Tuesday, May 31, 2011

May 31, 2011

Hope you all had a great Memorial Day weekend.
 
We took this weekend as an opportunity to do a lot of yard work.  It was great to get in the garden and get dirty.  I really enjoy doing that kind of thing for exercise.  Way more interesting than a treadmill or exercise DVD!

I have also been working on minimizing my cortisol production (please see previous post).  Just taking coffee out of my morning routine and replacing it with black tea has made a huge difference in my health.

The other thing I have been reading about cortisol reduction and estrogen reduction (if I didn't mention it before, my hormone tests say I am estrogen dominant) is the need for increased fiber.  Here is the conundrum-Paleo diets tell you to not eat fiber.  Well, not on purpose.  Most of the books on Paleo diets out there state that fiber is the enemy contrary to popular belief.  This is where I disagree with them.  Sure, I buy into the no grains theory.  Sure, I buy into unlimited proteins and healthy fats.  But, the no fiber theory just doesn't work for me.

According to the Paleo way of thinking, fiber equals carbs and carbs are bad.  For the most part I agree.  But, when the carbs come from natrual, non-grain forms of fiber I support that.  Now, a Paleo diet follower would say don't eat legumes.  They make some great cases for not eating them due to a natural poison legumes produce to save themselves from peditors.  But, if you read a little further on the topic you will find out that if you make certain to soak and cook the heck out of them you will be just fine eating those poison producing legumes.  (One note:  I still don't eat red beans due to them being Listeria producers....judge for  yourself.  After having Celiac disease my whole life and my intestines being riddled with little punctures I tend to take food poisoning very seriously.  I get food poisoning about twice a year even after giving up all grains and taking probiotics.) I personally have decided to consume chick peas or white beans once a day.

Now the thing about fiber is that your body deposits excess estrogen and cortisol in your digestive track.  A great way to get rid of that excess nastiness is to eat extra fiber to sweep it all away.  Fiber even helps sweep out extra calories from your diet.  So, I am upping my fiber.  A great book about this topic is "Fiber 35" by Brenda Watson.  And, I am trying out the Fiber 35 protein shake as a way to both diet and increase my fiber.  I will review it after I have had it for a few days.

So, that is where I am at this week.  Hope you are doing well.

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