Causes of Inflammation and Steps to Heal

 

 

 

 

Could you have inflammation? Click on the photo to take the quiz and find out.

15 Top Anti-Inflammatory Foods:

green leafy vegetables

bok choy

celery

beets

brocoli

blueberries

pineapple

salmon

bone broth

walnuts

coconut oil

chia seeds

flaxseeds

turmeric

ginger

 

 

Top Gut Healing Foods:

Bone broth

Plant based collagen

Fermented Foods – saurkraut, kimchi, yogurt, kefir, tempeh, nato, miso

Fruits high in fiber – apple, bananas, pears, strawberries, watermelon, avocados

Vegetables high in fiber  – beets, broccoli, cauliflower, Jerusalem artichokes, brussel sprouts

Sprouted Seeds

Legumes – lentils, chickpeas, beans, peas

Quinoa

Resistant starches from potatoes

Foods high in healthy Omega 3 fats

 

Remove Food Sensitivities:

Everybody’s body is different. Below I will list some of the most common food sensitivities but know that there are over 176 foods, spices, and additives that can cause your particular body to react and become inflamed. To learn which ones are reactive for you, you can do a Food Sensitivity Test like the ones we do here at JKLWELL Health Coaching which use your blood to see if it will react to the pure food proteins, spices or additives, or do a food elimination challenge. It is easiest to start a challenge such as this with the foods I will list below. Sometimes however, just having a “leaky gut”, ie gut permeability where proteins and undigested food particles leak into the blood system. Healing your gut can heal your food sensitivities. It is kind of a chicken and egg situation. Is it the leaky gut allowing the food particles into the blood stream where they are viewed as foreign bodies and are attacked thereby causing inflammation or is the food sensitivities causing the leaky gut in the first place. One of the best ways to help fix this is to learn what, if any, food sensitivities you have and remove those while eating to promote a healthy gut. Given time, your gut lining can and will heal. Then you can either retest for food sensitivities to see if you still have any or reintroduce foods slowly and watch for any reactions. The positive food sensitivities at this time will likely be your true food sensitivities and should be removed for a much longer period of time if not permanently.

 

Common Food Sensitivities:

Gluten

Wheat

Dairy (Casein and/0r cow’s milk)

Eggs (Whites and/or Yellow)

Soy

Corn

Peanuts/Legumes

Tree Nuts

 

Eating gut healing and anti-inflammatory foods,,and removing food sensitivities will help to reduce inflammation in the body and protect against chronic diseases like autoimmune diseases, heart disease, joint pain, and cancer. The ultimate goal is to return your body to homeostasis. Having a balanced microbiome, having a healthy gut lining, and reducing inflammation can all be achieved with the right food for your body, the right exercise for your body, stress management, and plenty of deep, restful sleep.

 

 

Radical Damage from the internet – how to protect ourselves

Damage from 5G is real. It can cause free radicals in the body which can cause chronic oxidative stress that can damage the structure of our cells. Cellular damage can lead to chronic diseases such as heart disease, diabetes, and cancer.

Here are some ways to help protect ourselves:

1) Keep your phone in airplane mode when possible
2) Use a timer on your internet to turn off at night
3) Use wired router instead of wireless
4) Do not put your phone in your pocket or bra (yes, women do that)
5) Do not sleep with your phone, tablet, or laptop under your pillow

Now how many of you are you saying that this is not realistic? I mean, we can keep the phones out of our pockets and beds, well, maybe not everyone as I often find my teens asleep with theirs right by their heads sadly. But turning off the router at night? I don’t know about you but we are all awake at various hours in this house. Kids doing homework late at night, adults catching up on the news and emails early in the morning, none of us on the same schedule. And I am not sure how many people want to go back to using wired routers and having all those plugs…..

So what can we do? If we can’t make the above suggested changes, we can still protect ourselves. We need to keep our bodies safe from the potential free radicals attacking our cells. Here are some suggestions to help you do that:

1) Reduce Inflammation in the Body:

a) Learn what your food sensitivities are and remove them
b) Eat anti-inflammatory foods
c) Reduce stress with tools like journaling, meditating, yoga, tapping, or walking
d) Weight loss

2) Eat Foods High in Antioxidants:

a) Berries – blueberries, strawberries, goji berries
b) Dark leafy greens – kale, spinach, collard greens
c) Red cabbage
d) Beets
e) Dark chocolate
f) Pecans
g) Artichokes

While modern day technology has become the way of the world as it is easier and easier to connect to others, even during times of social distancing, allows us to work and our children to learn, it can still be damaging to the body. Though we are all still far from really understanding its full impacts, we do know that we need to help protect ourselves from the possible long-term damage.

Collagen

 

 

Often times foods can cause damage to the lining of our guts, either because we are sensitive to that specific food or because the GMOs it contains are damaging. We now have a term for this, it is called leaky gut. This where the junctions of the gut lining have been damaged to the point that they become spaced further apart, thereby allowing proteins from foods to leave the gut and enter the blood stream. This can cause inflammation in the body, it can weaken the immune system, and it can cause autoimmune diseases to form, among other things.

 

In order to heal our guts, we need to take steps to learn which foods can be damaging to us as individuals. This can be done with a either an elimination diet or a food sensitivity test, both of which I can help you with. Then we need to begin to rebuild our gut. This is where collagen comes in. Not only can it help with wrinkles, nail health, and joint support, it can also help to rebuild the gut walls. Collagen contains large amount of amino acids, glycine, proline, and glutamine, which are protein building blocks, that help rebuild the lining and tighten those junctions.

 

Collagen can be found in protein rich foods such as eggs, meat, fish, and seafood. It is even better when it comes from bone broth and gelatin. For Vegans and Vegetarians, it is a little harder to come by. For that I recommend Sunwarrior Plant Based Protein powder. As a Vegan, I use this powder in my smoothies daily to help maintain a healthy gut, keeping the proteins where they belong and reducing risks of inflammation. Try it out!

 

 

Protein Bars – A Quick Vegan Fix?

As a food based integrative health and wellness coach, my first advice of course is to eat whole foods, organic when you can. Sometimes though we just need something quick and easy that does not involve a lot of prep work. A quick meal that contains veggies, fruits, fiber, protein, and healthy fats would be a smoothie. I have posted a video on how to make a simple one on my facebook page, JKLWELL.

On days though when I need an even quicker fix though, I will turn to a protein bar. Protein bars however are not always good for you, depending on what they are made of. I always check the ingredients, looking for added sugars, hidden sugars, artificial sweeteners, or any inflammatory ingredients. I prefer vegan based protein bars as I find whey to be more inflammatory.

The one I have been turning to lately is Garden of Life Organic Fit High Protein Weight Loss Bar. My favorite and the one I will link to here is the peanut butter/chocolate flavored one. It contains 14g of protein from plant proteins, organic ashwagandha, 13g of prebiotic fiber which is necessary to feed the good probiotic bacteria in your gut, green coffee bean extract, and no added sugars. It fills me up when I am on the go and keeps me energized until my next meal. You can check it out here:

I hope these work for you as a quick go to. As always, prep and whole foods are best at achieving a healthy balanced meal for your body. However, when time is of the essence, these can work as a quick and complete fix.

Elliptical on the Go

Lately I have been riding around on what looks like a stand up bike, and having a blast. I have had a lot of questions about what it is so I thought I would add a post about it.

Due to some typical runner’s injuries, I needed to find a way to get out and exercise, getting some cardio and fresh air, while minimizing the impact on my foot and knees. After doing some research, I found that elliptical machines are great for the cardio with minimal impact. Bike riding is as well. One was indoors but perfect for what I needed, the other was outdoors which I love but causes me lower back pain. How to combine the 2? Enter the elliptigo! You can get the motions of the elliptical machine, choosing your stride with different settings, while moving outside as if on a bike, but standing up to alleviate any back pain. Instead of the constant pounding on the pavement which can cause injuries like plantar fasciitis, achilles tendonitis, bone spurs, and/or knee pain, you get the smooth motion and yet still an amazing workout for your quads, hamstrings, calves, core, and cardio!

Check it out or

TRUST YOUR INTUITION, TAKE 2, PART 2

Since my diagnosis, I have seen an oncologist, a breast surgeon, my plastic surgeon and the nurse practitioner who is very nice but has yet to do anything she said she would, no follow up, no checking in, no guidance.  I have been told I need radical surgery to remove the rest of my breast skin and some muscle, no more implant, that I will have the axillary nodes removed from my armpit to make sure the cells have not migrated beyond the breast, and that I have to have chemo, just not sure which one yet. I was sent for a PET scan where they inject you with heavy steel thick case carrying nuclear radiation and glucose but then told, thank goodness, that the cancer has not spread however, PETs can’t pick up small cancers so I still need chemo. But at no point did anyone stop and look at what may have caused this. When we asked, they dismissed the question. No idea why it’s back, if it’s recurring or new, just that I have it and it needs to be treated. That does not sit well with me. None of this does. 

The breast surgeon did say I was an anomaly. Most people she sees with a reoccurrence are usually within a few years, not 7.5 years later. Maybe, I thought, it’s because I changed my diet enough to keep these little suckers at bay, but the stress of the past 1.5 years starting with my sister’s diagnosis, my father’s passing, my foot surgery, my sister’s downward spiral, and my training for 2 marathons in that time all proved to be too much for my immune system and the little buggers took full advantage of that to start growing. Maybe if I find a way to reduce my stress, we can make the rest not grow.

Sometimes I think how strong I am that I ran a marathon with breast cancer, other days I feel like my life is a marathon causing my breast cancer.

To Soy or Not To Soy – Still a confusing question 

Recently I learned that new studies are suggesting that soy might not be as bad as I thought it was in promoting breast cancer. Earlier on in my research, the studies were showing that the isoflavones in soy are phytoestrogens, properties that mimic estrogen and its effect in the body, specifically in attaching themselves to estrogen positive receptors, thereby increasing the amount of estrogen in the body which can cause estrogen positive breast cancers (ER+). Any studies countering this idea were based on Asian cultures where breast cancer incidents are low. My concern in these studies was that they were comparing apples to oranges, there are so many other factors to be considered when looking at Asian cultures vs American cultures, such as environment and lifestyle. I asked that a study be done on Asian Americans and all other Americans and also looking at when they started eating soy and what type of soy they were eating since the majority of American soy products are GMO and processed.

Someone must have heard my call. New recent studies are comparing the risk of breast cancer in Asian Americans and others and looking at when they started eating soy and what impact that may have. They also looked at the source of the soy products.

It would seem, based on these newer studies, that soy in its fermented state like miso and tempeh, is not linked with an increased risk of breast cancer in any Americans studied. Furthermore, for those who started eating soy at a young age, typically in the Asian cultures, it may even have a protective effect against cancer. However, for those who started eating soy in their later years (beyond the teen age years) no benefit has been shown.

Non GMO fermented soy and even non-fermented soy foods, eaten in moderation, do not seem to have enough dietary nutrition to impact breast cancer either way. However, soy based protein powders and bars that isolate the soy isoflavones and thereby provide it in higher concentrations may be linked to increased risks of breast cancer still because of its higher nutrition content of the phytoestrogenic properties. More studies need to be done.

I am still undecided and will continue to research this. As an ER+ breast cancer thriver who ate a ton of soy products before my first breast cancer diagnosis, I am not ready to hop on board the soy wagon. Since my children are allergic to soy, it won’t be back in my kitchen any time soon. For those who are ready to rejoin the world of soy, please eat soy in its natural, non-GMO, non processed, preferably fermented, form.

For those taking Tamoxifen, please note that some studies show that the soy isoflavone known as genistein can actually weaken the effects of Tamoxifen.

*Update: Listening to a podcast with Elizabeth Rider, health coach and chef, she mentioned that there is just as much evidence against soy as there is supporting soy. She too believes that it is based on geneology. If your ancestors have been eating soy for years, your body knows what it is and will handle it well, but if you have not, your body won’t. And again, fermented soy is really the best type of soy that should be eaten, definitely not GMO soy or processed soy like soy lecithin, soybean oil, or soy isolates.

Cites:

https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/nutrition-and-healthy-eating/expert-answers/soy-breast-cancer-risk/faq-20120377

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27161216

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5590054/#sec2-medicines-04-00018title

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5590054/#sec2-medicines-04-00018title

https://blog.dana-farber.org/insight/2018/01/soy-breast-cancer-connection/

https://www.livescience.com/57721-soy-breast-cancer-paradox.html

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2981011/#!po=43.7500

Trust your intuition – Take 2, Part 3, Treatment #1

My port was placed Feb 15, 2019, and after a quick trip to San Francisco to tour colleges with my daughter, chemo began Feb 26, 2019. The worst part for me through the entire process was the IV benadryl, the rest went through fine. I had read a study and listened to a talk given by an oncology nutritionist that suggested fasting for 48 hours, a water fast, before and through the day of chemo. I fasted on the 25th with just water and a cup of black coffee, continued the fast on the 26th through treatment, ate a small meal of under 500 calories after treatment per the protocol, and then fasted through to the next morning when I broke my fast with a smoothie. The  nurse thought I was nuts and that it was a bad idea, she laughed at it but then I showed her the research. She asked the other nurse who had actually taught my chemo class, and that nurse said I was the 3rd or 4rth person to ask about it and encouraged me to try it and see if it works for me. I really believe it did.

They started me with Decadron, a steroid, which I was unaware of. I was supposed to have been called to pick up an order of it to take before chemo day, and the morning of chemo day. As mentioned earlier, my nurse manager has not been in contact with me at all. Neither has my oncologist other than the day she rambled off the treatment protocol. I had to stop her and ask her why we were going with the new route, if she thought it made sense to her based on what Dr. Isaacs had discussed with her, which she said she did. As soon as she answered my question though, she went right back to where she was in her memorized rant. I listened as well as I could and caught on to most of what she was saying. I don’t recall the Decadron though and was never told by anyone that an order was placed for it and that I had to take it before chemo. So frustrating. 

They ended up giving me the Decadron via IV, then the Zofran for anti-nausea, then the Benadryl which I felt coursing through my body, up the back of my head, making my arms and legs ridiculously heavy, my hands useless, but after all that, I was fine. I still have the back head headache though which I think is a result of the benadryl. After that we started with the perjeta, a 60 minute drip, then a 60 minute break to monitor for reactions. There were none other than almost getting sick at the beginning but I think that was still from the Benadryl. Break over, we started the 90 minute drip of Herceptin. Through both of these I had my feet in frozen booties and my hands resting on gloves of ice, as much as I could, to try to constrict my blood vessels in my hands and feet so the meds would not go there and cause nerve damage, ie neuropathy. After Herceptin, we had another 60 minute break then started the Taxotere for 60 minutes. No probs. So we went right in the Carboplatin after that for 30 minutes, though the first 15 were a slow drip. When all was done, she said I did great. Maybe the fasting helped!

As we were checking out, I had all my drugs ordered and picked up, Decadron for the next time, Zofran for nausea. But no Zarxio…..that was one thing I heard the oncologist say to me in her rant because it terrified me. I knew I would have to give myself a shot daily for 7 days to keep up my immune cells. The worst time for neutropenia is 7-10 days post treatment. For some reason it was not included on the order. The oncologist was shocked and said of course I have to have it. Again someone  not following through. Her ears must have been burning because she just called as I am typing  this to see how I am doing, go over everything, let me know that she was upset the Zarxio was not included in the order form and made sure to have it put on all future orders, and asked if I had any questions because she knew that the last time we spoke everything was really a whirlwind for me with the change of plans (I initially was supposed to start with surgery). Would have been nice if she made this call before I started chemo, especially knowing how much I did not want it, but at least she called. So I get to start the fun of self-inflicted needles tonight…..

TRUST YOUR INTUITION, TAKE 2, PART 3

After meeting with another oncologist at Georgetown Medical Center in DC, Dr. Isaacs, and speaking with a  medical oncologist at Dana Farber, Nancy Lin, MD., it was decided that because I have triple positive breast cancer, ie estrogen positive, progesterone positive, HER2 posiitve, with a tumor over 2cm in size (exact size unknown as the plastic surgeon excised some of it so this is based on what is left) that my best course of action is neoadjuvent chemo treatment, 6 cycles, spaced 3 weeks apart. This cocktail consists of TCHP – Taxotere, Carboplatin, Herceptin, and Perjeta. After this, I will have surgery to remove everything, including lymph nodes, and see if the regimen worked. If it did then I will continue with just the Herceptin for the remainder of the year. If it did not, they will then switch me to TDM1 which is a chemo combined with the Herceptin to directly target the HER2 cells. 

This all was a huge source of contention for me. Knowing what I know about chemo, following documentaries like TTAC and Chris Beat Cancer, I really wanted to consider going naturally. What does that entail? I am not completely sure. There is the Gerson Therapy, there is Crazy Sexy Diet by Kris Carr, there is the Budwig Diet, and so many more. There are combos of Vitamin C IV infusions, Hyperbaric Oxygen Chambers, Coffee Enemas (though I am seeing arguments against this), Infrared Saunas, drinking tons of carrot juice, and more that I am still unsure of. The expense and keeping up with all of it makes it all not feasible since most insurance won’t cover natural treatment. I know someone who went to the Hope 4 Cancer to treat Stage 4 metastatic breast cancer. Though she fully believes it is working, the cost is astronomical. I believe it costs about $47,000 for 3 weeks. Then you have to keep up with the treatments at home, on your own. She is gearing up for her second return but it looks like she will need another $20,000. We think Big Pharma is expensive?! Natural treatments are not any less. The price we have to pay for our health is unfair.

Regarding the effects of natural treatment, most the stories I have read are anecdotal, no scientific proof. Some argue for Keto Diets while others state that actually makes cancer grow, I have seen research on both through the NIH where the Keto  starving the tumors was based on a 5 week study, longer term studies showed that the cancer cells adapted, like they are so good at doing, and began feeding off the ketones after 5 weeks.  I already eat sugar free (for the most part), gluten free, and am an ovo-vegan. I have removed my inflammatory foods, so I am not sure if the natural methods will even work. I know this way of life has really helped me keep the cancer at bay for a much longer period of time then expected, but stress…..that’s a whole new area for me to tackle and not easily controlled. I am just grateful that I am so in tune with my body that I am able to know when something is not right and am able to trust in that instinct to get the answers, even though they are not always what I want to hear. So though I really wanted to try natural, it is not feasible and it scared my family, not trusting in it and believing in the science. I decided that since it was all way too controversial, I would try the chemo but support it as naturally as I can.

Trust Your Intuition, Take 2, Part 2

Since my diagnosis, I have seen an oncologist, a breast surgeon, my plastic surgeon and the nurse practitioner who is very nice but has yet to do anything she said she would, no follow up, no checking in, no guidance.  I have been told I need radical surgery to remove the rest of my breast skin and some muscle, no more implant, that I will have the axillary nodes removed from my armpit to make sure the cells have not migrated beyond the breast, and that I have to have chemo, just not sure which one yet. I was sent for a PET scan where they inject you with heavy steel thick case carrying nuclear radiation and glucose but then told, thank goodness, that the cancer has not spread, however, PETs can’t pick up small cancers so I still need chemo. But at no point did anyone stop and look at what may have caused this. When we asked, they dismissed the question. No idea why it’s back, if it’s recurring or new, just that I have it and it needs to be treated. That does not sit well with me. None of this does. 

The breast surgeon did say I was an anomaly. Most people she sees with a reoccurrence are usually within a few years, not 7.5 years later. Maybe, I thought, it’s because I changed my diet enough to keep these little suckers at bay, but the stress of the past 1.5 years starting with my sister’s diagnosis, my father’s passing, my foot surgery, my sister’s downward spiral, and my training for 2 marathons in that time all proved to be too much for my immune system and the little buggers took full advantage of that to start growing. Maybe if I find a way to reduce my stress, we can make the rest not grow.

Sometimes I think how strong I am that I ran a marathon with breast cancer, other days I feel like my life is a marathon causing my breast cancer.