Growing evidence of childhood fatty liver disease

I am seeing a number of studies and proof to support something I have known since 2008. Our kids are in serious trouble for their futures if they live on processed foods, soda pop and sauces coating anything natural. Finding those kids out there is a challenge. We have about 6 children in my fatty liver disease support group on Facebook ranging from age 2 – 18.  This is 2 girls and 4  boys which is not by any means a predictor.

Doctors DO NOT look for liver disease as a rule. They are NOT taught to look for the disease. They will blame the pancreas, gallbladder, IBS, Celiac Disease, Diabetes before they would even pay attention to elevated liver enzymes.  As a Parent you need to pay attention to your child’s symptoms and NOT be too quick to blindly trust the doctor.  Demand a blood test for your child. review the levels for AST and ALT and ask your doctor what the safe levels are for enzymes. As for an Ultrasound of the stomach.  If the liver has fatty deposits they will be shown in this test.  Ask for genetic testing they are now proving there are genetic links to fatty liver disease. I am not saying every child has a problem with their livers but I would bet my life at this point far more do then are being diagnosed. Studies say between 3 – 13% of kids have fatty liver disease. I suspect its closer to the 25-30% that is happening in adults.

These kids generally have homes where both parents are working. There are few home cooked meals because parents are stressed out and running between all the soccer, dance, skating, hockey, baseball games that kids are involved with. Or because they can’t get their kids away from the video games and their kids are picky eaters who will ONLY eat hamburgers, chicken nuggets , macaroni or other standard processed or junk foods.

The very sad reality is that these products are created by companies who know and love the fact that people get addicted to their products. If your kid eats it once and it has high fructose corn syrup in it there is no message to the brain to tell them that they are full. and there is no balancing of the sugars. This creates a fatty cell in the liver and your child becomes addicted to those products.

So when they are eventually diagnosed with Fatty Liver Disease or Diabetes or other metabolic disorders you will find you have a child who is trying to sneak foods, or find ways to drive you nuts until you give in. The problem is that they are actually ADDICTED to these products its like they are coming out of alcoholism or drug addiction. Everything in their body is telling them they NEED those foods.  You essentially need to accept that your child is in withdrawl

You have to be strong and fight for your child. This disease can and does lead to liver failure. Doctors and researchers have no understanding about this disease right now. They are all fighting to find the answers but we are dealing with it TODAY and don’t have time to wait for them. I am aware of 2 men in their 30′s who died of liver failure due to fatty liver disease. Neither of them were alcoholics or drug addicts. They were only in  their 30′s. I suspect you want your child to experience life longer than that!

This generation of children are the first generation which will live shorter lives. This is directly related to processed foods and additives and genetically modified foods. Our body’s DO not know how to process these chemicals. Our poor children do not stand a chance in this world of Monsanto versus humans.

If your child is dealing with chronic illness that doesn’t get better. Try getting rid of sugar! Getting rid of junk food, do they start to feel better? You will find after 3- 6 weeks of not eating those things or drinking sugary beverages they will feel healthier!

Parents please pay attention and do not go blindly into dealings with doctors. Get the right tests, keep all test results…you need to take this into your control for your kids sake!

Marina’s Story – 14 Year old NAFLD patient

I met and started talking to Darlene who is Marina’s grandmother after she found my blogs about my daughter Megan. I have asked her to share the story of her grand daughter Marina.

It was Nov 1. 2012. Marina woke up for school and said her stomach hurt her. She generally never gets up at 5 am and for her to wake me up that early, I knew it must hurt her very badly because she is not a complainer.
She showed me where it hurt and it was like the top right side of her abdomen. She started getting ready for school and she was still in a lot of pain..so much so that I took her to the urgent care clinic instead of waiting to call her family doctor’s office. At the clinic ,they took Marina right back and drew blood, after examining her and with her being in so much pain, they reviewed the blood work wnich showed her (* white blood count was way off) they actually called an ambulance to transport her to Children’s Hospital.

When we got to the hospital…they hooked up an IV…started drawing blood and she was in so much pain she was crying. They did a CT scan and a Sonogram and took her right to the ICU. Her blood pressure sky rocketed..her blood count was way off…and she couldn’t stop crying about the pain. I was trying to act calm on the outside to keep Marina calm, but I was so worried …thinking…let this be her appendix so it will be solved quickly!

That would have been to good to be true. They call in the Gastroentologist and we were told the scan results were in and she had pancreaticitis. Marina just had to stay for a few days in the hospital …keeping a good eye on her in the ICU. No food to give her pancreas a rest with just an IV and lots of pain medication. So, I could breath again… she stopped crying cause the pain medications were working.They brought a portable toilet for her to pee in because she was hooked up to monitors.She was dealing with nausea but didn’t throw up…her blood pressure was high but they said it was due to the pain. To me, she looked so uncomfortable from the pain the whole thing,then she goes pee and what the heck her urine was brown like coffee. I almost passed out but I am still acting calm on the outside..she was groggy and I calmly asked the nurse why is her urine that color? Oh that’s ok, its just that her pancreas is inflamed and it needs to rest. Ok they are the medical experts… so for the next 24 hrs..she continued to feel nausea she was still getting the iv so she could let her pancreas rest, still urinating brown ,blood pressure high but a little lower with drugs,she did not sleep much and I didn’t sleep at all.

So 24 hrs go by and the doctors came in to make their rounds. I asked all kinds of questions…like what caused this what can be done why is her blood pressure so high…why is her urine so brown…they answered all my questions and said her pancreas got infected…they don’t know how…these things happen… no med for it just no food to rest it and the pee is brown because the pancreas and liver work together and the red blood cells are coming out in her urine because the liver is not working correctly because of the pancreas being swollen…its fine.

So two more days went by and she still was on pain medications but it was hurting less everyday…her blood pressure was returning to normal and her pee was a light brown….so they moved her to a regular room and had her start in liquids… they gave her soda POP…with sugar in it…coke, pepsi,ginger ale, they gave her pudding, ice cream, jello and these are medically trained doctors?. So I not knowing they were poisoning her liver, I was so happy Marina was holding it down. So after a day of sugar galore, her face started turning red,then purplish. Again I was calm on the outside falling apart on the inside. I Go and tell the nurse and they see her blood pressure rocket, her pain was coming back. They rush her back to the ICU. What’ going on?? I go to an empty room to call my daughter long distance to tell her help!. I was so weak inside my daughter (marinas aunt) and my son in law and my daughters best friend get on their computers they are searching reading, looking, talking, trying to save Marina.

I am sitting in marinas ICU room when a nurse…now this is extremely important to remember..THIS NURSE who was taking care of marina that shift…commented to me…who by the way NOT ONE DR. OR SPECIALIST SAID A WORD ABOUT to me…her liver enzymes are so high. So I freak out inside what? her liver enzymes are so high I am thinking no doctor or specialist said that to me!!! As far as they were concerned it was all only about her pancreas So now back home they start thinking maybe its not her pancreas maybe her liver is causing her pancreas to be sick!

Now keep that comment from my daughter’s friend in your mind along with what the nurse said about marinas enzymes
So I see my precious grand daughter is getting so sick again after she started getting better!

I go to the room where marina can’t hear the desperation in my voice and tell my daughter listen to this a nurse just said to me wow her liver enzymes are so high. I said why would she be concerned about that,all along the doctors and other nurses were saying to me…no its her pancreas, the other organs are just helping with her pancreas. So my daughter says mom let me talk to her doctor. And I took my phone and went and found Marina’s doctor and told her to please explain to my daughter about marinas health… 20 min the doctor hands me back the phone and my daughter says to me MOM..WHY ARE YOU TELLING US COMMENTS MADE BY A NURSE…GETTING EVERYONE WORRIED THAT MARINAS SO SICK..HER DOCTOR SAID HER LIVER IS FINE she just needs to rest her pancreas everything is fine!

so I am numb am half happy, half thinking no she is back in the ICU, I am in a mind set of total confusion. I’m thinking about what the nurse said and I have marinas mom stay with her and I went to a computer, typed in liver and Fructose in Google searched fructose, sugar, high fructose corn syrup, every thing I typed in about liver..dark urine pain. I start seeing all this about children…fructose ,liver, dark urine and I’m like what??. So I send all these links to to my family. My son-in-law said get Marina out of that hospital something is not right!

marina was so sick when she came here they didn’t put anything in her body meaning no sugar because they wanted her pancreas to rest and it was working her blood pressure went down her blood count was getting better her urine was lightening with every pee. Then since she was getting better they took her out of ICU and gave her all liquids and soft food high fructose pudding high sugar jello, sugar in chocolate milk The comment stood out in my mind….maybe its her liver that’s making her pancreas sick I said I am taking her home…The doctors said you can’t, no said marinas mom! I said OH YES I CAN I AM HER LEGAL GUARDIAN I took her home and put her on a strict no sugar diet and my family and I read everything about fructose sugar liver and by the next week when they did blood work…wow….was her body getting better not much pain at all pee turning yellow not brown no nausea, sleeping good Since then we have been very on top of marina walking for exercise..every day she has to walk… he set her up with drinking watered down cider vinegar every other day….and on the other days she drinks a spice with water… turmeric. Every label is now read for hidden ways of saying sugar!

Marina is an honor role student and is doing very well since we took her health into our own hands! Doctors are not taught enough about this disease and they don’t look for it and assume its other things. We blindly trust doctors with our lives and sometimes you just need to listen to common sense. If the sugar brought all symptoms back then there is something to consider getting rid of for your body!

This disease is hitting kids as young as 2.

Do not ignore it, if 1 in 3 north Americans has liver disease someone you love is dealing with it before it starts showing nasty symptoms like this.

Join our group on facebook https://www.facebook.com/groups/fattyliversupport/

Follow us on Twitter @fattyliverhelp

And join our website with patients helping patients at http://www.reversefattyliverdisease.com/

Fatty Liver Disease tips for newly diagnosed patients!

You were just diagnosed with NAFLD or NASH and now you are being told to eat healthy and exercise with no direction and a pat on the head. You search the internet and you find so much mixed information but your doctor told you not to worry about it too much.

There is something bothering you, you sense that there might be more to this since you are struggling with exhaustion and stomach aches.

Your liver is one of the hardest working organs in your body. I want you to think of it as a powerful sponge that is absorbing all the food you eat, all the beverages you drink, all the air you breathe,all the drugs or supplements you use, all the products you put on your skin, and everything you touch.

Your liver is an investigator. It will break down everything that it absorbs. It will take the vitamins and minerals that are in your liver and send them to other organs to make them work better. It will take all the toxins and chemicals and send them to the dump to be rejected from your body.

If you are are not overwhelming your liver with too many toxins your liver can do its job and your body will be happy!
Sadly our environment, drug, supplement, skin care, cosmetic manfacturers are generally about making profits and your health is a secondary concern if it is even on their radar.

There is very good news for your liver though. Your liver is the only organ in the body that has its own regeneration factory. Your liver is constantly trying to fix itself. Its like a busy body that can’t take a break no matter how much you warn it that its a workaholic
When its not trying to break down toxins it is replanting a cell, watering it, giving it nutrients and care. The cell needs to be nurtered in order to grow. This is the livers part time job and its a careful balance. Its priority is to break down toxins and nutrients that are being absorbed.

Your fulltime job as someone with liver disease is to support that balance and be kind to your liver.

My job is to share what I have learned that will help you help your liver!

1. Review the drugs and supplements you are taking. Determine which have warnings that they should not be used if you have liver disease and talk to your doctor about coming off them.
2. Do not buy over the counter medications, Tylenol, Advil, Motrin, Cough Medicines, Stomach medicines. They all have to be broken down by the liver and most are proven to have a negative impact on liver.
3. Read supplement labels and make sure ingredients are from nature. They should be top quality and tested scientifically.
4. Use natural cosmetics, natural skin care products.
5. Use natural products to clean house and clothes.
6. Exercise daily – start with walking and build up to include aerobic exercise that you enjoy.
7. Avoid all added sugars and high fructose corn syrup!
8. Do not lose weight quickly this can further damage your liver! No more than 2lbs per week!
9. Avoid Genetically modified products. They are not natural and our bodies consider them a foreign toxin for liver to deal with.

Supplements:

You can consider using the following basic supplements daily to improve your immunity and help your liver.

Millk Thistle
Vitamin B complex
Vitamin C
Vitamin E
Quality Pro Biotic
Vitamin D3 1000 mg
Essential Fatty Acids – Omega 3

If you are on Statins you need to supplement with CoQ10

Once a week to boost immunity:
L-Carnitine
Chromium

Food and Beverages:

1. Fresh organic vegetables and a few organic fruits. Fruit has lots of natural sugars and if your liver is compromised your intake of fruit should be limited. Lots of Lemon and dark green leafy vegetables.
2. Processed foods should be avoided as a rule. Read labels and look for products that have ingredient lists that you understand.
3. Nuts – Almonds, Walnuts, pecans, brazil nuts all have nutrients and fats that are healthy for live.r peanut butter should be organic try almond butter!. Use Raw organic unsalted nuts!
4. Grains limited – spelt, rye, sprouted grain, Brown rice, brown rice pasta, steel cut oats, air popped popcorn
5. Dairy- Organic greek yogurt, skim milk, organic cheese.
6. Seeds – pumpkin,sunflower.
7. Legumes – chickpeas, beans -not sweetened! Soy not genetically modified!
8. Protein- Lean Chicken,Turkey, Beef, Pork. Nothing with nitrites! Fish – avoid high mercury in Shark, Marlin,Orange Roughy, swordfish, tilefish, Ahi Tuna. Be careful and limit intake of canned albacore or yellowfin tuna, sea bass, grouper and bluefish.

Juicing is a great way to get the raw nutrients that your liver craves.
Low Glycemic Index foods are important to keep balance in your body.
Organic and Gluten free products tend to be natural always read labels.

Try to keep your insulin levels balanced and help your liver as well!

Avoid the following ingredients:
Aspartame
acesulfame-k
Artifical colour or flavour
Brominated Vegetable oil (BVO)
Corn Syrup
Dextrose
Fructose
Heptyl Paraben
invert sugar
corn sugar
fructose-glucose
lactitol
maltitol
mannitol
olestra
partially hydrogenated vegetable oil
Monosodium Glutumate
mycoprotein
lactose
hydrolyzed vegetable protein.
gums for thickening
guarana
casein, sodium caseinate
caffeine
benzoic acid
polydextrose
potassium bromate
propyl gallate
qunine
rebiana
salatrim
Sodium Chloride
sodium bezoate
sodium nitrite
sorbitol
stevia
sucrose
tagatose
trans fat
xylitol

What does Terri’s Death teach us for Fatty Liver Disease?

Terri was 55 years old. Not young and not old, in December 2011 she was told by a family doctor that she had NAFLD and that she should go home and eat properly and exercise.

Sadly this is a VERY standard reply from doctors all over the world, and I understand why they feel this way. They are NEVER taught that this disease kills people. They are not being educated about the progression of this disease from basic NAFLD to NASH to Cirohsis. They are looking to help with Asthma, high blood pressure, diabetes, and all other common health challenges facing our society. They know what drugs to prescribe to manage those symptoms. Until they are being educated properly and until people truly take this seriously that will not change.

For those doctors who have seen this disease take peoples lives , they will be the ones who will take this more seriously. How we find these doctors I don’t know but I know that in my group of 400 patients around the world there are a handful of doctors that do know this disease is a serious epidemic not to be taken lightly.

Then we have the patient. They go to the doctor complaining about exhaustion and stomach pains. So they did a stomach ultrasound and found a fatty liver. The doctor is not worried the doctor reassures them that if they lose weight and exercise that the liver will be fine. Patients are used to having lots of respect for their doctors. They are used to seeing them as all knowing, the perfect guides for managing the patients health. Patients go home, they might change some eating habits, they might lose some weight but since the doctor was not worried neither are they.

If the patient decides to investigate the disease they will find lots on the internet now, lots of conflicting data. Then they might go to the Liver Foundation for information. The Liver Foundation relies primarily on research and since there is not enough research data for NAFLD yet they also do not raise alarm bells for the diagnosis. They will provide eating advice, they will provide support groups. But once again you will not go to their sites and be alarmed by this diagnosis.

Drug companies tend to provide funds for research grants and tend to sponsor them. You can’t blame them, if they can create a drug which will solve a health care crisis they want to be on the cutting edge of that research. The thing about the Liver is that most treatments are natural they are not drug related. Most drugs have a warning label telling you to not use if you have liver disease. Your liver has to break drugs down, so if the liver is already compromised another drug is NOT likely to help it heal, its likely to cause further breakdown in the liver as it tries to process ingredients in the drug.

When Terri went to the Emergency room at the end of her life , the ER doctor was SHOCKED to hear that she was not on a liver transplant list. That ER doctor is one of the few out there who would likely NOT pat a patient on the head and send them home to eat better and exercise. If that doctor had been her primary care doctor the results might have been different, But by the time Terri found him it was too late, her liver was too far gone.

This is the case for some members in my Fatty Liver Disease Support Group on Facebook. They start investigating when they are in the final stages of Liver disease and come across my blog or my facebook group. They finally found someone who understands what they are dealing with but sadly all we can do is be their to support them and guide them the best we can.

If you search NAFLD and NASH early then we can help you change your diet correctly. Help you understand that this is not a race to lose weight its a change to natural eating, foods from gardens, and non GMO farms. Its getting back to basics and respecting your body.

Your liver is the only organ in the body that can fully regenerate itself. It takes time but if you want to get healthy we can be there to support that journey.

If you or anyone you love is dealing with stomach aches and exhaustion, have their doctor run a full liver panel as part of the yearly phsyical or request it at any time. Get to know your AST and ALT numbers and your goal is to have less of these enzymes being in your blood stream.

Search for Michelle Clermont on Facebook London Ontario picture of my dog, or search for Fatty Liver Disease Support Group and request to be added to the group.

Please learn from Terri’s story… this is your life take control!

Ignite Health Ontario I – 2 days to go!! Get your Tickets!

I can not believe that Ignite Health Ontario I will happen in 2 days! A thought from my brain that was triggered thanks to Ignite London will materialize in a public event to help people listen to their bodies and start taking accountability for its success. We have amazing speakers that I am proud to get on stage. Jim Mills – Former London Knights Captain, impacted by Guilles – Barres Syndrome and now running the Smile Epidemic! Lisa Merriam – 20 years old and sharing her story of mental illness and how she is fighting every day to raise awareness and diminish the stigma, Blair Rymer will teach us all some base yoga moves and we all get to participate. You will get a chance to learn about and sample Kiki Natural Maple Sap beverage! You will learn why you should consider a chiropractor, a reiki treatment, or a nutritionist. You will learn from Emory Ediger how it feels to move into a nursing home and feel alone and how you can turn that around. You will hear Megan Clermont tell her story of how she has moved from living a life of chronic illness where she spent most of her time isolated and alone as a teenager to now being a thriving busy teenager who fights back against her illness. You will learn about the Jamie Oliver Food Revolution and what my role is as ambassador and what the plans are for 2013. We will have a great presentation on Getting to know your farmer, eating local and watching out for GMO’s ! Have you ever heard of Shamanic Healing? Me neither but we will learn what that can offer for your spirit, Have you considered Hypnosis to deal with challenges like smoking, weightloss, insomnia? We will get a chance to explore new ideas there too! We have all presentations ready to go, we have 2 videographers volunteering their time, we have 3 volunteer photographers, we have a projector, we have a podium, we have snacks and beverages too. Now all we need is you to come and take a seat and listen to these presenters and walk away with one new idea to help you be a better healthier you! http://ignitehealth.eventbrite.ca/?ebtv=C . http://metronews.ca/news/london/410906/former-london-knights-captain-among-speakers-at-ignite-health-ontario/ http://www.londoncommunitynews.com/2012/10/ignite-health-ontario-will-take-place-at-covent-garden-market-oct-24/ Contact Michelle Clermont 226-234-4006 for more details

Call for Speakers Ignite Health Ontario I

 

September 19, 2012

Ignite Health Ontario is a new speaker series, branching from Ignite London, that offers 5 minute presentations. The speaker series will include 2 presentations for each topic and events will take place every 4 months. All presentations will be videotaped and available for viewing on the Ignite web sites through Youtube. The pillars of this event include the following 6 topics:

 

Food

 

Exercise

 

Mental Health

 

Spirituality

 

Practitioners

 

Patient Stories

 

All speakers will have a table to share additional information about their presentation, providing a networking platform between speakers and guests. Tables will also be available for sponsors to advertise their services. Costs of our event include: facility rental, insurance fees, videographer, photographer, and healthy snacks and beverages.

 

Our first event will be taking place on Wednesday, October 24, 2012 upstairs at the Covent Garden Market. On average, Ignite London has hosted audiences of 150 people. Ignite London and the parent company O’Reilly Media will be advertising our event, drawing people from their existing audiences. We are expecting 100-150 attendees for our first event.

 

Providing a talk about a topic you are passionate about, in addition to the passion I put behind creating this event will not only show support for a balanced approach to self motivated health care, but it will also help assure the success of “Ignite Health Ontario”.

 

The following guidelines are required by all speakers within the Ignite format. I would encourage you to prepare a speech in the “ignite” format and we would be delighted if you are up for the challenge!

 

1.

Your talk proposal must be submitted by October 5th at midnight. Not all talk proposals make it to the schedule, but we aim to fit in as many passionate and unique ideas as we can.”

2.

Your talk must be exactly 5 minutes long. This is an extremely short amount of time. Be sure to practice your presentation to make sure you don’t go over time. The MC has permission to use a giant cane to drag offstage any speakers who go over 5 minutes. Make sure you are wrapping up on your last slide.

3.

Your talk must be accompanied by 20 unique slides. Your talk should not hinge on transitions, animation or sound. If you have a video in one of your slides, you have to be able to talk over it, and be prepared if the video does not play – this slide will still be displayed for exactly 15 seconds. Presentations must be submitted to me in .ppt format. I believe it will be presented in Microsoft Power Point, but this may change. Also, be sure to use high-contrasting colours, as we do not know the condition of the projector we will be using.

4.

Slides will auto-advance every 15 seconds. Keep this time limit in mind while crafting your slides, as 15 seconds is not a lot of time for your audience to read. Auto-advancing can help you with your pacing, but it can also be overwhelming if you cannot keep up with the slides. Practice, practice, practice!

5.

Your slides are due October 17th, 2012. Please email your presentation to ignitehealthontario@gmail.com. You cannot make changes to your presentation after emailing it in.

I would be pleased to discuss this opportunity further with you at your earliest convenience. If you have any questions or would like more information about our event, I may be reached at 226-234-4006. I look forward to hearing from you soon.

Sincerely,

Michelle Clermont, Event Coordinator Ignite Health Ontario

http://ignitehealthblog.wordpress.com/

http://www.ignitelondon.ca/

The Problem with Paleo – Guest Blogger Tommy Caldwell

If you have any interest, participation, or aspirations in the world of health, you have no doubt heard about the Paleo Diet. In fact, if you even subscribe to any social networking avenue you have surely been exposed to the current trend. The Paleo Diet is a hit. In fact, it is a booming hit that hasn’t been seen in the wellness world since the South Beach Diet or the Original Weight Watcher’s program. But as with most ever-popular trends, the Paleo Diet has spread faster than the general public’s ability to comprehend what is good and bad about it. In this article I will highlight the great aspects of a typical Paleo routine, but I will also touch on the aspects that you may need to put a little more logical thought into before you blindly subscribe to the diet as a ‘whole’. The Paleo Concept For those who perhaps don’t know exactly what the Paleo Diet is, here is a brief description. The Paleo diet is a theoretical and research based diet that follows the consumption of foods that were most likely consumed by our longest living genetically indentical relatives. Basically- the foods that the human race has been exposed (and therefore adapted to) for the longest period of time over human history are the foods that our bodies are most likely to ‘handle’ in a favorable manner. Adversely, the foods that the human race has been exposed (and there for adapted to) for the shortest period of time over human history are the foods that are bodies are most likely to ‘handle’ in an unfavorable manner. An example of this would be vegetables and wheat. Vegetables have been available for human consumption since the beginning of man- therefore man has had apt time to regulate the digestion of the food. On the other hand products like wheat have only been manufactured for human consumption for the last 10,000 or so years- making them fairly new to the human diet- therefore man hasn’t necessarily had apt time to regulate their consumption… get it? It is a very logical and theoretically sound basis for what you put in your body- but that doesn’t make it a flawless system. The Good I view the Paleo trend the same way as I view the Crossfit trend: Considering that it is indeed considered a trend (or ‘fad’ or what have you) it is far superior and a ‘breath of fresh air’ when compared to what else you will find in the same category (think Jenny Craig, WeightWatchers, Slimfast, and all the other terrible diets that are far from health based). But, that doesn’t mean it is ideal for any one person or that it is an optimal way of viewing your health approach. With that in mind, there are far more positive aspects than there are negative- and that is why I feel it is important to highlight them first. Real Food First- The Paleo diet focuses on real food that grows from the ground and roams the earth. It doesn’t promote eating things from a box, magic potions or snake oils. It is just a system of real food consumption. It’s Based on Logic- Even though much of the logic is theoretical; it still has a very ‘human’ and plausible basis. It isn’t a total ‘blind faith’ approach like what you would get in a 90’s weight loss shake craze. It is built upon a foundation you can wrap your brain around. It Promotes Overall Lifestyle- Paleo dieting discusses food first, but it also discusses all aspects of self improvement as well. It covers how you move (exercise) as well as how you live day to day (lifestyle) which is a very important approach to health success. It isn’t really selling a ‘product’- Paleo isn’t a service. It isn’t a product or a subscription. It is merely information that you can either choose to implement into your life or not- for free It will give you weight loss/body composition results- Any time you cut grains, sugars, and junk from your diet it will give you a positive result. If you are an average person who sticks to the Paleo Diet, you will gain positive results from it. The Bad I’m hesitant to call this section ‘the bad’, because all things considered it is hard to put the Paleo Diet into the ‘bad’ category. Especially when you see what it is up against in the health world- you can’t argue its dominance in effectiveness, health basis, and plausibility. That said there are still some components that need to be investigated and challenged a little more openly. We Are Not Our Ancestors- The Paleo diet is affectionately known as the ‘caveman diet’, and this stems from the diet being generally identical to what we assume our cave people ancestors would eat like. The issue with that is we are not cave people. Human beings have survived as long as we have and become the dominant species on the planet (from an evolutionary perspective) because of our ability to change, adapt, and grow. If we did everything now like our caveman ancestors did in their time we would still be cave people. Why This Matters When It Comes to Food- If the human race has flourished on change and adaption, we can’t start eliminating foods outright because they may not have been eaten by cavemen. It’s really quite stupid when you think about it. This isn’t to say that the foods that are available now are as good, better, or even worth eating when compared to what composed our original long-standing diet- but you’ll have to come up with better logic than “if cave people didn’t eat it, we shouldn’t”. If that’s how you feel life should be lived than go back in your cave and unlearn the English language- see what that does for your future. Meat Meat and More Meat!!!!- Along with the Paleo diet comes a huge love for meat. Most Paleo ‘Guru’s’ will even tell you that meat should be eaten with every meal or ‘in abundance’ or ‘with abandon’. What these people fail to recognize is that meat was the most difficult and dangerous form of consumption for our distant relatives. Killing an animal for food meant the need for tools (labor), the need for a hunt (spent energy), and an inevitable fight (danger). I wasn’t around back then, but I can guarantee that our ancestors weren’t eating various sources of meat 3-5 times per day with every meal… in fact; I doubt they even ate meat on a daily basis. Considering that plants have always been the most abundant source of nutrients on this earth for all herbivores and omnivores, it is safe to say that our ancestors likely at plants in abundance, and meat when they could. If Paleo people promote eating as close to your ancestral code as possible- how do they get to the conclusion that people should be consuming steaks 5 times per day without thinking twice? Why This Matters When It Comes to Food- Our modern cravings are based directly upon what was rare for us to come across in the wild. This is what kept us driven to hunt and gather (much like how sex drive ensures human procreation)- therefore tastes like sweet (high up and far between fruit plants) and salt/fat (animal meat) weren’t sources we came across or consumed regularly- if they were abundant to us back then, we wouldn’t require a crave mechanism to locate them. This is also why humans don’t crave vegetables- they were so abundant to us and easily accessed in the wild that we didn’t require extra motivation or drive to find them. They were always available and always our main source of nutrients. Don’t get me wrong- I love meat, and I think it is an essential part of our diets- but if you subscribe to the thinking that you should be eating in line with an ancestral code, eating meat with every meal does not add up. Contradictions in Adaption- One of the biggest rules in Paleo eating is to not eat grains (which for the most part I am 100% on board with). The reasoning behind this is that the agricultural age came so late in our history that our bodies are not properly adapted to consume grains. I understand and agree with most of this logic, but I also don’t consider myself a pure Paleo eater- so I can disagree without conflict. What Paleo advocates fail to mention is that human beings were most likely originally vegetarians whom learned to cook and consume meat (as well as cook all foods)- thus leading to a huge jump in evolutionary progress, particularly in brain size/function. Now, if the one piece of food that Paleo’s hold in such high regard (meat) was once a new introduction to the human diet (un-adapted) that allowed us to better ourselves as a species- where do they get off saying that people shouldn’t eat grains because they aren’t yet adapted to it? It is quite contradictory and a bit senseless. Don’t take this as me being an advocate for grains, because I am not. For the most part I loathe grains and feel as though a very small percentage of the population should consume them- but- my reasoning has nothing to do with adaption and more to do with grains not being the most optimal food that can be put in the body. They can be easily replaced by more nutrient dense and less problematic foods that will give you more bang for your buck. It’s like the old race car analogy- your body could run off grains and get from point A to point B, but you wouldn’t be breaking any records getting there. Bottom Line- you can’t outright condemn a food source (Grains) because we haven’t been exposed to it for a million years, yet turn around and push another food (meat) when at one point it was brand new to the human race and was partially responsible for the brain power we have today. Why This Matters When It Comes to Food- Some foods are good for everyone, some foods are bad for everyone, and then there are some foods that are good and bad on an individual basis. If you follow some preconceived notion that you shouldn’t consume something solely because it wasn’t available to you 100,000 years ago you may be missing the boat on human progression and adaption. Especially when the people telling you this information are being slightly hypocritical (remember the meat history). Take supplements for example- they aren’t the majority basis of a healthy diet, but even a Paleo eater will take Vitamin D, Fish Oil, Multi-Vitamins and Whey Protein. I’m aware that all of the bases of these products come from ‘Paleolithic’ sources- but they are definitely processed and digested in ways that our bodies haven’t been adapted to for the majority of human existence. I guess my question is how much do you bend until you break and contradict your own principles? Our Lifestyles/Demands/Activities are not Paleolithic- The modern day human being (particularly the athlete) does not participate in the lifestyle that our ancestors would have. Our ancestors (like all animals) would conserve energy whenever they could and use it only when necessary. Modern day athletes on the other hand search to put vigorous demands on their bodies multiple times per day in order to create resistance and adaption that makes them stronger, faster and fitter. Rice, potatoes, and other starches are a great way for an athlete to up their recovery time and energy reserves. This as well as higher doses of fruit for glycogen replacement (the energy source that our muscles need to recover and perform). These foods may not have served a great purpose in Paleolithic times as they do now for modern day athletes, but that doesn’t mean that an athlete should avoid certain foods because cavemen didn’t eat them or consume them in that volume/frequency. I wouldn’t recommend rice, potatoes, heavy starches or lots of fruit to an average person, and definitely not to an overweight individual- but to those with extremely high energy demands and the need to perform at high levels day in and day out- I would absolutely recommend adding grains (but not gluten) to your diet on a fairly regular basis. Why This Matters When It Comes to Food- Lots of us have much different energy demands and lifestyles than our ancestors did. The very act of searching out repetitive strenuous activity day in and day out that doesn’t result in direct food consumption or protection goes against our very human nature. Therefore when you can make certain foods work for you and serve a direct purpose that others may not need to worry about- you should do it. White Jasmine Rice is blasphemy in the Paleo world, but in the world of a high caliber athlete it can be the difference between 1st and 2nd The key here is understanding history, contradictive statements, and most importantly-yourself. None of us come from the same place, live the same lives, or have the same goals- so what makes us think that we should all be subscribing to the exact same food habits? The key to a good diet is understanding what is good for YOU and eating those things purposefully. If you can justify each piece of food you put in your mouth by having a realistic and effective purpose for how it will serve to better your particular life- you are on the right path. And don’t get me wrong- the Paleo diet is a great start towards a healthy life, especially if you are an average person who is new to life change. But it isn’t the optimal solution for food supremacy and it never will be unless you understand exactly why it is perfect for your lifestyle and fulfilling those specific demands. As far as general diets go- Paleo is the best out there, but, it still has a lot of obvious cracks, contradictions, and missing information. So like most things in this world you should be ‘combing’ through the info and throwing away what personally doesn’t make sense to you- otherwise you are generalizing what should always be a specific approach to health.

Kiki Maple Sweet Water – Amazing new natural sweet beverage!

Come on out to Ignite Health Ontario I on October 24th to sample this amazing new sweet beverage from nature!!!

 

KiKi Maple Sweet Water,

 

A traditional rural spring beverage has been released to the whole/health food market for year round enjoyment!

 

KiKi Maple Sweet Water, which is produced by Troll Bridge Creek Inc., Arthur, Ontario, is a one ingredient drink and that ingredient is pure maple sap drawn directly from the tree.  For those of you who don’t know about the maple sap, it is the clear sweet liquid that is harvested from the maple tree each spring of the year.  This liquid is then boiled until it becomes maple syrup.  To make 1 litre of syrup approximately 40 litres of sap is used.

 

Tree sap has been used in traditional folk medicine  in North America, Korea and Northern Europe for 1000′s of years.  Troll Bridge Creek Inc. has been able to bottle this beneficial liquid so that it can be enjoyed year round. 

 

Not only is this a refreshing drink, to be enjoyed on those hot summer days, KiKi Maple Sweet Water has many nutritional benefits. Maple sap, with over 80 nutrients, is a natural way to replenish the body’s electrolytes after the morning jog, bike marathon or hot yoga session. There are many essential minerals in maple sap including calcium, potassium, magnesium, iron and zinc. 

 

Some other Nutritional information:

• 64 Anti-oxidants, Anti -radical, Anti-inflammatories, Anti-mutagens, Anti-carcinogens
• Therapeutic levels of Abscisic Acid, which will improves the symptoms of Type 2 Diabetes

 

Senior Citizens understand all about maple sap and when they take that first sip their smiles and the look in their eyes make all this effort worthwhile.  Another interesting reaction is from the youth, who have embraced KiKi Maple Sweet Water like no other generation.  Memories of their school’s field trips to the sugar bush are triggered by the subtle maple taste.  Sweet memories…

 

Unfortunately many of the family sugar bushes are falling into disuse.  The ageing farm population can no longer keep up to the physical and economical demands of the boiling process (sugaring off).  The maple sap is very unstable and must be boiled down almost immediately to syrup, this means that the process goes on non-stop for 24 hours a day for days.  The typical season is a six week of harvest.  Bottling the maple sap bypasses this expensive, labour intensive work.  It is hoped that more sugar bushes will be brought back on line to meet the demand for this refreshing drink. Once again providing the first harvest income of the season.  Although maple syrup is also very good for you, 75% of the Anti-oxidants are denatured by the boiling process.

 

Currently there are 6  maple sap based beverages available, the original KiKi Maple Sweet Water, KiKi Lemon Ginger, KiKi Lemon Mint, KiKi Blueberry, KiKi Cranberry, KiKi Strawberry and New yet to be released KiKi Lemon!

 

Smoothies, herbal teas and rice all made with KiKi beverages retain the goodness that has been provided by nature.

 

Visit the Troll Bridge Creek Inc. Website www.trollbridgecreek.ca to learn more about this product and the nearest location where you can purchase these amazing beverages.

Check out our YouTube Videos as well

 www.youtube.com/watch?v=0vOG-NYsUhU&feature=autofb

 

 

 

Keith and Lorraine Harris,

Owners of Troll Bridge Creek Inc.

 

Ignite Health October 24,2012 Covent Market London, Ontario!

I am very excited to announce that we have been able to secure the date of October 24,2012 for the inaugaral event for Ignite Health. This is TRULY the ideal location. They hosted the Jamie Oliver Food Revolution event last May and because there are lots of local food vendors at this market I want to bring people to them and this is a Win/Win relationship! I  will make sure everyone is wearing a name tag so that we have a chance to connect names with faces of those we might not have met in the community before!

The event will run from 6 pm – 9pm We will have some healthy snacks and beverages available for participants.

We will accept up to 200 attendees and the event will be set up on EventBrite where you will need to book your tickets quickly!

We will start the evening off with a physical or spiritual challenge for teams to enjoy and then settle in for some amazing speakers.

You will enjoy 2 presenters in each of the following categories:

Food – I will share details of the Jamie Oliver Food Revolution Ambassador program.  We will have a nutritionist sharing a few great ideas for healthy eating!

Exercise – Have you considered the Hula Hoop for a great workout? We will have an exciting presentation and challenge for attendees. I will also make sure we have a great personal trainer provide some getting started tips for those new to exercise!

Mental Health – We are looking to secure a puppet presentation for Anxiety, and a great speaker to raise awareness on mental illness in our community.

Spiritual – Are you aware of Shamanism for dealing with illness from a spiritual perspective, Deep Breathing and Yoga will be the other focus I am looking to have presented.

Patient Stories- A positive approach to Cancer from an inspirational lady and another strong woman to share her battle with Depression!

Practitioners – We will introduce you to Reiki with a demonstration with 2 amazing ladies. We are looking for another practioner to share their skills and I am considering a number of ideas!

After 6 presentations I will break this event up for 20 minutes for you to enjoy a snack , take a break and an opportunity to speak with the first 6 presenters.

We will come back for the second half presenters and you will have a chance afterward to go into the Labatt Room to get more information from all the speakers and a chance to talk to them.

Get Registered at http://ignitehealth.eventbrite.ca/

Follow our Companion Blog at http://ignitehealthblog.wordpress.com

Reflections on Jamie Oliver Food Revolution Day in London Ontario

Some overall thoughts on the great things that happened at the Covent Market on Saturday May 19, 2012. I will be writing individual blogs about each of the events and share some of the tips and ideas provided!

I woke up Saturday morning anxious and excited, hopeful and worried! Over the last 5 weeks I have breathed, dreamed, and lived planning the Food Revolution Day in London Ontario. I had worked with amazing volunteers and the wonderful Amy Shakelton at Covent Market, I had spoken with the presenters and made sure we knew how the sessions would be approached. We had posters up all over the city, the event was reported on in media. What had I forgotten?  I had no idea, but the day was here and it was time to get ready for my day!

My 18 year old son had come in from Toronto for the event to help out, my 15 year old daughter was a bundle of nerves because she was going to sing at a public event for the first time in her life. I tried to comfort her and encourage her while I was dealing with my own anxiety that things needed to go well!  Did I need to bring anything to the market, I had name tags, I had markers…in the end I forgot to grab them with Megan’s anxiety in my brain’s forefront!

We got on the road and headed to the event, before long my phone rang and it was my amazing volunteer Tracey on the phone telling me that someone was there who wanted to interview me, I said i could do it on the phone and I spoke to Lola, since I was 20 minutes from the covent market we agreed to meet in person once I arrived. She was from Western University and she was the second interview from Western I had been requested to do in the last 24 hours. She explained that they were students and were assigned to find events in London on the weekend and report on them.  All good ,the more the word is spread about this revolution the better!

My phone rang again 5 minutes later and this time it was Andrew Fleet who was running the kids event, he was looking to see if we could setup outside the labatt room so people downstairs could see us. I really couldn’t authorize that idea but I understood his reasons. For safety reasons I wanted to assure parents that kids would be in the room and that they could come out to the parents session and not worry about their kids.

I arrived at Covent Market and the first person I saw was Andrew Fleet, he was running around looking for his volunteers , looking to get things upstairs. I introduced him to my son Alex and sent Alex to help, Andrew was running a mile an minute and it was good to see Alex running to catch up! I met Erin Neely who was my amazing printer finder!! She is amazing woman fully focussed to helping me move this forward and she will be a big part of the future events! Christine Taleski was in the room and helping to get thing set up for Andrew too! I looked to the left and saw that Brian Nelles was setting equipment up and Deni Gauthier was in the room getting ready for his performance too! Everything looked good in the Labatt Room and I looked outside the room to see my right hand Tracey Platero standing and talking with Carole Persaud about their parent nutrition session! I went over to give both ladies hugs and to make sure they were comfortable and ready to go.  All good and Tracey’s face was lit up with so much excitement!

I noticed a girl off to the side watching me, I outstretched my hand and sure enough it was Lola from Western University looking to interview me, I sat down with Lola and let her ask all the questions that she had. While I was busy talking to Lola I noticed my hairdresser Mitch Holmes had stopped by and Megan went over to greet him. I waved but wanted to give Lola the information she was looking for. Lola wanted to talk to all the presenters so I set her up with Carole Persaud and went back to the kids room as I was noticing that families were making there way into the event.

I went in and smiled. There were lots of kids on the floor, my Megan and my Alex were helping little girls make their veggie character! I noticed Erin helping some kids and Christine manning the Dirt bowl to help kids plant seeds! Things were looking great Britown Music was ready to go! Megan would sing 3rd. She was sitting happily helping a little girl on the carpet while I was taping the other bands that were singing from Britown Music. They were terrific and Brian you did a great job with theses guys!!

I had to get Megan up from the carpet and bring her over so that her focus changed to her singing of Defying Gravity. She had practiced non stop and it was time for me to introduce Megan and introduce why this event was being held in London Ontario!

I told a bit of her story and told parents that we would be hosting a nutrition class for parents next door in a few minutes. Megan got up there shaking like a leaf and did a great job, her nerves were high and she is not thrilled with her performance but I am very proud and know she did well!!

After Megan finished singing a lady came up to me and told me about how she had lived in the states and how much better things are in Canada. I asked her to join me in the foyer where we were hosting the parent session. I wanted her to share her story for sure!  We had about 10 participants so we decided to make it a round circle and make it a conversation versus a seminar. This worked very well and the conversation was lively and very informative! I hope that the parents who were involved all felt they learned something.

At 11:45 Melissa Briones came up the stairs with a big smile. She was ready to go for her tour of the market. I suggested we wait until 12 so if any other participants were coming they would get a chance as well. Lola from Western University jumped on this chance to ask Melissa her questions.

We walked through the Market with Melissa and Tracey leading the parade. Was very funny to see us going through a line and the other patrons of the market wondering what was going on! We stopped at the vendors who had created Revolutionary Meals for the Jamie Oliver event and we have gotten 2 reviews back on this part of our day!

Tracey,
Just wanted to let you know the weekend event was a huge success for us.
Thank you for organizing and promoting ..
Wendy Ghobril
Ice Creamery

 

I thoroughly enjoyed it and so did my mom and sister. We thought the Dietician was very knowledgeable and might contact her for further events. I thought we would peruse more of the market but an hour goes by very fast. It was nice to have a sample of quinoa at one of the booths and we ended up having lunch at the fresh food stall right next to where there were selling the quinoa – thankyou for the opportunity!

We love the feedback and would love to hear more from those who attended! Did you learn something great? What was your favourite part? What should we do differently for next event?

By the time this event was over at 1pm Dr. Kresimir Jug and his lovely wife Rachelle were upstairs and getting ready to go with their event. Dr K. was going to talk about Life By Design. A slightly more controvesial topic about paleo eating and this generated lots of questions for Dr K after his talk and was great to see people scratching their heads trying to digest the ideas of not eating grains. I introduced Dr K and his event went very well. They even brought some cool technology to analyze the spine and the nervous system energy in the body. There was a line up looking to get that done!

We had a break at 2pm and I was exhausted by this point, I could see Megan was truly fading and Alex was starting to look bored. We got lunch and ate it upstairs. Our last session was going to be the Healthy Eating on a budget and Organizing the kitchen.

I was very sad to see that we only had 1 real participant for the event. Everyone else who was sitting in the circle was a presenter or family of the presenters.

The session itself was great! I got lots of ideas for organizing my kitchen that I will use. For me this was a must attend session and it deserved a lot more participation!!

In retrospect that session was too late in the day. We needed to find a way to either bring another kids event into the afternoon to get people upstairs or to have done an annoucement on the PA system of the market!

The day was amazing! I am seeing lots of people talking about real food on twitter and at the office lots of chatter too! This was a success and while I am totally exhausted I think we have set a pretty high bar to make future events even better!!