Angies World Blog - News and Events » Nutrition

Migraines during the Holiday Season?

Angie Lustrick, CN, CPT — Tue, 20 Dec 2011 23:00:14 +0000

I just received an email from a friend that was suffering from terrible migraines during the holiday season. After sending her an email, I realized that many people suffer from migraines and may need to hear this advice as well.
So here it is:
There can be many reasons that you are suffering from migraines.
First, think of your mental/emotional state (stress of the holidays, financial stress, family visiting). These things can create havoc on your 6th/7th chakra (3rd eye). A great exercise for this “zone” is to roll your eyes in a full circle, while your head stays still. Time it with your breathing – inhale your eyes up, exhale your eyes down. Don’t forget to go in both directions.

Next, rule out any new foods you may be consuming during the holiday season: things with food colorings and dyes, and artificial ingredients.
Also, think about your sensitivity to gluten – products containing wheat. This is more common than you may think!
Another possible reason is skipping meals. This tends to happen when we are stressed and trying to do too much. (like our daily lives plus all the holiday shopping)

Other things to investigate:
Calcium and magnesium deficiency
Low essential fatty acids in diet (more fish, flax, nuts and seeds)
Low B vitamins (we use these up when we are stressed) – Eat more whole grains: oatmeal, rice, quinoa.

I hope this helps! Merry Christmas!

Christmas Music Already? I Want To Poke My Eye Out With A Candy Cane And It’s Not Even Thanksgiving Yet!

Wilma Young CPT — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 13:06:24 +0000

By Wilma Young CPT
So now it starts to get into high gear. Thanksgiving decorations next to the Christmas trees and the Halloween candy is now half price. The bombardment of goodies is everywhere and I am not immune to the temptations of the season. Put anything pumpkin in front of me and I salivate like Pavlov’s dogs sans the experimental part but add in a extra dose of the eating frenzy and there I am. I am ALWAYS a huge advocate of working out at this time of year because not only do I want to lose weight before the big push of the New Year but more importantly I want to stave off the extra 5-7 lbs most Americans put on during the holidays. So you go to your sister’s house and the place is over filled with treats and family disasters. Now the family disasters are fun for my clan because we have humor to temper the tragedies and that is either a formula for a Greek play or one of our memorable family gatherings. The advantage I have is that at least half the dishes are on the healthy side since most of us are trying to live an active lifestyle. I know most of you don’t have this benefit. So here are some tricks to help you ward off the extra pounds and add in some much needed nutrition. First, ALWAYS eat breakfast on Thanksgiving morning. Many will try to skip this meal to make up for what they will eat later in the day. This is a mistake! Starving the body and loading it up later slows your metabolism and sets you up for storage of fat. Eat a decent healthy breakfast! Second, make sure there is a huge, healthy green salad. If you are going to someone else’s house offer to make it. They will be thrilled with your offer and you can make sure there is some roughage to wash away the butter that you will be slipping down your pipes. When serving your plate make sure to make half of your plate green salad and one quarter turkey or protein. This leaves one quarter of your plate for the splurge side dish. Third, drink plenty of water and maybe some warm tea. After a large meal, warm water or tea will help your bowels to move. Gross maybe but you’ll thank me later, I promise. Lastly, taking a walk after dinner or getting to the the gym instead of the Black Friday sales the next day will keep you on track. It is unrealistic to think you will not have some Thanksgiving favorites on such a wonderful family day. Also, a meal enjoyed with people you love and prepared with care and thoughtfulness is healthy for the soul. Not everyday of course but in the theme of spiritual fulfillment, a little splurge can be good medicine for you. What is important however is that you keep it to the ONE day, get back to the gym as soon as possible and make sure you make the best food choices immediately before and after such an indulgent meal. Remember, the 5 lbs you save this month will be 5 less lbs to think about in January. And frankly, I’d rather have smaller thighs for Christmas than a extra piece of pumpkin pie and I think Santa would appreciate me not asking again this year for the body of a model, the mind of Einstein and the humor of John Stewart. He really hates to keep disappointing me !

Forgiveness and Rumors- Can I Love Them Both?

Wilma Young CPT — Wed, 26 Oct 2011 15:55:44 +0000

By Wilma Young CPT
When someone starts a rumor about you, do you…
A) Take the high road?
B) Try to defend a silly and inaccurate accusation while attacking the ice cream?
C) Act like a high school girl and tell them to $%#@ themselves?
Well ladies and gentleman, my nature is C. It has also been B many times in my life but I really relish in the C answer! Hard to believe, I know… but I find that when a true inaccuracy has occurred I really want to put on the gloves show the fangs and throw down until I have proven myself. I was raised to believe that defending yourself was important at any cost. I believe that this is a quality that supports the foundation of my being but that tempering it at this stage of life is imperative. I have also found a resolve that comes roaring out and has fueled my motivation with an unexpected fire. I get discouraged because these issues can waste precious time living with and loving others. I really consider them useless and childish but have recently changed my mind. I am thrilled to have been given this gift of a false rumor. This blessing of sorts makes me more appreciative of my true friends. It also makes me more tolerant of others and ultimately makes me happier, which is of course the best revenge, don’t you think?
I also feel empowered to continue my journey with even more conviction and that is why I love rumors. But what I now know is that I love knowing forgiveness better. That forgiving the smallness of the behavior gives me strength and grace to take the higher road. I understand now that those using this path to connect, be it either in a negative or positive way, are really just searching for their own grounding and foundation. That they are trying to feel centered but are really just unsettled inside and are looking to others to blame or judge. I love that I can, at this stage of my life, pick A. That I can see that the unjustified lashing out has nothing to do with me and everything to do with the source of the rumor. I know all too well that a rumor can be the Soap Opera moment we need to distract from the real tragedies of the world, like poverty, war and prejudice. But after that initial hype, it is important to remember that we have all been on the bad end of this scenario and we know how it can hurt. We know how it can send us to the Cherry Garcia and a couch date with a pizza! So try to take a second next time you hear a rumor and put yourself in the other person’s shoes. Realize that individual perspective comes in varying degrees and we all have our own barometer. Love that you can see with empathy, continue with gratitude and rise above the chaos. I promise, every time you have this blessing you will raise yourself higher than any food, alcohol or vice can provide. You will find that the fuel you receive will propel you to a higher consciousness and you will burn brighter than ever before. Share this positive energy with others, elevate the world with happiness and light the path along the way! The world needs all the help it can get!!
(This is about the time we should hold hands and sing Kumby-ah, right?)

Who Needs a Detoxification Program

Angie Lustrick, CN, CPT — Mon, 17 Oct 2011 00:49:02 +0000

by Dr. Adria Rothfeld (Nutritional Wellness Center)

Who needs a Detoxification Program?
Let’s first define what a healthy detoxification program is not:
• A starvation diet where you walk around like a zombie for 10 days.
• An abundance of diarrhea…

What is a Healthy Detoxification Protocol?
• It does not involve fasting, purging, etc., but instead supports the pathways in the body that help to reduce the toxic burden.
• It involves recommended foods and beverages that contain the nutrients needed to help the body eliminate unwanted chemicals. Detailed meal plans and recipes will be provided to help make this very user-friendly.
• We will also use a medical food, mixed as a shake with fruit, which has been proven to assist the body with detoxification. It does this by providing the nutrients that the liver uses to help remove toxins as well as by revving up the body’s natural chelating agent that binds to toxins and allows for their elimination. These ingredients have demonstrated safety even for long-term use.
• A recent pilot study using this medical food found that after just a few weeks, even individuals with severe fibromyalgia showed significant improvement in pain, stiffness, quality of life, and a 74% reduction in mercury levels in the body.
Who would benefit and why?
Traditional medicine focuses on treating symptoms. If you have headaches or arthritis, you get pills to ease your pain, but what’s causing the symptoms is rarely considered.
If we can identify the cause(s), and use natural means to deal with them, we can find a real cure, not only for the current symptoms, but also for future ones.

Can toxins be related to your symptoms?
Our toxic burden is higher than it’s ever been.
• The sick body cannot rally itself if it is busy detoxifying pesticides and other chemicals.
• There are 85,000 synthetic chemicals registered in the US, yet toxicological screening data is available for only 7% of these chemicals.
• In a study released by the environmental working group, 200 industrial chemicals were found in umbilical blood of the babies tested.
• Over 1 billion pounds of pesticides are used annually in the US.
• According to Dr. Sherry Rogers, MD, US EPA studies of chemicals stored in the fat of humans show that 100% of people had dioxins, PCB’s and dichlorobenzene.
• Usage of pesticides had doubled every 10 years, but interestingly, pest damage to crops is more prevalent now. On average, less than .1% of pesticides reach their target, the remaining 99.9% contaminates the environment.
Since the 1970’s when toxins started flooding our world:
• Autism increased 10 fold f
• Male birth defects doubled
• Childhood brain cancer was up 40%
• One type of leukemia was up 62%
But, I just want to lose some weight and work off the holiday bulge….how is this all related:
• Pesticides and other toxins are OBESOGENIC, meaning that they spur both the formation and growth of fat cells.
• Do you have trouble losing weight even when you diet? The more toxins you have storing in your fat, the more your body holds onto that fat until you have strengthened the detoxification pathways so that these toxins can be readily disposed of-that’s what a proper detox protocol will encourage.

Drinking Water with Flouride? You’ve got to be kidding!

Angie Lustrick, CN, CPT — Wed, 14 Sep 2011 19:50:44 +0000

Recently, a client came in to see me and she had her 6 year old son with her. He was drinking a little 8 oz Arrowhead water bottle with a sports top. The graphic on the bottle showed a happy, smiling, cartoon kid on it. It was obviously marketed towards children.

My client was so happy with the water. She claimed her little boy didn’t have one cavity since he started to drink this water. My first thought was: “Why was he getting so many cavities? How much sugar is he eating?” But my next thought was far more serious: “Does she know how dangerous drinking flouride is???” She obviously didn’t and I am assuming many mothers don’t realize the long term damage. So I will share with you what I shared with her:

*Did you know that flouride is not an essential nutrient? No biological process in animals and humans depends on it. In fact, flouride can interfere with many important biological processes, which makes it potentially toxic (even at low doses!)

*The chemicals used to flouridate water supplies are largely hazardous by-products of the fertilizer industry. These chemicals can’t be disposed of into the sea by international law. Furthermore, flouride has never undergone randomized clinical trials for safety by any regulatory agency in the world. The U.S. FDA classifies flouride as an “unapproved” drug.

*There is mounting evidence that swallowing flouride causes harm. Flouride has been found to damage soft tissues (brain, kidneys, and endocrine system), as well as teeth (dental flourosis), and bones (skeletal flourosis). There are now 24 studies that show a relationship between fairly modest exposure to flouride and reduced IQ in children.

*Swallowing flouride provides little or no benefit to the teeth. Flouride works topically and not via some internal biological mechanism. It is a mistake to swallow flouride and expose all the tissues of the body to its harmful effects.

*Certain subgroups are particularly affected by flouridation. People vary considerably in their sensitivity to any toxic substance. Infants, the elderly, diabetics, those with poor nutrition, and those with kidney disease are especially vulnerable to specific adverse effects of flouride.

So, I strongly encourage you to not give your child (or anyone for that matter!) flouridated water. Even if it makes their baby teeth “appear” to be healthier, remember that those teeth will fall out when they get their adult teeth. However, the damage that is caused by flouridation is a lifetime and is irreversible. So, ultimately, if you want a healthy, smart child, give them spring water without flouride. Always provide your child with purified water. For more info on water, read my other blogs:

Drinking Water and Absorbing Water are Two Different Things

Don’t Take Another Sip of Water Before you Read This!

source: Flouride Action Network: flouridealert.org

Please also check out this great video on youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7aTfyo0Xz_c

Getting Tempted by Bite-Sized Tasty Treats at Starbucks

Wilma Young CPT — Fri, 08 Apr 2011 18:33:55 +0000

The newest fad that is popping up is “bite-sized” treats. Not only at Starbucks but many food outlets are tempting you with a bite size portion of the Not-So-Good-For-You items as a way to “up-sell” you while you are at the counter waiting for your coffee or paying for your groceries. Even restaurants are jumping on the calorie train by adding mini appetizers and 100 calorie desserts. The problem is that that an extra 100 calories a day on the average person puts on roughly 10 pounds per year! With these little 200 calorie “land mines” that equals 20 pounds in a year. Plus they really don’t have the nutrition to boost your energy and create the body you want. In fact, all processed foods require additional energy from your body to digest them – making you tired and sluggish. If a food doesn’t come from a recognizable source: a plant, a tree, or an animal – stay away! I have never seen a bread tree, cupcake tree, or candybar tree! Now think of this, if you ate 100 calories LESS per day that would equal a 10 pound weight loss in a year with virtually very little sacrafice. Think about ordering an item you normally eat with cheese, without cheese. Or how about oil and vinegar dressing instead of ranch or Caesar. Maybe use salsa as your condiment instead of sour cream. Minor adjustments lead to great changes and tend to stick with you long term. Personally, I would much rather have this new habit stick to me than those bite-size treats that show through your clothes and tend to stay with you for far too long. So next time you are tempted, think about the 10 LESS pounds that saying NO today will do for you this year!

The Stress of the Season and the Gift of Health!

Wilma Young CPT — Tue, 14 Dec 2010 22:22:53 +0000

Running around to shop for family, working hard to mail out cards and planning and preparing for the family festivities runs us all down. Then add the extra treats that are lying around and now the nasty bug that is trying to take hold of our immune system and we have a recipe for disaster. At this time it is important to remember that caring for ourselves is paramount to our well being and the well being of those around us. I have heard clients on more than one occasion say that working out should wait until after the first of the year. That squeezing in one more thing is just taking too much time. I want to put a big “ixne” on this idea. If there is ever a time to invest in your workout it is now. Stress and sugar combined with a reduced workout schedule will make you more tired and less than thrilled when the New Year comes along. Knowing that even a 10 minute jumping jack and stretch routine will help you sleep better, manage the shopping frenzy at the malls and boost your immune system should motivate you to spend this minimal amount of time to ensure your well being!I want to suggest that you begin by visualizing yourself feeling strong and energetic. I want you to feel how good it feels to wear your jeans and have them not cut into your gut when you sit down to enjoy your family and friends. I want you to have a holiday that is happy but that doesn’t come with the price of extra weight and lethargy that you will be paying for in January. It’s kind of like credit card debt. What you can’t afford to pay for today will only you cost you more when the bill actually comes due! Be your own Santa this year and give yourself the gift of health! Provide your family with the loving, happy and radiant light that is you and only you. In the end, that is all we ever really want for ourselves and our loved ones and it can only start with you! Happy Holidays!

P.S. Remember, Angie’s World has gift certificates available in any denomination. Contact the office to purchase. My Mom does this for my family members every year and it is one of our favorite gifts. It also gets the New Year off to the right start!!

How To Avoid The 5 LB Weight Gain This Holiday Season

Wilma Young CPT — Tue, 23 Nov 2010 23:50:37 +0000

Let’s talk Turkey! Yes, we are decking the halls and stuffing the turkey. We are
getting ready to enjoy the most wonderful time of the year. The problem is that
we stuff ourselves at the same time. Then the most UN-wonderful time of the
year starts with acid reflux, gastro-intestinal discomfort and weight gain! How
do we enjoy this happy fun filled time without getting ourselves into a
unhealthy rut? I have a few suggestions to help you along.

My top 3 tips to help you succeed during the holidays!!

1. First, don’t let your work out routine go by the way side. Even if you can’t keep up your normal pace,
put in at least 2 gym visits per week. In addition give yourself 5 minutes in
the morning. Do 20 jumping jacks, do 10 push ups and then do 20 ab crunches. It
will take about 30 seconds. Do 5-10 rounds of this with no rest and trust me,
your metabolism will be on fire and your immune system will thank you. Finish
off with a minute of stretching and you have set the pace for the day.

2. When I go to holiday parties I always have a protein shake an hour or 2 before. This keeps
my nibbling to a minimum especially when I am unsure of what will be served. I
can then indulge a bit without feeling deprived and also prevent my blood sugar
from dropping and turning me into Jaba The Hut looking for any pretty creme puff
that comes my way.

3. DO NOT STARVE yourself to make up for your indiscretions! This is a formula for fat storage. So if you fall off the wagon one day, commit to getting back on the the health horse the next day. Your body
can recover from one day of splurging but if you beat yourself up and then say
“What’s the use anyway”, you will end up with that extra weight that you will
curse yourself for in January.

I always believe that if you can get through the holidays and maintain your weight NO MATTER WHAT IT IS, you will win at the holiday game. You will have diverted the 5-8lb that most Americans gain between
Halloween and New Years and your resolutions for 2011 will be better than they
have ever been before. So this season give yourself and your family the best
gift you can give them, a happy, healthy YOU!!

PS. If you do indulge and have a Tummy Tsunami effect we 3 great products that can help!
First is UltraInflmx. It will reduce gas, bloating and abdominal discomfort and you can even use it as your pre-party protein shake! Second is Glucorest, This will reduce the impact of holiday eating by blocking the quick absorption of simple carbohydrates (sort of like a “carb-blocker”). Last is Insinase which balances blood sugar. All of these products are available at Angie’s World. On November 26th (Black Friday) receive a 10% discount on EVERYTHING in the store. No bag, coupon or minimum purchase required. (Limited to in-store purchases and product on hand). Happy Thanksgiving!

Is Your Breakfast Making You Sick?

Wilma Young CPT — Mon, 08 Nov 2010 12:44:25 +0000

What you eat (or don’t eat) can have serious consequences. Yes, breakfast is the most important meal of the day. After sleeping all night in “shutdown” mode, your body needs fuel to start up again. Skipping breakfast signals the body to store fat and burn muscle for energy. Over time, that can lead to excess body fat and related illnesses. In fact, research suggests that eating breakfast reduces your risk to obesity and metabolic syndrome by 35% to 50%. (Metabolic syndrome is a cluster of conditions that may include high blood pressure, high LDL cholesterol or triglycerides, and/or high blood sugar/insulin.)

But common breakfast foods also threaten your health. Donuts, muffins (English, blueberry, etc.), bagels, sugary cereals, and fruit pastries have a higher glycemic index (GI) that causes a surge in blood sugar. It’s that sugar rush you feel followed by a crash. High GI foods are typically higher in sugar and lower in fiber and nutrients due to heavily processed ingredients like white flour. Research shows that breakfasts of high-GI foods increase your risk to heart disease and type 2 diabetes.

More help for metabolic syndrome and heart disease. Eating regular meals with lower-GI foods (whole grains/fruits/vegetables, lean protein, healthy fats) is a great start. You may also benefit from a comprehensive medical food program that nutritionally supports the management of metabolic syndrome and heart disease risk factors—elevated blood pressure, cholesterol, and triglycerides.

Get the better of what’s eating you. A healthy start is to call us today and schedule an appointment.

Drinking Water and Absorbing Water are Two Different Things

Wilma Young CPT — Tue, 26 Oct 2010 20:04:12 +0000

The debate about water and what kind we should drink has been an ongoing dilemma especially over the last several years. You can walk down any grocery store and see the multitude of choices brands and claims. At Angie’s World, we test for hydration constantly because of the significant role it plays in healthy body composition, weight loss, reduction of fatigue, cellular integrity and the list goes on and on. Anyone who has ever seen a plant that has been neglected from water will see a dry, brittle, non-thriving organism. Well it is exactly the same for the human body. When we deprive our organs of water the effects are dramatic. Kidneys look like prunes instead of plums. Our body fat stubbornly adheres to our thighs and our brain becomes foggy. At Angie’s World, the issue that we have been running up against has been the absorbtion of the water. We have had frustrated clients who finally have committed to drinking the water they need (a good rule of thumb is 1/2 oz per pound of body weight) but don’t see the hydration go up. Sometimes it’s the fact that they are not getting enough protein so the muscle can’t absorb the water that they are drinking. It can also be that they are still drinking and eating too many acidic foods which makes the cells not absorb the water and it runs right through you (aka, A River Runs Through It…and Brad Pitt is not in the picture!). We have also found that water that uses reverse osmosis for purification ( a method that extracts the valuable mineral content) has a low Ph and does more harm than good when it comes to absorbtion. The Ph level of this water is acidic and it keeps the body acidic. An acidic environment does not lose weight and is prone to cancer and chronic diseases. With all of that being said, what water do I drink? Angie and I have had great luck with our Alka Power Water (Ph level is 9-10, although avoid high Ph water if you have kidney issues) with better absorption and lower body fat as a result. But some additional tips are using spring or well water. You can also add a few drops of a mineral supplement (there are several choices of liquid trace minerals available at health food stores) in to each cup or bottle of water you drink. You can also place a few dashes of Hymilayan Sea Salt to your water. This highly absorbable mineral helps to alkalize your water and provide the body with a natural essential mineral and is quite cost effective. You can also add lemon to your water. Although it seems counterintuitive, lemon actually aklalizes your water and your body. In addition, EAT YOUR VEGETABLES! Some of the best hydration you can give your body is in the form of these natural complex carbohydrates (note the word “hydrate” in the word carbohydrate). Vegetables are full of water and fiber and because your body has to break them down before elimination, it has time to extract the water as well as the nutrients. So your primary tips are to drink the water (with a neutral or high Ph), eat enough high quality protein and eat an abundance of vegetables everyday. Your body with thank you and you’ll start off the holidays on the right foot!