Internal Health

Nutrition should not be focused solely on weight loss. Also, just because someone looks good externally doesn't mean they are healthy internally.

If you are working with a health professional who doesn't understand this and the mechanisms of how nutrition correlates with inflammation and internal health it's time to move on.

Nutrition should be focused on getting you healthy internally and reducing inflammation as that's how you truly get healthy. If you create a healthy internal environment then weight loss will be a welcome side effect.

Most people don't mind carrying around an extra 20-30 lbs on a regular basis, but if they get cancer, heart disease, type 2 diabetes or rheumatoid arthritis for example their world is going to instantly change. We need to stop focusing on external weight and start focusing on internal health because that's where all health problems start.

A few factors to consider outside of weight:

1. How's your energy?
2. Do you have major energy swings after meals?
3. Do you get out of breath easily?
4. Are you flexible, can you get up off the ground quickly?
5. How's your sleep, do you get at least 6 hours per night?
6. What are your hsCRP levels?
7. What are your HbA1c levels?
8. What are your fasting glucose levels?
9. What are your fasting triglyceride levels?
10. What are your Vitamin D-3 levels?

Buying Local Honey

Eating local food is great for the community and the environment but also for your health. Many people suffer from seasonal allergies (also known as hay fever or allergic rhinitis) especially in the spring when trees and plants start to release pollen and mold spores into the air.

When these tiny particles come into contact with your immune system it creates an allergic reaction inside most people's body leading to the sneezing, runny noses, sinus congestion and other allergy symptoms.

When bees fly from plant to plant collecting nectar to make honey they also collect pollen and mold spores on them. While making honey, small amounts of these particles are in the honey. Eating honey that contains these small particles can mildly stimulate your immune system preparing it for other pollen or mold particles that you might come into contact with in the air. If you do have an allergic reaction, this can help to reduce or eliminate the symptoms you are having.

For honey with health benefits, buy honey that is made as close to where you live so that the bees are in contact with the same plants you are in contact with.

Where do you purchase locally produced honey?

Firmicutes and Weight Gain

Firmicutes and Weight Gain:

Firmicutes are a type of bacteria found in the human colon that are very efficient at extracting extra calories from any food causing more calories to be absorbed in the body leading to extra body fat stores and weight gain.

They must be in balance with another type of bacteria called bacteroidetes. These two types of bacteria make up 90% of the bacteria in the colon and have to be in the right ratio for proper digestion. When the ratio shifts andfirmicutes outnumber the bacteroidetes weight gain starts.

Processed carbohydrates feed firmicutes causing their population to explode in the colon leading to major imbalances and weight gain.

1. Reduce processed carbohydrates to under 100 grams per day, 50-70 grams is ideal.
2. Load up on lots of vegetables and berries
3. Increase healthy protein and fats
4. Intermittent fast and only eat your meals between 11 AM and 7 PM

Food Journaling

Start a food journal:

(Share one thing you have noticed about your sensitivities below for others to see.)

There is not a single food on earth that is healthy for everyone because we all have different metabolisms, food allergies, sensitivities and digestive tracts.

Keeping a close eye on how you feel day to day can really help you clean up your nutrition protocol and get you feeling, sleeping and thinking at your best all the time instead of sporadically.

For example this is just a list of a few things I have personally noticed:

1. Too many raw nuts irritate my stomach
2. Eating apples plain makes me extremely hungry an hour later
3. Too many grains of any sort causes bloating and swelling for 12-24 hours. 4. All forms of beans irritate my stomach and cause bloating
5. White potatoes make my hands itchy and also make me feel bloated
6. Hot coffee just makes me go to the bathroom every hour and makes me lose focus
7. Too much cauliflower irritates my thyroid
8. Drinking the recommended 8+ glasses of water per day just causes it to sit in my stomach causing me to feel out of it and uncomfortable.
9. Too much raw spinach causes my kidneys to ache
10. If I take 400 mg of magnesium before bed I don't wake up at 3 AM
11. If I eat mostly meat, vegetables and berries along with intermittent fasting 3-5 days per week I feel extremely good physically and mentally.

How you do it:

1. Start seeing how you look (bloated or not), feel (mentally and physically) l and preform (how's your energy or if you are an athlete how was your workout?) on a daily basis, if anything is different day to day look at what you have been eating. Especially look at days where you feel really good and really bad.
2. The next time you eat the suspect food see what happens.
3. Start to remove things that don't sit well with you and customize your diet by the things you tolerate the best.

Remember, just because your family and friends does well with a certain food doesn't mean you will.

Waist to Hip Ratio and Overall Health

Measure yourself, and don't lie to yourself.

Waist to hip ratio is one of the easiest tests to see how your overall health is.

If you have a poor waist to hip ratio, it means your body is in an inflammatory state increasing pain and swelling internally but also that you are on your way to having high blood glucose, type 2 diabetes, high triglycerides, low HDL cholesterol, metabolic syndrome and heart disease just to name a few.

Usually the goal waist circumference for men is around 33" and 28" for women depending on your frame.

If you aren't in the proper ratio: 

1. Increase healthy protein 

2. Decrease net carbs to under 100 grams/day 

Net carbs = total carbs - fiber

3. Intermittent fast and only eat from 11-7 PM 3-7 days per week

4. Sleep more

5. Take magnesium to increase frequency of bowel movements

Nutra Disc for Joint Pain

Joint pain?

This study reviewed the effectiveness of ibuprofen and bioavailable curcumin, Meriva in the treatment of knee osteoarthritis pain.

Meriva is the most effective curcumin on the market because it is combined with a plant complex that makes it more bioavailable and better absorbed. Ibuprofen inhibits the synthesis of prostaglandins by blocking the COX enzyme which can stop pain and swelling - but not without side-effects. It can also stop normal functions of the blood, heart and gut.

Meriva is just one of the ingredients in Nutra Disc that makes it our go-to supplement for inflammation driven pain issues.

We carry Nutra Disc supplements at all of our Kehres Health & Chiropractic offices.

                                                                                   Source: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Trying Intermittent Fasting

Try intermittent fasting, even if it’s just 2-3 days per week.

Your stomach and digestive tract focuses on digestion when you eat and healing when it’s empty.

If you constantly have food in your stomach it’s only focusing on digestion and not healing.

Tips:

1. I will usually drink a large iced coffee in the AM with unsweetened almond milk. It keeps me full until 11 AM.
2. Do it on days you are busy so you don’t think about eating. Get up and go to work.
3. If you are having a hard time not eating, consider using a fiber powder mixed with water to help make you feel full during the fast.
4. If you find it starts to cause constipation increase magnesium until you go more frequently. Any changes in metabolism can cause constipation.

It’s not suggested if you have very unstable blood sugar levels. You need to work with your primary doctor if that’s the case.

Financial Stress

Self Inflicted Financial Stress: Stop pretending to be someone you aren't and start saving money!

Mental stress has a massive impact on overall health and poor managed finances is one of the biggest causes of mental stress. We see this in our offices on a daily basis and it takes a huge toll on someones health.

In almost every one of these financially stressful cases it comes down to the fact that people value appearance over long term financial stability.

Some of the culprits are:

1. Buying a house that's at the top end of your budget
2. Driving a car that's more than you can afford
3. Paying for cable and all the extra channels
4. Eating out frequently
5. Shopping daily on Amazon
6. Expensive Vacations

You can easily save money by stopping these things immediately, and it's really not that hard to do. Sell your house and buy a cheaper one, buy a cheaper used car, etc.

"Northwestern Mutual found that Americans with retirement savings have an average of $84,821 saved"

If you were to only cut out $200 of your spending per month (Some cable packages are almost this much alone) which is very possible for most people and invested it instead over 30 years, you could easily have at least $250,000 which is much better than the average $84,000 and a great start towards reduced financial stress! Many people could do way more if they really wanted to.

You can make a huge impact on your overall health by managing your finances properly. Stop buying ridiculous stuff and trying to impress the people around you when it's more than you can afford!