Sourdough bread has become all the rage in recent years amongst the homesteading community, and beyond and while I myself just jumped on the trend about 5 years ago, the practice of making bread with a sourdough starter has been around for thousands of years. 

If you’re not familiar, sourdough bread is bread that is proofed with a fermented starter culture that consists of bread and water. The natural bacterias and yeasts in the starter allow the bread to rise without the use of commercial yeast. 

Many people procure sourdough starters from a friend, or even order them online. Some people have starters that have been passed down for generations and are many years old. Sourdough starters are living thing, so they do require some care to survive but it’s not as hard as it may seem. 

If you don’t want to order a sourdough starter online, or you don’t know someone who has a starter to share, you can make your own, although this can be a little tricky. 

If you are interested in making your own sourdough starter, start by mixing together equal parts of flour and water by weight, 100 grams is good to start with, then mix until a paste forms. Cover your starter loosely with a towel or a lid (not screwed on) and leave it out at room temperature. If it’s cold out, you may want to leave your starter in the oven (without turning it on) to help encourage faster rising.

The next day feed your sourdough starter again, equal parts water and flour by weight, this time 50 grams instead of a 100. Leave it covered for another day.

On day three you’ll feed your starter the same amount, 50 grams of water, and 50 grams of flour but this time you’ll discard half of your starter prior to feeding, so you don’t end up with too much starter.

Repeat this process of discarding and feeding everyday for a week at least, or until your starter begins to form bubbles and doubles in size in between feedings. In certain climates this can take more than two weeks.

I did not have much luck trying to make my own sourdough starter recently but it was the dead of winter in Michigan and I think it may have been too cold for my starter to survive, and grow. So, on the quest to find an active sourdough starter I set out on Facebook market place to find someone local in the area who had an active sourdough starter they were willing to share. 

I found one, and we’ve been going strong ever since. I’ve had several sourdough starters in the past, some stronger than others but I’ve always unfortunately killed them for some reason or another. 

This is probably the longest I’ve kept one alive, and she is thriving! I’ve even been fortunate enough to share some of my starter with some of my friends and family- the inspiration for this article. 

So you’ve acquired a sourdough starter, how do you keep your sourdough alive? 

Your sourdough needs to be fed regularly to stay alive and active. Your frequency of feedings depends on how often you bake, and where you keep your starter. If you bake every day or every other day, you will probably want to keep your start out at room temperature. If you only bake once a week or even less, you can keep your sourdough starter in the fridge. This will allow you to go more time between feedings. You can keep your starter in the fridge for several weeks without feeding and it will still survive. Your starter will be its most active bubbly self at room temperature, so when you are planning to bake, plan ahead by pulling your starter out of the fridge and feeding it 12 hours before you bake (times may vary depending on the season and how hot is. You may only need 6 hours in the summer, and maybe more in the winter) 

Typically when you feed your sourdough you’ll want to discard any excess starer prior to feeding. You can compost this extra starter or you can save it in a separate jar and use it to make sourdough “discard” recipes. Sourdough discard is inactive sourdough starer so it doesn’t provide the same kind of rise as a regular sourdough starter, because it’s inactive it also doesn’t break down the gluten the same way your regular starter will, but you can still make some great stuff with it. However, if you don’t want to waste, or you worry about not being able to use up a whole jar of discard you can eliminate this step with a little strategic planning in your feeding. 

You can save just enough sourdough starter in-between baking to be able to refeed your starter so that it grows enough to bake just what you need. I tend to save between 1/4-1/2 cup of sourdough starter after baking each week, and then it goes back in the fridge. When I pull it out to feed it the next week I feed it equal parts water and flour and the quantity of starter that this produces for me is just enough to bake what I need while still saving enough leftover to be fed the next week. This way I use just what I need and I don’t have an excess sourdough starter that has to be thrown out each week, and my jar isn’t overflowing with starter either. 

It may take time to figure out the perfect baking formula for you, but it’s worth the experimentation. 

When it’s time to feed your sourdough starter, you’ll need unbleached, unenriched flour, and tepid or slightly warm filtered water (I like to use warm water in the winter) 

I like to use a kitchen scale, and a kitchen scale is the most tried and true method by most bakers, but it you don’t have a kitchen scale you can use measuring cups. I have done both. 

Weigh or measure out your sourdough starter, if you are discarding some do that first and then weigh out and add it to a jar, bowl, cup, whatever container you like to store your starter in, (I use mason jars) 

Then weigh out equal parts water, and equal parts flour. Mix until combined. You should have a thick paste like texture, like thick pancake batter. If you are measuring rather than weighing, you can use equal parts but you may find your sourdough starter is runny. If this is this case just add more flour. Leave your jar loosely covered (don’t seal it) for 12 hours, or into roughly doubled in size, with large bubbles. Then your starter is ready to bake with! 

How do I know when my sourdough starter is ready to be fed? 

Your sourdough starter should be at its peak after feeding before you bake with it. Large air bubbles, doubled in size. It will be thick in texture with lots of air bubbles, and when you tilt your jar from one side to another it may appear stringy. This is a very active starter.

A starter that is past its peak after feeding will be deflated, and look thin like pancake batter. This doesn’t mean your starter is necessarily hungry, it just means it’s not at its peak for baking. 

When your sourdough starter is hungry you will develop a darkish layer of liquid on the top of your starter. This is called hooch, and it’s produced by the wild yeast in the starter. If this has happened don’t worry! Your sourdough starter is going to be fine. In the fridge your starter can last quite awhile after this point before a feeding, however if your starter is at room temperature, it needs to be fed soon to prevent mold from growing on top. Once mold grows on top it is nearly impossible to get it to stop, and your starter needs to be tossed out. 

If you have a layer of hooch on your starter you can either pour it off, or mix it into your starter before feeding. It can make your sourdough starter even more sour and add a more complex flavor to your bread. 

What kind of flour should I feed my starter? 

There are a ton of different flour brands out there and different options for feeding your starter. The most basic things I look for in a flour are unenriched and unbleached. Enriched and bleached flour is so devoid of natural bacteria and microbes that there really isn’t much of anything for your starter to feed off of. 

Organic flour is better if you can afford it, but not necessary. My favorite brands for regular flour (both organic and non organic) are King Arthur and Bob’s Mills.

Now, if you really want to get into the nitty gritty you may know that our white flour that we bake with is not what flour used to be. The modern wheat crop has been so modified throughout the last several decades that it no longer resembles ancient wheat. So if you’re truly looking for the healthiest bread one can eat, with the best beneficial bacteria and the easiest digestibility, you may want to consider ancient grain flours. 

Spelt and einkorn flour are two of the most popular flours for this purpose. Ancient grain flour is more expensive than regular flour and it does not bake quite the same way. The gluten content in these ancient flours is lower than your modern flour. This produces a less stretchy and elastic dough, as well as a less airy crumb and texture in the bread itself. It’s quite hearty and can be an acquired taste to some, but it actually has a very nutty flavor and a nice depth to it.

This is not for everyone, it’s not the most affordable option, and if you’re new to baking these flours take some time to get use to. They’re not your grandmas flours (they’re your great, great grandmas flours) but if health is of the highest priority, ancient grain flours are the way to go. 

What kind of tools do I need to get started with my bread baking? 

It’s very easy to get caught up in not thinking that you have the right equipment to do the job when in reality, you don’t need all the equipment instagram sourdough influences have. In fact, I’ve even brought my sourdough starter on vacation with me and baked bread in an airbnb without any of my regular equipment. So what do you really need to bake a loaf of bread? 

Measuring cups, mixing bowls, an oven safe pan and potentially an oven safe casserole dish (if your oven safe pan is not a dutch oven) 

The easiest thing to bake your sourdough bread in is a dutch oven. Dutch ovens are deep and trap the steam in the with lid on them which creates air bubbles, and a soft chewy inside during the initial baking process. However, if you don’t have a dutch oven, you can achieve this in other ways. My favorite way to do this at home is to bake my bread in a regular cast iron pan (or oven safe pan) and add a stainless steel mixing bowl on top to act as a lid, and trap in steam. This works great for me and is even easier than a dutch oven in some ways because it’s easier to drop my bread in my shallow cast iron pan, than in the dutch oven. If you’re going to use this method, make sure you’re using stainless steel bowls, or something that is oven safe. 

The other way to bake bread is to add a tray of water on the oven shelf below your bread. This will also create steam for the bread. After 30 minutes of baking, remove the tray of water, just as you would your dutch oven lid, so the crust has a chance to become crispy. 

Dehydrating your sourdough starer

If you’ve been gifted a sourdough starter from someone, or acquired it through some other way and you’re worried about killing it, this is how to preserve a little bit of your stater in case of an emergency. 

Take your active starter and spread a thin layer over parchment paper or silicone baking mats, or a dehydrator tray. If you’re Using your oven, set it to the lowest temp you can and leave your starter in there until it’s completely dry. Alternatively, if you have a dehydrator, you can use that. I set mine to around 145 degrees. 

Make SURE your starter is completely dry before storing. You can break it up into little pieces or even blend into a powder in a blender or food processor. Your starter will keep indefinitely and should something happen to your active starter, you can rehydrate this and have another active starter. It takes between 3-5 days of regular feedings before your starter is back to normal. 

Making your sourdough bread

So your starter is active and bubbly, it’s doubled in size and you’re finally ready to bake your fist loaf of bread. 

Honestly, in my opinion, this is the easy part. There are hundreds of different recipes on the internet for how to make a loaf of sourdough. Bakers more skilled than myself have experimented to find the perfect amount of salt, flour and water for their particular kitchen setting. You could pick any one of them and probably have success if you follow the instructions, and have an active starter. 

This is the recipe I’ve been following over the last few months: Homemade Sourdough bread

If I’m using all ancient grain flour, sometimes I adjust it depending on how the dough is behaving but the reason there are so many different recipes is because everyone’s sourdough starter, and kitchen climate are going to be different. A very old sourdough starter in a very warm climate may not need nearly as much time to rise and develop as a newer starter in a colder climate. For this reason you may even have to adjust your recipes based on season. 

I’ve been baking sourdough bread for five years and really only got consistent (and consistently good) within the last year. It’s not necessarily hard, but it does take time to learn what methods work best for you. 

Making homemade bread that is free of all the preservatives, fillers, and nonsense in conventional grocery store bread, and not having to pay and arm and a leg for it, like you would at the farmers market, is a great way to begin taking steps towards a healthier lifestyle for your family. 

I used to have terrible anxiety. Throughout high school, I had panic attacks so severe I felt like I couldn’t breathe. At my worst, I would shut down, in tears, unable to take a deep breath, while my whole body shook. The pit in my stomach would get so heavy I was sure I would be sick. Sometimes, I did get sick.

Image credit: Antonioguillem/Adobe Stock

I remember the progression from being a nervous person to realizing I had anxiety, to being able to recognize I was having a panic attack. Yet, I didn’t even realize how bad it was because I was used to living with chronic pain. But when I was 16, I had a severe panic attack, severe enough that I finally thought to myself, “This is not normal, and I am not okay. I can’t live like this.” It was another two years before I fixed the root of the problem.

For two years after that debilitating panic attack, I would practice deep breathing, and on rare occasions, take an anxiety pill to try and help calm my nerves. Unfortunately, my endocrine system was so messed up, there wasn’t much I could do to quell the anxiety without fixing the root of the problem.

I also used to weigh 320 pounds. I woke up anxious; I went to bed anxious. Every moment of my life was full of anxiety. After graduating from high school, I began to learn about the endocrine system. I’ve learned how my toxic lifestyle (diet, prescription drugs, and poor sleep habits) caused my hormonal imbalance and was at the root of my anxiety and numerous other health problems. If you would like to take a deep dive into how hormones work and how to fix the endocrine system, check out the following article:

The endocrine system is the collection of glands and glandular organs that produce hormones to regulate metabolism, tissue function, growth and development (which includes repair), sexual function, reproduction, sleep, mood, the immune system, and more.

HOLISTIC GUIDE TO HEALING THE ENDOCRINE SYSTEM AND BALANCING OUR HORMONES

My anxiety was caused by two major things that were totally within my control:

• Poor diet
• Poor sleep

I’ve learned that my endocrine system was functioning so poorly because of my diet and poor sleep, which was also affected by my poor diet.

Diet

Diet is imperative to fixing the endocrine system and getting rid of anxiety. Just like with most everything else, it starts in the gut. When I eliminated refined sugars, gluten, and processed foods, I felt better within days. When I started eating a salad and drinking a gallon of cranberry lemonade every day, my life changed for the better, irrevocably.

We have an excellent article about the hormonal system that I urge anyone to read if they want to learn how to balance and heal the endocrine system. It goes into why diet is paramount to healing the gut, the endocrine system, and chronic illness in general:

As OLM always says, it starts with diet. Supplemental therapies are much more effective with a healthy diet, and for most people, the right diet is all they need. But there are plenty of people who do not have access to healthy foods, and there are many who have such a depleted endocrine system that the body is just plain going to need a lot of help.

HOLISTIC GUIDE TO HEALING THE ENDOCRINE SYSTEM AND BALANCING OUR HORMONES

Two months after fixing my diet, I decided to fast for a week. Within days my depression was back. I wasn’t as anxious as I had been, but the anxiety made it difficult to talk about how I was struggling. I had stopped eating vegetables, and I had stopped working out. I don’t think my gut was healthy enough for me to reap the benefits of fasting. A week later, the first thing I ate was a salad. I felt better immediately. As I incorporated exercise back into my life, my anxiety continued to fade.

I start to feel a little anxious when I don’t eat well enough as well as when I don’t take time to get enough sleep. When I say I’m not eating well I should be clear. My idea of junk food is stuff like homemade pesto with brown rice pasta, or organic brown rice chips with a chunk of goat cheddar cheese. Sometimes we make raw food chocolate pie or sourdough bread. While the average person wouldn’t notice any problems with these foods, and may even feel better compared to a typical diet, I get anxious when I eat wheat or pre-packaged processed “healthy” snack foods.

Sleep

Throughout high school, I would regularly sleep between 12-14 hours a day. I would often joke with my friends about how much sleep I got. While they were on one end of the spectrum, pulling all-nighters, I was on the other end, sleeping as much as possible. None of us were healthy. I struggled with depression throughout high school. I was always exhausted, no matter how much I slept.

Fixing your sleep schedule can be difficult or impossible if you’re not taking care of yourself in other ways. I sleep well when I eat well. Exercise helps, too. When I mess up my sleep schedule (which doesn’t happen often, but it does happen), I find that exercise is the best way to help me get back on track. No matter how mentally tired I am at the end of the day, I can still have a hard time falling asleep if I don’t go for a run or work out in some other way.

I also find that having a set bedtime and wake-up time helps. I generally go to bed by 9:30 or 10:00 every night. My wake-up time is not yet as consistent. Sometimes I’m up at 6:00 am, but other times, if my REM sleep is off, or I’m working out very hard, I can sleep past 8. I’m almost always awake by 9.

I find that my sleep schedule and my endocrine system are intertwined. It can be a vicious cycle when things aren’t going well! An unhealthy endocrine system makes it difficult to impossible to fix one’s sleep schedule, and a messed up sleep schedule makes it difficult to impossible to have a healthy endocrine system.

I find it interesting to pay attention to what happens when I don’t get enough sleep, and I get to experiment with this regularly. I have friends in college who often aren’t ready or able to talk or hang out until 8:00 or 9:00 pm when I’m ready to go to bed. And sometimes I can’t help myself, and I find I’ve pulled all-nighters or had too many consecutive days running on 3-4 hours of sleep while sticking to my very healthy diet.

when I don’t get enough sleep, the first thing that happens, obviously, is exhaustion. I have a hard time focusing and I feel very drained. Then I notice the anxiety. I notice a small pit in my stomach at the thought of doing something I don’t want to do. Something as simple as going on a run when I don’t want to can cause a slight twinge of anxious nausea.

The longer I go without sleep the worse my anxiety gets. It goes from that small twinge of nausea to a constant knot in my stomach at the thought of the unknown. My heart rate will spike unnecessarily at any unease. Happy excitement can turn into anxiety very quickly.

After one all-nighter or 2 days with less than 6 hours of sleep, I notice the bags under my eyes. They’re faint. Someone who doesn’t know me might not even notice them, but they’re there. Shortly after the sun comes up, I can barely see the purple-blue hues beginning to appear under my eyes.

I also experience dizziness when standing up if I’m not getting enough sleep. Recently, for two weeks, I did not get nearly enough sleep and was alternating between all-nighters and getting a couple of hours of sleep a night. Every time I stood up I would get lightheaded. I nearly fainted twice. There are multiple factors that go into this, but I believe that had I been getting proper sleep, it wouldn’t have been a problem. Since correcting my sleep schedule, the issues have gone away.

Conclusion

I remember what it was like to have severe anxiety. I know how hard it can be to treat. I find that like almost all other things health related, it starts in the gut. Fixing anxiety can take time. My panic attacks went away within days of fixing my diet, but it took months of regular exercise and a healthy diet to fix my endocrine system enough to alleviate my anxiety completely.

• The Effects of Anxiety on the Endocrine System
• Anxiety disorders are linked to inflamed thyroid glands
• 10 Ways to Naturally Reduce Anxiety

Acne vulgaris is now the most common skin disease of western civilization. Over 85% of adolescents and around 50% of people who are over the age of 25 struggle with acne — and its prevalence keeps rising. Clearly, the “doctor recommended” antibiotics and skin creams aren’t helping much.

Fortunately, recent research suggests that we can eliminate whiteheads, blackheads, and red bumps with what we eat. But, is this really possible? Can we treat acne from the inside out with diet?

Why yes, yes we can. To understand how this is possible, we need to look beyond the surface of the skin.

The Acne Epidemic — A Side Effect of Western Culture

Genetics strongly influence your risk of developing acne, but acne-causing genes cannot explain the rapid increases in the incidence of acne. Population-based studies, on the other hand, suggest that diet may have the most profound impact on the severity and prevalence of acne — more so than skin hygiene, smoking, and stress (which all have been found to have little to no association with acne).

Related: Candida, Gut Flora, Allergies, and Disease

More specifically, the western diet seems to be the main instigator of the current acne epidemic. Conversely, when we look at the data from other non-westernized cultures — such as the Inuit, Okinawan Islanders, Ache hunter-gatherers, and Kitavan Islanders — acne is a rarity.

But before we jump to any conclusions, we must keep in mind that this is epidemiological data. From this evidence, we cannot assume that the western diet causes acne. This data doesn’t even provide us with strong enough evidence to claim that any diet can increase or decrease the risk of acne (there are too many confounding variables). Only when we look at the physiological mechanisms behind the creation of pimples, blackheads, and red bumps will we be able to figure out if diet can play a role in the development of acne.

The Formation of Acne — An Inside Look at Our Poor Pores

 

Whiteheads, blackheads, and red bumps are formed when there is:

1. Increased reproduction of skin cells within the ducts that carry oily lubrication to the skin and hair.
2. Abnormal shedding of the skin cells around the hair follicle.
3. Increased production of sebum — the oily, waxy substance that waterproofs and lubricates the skin and hair.
4. Colonization of the uppermost layer of the skin (stratum corneum) by a bacterium called Propionibacterium acnes, resulting in inflammation (red bumps).

As a result of these four factors, dead skin cells will stick together with the help of the excess oily sebum. This will block the pore of the hair follicle, forming a microcomedone (a clogged skin pore).

Related: Holistic Guide to Healing the Endocrine System and Balancing Our Hormones

If the microcomedone is closer to the skin, then the skin pigment called melanin will be oxidized by the air, creating what we know as a “blackhead”. On the other hand, a whitehead is formed when the microcomedone occurs deep within the hair follicle. Both whiteheads and blackheads (in their early and late stages) provide an ideal environment for Propionibacterium acnes to proliferate. As the bacteria continue to colonize the area, they trigger an inflammatory response that leads to redness, tenderness, and swelling.

What creates this chaos in the skin? The current research indicates that the main culprits are insulin and other hormones that are influenced by insulin, such as testosterone, dihydrotestosterone (DHT), and dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA), growth hormone (GH) and insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1). For example, DHT and DHEA seem to increase oily sebum production, while GH and IGF-1 appear to trigger the overproduction of the specific skin cells. When these hormones are chronically high, they will disrupt the homeostasis of the skin and stimulate acne production.

The Bigger Picture of Hormones, Acne, And Health

A helpful example of how hormones affect skin health can be found when we look at specific medical conditions that result from hormonal imbalances. Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), for example, is typically caused by unhealthy increases in androgens (like DHT) in women. As a result, many women with PCOS also have acne.

Conversely, people who lack androgens or are insensitive to the effects of androgens rarely have acne. This is the main reason why people with androgen insensitivity syndrome never develop acne.

A more prevalent example of how closely linked acne and hormones are can be found in teenagers. When teenagers (and some preteens) hit puberty, they experience rapid increases in many of the hormones we mentioned above. This results in rapid growth and sexual maturation with the unfortunate side effect of acne (for most adolescents).

But don’t mistake genetics and puberty as the only contributing factors to acne formation. If we look back at the data from population-based studies comparing the incidence of acne in westernized and non-westernized societies and combine that with our knowledge of the physiological mechanisms of acne, an interesting pattern emerges.

Related: No Makeup & Blemish Free? Healthy Gut, Healthy Skin – Here’s How 

Since insulin and other hormones that are influenced by insulin instigate the chaos in the skin that leads to acne and high-carb, sugary foods stimulate insulin, doesn’t this mean that people who eat a diet filled with these processed foods will most likely develop acne?

When we look at the population-based studies, this seems to be true — especially since westernized societies eat more processed sugary foods than any other culture. Yet, this is purely a contention held by many researchers. To find out if this is what really occurs in humans, we need some high-quality scientific evidence from clinical trials.

High Glycemic Load Diet vs. Low Glycemic Load Diet — Can Diet Treat Acne?

To our knowledge, there is one study that explored the therapeutic effects of diet on acne. In this study, a total of 43 male patients with acne who were between the ages of 15 and 25 completed either a 12-week high glycemic load diet or a 12-week low glycemic load diet.

At 12 weeks, the average number of lesions in the low glycemic load diet group fell by 51% — nearly twice the reduction that was found in the high glycemic load diet.

Below are some photos of the results from the subjects in the low glycemic load diet group:

These are pretty astounding results, especially when you consider what the researchers define as a low glycemic load diet:

The LGL [low glycemic load] group was instructed to substitute high-GI foods with foods higher in protein (e.g., lean meat, poultry, or fish) or with foods with a lower GI (e.g., whole-grain bread, pasta, and fruit). Some staple foods were supplied, and the participants were urged to consume these or similar foods daily. The recommended LGL diet consisted of 25% of energy from protein, 45% from low-GI carbohydrates, and 30% energy from fats.”

This diet has a lower glycemic load than the standard American diet, but I wouldn’t consider this a “low glycemic load diet”. Some of the foods included in this diet like grains, pasta, and some fruits can provoke an unhealthy glycemic response, especially when they are eaten in high quantities.

Related: Top 10 Blood Sugar Lowering Foods

Just imagine what would’ve happened if they eliminated low fiber, high sugar foods completely. Even better results, perhaps?

Unfortunately, there are no other research studies that can provide us with a conclusive answer.

However, we can make a couple reasonable assumptions from this data:

• Diet definitely plays a role in the incidence and severity of acne in western populations.
• If you eat more whole foods and less processed foods, then the severity of acne will most likely be reduced.
• Insulin levels and acne severity are related.

With that being said, many questions still remain unanswered. Here are some that come to mind for me:

• Are insulin levels and acne severity so strongly linked that a decrease in insulin levels will improve skin health?
• Will a low sugar, whole food diet have the same effect on women with acne?

What This Means For You And Your Acne

The researchers of the previous study suggest that losing weight and eating more low-GI foods like meat and low-carb vegetables will create favorable changes in the body that improve skin health. The researchers also explored the implications their findings have for women by relating acne to PCOS.

They went on to explain how both PCOS and acne can be caused by chronically high insulin levels. In fact, women with PCOS typically have acne and some degree of insulin resistance. The research on PCOS suggests that low carb diets (a variation of a low glycemic load diet) are the best diet to help reverse PCOS and its symptoms (like acne), so it is fair to assume that eating in this way will also improve acne in women without PCOS.

What does this mean for you and your loved ones who have acne? That you can all benefit from cutting out processed, sugar-laden foods your diet. However, this way of eating may not eliminate your acne completely. Some studies suggest that dairy can play a role in worsening acne as well.

Related: Healthy Sugar Alternatives & More

Dairy — Just As Bad As Sugar for the Skin?

Insulin and basal IGF-I plasma levels are major players when it comes to acne, and high sugar foods aren’t the only thing that increases IGF-1 and insulin to unreasonable levels. Dairy products can provoke unhealthy insulin and IGF-1 levels as well.

Although there are no clinical trials on the impact of milk consumption on acne, three large population-based studies reported a positive association between milk intake and acne. This association is probably due to the fact that the natural hormones in milk (designed to help the calves grow into massive animals) may survive milk processing and stimulate the many processes that lead to acne production. Furthermore, the whey protein that is found in most dairy products also creates a potent insulin response that may further exacerbate any acne issues.

If you suspect that your dairy consumption could be harming your skin health, then consider replacing it with dairy-alternatives. Here is a list of some suggestions to make it easier for you:

• Use coconut milk instead of milk. In recipes, you can substitute coconut milk in for regular milk in a 1 to 1 ratio.
• Replace heavy cream with coconut cream. Make sure the coconut cream doesn’t have any added sugars.
• Replace dairy-based cheese with vegan cheese. My personal favorite dairy-free cheese-making companies are Treeline and Miyoko’s Kitchen. Their cheeses are some of the best I’ve ever tasted. In fact, many people think that they are better than traditional dairy-based cheese. If Treeline or Miyoko’s Kitchen doesn’t have the cheese you are looking for, then try Follow Your Heart’s vegan cheese. Follow Your Heart makes almost every type of dairy-free cheese you could ever want.
• Instead of Cream Cheese, have Nut-Based Soft Cheese. Treeline makes a cashew-based soft cheese that is delicious and savory, and it has almost the same texture as cream cheese.
• Replace Yogurt and Sour Cream with Nut-Based Yogurt. At your local health food market, you will probably be able to find plain almond, cashew, or coconut milk yogurt. Just make sure it has no added sugars or dubious ingredients.
• Instead of Butter use Coconut Oil or Vegan Butter. Coconut oil has a slightly lower melting point than butter and the same smoke point as butter, which makes it a good butter replacement. If you are not a fan of the flavor of coconut oil, look for dairy-free butter in your local health food store. Make sure the vegan butter doesn’t contain any hydrogenated oils, vegetable oils, or soy oils. You can also make your own vegan butter by following recipes online — Just search for “Vegan Butter”.

Seven More Ways to Improve Skin Health And Reduce Acne

Altogether, limiting your sugar and dairy intake should have a massive impact on your skin health. If this approach isn’t working as well as you’d like after a couple of weeks, then try some of these suggestions:

• Supplement with Omega 3s. Long-chain omega-3 fatty acids found in fish are anti-inflammatory and may improve skin health. The best sources include wild-caught salmon, mackerel, sardines, herring, and anchovies. Or if you don’t want to eat fish, supplement with some vegan omega 3s that are derived from algal oil.
• Eat non-starchy vegetables with every meal. Leafy greens and cruciferous vegetables help promote hormonal regulation and improve skin health.
• Take caffeine-free green tea extract. Green tea is the best source of the antioxidant EGCG (Epigallocatechin gallate). A 2016 study found that green tea extract significantly reduced acne lesions in adult women with moderate to severe acne. We suggest taking the caffeine-free extract to mitigate the adrenal stress that is typically caused by caffeine.
• Limit dark chocolate consumption. A 2016 study found that 99% dark chocolate might significantly worsen breakouts in acne-prone men. For this reason, you may want to limit dark chocolate intake.
• Eat only whole foods. Stick to whole foods whenever possible. Avoid anything with added sugars, even if they are natural sweeteners like honey and coconut sugar.
• Exercise daily. Consider adding a 15-30 min walk to your daily schedule. This will increase your insulin sensitivity, decrease your insulin levels, and reduce the severity of your acne as a result.
• Experiment with intermittent fasting. By restricting your calorie intake to an 8-hour eating window every day, you can decrease your insulin and IGF-1 levels more than you would by eating normally throughout the day.

Related: Inexpensive, Easy Detox – The One Gallon Challenge

Putting it All Together — The Best Diet For Eliminating Acne

The current evidence suggests that processed foods — specifically foods that are high in sugar and low in fiber — are the likely cause of the current acne epidemic in westernized societies. The reason why I say “likely cause” is because the existing data is scarce.

However, with our current knowledge of the physiology of acne, the prevalence of acne in westernized vs. non-westernized societies, and the results from the clinical trial on how diet affects the severity of acne, we have enough evidence to suggest that cutting out processed foods from the diet and replacing them with whole foods is one of the best (and healthiest) treatments for acne.

To put it more simply, your skin will be much healthier if you use your money to buy more organic vegetables instead of expensive creams and ineffective antibiotics.

Once you’ve adopted a low sugar, whole food diet into your life, you can improve skin health even further by:

• supplementing with omega 3s
• eating low-carb vegetables with every meal
• taking EGCG
• limiting dark chocolate consumption
• exercising daily
• experimenting with intermittent fasting

When you combine these suggestions together with a low sugar, whole food diet, your skin will start clearing up and your health will improve tremendously. Keep in mind, however, that it may take a couple of weeks to months before you see noticeable results — just like it did for the participants in the study we looked at earlier.

Recommended Reading:

• Detox Cheap and Easy Without Fasting – Recipes Included
• Start Eating Like That and Start Eating Like This – Your Guide to Homeostasis Through Diet
• How to Make the Healthiest Smoothies – 4 Recipes

Sources:

• The effect of a high-protein, low glycemic-load diet versus a conventional, high glycemic-load diet on biochemical parameters associated with acne vulgaris: a randomized, investigator-masked, controlled trial. — NCBI
• A low-glycemic-load diet improves symptoms in acne vulgaris patients: a randomized controlled trial — The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition
• Should We Limit Sugar in Acne? — JAMA Dermatology
• Diet and Acne Update: Carbohydrates Emerge as the Main Culprit< — Journal of Drugs in Dermatology
• Diet and acne: a review of the evidence — Wiley Online Library
• Correlation between serum levels of insulin-like growth factor 1, dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate, and dihydrotestosterone and acne lesion counts in adult women. — NCBI
• Hormonal mechanisms in the onset of puberty — NCBI
• [Acne vulgaris: endocrine aspects]. — NCBI
• Dark chocolate exacerbates acne. — NCBI
• Effect of dietary supplementation with omega-3 fatty acid and gamma-linolenic acid on acne vulgaris: a randomised, double-blind, controlled trial. — NCBI
• Does supplementation with green tea extract improve acne in post-adolescent women? A randomized, double-blind, and placebo-controlled clinical trial. — NCBI
• [Acne and diet]. — NCBI
• Acne Vulgaris: A Disease of Western Civilization — JAMA Dermatology

Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is responsible for as much as 70 percent of infertility issues in women. In fact, this disorder affects one out of every ten women of childbearing age, and yet, few women are aware of PCOS and its symptoms.

Common Symptoms of Polycystic Ovary Syndrome

Before we explore why PCOS happens and how we can reverse it, we must first get familiar with it. Here are the most common symptoms of PCOS:

• irregular periods
• amenorrhea (the absence of menstruation)
• trouble conceiving a child
• infertility
• fatigue
• mood swings
• low sex drive
• weight gain
• trouble losing weight
• acne
• hirsutism (excessive hair growth on the face, abdomen, chest, and back)
• thinning hair

From fatigue to infertility to unsightly hair growth, these symptoms are a random assortment of things that no man or woman would ever want to experience. Could these all be a part of one disorder?

Unfortunately, the answer is yes. However, there is a silver lining — all of the PCOS symptoms point to the same underlying cause.

Related Reading: Holistic Guide to Healing the Endocrine System and Balancing Our Hormones

What Causes Polycystic Ovary Syndrome?

To understand how PCOS happens, we must understand the nature of this disease.

When we dig through the research the first evidence we come across is that women with PCOS have an increased risk for:

• hypertension
• dyslipidemia
• insulin resistance
• obesity
• glucose intolerance
• diabetes

These conditions are all a manifestation of poor lifestyle choices (overeating and inactivity), but we cannot draw the same conclusion about PCOS by looking only at its associated risks. Let’s look a bit deeper into the cells of a woman with PCOS (I know it sounds a bit creepy, but bear with me here.)

Must Read: The Top 10 Supplements You Can Use To Reverse Polycystic Ovary Syndrome

The common consensus among PCOS researchers is that most women with PCOS have higher levels of insulin and insulin resistance than normal women. This is an important clue that points us to the cause of PCOS.

How Insulin and Insulin Resistance Cause PCOS

You probably already know by now that insulin resistance has something to do with diabetes and obesity, but did you know that it can also cause infertility and other PCOS symptoms? Let’s find out how.

When cells are consistently resistant to insulin, insulin levels continue to rise. High insulin levels trigger the ovaries to produce more androgens, including testosterone. Insulin also decreases the production of sex-hormone binding globulin — a glycoprotein that prevents testosterone from freely entering cells.

Related: Diabetes, Endocrine Functions of the Pancreas, and Natural Healing

With more androgen production and less sex-hormone binding globulin, free testosterone freely floats through the blood and interacts with cells. This is not a good thing for a woman’s health, leading to mood swings, fatigue, low sex drive, acne, and other PCOS symptoms.

As androgen levels continue to increase, they stimulate 5-alpha reductase activity — an enzyme that converts testosterone to a more potent metabolite called DHT. (You may be familiar with DHT as one of the instigators of male pattern baldness and thinning hair.)

Although genetics play a role in PCOS as well, the disorder will not progress without the presence of high insulin levels and insulin resistance. To create a chronic state of insulin resistance and elevated insulin levels, it takes a combination of poor lifestyle habits that contribute to many common diseases.

The Seven Lifestyle Factors That Cause PCOS

If you want to prevent PCOS or reverse it (or improve your health rapidly), avoid these things:

• high sugar foods
• excess calorie consumption
• chronic stress
• inactivity
• too much exercise
• exposure to endocrine-disrupting chemicals (e.g., Bisphenol A, Methylparaben, Nicotine, Sodium Fluoride, PBDEs/PCBs, etc. )
• having a high percentage of body fat (being overweight or obese)
• having a low percentage of body fat due to unhealthy calorie restriction

Each one contributes to PCOS in some way. High sugar foods, excess calorie consumption, and inactivity increase insulin levels and insulin resistance, making PCOS worse. Chronic stress, over-exercising, and having a low body fat percentage will increase cortisol levels, creating more insulin resistance.

Endocrine-disrupting chemicals can also exacerbate PCOS symptoms. These chemicals can cause hormonal imbalances and cell damage, so it is important to avoid consuming them or putting them on your skin.

However, avoiding these PCOS contributors may not completely reverse the disorder. To get the best results, you need to follow a diet that addresses the underlying cause of PCOS — insulin resistance.

Is There a PCOS Diet?

The scientific literature on diets for PCOS is sparse. However, the researchers of a treatment review suggest that PCOS women will do best by eating complex carbohydrates and avoiding sugar. This suggestion was confirmed in one study on the effects of low-glycemic index diet in women with PCOS.

To find more convincing evidence for a PCOS diet, we must look at the diets that are most helpful for addressing the disorders underlying causes. After sifting through the research, the low-carbohydrate diet is the clear winner. It is more effective at reducing insulin levels and insulin resistance than every other diet it was put up against.

There is one important caveat. Carbohydrate restriction may cause stress and make PCOS worse for some women. This is why it is important for women with PCOS to follow the guidelines below.

Related: 80% Raw Food Diet

The New And Improved PCOS Diet

A low-carbohydrate diet can help many women reverse their PCOS. For some women, however, carbohydrate restriction may cause excess stress and keep them from getting results. This is why it is important to follow these guidelines to create the right PCOS diet for you:

1. Restrict Carbohydrate and Sugar Intake

Experts suggest that women should eat between 75 and 150 grams of carbohydrates to maintain fertility and improve insulin levels. It is important to avoid consuming refined sugar as well. The best way to do this is by sourcing your carbohydrates from whole plant foods like leafy greens, cruciferous vegetables, root vegetables, and legumes.

Related: Are Low-Carbohydrate Diets Healthy for Women? How Do Carbs Affect Fertility and Pregnancy?

2. Eat High-Fiber Vegetables With Every Meal

High-fiber vegetables, like broccoli, kale, and spinach, can help combat insulin resistance and reduce inflammation. Have them with every meal for best results.

3. Eat Enough Calories to Achieve Your Ideal Weight

If you are overweight or unhealthily skinny, tracking your calories can help you reach a healthy weight. (I prefer to use MyFitnessPal to calculate calorie goals and increase my awareness of what I’m eating.) After about a month or so of tracking your calories, you’ll develop a greater intuitive sense of how to maintain a healthy weight.

By following these guidelines, you will be able to lower your insulin levels, balance your hormones, and reverse many of the PCOS symptoms. However, the wrong lifestyle can still get in the way of the right diet. This is why it is important to follow the lifestyle tips below to improve your health even further.

The Lifestyle That Helps Reverse PCOS

Combining a vegetable-rich sugar-free diet with exercise, sleep, and meditation is one of the most efficient ways to reverse PCOS.

1. Exercise

What kind of exercise should you do? It’s up to you. Many different types of exercise have been found to help women with PCOS including resistance training, aerobic exercise, and yoga.

Make sure you are getting at least 30 minutes of low to moderate intensity exercise, like yoga, cycling, or a brisk walk, every day. (Add in resistance training, three days a week, for even better results.)

It is also important to prioritize stress reduction as well. The more stressed you are, the more insulin resistant your cells will be. This will cause an increase in insulin levels and PCOS symptoms. The simplest way to reduce stress levels? Sleep and meditation.

2. Sleep

The most efficient way to reduce stress levels is with sleep. However, getting quality sleep may be more difficult for women with PCOS. In a review published in Human Reproduction, researchers found that “sleep disturbances were twice as common in women with PCOS,” and women with PCOS especially had difficulty falling asleep.

However, there is some good news for these women. Sleep disturbances will most likely be cleared up by the diet and lifestyle suggestions in this article so that they can finally get a restful sleep. For those that still struggle with sleep issues after following our suggestions, meditation will help tremendously.

3. Meditation

Studies have shown that meditation lowers cortisol levels and improves blood sugar levels, which creates a reduction in insulin resistance and insulin secretion. Meditating 30 minutes before you plan on going to sleep is a great way to improve sleep quality and reduce stress at the same time.

Putting it all Together — The Ideal Diet and Lifestyle for Women with PCOS

Here’s a simple breakdown of the diet and lifestyle that will help reverse PCOS:

• Limit sugar and carbohydrate intake
• Eat high-fiber, low-carbohydrate vegetables with each meal
• Eat enough calories to achieve your ideal weight (use MyFitnessPal to assist you with that)
• Exercise for at least 30 minutes every day
• Meditate every night before sleep
• Make sure you are getting 7-9 hours of sleep every night

and last but not least:

• If you need more help, consider using the natural supplements that you will find in this article to reverse PCOS. 

Editor’s Note:

Eliminate wheat, eliminate candida, and consider progesterone (I particularly like this Progesterone Plus with black cohosh and chasteberry) – but if the wheat and candida are eliminated you shouldn’t need progesterone (or any of the other aforementioned supplements).

Best Supplements To Kill Candida and Everything Else You Ever Wanted To Know About Fungal Infections

Recommended Reading:

• The Top 10 Supplements You Can Use To Reverse Polycystic Ovary Syndrome
• Are Low-Carbohydrate Diets Healthy for Women? How Do Carbs Affect Fertility and Pregnancy?
• Holistic Guide to Healing the Endocrine System and Balancing Our Hormones
• Detox Cheap and Easy Without Fasting – Recipes Included

Sources:

• Insulin Resistance and the Polycystic Ovary Syndrome: Mechanism and Implications for Pathogenesis — Oxford Academic
• Polycystic ovary syndrome: etiology, pathogenesis and diagnosis — Nature
• Can My Diet Relieve Symptoms of Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS)? — Healthline
• Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS) — Deep Dyve
  
• The effects of a low-carbohydrate, ketogenic diet on the polycystic ovary syndrome: A pilot study — BioMed Central
• Dietary Composition in the Treatment of Polycystic Ovary Syndrome: A Systematic Review to Inform Evidence-Based Guidelines — Science Direct
• No. 1 Cause of Infertility? Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome — Dr. Axe
• Cortisol-Induced Insulin Resistance in Man: Impaired Suppression of Glucose Production and Stimulation of Glucose Utilization due to a Postreceptor Defect of Insulin Action — Oxford Academic
• Abdominal fat and what to do about it — Harvard Health Publications
• State of the science of endocrine disrupting chemicals – 2012 — World Health Organization
• Effect of a low glycemic index compared with a conventional healthy diet on polycystic ovary syndrome — American Journal of Clinical Nutrition
• MINDFULNESS-BASED STRESS REDUCTION IS ASSOCIATED WITH IMPROVED GLYCEMIC CONTROL IN TYPE 2 DIABETES MELLITUS: A PILOT STUDY — ProQuest
• Effect of buddhist meditation on serum cortisol and total protein levels, blood pressure, pulse rate, lung volume and reaction time — Science Direct
• The effect of flaxseed supplementation on body weight and body composition: a systematic review and meta-analysis of 45 randomized placebo-controlled trials — Wiley Online Library
• The Effect of Flaxseed Supplementation on Hormonal Levels Associated with Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome: A Case Study — NCBI
• Sleep Duration, Exercise, Shift Work and Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome-Related Outcomes in a Healthy Population: A Cross-Sectional Study. — NCBI
• Sleep disturbances in a community-based sample of women with polycystic ovary syndrome. — NCBI
• Effect of a yoga program on glucose metabolism and blood lipid levels in adolescent girls with polycystic ovary syndrome. — NCBI
• Effects of a holistic yoga program on endocrine parameters in adolescents with polycystic ovarian syndrome: a randomized controlled trial. — NCBI
• Effects of supervised aerobic training on the levels of anti-Mullerian hormone and adiposity measures in women with normo-ovulatory and polycystic ovary syndrome. — NCBI
• Resistance Exercise Impacts Lean Muscle Mass in Women with Polycystic Ovary Syndrome. — NCBI
• Systematic review and meta-analysis of dietary carbohydrate restriction in patients with type 2 diabetes — BMJ

How many vegetables and fruits do you eat each day? Are you getting the maximum benefit from your food choices?

In the early 2000s, The World Health Organization (WHO) began a campaign to raise awareness of the connection between health and adequate fruit and vegetable consumption. The quality of health wasn’t the only issue. Mortality itself was measured in units of fruit and vegetable consumption.

WHO estimated 2.7 million lives could be saved each year if fruit and vegetable consumption was raised to a sufficient level. They stated that low consumption of fruits and vegetables was one of the top ten risk factors for global mortality. The recommendation equaled a minimum intake of 400g (14 ounces) of fruits and vegetables excluding potatoes and other starchy tubers. This is about 5 servings a day. This level of consumption reduced the risk of heart disease, cancer, and stroke.

The latest research says we should do better. Now the recommendation is 10 servings (800 grams or 28 ounces) of fruits and vegetables per day.

https://youtu.be/nT8d60XSaZc

The study conducted by scientists from the Imperial College London, analyzed 95 studies on fruit and vegetable intake. It included “up to 2 million people,” assessing “up to 43,000 cases of heart disease, 47,000 cases of stroke, 81,000 cases of cardiovascular disease, 112,000 cancer cases, and 94,000 deaths.” Their conclusion was an estimated reduction of 7.8 million annual premature deaths if everyone followed this dietary advice.

When compared to not eating any fruits and vegetables, ten servings a day was associated with:

• 24 % reduced risk of heart disease
• 33 % reduced risk of stroke
• 28 % reduced risk of cardiovascular disease
• 13 % reduced risk of total cancer
• 31 % reduction in premature death

While we at OLM and many others promoting a plant-based diet agree with this conclusion, we believe there is more to healthy eating than the volume of vegetables. The study did say not all fruits and vegetable were equal, but it did not stress the need for a large variety of vegetables and fruits or to choose organic and mostly raw.

We’d also like to see five servings a day versus ten, and what about 15? When do the benefits wear off? Raw or cooked? Another question this raises for us is, are we needing to double our intake of produce because of nutrient depletion in our soil?

What we do know is that gut health provides the basis of our health. Gut health determines the strength and efficiency of our immune system, the intake of nutrients to fuel our entire body, the creation of many of our neurotransmitters, and the ability to detox. An unbalanced microbiome allows an overgrowth of one bacteria over others or an overgrowth of Candida or parasites. A leaky gut is like a sewer leaking filth and disease into the bloodstream.

We have always recommended a diet consisting of 80% raw, organic produce– a wide variety of vegetables and fruit, mostly vegetables. In addition, we recommend the elimination of all artificial colors, flavorings, and preservatives; refined sugar; trans fats; MSG; and GMOs. The perfect diet is all real food, with no packaged, processed concoctions added in. Real food doesn’t have an ingredient list. There are no added chemicals.

It is important that your vegetable and fruit consumption includes a wide variety. Every fruit or vegetable contains its own combination of nutrients. We need a variety to consume as many nutrients as possible. In addition, we don’t want to overfeed just one or a few of our friendly or not so friendly bacteria or yeast by favoring one food over others. We want to maintain balance in all ways. For instance, if all of our fruit choices are high sugar, Candida thrives. We need a diverse microbiome to fend off a wide array of pathogens and to achieve this, we need a wide variety of nutrients to feed a wide variety of helpful microbiome bacteria.

If you are ill or you don’t feel well, changing your diet will change your life. We’ve seen it over and over again. If we eat a perfect diet until all traces of disease are gone, we heal very quickly. No supplement can achieve the change of health we accomplish by eating one large, organic salad filled with 15 or more vegetables each day.

If you are ready to change your life, change your diet. Go for 10+ a day. And remember, variety is key! Check out the salad recipe in the first article below.

Further Reading:

• Detox Cheap and Easy Without Fasting – Recipes Included
• Your Guide to Root Vegetables – Health Benefits, Recipes, and More
• The Difference Between Heirlooms, Hybrids, and GMOs
• How to Detoxify and Heal the Lymphatic System
• How to Cure Lyme Disease, and Virtually Any Other Bacterial Infection, Naturally

Sources:

• Eating more fruits and vegetables may prevent millions of premature deaths – Imperial College London
• We Should Be Eating 10 Portions Of Fruit And Veg A Day To Live Longer – IFL Science.com
• Forget five a day, eat 10 portions of fruit and veg to cut risk of early death – The Guardian

People are seeking happiness. And yes, Virginia, there is a path, not one simple answer. Happiness is a state of mind, a state of being. If you are not happy, consider how you can improve your state of mind through optimum health, giving and receiving love, and becoming attuned to your own spirituality.

Be Healthy

There are lots of excuses when it comes to poor health. Most of them are self-defeating nonsense. Truly healthy choices reap immediate benefits. When we eat right, we feel better. Right then. In that moment. It’s hard to be happy when you don’t feel good.

What if you adopted a healthy lifestyle? What if you felt full of energy and vitality each and every day? Wouldn’t you be happier? It’s not that hard. It’s not a sacrifice. It’s a shift; one that’s well worth the change.

Diet

You argue about your lack of time, lack of money, lack of ability. You can’t cook. You can’t afford organic food. You don’t have time to shop carefully. Set aside the B.S. for a moment and consider the facts. Choosing and preparing a truly healthy diet can be easy and fast.

• Organic – Organic foods are grown with far fewer pesticides, in healthier soil. They taste better and are better for you. It’s a no-brainer. Fill your body with poison and toxins and you are poisoning yourself.
• Raw – Raw foods are full of enzymes and nutrients. A diet consisting of 80% (or more) fresh, raw, organic produce will nurture every cell in your body.
• GMO-Free – Studies conducted by biotech companies suggest genetically modified foods are safe. Long-term studies conducted by unbiased scientists tell a different story, one of reproductive difficulties and cancerous tumors. Avoid GMO foods. Learn where hidden GMOs lurk in food. Better yet, don’t eat processed foods!
• Stop Drinking – All that hype about alcohol being good for you. Come on. You know better. If may relax you a bit, but so does meditation.
• Eliminate Caffeine – It’s just another addiction. An expensive one.
• Additive Free Foods – Avoid all of the things that result in poor health! The list is long, but basically, avoid eating chemicals. Never eat MSG, artificial sweeteners (except stevia), artificial flavors, colors, or preservatives, trans fats, refined sugar, and high fructose corn syrup.
• Gluten – Eliminate gluten if you suffer from any chronic disease, digestive disease, autoimmune issues, or allergies.
• Top of Food Chain – If you choose to eat meat, seafood, and dairy, you must consider the source. If those animals were fed antibiotics, GMO foods, and garbage, what are you putting in your body when you eat them? If diary is not organic, chances are it contains rBGH, a genetically modified growth hormone. If you eat seafood, make sure your purchase is not on the list of those with the highest levels of mercury. Don’t eat farmed fish. They are fed GMO feed and garbage. When it comes to meat, dairy and eggs, choose organic.
• Fresh – Check out your local farmer’s markets for the freshest foods.

So, let’s go back to the original pushback on healthy food – lack of time, lack of money, lack of ability…

Yes, organic food is more expensive. But when you stop eating processed foods, drinking coffee, drinking alcohol, and most of your diet consists of fresh, raw, organic produce, it’s very affordable. You will probably save money. Food prep is pretty fast and easy, too. Anybody can pick up an apple and eat it. Anybody can chop up veggies and make a salad. Anybody can throw stuff in a blender. Where you go from there is up to you; these three actions are the basics.

So why is a truly healthy diet so important? You put the nutrients in; you leave the toxins out. In addition, this kind of diet does two things: it continually detoxes the body and it builds a healthy gut.

A healthy gut is the key to a healthy body. Autoimmune diseases, allergies, and a poor immune system are all symptoms of poor gut health.

Detox and Build a Healthy Gut

Make sure your diet includes chelating foods. Eat lots of raw garlic and onions. Eat fresh cilantro and plenty of cruciferous veggies. In fact, a daily salad with 10-15 veggies is a great start. Not only will you be cleansing your gut, you will be aiding in the proliferation of healthy bacteria with a high fiber, veggie salad each day.

Fermented foods have been getting a lot of attention lately. Unfortunately, a lot of the probiotic benefit of fermented foods is neutralized by stomach acid. Yes, fermented foods help. Salads help more. So eat both! But focus on those daily salads. And skip the sugar filled yogurts.

You will never be healthy with a sick gut. It’s that simple. Learn about Candida, gluten, and leaky gut syndrome.

Exercise

Don’t have the time to go to the gym? Don’t have the money for a membership? Don’t know how to exercise on your own? Oh, come on! Walk!

Get outside and walk in the sun. A daily walk for a minimum of 15 minutes gets the body moving and provides a huge benefit – lymphatic circulation. Our lymphatic system is vitally important to our health. Lymph carries waste from the cells and is a basic part of our immune system. Lymphatic fluid has to circulate through our body to dump waste and for our immune system to find, identify, and eliminate viruses and bacteria. But the lymphatic system does not have a pump. Unlike the circulatory system that relies on the heart, the lymphatic system relies on physical movement, the contraction and relaxation of muscles in order to move through our bodies. So walk, run, dance, bounce on a trampoline. But move every day for your health.

Love

If you want to attract love into your life, give it, give it, give it. Stop focusing on what you don’t have and find a way to make the world a better place.

Whether you choose a cause or find a calling, make sure your choice involves positive change, not empty protest. You can denounce poverty or volunteer to teach literacy. You can rail against deforestation or plant trees. Find something positive and productive to do. If it is your passion, try to make it your work.

When you find a way to give to others or give to the world, you enrich your life and raise your self-esteem. You also meet like-minded people. It’s a win-win.

Spirituality

This is an area in which you need to be true to yourself. Whether you believe you should attend services every Sunday and Wednesday or believe your road to enlightenment is found through meditation, honor your beliefs.

Think Right

No one can deny the fact that we are creatures of habit. What we do and what we think are patterns of behavior. If you’re not happy, these are patterns crying out to be broken.

Vengeance and Forgiveness

Let it go. Holding on to hate or anger hurts one person – you. Well, to be perfectly honest it may hurt those around you as well. Forgiveness does not mean making yourself vulnerable. You can forgive someone and never speak to them again. But holding onto the anger and the pain hurts you.

Forgiveness can be difficult. Sometimes forgiveness is a process rather than an outcome. If someone has hurt you that deeply, violated you so horribly that forgiveness is ongoing even though you no longer have contact, it is still better to work at forgiveness that wallow in anger and pain. Let the hurt go.

Gratitude

If you are not grateful for what you have, what you have achieved, and the people in your life, how can you possibly be happy? Practice gratitude. Whether you say the words aloud each day in private, write in a journal, or share your gratitude with your friends and family around the dinner table, make the expression of gratitude a daily ritual. This one act will create the fundamental shift from a glass half empty to a glass half full mentality.

Right Your Mind

If you’ve never seen it before, watch the Bob Newhart skit called Stop It. The skit is so famous, if you google “stop it”, the video is Google’s first hit. But we’ll also give it to you here.

This is a simple, silly take on a very real phenomenon. Unhappy people tend to dwell on their failures, live in the past, and fear the future.

Stop worrying about the things you can’t change. Stop keeping a tally of everything that’s gone wrong. Shit happens. It happens all the time, to all of us. Life is full of disappointments and tragedy. Everyone faces pain and hardship, challenges that sometimes seem too huge, too overwhelming to survive. But we do.

Instead of dwelling on what has gone wrong in the past, instead of fearing the future, recognize that you control today. Plan for your future. Make goals and achieve them. But live in the now.

Last but not least, be good to yourself. When you become an adult, you become responsible for you. In other words, you become your own parent. Be kind. Be compassionate. Become your better self. How could you not be happy?

Related Reading:

• Detox Cheap and Easy Without Fasting – Recipes Included
• Detox Cheap and Easy Without Fasting – Recipes Included
• Candida, Gut Flora, Allergies, and Disease
• Candida, Gut Flora, Allergies, and Disease
• How To Be Happy
• How To Be Happy
• How Candida Leads to Depression, Anxiety, ADHD, and Other Mental Disorders
• How Candida Leads to Depression, Anxiety, ADHD, and Other Mental Disorders

For years now, we have been taught to count calories, to balance the ratio of our calories in vs calories out for the most effective way to lose unwanted pounds. But does this system work for the countless number of  people around the world who are diligently counting calories?

Well, the simple answer is no. Here’s why the calories model is outdated and what the new research is telling us to do instead!

Not All Calories Are Created Equal

While it seems simpler to try and think of each calorie having the exact same effect on our bodies, this is simply not the case. Not all calories are created equal. For example, the calories from an apple have a very different effect on your body than those from a snickers bar. Food is information for our bodies and every time you eat, every time you make a choice about what types of foods you are going to consume, you are sending messages to your cells and to your hormones that can have varying effects on a whole range of processes within your body.

Our hormones play a major role in the way our bodies process our food. They tell us when we are full and they signal our body to either burn or store fat. For example, your body has two fuel sources to choose from for energy: fat or sugar. If under stress, the body will produce excessive amounts of the stress hormones cortisol and adrenaline. These two hormones signal your body to use sugar as an energy source as it is available much faster than fat, which is a slower releasing energy source. This isn’t helpful if your goal is weight loss as it makes it difficult to burn fat regardless of what you are eating.

It’s Impossible To Accurately Count All Calories

If the calorie in calorie out model did actually work, then you would need to make sure that the calories you are counting are really accurate or risk gaining unwanted pounds. Realistically it’s impossible to accurately determine the calories you eat and trying to can create stress or anxiety around eating. Just imagine you are out for dinner with your friends or family and while everyone is choosing what they want to eat, you are trying to figure out how many calories each meal has to fit into your daily target. Not fun!

Labels Can Be Inaccurate

Little do the calorie counters know, there is an allowable margin of error in product labeling. This simply means again that accurately counting the number of calories in different foods is almost impossible.

We Could Potentially Restrict Ourselves From Eating Healthy Foods

Some foods are high in calories but are high in essential nutrients that actually help your body burn fat, for example, foods like avocados, coconut oil, nuts, and seeds. These foods are full of healthy fats that help your cells function optimally. Adding healthy fats to your meal can also help you feel full faster and stay full longer. They can also help in controlling your cravings and your blood sugar levels. If we focus only on calories, we may miss out on the many benefits that we can get from these foods.

Counting Calories Is Not Sustainable Because It Does Not Address The Root Cause of Why People Overeat

There are several reasons why people overeat or become overweight. Emotional eating, eating when bored, food cravings – all can lead to making poor food choices. How many times have you gone for a muffin or a bag of potato crisps while doing menial tasks at work? If these underlying issues are not addressed, then those who are counting calories will quickly run out of calories before they hit dinner. They then have the option of skipping dinner or “cheating” and having dinner anyway. After eating dinner and feeling guilty, many will overeat or snack while vowing to “start again tomorrow”. This is not a sustainable or healthy way of eating.

In Order For Any Weight Loss Program To Be Sustainable, One Has To Focus on Developing Healthy Habits and Lifestyle

So if we are not counting calories, what works instead? The most effective way to make healthy sustainable lifestyle changes is to choose whole foods whenever possible, real foods like fruit and vegetables, healthy fats, whole grains, and organic grass fed or free range meat and dairy products.

All of our bodies are different, so learning to listen to and trust your body can be really life changing. Try to focus on eating only when you are hungry and not when you have nothing to do. Making a conscious effort to eat healthy foods rather than focusing on what you cannot have is an act of self-care, and your body will thank you.

Also, look at other aspects of your lifestyle. Exercise not only helps boost your metabolism, it has a great effect on your mood and energy levels, which makes it easier to make good food choices. Keeping yourself hydrated at all times is also super important as is sleep! Find an activity that will better manage your stress such as meditation, deep breathing, or a restorative practice such as yoga. Don’t get overwhelmed. Just take it one step at a time. The small things you do consistently every day will have a much bigger impact on your health than big changes you only sustain for a week.

Have you tried counting calories in the past as a weight loss method? We would love to hear your experiences in the comments below.

Further Reading:

• How I Lost Over 150 Pounds, and How My Life Changed
• Detox Cheap and Easy Without Fasting – Recipes Included
• What Causes Chronic Inflammation, and How To Stop It For Good