Category Archives: IBS

Paying the Price

dollar standardI was once told that I could do anything I wanted in life if I were willing to pay the price. . .

Over the last couple of months of moving, I have done what I wanted! I somehow decided that eating things like dairy and gluten, snacking on honey roasted peanuts and eating irregularly were just fine. They haven’t been!  I gained 5 lbs, my joints ached and my intestinal tract was VERY unhappy with me. Even worse my blood sugar was so out of whack that it turned me into  something of a whack job to live with! (more…)

Posted in allergies, GERD, IBS, Whole Food Plant-Based nutrition | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Ginger–Don’t leave home without it!

I get sick with a cold or the flu once a year if I need it or not. This year it was the stomach flu. Probably not technically the flu but some norovirus that acts like the flu.

Whatever it was, it was a very nasty invader. At first I thought it might be food poisoning because of the nausea, vomiting and general intestinal distress. But I couldn’t come up with any foods I had eaten that would have poisoned me.  Two things convinced me it was a virus: a fever and David having exactly the same thing.

The point of that whole shaggy dog tail is ginger:  for 24 hours the ONLY thing that made me feel any better was a home-brewed ginger tea. (more…)

Posted in GERD, IBS, Medicinal plants, Vitamins, Whole Food Plant-Based nutrition | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

A Whole Food Plant-Based Diet and The Human Ecosystem

imageSometimes it is hard to believe that we are totally dependent on the kindness of our internal and external biota. Everyone fears the dreaded Staphylococcus flesh eating bacteria that is methicillin resistant. Yet how many of us know that our sweat glands are occupied by a benign bacterial cousin? A cousin that aids our immune system in its constant combat with less friendly invaders.

Friendly skin staph bacteria is in fact very helpful to the immune system! The problems arise when they mutate into cousins that cause serious infections in open wounds. Current research indicates that our fascination with anti-bacterial hand cleansers can clearly have some harmful effects when used extensively and often, These cleansers often demolish our protective skin dwellers. (more…)

Posted in GERD, IBS, Medicinal plants, weigh loss, Whole Food Plant-Based nutrition | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

The War Within and Probiotics

bacteriaI’m sure you don’t have to be told that there is a constant war going on in your digestive tract. At one time or other you have eaten, “The Whole Thing,” and felt the wrath of your entire digestive system. It is a very uncomfortable warning that moderation is a wiser way to live.

We tend to think that the war inside us only pertains to our excesses or to our valiant immune system fighting off invaders. In fact it is more about us and our allies against invaders and their allies. (more…)

Posted in GERD, IBS, Whole Food Plant-Based Diet Experts, Whole Food Plant-Based nutrition | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Plant Based Diets, Probiotics and You

Everyone has heard of the old phrase, “You are what you eat.”

Here is another one for you to think on. “You are who you carry around inside and outside your body.”

That’s right folks, for better or for worse you have some forty trillion bacterial and other single-celled riders on what you think of as your body. Some are dangerous if they are allowed to grow out of control. A lot of them are neutral or even beneficial. Some are even absolutely necessary if you are to strike the balance with your environment that we commonly call good health. (more…)

Posted in GERD, IBS, Supplements, Whole Food Plant-Based nutrition | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Aloe Vera: Another Way of Using Plant-Based Nutrition

What do you do when you get a sunburn?

If you are like me you go out to the “First Aid” plant (aka aloe vera) and cut a leaf. As the gel weeps out you slather it all over and breath a deep sigh of relief. It may be cool and sticky but it almost instantly soothes the soreness.

It is no wonder your skin heals. The plant gel contains vitamins (A, B-1, B-2 , C, D and E) and minerals (zinc, selenium, magnesium, copper and potassium). There are even  sterols, phytonutrients and amino acids for good measure. (more…)

Posted in GERD, IBS, Medicinal plants, Whole Food Plant-Based nutrition | Tagged , , | Leave a comment