HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

I am running a 2010 special.  $25 off Individual Consultations and diet programs designed just for you.  We will analyze your biochemical individuality and target your specific needs.

Phone appointments available for those not in the Bay Area. I am set up to take long distance clients.

Email:

dietmakeover@gmail.com

Check out the latest episode!

The Balancing Act!

Digesting food leaves a mineral ash residue that circulates and eventually is deposited in tissues. An abundance of acidic ash can cause disease. Your body borrows minerals from your bones to alkaline and find balance again. Often calcium is leached from bones, and may result in osteoporosis! Therefore, it is important to balance your diet with alkalizing foods! Acidic foods are necessary for a balanced diet but should be eaten in moderation.

Acidic Forming Foods: Protein

Meat, poultry, seafood, eggs, gluten grains, beans, processed foods, sugar, and coffee are examples of acidic foods. They leave a mineral ash of phosphorus, sulfur, and chloride that must be neutralized by the body. Eat these foods with a large portion of alkalizing foods to maintain healthy Acid/Alkaline balance.

Alkaline Forming Foods: Carbohydrates

ost vegetables and fruits are alkalizing. Green foods and fresh vegetable juices are especially alkaline forming and essential for optimal health! These foods neutralize acidity, using magnesium, calcium, potassium, and sodium minerals. To read more about alkalizing your body, you can check out one of my favorite books, Alkalize or Die.

Laura's Fantastic Greens from Nutrition Consultant, Laura Knoff's cookbook, Veggiewoman's Guide to Health is a perfect alkalizing dish that would balance acidic forming food such as meat. Kale contains a high amount of calcium that is easily assimilated by the body. It is a helpful food for osteoporosis, arthritis, and bone loss. Kale is also rich in lutein, an extremely important antioxidant for eye health. It can protect the eyes from free-radical damage, reducing the risk of cataracts and macular degeneration.

Try Quick Kale Chips:

• Wash and strip kale from stems. Break kale into medium size pieces.
• Toss with olive oil, sea salt, and spices. (Curry, Italian, or nutritional yeast make great choices)
• Spread kale out on a baking sheet and bake until slightly crisp at 300 degrees.

Check out the latest episode of Dishin Nutrition to meet my special guest and mentor, Laura Knoff! Together we make a delicious fish dish that supports healthy metabolism! You'll even discover the secret to avoiding that fish aroma in your kitchen!

Spring is here and many of us are struggling with seasonal allergies. Here are some great natural remedies!!

Quercetin is a flavonoid that is thought to control the body's release of histamines and other chemicals that have an effect on the body's immune response to allergens. Specifically, it has been shown to reduce sinus pain and congestion caused by allergies. When combined with Vitamin C and grapeseed extract, the ability to reduce pollen allergy symptoms also increases significantly.

Foods with Quercetin:
Fruits and vegetables -- particularly citrus fruits, apples, onions, parsley, tea, and red wine -- are the primary dietary sources of quercetin. Olive oil, grapes, dark cherries, and dark berries, such as blueberries, blackberries, rose hips, and bilberries are also high in flavonoids including quercetin.


Nettle (Urtica dioica): Many people swear by nettle for relieving hay fever, including Dr. Weil, who uses the herb himself. In 1990, the National College of Naturopathic Medicine in Portland, Oregon, conducted a double-blind study of the efficacy of a freeze-dried preparation of stinging nettle on allergic rhinitis. The group treated with the nettle preparation fared moderately better than their placebo-treated counterparts. A decoction made of the leaves or roots is said to ease bronchial constriction.

Here’s a great recipe for allergies (full of quercetin and Vit C!!) from Laura Knoff’s VEGGIE WOMAN’S GUIDE TO HEALTH, cookbook. Laura will be appearing on Dishin Nutrition within the next few weeks!!
Check out her book at http://www.labryshealthcarecircle.com/

Rose Hip Spread
1 cup dried rose hips (purchase dried, cut, de-seeded rose hips from the bulk herbal section of your local health food store or you can find them online at herbal stores).
Pure Water
A Wide Mouth Pint Jar

Sort through the rose hips to remove any residual seeds and stems. Half fill the jar with these cleaned rose hips and cover them with enough pure water to fill the jar. Cover and shake gently to wet the hips. Place the covered jar in the refrigerator for at least 3 hrs. When ready to eat, the hips are moist and soft, not crunchy. To make a smooth sauce, blend this thoroughly in a blender. Enjoy the slightly tart taste as a substitute for jam or jelly. You can add stevia to sweeten or cinnamon and ginger to spice it up! Eat with green apple for extra quercetin!!

My favorite supplement for allergies is D-Hist. It contains nettle and quercetin, along with other co-factors!!! Check it out. There is even a product for kids! Works great!

http://astore.amazon.com/mintnutrition-20/detail/B000UBEKO6
http://astore.amazon.com/mintnutrition-20/detail/B000UBKCCA

A series of detoxes can also do wonders for your allergies. Check out this blog post i wrote about DETOXES!!!

http://www.localbizblogs.com/dietmakeover/2008/04/27/spring-cleaning-nature-s-detox

Read Food Labels!

You will be surprised just how much is in your food once you start reading food labels! There are over 14,000 man-made chemicals added to our food supply today. The more foreign ingredients (which names you can not pronounce) in your food, the more likely that it is bad for you. Stick to whole foods and minimize your amount of processed foods. When purchasing packaged, processed foods, read labels and avoid added sugar, MSG, artificial flavorings, preservatives, and food colorings. These harmful food additives are hard for your body to process and often are stored in fat cells, MAKING YOU TOXIC!!! Toxic terrain often leads to disease, possibly even cancer.  A good rule of thumb: the less ingredients the better. 

Think about it, if it can sit on the store shelf for years at a time, it can be stored in your body just as long!

Start with avoiding the most dangerous additives that are often found in many processed foods with low nutritional value.  Here’s a list of just a few….

MSG:  Monosodium glutamate is a chemical additive used to enhance flavor.  It’s a neurotoxin, excitatory to the neurological system.  Long-term consumption of MSG can lead to MS, Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s, brain lesions, and obesity. 

Aspartame:  This sugar substitute is also a neurotoxin that causes chemical disruptions in the brain.  Aspartame not only can make you fat, but it can cause headaches, memory loss, depression, anxiety attacks, brain tumors, and MS. The same dangers can be said for Splenda (sucralose) and saccharin.

Sodium Nitrite:  Often found in preserved, processed meats, nitrites are potent carcinogens!  Consumption of nitrites has been linked to cancer of the esophagus, stomach, large intestine, bladder, and lungs.

Artificial Colorings:  Consumption of artificial colors has been proven to be carcinogenic.  They are also known to cause excitability and behavior issues such as ADD and ADHD in children.  Be sure to avoid the following:

Oranges: D&C Orange 17
Blues:      FD&C Blue 1
Reds:       FD&C Red 3
FD&C Red 9
D&C Red 19
D&C Red 33
FD&C Red 4
FD&C Red 40
Greens:   D&C Green 5
FD&C Green 3
Yellow:    FD&C Yellow 5
FD&C Yellow 6


A simple general rule:  AVOID PROCESSED FOOD! Eat whole foods!  Less is more!

For more info on additives to avoid in your food and body products, check out my favorite book, What’s in Your Food?


There is also great info at http://www.truthinlabeling.org