Spring is here! Time for planting!

I returned from my topical vacation to Maui to find spring in full-force.  Everything is in bloom around my house.  So many colors! I can't go outside without feeling inspired.  And hoping to inspired others, too.

As part of the Northern District Virginia Dietetic Association (NDVDA), I am helping Franconia Elementary School start a school yard garden.  I met with the Student Council Association (SCA), recently, to get them rev'd up about the garden and jump-start their service learning project: creating shade maps!  The student representatives from each grade (~30 students, ages 8 - 13) will determine the best location to build raised beds next spring.

On my way home from the meeting, I visited the local garden center, Nalls Produce, and met Sue Brinner, a former high school teacher from Illinois who has helped other schools implement gardens.  We chatted for about 20 minutes and she has agreed to help with the project!  She also talked me into some beautiful rainbow chard sprouts and I added a Yukon Gold seed potato, to try out something new.

When I got home, I opened my my compost bin, expecting to find decaying, freeze-dried worms.  Instead, I found healthy, live worms and sprouting seeds!  Not sure how things grow in there without direct sunlight.  Nature always finds a way.

The VA Cooperative Extension recommends planting after April 20 in this region, but I waited until today (May 4) to plant because it's been getting cold at night the past couple weeks and I want to give my little seeds and seedlings the best chance at survival.

I am trying out something new this year: containers!  I have garlic chives, spinach, chard and potatoes in pots (portable, in case I move this summer).  The extra chard and potatoes, I planted in the ground.  It will be an experiment to see what grows best, where.

"Bright Lights" rainbow chard

Since the zucchini did so well last year, I planted another round of that, too.  It's in the same location as last year, so I expect it to do well.  Unfortunately, I cannot plant zucchini in a container to take with me because it spreads out and takes up so much room.  Same story for pumpkins.

Genesis Today Discolsure

In the spirit of full disclosure, I want to share with you you that I started working for Genesis Today this month.  My new job may influence the types of topics I write about from now on, but I promise to maintain my integrity.

While trying to decide whether or not to take the position, I contacted an RD who used to work for a supplement company.  She told me "Lots of companies will offer to pay you to help them promote their products – you just need to decide if you want to lend them your name and reputation."

I was worried, at first.  Without knowing anything about the products, I was concerned that I would have to lie to do my job.  "Buy this supplement, it's the best!"  I reconciled this by deciding to research each product extensively and share only the information supported by fact.  Put things in a positive light.  Lies of omission are OK, right?

It's not like I had a lot of time to think about it.  My new employment.  It happened so fast.  I wasn't looking for a new job.  They found me on LinkedIn on January 25th and, two weeks later, after a 45-minute phone conversation and 90-minute interview, I was offered the Regional Educator and Trainer position!  Crazy?  Serendipitous!

I was beginning to get complacent at my old job.  I reached a peak, my nutrition lessons for preschoolers as creative and integrative as possible, then started to run out of ideas.  I was disappointed in myself, my newest lessons less engaging than the previous lessons.  I was ready to leave, move on, and learn something new.  

I also do not miss the unsanitary and inhospitable working conditions - office temperature ranging from 60 to 80 degrees, rats chewing through my nutrition supplies in the evenings...

The most exciting thing about working for a private company is the efficiency.  I was paid 15 days after I started working for them.  Amazing!  Compare that to the two months I waited for UDC to pay me after I started working.  Not to mention the mileage reimbursement checks.  I still haven't received reimbursement for miles driving in February, January or December 2012.  But let's not dwell on the past.

Looking forward!  Here I am, 12 days into a new and demanding job.  I've already trained 8 stores and visited 14 store others - traveling from Alexandria, VA to Annapolis, MD to Erie, PA.  This Wednesday, I will be presenting a webinar on Antioxidants!

The other good news is that, since headquarters is located in Austin, TX, my office is my "home" - or anywhere with internet.  Lately, I've been choosing to work predominantly from my office at Pinecrest Wellness Center.  Already my private practice has picked back up!  How lucky am I for this wonderful, career-enhancing opportunity.

A Natural Detox Protocol

Ever since I finished The Cleanse, I've had people come up to me and ask for advice.  They say that they want to do a cleanse but don't want to purchase all the expensive supplements.  I tell them, "No problem! You can encourage healthy elimination and  increase detoxification with food!"

Reduce toxic load
The first step of cleansing is to reduce your exposure to toxins in your diet. These include processed foods, artificial sweeteners, preservatives, additives, dyes, caffeine, and alcohol.  Conventionally grown produce contains higher levels or pesticides, herbicides, fungicides, and larvicides, so it is best to choose organic fruits and vegetables while cleansing.  If this isn't possible for your financially, I strongly suggest you at least purchase organic those foods listed on the Environmental Working Group's dirty dozen list.

If you think your symptoms might be linked to food allergies, it can also be helpful to eliminate the common allergenic foods wheat (gluten), dairy, eggs, and peanuts.  If you have joint pain, I also recommend avoiding nightshade plants (tomatoes, potatoes, peppers).

Increase detoxification
The body has several organs of detoxification, including the liver, kidneys, digestive tract, lungs, and skin.  The following foods and activities help these detoxification organs do their job better.

• Water. Drink at least 8 glasses of water daily.  In addition to helping your kidneys to produce more urine, which helps eliminate water-soluble toxins from the body, sufficient water also prevents constipation.

• Brassica vegetables.  Vegetables in the mustard family (Brassica oleracae) are very high in glucosinolates.  Glucosinolates are broken down, or metabolized, into isothiocyanates and indoles.  Indoles and isothiocyanates increase phase I and phase II liver enzymes, respectively, which help convert oil-based chemicals (which is most chemicals) into water-soluble compounds so they can be eliminated.

• Colorful, flavorful plants. The body creates some free radicals as a side effect of essential oxidation processes (like digestion).  While the body naturally produces some antioxidants to stop, or quench, the free radicals, you can help your body fight against additional, external free radicals (i.e. environmental toxins) by eating a diet rich in antioxidants.  Choose foods that are high on the ORAC scale (Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity), such as acai, wild blueberries, raw cranberries, English walnuts, plums, blackberries, raw garlic, raspberries, and herbs such as basil, oregano, rosemary, thyme, ginger, cinnamon, and tumeric.

• Fiber. Dietary fiber from whole grains, fruits and raw vegetables encourages a soft stool and aids in elimination.  Once toxins are mobilized from fat stores, it is very important to get them out of the body!  Don't allow them to sit in your colon for 3 days.  Certain pre-biotic fibers, like inulin and FOS, feed healthy gut bacteria, which improves intestinal flora and elimination in general.

• Lean protein. The organs of detoxification need amino acids to make new enzymes and other protein-based tissues.  Choose cold-water fish, free-range chicken, beans or tofu.

• Sweat it all out!  Whether you are exercising vigorously or siting in a 180 degree sauna for 10-15 minutes, sweating is a great way to open up the pores in your skin and rid the body of toxins.

• Relax. The organs of detoxification work best when the body is well rested and relaxed.  Too much stress weakens all the body systems.  During your time of detoxification, treat yourself to a full body massage.  Maybe take a relaxing bath, adding a few drops of relaxing essential oils like lavender, chamomile, or sandalwood to the bathwater.  It is normal to feel a little tired while detoxing.  So be sure to allow yourself least 8 hours of sleep each night.

A snack to tide you over

I've been wanting to write about ways to detoxify without using expensive supplements, but I haven't had the time.  The article I want to write - on that is that perfect balance of humor and information - requires a small, but significant, amount of research that my crazy life has not allowed.

In the last week, I was offered a new job, drove to Ithaca (6 hours, each way) to see a long-lost friend, participated in a three-day online bulletin board, and helped nurse a sick boyfriend back to health.  I've had such little sleep, that I feel like God must be training me to be a new parent.

So please forgive me for not writing.  I promise to get back to a regular schedule soon.

Day 21: The Cleanse Is Over!

As I write this blog entry, I am sucking down my last smoothie and day dreaming about what I will eat tomorrow.  Yes, friends, today is my last day on the cleanse.  Hallelujah!

Earlier this evening, I weighted myself at the gym.  Sadly, I did not achieve the goal to maintain my weight.  I believe the only reason I ended up losing 2 pounds is because I got tired of forcing myself to eat all the time.  Seriously, there is a reason Weight Watchers awards fresh fruits and vegetables a PointsPlus^TM value of ZERO!  Another possible reason for the weight loss was because I tried to keep a normal schedule while on the cleanse.  This included rock climbing 1-3 times a week, running 1-2 times a week, and going out with friends on the weekends.  Although I tried my best to plan and bring enough food to sustain my long days - you should have seen the pile of to-go containers in my sink every night! - I sometimes ended up going hungry.

Friends have asked me if I feel any different, or any healthier, since beginning this journey.  I wish I could say that I feel ten times better and that all my previous bodily dysfunction has disappeared, but it hasn't.

Overall, I feel pretty much the same.  I have about the same amount of energy.  I still get tired at 3 o'clock in the afternoon, especially if I've been sitting all day.  I still get a headache when I don't eat enough food, or if I go too long without eating.  I still have chronic phlegm in the back of my throat (probably due to black mold in my rental house).  I still get blemishes on my skin.  Brassica vegetables still give me gas (more on this later).  The only noticeable change has been in the quality of my digestion.

My intestinal flora has definitely changed as a result of eating mostly fruits and vegetables.  At the beginning of the cleanse, it was very clear that my body had a difficult time digesting raw vegetables.  Now that I've reached the end, my digestive tract is doing a much better job at breaking down every last morsel of food and fiber.  I attribute this to an increased number of good bacteria helping my endogenous enzymes break down the food I eat.  We are not what we eat, we are what we digest, absorb and assimilate!

Over 33,000 species of bacteria live in the human digestive tract.  If we foster the growth healthy gut flora, these microbes help us digest our food and absorb nutrients.  They also help us ward off infections by training our immune system to fight against pathogenic invaders.

If you get a chance, check out the The Secret World of Microbes (National Geographic, Jan 2013 )

The Standard American Diet, high in sugar, white flour and processed foods, promotes the growth of pathogenic microbes like the bacteria E. Coli and the yeast candida albicans (candida overgrowth can result in vaginal yeast infections).  On the other hand, a diet rich in fruits and vegetables and whole grains promotes the growth of good bacteria such as Lactobacillus (acidophilus) and Bifidobacteria.