Should You Tailor Your Diet to Your Blood Type?

It’s been 20 years since the blood type diet made its appearance and it’s still making the rounds today. It’s a logical concept – every blood type has a different chemistry and reacts differently with the foods we eat. Over the years, as people have eaten this diet, they’ve lost weight and had more energy. But is it because they’re following a blood type diet, or is there something else that gives the concept its limited success?

Back in 1996 I wrote a book called Your Body Knows Best and extensively explored the science behind this diet, along with the problems and pitfalls of following it. I also discovered the secrets behind why it works so well for the people who experience success with it. The bottom line is there are components of the blood type diet you can incorporate to enhance your health and weight loss success, and I’m sharing those with you today.

How Your Ancestry Affects Your Biology

One thing I’ve grown certain of in more than four decades of nutrition practice is that there isn’t one diet that fits everyone. In our current culture and economy, we have easy access to a wide variety of foods from all over the world. But, even though we can all eat the same foods, we don’t all thrive on the same foods. A lion can eat a vegetarian diet, but won’t thrive on it the same way a deer does.

People have the same variations and our ancestry is written not only into our genetics but into our blood types as well. Knowing where your own family ancestors are from can provide clues about how your own family members (and their diets) naturally adapted and biochemically evolved to the region they lived in and the foods grown and harvested there. And those genetic and ethnic conditions persist – in your blood and physiology – even when you are no longer in that same geographic location. This means you can live anywhere in the world but your nutritional compass is still set to where you – and your ancestors – originated from.

When you stray from the diet that is indigenous to your ancestry, you can miss out on specific and necessary nutrients, which can cause a whole host of physical and emotional difficulties. The problem is that most of us in North America are the product of generations of mixed ancestry, so it can be hard to know where to start. That’s where your blood type can come in and help refine your food choices.

How Does Your Blood Type Relate to Your Diet?

Your own unique heritage is intimately tied to your blood type. Although most of us are somewhat familiar with blood typing, it may be surprising to know these types connect us with our distant past. The different blood types – A, B, O, and AB – appeared at different times in mankind’s history and are related to the environment and movement of generations of people through the continents.

Blood types have been studied extensively throughout the world, with the most notable research being in Japan. The world’s foremost expert, Toshitaka Nomi, has published over 25 books on the subject, going into every detail from specific personality traits to which foods work best with your unique chemistry. He has even proposed that there are national personality traits based on the balance of blood types present in a population.

Nomi found that, in general, blood type O individuals are goal-oriented and enthusiastic, A individuals are more detail-oriented and fastidious, B’s tend to be more creative and unconventional, and AB’s have great spiritual sensitivity.

In North America, there are two prominent naturopathic physicians, James D’Adamo and son Peter D’Adamo, who have extensively studied blood type groups and their relationship to biochemistry, diet, and disease. Their interest was sparked by the theory that because blood carries nutrients throughout the body, different blood types interact differently with foods and their nutrients. Over the millions of years humans gradually moved across the planet in search of food, they adapted over time to whatever local conditions and foods they found, and as a result, the blood types formed.

How to Eat Right for You Specific Blood Type

Here’s a brief summary of what the D’Adamos discovered with each blood type:

Suggested Diet for Blood Type A

Type A individuals should follow a more vegetarian diet based on fresh organic vegetables, fruits, legumes, and whole grains. They observed that people with type A blood have a more sensitive immune system.

Suggested Diet for Blood Type B

Type B individuals need more animal protein in their diet, including eggs, dairy, and most meats, but chicken isn’t ideal. They should avoid corn, wheat, buckwheat, lentils, tomatoes, peanuts, and sesame seeds.

Suggested Diet for Blood Type 0

The oldest blood type on the planet, Type O individuals have a greater need for animal protein and fat which calls for a high-protein diet focused on meats, fish, and vegetables, while eschewing grains, beans, and dairy. Type Os were found to be more prone to Celiac disease, gluten intolerance, and allergies.

Suggested Diet for Blood Type AB

The newest and the most rare of the blood types tend to have low stomach acid, leading to trouble with digestion. They do well with a near vegetarian diet with a focus on green vegetables that includes dairy and seafood. They need to stay away from caffeine, alcohol, and cured meats.

The Real Secrets to Blood Type Diet Success

Take a look at all of the diets recommended for each of the blood types. Do you see what they all have in common? For one thing, they are each very specific and limited in the scope of foods you can eat. But, perhaps the most important, is what they don’t allow:

• No processed foods or simple carbs. None of these blood type diets allow processed foods or simple carbs, both of which are inflammatory, disease promoting, and cause you to pack on the pounds. Just eliminating these foods alone would explain the moderate success of this plan in helping you to lose weight and have more energy.
• No highly reactive foods. Each blood type diet has some highly reactive foods it doesn’t allow. This is because of the lectin content of these foods. Lectins are protein antigens that bind to the surface of blood cells and cause intestinal damage, digestion and absorption problems, nutrient deficiencies, allergies, and immune exhaustion, among other serious reactions. More than 65 lectins are known to bind specifically to the ABO blood types. Eliminating these toxic allergens goes a long way toward restoring health in anyone.

The Limitations of Blood Type Dieting

Eating for your blood type is such a fascinating and appealing concept that back in the day I really wanted it to work. But in practice, I found that it just is not the overriding factor in health and wellness. Here are three major reasons why:

• Widespread food sensitivities exist regardless of blood type. These days, I find people are sensitive to the exact same foods – regardless of blood type. It may be that the lectins in these foods are responsible. Or, there could be mitigating factors, like the chemicals they are grown with or the way they are processed. It may even be that environmental toxins (think glyphosate) are increasing our sensitivities beyond the D’Adamos’ original research was able to account for.
• Ancestry and metabolic type trump blood type. I find, in general, that ancestry and metabolic type (whether you are a fast or slow metabolizer) are two factors that trump blood type. That being said, blood type is useful to help hone in on which foods to emphasize for your metabolic type and ancestral background.
• Maintaining such a restrictive diet isn’t without its challenges. It is extremely challenging to maintain such a restrictive diet plan for an extended period of time. Limiting your food choices presents problems not only in getting enough of all of the essential nutrients, but also in social situations (like family gatherings) where food takes center stage. Over time, feelings of deprivation can set in which can trigger overeating and/or bingeing.

All in all, the body of knowledge we’ve amassed through research about diet and nutrition is truly impressive and is ever-evolving. From blood type to gene mutations like MTHFR, we have gained a wealth of knowledge about how our bodies process and assimilate nutrients. As we encounter each new piece of the puzzle, rather than viewing it as the lynch-pin of a totally new dietary strategy, we should simply incorporate it into what we already know works for each of our unique and individual needs. If you are already following my Fat Flush or Radical Metabolism programs, you can basically incorporate a focus on your own unique ancestral foods while keeping in mind your specific blood type recommendations.

If you’ve ever had an experience you just couldn’t shake, whose memory still haunts you and even changes the way you think or feel, you could be one of the more than 3 million people diagnosed each year in the US with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, or PTSD for short.

What is PTSD?

At least half of us will experience a significant traumatic event in our lifetime. For most of us, the experience will fade over time into an unpleasant memory. But, for about 10 percent of women and 7 percent of men, there will be triggers that bring those memories back to life to be relived with intense emotional and physical reactions over and over again over a period of months or years. This is PTSD.

For some, it’s mild and relatively short-lived, with recurrent nightmares, flashbacks, and a sense of being on “high alert” all the time. For others, it changes their entire personality and their physical health suffers, often accompanied by night terrors, avoidant behaviors, substance abuse, anxiety, and depression. When you experience a trauma like this, your body relives it along with your mind. And with PTSD, it’s like you’ve taken a snapshot of exactly how you felt in your mind and body, and you respond with that same visceral reaction each time the memory comes up.

There is hope for PTSD sufferers, beyond the trauma-focused psychotherapy and medications that try to manage symptoms but often come with unwanted side effects. And that’s our focus today – five innovative ways to release yourself from the trauma that binds:

Relieve PTSD with EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) Therapy

EMDR has been in use since the 1980s. It is an 8-phase therapy designed to help relieve the physical and mental stress of traumatic memories while helping you reframe your negative beliefs into positive ones. In PTSD, traumatic events actually rewire your brain so you think and react differently. EMDR uses eye movements and other external stimuli to retrain the brain and create new pathways for thoughts and trauma processing.

In phase 1, the therapist takes a thorough history and gets you ready for the treatment. In phase 2, you are taught a variety of ways to handle emotional distress. Phases 3 through 6 are the heart of the EMDR therapy, using eye movements with vivid visual imagery, while identifying your negative beliefs about yourself, and recognizing the emotions and physical sensations that arise during the reliving of the traumatic memory. Phase 7 is quiet observation over the time after the therapy, and phase 8 is a way to keep track of your progress and determine future needs.

Worldwide, there are more than 100,000 EMDR practitioners, and more than 30 controlled studies have been done on EMDR success with PTSD. Studies show that anywhere from 84 to 100 percent of single trauma sufferers no longer had PTSD after 3 to 6 sessions. And 77 percent of combat veterans and multiple trauma sufferers no longer had PTSD after 6 to 12 sessions.

For more information, check out the EMDR Institute at emdr.com.

EFT (Emotional Freedom Technique) for Overcoming Trauma

EFT, also referred to as “Tapping,” was developed by Gary Craig in the 1990s as a way to help veterans overcome PTSD. Although it sounds similar to EMDR, the philosophy behind it is quite different, and EFT can be done by anyone – with or without a trained practitioner. EFT is often referred to as “psychological acupressure” because you are tapping on the same energy meridian points that are used in acupuncture and acupressure.

Because PTSD causes you to relive the physical, mental and emotional state you were in during the trauma every time you recollect it, you are repeating the same pattern of energy flow blockage each time that memory comes up. EFT works to clear those blocks and restore the balance and flow of energy to resolve the issues on all levels. It’s like hitting a physiological reset button that takes the charge out of the memory.

The technique is deceptively simple and immediately effective. I highly recommend you follow it to the letter or you may not notice the progress you’ve made. Let me explain. While you have PTSD, these highly charged memories come easily to your remembrance and are virtually unforgettable. Once EFT essentially takes the charge out of these memories, they no longer come to the forefront and you quite literally put them out of your mind. They are still there but you don’t think about them anymore, and this can cause you to think EFT isn’t working for you when it actually is working quite well.

You start by writing down the thought that is disturbing you, and be as specific as possible. Then you assign it an intensity, from 0-10, with 10 being the worst it’s ever been for you. Then you choose a reminder phrase to repeat while you do the tapping. Once you are done tapping, go back and assess the intensity again. Repeat this for each thought or memory that is causing you difficulty.

There are several spin-offs from the original EFT, each with a different focus and varying degrees of success. Gary Craig’s website is emofree.com, and you can learn the entire technique completely free and on your own there.

Treat PTSD with Neurofeedback 

Advances in neuroscience are giving us therapies like neurofeedback that combine new insights into what happens to the brain with PTSD and new ways to map it out. Neurofeedback uses a sophisticated technology to monitor your brain waves while retraining your brain activity through simple exercises. Like Pavlov’s dog, when your brain responds appropriately during the therapy, you are given a signal and a reward. When the response is abnormal, there is simply no signal and no reward.

When you see a neurofeedback practitioner, after taking your history, they do an assessment that includes a qEEG. The areas of your brain activity that are either overactive or underactive “light up” on the results of this scan. This gives your practitioner the guidance they need to target the therapy to your brain’s specific and unique wiring.

During a session, your brainwaves are monitored every half second through EEG wires that make contact with your head through a conduit gel. This frequent feedback gives your brain thousands of chances to learn new patterns in each session. What it looks like for you is relaxing and watching a movie or show on a screen in a dark room for about 20 minutes. You may occasionally see the screen flickering, but otherwise, you usually don’t feel or notice anything.

Sessions are done in blocks of 20, with frequent questionnaires to assess your progress. Studies have shown that most PTSD sufferers experience significant relief within 24 sessions, but some have reported positive changes within just a few sessions. I recommend getting a follow up qEEG after every 20 sessions to see how your brain activity is changing, regardless of how you’re feeling. Even when you’re feeling the best you’ve ever felt, your qEEG may show there’s still work to be done to get the brain reset you need.

Support Your Serotonin with Supplements

It’s hard work to stay on “high alert” all the time. With PTSD, your brain and your body are working overtime processing the same trauma over and over again. You burn through neurotransmitters – the chemical messengers your brain uses to regulate your moods and more – faster than you can replenish your supply. As a result, your moods, sleep, ability to handle stress, and even your digestion all suffer.

Restore healthy neurotransmitter levels by supplementing with the building blocks your body needs to make them. I recommend starting with 5-HTP, an amino acid that is needed to make serotonin, your body’s best-known “feel good” neurotransmitter. If your PTSD struggle includes depression, weight gain, insomnia, or anxiety, these could be signs you are low in serotonin.

The recommended daily dose of 5-HTP is 50 to 200 milligrams. Start with 50 milligrams daily and increase to 100 milligrams in one week. If you don’t notice any improvement in your symptoms after 3 weeks, then increase to 200 milligrams daily. If you are taking an SSRI antidepressant, 5-HTP is not right for you and dangerous side effects can occur if both are taken together.

Boost Your Brainpower to Heal Trauma

It can take time to heal from trauma, both physically and emotionally, and sometimes your hardworking brain needs an extra boost of nutrients to feel like you’re firing on all circuits. This is where I recommend adding specific brain nutrients into your daily supplement regime. PTSD isn’t just about your moods; it often affects your energy level, sleep quality, memory and attention, and overall sense of wellbeing, not to mention the associated chronic pain and tension. Mood support alone isn’t always enough.

Nutrients to Support Your Brain with PTSD

If you struggle to get through the day, I encourage you to give the following combination of brain nutrients a try for at least three months three times daily:

Phosphatidylserine Complex (100 mg), Benfotiamine (100 mg), Green Tea Extract (50% EGCG) (60 mg) and Huperzine A (20 mcg) for memory and cognitive support

PABA (50 mg) paired with DMAE (50 mg) to support healthy brain function, a normalized inflammatory response, comfortable joint movement and a better sense of wellbeing

Gingko biloba (40 mg) and Bilberry Extract (25 mg) for better blood circulation and brain function

Oxygenating and energizing Vinpocetine (7mg) to reduce “brain fatigue.”

Together these target your brain health at the cellular level, to support your brain cells as they repair, rebuild, and strengthen themselves for increased vitality and an overall sense of wellbeing.

Urinary incontinence and bladder leakage affects an estimated 50 percent of all women, yet we rarely talk about it – or seek help.

The sad statistics show that as low as 25 percent of women suffering with this embarrassing issue seek treatment, and those women are usually given a prescription bladder medication that has a side effect of dementia!

I received an email from a dear friend asking me to address this highly sensitive issue, and I think she accurately summarizes the heart of the matter:

“Ann Louise, I have a topic I would love to see you write about. After having 6 kids I have some urine leakage when I cough, sneeze, jump on a trampoline, etc.

There are a lot of women in my age group (over 40) who are newly single, and I’m sure they must be struggling with the same issue I am.

When I think about becoming sexually active again, this bladder issue affects my confidence and holds me back (especially with younger men).

I would love to see you write about urinary incontinence, and address all the issues around it – how it affects the activities we choose, our sexuality, our exercise routines (lifting heavy weights or straining is a problem), and even our choice of undergarments. I’d like to see what choices we have.

For instance, we have the menstrual cup now as an option for monthly cycles, but what do we have besides chemically laden pads for urine leakage? What else can women do at home to resolve this issue and feel more confident again?”

Fortunately, urinary incontinence isn’t something you need to medicate or tolerate – there are new, innovative solutions that promise lasting relief. I understand many women are too private to seek out physical therapy for their pelvic floor, and using a pessary is not only messy but inconvenient for sexual spontaneity.

The first solution I want to introduce you to is one I’ve personally had done, and I’m very happy with the results.

Rejuvenation for Your Sensitive Tissues

Urinary incontinence affects all areas of your life, from how you exercise to which undergarments you choose – and your sexuality as well.

It’s often a result of the weakening or atrophy of tissues in the surrounding area, including the vagina. The bladder begins to bulge down into the vagina when the supportive tissues have begun to weaken and stretch, or even atrophy.

This is known as a cystocele, and is most commonly the result of straining during childbirth or bowel movements, or from the hormone changes associated with menopause.

ThermiVa Vaginal Rejuvenation

When you get to a certain age and stage of life, your soft tissues may require a little assistance – they need strengthening, lubrication, and rejuvenation. A technique was created for women with vaginal atrophy, women who have problems with sexual intercourse, and women with bladder problems or urinary incontinence. It’s called ThermiVa vaginal rejuvenation, and it came out in 2015.

I first learned about it from a Duke trained physician named Dr. Natalie Drake, an expert in nonsurgical treatments for women with pelvic dysfunction. I sought out her help for postmenopausal vaginal dryness, and was looking for a therapy to share with my clients who were seeking me out for unique solutions after reading my bestselling book, Before the Change.

ThermiVa is a radiofrequency treatment for everyone from young women who have just given birth up until your golden years. It essentially warms the vaginal tissues in a way that induces the tissue to produce and remodel collagen, which firms and strengthens your soft tissues, including those that support the bladder. It remodels the shape and structure of the entire vaginal area and improves blood flow, which in turn improves nerve sensation and perception of both sexual pleasure and the signal for urination.

Because it’s an intimate area you are having treated, it is essential you choose a practitioner you feel safe with. There is an emotional discomfort that comes with receiving treatment in the pelvic area, but the procedure itself is not painful. I felt a warming sensation throughout the procedure, never any pain or burning, and Dr. Drake made sure I was grounded so there was no harmful EMF exposure.

Each of the 3 treatments lasts up to 30 minutes in length, and there’s no “down time” afterward, so you can resume normal activities immediately following.

Once you finish the 3 initial treatments, Dr. Drake recommends a yearly maintenance treatment – and that’s all that’s needed to maintain healthy bladder functioning, vaginal lubrication, and sexual pleasure.

Cleansing for Bladder Health

Another system of your body that affects your bladder and vaginal health is your digestive system. A constipated adult colon can hold as much as 50 pounds of waste waiting to be eliminated! Your heavy colon then puts constant downward pressure on your bladder, causing it to not only change shape, but also to protrude down into your vagina. This is why it is essential to routinely cleanse your colon and keep yourself free from constipation.

A good quality probiotic is a must, especially to restore disordered flora if you are prone to bladder infections. You want to choose a formula that numbers in the billions of CFUs, not millions, and that is in powdered form so you can easily control your dose. This is something I take daily for both digestion and immune health, and I recommend it for all my clients as well.

Combat Hormone Havoc with Friendly Fats

If you’ve read either my Before the Change book or Radical Metabolism, then you are already familiar with the importance of essential fats for cellular repair, reducing inflammation, hormone balance, and healthy, moist tissues. The fats I am referring to, of course, are the Omega 3 and Omega 6 essential fatty acids found in wild caught fatty fish, free range eggs, grassfed meats, and nuts, seeds, and their oils.

My personal favorite way to get my essential fats in is hempseed oil, because it has the perfect 3:1 ratio of Omega 6 to Omega 3 fats in it. However, once you are experiencing urinary incontinence or vaginal dryness, more exact supplementation may be needed. In that case, I recommend:

• 1 to 2 grams of Omega 3 from Super-EPA
• 3 to 6 grams of CLA (Conjugated Linoleic Acid) per day for Omega
• up to 1 gram of GLA (Gamma Linolenic Acid) per day for proper prostaglandin production

Do you feel like there is something dragging you down? Something you can’t put your finger on—you can’t quite describe—but it’s definitely there, negatively affecting your state of well-being, your health, and your peace.

The EMFs surrounding you may be causing a disruption to your body’s electrical system and energy field – and 5G is only going to make that worse.

Electricity, Your Body & 5G Radiation

Your body is an exquisitely tuned and sensitive electrical wonder. You might be surprised to know that everything your body does is made possible by electricity. Your brain functions much like a computer, running the whole show on electrical waves. All the sensory information it sends and receives is electrical—hunger, pain, danger, and so much more. This includes the neurons that discharge when you move a muscle, the signals that tell your body to heal a wound, and even the beating of your heart.

Evidence of the body’s energy field has been highlighted by numerous disciplines, from the biological and medical sciences to quantum physics. Everything and everyone possess their own unique vibrational energy field and it interacts with the energy field of everything around it – other people, animals, plants, foods, and music. All these energy patterns influence your health by either boosting or harming it.

Computers, cell phones, TVs, tablets and other electronic devices also have energy fields that interact with and influence our own. These devices emit unnatural electromagnetic fields, or EMFs—radiation that is not in harmony with our natural energy fields. For many, this energetic disruption is barely perceptible, but for more electrosensitive individuals the effects can be debilitating. Electrosensitive individuals can experience exhaustion, headaches, dizziness, insomnia, heart palpitations and other arrhythmias, plus an array of other symptoms.

Regardless how sensitive you may be, science has shown that significant biological disruptions are occurring for all of us, whether we feel them or not. Perhaps you feel ill immediately upon entering a room that has Wi-Fi, or maybe you just sense that something isn’t quite right. Either way, you need to be aware how EMFs stress your body and disrupt your vital energy field.

Health Effects from EMFs

I first wrote about my experiences with clients whose health was dramatically affected by EMFs in my 2010 book Zapped. We now know I was a visionary on this subject and, unfortunately, the health effects have only gotten worse in the near decade since that book was written. My good friend Dr. Stephen Sinatra believes that “electro-hypersensitive” people may really be the proverbial canaries in the coal mine, giving us clues to an even more serious epidemic in the works.

The dangers of ionizing radiation—such as x-rays and gamma rays—are well-known, stripping electrons from atoms and causing a multitude of serious health problems, including cancer. But science has established that non-ionizing radiation has its own set of very concerning biological effects. Some “experts” claim wireless devices are safe because they operate at radio frequencies (RF), which are part of the spectrum of non-ionizing radiation – but this isn’t the whole story. So let’s break down the science behind what’s really going on with EMFs and 5G.

Non-ionizing radiation is emitted by cell phones and cell towers, power lines, computers, routers, cordless phones, baby monitors, smart meters, appliances, and the like. Even ordinary electrical wiring in your home falls into this category. EMFs include electrical, magnetic, and radio frequency fields.

Biological Effects Associated with EMFs

All of these produce oxidative stress due to triggering a massive influx of calcium into the cell. EMFs also damage mitochondria, the “power plants” inside your cells, which compromises ATP production. According to the  Bioinitiative Report, EMFs are now directly associated with the following biological effects:

• Reproductive effects (e.g., reduced sperm count and motility, reduced fertility)
• DNA and chromosome damage
• Generation of stress proteins
• Oxidative stress
• Breakdown of the blood-brain barrier
• Brain cancer
• Cognitive problems (impaired reaction time, memory, depression, brain fog)
• Insomnia
• Fatigue and malaise
• Tachycardia and other arrhythmias
• Digestive disturbances
• Cataract formation
• Increased inflammation
• Apoptosis (cell death)

Today, we are heavily blanketed by these unnatural, biologically incompatible frequencies. But it doesn’t stop there… 5G is rolling out.

5G Exposure and Risks

5G, or fifth generation wireless technology, is currently being installed in various cities, to be fully implemented in 2020. It will not replace 4G but rather add to it. 5G uses higher-energy but shorter waves in the “millimeter band” (above 10GHz) because that’s the only part of the spectrum that is still available.

The military and satellites have used millimeter band waves for decades—in fact, your TV’s satellite dish runs on them. A 5G wireless network is ten times faster than 4G LTE and can handle 1,000 times more traffic. So what’s not to love?

Not only does this energy carry all of the risks of 4G, but scientists express concern about additional risks to the skin, eyes, heart, and immune system. It’s important to understand that the frequency of your heart and brain are 8 to 10Hz, so we are already exposed to forces millions of times stronger than what our bodies are generating. With the addition of 5G, we will be living in an even denser electrosmog soup. These smaller 5G waves are unable to travel very far so transmitters will have to be nearly everywhere—on every lamp post, utility pole, home and business.

Dr. Ben-Ishai of Hebrew University states that our sweat ducts act like little antennas when exposed to these wavelengths, making us more electrically conductive. Your body has between two and four million sweat ducts, and his scientists found that these 5G millimeter waves are capable of amplifying physical pain because our skin perceives them as damaging stimuli.

Another concern is that 5G can be absorbed by plants and rain. Plants are a food source for humans and animals alike, and we have no idea of the implications of 5G millimeter wave-contaminated food. It is important to realize that the effects of radiation are cumulative, and we have ongoing exposures from many different sources. Adding an ever-increasing load of EMFs to the mix only increases our risk.

Is 5G History Repeating Itself?

With 5G, history is sadly repeating itself. In the early 1900s, factory workers began to show up at doctors’ offices with symptoms that look like the common cold, the flu, and bronchitis. The doctors couldn’t figure out what was wrong with these patients and sent them home.

Those doctors knew about asbestos, they heard about the early research, but didn’t think an invisible toxin could be the root cause of all these mystery illnesses.

These factory workers came in by the thousands, but never got the medical care they needed.

Fast-forward to 2019… Let’s replace Asbestos with EMFs.

The “Invisible Toxin” is EMF radiation from cell phones, wifi, and cell towers. The ‘Mystery Symptoms’ are extreme fatigue, insomnia, brain fog, depression, or anxiety that often don’t go away with diet, exercise, and supplements.

New research shows that “EMFs” coming from your cell phone, wifi, and cell towers can be just as bad as smoking cigarettes. Remember what “Big Tobacco” did not so long ago? They spent loads of money to cover up evidence that smoking was bad for you.

They were so good, even doctors believed that tobacco was safe. Doctors used to smoke with their patients around, and even recommended smoking as a cure for sore throat.

In 2019, “Big Wireless” has people believing that Wireless technologies like 5G and other EMFs are perfectly safe. But here’s the truth: A major US government study showed “Clear Evidence” that EMFs are a carcinogen… Just like Tobacco or Asbestos.

It’s a Catch 22 –autoimmune disease causes inflammation that brings on weight gain, but maintaining a healthy weight is key to controlling autoimmunity. The good news is you can lose the weight and keep it off – even while you battle autoimmune disease.

Autoimmune Disease & Weight Gain

It’s no secret that obesity and chronic disease go hand in hand – and the 80+ mystery illnesses that are lumped together as “autoimmune” are no exception to this rule. Autoimmune disease is a daily struggle for 1 out of every 5 adults in the US, and a sluggish metabolism comes as part of the package. The effects of a metabolism under toxic stress are progressive and potentially devastating, so what may initially appear as a few extra pounds and diminished energy can develop over time into a much larger problem.

Unfortunately, the fad diets that seem like quick fixes don’t help you in the long run. Often chock full of inflammation-inducing foods, these diets don’t heal – and healing is exactly what you need. Weight loss resistance is largely due to inflammation inflicting damage at the cellular level, and to cell membranes in particular. Sadly, this is an area that has been ignored in health care, including integrative and functional medicine.

In my Radical Metabolism plan, I explain that there are three metabolically active tissues that directly relate to how your body uses energy and stores fat. Each of these three tissues requires a different type of fuel and has specific nutritional requirements for optimal function. Unless each is specifically addressed in your diet, your slim-down may end up in a shutdown. The good news is that the Radical foods that reduce inflammation and fuel your cells also help you achieve a healthy weight.

A Healthy Body Has a Healthy Weight

The side effects of unhealthy weight gain start out the same for all of us – fatigue, joint pain, sleep problems, and diseases like type 2 diabetes – but autoimmune disease can exacerbate all of these, bringing them on more rapidly or with more intensity. Once you are in pain or experiencing any kind of debility with your illness, your ability to prepare even simple meals can be affected, and the weight seems like it just snowballs on itself. Not being able to exercise comfortably can also be a challenge that adds to the propensity to pack on the pounds.

As your autoimmune disease progresses, mobility may become more challenging, and this should be a red flag to you that it’s time to make some lifestyle changes – while you’re still able. A healthy diet should be a high priority – your cells are depending on it. Healthy cells need a healthy environment to thrive in – regardless of what your genes are.

Everything is controlled at the cellular level—appetite, fat burning and fat storage, energy production, hormones, tissue repair, recovery from illness or injury, resistance to disease (including autoimmunity), and even aging itself. Your metabolism controls digestion, getting nutrients into the cell and waste products out. You can thank your metabolism for your body’s ability to detoxify itself.

Metabolism & Diet

Your diet matters because metabolic processes depend upon the nutrients you eat. These nutrients can be broken down to produce energy and critical proteins, such as DNA. Having a toxic metabolism means your DNA may be damaged, cells are not getting all the nutrients they need, or your body has a problem with toxicity—and unfortunately most people with autoimmune disease have all 3 parts of this toxic trio. If detox fails, toxins progressively accumulate. Having a toxic body is a bit like swimming in a pool that’s never had its water changed.

Your body depends on certain nutrients to perform its basic functions, and if you can’t get them, or for some reason your body can’t use them, then systems begin to break down. It’s important to realize that excessive weight gain is just a symptom of a deeper problem—your body’s way of clueing you in that something is wrong at the cellular level. And when you reduce the inflammatory foods in your diet and add in more healing foods, weight loss is a natural side effect of nourishing your body at the cellular level.

Go With Your Gut for Lasting Weight Loss

Lasting weight loss starts with good gut health. You can take all of the weight loss supplements the world has to offer, but unless your digestion is strong enough to break down and absorb what you’re taking, you’re just throwing money down the drain. And when you already have autoimmunity, the deck is already stacked against you when it comes to good digestion.

It starts with your saliva, which is underproduced in many autoimmune disorders. And when saliva levels are low, this causes low stomach acid. If you don’t have enough stomach acid, you can’t absorb iron, calcium, zinc, selenium, protein, vitamin B12, and so much more. This low level of stomach acid also signals a lower production of pancreatic enzymes, furthering hampering the digestion process. Bile production also drops, and did you know autoimmune disorders can be associated with as much as a 75 percent drop in bile production?

5 Radical Rules to Overcome Autoimmune Weight Gain

To overcome autoimmune associated weight gain, you need to get Radical – my Radical Metabolism plan, that is. Each of my 5 Radical Rules gets to the root of toxic weight gain from autoimmunity.

My Radical Rule #1: teaches you all about healthy essential fats like alpha-linolenic acid, which is anti-inflammatory and has been shown in studies to be helpful for autoimmune conditions

Boost bile production with my Radical Rule #2 (hint: bitter foods build better bile) Increase lean muscle mass and fire up your fat-burning metabolism with my Radical Rule #3

Radical Rule #4 teaches you how to repair your gut and get digestion back on track Radical Rule #5 teaches you how to reduce your toxic load and relieve your body of its burden, taking inflammation along with it.

I can’t say it better than what Elisa V. had to say about her Radical Metabolism journey:

“Many of the other excellent programs out there show you how to eat and how to supplement to take care of health issues. They have been very helpful and successful, but at a certain point it just felt like, okay, those issues are gone and I keep up with the program, but I still don’t feel like what I’m told I will feel like, my optimal health.

RM shows you why. You can eat right and exercise and take all the supplements you want, but it will only take you so far if you’re not healing your cells and your gall bladder. RM tells you how to do that. No other program I’ve seen does. Everyone only focuses on the gut.

I’ve learned, you’re body isn’t going to even properly fix that until you have the right oils for your body cells to upload that and without a functioning gall bladder, you can’t fix your cells. So it seems to me that if you’re doing everything right, without fixing your cells, you are sending everything into hiding in your body, because the toxins can’t get out. So the healing is temporary, so when you cheat on your diet, the toxins come creeping out again, until you send them back into hiding.

If we fix our cells and gallbladder/liver, we can actually eliminate these toxins from the body. This is what my understanding is so far in RM. It’s not always what you’re ingesting that hurts your body, it’s also many times what you are not ingesting.”

It doesn’t matter how many miles you run, how much muscle you build, or how much you starve yourself – if your cooking methods are adding to your toxic load, your skin will sag, your tissues will clump together, and your cells will age prematurely.

What are AGEs?

If you can “pinch an inch” or more of lumpy, bumpy tissue under the skin anywhere on your body (especially on the back of your neck and upper arms), then you already have an accumulation of Advanced Glycation End products, known as AGEs. These large, sugar-bound protein and fat molecules stick together and form the flabby, sagging skin on your upper arms, the extra breast tissue underneath your arms, the “pot belly” below your waist, and the mysterious lumps and bumps that pop up anywhere and seem to come out of nowhere.

AGEs are much more than just a beauty problem though. They are a sign that your liver is accumulating toxins and are associated with chronic diseases like diabetes, Alzheimer’s, heart disease, kidney failure, liver cirrhosis, and premature aging. How you cook your food and the amount of toxins your body is carrying are the two factors that contribute the most to AGE formation.

How Do AGESs Accumulate?

Glycation is the name of the process that attaches sugars like fructose (from fruits) and glucose to fats and proteins in the bloodstream, without needing the help of any enzymes. These large, sticky molecules are known as AGEs, and they are aging you ahead of your time. Once formed, they clump together and accumulate in the liver and other tissues, causing inflammation and oxidative damage throughout your body. They can change the shape of certain proteins, which alters or blocks their normal functioning and leads to serious chronic diseases that affect every organ in the body – including your liver, kidneys, heart, and brain.

Low levels of AGEs are not a problem. Your body has enzymes and antioxidants that can quickly break these compounds down and render them harmless. But, when you consume too many AGEs through your diet or have high levels of toxins in your body that inhibit your ability to break AGEs down, then they start to accumulate and cause damage to everything from your immune system to your vital organs and all the way out to your skin. Men generally eliminate AGEs more easily than women, most likely due to their faster oxidation rate.

HOW You Cook is as Important as WHAT You Cook

Diet is by far the biggest source of AGEs – even in vegetarians. And how you cook your food is just as important as whaty ou cook. If you roast, broil, grill, barbeque, fry, sauté, sear, bake, toast, brown, or use high heat in any manner to cook your food, you are creating very high levels of AGEs – regardless of what you’re cooking. And surprisingly, the dry heat that has been touted as the healthier alternative to frying, causes AGEs to form at levels 10 to 100 times what is present in uncooked foods.

Animal proteins, by themselves, are more susceptible to AGE formation than any other food. But, any food combined with sugar – like the grains used in baking – will also form high levels of AGEs. Even honey, maple syrup, fruits, fruit juices, coconut water, milk, nut milks, and sugar in any form can lead to the formation of AGEs. This is why vegetarians are not exempt from AGE accumulation.

Body Imbalances That Contribute to AGE Formation

When your body is out of balance, toxic metals accumulate, fungi thrive, deficiencies abound, and premature aging is the result. These all contribute to AGE formation:

Toxic Metals

• Toxic Metals from drinking water, dental amalgams, anti-perspirants, antacids, swimming pools, and more. The process of glycation can involve toxic metals, especially fluoride, chlorine, and bromine (the halides).

Yeast and Fungal Infections

• Yeast and Fungal Infections create the inflammatory conditions that allow AGE formation, and their very presence is a sign that excess sugar is available for the process of glycation.

Blood Sugar Imbalances

• Blood Sugar Imbalances allow more AGEs to be formed in the blood, especially when blood sugar spikes after a meal.

Antioxidant Deficiency

• Antioxidant Deficiency both from the diet and from our own formation decreases our defenses against AGE formation and makes it difficult for us to break them down.

Dehydration 

• Dehydration encourages the formation of AGEs, even if it’s at a chronic, low level from not drinking enough filtered water.

Can You Measure AGEs in the Body?

We can easily measure the AGE content of foods, and entire databases have been created with this information. But, it’s more difficult to measure AGE levels in the body. We don’t have a single test or panel of tests that really give us an accurate picture of our overall AGE load.

At this point, the only blood test that gives us a clue as to how much AGE we carry is the Hemoglobin A1c, and this only applies to one protein in the blood. This test tells us what percentage of the hemoglobin in your blood has been glycated (coated with sugar). For optimal longevity, set your goal of an A1c result of 5 percent or less.

In the absence of accurate overall blood testing, it’s important to look to your body for the answers. When you look in the mirror, is there anywhere – even your “double chin” and the back of your neck – that you can pinch an inch or more of rolling, sagging, or lumpy tissue? Do you have cellulite or bound fascia? These are all signs that you are accumulating AGEs, and it’s time to do something about it.

Reverse the AGE Process

AGEs are not only very damaging, but are difficult to get rid of once they start to accumulate. It’s not enough to decrease the amount coming in through your diet, you must also increase your antioxidants and support your liver. Here are the 5 steps I recommend for reversing the AGE process.

1. Up Your Antioxidants

Your body needs antioxidants to not only remove excess AGEs but also to balance the oxidation process in the body so they stop accumulating in the first place. Vitamins A, C, and E, along with minerals like selenium and zinc need to be plentiful not only in the diet but also supplemented through a good daily multivitamin/multimineral.

2. Love Your Liver

N-acetyl cysteine, alpha lipoic acid, chlorophyll and taurine are all excellent support for a tired, toxic liver. Once your liver is back to its full detoxifying capacity, your energy will soar and your body will rid itself more easily of AGEs and associated toxic metals. I recommend UNI KEY Health’s Liver-Lovin Formula for gentle cleansing and nourishing support of your liver and its detox pathways. Coffee enemas are another way to stimulate the detoxification and cleansing of your liver, to increase the removal of AGEs.

3. Marinate Your Meats

Let’s face it – summertime grilling is almost impossible to resist. Use acidic marinades that contain vinegar or citrus juices on your meat before grilling or cooking over high heat to reduce AGE production up to 50 percent. Try my Fat Flush Zesty Lime Marinade or Lemony Rosemary Marinade and substitute olive oil for an overnight marinade that will not only reduce AGEs but, as an added bonus, reduces the arachidonic acid in red meats that causes joint inflammation.

4. Go Low and Slow When Cooking

Steaming, boiling, poaching, braising, and using a pressure cooker or slow cooker are the preferred cooking methods to reduce AGE formation. Low heat and low sugar with plenty of moisture keep foods from drying out and producing AGEs.

5. Cook with Clay

Cooking on ceramic surfaces instead of directly on metal also reduces AGE production. My personal favorite is my VitaClay cooker (winner of the Good Housekeeping Best Slow Cooker Award). This ancient method of cooking with clay is not only healthier, but allows for the full array of flavors to develop, and only a splash of broth, juice, or wine is needed.

Mistaken for everything from asthma to a heart attack, this common muscle weakness mimics many different health issues and can be difficult to diagnose.

A hiatal hernia can be completely asymptomatic for several years, or have symptoms so severe you feel you are having a heart attack or asthma attack.

Regardless of what alerts you to this stealthy diagnosis, once you know what you are dealing with, there’s much more you can do to resolve it than simply taking acid reducing medications.

These medicines may make you feel better in the short term, but in the long term can lead to nutrient deficiencies because of their inhibitory effect on your digestion.

Mary's Story

Mary was 55 years old when the fatigue and body aches set in.

She had always considered herself fairly healthy, even with the extra 20 pounds she gained after menopause, so she brushed it off as being a little out of shape and resolved to get more exercise.

Once she started going for a brisk walk every day, she noticed she was easily out of breath, which she took as another sign of her lack of conditioning. It wasn’t until she woke up in the middle of the night with a burning pain in her chest that she realized something more was going on with her health.

Mary Goes to The Doctor

Once her doctor ruled out a heart issue, she was wisely checked for a hiatal hernia, which she did indeed have.

Hiatal hernia is most common in overweight women over age 50, though it’s estimated that up to 50 percent of the adult population could have one.

What Is a Hiatal Hernia?

A hernia happens when an organ pushes through an opening that a muscle is holding in place. In the case of a hiatal hernia, the muscle involved is the diaphragm.

Normally, the esophagus and stomach join together right at the hiatus, which is an opening in the diaphragm that allows these digestive organs and the vagus nerve to pass through.

When the diaphragm muscle becomes weak, a portion of the stomach protrudes up through the hiatus, resulting in a hiatal hernia.

Where the stomach and esophagus join together, there’s a sphincter that closes so the stomach acid doesn’t wash up into the esophagus.

When you have a hiatal hernia, that sphincter is mechanically forced open, allowing acid to wash up into the esophagus, causing acid reflux symptoms.

At the same time, this displacement irritates the vagus nerve, which can cause troubling symptoms that imitate other illnesses.

Signs You May Have a Hiatal Hernia

Mary was fortunate to be diagnosed so quickly with her hiatal hernia. Because it can mimic so many other conditions, it’s often not discovered until it’s advanced far enough to cause worrisome symptoms.

In Mary’s case, her hiatal hernia symptoms were fatigue, body aches, shortness of breath, and burning chest pain.

The vagus nerve travels from the brain to the heart, lungs, esophagus, stomach, small intestine, liver, gallbladder, pancreas, colon, kidneys, bladder, and external genitals.

Once a hiatal hernia irritates the vagus nerve, effects can be seen downstream in any of these organs and their functions.

Symptoms can include, but aren’t limited to:

• Heartburn
• Acid reflux or GERD
• Bloating after meals and during symptoms
• Dry mouth and gum irritation
• Bitter taste in your mouth, and even sour liquid or regurgitated acidic foods
• Difficulty swallowing pills
• Nausea and even vomiting
• Waking up gasping for air, choking or coughing in the middle of the night
• Excessive belching and gas
• Frequent hiccups
• Intermittent hoarseness, worse in the morning
• Chronic cough or sore throat
• TMJ Disorder
• Weight loss
• Erosions and ulcers in esophagus
• Esophageal spasm
• Abdominal pain that’s worse when slouching or bending over
• Shallow breathing and difficulty taking a deep breath
• Asthma
• Thyroid gland irritation
• Decreased stomach acid
• pH imbalance
• Nutrient deficiencies from digestive disturbances
• Food allergies
• Constipation
• Anemia
• Chest pain
• Fatigue
• Body Aches

To get an idea of whether you may have this condition, place the fingers of one hand on the solar plexus, which is just below the breastbone.

Take a deep abdominal breath in. What you should feel is the solar plexus expanding and moving your fingers outward.

• If you have to lift your chest and shoulders to get a deep breath in, then you may have a hiatal hernia.
• If you see minimal movement of your fingers or no movement at all, then your breathing is shallow and may be a sign of a hiatal hernia.

What Causes a Hiatal Hernia?

The most common cause of a hiatal hernia is increased pressure in the abdomen, often for an extended period of time.

This pressure can come from:

• Being overweight or obese
• Pregnancy
• Slouching and poor posture
• Persistent coughing
• Vomiting
• Repeated straining during bowel movements
• Inflammation
• Poor diet causing indigestion and nutrient deficiencies
• Heavy lifting
• General muscle weakness and debility
• Physical trauma

The diaphragm is the muscle that separates your abdomen from your chest cavity. When it becomes weak from the pressure, the hiatus opens more, allowing a portion of the stomach to pass through. The acid from the stomach begins splashing up into the esophagus, causing weakness and strain in the swallowing muscles and esophageal tissues. This is why hiatal hernia is often confused with GERD, because the symptoms at this point can be so similar.

When the primary cause of hiatal hernia is dietary, there is often accompanying inflammation of the ileocecal valve, which separates the small intestine from the colon. This valve can become swollen and not close properly, which then allows the contents of the colon to leak back into the small intestine, much like a sewer backup. This creates excessive gas, which puts pressure on the diaphragm and can cause a hiatal hernia.

One final cause is emotional concerns. Do you swallow your anger or have situations in your life you just can’t stomach? These phrases exist for a reason – your emotional health affects your physical health. When you are angry, you breath more shallow and suck your breath upward, leading to pressure that pulls your stomach upward.

Many people with hiatal hernias hold their emotional stress inside, and it affects their digestive and immune health most profoundly. Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) refers to the source of anger as “liver fire,” which can come from vagus nerve irritation and liver congestion, both of which have a relationship to hiatal hernia.

What You Can Do For a Hiatal Hernia?

I was first introduced to the insidious issues this malady causes in the 1980s, through the work of Dr. Theodore Baroody. During that time, hiatal hernia was often dismissed as GERD and treated only for the stomach acid issues.

His book opened my eyes to both the mechanical nature of this common problem, and the options available beyond antacid medications and surgical intervention.

When a muscle like the diaphragm becomes weak and out of shape, it’s essential to do exercises to condition it and restore its strength.

Dr. Baroody has a set of exercises in his classic book, Hiatal Hernia Syndrome; The Mother of All Illness?, and since its publication, chiropractors have also developed a set of exercises for hiatal hernia.

Practices

While chiropractic adjustment can be helpful, it’s also temporary, and you need to do exercises at home to reinforce the effectiveness.

• Drink Warm Water

  One common exercise is to drink warm water, which relaxes the stomach and weighs it down, then drop from your tiptoes down to your heels multiple times to bring the stomach down through the hiatus.

• Blow Up Balloons

  Another common exercise is to blow up a balloon daily, to both increase lung capacity and to create pressure from the chest cavity that keeps the stomach down and in place.

  In the beginning, many people can barely blow up one balloon, but over time will notice they can blow up several of them per day.

• Abdominal Massage

  Abdominal massage by a qualified practitioner will target the ileocecal valve and the diaphragm, and follow the path of your digestion to relieve physical stress and induce relaxation.

  This can also help relieve some of the emotional stress associated with hiatal hernia.

• Lifestyle Changes

  Lifestyle changes that help with hiatal hernia include eating small meals, wearing loose clothing, using good posture, practicing deep breathing, sitting up after eating, avoiding alcohol and caffeine, limiting fatty foods, and losing excess abdominal weight.

Diet and Nutrition

Because I believe good health starts with the gut, focusing on digestive health is a key component of resolving hiatal hernia issues for good.

Whether it’s constipation, low stomach acid, food allergies, or liver and gallbladder sludge, you have to address any and all digestive issues – both above and below the hernia site.

Only then do you stand a chance of it actually healing for the long term.

• Address Inflammation

  Eat an anti-inflammatory diet. My Radical Metabolism plan was designed not only for people with difficulty losing weight, but for those with inflammation as a root cause to their diseases.

  People who haven’t had success with autoimmune Paleo or GAPS-style diets are feeling better and having more energy once they get Radical.

  In addition to the eating plan, there is also a customizable supplement plan included to help you with the digestive issues that accompany a hiatal hernia.

• Balance Your Stomach Acid

  Even though you feel the pain of the acid from your stomach washing up into your esophagus, it doesn’t mean you have excess acid. In fact, it’s often the opposite problem that’s to blame.

  When acid is reduced too low, even though you feel less discomfort in the short term, your food is essentially rotting and fermenting downstream, resulting in gas, bloating, and other digestive issues that backup and put pressure on the diaphragm.

  When you have optimal stomach acid, you will break down protein more quickly, and absorb iron, calcium, vitamin B12, and other nutrients more efficiently, without bloating or fatigue.

• Build Better Bile

  When there’s sludge and congestion in the liver and gallbladder, or the gallbladder has been surgically removed for these issues, you often need ongoing cleansing and bile support for optimal fat digestion.

And for a daily dose of tips and strategies for maintaining healthy weight, conquering insomnia, and much more… check out my Radical Health Tips.

Before there was a drug for every ailment or condition, there was an ancient herb—or combination of herbs—used in its place.

While we all have symptoms crop up from time to time that are bothersome, it isn’t always necessary – or desirable – to jump to using medications that have unwanted side effects before trying other alternatives.

Ancient Healing Herbs as Modern Remedies

My personal healthcare beliefs include using diet, lifestyle changes, and nutritional supplements first, before resorting to medication, whenever possible. This has led me on a search over the years to find the most effective herbs and compounds to address everything from digestive woes to weight loss, and so much more.

Today, I’m sharing with you three of my favorite ancient healing herbs and how I’ve used them in my own life and herbal formulations.

Berberine, A Powerful Plant Compound 

Berberine has been used for centuries in both Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) and Ayurvedic medicine to promote healthy digestion. But more recently, hundreds of studies have been done on this alkaloid compound found in many plants and herbal shrubs, from barberry to Oregon grape root and more, because of its amazing benefits on fat metabolism, blood sugar balance, digestion, and overall health. These studies have shown berberine works all the way down to the cellular level, with some mechanisms similar to how pharmaceutical drugs work.

Boost Your Metabolism & More with Berberine

Berberine activates an enzyme known as AMPK, which has been referred to as your “metabolic master switch” and is a main regulator of your metabolism. But it doesn’t stop there. Berberine has antimicrobial properties that help clear out the “bad bugs” and, at the same time, it feeds your beneficial bacteria. It helps balance blood sugar by making cells more sensitive to insulin, while helping to regulate the breaking down of sugars and carbs. It also helps remove cholesterol from the blood stream, lowering cholesterol levels.

Berberine to Balance Blood Sugar & to Promote Weight Loss

Putting it all together, its anti-inflammatory, blood sugar balancing, digestion enhancing, antimicrobial, and cholesterol improving effects all lead to weight loss. In one study done in China, participants lost belly fat and decreased their BMI levels from 31.5 to 27.4, downgrading them from the obese category to the overweight category – in just 3 months. Berberine is found naturally in Oregon Grape Root.

Centaury, A Legendary Healer

Centaury (Centaurium erythraea) was named after Chiron, a mythological centaur who was known as a great healer and the founder of medicine. According to legend, Chiron used centaury to heal the wound from a poisoned arrow. Native healers still use centaury for wounds that may contain poison or venom, include snakebites.

Centaury Helps to Stimulate & Soothe Digestion

Today, we know centaury as one of the original bitters, used to make herbal and cocktail bitters. As you know, I am a big fan of bitters because they help you build better bile and strengthen digestion. Centaury stimulates secretion of all of your digestive juices, while at the same time it dries up excess fluid to relieve bloating and edema. And centaury is a powerful anti-helminthic, still in use today to eliminate parasitic worms. It sedates the larger worms, causing them to relax their hooks and suckers and release from intestinal walls.

Flowers, Stems, & Leaves Hold the Healing Key in Centaury

Other members of this bitter gentian family of herbs have been overharvested and are becoming endangered; this is because it’s their roots that need to be harvested, which kills the entire plant. Centuary is still abundant in the wild because only the flowers, leaves and stems of the plant are harvested, leaving established roots to regrow the plant.

Quassia, A Bark with a Bitter Bite

Quassia (Quassia amara) is an old-world European herbal remedy made from the bark of a tree that originated in the forests of Brazil and Jamaica. History has it that a man from Sweden purchased it from a native healer named Quassi in the 1750s, and the name stuck. When European explorers found the trees growing in their native soils, they named them Quassia.

Quassia as a Digestive Tonic

This very powerful bitter is still used in Europe today as a digestive tonic. Not only does it stimulate the secretion of bile and other digestive juices, it also soothes nausea, indigestion, diarrhea, and other gastric upsets. In addition, it’s used to stimulate appetite and tune up digestion after a long period of illness or general debility.

Spare Beneficial Bacteria & Purge Parasites with Quassia

Quassia is used commercially as a natural insecticide that kills harmful insects and spares the beneficial ladybugs and bees. It’s used on humans and animals externally as a lotion to kill parasites like lice, and internally is used to expel worms and other parasites. Just like it only kills harmful insects as a natural insecticide, it targets parasites and worms in our digestion and spares the beneficial bacteria.

Food Cravings & Weight Loss

Who doesn’t love a hot cup of coffee first thing in the morning, a piece of decadent chocolate, or a good burger? But, did you know these foods you crave can actually help you reach your weight loss goals? It’s true!

We were enjoying dinner out last weekend when I overheard a comment at the next table: “Girl, let’s order appetizers and drinks, I’m off my diet and ready to celebrate!” Have you ever wondered why people give up on their resolutions and weight loss goals so quickly? (Hint: the answer is in the overheard comment.)

In the third video of our Metabolism Reboot mini-course, I’m giving you mouth-watering recipes to make delicious foods that are more of a treat and less of a chore. If you missed the first two on detoxing your kitchen and crushing your cravings, it’s not too late to join us! Click here to sign up for my free 5-part series to give your metabolism a Radical Reboot!

Your Feelings About Food Influence Your Fat Loss

I read this study a few years ago that had a tremendous impact on how I viewed dieting. Researchers asked Americans what emotion they associated with chocolate cake. The overwhelming answer – guilt. My guess is many of you reading this would agree.

Then they asked the French what emotion they associate with chocolate cake. Their answer may surprise you – celebration. The study went further and showed that people who associate decadent treats like chocolate cake with guilt and loss of control were less successful at maintaining or losing weight over an 18-month period than people who associated it with celebration and joy.

I took this a step further and came to the realization that diets that don’t incorporate celebration and the foods we enjoy and consider treats are doomed to fail, because of how strongly our emotions are tied to our food. Comments like the one I overheard in the restaurant really show how we feel deep down about going on a diet – like it’s all work and no play. For a diet to be successful, at least some of our daily food choices have to “spark joy” or we throw it out.

Make A Radical Change to Your Weight Loss Resolutions

With my four decades of experience helping thousands upon thousands of dieters like you lose weight and keep it off, I understand the need for decadent treats to enjoy while trying to lose weight. I was thrilled to discover the research that showed some of our all-time favorites like coffee and chocolate are actually superfoods that stimulate your fat-burning metabolism. My new Radical Metabolism plan will teach you how your favorite comfort foods and celebratory foods can be used to help you lose weight – without feeling guilty!

For instance, I discovered coffee is a superfood that is rich in chlorogenic acid. This means your morning coffee is good for your liver, heart, and brain, plus it triples your fat burning all while helping you retain lean muscle mass. If coffee doesn’t agree with you, then you can substitute roasted dandelion root tea for a healthy liver or Oolong tea for more rapid fat loss.

DID YOU KNOW:

• You can have your coffee, chocolate, and even bacon and use them to lose weight
• Starting your day with coffee and chocolate will not only make you feel full and crush your cravings, but will also jump-start your metabolism
• A mid-afternoon coffee pick-me-up made the right way will also boost your fat-burning metabolism while it gives you the energy you need to make it through the rest of the day
• An after-dinner treat is not only a good idea but a must-have if you want to keep cravings away and continue to burn fat
• You don’t have to go keto for a good bacon burger to help you with weight loss
• Bitter tastes like coffee and chocolate make your diet work better by cutting cravings, increasing digestive juices like stomach acid and bile, and helping you reset your digestion after a high fat diet like keto or paleo.

It’s time to get Radical and change how you look at your diet. Make it a celebration of weight loss and not a chore, with my new Radical Metabolism plan. Don’t wait! Get started now by signing up for my free 5-part Metabolism Reboot course.

From “keto flu” to kidney stones and even pancreatitis, some people are finding the keto diet is not the “one size fits all” weight loss plan they thought it was.

As the First Lady of Nutrition, I have more than four decades of experience with diets and weight loss, and the associated trends that come and go. One thing I’ve observed is that when we go to drastic extremes with diets, whether it’s extremely low fat or, in the case of keto, extremely low carb, it puts too much stress on the body and serious problems arise.

I get it—it truly is inspiring to see the celebrities and doctors we admire have such dramatic weight-loss results with the keto diet. Even though it’s such a huge departure from the way we’re used to eating, we rationalize that “desperate times call for desperate measures” because we see the health impact that carrying all this extra weight is having—not to mention the painful blow to our self-esteem. But...

When a diet like keto sounds too good to be true, it probably is.

The Origins of the Ketogenic Diet and How it Works

Originally developed in the 1920s as a medical treatment for children with a seizure disorder, the ketogenic diet has taken the weight loss world by storm for the past few years. With its goal of 75 percent fat, 20 percent protein and a mere 5 percent carbs, it’s a huge change from the standard American diet of more than 50 percent carbs.

This way of eating switches your body from burning sugar and carbs as fuel to using fats as its primary energy source, and this can be a total game changer in your health—when it’s done properly. But, with huge changes comes huge challenges for those whose genetics and fat metabolism just aren’t geared for it.

Who Shouldn’t Go Keto

First of all, I need you to know: if keto failed you-you didn’t lose weight and you felt awful—it’s NOT your fault! One diet truly does not fit all, and keto may not be the right fit for you. The high amount of fats required for your body to go into ketosis and extreme fat-burning are not right for everyone.

Here’s a List of Everyone Who Should Avoid the Keto Diet:

• You have a history of pancreatitis or high triglycerides. High triglycerides circulating in the blood for a prolonged period of time can lead to acute pancreatitis. The high fat keto diet is a known cause of acute pancreatitis, because it causes an increase in circulating fats.
• You have gallbladder disease or no longer have a gallbladder. The gallbladder stores and concentrates the bile, which is made by the liver. Bile is essential for fat metabolism. A high fat keto diet can aggravate existing gallbladder disease. Also, if your gallbladder has been surgically removed, you may have trouble digesting all the fat you eat on the keto diet. Weight gain, bloating, and other digestive discomforts would be the first signs you would notice with this.
• You have low blood pressure (hypotension). The ketogenic diet makes your body more acidic as it starts producing ketones. Prolonged low blood pressure combined with acidosis can lead to cardiac arrest.
• You have kidney disease or a history of kidney failure. The way you test to see if you are in ketosis and burning fat as your primary tool, is to see if ketones are present in your urine. If you already have kidney issues, the added stress of the diet on the kidneys may worsen existing disease.
• You have multiple nutrient deficiencies or have had weight-loss surgery. If you already have poor nutritional status from either prolonged sickness or severe calorie restriction, a full nutrition workup is recommended before starting any diet. You need to nourish your cells and rebuild them, not stress them further.
• If you’ve had gastric bypass or other weight loss surgery, it is likely a diet was prescribed for you at the time of your surgery. These surgeries often change how you break down your food and limit the amount of each nutrient you are able to metabolize.
• You have tumors in your abdomen or liver. While keto can be helpful when you have cancer, it must be supervised by a knowledgeable professional so you don’t further compromise your digestive and liver functioning or develop deficiencies.
• You have low gastric motility. The ketogenic diet is known to cause constipation from the start, you need to be cautious if you already have impaired motility, because bowel obstruction can result.
• You have known genetic conditions—from birth—that can’t tolerate ketosis. Several genetic disorders that are identified at birth are known contraindications for the keto diet. With the exception of Porphyria, which can develop later in life, you would be aware if you have one of these conditions.

Fix Your Fat Metabolism and Make It Work for You

Underlying most problems with the keto diet is trouble with fat metabolism. Your body wants to burn fat as its primary fuel, but if your bile is congested, you have too little bile, you’re missing your gallbladder, you have fatty liver disease, or you have other digestive issues, then you can’t digest all the fats the keto diet requires you to eat, and you’ll feel worse instead of better.

The first step to fixing your fat metabolism is building better bile. Free-flowing bile is essential for eliminating toxins and digesting fats properly.

The next step is to rev-up your fat-burning metabolism by eating the right fats—essential omega 3 and omega 6 fats from good quality sources. When it comes to weight loss, good quality fat is your friend—essential fats nourish and create healthy cells, reduce inflammation, and help shift your body into burning fats for fuel, all while feeding your brain and balancing your hormones. Choose grassfed meats, free range poultry and eggs, and cold-pressed organic oils like hemp, flax, and walnut to maximize your omega 3 and omega 6 fat intake.

Once your fat metabolism is working optimally, you may still find keto just isn’t right for you. Your ancestors may have had less of a fat-focused diet, and this is still in your genetic make-up. It’s important to listen to your body and do your homework to find the diet that’s right for you.

How to Know When You’re Eating Right for YOU

There isn’t a single diet out there that will work for everyone, unless it has the flexibility for you to customize it to suit your individual needs. But how do you know when you’ve struck gold and found the plan that fits you, your lifestyle, your genetics, and your metabolism to a tee? Here are the signs I recommend looking for:

• You wake up with energy and in a good mood.
• You feel more energetic after you eat—not less.
• You lose weight easily.
• Cravings are a thing of the past.
• Your blood tests show you are healthy.
• Your digestion works the way it should.
• Exercise doesn’t leave you feeling drained.
• You handle stress well.
• You fall asleep easily and wake feeling well-rested.
• Your body feels good and you have a strong sense of wellbeing.

Sounds too good to be true? Then you haven’t found the right diet for you! You might be thinking, “But I’ve tried so many diets, Ann Louise, and I’m still sitting here feeling fat and fatigued, and I just can’t seem to lose the weight!” Trust me, I’ve turned around thousands of “hopeless causes” and I can help you, too! 

The underlying premise of the keto diet is right—your body wants to burn fat as its primary source of fuel. The problem is, you still need carbs to make hormones—thyroid, sex, and stress hormones, to be precise. Without enough carbs, you can feel tired, sluggish, unable to handle stress, have night sweats, and gain weight far too easily, among other signs of hormone imbalance. Too many carbs and the bloating, blood sugar increases, and fatigue set in.

Carbs, fats, and proteins all have one thing in common—they each have a “sweet spot” that creates optimal health in your body—too much or too little of any one of them is not a good thing.

I created my Radical Metabolism plan for even the slowest of losers, the most sluggish of metabolisms, and even those with autoimmune and other chronic illnesses that make a healthy weight seem so far out of reach. Thousands of people like you have already seen success with my plan, and found their ideal amounts of carbs, proteins, and fats, and they’re loving their new lifestyle! They’ve seen their energy levels soar, the inches and pounds fall off, and their blood tests improve—even thyroid! I invite you to get RADICAL, and find your way back to feeling good again.