Body Bliss Nutrition

06/21/2022

FOOD REACTIONS
🍎Food allergy involves IgE immune responses to food immediately after eating. Symptoms can be severe or mild like runny nose, hives, rash, abdominal pain, lip/ throat swelling, trouble breathing

🍎Food intolerance is a non-immune reaction to foods like dairy, histamines, sulfites and alcohol occurring due to a deficiency in enzymes/ nutrients needed to break it down. Symptoms may include inflammation, GI issues, cold and flu, flushing etc.

🍎Food sensitivity involves IgG or IgA immune reactivity and is typically driven by leaky gut and microbiome imbalances. Common foods are gluten, dairy, eggs, shellfish and tree nuts. There are hundreds of possible symptoms like sleep and mood changes, skin rash, migraines, joint pain, bloating, IBS, bladder issues and even heart palpitations.

TESTING

IgE-Reactivity can come from any food so it’s important to do a large blood panel. Your doctor can order this however functional testing may be deeper. My Vibrant panel includes about 100 foods.

IgG reactivity can be broken down into 4 sub-classes, 3 of which activate the complement system. The half-life of IgG subclass 1 (most prevalent) is 23 days so it’s recommended to follow an elimination diet for AT LEAST 3 weeks. This type of blood test is often run by functional medicine providers.

IgG 4 is unique in that it’s considered part of the Th2 immune system. While it’s involved with establishing tolerance to food, it can also drive autoimmune reactivity.

IgA protects the mucosal membranes including the GI tract, mouth, nose, lungs, bladder and is normally tested in blood with IgG. It’s especially sensitive to gluten.

MRT-mediator Release testing and ALCAT-Antigen leucocyte antibody testing . These are similar and measure changes in size and qnty of leucocytes when exposed to a particular food.

PEPTIDES-IgG/IgA may miss food reactions by measuring whole protein molecules. For some, reactivity occurs later during digestion once individual peptides are liberated. Cyrex and vibrant zoomers are examples of peptides tests. I run gluten peptides on most clients.

These are all useful in different situations so work with someone to help you choose

02/22/2022

Repost from .with.dr.corinne
•
Have a question about the pelvic floor?

I’ll be chatting LIVE with Jennifer Clemente MS, CNS] today at 5:00, answering questions about the pelvic floor.

You can ask a question here before the show, or join us live and spring it on me! (We already have one re. hernias and the pelvic floor! That’s a good one!)

I love teaching about the pelvic floor! It is an incredibly complex and important system of muscles.

Both men and women can have pelvic floor disfunction… even if you’ve never had children.
Things like pain with in*******se, pain with ejacualtion, stress incontinence, frequent/difficult urination, hip/groin pain, back pain,… and many more common chronic issue are often resolved with pelvic floor rehabilitation.

Problem is… these muscles are often overlooked, so the issues persist.
But they don’t have to …

Let’s talk about it!

If you have a question, or think you may have a pelvic floor disorder, join us later today! 5:00pm EST

Jennifer Clemente MS, CNS]

See y’all there,
Always with love,
Dr. Corinne

01/31/2022

The better burger

When folks start a healing diet they often feel sad because they’re “giving up” some of their favorite foods. I’ve ben there, I’ve done it too! But, I’ve never felt like I was missing out on anything. I simply reframed foods I liked in ways that were much more healthy, nutritionally dense and less inflammatory.

Burgers for example are an American staple food and many can’t imagine living without them, even if they are creating pain and inflammation in the body.

A conventional burger patty actually contains more fat and calories than a grass fed patty of the same weight plus grass fed has the added bonus of containing much higher levels of omega 3 fatty acids.

Then you have a bun consisting of gluten, grains, sugars, fillers and sometimes high fructose corn syrup!

Step one is start with the best meat you can like organic or grass fed and finished. I like butcher box for really good quality and discounted meats and for heavily discounted organic produce.

On my plate, I have a bison burger with arugula and baby kale, half an avocado, microgreens, spicy kimchi, a green/purple heirloom tomato, pumpkin seeds, olive oil and apple cider vinegar.

This was delicious, satisfying and keeps my autoimmunity in check without any flares. My stomach feels content without bloating and eating like this actually improves the gut microbiome rather than harming it.

You can also see the burger is really the side dish here. The plants take center stage with many different nutrients in one meal. They’re is also plenty of fiber and healthy fat present.

Clean eating is not about deprivation. It’s about understanding the health impact of elevating your diet to actually meet your needs rather than trying to force your body to deal with the inflammation triggered by a low nutrition diet.

And anyone can cook like this. No special skills needed ♥️

01/31/2022

In this post, we’ll look at my top supplements for gout. Keep in mind whether or not a supplement works has everything to do with why you have gout in the first place and choosing a supplement that helps correct or balance that imbalance. It all depends on what’s going on in your body. To be successful in a long-term way, the best course of action is to address any underlying conditions as well and always start with improving gut function and the gut microbiome.

Diet is really the key so check out the diet guidelines in my last post. I always take a food first point of view meaning all of the supplements in the world won’t make a dent if you don’t eat a clean diet tailored to your body’s individual needs and your health condition. The below supplements are also found in food so include both. I’m listing off the supplement forms that I like to get to therapeutic dosing.

Helpful gout nutrients: Follow package dosing unless noted

*Vitamin C-has been shown to help reduce uric acid formation and it’s easy to get from food as well as a supplement. 1000-2000mg/day

*Celery seed taken as a supplement and drinking celery juice can both lower uric acid in body

*Black and Tart Cherry contain antioxidants called anthocyanins shown to decrease uric acid and pain levels. To get a therapeutic amount, choose a concentrated liquid, powder or pill form. It’s also included in several gout/uric acid formulas like Uric Acid Formula by PURE

*Nettle supplement or tea

*Quercetin is highly anti-inflammatory and useful for decreasing uric acid levels. I like to mix it with bromelain to potentiate the effect. 500mg quercetin 1-2X day

*Bromelain (from pineapple) is a powerful proteolytic enzyme (breaks down proteins) that lowers uric acid by breaking degrading the crystals and decreasing inflammation

*Turmeric is always in the mix for all inflammatory conditions I work with, my favorite being Turmero by Apex energetics. 2 pills 2X day or 1 syringe 2X day

*Magnesium is important for overall health but has the added benefit of being highly alkaline which also decreases uric acid formation and up to 75% of Americans don’t consume the recommended amount!

01/25/2022

Supplements & working on underlying issues in the next post.

Diet
*Eliminate/limit high purine foods like: red meat (beef, venison, bison, lamb, pork), wild game, processed meats, organ meats, seafood- anchovy, mussels, scallops, tuna, trout, sardines, herring, and alcohol including/especially beer

*Limit high fructose and high fructose corn syrup ie soft drinks, processed foods, fruit juice. Fresh fruit contains fructose but it comes along with fiber, water and many nutrients so it’s generally OK and even helpful

*Avoid processed foods, packaged snacks, breads, cookies etc
*Limit sugar in general even honey, agave etc.
*include foods high in vitamin C-citrus, straw berries
*Drink more water-8 glasses or half your body weight in ounces
*Include many fresh vegetables every day, in every meal
*Eat seeds and nuts-chia, flax, pumpkin, sunflower, almond, walnuts, cashew etc
*Gluten free whole grains, quinoa, millet, oats are OK unless you have an issue with them
*Eggs
*Eat plant based proteins in leafy greens, nuts, seeds, peas, lentils, plant protein powders
*Water, green tea, coffee may lower uric acid
*Herbs, turmeric, ginger etc

Lose weight/Exercise
I know this can be difficult to do healthfully so first step is to follow a low purine diet and increase healthy vegetables, fruits, fibers and whole foods. If this doesn’t do the trick and you are exercising, work with someone who can guide you without jumping on a weight loss trend band wagon. You want real results that last, not forced weight loss that comes back.

Stress
Is actually a trigger for gout attacks so be sure to do things to lower your stress levels by incorporating things into your life that bring you more joy, hobbies, dancing, exercise, meditation, yoga, stretching and improve your sleep

Gut Microbiome
Studies have found a link between high uric acid and imbalances in gut bacteria. As always, I recommend working on the gut as a first line for ALL chronic health conditions. This is a proven way to reduce inflammation, strengthen and balance the immune system and improve global function of the body. Do a stool test and work to improve gut function

01/25/2022

By request, let’s talk about GOUT!

WHAT IS IT?

Gout occurs when there is build-up of uric acid, a byproduct of purine metabolism (we’ll talk about purines and diet separately). Either too much uric acid is being made or there’s an issue with the kidney so not enough gets removed in urine. As a result, uric acid crystals are deposited in joints, skin and other tissues.

Gout is a form of inflammatory arthritis characterized by swelling, redness, heat and pain in one or more joints, often the big toe. It comes on suddenly and intensely so that even the weight of a bed sheet can be too painful on an inflamed area. It also commonly affects ankles, knees, elbows, wrists and fingers.

Over time, kidney stones may form as well as tophi-hard build ups of uric acid that gets deposited under the skin. Fingers, feet, toes, elbow and even ears may develop large lumps and look disfigured

Symptoms may come on very quickly and be very severe lasting days to weeks but do tend to come and go.

RISK FACTORS:

*Men are more at risk but it certainly occurs in gals too especially AFTER menopause
*Family history
*Microbiome imbalance
*Obesity/overweight
*Kidney disease, poor kidney function
*Diabetes
*high blood pressure
*Insulin resistance
*heart disease
*High purine diet
*Metabolic syndrome
* Diuretic use
*Excessive alcohol/beer consumption
*Medications – Ace inhibitors, aspirin, beta blockers

TESTING:

*Blood-to look at levels of uric acid (but high levels don’t always =gout)
*X-ray
*Ultra sound
*joint fluid test

CONVENTIONAL TREATMENT:

Your doctor may recommend a medication to bring down inflammation and swelling such as NSAIDS, chochine or steroids. They may also recommend drugs to decrease levels of uric acid in the body such as allopurinol, febuxostat, probenecid and peglocticase. Several of these treatments are not recommended for those with kidney problems or decreased kidney function.

The good news is there are many diet and lifestyle interventions that can help. My next post will be outlining some steps you can take at home as well as deeper interventions that require working with a skilled practitioner in this area.

01/19/2022

This one is for Stacie!

Since we missed our office hours this week due to unforeseen issues, I am going to get everyone any outstanding answers to your questions.

Stacie, we answered your question LIVE last week but here is the post we promised. For any of our ladies out there struggling with hormonal imbalance, this is a good comprehensive blood list to ask your doctor to run.

I wrote it out so all you have to do is hand it to them. This is a s*x hormone blood test check list. On the right I’ve specified if it’s total or free etc. If nothing applies I just gave a short description.

If you want to take it a step further, I would also run a full thyroid panel at the same time since thyroid and s*x hormones are very intertwined.

Full thyroid panel: TSH, free and total T3, Free and total T4, RT3, TPO, thyroglobulin antibodies and TSI.

If you want to take it a step further, I would also ask for blood sugar and inflammation markers:

CBC, CMP, HbA1C, homocysteine, CRP, ESR.

Of course I always like to look at nutrients too:

B12, D, zinc, A, selenium, copper (you may also be able to get B vitamins if your doc is nice😁), iron, ferritin, %saturation, UIBC, TIBC

There are others but then it starts getting into what types of symptoms you have.

Other good testing options:
Dutch hormone test (urine)
Cortisol awakening response (saliva)


*xhormone

01/19/2022

Simple gut healing salad. (this was part of dinner tonight)

Arugula
Pear
Shaved Fennel
Pepitas

Dressing: olive oil, lemon juice, ACV, salt and pepper

Arugula is my go to base for salads for many reasons besides the fact that I find the slightly bitter flavor delicious. It has a decent amount of fiber for a salad base, contains vitamin A, calcium and flavonoids which have true plant healing power.

If you don’t typically use fennel, try it. It’s one of those vegetables that tastes amazing raw and transforms flavors when cooked. In Italian households it’s commonly served sliced and raw after a meal to aid digestion, reduce gas and bloating. It’s also high in fiber, potassium and has other nutrients including A, C and B6. I just shaved some off and threw it in my salad.

Pears are so good this time of year and loaded with pectin, a type of soluble fiber known to feed good gut bacteria. They also contain insoluble fiber great for bulking stool and even lowering cholesterol!

Raw pepitas (pumpkin seeds) contain loads of magnesium and zinc as well as protein, healthy fats, vitamin K, iron and copper. Pumpkin seeds are also good to help move bugs out of the colon that we don’t want there.

Easy peasy folks

01/15/2022

Let’s talk about squatting VS sitting.

We get lots of questions about constipation and improving p**ping. Everyone wants a magic pill for it and I always say, the remedy depends on the reason you’re having trouble.

Sometimes it’s just as easy as needing to eat more plants, fiber and drinking water. Other times, it’s trickier because there’s an underlying issue like low thyroid or subclinical low thyroid (lower levels of hormones that are still in the normal range but not sufficient for your body to function at a high level), neurological issues, pelvic floor weakness/dysregulation-inability to relax pelvic muscles, other hormonal imbalances, microbiome changes and others. All of these things require specific and different interventions to make an impact that affects the underlying cause.

With that said, changing your p**ping position is a cheap and easy thing everyone can do to improve the chances of having a bowel movement that’s poo-tastic regardless of the cause.

Why? Our bodies are actually built to squat when p**ping. In the illustration above you can see 2 examples of the changes in re**um position based on sitting VS squatting. When sitting, the re**um has a little bit of a bend as it makes its way down to the a**s and is choked off by the puborectalis muscle in this position. When squatting, that bend straightens out and the muscle actually relaxes making it much easier for the p**p to flow.

Correcting your poo-sition can get things moving faster and more completely with less strain, pushing, hemorrhoids and tearing!

I’m not suggesting we go outside and squat in the yard but you can easily achieve this by using a toilet stool when p**ping. There are many but we use the Squatty Potty in our home and LOVE it. I have the original white and also a “ghost” which is a clear lucite.

Easy hack-put your feet on a stack of books 7” high when p**ping to see if it helps before you commit to buying a stool.

While nothing can cure constipation without addressing the underlying issue, squatting can certainly facilitate easier, bigger and better BM’s while helping to align ourselves more closely with nature and our anatomy.

Anyone else using one?

01/07/2022

Hemorrhoids! More than half of all adults experience them by age 50, yet most people feel too embarrassed to discuss. They’re common folks and lots of things can help so let’s chat.

Hemorrhoids (piles), are swollen veins in or around the a**s/a**l ca**l. There are two types, internal (inside the a**l ca**l) or external. The internal type may go unnoticed because there aren’t many pain receptors in there. External hemorrhoids are a different story and can cause lots of pain, discomfort and itching. Typically, a redish/purple hard lump forms that’s easy to feel and see. In some cases, internal types may protrude from the a**s (pr*****ed).

In all of these cases, you may see bright red blood on toilet paper.

These veins become swollen with pressure so the key is to remove sources of unnecessary pressure on the re**um. Excessive sitting and pushing during constipation and the force of diarrhea can both cause hemorrhoids so it’s important to work on balancing the gut and normalizing bowel movements to be formed and easy to pass.

1) Tweak the diet-Add water and fiber, remove inflammatory foods (see my free gut reset on the home page of my website).

2) “Correct your poo-sition”. Full post coming but the short of it is a squatting position is more correct for our anatomy so try Squatty Potty.

3) Look into thyroid issues

4) Do a stool test to find out why you have abnormal bowel movements if the diet is clean

5) Try Boiron, HemCalm Ointment. Some people like witch hazel and aloe topicals

6) Wash the area with warm water, don’t use toilet paper when hemorrhoids are active

7) Try a sitz bath by sitting up in a shallow bath of warm water or water with Epsom salt. Not too hot and don’t lounge in the bath.

8) Don’t sit down on the toilet until you feel a bowel movement coming on.

9) Don’t hang out on the toilet, chatting on the phone or reading. Sitting with the re**um lowered through the toilet seat exerts pressure so the goal is to get in, do your business and get out!

10) Be active

Other causes are being overweight, pregnancy, weight lifting, standing too long, sitting too long.

12/13/2021

and I had fun chatting about my top 10 tips for gut health. Here’s the list and remember, food choices matter!

1) Prebiotic foods feed the microbes in the colon. Indigestible carbs and fibers found in asparagus, onion, garlic, leeks, Jerusalem artichokes, etc are fermented by bacteria who receive nourishment and produce helpful compounds called short chain fatty acids that heal and nourish us.

2) Probiotic foods is 2nd . It’s not enough to put bacteria in. We have to feed them by including a wide variety of vegetables that contain different fibers and prebiotic compounds. Probiotic foods include kimchi, kombucha ( 3-5g sugar or less), sauerkraut, miso, tofu, apple cider vinegar, yogurt (dairy or non-dairy).

3) Resistant starch resists digestion landing in the colon where its fermented. Green banana, white potato, rice, lentils, chickpeas all cooked and then cooled (think potato salad, cold rice or rice pudding, bean salad.

4) Butyrate is a major Short Chain Fatty Acid, created during bacterial fermentation. It’s the #1 fuel source of colon cells, helps to stabilize blood sugar, has a positive effect on brain function, sleep and mood and lowers colon cancer risk! Aim for 35g of fiber/ day and try a supplement. My faves are Enerterovite by Apex and Biotics Butyric Cal-Mag.

5) Eat organic when possible to decrease the amount of chemicals & pesticides consumed. Check out https://www.ewg.org for the clean 15 and current dirty dozen list

6) Decrease, processed foods, sugar, alcohol and foods that don’t support the health of the gut microbiome

7) Take antibiotics ONLY when needed and be sure to take high quality probiotic with it

8) Decrease stress. It has a huge negative impact on both the wall of the intestine and the gut microbiome and changes body function including digestion. Take steps to manage it. Meditate, yoga, exercise, walk, breath.

9) Keep vitamin D levels between 50-70 to help maintain the integrity of the gut wall

10) Make sure you p**p daily! If not, try the above steps. If that doesn’t work, get help. Moving stool out every day is incredibly important for overall health.

11/18/2021

HOLIDAY RECIPES -

These are appropriate for those on elimination diets, SIBO, Grain-free, Gluten-free, Keto and can be modified for AIP and Vegan.  AND AS A SPECIAL GIFT, attached you'll find an additional booklet with 40+ recipes for mocktails, deserts and sides.  CLICK TO DOWNLOAD YOUR FREE HOLIDAY RECIPE GUIDE....