Gluten & Your Alligator Complexion
Gluten & Your Alligator Complexion
by Jen Springer
We all know about eating gluten free. But for a long time there was one thing I forgot about … MY FACE!
Dermatitis herpetiformis is caused by the ingestion of gluten. This itchy, blistery, insanely scratchy rash shows up on the elbows, knees, buttocks, and back of neck … most of the time. It’s a common symptom of celiac, but this is not what this post is about.
It took me a few years to realize that even though I didn’t eat gluten, I should also not put it on my skin or hair!
Technically gluten can’t be absorbed through the skin, the protein molecule is too big. But on the face it can create red pimply looking bumps that are really annoying and difficult to get rid of – especially if you don’t know what’s causing it.
On the scalp, it can create severe dandruff and even scaly sores! Ask me how I know … found this out personally after purchasing organic “high protein” shampoo, conditioner, and hairspray.
As soon as I stopped the super high protein hair care my scalp cleared up. But dealing my rashy face was a bit trickier.
Where the rash shows up on the face can give you an idea what organ is taking a big hit from food allergies. Mine always showed up on the corresponding lung points – cheeks. No surprise. When I was really sick I would get asthmatic from gluten Pay Day Loans exposure. Since the lungs and large intestine are closely paired, it’s not unusual for inflammation in the gut to show up as breathing problems.
My face was inflamed for so long that eliminating the gluten alone didn’t completely get rid of the redness. The skin needed some help “de-flaming” (that’s a technical term!).
Salicylic acid is an ingredient I found to help reduce the inflammation of my skin the most. It can be synthetic or the preferred source is wintergreen oil.
Ingredients to watch out for in your products? Anything using these terms: wheat, barley, hydrolyzed wheat protein, oats, protein, wheat germ, or triticum vulgare. These are especially found in creams, lotions, and hair care products.
If you’re face has blemishes that you’ve been desperately trying to resolve, it’s time to check your labels.
Please share this post with gluten free peeps you know, we must spread the word so we all have gorgeous glowing blemish free skin together!
Jen Springer is a Holistic Nutrition Expert who currently serves 10,000 clients. Her approach to health is refreshing and out of the box, yet makes so much sense. She has a track record of helping people have the “A-HA” moment they need in order to start rebuilding vibrant health which is their birth right. With her guidance, people quickly get results even though they’ve spent years of chasing for answers. Jen has been a health educator and practitioner for the last 10 years.
Adrenal Fatigue & Low Salt Diets?
Adrenal Fatigue & Low Salt Diets?
by Jen Springer
Calling all salt fiends!
Read an article recently on Medicine Net that advocates a low sodium diet. True, a low WHITE SALT diet is a good idea because it’s de-mineralized junk, i.e. an anti-nutrient. But because we’ve been blasted with info that sodium raises blood pressure – everyone is avoiding it unnecessarily.
It has been shown that only 3% of people with high blood pressure actually have an increase in blood pressure when high sodium is consumed (quote from Dr. Janet Lang).
Our bodies need good sodium to function. It is an essential nutrient that so many of us are low in because salt has been labeled as ‘the devil’. When you crave salt, you need it! It’s a true deficiency craving vs. when we crave chocolate chip cookies or junk food.
I love salt and use a lot of it. However, I choose very healthy salt.
My favorite it Redmond Real Salt. I love it for it’s mild, sweet taste. It’s available at many grocery stores. Also, unprocessed sea salt is another good choice. If it’s white sea salt, “Just say no!”. The color in the salt is from the health giving minerals.
There are many foods that are naturally high in sodium – celery, strawberries, zucchini, etc. The perfect one is celery, because it’s high in potassium too. When we “BLOAT” from sodium, it may we’re low in potassium.
What does this have to do with anxiety therapy?
Sodium is an essential nutrient for stress handling centers in the body – our adrenals. The stronger those centers are, the less anxious we feel. It is also vital for every organ to function properly as well as the nerves sending electrical communication.
Salt acts as a diuretic for adrenal fatigued folks! (John Tintera, M.D.)
Use Real Salt or unprocessed sea salt and season away without feeling guilty. I love a pinch in my morning smoothie, makes it taste great and my adrenals are happy.
Adrenal fatigue impacts our brain function, sodium can really be a part of your anxiety therapy!
Got any super salt you love? Don’t hold out on us … share it on Facebook!
Jen Springer is a Holistic Nutrition Expert who currently serves 10,000 clients. Her approach to health is refreshing and out of the box, yet makes so much sense. She has a track record of helping people have the “A-HA” moment they need in order to start rebuilding vibrant health which is their birth right. With her guidance, people quickly get results even though they’ve spent years of chasing for answers. Jen has been a health educator and practitioner for the last 10 years
Adrenal Fatigue: The RIGHT Tests
Adrenal Fatigue: The RIGHT Tests
by Jen Springer
Everyone has a different opinion, what should you do?
One thing’s for sure, guessing what your adrenal health is NOT the way to go. So many of the adrenal fatigue symptoms cross over to other imbalances in the body. Nagging problems like fatigue, foggy thinking, poor memory, insomnia, bloating, irritability, and chronic inflammation all can have many causes. Talk about confusing!
To mix things up even more, there are 3 primary stages of adrenal fatigue: acute, fatigue, and exhaustion. All of these show up different with testing. Plus, you’d better pray your doctor / health practitioner knows how to interpret your test results properly. Different phases of adrenal trouble require different treatments to help pull you out of the never ending fog.
Whatever you do, DO NOT let your doctor pull your blood for a one time test at 8 am. It is a complete waste of time and money. Adrenal tests measure the hormone cortisol, which changes throughout the day. Taking a one time test is silly, unless you happen have a problem at 8 am. People with adrenal issues can have spikes or crashes in cortisol at any time – not just 8 am.
One of the docs I fired ordered an 8 am test, which came back normal. I was in the slippery stage 3 exhaustion, which often looks normal on tests. He was belligerent about taking a functional test that takes multiple samples over the entire day. For another 4 months I suffered with raging anxiety 24/7, tremors, and paralyzing exhaustion. His only answer was to offer me Prozac; no thanks dude!
A few months later I found another doctor who ordered the right test. This test measured my adrenals by taking cortisol samples 4 times a day plus DHEA.
The results? Surprise, surprise … the results showed my cortisol levels were off at all other times of the day but 8 am! At the time I was frustrated because I could have been feeling better 4 months prior if I’d had the right test to begin with.
So what do you ask your doc / health practitioner for? You need to ask for a test that checks your cortisol rhythm (most likely 12 hr) and DHEA-S.
DHEA-S is a metabolite of DHEA and is more reliable than DHEA alone. If you can get an average DHEA-S, that would be fabulous.
Of course if you can check all the other hormones too, go for it. If you haven’t had a full hormone panel in a while, it’s best to have one so you’re not guessing with your supplements (prescribed or otherwise). Plus, funked out adrenals mess up other hormones too like melatonin (sleep), testosterone, progesterone, estriol, and estradiol.
To recap, ask for an a cortisol 4X and DHEA-S 2X. That means a four sampling of cortisol over 12 hours and two averaged samples of DHEA-S. Capisce?
Getting the results of your tests provides radical mental relief. You’ll know where you stand. Then, it’s time to take action and get your body strong again through diet, rest, supplements, and laughter.
Remember, different stages of adrenal problems require different protocols.
The next step? If you don’t have one, ask your health care provider for an adrenal test. If he/she has no idea what you’re talking about, contact my office at Support@NaturalAnxietyTherapy.com.
Working with your local practitioner is preferred, but some of you live in areas where this isn’t possible. I’m not a doctor, but I can coach you through the confusion of rebuilding your adrenals!
Meet me over on the Natural Anxiety Therapy’s Facebook page. I want to meet you and hear your stories!!!
Jen Springer is a Holistic Nutrition Expert who currently serves 10,000 clients. Her approach to health is refreshing and out of the box, yet makes so much sense. She has a track record of helping people have the “A-HA” moment they need in order to start rebuilding vibrant health which is their birth right. With her guidance, people quickly get results even though they’ve spent years of chasing for answers. Jen has been a health educator and practitioner for the last 10 years
Sweet Tater Tastebuds – Gluten Free Soup Recipe!
Sweet Tater Tastebuds – Gluten Free Soup Recipe!
Forward by Jen Springer, Recipe by Trish P
Sometimes simple is best.
Grab a big pot, your ingredients, and in about a half an hour you’ll have this super soup prepared fresh for your table.
This recipe is the second V.I.P. winner of my Let’s Get Physical Program from March 9, 2011. Those first three recipes raced in so quickly from eager people ready to share healthy food, people that sent their recipes by the weekend didn’t stand a chance.
Pays to be a V.I.P.! (To be a V.I.P. go to the right side of this page and get the 5 Things course).
The recipe below was submitted by Trish P. Like me, her panic attacks started sneaking into her life back when she was in high school. Over time IBS symptoms and anxiety from dairy and wheat got the best of her.
At her wits end, she visited a naturopath. er mission was to get rid of anxiety without pharmaceuticals. With hard work and perseverance she blossomed into a new person.
Trish transformed her life over the past few years by radically changing her eating habits.
Trish’s mantra, “Time to get my life back!”. Amen Trish!
Trish writes, “Passing along a delicious(and gluten-free!) recipe that I modified from one in a copy of Taste of Home. I love this recipe, especially because you can play around with and change up the ingredients. Hope you like the recipe!”
The Recipe:
2 – 3 medium sweet potatoes, peeled, chopped
1/2 large onion, chopped fine
1-2 stalks celery, chopped
1 – 2 tbsp olive oil
bay leaf, pepper(to taste), basil(to taste)
2-3 cups of chicken or veg stock
In a large sauce pan or pot, heat the oil. Add veggies and bay leaf(or 2). Sautee for about 5-10 min until the veggies are tender, stir often so they burn. (you can also add a clove of minced garlic here too). Add the stock, pepper and basil. Bring to boil and then cover and reduce to simmer, cook about 20 minutes. Turn off heat – I use an immersion blender to puree this in the pot – remove bay leaf first!
Puree and serve. I sprinkle rice bread crouton on top!
I have also done this by substituting regular potatoes(4-5) and 2 carrots (chopped) for the sweet potatoes.
If you play with this recipe as Trish encourages, let us know how it turned out.
Feast fantastically!
Jen Springer is a Holistic Nutrition Expert who currently serves 10,000 clients. Her approach to health is refreshing and out of the box, yet makes so much sense. She has a track record of helping people have the “A-HA” moment they need in order to start rebuilding vibrant health which is their birth right. With her guidance, people quickly get results even though they’ve spent years of chasing for answers. Jen has been a health educator and practitioner for the last 10 years
A Girl Just Needs to Have Fun!
A Girl Just Needs to Have Fun!
by Jen Springer
I’ve been off a few weeks catching my breath and having some fun.
The past few years have been grueling. Some days were so stressful I felt like I was going to implode! Which is better than feeling like I was going to “crack” like I did in 2007. Completely different feelings; although both stressful.
Stress caught up with me. Part of my 2 week hiatus included a full check up with my holistic doc. Anxiety and panic has been gone for a few years. My blood sugar has balanced out as of the past few months. Plus, I don’t need to carry and EpiPen in case of accidental food allergen anymore. I felt like celebrating, until …
Last Tuesday my doc called with the lab results. My thyroid, liver, and cholesterol were off!!! What the? (More on what I’m doing to correct these things later.)
What bugs me is I felt I’ve done my best with taking care of myself by regularly receiving massage and Reiki. Yoga, strength training, eating right, and “letting stuff go” are part of my daily practice as well.
So how did my body get out of whack again? STRESS.
I was eating well and going through the motions to maintain myself, but I wasn’t playing enough. I’m a self proclaimed intense person and a workaholic. That phone call from my doc was a turning point: I decided it’s time to have more fun.
Playing isn’t an option, it’s a requirement to feel mentally and physically well. We can eat perfect, exercise, and sleep; but if we don’t experience “FUN” by letting our hair and gotees down we WILL hold pent up stress.
Last week I witnessed this first hand. My partner Monty and I went to one of those crazy huge waterparks to blow off steam. Friday morning we were sitting in the hot tub and both of us were feeling a bit frustrated from some silly things that happened. I looked at Monty and said, “Lets go to the slides and let go of this crappy attitude we have!” He gave me a weird look as I popped out of the tub and sprinted over to the body slides. Honestly, just looking at the length of the slides freaked me to the point of bolting but I didn’t want him to know that. (Look at the pic above, those are the twisty coils that went outside of the building!)
We jumped into tandem slides and whooshed down to the bottom. As we came out of the tunnel’s end, we both stood up and our frowns were turned upside down! We were laughing and any cares we had about the morning’s frustrations were gone. We both agreed that we didn’t have a clue how badly we needed this get-away and we take ourselves too seriously on a daily basis.
My point? Do something that is slightly scary and has the potential to be extremely embarrassing! Have some fun and step out of your comfort zone. That weight on your shoulders and worries in your mind will go POOF.
I’m not going to bore you with how your brain’s neurochemistry changes from chemicals released from laughter and play, just trust me on this one.
Think of something that makes your tummy flutter, DO IT.
Get crazy, be silly, embarrass yourself … it’s the best anti-depressant you could take and has only smiley side effects!
You gotta come find me on Facebook and let me know what “THING” you’re going to do!
Jen Springer is a Holistic Nutrition Expert who currently serves 10,000 clients. Her approach to health is refreshing and out of the box, yet makes so much sense. She has a track record of helping people have the “A-HA” moment they need in order to start rebuilding vibrant health which is their birth right. With her guidance, people quickly get results even though they’ve spent years of chasing for answers. Jen has been a health educator and practitioner for the last 10 years
