The Body Knows Best - Respecting My Symptoms

Six or Seven years ago I was diagnosed with severe digestive complications and was told I would have to be on medication for the rest of my life. Within a year I was off my medication and besides a few minor episodes over the years, I have been free of symptoms ever since.

Nutrition works!

But nutrition does not represent the entire picture. A holistic notion of healing treats not only the body, but the mind and spirit as well. To credit healing entirely on external influences is to underestimate one’s self-worth and inner-power as well as the body’s internal wisdom.

Each physical symptom we experience, whether it is weight, pain, or disease, carries an important message. The body is a mirror of our inner thoughts and beliefs. Every cell responds to every thought and every word you speak. No matter what disease or symptom may be present, it carries important messages to help us develop our individual path.

Symptoms are messages from the body to slow down, look deeper, and listen. Welcome the symptoms. You are being asked to really explore how to better nourish yourself, listen to your gut and start over. What is the symptom saying, how does it express itself? Symptoms love stress; we need to explore the stresses in our lives. 

The body speaks through sensation, pleasure, and pain. Relaxing into life entails learning the language of the body.

My initial thoughts when I first got sick and was diagnosed were all on the lines of  “Oh no! I’m screwed!”

How wrong I was! I began to explore and journal about all the belief systems in my life that would cause my gut (intuition,) to be so heated and over protective. I explored both my diet and the internal workings of my mind until I learned what was needed for my personal growth at the time. Addressing the cause, released the symptom. My digestive issues had become my dearest friend, a barometer for my internal stress levels. 

A couple of weeks ago I started to experience cramping in my stomach. My old friend was showing early signs of a visit. I was confused, as nothing had changed much in my nutrition or lifestyle in recent weeks. I sat with the question, “why are you here, what are you here to say?”

On the evening of the third day of cramps and sitting with the question, it occurred to me that I had recently declined a great professional opportunity in the field of nutrition. The decision came from the voice of reason while in my body there was a huge urge and curiosity to explore this opportunity. While I felt at peace with my decision, I realized that in doing so, I had shut down the excitement stirring in my gut.

What happened next has still left me amazed! I mentally acknowledged my belly, letting it know that I had heard its voice and decided to take a different route that was better for the whole.  In that instant I felt a shift, a subsiding of pain and the next morning I woke up feeling as good as ever. 

When we ignore our symptoms we act irresponsibly and disrespectfully to our body. While modern day medication is extremely valuable, many of us take over-the-counter medication a little too often, anytime we have the slightest onset of discomfort. The symptom is masked and we forget it was there or how often it appears. We keep it under control and choose to keep riding the wave of our stresses, refusing to truly slow down and listen.

Quick and Easy Home Made Bread and Home Made Cheese

Having friends over for Middle Eastern cuisine this past weekend, I had to come up with quick and easy appetizers to match the dinner's theme. These were a great hit!

Home Made Labneh (strained yogurt)

32 oz plain organic yogurt (always choose organic dairy)

Cheesecloth

Optional: 2 Tbs. fresh mint (or parsley), chopped

Optional: 1 Tbs. olive oil

Place the yogurt in cheesecloth and tie the ends of the cloth together with a rubber band, making it into a little sack. Place the cheesecloth in a strainer over a large bowl. Let the liquid drain out of the yogurt (you can help it by gently squeezing the cheese cloth every few hours.) You can keep the yogurt on the countertop for a few hours before placing it in the fridge or put it directly in the fridge on a hot day.  Within 24 hours the cheese will have drained it’s liquid (about 2.5 cups of liquid!) and is ready to be served. It will taste even better if you give it 2-3 days before serving.

Presentation: You can either spread the cheese out on a plate or roll the cheese into little balls, topping with olive oil and fresh chopped mint. (These also taste great when served with freshly cut tomatoes.) 

Optional: you can also mix your favorite spices into the yogurt at the start of the process to flavor the cheese. 

If you'd like to store labneh for yourself in the fridge for a long period of time, place in a jar and cover with olive oil.

I needed some bread to go with it....

Quick Bread (makes 12)

3.5 cups white whole-wheat flour

2 cups water

1.5 Tbs. olive oil  (poured into a small bowl)

Optional: Za'atar (middle eastern spice)

Salt to taste

To make the dough, mix flour with water. The consistency of the dough should be elastic and shouldn’t stick to the rolling pin or countertop. 

Tear off small fist sized pieces of the dough and roll out with a rolling pin. (There should be no need to dust the counter or pin with extra flour). Each bread should be 4”-5” round and about ¼” thick. 

Dip you finger in the olive oil to coat both sides of each bread-round before placing the bread on a baking sheet. Once all breads have been made and placed on a baking sheet sprinkle za'atar and salt over the breads and gently rub the spices in.

Bake at 350 for 30 minutes.

Feel free to use any other spices to top the bread.  

These breads freeze well, they are whole grain, and yeast free!

After our appetizers, this recipe is what we had for dinner. Yum!

The Tongue Scraper for Cleansing and Elimination of Cravings

The tongue scraper, an inexpensive yet transformative utensil, is a simple, thin, u-shaped piece of stainless steel. It consists of a blunted edge that removes plaque and build-up from the surface of the tongue. Dentists in America are recommending the tongue scraper more and more because it helps to fight cavities by removing bacteria from the mouth. The tongue scraper also prevents bad breath, especially for people who eat a lot of dairy and build up mucus in the mouth, nose, and throat.

The tongue scraper comes from the tradition of Ayurveda, which asserts that people who use a scraper are better at public speaking, express themselves more thoughtfully, and speak more sincerely and authoritatively. Some people ask if the same effect can be gained by brushing the tongue with a stiff toothbrush. Brushing the tongue moves stuff around and is helpful, but a tongue scraper is more effective as it clears out the deep deposits and generally keeps the area cleaner, stimulated and alive. 

Cravings can be reduced by cleaning the tongue of leftover food. When the mouth can still taste the food, you may experience cravings for previously eaten foods. A tongue scraper reverses the process of desensitizing your taste buds, which has happened to everyone to a greater or lesser extent. It allows you to taste more subtle flavors in food so that you can eat vegetables, fruits and whole grains with greater joy. When old residue is removed from the tongue, you will be better able to taste your food and won’t need to eat as much since you will have gained greater satisfaction from your meal.

And finally, a big advantage is that it enhances kissing because it makes the tongue more sweet, fresh and sensitive. If you are in a relationship, I invite you to check this out with your partner. Make an agreement to scrape twice a day for one week, and notice the difference. 

Directions: 

• Apply a few quick strokes, 2-3 times a day

• Use the rounded cleaning edge to scrape gently down the tongue several times while applying slight pressure

• Rinse under running water and gently scrape again until no white residue is left

• There should be no pain or gagging involved whatsoever—if you feel any discomfort, you are probably scraping too hard or starting too far back on the tongue

Calorie Free But Loaded With Stress

Stress is a natural body mechanism for survival. The classic scientific definition of stress is “a real or imagined threat and the body’s response to it.”  Hence, each time we experience stress, the brain interprets it to the body as a threat to your survival.

In primal days, stress (fight or flight) was the body’s reaction to a potentially life threatening experience, such as a lurking predator. In response to stress, the body shuts down the digestive system in order to supply more energy towards survival mechanisms.

Most of us function on low-levels of stress all day every day. While some stresses can help motivate us to get things done on time, much of our stress is created by “stressing ourselves out” in our own heads. The quality of our thoughts affects the stress levels in the body.

Low-level stress reduces your ability to burn calories and can minimize the flow of blood to the digestive tract by up to four times.

Stress levels will rise from anxiety, judgment or attack mode against self or others. Fighting people, lack of forgiveness, and unresolved past experiences will all raise our stress levels. Any thoughts or words that degrade self and others will cause stress. A simple thought such as “I’m five lbs over weight and that sucks” will elevate your stress levels and tell your body not to digest or assimilate.

The same switch in your brain that turns on the fight or flight stress mode will simultaneously turn off digestion.

The stress response will eventually show up as weight issues, immune issues, digestion concerns, blood sugar levels, heart disease and cholesterol levels.

Dieting and Stress

Any strategy or remedy that creates stress, any diet or exercise that is driven by stress or asks you to hate yourself is harmful and counter to healing.

When the body is under stress it is less connected to its gut wisdom, the neural information regarding digestion. We eat when anxious or stressed, a time when the appetite is most deregulated. If we over eat it is not because we have will power problems, but rather the brain has not registered “I’m full, nourished and satiated”. When we are relaxed, the brain is fully engaged in the digestive process and is making choices from body wisdom. When we relax, the digestive system is at its best.

When the body has an excess of stress hormones, cortisol and insulin, it slows down calorie burning, sustains fat and refrains from building muscle in order to maintain energy. This is an evolutionary survival response to primal time famines. This is the main reason why people often gain weight on diets. If the body doesn’t get the calories it needs, it believes its in famine and goes into survival mode.

Eating less, exercising more, pushing yourself, hating yourself and beating yourself up does not work. The stress response can over ride any of the wonderful healing dietary strategies that we choose.

We must integrate tools to relax in all the key realms of our life so the body can be in a natural state of healing. Then all the healthful nutritional strategies will really take hold.

How you eat is as important as what you eat. Take 5- 10 deep breaths before and after each meal to signal the body that you are eating in a relaxed environment. Take a moment to notice if the mouth has started to salivate, and you will know that your digestive juices have started to flow!