Gluten Free Diet and Behavior Problems

I spend my days teaching people how to achieve vibrant health, reverse disease, balance their hormones, sharpen their minds  and raise healthy kids on a nutrient dense, whole, unprocessed fresh organic food…preferably gluten-free diet.  I’ve raised my kids on whole foods since birth and as a result they have experienced amazing health and strength.

You can imagine my shock and horror at the news I heard about my younger son,  soon to be 13 years old.

Over the last few weeks we’ve been getting calls and emails from several of his teachers about his behavior.  It seems that he’s been having trouble focusing and has been goofing around with a couple of buddies.  We’ve talked to him, tried to figure out if there’s something upsetting him, blamed puberty and hormones and suspected a gluten exposure.

Yesterday his teacher called again and I asked if she’d seen him eating anything he wasn’t supposed to have, like gluten, dairy or sugar.  She seemed surprised that we kept him away from those foods.  I was surprised that she was surprised because we’d met with the cafeteria and alerted those in charge of his dietary restrictions.

What a shock to get a call from him today saying that his teacher saw him with pizza on his cafeteria tray and told him to throw it away and call home!

In further investigating with the cafeteria, we were informed that he’s been buying chips, cookies and pizza  for over a month…in spite of the fact that we’d had them register his dietary restrictions in their computer program…and they have perfectly acceptable vegan alternatives…beans, brown rice, potatoes, vegetables, fruit, veggie burgers!

It’s frustrating and embarrassing!

The good news is the time frame during which he’ been eating pizza almost exactly lines up with the time frame for the behavior problems!  Even his older bother has been complaining about his behavior over the last month!

Before we put him on a  gluten free diet, Kevin was what I would call oppositional.  Very defiant.  Hard to get him to sit still and listen to what we needed him to do.  After removing gluten, he became noticeably calmer and more present – more mature.

So now he’s taking the stand “It’s my body.  I can do what I want.”  SO NOW what?

We told him when he’s out on his own and paying his own bills, that’s true, but our money goes towards good healthy foods not junk food pizza!  Plus we need to help him be successful at school and food is a big part of it!

Our older son, now 17, was always such a dream about food…still is…so we never even imagined we’d have a challenge with Kevin!

I guess he’s going to have to be a student in our June “Kids in the Kitchen Class” and meet other kids his age working on a whole foods diet.

I believe we are challenged with what we most need to learn.  Perhaps I am on the verge of breakthrough strategies for motivating kids to eat healthy food.

Sad part about this whole thing is I make the BEST pizza and all the kids I’ve fed it to love it!  Why not my kid?  Hopefully he’s satisfied his curiosity and when he gets back on his regular diet, he’ll notice such a profound difference he’ll be hooked!  A mom can only hope!

We’ve canceled his lunch account and he’ll be bringing his lunch again.  Kids his age hate that, yet it seems the only way.  He lost the privilege.

I’d love to hear stories from other moms  and am also open to advice!!!!  Teach the teacher!

Please comment below.

Love, Health and Joy,

Dr. Ritamarie

What Dangers Lurk Within Hospital Walls

I visited the hospital a few weeks ago.  Not for me or any of my kids…fortunately.  My brother in law was diagnosed with lung cancer late last year and has been in the hospital for over two months after complications as a result of surgery.

He opted for conventional treatment of his cancer, as most people do,  rather than check out the alternatives offered by Dr. Thomas Lodi An Oasis of Healing, just an hour away from his home.  He had his lung removed after a series of chemotherapy treatments to shrink the tumor.

Unfortunately for him, he developed an infection at the site of surgery and his remaining lung and almost died.

I’m thankful for the heroic measures modern medicine has developed to keep people alive in emergency situations.  We are all grateful that my brother in law was resuscitated and put on life support.

While hospitals are good places to go for emergency life saving support, they are not so good at helping people restore their health.  There’s a big difference.

There are 1.7 million cases of hospital infections every year, and 99,000 deaths that are related to these infections.

IV vitamin C has been shown in numerous studies to benefit people with cancer and infectious disease.  Most people that spend time in the intensive care unit or have surgery get hooked up to an IV.  Very few receive therapeutic doses of Vitamin C in their IV.

At some point, ICUpatients graduate from IV feeding to a feeding tube directly into their digestive tract.

I look at this as the ultimate opportunity to get some blended and juiced antioxidant rich green food into people who otherwise would reject it because it “tastes icky”.  The hospital staff looks at it much differently.  The first three ingredients in the most popular feeding tube mixes are corn syrup, casein (milk protein) and soy protein isolate.  That’s a sure fire prescription for illness, if you ask me.   Unfortunately they didn’t ask and when I voluntarily offered my opinion I was talked down to as if I were an ignorant street person who knows nothing about health and nutrition.

Not a single fresh raw vegetable is on the menu, save perhaps for the iceberg lettuce

Here’s the ingredient list for a popular hospital food called Jevity.

Water, Corn Maltodextrin, Corn Syrup Solids, Sodium & Calcium Caseinates, Soy Fiber, Soy Protein Isolate, Canola Oil, Corn Oil, Medium-Chain Triglycerides, Calcium Phosphate, Potassium Citrate, Magnesium Chloride, Soy Lecithin, Sodium Citrate, Ascorbic Acid, Choline Chloride, Magnesium Phosphate, Potassium Chloride, Carrageenan, Taurine, L-Carnitine, Zinc Sulfate, dl-Alpha-Tocopheryl Acetate, Ferrous Sulfate, Niacinamide, Calcium Pantothenate, Manganese Sulfate, Cupric Sulfate, Thiamine Chloride Hydrochloride, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Riboflavin, Vitamin A Palmitate, Folic Acid, Biotin, Chromium Chloride, Sodium Molybdate, Potassium Iodide, Sodium Selenate, Phylloquinone, Cyanocobalamin, and Vitamin D3.

I could go on and on about what to watch out for in hospitals. ..and I will.  And you can hear the whole thing on my two part blog talk radio show called 3-Life-Saving-Reasons-To-Stay-Out-Of-The-Hospital-Part-1

I even have a copy of an actual menu from a hospital here in Austin that I plan to divulge on the show.

Even if you can’t make it live, set aside some time afterward to listen to the recording, which will be available at the same location.

http://www.drritamarie.com/radio/2011/04/3-life-saving-reasons-to-stay-out-of-the-hospital-part-1/

Love, Health and Joy,

Dr. Ritamarie

References

1.       Vitamin C And Cancer

2.      Hemila H. Vitamin C supplementation and respiratory infections: a systematic review. Mil Med. 2004 Nov;169(11):920-5.

3.      Gorton HC, Jarvis K. The effectiveness of vitamin C in preventing and relieving the symptoms of virus-induced respiratory infections. J Manipulative Physiol Ther. 1999 Oct;22(8):530-3.

4.      Hemila H, Douglas RM. Vitamin C and acute respiratory infections. Int J Tuberc Lung Dis. 1999 Sep;3(9):756-61.

5.      Enstrom JE, Kanim LE, Klein MA. Vitamin C intake and mortality among a sample of the United States population. Epidemiology. 1992 May;3(3):194-202.

Osteoporosis is more than just a calcium deficiency. Are you at risk?

It’s estimated that approximately half a million people 50 years and older will fracture their hip. Scary thought!  What’s even scarier is that there are usually no outward signs or symptoms of osteoporosis.  Your bones can be slowly deteriorating over the course of decades and you won’t know it. Even bone density scans won’t pick up changes until there is about a 25% change in bone mass.

Many people are not aware of their osteoporosis until they suffer a painful fracture.

Staggering statistics about your bones:

• In the U.S., 10 million people have osteoporosis, and 34 million more have low bone mass
• One out of every two women and one in four men over 50 will have an osteoporosis-related fracture in his or her lifetime.
• Osteoporosis is not just a disease of the aging; it can strike at any age.
• Osteoporosis is not just a disease of women. More than 2 million American men suffer from osteoporosis, and 80,000 of them have a hip fracture each year.
• Osteoporosis causes more than 1.5 million fractures annually.
• The estimated cost of osteoporosis and related fractures in the US is estimated to be over $14 billion each year!

Is bone loss an inevitable effect of aging?

Are we doomed to lose our bones as we enter the second half of life or is bone loss the result of a lifetime of unhealthy habits?

We’ve all been told to drink our milk to prevent osteoporosis.  Milk moustaches on celebrities don the freeway billboards, reminding us to drink our 4 glasses a day.

Does drinking milk actually prevent osteoporosis, or is that a myth propagated by the dairy industry? If dairy products truly protected our bones, wouldn’t we see a lot less bone loss and fewer hip fractures than we do today?

If not helpful, can milk be harmful for your bones?

Is osteoporosis preventable?

Is it reversible?

Bone Breaking Facts About Your Bones

Get answers to these questions and more today on my blog talk radio show “Bone Breaking Facts About Your Bones”, the first of a two part series in preparation for Osteoporosis Awareness and Prevention Month in May.

Because bone health is so important, we decided to kick off Osteoporosis Awareness and Prevention Month with Eating for Bone Health, a class about how to strengthen your bones and reverse bone loss with bone building gluten free , whole raw foods, herbs, and nutrients.

In this class we’ll demonstrate some delicious bone strengthening whole foods recipes and talk about the foods, nutrients and herbs that help strengthen and protect your bones.

Don’t become a statistic.

Our recipes and strategies work for you whether you’re female or male, already in or around menopause, when your bone density tends to naturally decline unless you take action, or in your younger years when you have the opportunity to fortify your bones and prevent the natural decline.

Don’t wait until you’re diagnosed with osteopenia or osteoporosis, or fracture a limb to think about strengthening your bones.  Arm yourself with the knowledge and skills to improve your bone health every day of your live.  Take action now.

Bone strengthening foods are delicious.  Learn to make favorites like Strengthen My Bones Green Smoothie, Skeleton Supporting Savory Sesame Sauce, Bones Don’t Crack Crackers, Creamy Italian Bone Boosting Soup, Bone Building Super Salad and Bone Building Brownies in Eating for Bone Health,where you’ll also learn to fortify your favorite recipes with bone supporting herbs and foods.

Love, Health and Joy to You,

Dr. Ritamarie

Boosting Your Nutrition and Protect Your Health with Brussels Sprouts

Lately I’veave been craving Brussels sprouts.  The odd part is I’ve never really liked Brussels sprouts.

It all started one evening when my husband was out and I decided to surprise him with one of his favorite vegetables – Brussels sprouts.

A friend had said her favorite way to make them was roasted.  I’d never eaten or made roasted Brussels sprouts but I figured I’d give it a try.  The recipe I made is HERE

I took one of the Brussels sprouts out to see if it was done.  I bit into it thinking I would take a bite then spit it out because as I said before, I have never liked Brussels sprouts.  I took a bit and really liked it.

I ended up eating half of them before Scott even came home

Since then I’ve made the recipe several times.  I would go so far as to say I’ve been craving them.  Given my new found fascination with Brussels sprouts I decided to do some research to determine exactly what my body is telling me it needs.

What I discovered is that Brussels sprouts are an incredibly nutritious vegetable that offer protection from cardiovascular diseases as well as colon and prostate cancers.

So here’s the scoop about the nutritional benefits of Brussels sprouts.

• Exceptionally rich in protein, dietary fiber, vitamins, minerals and antioxidants.
• Good source of vitamin A,  a potent antioxidant and mucous membrane re-builder which offers protection against lung and oral cavity cancers.
• Good source of  B-complex
• Excellent source of vitamin C.
• An excellent source of vitamin-K, essential for bone health and protecting your brain from neuronal damage.

• Rich in minerals like copper, calcium, potassium, iron, manganese and phosphorus.
• High in a fiber which binds with bile acids in your digestive tract to allow them to be more easily excreted and thus  lower cholesterol.
• Improves the stability of DNA inside your white blood cells by blocking the activity of sulphotransferase enzymes.
• Contains more glucosinolate content than any other cruciferous vegetable.  Glucosinolates are important cancer-protective phytonutrients.

• Abundant source of flavonoid anti-oxidants like thiocyanates, indoles, lutein, zeaxanthin, sulforaphane and isothiocyanates. These phytochemicals have been shown to offer protection from prostate, colon, prostate and endometrial cancers.
• Good source of  Di-indolyl-methane (DIM), a metabolite of indole-3-carbinol has been found to be an effective immune modulator, anti-bacterial and anti-viral and keeps estrogen metabolites in the right ratio.
• Contain a glucoside called sinigrin which helps protect from colon cancers by destroying pre-cancerous cells.
• A good source of zeaxanthin, an important carotenoid that’s selectively absorbed into the macula in the eyes and helps prevent retinal damage, “age related macular degeneration disease” (ARMD), in the elderly.

Wow.  No wonder I started craving Brussels Sprouts.  They are loaded with vitamins, minerals and cancer protective chemicals.  I’m not clear what exactly my body has been craving, but I do know that I plan to continue to honor the craving.

Give Brussels sprouts another chance.  I did and for that I am very grateful.

Love, Health and Joy,

Dr. Ritamarie

The Great Health Debate: Dr. Joe Mercola and Dr. Gabriel Cousens

The The Great Health Debate , sponsored by Kevin Gianni of Renegade Health begins on February 6, 2011 with a debate between Dr. Joe Mercola and Dr. Gabriel Cousens. Here’s where you can post your comments about the  The Great Health Debate.  What did you learn?  who’s view resonates best with you?

Register for the FREE online event

The Great Health Debate

I can’t wait to read your comments.

With Love and gratitude,

Dr. Ritamarie