Vitamin D is Associated with Reduced Intestinal Permeability and Extended Remission in Autoimmunity

Vitamin D is Associated with Reduced Intestinal Permeability and Extended Remission in Autoimmunity

and Extended Remission in Autoimmunity

A study found that vitamin D is associated with reduced intestinal permeability and extended remission in autoimmunity, specifically Crohn’s disease.

The study was published in the United European Gastroenterology Journal and also found that the supplementation extended periods of remission. That’s significant!

Crohn’s disease, along with ulcerative colitis and Celiac fall under the monicker of Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD). They are characterized by inflammation in the intestines which causes cramping, bleeding and ulceration of the digestive tract.

They are also autoimmune diseases whereby the immune system may over-react to food, bacteria and other substances, causing an explosion of inflammatory chemicals that cause damage to the intestinal tissues.

Intestinal Barrier Dysfunction May Develop in Many Autoimmune Diseases

Intestinal Barrier Dysfunction is a hallmark of autoimmunity. The immune system is housed in the gastrointestinal tract. When there is inflammation present, the lining of the intestine becomes damaged and becomes leaky. This allows larger molecules of food and toxins to enter the bloodstream, become systemic and travel to extra-intestinal areas of the body. These areas include the joints, skin and other organs.

All autoimmune conditions have the common denominator of intestinal permeability. In this condition, abnormally high levels of zonulin are present. This protein regulates the permeability of the tight junctions of the intestinal barrier. Once the gut is permeable, immune responses to foods can occur, initiating a cascade of inflammatory chemicals.

Any natural substance that can reduce this cascade of inflammation is a welcome addition to a holistic regimen.

Vitamin D Encourages Healing of the Gut Lining

In this double-blind, randomized placebo-controlled study (cited above), the researchers evaluated changes in gut barrier function as well as disease markers in patients with Crohn’s disease in response to vitamin D supplementation. The study group was made up of 27 Crohn’s patients who were in remission. They were given 2000 IU/day of vitamin D or placebo for 3 months.

Researchers found that patients treated with vitamin D were more likely to maintain their intestinal barrier integrity, whereas intestinal permeability increased in the placebo group. Increased intestinal permeability has been demonstrated to predict and precede clinical relapse in Crohn’s patients.

Importantly, those patients with the highest blood levels of vitamin D showed signs of reduced inflammation, as measured by C-reactive protein and antimicrobial peptides.

When the intestine is sealed, inflammation is reduced.

This study demonstrated that a mere 2000 IU per day of vit D was sufficient to raise blood levels of 25(OH)D to ≥ 75 nmol/L in most study participants, after a 3-mo. treatment. It is this level of vitamin D that is thought to help reduce inflammation.

Vitamin D Inhibits LPS Inflammation

Another study published in the Journal of Immunology in 2012 demonstrated that vitamin D inhibits LPS-induced p38 activation and cytokine production (inflammation) in monocytes and macrophages. In my previous post about LPS, I explain that LPS is an indicator of intestinal inflammation and that it is used in research to induce inflammatory responses in mammals in order to study them.

Many conditions are induced in the laboratory by using LPS, such as Alzheimer’s, MS, IBD, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, Parkinson’s, depression, autism and many other autoimmune diseases.

Which form of Vitamin D?

Many practitioners recommend taking cod liver oil because it is a whole food and has the correct balance of vitamins A and D as well as omega 3 fatty acids (EPA and DHA). However, if you want to get your blood levels of vitamin D up to 75 nmol/L you would have to use a vitamin D supplement.

Before supplementing, be sure to get a blood level of 25-OH vitamin D as a base line. This is a measure of the level of D3 in the active form. You do not want to test or take D2 as it is the inactive form.

Of course, it is a great idea to get vitamin D from sun exposure, as long as you do it safely. It’s difficult to estimate just how much vitamin D is generated from sun exposure as this can be very individual. If you getting a lot of sun exposure then you wouldn’t need much supplementation.

Always monitor vitamin D levels with periodic blood test.

Beyond Vitamin D

While this information is very encouraging, healing and sealing a leaky gut will take more than just a supplement. Additionally, there is a concern that if you are taking just vitamin D and not vitamin A, you can develop an imbalance in these two important fat soluble vitamins.

A whole food diet is critical to healing a leaky gut.

Treatment Based in the 4R Approach

• Remove – gluten, dairy, egg, nuts and other potential allergens, as well as aspirin, NSAIDS
• Replace – support function in the digestive tract with enzymes and HCl if needed
• Reinoculate – the bowel with prebiotics and probiotics and a diet that includes resistant starch
• Repair – the gut mucosa with gelatin rich bone broths, L-glutamine and other nutrients

Diets like the SCD, GAPS, Paleo, AIP Paleo have really helped folks get back on the road to recovery.

This approach attempts to uncover the actual cause and imbalances in each individual rather than simply putting a bandaid on the symptoms. Each individual has their own set of imbalances and this needs to be corrected in a specific and individual way. Using conventional medicines that suppress the symptoms may be necessary alongside the integrative functional approach while healing is going on.

More and more there are chiropractors, naturopaths and functional medicine doctors that take this integrative approach. As always, never change your diet, medicines or supplements without involving your health care provider.

Find out more here:

Original article and pictures take realfoodforager.com site

Visiting Disney World With Food Allergies.

Visiting Disney World With Food Allergies.

About a year ago, we visited Disney World for the first time with our children. I had been to Disney World several times with my family growing up, but this was a new experience for me – not only because we were bringing our children along, but because we were visiting with food allergies.

I was very nervous about this, mostly because Baby Bee does have a true egg allergy that I carry an Epi-Pen for at all times. In addition to the egg allergy, my sons and I also needed to avoid dairy and gluten due to our intolerances. At home I prepare most of our meals, and when we eat out, we know the restaurants, we are comfortable with what we order, and we are near to our pediatrician, allergist, and a hospital if we were to need it (hopefully not!).

The idea of staying at a gigantic theme park for five days with tons of people passing through and eating all manner of foods made me very nervous. However, I knew that lots and lots of children and adults with food allergies and intolerances go to Disney all the time, so I did some research, got ready for our trip, and was ready to have a great time! If you’re heading to Disney World with food allergies, here are my tips and experiences.

1. If you are planning to eat at the sit down restaurants at Disney, whether in the parks or in the resorts, make sure to visit this Special Dietary Requests page. There is information here about what allergies they are able to accommodate, what restaurants are able to accommodate special requests,and how to make dining reservations. Once you make reservations, you will need to fill out the Special Dietary Request Form, which is available from the online reservation page, or can be emailed or faxed to you if you make your dining reservations by phone. For a complete list of all Disney dining options, go here.

2. There are awesome resources on the web from people who visit Disney all the time with allergies. I found Allergy Free Mouse to be a very helpful resource. I especially liked browsing through he restaurant reviews – it’s always helpful to have an idea of what other families have experienced at different restaurants.

3. Bring a lot of allergy friendly snacks for yourself in order to avoid paying a million dollars for a granola bar. (Not really, but you know what I mean). Since I was a nursing mom when we visited Disney, I really needed to have snacks with me at all times. After I would nurse Baby Bee, I always needed a snack. In the Florida heat, with all the walking , plus breastfeeding, my blood sugar would get really low if I had to wait around to find a snack. I packed a ton of Larabars, apples, and also Earnest Eats Bars for our trip. (Affiliate links).

We also packed gluten free pretzels and potato chips for my six year old. This meant that my son’s carry-on bag was a large backpack that was just for food. Yes, we did have one snack per day paid for on our meal plan, and yes, we did still buy the occasional extra snack, but I just did not want to have to search all over the park to find an overpriced allergy friendly snack whenever hunger hit.

4. Look at EPCOT Center’s World Showcase for some allergy friendly dining options. Since the World Showcase has so many different types of cuisine from around the world, there are a lot of options that may work for your allergy needs. We had a great experience at the Tangierine Cafe for a quick service lunch. The hummus, chicken, and salad was tasty and fit in with our dietary needs. We also made reservations for a sit down dinner at the San Angel Inn Restaurant. Since we can’t do dairy, we did have to make sure that we avoided cheese and sour cream, but the chips, salsa, guacamole, tacos, and tostadas were delicious. Update: A commenter pointed out that these restaurants are not run by Disney, and there may be a language barrier at some of them, so proceed with caution.

5. Be ready to talk to the chef or manager every time you order food. Yup, EVERY single time you order anything, you will need to speak to the chef at a sit down restaurant, and a manager at a quick service restaurant. This was comforting to me, because it shows that they do take the dietary needs of their guests very seriously. You will speak to the chef or manager, tell them what your needs are, and they will go over the menu with you in detail and tell you what they can make for you that will be safe for you to eat. The nice thing about Disney is that they are so used to dealing with food allergies that it is never a big deal. They do go out of their way to make your experience as magical as possible. At one restaurant when my son could not have any of the desserts on the menu, the chef made a special dessert with Enjoy Life cookies and rice milk ice cream for him. I really appreciated the extra effort that was put into making us feel comfortable.

6. However, mistakes still happen. We were eating dinner at the Whispering Canyon Cafe, and the chef there was so nice and attentive, and assured us that we could enjoy the chicken, veggies without butter, and roasted potatoes without butter. When our food was brought out, there was a big pile of creamy mashed potatoes on the special allergy platter. I was pretty sure that we were supposed to be getting roasted potatoes, so I had to flag down our server to figure out what was going on before we could start eating. She had to find the chef, and yes, the kitchen did indeed make a mistake. They whisked our platter away and made a new one for us with the safe potatoes. Mistakes happen, and it’s important to be alert, and ask questions if you are not sure! The manager of course came over and apologized for the mishap.

7. If you have a serious egg allergy, and are a nervous person, character breakfasts are probably not for you. I signed us up for a character breakfast knowing that there would be eggs served, but that they would be able to accommodate our allergy, and when I walked in and saw a busy room full of children and parents being served huge platters of eggs, I panicked. I knew that there were eggs everywhere in that room, and the idea of having Baby Bee in a high chair that probably had egg particles on it was too much for me. Baby Bee and I left while the rest of our family stayed and ate. I realize that might sound extreme, but as soon as I saw all the eggs, I knew I wouldn’t be able to relax and enjoy the meal, so it wasn’t worth it. If you don’t have a serious egg allergy, this probably won’t bother you.

That’s about it for the tips, but I will share some of the restaurants that we enjoyed while we were there:

Pecos Bill’s Cafe in the Magic Kingdom – This was a good quick lunch stop for us. They were more than willing to accommodate our allergies, and we ate lunch there a couple of times. It was best to eat lunch a little early or a little late to avoid long lines.

Plaza Ice Cream Parlor on Main Street – We were able to get dairy free ice cream here, and that was a big hit with my six year old.

Sanaa – We love our Indian food, and had a really nice sit down meal at Sanaa, located at Disney’s Animal Kingdom Villas. It was easy to find options that were gluten, dairy, and egg free. I really enjoyed the Chana Masala.

Portobello at Downtown Disney – Everyone enjoyed their pasta dishes at Portobello. I was able to order gluten free pasta with garlic and oil, and it was fabulous. Truly delicious, and one of the best dining experiences we had at Disney.

The other spot that I really liked in Downtown Disney was Babycakes NYC, which had gluten free, egg free, dairy free, and refined sugar free baked goods that were really yummy. Unfortunately I just found out that they closed about six months ago. Boo! I’m hoping that Disney will put another allergy friendly meal or dessert option in its place.

I hope that this has been helpful! If you’ve been to Disney, please share your tips in the comments!

Linking up to some of these parties.

Follow along:

Original article and pictures take i0.wp.com site

Vegetables rich in iron and in iron-enhancers

Vegetables rich in iron and in iron-enhancers

Based on data from the USDA on the nutrient content of food, we found that the top ten vegetables with iron are morel mushrooms, lemon grass, potatoes, parsley, jute, horseradish leafy tips, winged bean leaves, chrysanthemum, spinach, and immature soybeans. The list is based on the iron content of 100 grams of each of those foods. Mushrooms and lemon grass top the list, both of which require a lot of eating to make 100 grams. Neither 100 grams of mushrooms nor lemon grass provide you with 100% of your recommended intake of iron. Vegetables, in general, will add small amounts of iron to your daily intake. If you are a complete vegetarian, your key strategy is to eat a lot of them. Adding an abundance of vegetables to your meals and consuming them without iron inhibitors is your best strategy for increasing the iron rich vegetables in your diet.

Iron Inhibitors in Your Vegetables

One problem with a list of food based solely on the content of a metal is that some foods themselves contain substances that inhibit iron absorption. Spinach is high in oxalic acid which can be cooked off in boiled spinach (discard the water) or in steamed spinach. A wilted spinach salad may be in order if the steam water is allowed to run off. The immature soy beans contain phytic acid which inhibit your iron absorption as well.

Iron Inhibitors Served With Your Vegetables

To make matters worse, if you eat your wilted spinach salad along side a bed of iron-rich amaranth and you have not become familiar with the advice on this site of soaking your amaranth to reduce the phytic acid content, the phytic acid in the amaranth may inhibit your absorption of some of the iron in the wilted spinach salad.

Vegetables as a class are generally a poor source of iron. Vegetables do not tend to have high levels of iron to begin with and if you eat them with iron inhibitors, you are likely to get very little iron out of your vegetable dish. The book Iron Rich Foods goes into detail on the foods that inhibit your iron absorption, but as another example, drink a cup of black tea with that wilted spinach salad and you will be inhibiting your iron absorption yet again. However, having a high vitamin C food with those vegetables will help.

If you are counting on vegetables to provide you with iron, it is more important than ever to reduce iron inhibitors and increase the vitamin C in your diet. To get the most out of your vegetables, do not eat them with grains, legumes, nuts, and seeds unless you follow kitchen preparation techniques to reduce the phytic acid in your food. You can soak or ferment your grains, for instance, to reduce the phytic acid and improve your iron absorption. Do not consume milk, tea, coffee, or red wine with the meal either.

Common Vegetables And Their Iron Content

Again, there really are few iron rich vegetables, but if you are interested in the iron content of the most commonly consumed vegetables, search our foods database or review the foods in the links below.

Artichokes Asparagus Beets Broccoli Cabbage Carrots

Cauliflower Celery Collard greens Corn (yellow) Cucumber Eggplant

Green beans Green bell pepper Jalapeño pepper Kale Okra Onion

Peas Radishes Spinach Tomato Zucchini

Read more about iron rich foods.

Original article and pictures take www.dailyiron.net site

Vegan Chocolate Chip Raisin Macadamia Nut Oat Lactation Cookies

Vegan Chocolate Chip Raisin Macadamia Nut Oat Lactation Cookies

Yes, you read that right…lactation is in the title! Lol. No, these cookies will not make you lactate on first bite. They are simply filled with ingredients that are supposed to be good for breast milk. As most of you know, I had my 3rd baby boy exactly 3 weeks ago today! He is the first baby I’ve had since we changed our diet. With my first two boys, I was not able to breastfeed much, almost none with my first, as I never got my milk. I had a little bit with my second, but no where near enough. So I was very curious to see what would happen this time around. Well, I definitely have some milk! It’s not a ton, and I’m not sure how long it will last, but it’s there, so I am doing what I can to keep it.

The first thing I did was get online and start to research whole foods that help with milk production. I found a bunch of good resources and spent a good amount of time reading about it. Basically I learned that, other that staying really hydrated and eating a healthy whole food diet (which I do), some of the nutrients in food that may help with milk supply are iron, protein, and B vitamins. Also, there are herbs like fenugreek and fennel that help as well. So with all my new info, of course my brain began creating. I had heard about others baking “lactation cookies” in the past, and cookies are something I am definitely obsessed with, so I figured it’s a perfect reason to create another cookie for the blog! And Mother’s Milk tea is a common way to get in some of those lactation promoting herbs, and what goes better with tea than cookies!

Since I literally had JUST gotten home from the hospital, and being on my feet baking cookies was not in the cards, my amazing wonderful hubby offered to be my “legs” in the kitchen while I stayed on the couch and tried to communicate to him my crazy recipe idea for these new cookies of mine. He was a rockstar and before I knew it trial 1 was complete! It took 3 trials to get these just right, and just right they sure were! I’m talking deeeeelicous! Every ingredient I used was carefully thought out. They are filled with nutrients, many of which have shown to help contribute to healthy lactation. Here’s a list of everything I used that contains loads of goodness like iron, protein, or B vitamins:

oats, almond flour, nutritional yeast, molasses, flax, raisins, macadamia nuts, coconut butter versus oil, and dates versus refined sugar

These cookies turned out SO darn good! The texture is soft and chewy with crispy edges. They are not only vegan, but they are made without any refined sugar or oil and are gluten free! So popping a few in my mouth not only gives me an absolutely delicious and healthy snack, but also feels awesome to know I am doing something to help my milk! And another bonus is that these freeze pretty darn well. I made a huge batch and keep them in the freezer. Then I take a few out every morning and eat them throughout the day. They keep great!

Keep in mind that I am not certified to promise any of this will help increase your milk, and all my info has come from resources online that I read to help me, but as I see it, eating some healthy cookies is not a bad idea in general! Plus, these are filled with healthy ingredients and nutrients, so breastfeeding or not they are a great snack. My two boys and my husband love them so they serve our whole family well!

If you try making my cookies, make sure to let me know! I love hearing your feedback on my recipes. You can also tag me on Instagram at veggiesdontbite #veggiesdontbite so I don’t miss it! Hope you enjoy!

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For all you breastfeeding moms out there, especially for those of you not in a place to make your own cookies, I found these awesome bars that have been created by a certified lactation consultant. They are called Boobie Bars, how cute is that?! You can order them online here. These also have ingredients that have shown to help with lactation, but they are more “official” because they have research behind them…I ordered some to try, especially for those weeks I’m booked with awesome recipes to create for you all and making cookies just isn’t in the cards. Bonus is that they are vegan and they have a gluten free option! Can’t wait to get them!

Original article and pictures take www.veggiesdontbite.com site

Vegan Berry Crunch Smoothie Bowl

Vegan Berry Crunch Smoothie Bowl

I’ve done a lot of physical activity over the past few days, which as you know, is rather uncharacteristic.

First, I went to the Beyoncé and Jay-Z concert at MetLife Stadium. As much as I’d like to fangirl out right now, I recognize you’re probably not here to read about my obsession with Bey or my feelings about Jay-Z’s rumored infidelity. (But if you are, please contact me to discuss. I have a lot of thoughts.) All I’ll say is that it was the most amazing concert I’ve ever been to (times infinity), and I did my best dancing for 2½ hours.

It was a lot of cardio for a Friday night.

On Saturday, I went out to my bestie Fifi’s house on Long Island, and she suggested we go paddleboarding. Since I have zero upper body strength and pathetic swimming skills, I wasn’t exactly pumped about this idea. But I’m a good friend, and paddle boarding is trendy, so I reluctantly agreed.

Much to my surprise, I got the hang of the paddleboarding thing pretty quickly, and I was quite proud of myself. I’d even venture to describe the first 30 minutes as delightful. The sun was out, the wind was at my back, and my balance was remarkably on point. My arms weren’t even tired, and I started to think that maybe I had had underestimated my own strength. Whoop!

Unfortunately, things took a sudden and unexpected turn for the worst.

Paddling back to shore against the wind almost killed me. At a certain point (i.e. after my fourth fall), I sat down on my board and paddled furiously (making almost no headway), while wondering if it was possible for one’s arms to actually fall off. Fifi and our friend Alston somehow managed to get ridiculously far ahead of me, which was both embarrassing and terrifying on many levels.

I felt like Marky Mark in The Perfect Storm, alone and lost at sea. (Except wearing a life jacket and in the middle of a busy harbor.) Funnily enough, I kept thinking, “If I die out here, will Logan stay on The Dude Diet?”

And then a friendly boat rescued me and I was motored the last 200 yards to the dock. Crisis averted.

You’d think that shaking it at Beyoncé and extreme paddleboarding would be enough exercise for the month weekend, but no. Fifi also wanted to do Ladies’ Tennis Clinic on Sunday.

Dear God, WHY?!!

Luckily, I actually know how to play tennis, so that wasn’t so bad, but there was a lot of running, and I was VERY sweaty. Needless to say, I slept like a baby on Sunday night.

Based on my level of physical exertion this weekend, I imagined myself waking up on Monday morning looking like an SI Swimsuit model and feeling like Gwyneth. Shockingly, that didn’t happen. Everything was the same, except that I was (and still am) insanely sore. Like, an absurd amount of pain. I haven’t felt this way since varsity volleyball tryouts circa 2003.

Yes, I’m serious, and no, I didn’t make the team.

My poor body was clearly in need of a good stretch and some rejuvenating nourishment yesterday, which was delivered in the form of YouTube yoga and this big, beautiful Vegan Berry Crunch Smoothie Bowl.

Based on my internet research, I’m a little late to the smoothie bowl partay (as per usual), and all the cool nutrition/fitness gurus on Instagram have apparently been posting these bowls for months! I was unaware of this because I don’t follow any of those peeps. Too much #fitspo makes me feel anxious about my bi-monthly workout schedule. Sorry.

Anyhoo, I couldn’t be more excited to be part of the smoothie bowl movement, and I suggest you join me. The bandwagon is very nice, and it’s full of beautiful, healthy people.

For those of you who are unfamiliar with the smoothie bowl, allow me to enlighten you…

It’s a smoothie.

In a bowl.

BOOM.

Just kidding, it’s way more exciting than that!

First of all, the smoothie portion is really thick, almost like soft ice cream, which is obviously awesome. Ice cream for breakfast is a win. More importantly, you can load it up with all kinds of fabulous toppings since you don’t have to worry about slurping it through a straw. Hallelujah.

The berry crunch smoothie bowl you’re looking at is a vegan revelation, friends. An antioxidant rich blend of mixed berries, banana, kale (or spinach for ze kale haters), chia seeds, almond milk and agave, it’s sweet, creamy goodness that doesn’t taste offensively “green.” I promise.

And the toppings! I would happily crush a bowl of this super thick smoothie on its own, but the toppings are what make it so irresistible. I went to town on my bowl with fresh strawberries, blueberries, and banana, as well as chopped almonds, toasted coconut, a sprinkling of my favorite granola, and extra chia seeds. This combo was a badass blend of fresh flavor and crunch, but feel free to get creative with your add-ins. It’s part of the fun.

This smoothie bowl makes an unbelievably festive and satisfying breakfast or lunch, and you can easily half the recipe for a light, energizing snack. If you want to amp up the protein, just add a scoop of vegan protein powder or a couple tablespoons of almond/peanut butter into the mix. (I stand by my earlier feelings about combining greens and nut butter, but you do you.)

Get on board.

Vegan Berry Crunch Smoothie Bowl: (Makes 1 large smoothie bowl)

Ingredients:

1 cup chopped kale or baby spinach

1 tablespoon chia seeds

1 cup unsweetened almond milk (or milk of your choice)

1½ cups frozen mixed berries

½ frozen banana (Yes, you can use a regular banana, but then you may have to add some ice to your smoothie bowl.)

1-2 teaspoons light agave (depending on how sweet you like things)

Suggested Toppings:

½ banana, sliced

¼ cup blueberries

2-3 strawberries, sliced

1 teaspoon chia seeds

2 tablespoons chopped almonds

2 tablespoons unsweetened coconut shavings, raw or toasted

¼ cup granola of your choice

Preparing your Vegan Berry Crunch Smoothie Bowl:

-Place the kale or spinach, chia seeds, and milk in a blender or food processor and puree until smooth. (This will ensure that you don’t have any gross, chewy greens in your smoothie bowl.)

-Add the frozen mixed berries, banana and agave to the blender.

-Puree, scraping down the sides of the blender periodically, until relatively smooth. Don’t be crazy about getting it completely smooth, people. You won’t be drinking this through a straw, so a little texture is good!

-Pour smoothie into a bowl.

-Garnish with toppings of your choice, and get after it.

I like to make festive designs with my toppings because I like fancy things, but that’s obviously optional…

But you should probably do it…

Because pretty food is the best. Duh.

Ingredients

• 1 cup unsweetened almond milk (or milk of your choice)
• ½ frozen banana (Yes, you can use a regular banana, but then you may have to add some ice to your smoothie bowl.)
• 1-2 teaspoons light agave (depending on how sweet you like things)
• 2-3 strawberries, sliced
• 2 tablespoons chopped almonds
• 2 tablespoons unsweetened coconut shavings, raw or toasted
• ¼ cup granola of your choice

Instructions

1. Place the kale or spinach, chia seeds, and milk in a blender or food processor and puree until smooth. (This will ensure that you don’t have any gross, chewy greens in your smoothie bowl.)
2. Add the frozen mixed berries, banana, and agave to the blender. Puree, scraping down the sides of the blender periodically, until relatively smooth. Don’t be crazy about getting it completely smooth, people. You won’t be drinking this through a straw, so a little texture is good!
3. Pour smoothie into a bowl and garnish with toppings of your choice. Serve immediately.

Original article and pictures take domesticate-me.com site

Using Scripture to Shape Your Kids’ Character

Using Scripture to Shape Your Kids’ Character

It all started when our kids were little bitty.

I was having a bit of a grumbly day, which had been happening way too often for anyone’s liking. When I was grumpy, of course my kids became grumpy. So the combination of grumpy mom and grumpy kids turned our household into a great big grumpy mess.

Somehow (God’s leading, no doubt) I stumbled upon the following from Philippians 2:14-16:

Do everything without grumbling or arguing,so that you may become blameless and pure, “children of God without fault in a warped and crooked generation.” Then you will shine among them like stars in the sky as you hold firmly to the word of life.

Do everything?? EVERYTHING without grumbling or arguing?? How in the world? Did God not understand about the poop and the snot and the tantrums?

I was personally challenged by this passage, and loved the image of shining like a star in a world full of darkness. How desperately I wanted my kids to know me as a shining model of God’s character, instead of as a dark, gloomy, frustrated, grouchy, “let’s just get through the day without killing each other” kind of a mom.

So living out this scripture became a prayer focus for me. “Do everything without grumbling or arguing…do everything without grumbling or arguing…”

As I focused on this passage, it became easy for me to gently share it with my kids every time they started to grumble or argue. Talking about it became natural, and little as they were at the time, they could understand the simple words, “Remember the Bible words? Do not grumble. Do not argue.”

But this parenting practice became even better when I started to incorporate the remainder of the verse into my training with them. When I noticed my little boys playing nicely and getting along (hallelujah!) I would take the last part of the Philippians passage to encourage them with, “You guys sure are shining like stars right now!” and they would beam.

And THIS all led to the creation of Character Charts that I made with construction paper and star stickers. I wrote the entire passage of Philippians 2:14-16 on a chart for each of them. Then every time I “caught” them playing nicely and getting along, I would say, “I saw you shining like a star this afternoon when you were playing together without grumbling or arguing. I guess you better go put a star on your chart!”

It’s amazing how such a simple reward can mean so much to a little one. It was positive reinforcement at its best, because it involved scripture Truth! And on the flip side, having these charts on our wall made it easier for me to call out grumpy behaviors with, “Your star needs to shine brighter right now. Can you think of a nicer way to talk to each other (or to me)?”

The “Star Charts” led our family down a fun path of selecting other Bible verses that helped shape our kids’ (and our own!) hearts toward making godly choices. Using scripture for our kids’ character training was better than any training we could have given them. We wanted them to know the “why” behind the good behavior we were asking for. Using scripture was a natural and beautiful way to do that.

If you’ve been reading here for many years, you may remember that I had created printable Kids Character Charts and included them in my Heavenly Homemakers Shop for you to purchase. They were not super professional, but they were a step above construction paper on the wall. :) Then after a few years I took them out of my shop with plans to have a professional designer re-create them into something wonderful.

That finally happened this summer!

There are five full sets of printable character charts and cut-out stickers in this collection, each with a Bible lesson you can use as you introduce it to and use with your kids.

1. Shine Like Stars – from Philippians 2:14-16
2. Fruit of the Spirit – from Galatians 5:22-25
3. Walk in the Light – from 1 John 1:7
4. Be Imitators of God – from Ephesians 5:1-2
5. Treasures in Your Heart – from Matthew 6:19-21

You can download and use this collection in any way that works best for your family’s character and Biblical training!

My kids are all big and tall and turning into adults now. They look back at their beloved Character Chart days with fond memories (which is always fun for me to hear!). The charts use Biblical truth in a very simple and practical way so that God’s truth becomes your child’s truth.

Encourage your kids toward Godly behaviors with these five full sets of character charts and cut-out stickers in this collection. Each comes with a Bible lesson you can use as you introduce it to and use with your kids. Shine Like Stars - from Philippians 2:14-16 Fruit of the Spirit - from Galatians 5:22-25 Walk in the Light - from 1 John 1:7 Be Imitators of God - from Ephesians 5:1-2 Treasures in Your Heart - from Matthew 6:19-21 You can use this collection in any way that works best for your family's character and Biblical training!

God bless you as you raise, train, and love your kids!

Original article and pictures take heavenlyhomemakers.com site

Unexpected Signs That Your Family Has Leaky Gut

Unexpected Signs That Your Family Has Leaky Gut

We are a leaky gut family. I’ll explain how that works in a minute- it has to do with all the different ways poor gut health affects the physical and mental self. The poor inner ecology is what was ‘passed along’ but the symptoms present as many different things, from allergies to eczema to autism.

Have you ever wondered why your family seems to have so many ‘issues’ while others sail through life eating worse food and having much less healthy habits than you? Did you have a nagging suspicion that your family’s ‘quirks’, though seemingly unrelated, could actually be related?

As we talked about in the Gut-Brain Connection post, the inner ecology in our body has a LOT to do with conditions that you would not expect to be related to eachother or what is eaten, but they are.

Doctors are puzzled by this, and tend to just claim ‘genetics’ if they don’t understand something. I’m sure some things are genetics, but I find it difficult to believe that the ‘autism’, ‘eczema’, ‘hyperactivity’, ‘allergy’, ‘food intolorence’, and ‘OCD’ genes would suddenly show up in this current generation after being missing from so many before. A family full of these things is a family with the sign of leaky gut.

Read: 5 Signs You Have Leaky Gut (and 5 things you can do to fix it)

Nutrition Component

In addition to the inner ecology influencing brain function, generational nutrition does at well.

A family with leaky gut likely was very healthy 100 years ago, living on whole foods with minimal toxins and drug exposure. Two or three generations ago they switched to eating more packaged foods, cleaning with chemicals, and smoking cigarettes.

The next generation they may have quit smoking, but continued to eat even more food that came from factories, and started avoiding sun exposure (and with that avoiding fresh air) and fat.

Antibiotics, an amazing discovery that saves lives, unfortunately also are over prescribed without looking toward the long term consequences in the GI tract.

The following generation is where some big issues started popping up- Chronic fatigue, digestion problems, attention problems, autistic spectrum disorder, eczema, chronic unexplained pain, learning disabilities, depression, and possibly even obesity.

Our ‘progressiveness’ is hurting our families.

Each generation has said, ‘Well, I was raised this way and I turned out fine… Grandma lived to be 80… It must be something else, my great grandparents not only ate like this, but they also smoked a pack a day!”

Over time, our bodies have become depleted. Moving away from whole foods, reducing fat, and the stress of environmental toxins has left us depleted of nutrients. When we get pregnant (if we are able), these deficiencies are passed on to our offspring, and the toxins may be partially passed on as well.

If a mother’s liver is overwhelmed with toxins, it may not adequately filter them out and away from her developing baby, and the baby is then born fighting an up hill battle. A mother deficient in vitamin B12 passes that deficiency onto her baby, who then has trouble growing, developing, and learning (source) and detoxifying. These aren’t the only problems- there are many more.

As we talked about in the gut-brain article, just intake of the correct nutrients isn’t enough. We need to be taking in nutrients that our body can actually use (ie from whole foods) and our body has to be functioning well enough that it can digest and utilize the nutrients how it should.

Symptoms of Leaky Gut

• Allergies
• Bipolar Disorder
• Obsessive Compulsive Disorder
• Compulsive behaviors such as overeating, obsessive dieting, and excessive hand washing
• Chronic unexplained fatigue
• Digestive issues
• Sensory integration disorder

What Can We Do?

By taking the nutrition and toxin aspect of our family’s health seriously, I believe that we can change our family tree. If you suspect your family is also a GAPS family, I would suggest starting by reading the Gut and Psychology Syndrome book, and then implementing the diet as described in the book.

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“What if I don’t want it to go away?” Some people ask me that; their child has loveable quirks, and they don’t want to lose the intelligence, different way they view the world, or their personality. I don’t think modifying their diet really does get rid of that sort of thing. I’m a bit obsessive and on GAPS I stop washing my hands 97 times a day and don’t have to re-check that the stove is off a dozen times before leaving the house, and I don’t repeatedly put my truck in first gear while waiting for the light to turn green, but continue being able to methodically evaluate things. In my experience, I haven’t noticed ‘losing’ any of my quirky traits that I find helpful in life, I only lose the ones I’m happy to not have.

*Disclaimer: I’m just a mom trying to figure out what will help my family. I’m not a medical professional. I’m not judging you, diagnosing you, or claiming to have all or any answers. I’m just sharing what I’ve learned lately, if you have any questions.

HOW TO START BALANCING The Leaky Gut

First we may need to start with supplements to correct nutrient deficiencies and try to temper the stress-causing leaky gut and leaky-gut-causing-anxiety cycle. I had good success with True Calm, an amino acid and herb blend (you can find this here). I also recommend cod liver oil to give the body easily absorbed fatty acids that the brain thrives on (more about cod liver oil here). My daughter saw calming benefits from L-Carnosine, which is also an amino acid. Many people who do not find success with Gaba (in True Calm) find that L-Carnosine is helpful. You can find L-Carnosine here.

We also need to make healthy changes to our homes and reduce our toxic load – these are pretty basic steps but can make a big difference. Click here to get a free printable checklist for a 30-day plan to get this started in simple steps

Next, we try an elimination diet. It’s so common that removing foods that often are allergy-causing, inflammation-causing, and cause a leaky gut. Removing dairy and/or gluten will most often relieve symptoms drastically. And then we can work our way back to really healing our gut with the GAPS diet. (click here for more information on working backwards to the GAPS diet)

Then once we are stabilized and eliminating common allergens from our diet, we can work on restoring gut flora balance and healing the gut. Most importantly, we clean up the gut. (click here for the GAPS intro diet for gut healing and sealing)

Probiotics can help, be sure to go slow – we’ll be introducing these beneficial bacteria, which will in turn kill off the bad ones – when this happens we can experience a rush of symptoms, so it’s important to go slowly (these are the probiotics that I use)

When the gut flora is balanced, we should crave healthy food, have a fairly stable mood, and feel nourished.

DEPENDING ON YOUR SYMPTOMS, YOU MAY BE ABLE TO MODIFY THIS PROTOCOL AND STILL SEE GREAT RESULTS; POSSIBLY JUST REMOVING GLUTEN, ANY KNOWN ALLERGENS (OFTEN EGGS, WHEAT, OR DAIRY), AND INCREASING PROBIOTICS FOR A TIME.

Original article and pictures take healthhomeandhappiness.com site