Category Archives: Tips & Tools

Let Go of the Fake Face – Eliminating Cosmetics for Health

Posted by paleomominsalem in Paleo lifestyle, Tips & Tools and tagged with , ,

Many people are already aware that the medicine cabinet is frequently full of medications containing chemicals and compounds that make “Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious” appear easy to spell and pronounce.  However, one group of chemical substances often overlooked that can be just as dangerous is cosmetics.

 

Have you looked at the contents of cosmetics?  The list of chemicals is extensive and many of them are not tested for human safety.  Not long ago I attended a demo of a major home sales cosmetics company.  I was first curious if their cosmetics and other products were gluten free.  Honestly, I was surprised when the sales rep was able to answer the question and provide company documentation that the products were gluten free.  However, what shocked me was that the company rep said, “Our products are also humane.  We don’t do any animal testing.”  And then she added, “We test all our products on our reps.”

 

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not supporting animal testing or the torture of animals caused by testing cosmetic compounds on them.  However, I should also point out that I don’t advocate using humans as test subjects!  I certainly don’t want to be “testing” these products on myself.  I certainly don’t want to add those chemicals to my body through absorption, or in the case of lipstick, by ingesting them.

 

Some examples of the chemicals commonly found in cosmetics and their health risks include:

  • Coal tar – linked to bladder cancer, non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma and multiple myeloma
  • Alpha Hydroxy Acid (AHA) and Beta Hydroxy Acid (BHA) – linked to skin damage and increased risk of skin cancer
  • Phthalates (industrial plasticizers) – commonly found in moisturizers and have been linked to birth defects and reproductive impairments

 

I no longer wear any cosmetics.  In fact, the last time I interviewed for a job I didn’t even wear cosmetics to the interview (a first for me.) I made a conscious decision that, since I never wear them any other time, I would present an accurate representation of myself at the interview by not wearing any.  And yes, I got the job.

 

If you are interested in learning more about what is inside your cosmetics and the health risks you run, check out this site:
http://www.ewg.org/
.  The Environmental Working Group provides a host of information about the chemical contents of cosmetics in their cosmetics database.

Eating Out in Paleo Style

Posted by paleomominsalem in Paleo lifestyle, Tips & Tools and tagged with , , ,

Following the Paleo Lifestyle and eating out can present interesting challenges.  I have found that these are even more challenging if you have anyone in your family who is absolutely gluten intolerant or suffering from celiac disease. The Paleo Lifestyle is great for the gluten-free, it is a completely wheat, barley and rye free diet.  However, the challenge really comes when eating out and you have to make absolutely sure that your restaurant can support a truly gluten-free diet.

It seems like at restaurants I’m always ordering either a salad or grilled steak/chicken/fish and vegetables (hold the potato please!)  However, this can get a bit boring after a while.  It is also important to make sure that none of the spices or sauces added to the grilled meats contain any gluten.

For a long time, it seemed like I never got food out for my family.  However, this week I’ve had several successes, so I thought it worth sharing.

First, I made a trip to the nearest Thai restaurant where I ordered Tom Kha Gai (Thai Coconut) soup.  This wonderful, spicy soup is gluten-free and made with coconut milk.  I ordered ours with chicken and enjoyed.  I should point out that one should be careful of some other items on the menu. Soy sauce is not gluten-free and it can be hard to tell which menu items contain it and which don’t.

Next, I found a local burger store (Willamette Valley Burger Co) that uses locally grown beef or lamb for their burgers.  Upon request they will prepare a burger without a bun.  I ordered a grilled chicken breast topped with lettuce, tomato, fried onions and bacon and it was delicious.  I also discovered upon asking that they prepare their home-made french fries in a completely gluten-free environment (see my comments on eating potatoes You Say Potato, I Say Replace It) However, if you’re going to have a french fry, this is the way to do it.

It isn’t impossible to eat out and stay with your Paleo Lifestyle.  It can be done.  Here are some quick tips to do this successfully:

  • Call ahead or look up the restaurant’s menu online.  This will help you know what type of foods you think you’ll be able to order.
  • Ask questions about the menu items – feel free to ask if menu items contain sugar, come with sides that you don’t want to eat, or if items can be substituted.
  • Make your own menu item.  I do this a lot.  Most places are very nice when I ask, as I do at my local Mexican restaurant, to hold the beans, rice and tortillas and please give me a salad with my grilled veggies and meat.
  • Explain your situation – for people with gluten intolerance, celiac disease, diabetes, allergies, or any other health issue share your concerns with your server about the menu items.  I can’t eat beans.  That’s all there is to it.  So, I make sure that it’s clear that beans will make me ill.  No restaurant employee wants a customer to be sick from eating their food.
  • View educating your server as part of the process of eating out.  I’ve taken several classes in hospitality and tourism management and food service staff are learning more and more all the time about food issues.  Often you’ll find an ally within the restaurant staff who is willing to help you out.
  • Give a good tip and support those restaurants that support you.

While eating a home cooked meal is often healthier and more economical than eating out, don’t deprive yourself of a break out of fear of eating the wrong thing or not being able to find something to eat.  Do your homework, communicate with the restaurant staff, and enjoy your dinner out.

Losing Weight with the Paleo Lifestyle

Posted by paleomominsalem in Paleo lifestyle, Tips & Tools and tagged with , , ,

One of the most amazing things I’ve learned following the Paleo diet is how easy it is to lose weight and maintain it.  Honestly, when I first started reading and learning about the Paleo diet, I was suspicious of the ability of this change in my lifestyle to promote weight loss and keep me at a healthy weight.  It seemed impossible to me that eating foods like meats, eggs, fish and nuts would help me lose weight.  Fruit and veggies, yes, I get that.  I’ve been told for years that fruits and veggies are important for health, but meats, eggs and nuts?  Really?

Well, it seemed crazy to me because I’d been inundated over the last 20+ years with the “eat foods low in fat” message.  This “nutritional guidance” has resulted in a food culture where people eat a lot more grains and sugar than the human body was designed to handle.  And now, instead of putting fat into foods, manufacturers replace the fat with sugar.  So it is “low-fat.” Until you eat it. Then the body processes the excess simple carbs into, you guessed it, fat!!  If you’re interested in learning all the really bad things that eating the “low-fat, high-carb” diet can do to your body, including promoting the onset of type 2 diabetes and heart disease, I strongly recommend the book Sugar Nation: the Hidden Truth Behind America’s Deadliest Habit and the Simple Way to Beat It by Jeff O’Connell.

I was also inundated  with the “eggs are bad because they have cholesterol” and the “avocados are bad because they are fatty” messages.  These messages were based on a very simplistic and incorrect understanding of what egg cholesterol and mono-unsaturated fats do in the body.  The type of cholesterol in eggs, for example, is now believed to be important in carrying bad cholesterol out of the bloodstream.  Eggs and avocados are two of the best foods around!  I love eating them.

Here are a few simple facts that help demonstrate why this shift in lifestyle promotes ongoing health:

  • Eating fat does not make you fat.
  • Eating lots of carbohydrates including sugars and grains can make you fat and leave feeling tired and hungry.
  • Eating fat and protein promote satiety (feeling full) and makes it easier to eat fewer total calories
  • Eating whole meats, fish, fruits, veggies, and nuts will leave you feeling full longer and limit blood sugar fluctuations
  • Eating fat and protein encourages your body to use fat as fuel instead of sugar.  Fat is a much more substantial fuel for the body.

I’ve been amazed at how quickly the Paleo Lifestyle improves overall health and fitness.  When I shifted to the Paleo Lifestyle, I lost 9 lbs in the first three weeks.   (I prefer Lifestyle because the term “diet” has become so punitive and fraught with negative connotations in our culture. It also implies a temporary measure to lose weight not a permanent lifestyle change.) I am now 17 lbs lighter than I was and holding steady at my ideal weight.  I’m also training for my first full length marathon.  An additional bonus, I no longer run out of energy at 3:30 in the afternoon.  The energy slumps caused by my old low-fat, high carb lifestyle are a thing of the past.

One person I know who started the Paleo lifestyle in January was unable to log into his computer this week using the facial recognition software.  Why?  Because he has lost so much weight, especially in his face, that the computer no longer recognized him based on his stored picture!  Another person I know made the shift to the Paleo lifestyle a couple of weeks ago.  Even within two weeks, the difference in her physical health was noticeable and she was dropping excess weight (not that she had much excess, but the shift in diet made an immediate difference).

If you’re still not sure, give the Paleo lifestyle a 30 day trial.  Check out my “Getting Started” page for a clear definition of what you can eat when you shift to a Paleo lifestyle, basic meal plans, and tips for implementing your new lifestyle.

The Paleo Lifestyle Approach to the Stomach Bug

Posted by paleomominsalem in Paleo lifestyle, Tips & Tools and tagged with , , , ,

You know, when you’re feeling great it is much easier to stick to a lifestyle change.  The rubber really hits the road when you’re not feeling great.  Since I and many of my coworkers have children, getting hit by a stomach bug that came home from daycare or school is a common experience.   I wanted to be prepared for how to handle such an eventuality and avoid resorting to non-Paleo foods or beverages.

The first challenge was figuring out what to drink.  Throughout my childhood, I was brought back from stomach bugs with the careful application of flat 7-up (then made with real sugar) and Campbell’s Chunky Chicken Noodle Soup (definitely not gluten-free).  As an adult, doctors and marketers had me replace the 7-up with Gatorade.  Have you looked at the ingredients of a bottle of Gatorade?  After water, the next two ingredients are sucrose and dextrose.  In simple language, sugar and sugar.  Drinking sugar-water when you’re sick and your body is already trying combat illness is probably not a great solution.

So what should you drink instead?  I took this question to the chiropractor I was working with at the time and he said, “water.” Short and sweet – water is a natural way to hydrate your body.  However, it can be a bit difficult to quaff down water when you’re under the weather.  So, here are my additional suggestions for beverages when you’re fighting the stomach bug:

  • Water
  • Soothing herbal tea – chamomile, lemon, ginger and peppermint are all soothing to the stomach
  • Chicken or beef broth – preferably home-made, but if you go with store-bought make sure they are both gluten-free and low-sodium

Additionally, it’s handy to have an idea of which foods are soothing to an upset stomach.  Often, stomach ailments leave their victims uninterested in protein based foods like fish and meat for several days.  Here are foods to help the unhappy stomach:

  • Bananas
  • Applesauce
  • Puree sweet potatoes (the easy way to do this if you’re sick is to get organic puree sweet potato baby food – it is also easy to store)
  • Boiled eggs (or scrambled if you prefer)
  • Canned pears

I hope you won’t need this information any time soon.  However, it’s better to think about these things before you get sick and are caught unprepared!

Purging the Pantry

Posted by paleomominsalem in Tips & Tools and tagged with , , ,

If you are just setting out on converting to a Paleo diet and lifestyle, I strongly encourage you to take a few hours and conduct a thorough purging of your pantry.  I have actually conducted several purges on my pantry in the last 13 months, all with very specific objectives.

The first purge was purely a gluten purge.  When our family went gluten-free in January 2011, I went through the entire pantry clearing out anything that had gluten in it – canned soups, bags of whole wheat and white flour, pasta noodles.  It all went out.  Anything that was open went into our “green bin” in which we can recycle yard debris and food scraps.  Everything else went to the food bank (and yes, now that I’ve committed to the Paleo lifestyle, I have some guilt over giving lots of very unhealthy pasta to the food bank.)

In summer, I did a second round purge to make sure a) there were no hidden gluten items and b) to eliminate some other foods that are specifically unhealthy for me eg. kidney beans.  I am extremely intolerant to kidney beans and for some reason had seven or eight cans of them sitting on a shelf.  Not something I want to crack open when I’m hungry and actually eat!

Before Christmas I did a Paleo purge.  I went through and eliminated any foods that were non-paleo including gluten free canned soups that had potatoes in them, gluten free grains and pastas, corn tortillas, corn taco shells, spaghetti sauce with sugar in it, ketchup with sugar, etc.  I confess there were a few items I wasn’t quite ready to let go of, so they went on to a single “non-Paleo” shelf in case I wanted to prepare them for one of our rare “15%” meals.  (Dr. Cordain, author of “The Paleo Answer” suggests that starting out new Paleos should try to eat a paleo diet 85% of the time, allowing about 3 meals a week for non-paleo foods.)  In actuality, I pull something off this shelf less than once a week.

Now, when I look at my pantry, I see the following:

  • Boxes of fresh fruit
  • Jars and bags of nuts (almonds, hazelnuts, macadamias, pistachios, cashews – the walnuts and pecans are in the freezer)
  • Bags of dried fruit
  • Pumpkin seeds
  • Canned fruit
  • Canned vegetables
  • Dried seaweed
  • Canned fish
  • Homemade jerky
  • Tea, coffee
  • Sugar free salsas, jams, and ketchup
  • And the emergency go to snacks – Lara Bars and Trader Joe’s fruit bars

By purging my pantry of foods that are not within the paleo diet it is much easier to avoid mistakes and be confident that we are eating clean, healthy and whole foods.  Instead of having to avoid foods, I can simply tell myself or other inquiring individuals, “We don’t have any in the house.”

Don’t get discouraged if it takes several trips through the pantry to completely purge non-paleo foods. Just like the ongoing modifications to my family’s diet from regular junk to gluten free to 85/15 paleo, it has taken several iterations to get our pantry closer to it’s final state.