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The good news first. The US FDA has finally decided to forbid the use of partially hydrogenated oils in food products because of strong evidence linking trans fats to heart disease.🎉 Food manufacturers have until January 1st 2021 to reformulate and remove all trans fats from their products.🥳 The bad news? 1️⃣ Many other countries around the globe are still using this harmful human-made fat to preserve the shelf life of products.👎🏻 In fact, I was out looking for food labels to include in my book yesterday and couldn’t believe just how many products still contain hydrogenated oils – including healthy foods like packaged nuts and nut butters! Reeediculous!🤷♀️ 2️⃣ You have to ask yourself this question: If they remove hydrogenated oils, then what will they be replacing it with instead?🤔 Well if you saw my stories yesterday, I shared a sneaky loophole that allows manufacturers to still use a form of trans fats.😲 And that’s by using a by-product of oil processing including partially hydrogenated canola and soybean oils which contain trans fats, called monoglycerides and diglycerides or “mono- and diglycerides”. Since these additives are classified as emulsifiers to prevent ingredients from separating, and not fats, they don’t have to be labelled as a source of trans fats!😲 👉🏻Read your ingredient labels carefully and avoid products still using hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated oils, or now using the sneaky “mono- and diglycerides”. If you loved this tip, I promise you’re going to love my upcoming book Unjunk. Comments/questions?👇🏻 Please share this with someone who likes to shop smarter❤️ #unjunkbook #foodlabels #readinglabels #healthyswaps #healthyswap #consumerawareness #healthyshopping #transfat #hydrogenatedoils #heartdisease #heartdiseaseawareness #heartdiseaseprevention #healthawareness #dubainutritionist #functionalmedicinedubai #uaehealth #uaehealthmovement #familyhealth #familyhealthy #askb
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Do you buy nut milk? If so, please go read the ingredients on your bottle or carton and make sure it’s nothing more than water and nuts. When I started searching for “clean” brands of nut milks to include in my book UNJUNK, I was appalled at the ingredients in most of them. Watch out for these ones specifically: ❌Carrageenan: this is used as a thickener, stabilizer and/or emulsifier to keep ingredients from separating and is classified as a possible human carcinogen by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC).🙅♀️ Not surprising, since non-food-grade (degraded) carrageenan has been used for decades to induce inflammation in lab animals during anti-inflammatory drug trials.😲 ❌Soy lecithin: unless organic, this emulsifier is likely genetically modified and therefore would have been heavily sprayed with herbicides such as glyphosate, another chemical designated as a probable human carcinogen by the IARC. ❌Natural flavor: this can legally contain by-products of naturally occurring glutamate which act like MSG (a neurotoxic flavor enhancer) and can contain synthetic ingredients.🙄 The term “natural flavor” is so vague that even flavors derived from genetically modified crops can be labeled “natural” so I’m always wary of this unknown mystery ingredient and prefer to avoid them. ❌Gellan and xanthum gum: these are produced from bacterial fermentation with sugars that may come from potentially allergenic foods such as dairy, wheat, corn or soy; the latter two potentially being GMO’s. Studies haven’t really shown these additives to be unsafe, but if you suffer from digestive problems and the above-mentioned food sensitivities, it’s probably best to avoid them. 👉🏻Swipe left for brands using only 2 ingredients: Plenish and Rude Health - available in 🇬🇧 and 🇦🇪 Three Trees - available in 🇺🇸 Malk and Elmhurst - available in 🇨🇦 and 🇺🇸 Do you have another brand to add to this list?👇🏻 Please share with someone buying nut milk❤️ #nutmilk #healthyswaps #unjunk #unjunkbook #readlabels #ingredientsmatter #dubainutritionist #askb
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I’ve addressed headaches before but migraines are different… characterized by throbbing pain on one side of the head, and usually preceded by alterations in vision all of which can cause nausea, vomiting and sensitivity to light, noise or smells. I think we can all agree - NOT FUN! While there are many possible root causes, I’ve learned that the major driver in persistent migraines nearly always has to do with a dysfunction in cellular metabolism. What’s that? It’s how well our cells produce or don’t produce energy.💁♀️ What affects cellular metabolism? Pull up a chair my friend… LOTS! 1️⃣ Basics first… oxygen and water! Do you suffer from sleep apnea, asthma, chronic allergy/histamine responses? Do you drink enough water? 2️⃣ Magnesium. Is there anything this mighty mineral can’t do? Test “RBC magnesium” for sufficiency and check out my 2 previous posts on magnesium for best types and uses. 3️⃣ CoQ10 is a critical enzyme for energy production. Are you on statin drugs or beta blockers which deplete CoQ10? 4️⃣ Toxins like glyphosate sprayed on non-organic food or heavy metals from contaminated fish, personal care products, make-up, aluminum cookware, etc., all directly block energy production. (see my highlight “heavy metals” for more info) 5️⃣ Lack of cofactors; B vitamins, zinc, copper, carnitine, alpha lipoic acid, iron are all needed for cellular metabolism. Do you eat animal proteins? How is digestion/absorption? High dose B2 (~500mg per day) can help prevent migraines but needs ~2 months to show effect. 6️⃣ Adrenal health (think stress of all kinds including gut dysbiosis, parasitic infections, food sensitivities - especially dairy and gluten, toxicity) impacts thyroid function. And sluggish thyroid = sluggish EVERYTHING including cellular metabolism! 7️⃣ Hormone imbalances can also exacerbate migraines. But know that all hormones are produced in the mitochondria (cell’s power plant) 😲 – more reason to address cellular metabolism! Do you suffer with migraines? Comments/questions?👇🏻 Please share with someone who needs this❤️ #migraine #migrainerelief #migraineawareness
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I can also add: anxiety, depression, osteoporosis, kidney stones, heart disease, migraines, pain, fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue, cholesterol, hypertension, PMS, PCOS, infertility, asthma… And the list goes on… But there are 3 groups of people in particular who need magnesium the most: 1️⃣ Type 2 Diabetes (or those on the spectrum of developing it): 👉🏻For every 1 molecule of sugar consumed, the body needs 56 molecules of magnesium to process it. A high-sugar/high refined carb diet essentially drains our magnesium reserves. 👉🏻Insulin – our blood sugar storage hormone – helps get magnesium and sugar into our cells. If insulin resistant (the phase before pre-diabetes), that doesn’t happen as effectively which leads to less magnesium in the cells where it counts! 2️⃣ Regular use of acid reflux medication like Protonix, Prilosec or Nexium reduces stomach acid and makes mineral absorption difficult - magnesium included. We need good strong stomach acid to separate the minerals tied up to the proteins in our food to be able to absorb them. Acid reflux sufferers more often need MORE stomach acid, not less. 3️⃣ Diuretic medications, especially for hypertension are usually prescribed to eliminate sodium by increasing urination to reduce the edema caused by blood pressure drugs (i.e. beta blockers). But these drugs also flush out magnesium and potassium – which ironically are two important electrolyte minerals needed to maintain a healthy blood pressure in the first place!🤷♀️ 👉🏻What can you do? Get tested! Be sure to request “RBC” magnesium as opposed to the standard “serum” magnesium which gives you a better reflection of your levels over ~3 months in the cells vs. the levels from a day or two in your blood. And checkout my previous post for the different forms of magnesium. ⚠️ note: those with kidney dysfunction/disease should work with a physician if supplementing with magnesium to prevent accumulation in the blood. Questions/comments?👇🏻 Please share with someone who needs this ❤️ #magnesium #magnesiumdeficiency #magnesiumbenefits #diabetes #diabetesawareness #askb
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What do headaches, constipation, insomnia, high blood pressure, anxiety, asthma, spasms, muscle cramps, low vitamin D and low energy have in common?🤔 Hint: it starts with ‘Mag’ and ends with ‘Nesium’. (I know – lame joke)🙄 But seriously, we have an epidemic of magnesium deficiency and it’s needed in over a gazillion (yes that’s a real number) functions in the body – there’s even a book all about it called “The Magnesium Miracle” that I highly recommend. Think of magnesium as our most powerful relaxation mineral.🧘♀ It’s the Yin to our Yang so to speak. Our hearts contract, then relax. Our bowels contract and then relax. But thanks to soil erosion and modern-day farming practices, even “healthy” foods have become less nutritious today. Add to that the effects of certain medications and chronic diseases, and an increase in consumption of sugar and processed foods et voila! Magnesium deficiency!👎🏻 What can you do? ✔️For starters, eat more magnesium-rich foods; spinach, swiss chard, beet and turnip greens, pumpkin & sesame seeds, etc. ✔️ Limit or avoid foods that rob your body of magnesium like coffee, sodas, sugar and alcohol. ✔️ Consider magnesium supplements but remember - form matters (see post image & swipe for some sample brand recommendations): 💊For general relaxation, tightness and headaches, I recommend magnesium glycinate. 💊For cramps and spasms, an Epsom salt (magnesium sulfate) bath or magnesium oil sprayed directly onto the affected area can really help too. Warning – it may sting so dilute oil with water if it does. 💊For attention deficit, mood issues and cognitive function, magnesium threonate is better. 💊For strong pain and chronic fatigue, magnesium malate can help since malic acid is a key component of several energy-making chemical reactions in the body. 💊Taurine and magnesium combined together have special properties for the heart. 💊Citric acid is a mild laxative, therefore combined with magnesium offers constipation relief in adequate doses. Comments/questions?👇🏻 Please share❤️
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This pretty much sums up the conversations I’ve been having with my children. If you’re like me and not sure how to help, remember that change begins at home. Eventually this little black box movement will die down, but these conversations will last forever.🖤 #blackouttuesday #antiracism #bethechange
