GAPS

Finding Foods That Love You

Finding Foods That Love You

Do you love a wine and cheese event? A beautiful and tasty charcuterie board filled with cheeses, olives, cured grass-fed meats and dried fruit, complimented with a well paired organic wine is perfect for social gatherings.

Does it love you back, or do you get a bit of heartburn or GERD afterwards? Or maybe a migraine develops.

If you can figure out which food compounds are contributing to your symptoms, you can make better food choices, and eat foods that make you feel better.

Autism, ADHD, Learning Disorders & Anxiety in KIDS: The Role of Neuro-Inflammation

Autism, ADHD, Learning Disorders & Anxiety in KIDS:  The Role of Neuro-Inflammation

We are in the midst of a childhood epidemic of autism, ADHD, learning disorders and mood disorders.

Here is the reality:

  • The National Autism Spectrum Disorder Surveillance System (NASS) Report of 2018 estimates autism's prevalence in Canada as 1 in 66 children. A gender breakdown looks like 1 in 42 boys and 1 in 189 girls.

  • The Ontario Child Health Study found 6.1% of 4-16 year olds have ADHD, with the Quebec Child Mental Health Survey found slightly lower rates at 5.4%. ADHD can exist with or without hyperactivity (troubles sitting still, fidgeting), and with or without attention deficit (problems in school or at home).

  • Statistics Canada states that 3.2% of Canadian children have a learning disability.

  • Mental health issues such as anxiety impact children as well. According to the Canadian Mental Health Association 3% of children and youth experience anxiety.

    When you start to put all of those things together, it’s easy to see that our kids brains are suffering.

    The ABC’s of Kid’s Brains

    A: autism, attention problems, anxiety
    B: behavioural issues, brain dysfunction
    C: children can’t cope

Here is a discussion on neuro-inflammation in your child’s brain, and what you can do about it.

PALEO, AIP, LOW-HISTAMINE TREATS EVERYONE CAN ENJOY!

PALEO, AIP, LOW-HISTAMINE TREATS EVERYONE CAN ENJOY!

On a complicated diet? I work with a lot of individuals who end up on fairly complicated dietary protocols to address multiple health conditions at once. These diets end up being combinations of existing protocols. The most common combinations I see are Paleo-AIP-SIBO (autoimmune protocol and small intestinal bacterial overgrowth), or some variation of Paleo- AIP that includes going low-histamine. SIBO can also trigger histamine issues. Finding new treat ideas, when your ingredient list is limited is always a challenge. I’ve come up with a few things that my son and I enjoy, and I hope you will too!

A GUT-HEALTHY PERSPECTIVE ON THE NEW CANADA'S FOOD GUIDE

A GUT-HEALTHY PERSPECTIVE ON THE NEW CANADA'S FOOD GUIDE

Last month the Government of Canada came out with a new Canada’s Food Guide that is radically different from the old one. This new guide was formed with a lot of public input, whereas previous versions were influenced heavily by industry input, which was evident in the strong focus on dairy, meat and grains. In this blog I’d like to summarize some of the good and bad in the new guide (in case you haven’t perused it yet), and give you some tips on how the guide can be easily modified for gut-health.

READY FOR RADICAL WEIGHTLOSS?

READY FOR RADICAL WEIGHTLOSS?

A gut healthy diet aims to address a contributing factor to your health, and if you’re on the diet you are hopefully beginning to see it’s benefits. But what if you aren’t? Have you failed to see desired weightloss results despite doing everything right? If this sounds like you, you may be interested in the latest book by Anne Louise Gittleman, PhD, CNS. In, Radical Metabolism, she lays out a 21-day plan to support weight loss by rebooting your metabolism while adhering almost completely to a traditional gut healthy approach. Anne Louise, who is respected for her integrative approach to wellness nutrition, ties in research and anecdotes to support her Radical Metabolism plan, while including a meal plan and recipes to help you implement it. In this, she recognizes the importance of gut health, but focuses on addressing a much more overlooked aspect of health which may be causing your problems – the gallbladder.