abundant success and a happy prosperous, loving new year.

Sep 02

Why Don’t You Sleep Well?

By Body, Mind, Spirit

Why don't You Sleep Well?Sleep is our most precious and often most over looked commodity. One question I ask my patients when doing nutritional consultations is how long and how well do you sleep? The reason for this is how well you sleep plays a significant role in how healthy and happy you are.

Statistics show that poor sleep plays a role in virtually every aspect of disease and disease related issues as well as performance. Despite the various mandates given on the amount of sleep that you need each of us has our own unique sleep requirement, which varies by age, sex, genetic and physiological factors. A good rule of thumb however is that a sufficient amount of sleep is that which allows for spontaneous awakening and leaves you with enough energy to feel refreshed and alert for the whole day.

There are many reasons why people don’t sleep well and with systematic evaluation the root cause can be uncovered and frequently resolved. Causes such as breathing problems, adrenal fatigue, drinking to much alcohol to late, shift work, worrying, hormonal changes, sleeping environment and even animals in your bed all play a role in how well you do or do not sleep.

Breathing: Sleep apnea is a condition in which you temporarily stop breathing while sleeping. It is more common than you would think and causes an individual to wake frequently through the night. Many times the individual isn’t even aware that this is occurring. More often it is the person that they sleep with who recognizes the irregularity in their breath or the fact that when they snore they sound as if they have temporarily stopped breathing. Diagnosis is relatively easy and involves doing a sleep study. If you require treatment for sleep apnea the results generally can and do make a significant difference. Aside from being more rested people report having more energy, getting sick less often and many even report weight loss.

Adrenal Fatigue: The adrenals are two small glands that sit on top of the kidneys and are responsible for multiple functions in the body but are especially helpful when responding to stress. They release what we call the “flight or fight” hormones. However, the adrenal glands do more than just release adrenaline when we get under stress. They control a whole host of other hormones. One hormone that the adrenal glands control is cortisol, which effects the sleep/wake cycle. When your cortisol rhythms are disrupted you cannot sleep well. Additionally, if you wake up between 1-3 AM your liver may be lacking the glycogen reserves needed by the body to keep blood glucose levels high enough through the night. So you literally wake up because you are hungry. This is easily remedied by eating a small high protein snack before bed such as peanut butter or cheese on a cracker.

Alcohol and Food: Many people use alcohol as their sedative to induce sleep. While it is true that alcohol may reduce the amount of time it takes to get to sleep, alcohol that is consumed close to bedtime has been shown to disrupt the second half of the sleep cycle. Eating and drinking late or too close to bedtime can cause heartburn and/or reflux, which disrupts sleep as acid backs up into the esophagus. If you have to eat late for whatever reason eat on the lighter side to avoid indigestion and disrupting your sleep patterns.

Worrying: Worrying about your relationship, money, your job and any big changes such as marriage, buying a house or starting a new job or even worrying about your sleep itself can all cause you to not sleep well. For some writing lists before the end of the day helps to organize them which let’s their brain take a rest. For others it is a matter of doing something calming such as taking a bath or meditating that redirects their mind. Some read and others watch TV. It’s helpful to remember that the old adage is still true, “Worrying never solved anything”.

Animals: Many sleep issues as well as back pains have been simply resolved by getting our beloved pets out of the bed. Don’t get me wrong I love my dog and she is the best snugger in the world, but if I ‘d let her she would have the whole king sized bed to herself before morning. Admittedly more than half of dog and cat owners sleep with their beloved pets. Whether it is dog, cat or whatever my experience is that people report they will constantly change their positions to accommodate their animals sacrificing their own comfort and disrupting their sleep.

Sleep Environment: Light in your bedroom can easily disrupt your sleep. Get rid of or cover ambient light such as alarm clocks, DVD players, cable boxes and using room darkening curtains and shades can significantly enhance your ability to sleep deeply.

According to leading sleep researchers the following are the top ten questions to ask yourself when trying to correct sleeping problems. Check out how your sleeping rates?

  1. Do you keep a regular sleep/wake cycle?
  2. Are you drinking or eating caffeine up to 6 hours before bedtime and are you mindful of your daytime consumption?
  3. Do you avoid smoking near bedtime or if you awaken in the night?
  4. Do you avoid alcohol and heavy meals later in the evening?
  5. Do you get regular exercise?
  6. Have you minimized noise, light and excessive hot or cold temperatures where you sleep?
  7. Do you go to bed at the same time each night?
  8. Can you awaken without an alarm clock?
  9. Do you sleep with animals in you bed?
  10. Do you have a successful method for dealing with excessive thoughts or worry while trying to go to sleep?