The Truth About Heart Burn

It's not what you might think....

Did you know that most people who have heartburn, actually have TOO LITTLE stomach acid? You heard me right. In fact, the symptoms of hyperchlorhydria (too much stomach acid) and hypochlorhydria (too little stomach acid)  are the same. Any and all stomach contents allowed to migrate back into the esophagus can cause pain (heartburn) and damage to the esophagus, whether those contents are more acidic or more alkaline. Furthermore, "acid" reflux is but one symptom that you may or may not experience if you have low stomach acid. Others include bloating, indigestion, constipation, diarrhea, fatigue and weight gain.

For most heartburn sufferers, the issue with heartburn is  not all about acid production, as we are led to believe by pharmaceutical commercials and ads, as well as by our healthcare providers.  It’s also about inappropriate relaxation of the LES (the sphincter that separates your esophagus from your stomach), which should only allow food INTO the stomach FROM the esophagus—not the other way around.

What causes LES dsyfunction? 

LES dysfunction or relaxation can be caused by emotional stress, as well as physical stressors that cause inflammation, such as food allergies and sensitivities, high sugar intake, poor sleep, gut microbe imbalances, infections, autoimmunity, etc. Also, caffeine, chocolate, overeating and obesity (abdominal fat puts pressure on the stomach and causes the LES to relax/open when it shouldn’t) can contribute to LES dysfunction.
So, why even talk about stomach acid, if LES dysfunction is the root cause of heartburn? Well, because they often work together and share many of the same root causes--especially inflammation. Also, I'd like to point out that while most docs are not helping patients treat the root causes of LES dysfunciton and low stomach acid, they are also CAUSING more issues by inappropriately prescribing medications like Proton Pump Inhibitors and H2 Receptor Antagonists that further reduce/block essential stomach acid production. And since the advent of over-the-counter acid blocking meds, a lot of people are out there inappropriately treating themselves and putting themselves at risk.

Here's the issue: 
We need stomach acid to break down proteins and other food components, as well as to properly use nutrients like B-vitamins, calcium, iron and zinc. Reducing stomach acid causes nutrient deficiencies and therefore inflammation, leading to chronic disease over time. We are not only what we eat, but what we can DO with what we eat. 
Stomach acid is also our first line of defense against microbes in our food, preventing food borne illness from infections like salmonella, c. difficile ("C-Diff"), giardia, candida albicans, e.coli and more. Stomach acid is also crucial for breaking down food allergens. One study showed that 25% of subjects given a 3-month course of acid blockers developed food allergies or experienced worsening of pre-existing food allergies (FASEB J 2005; 19:656-8).
That said, don't just stop taking your acid blocking medication, whether it's prescription or over-the-counter. Seventy to 80 percent of those stopping acid blockers develop rebound hyperacidity. Trust me, you don't want feel that kind of burn.  Coming off of acid blocking meds should be done very slowly and with digestive support to help protect the lining of your esophagus and increase stomach acid production, if needed. You can certainly talk to your doc about the best way to do this, but don't be surprised if he or she doesn't know how to help you. Working with a Functional Medicine physician or nutritionist is your best bet.

**Remember that while coming off of the medication, you also MUST  treat  the root causes of LES dysfunction AND support your body's ability to make proper amounts of stomach acid. Otherwise, you'll just end up back where you started--with heartburn and other digestive symptoms and systemic issues. If you work with a Functional practitioner or Functional Nutritionist like myself, don't expect to just talk about your primary issue. Expect to have a look at how all of your systems are working together to create your current state of health. The Functional approach is about connecting all of the dots to support optimal vitality. 

7 Tips to Improve Stomach Acid Production and Stop Heartburn:

1. Eat in relaxed state. Try taking 5 deep breaths before you eat, and get into a state of deep gratitude for your meal (and anything else you’re thankful for). Avoid stressful conversation. Keep it light. Getting and staying relaxed actually helps to improve your production of digestive secretions.
2. Eat fermented foods, like kim chi, sauerkraut or fermented pickles, chutney or salsa with meals as a condiment. If these give you major gas and bloating, however, you may have a condition called SIBO (small intestinal bacterial overgrowth), which you will need to treat, preferably using a Functional Medicine approach.
3. Drink herbal teas like ginger, peppermint, chamomile or fennel throughout the day and after meals.
4. Eat real, whole, chemical-free food (and don’t destroy the nutrients  by using a microwave). Whole, real foods provide the nutrients your cells need to make energy, and the production of stomach acid is a very energy-intensive process. Chemical stressors (pesticides, herbicides, plastic derivatives that leach into foods, food additives, etc.) can drain your body of the necessary nutrients for cellular energy production. 
6. Take a magnesium supplement, such as magnesium glycinate or magnesium malate, at 300-600 mg per day, as magnesium is critical to the manufacturing of stomach acid, as it support energy production. Remember to take magnesium along with equal or up to double amounts of calcium.
7. Avoid inflammatory foods, which you can identify with an elimination diet. Inflammation impairs stomach acid production, and if you are inflamed you need to figure out WHY you’re inflamed. That’s one of the things I love about the Functional approach to healing—solving problems at their ROOT! An elimination diet is the best place to start. Now, not all elimination diets are created equally. I have my clients remove all potential inflammatory foods, PLUS gut irritating foods, so that we not only reduce inflammation in the gut, but irritation as well, so that the tissue actually has the chance to heal properly. I also simultaneously take them though my Functional Nutrition Gut Healing Protocol, and the elimination diet is only a part of that. Being thorough from the outset is more restrictive and takes more work, but it yields BETTER & FASTER results. And by results, I mean increased energy, minimal or no digestive symptoms, clear skin, weight loss, reduced or obliterated seasonal allergies, headaches and pain, restful sleep and more!

There is a lot that goes into healing your body to feel better, and it starts with healing your digestion--the root of all health. Healing your body also requires healing your emotional state by adopting new thought patterns and mindsets. This takes work, and I find it to be essential to the healing process, which is why I provide a unique combination of  Transformative Coaching and  Functional Nutrition.
If we don’t know how to say, “yes” to ourselves, and we always put our own needs on the back burner, how is that going to translate into good health and our fullest expression of living?  It doesn’t.

I know it can seem as though we have to choose between good health and being the best at our roles in life, but that is just not true.This is a dysfunctional belief pattern that you've learned and have accepted to be true. What if you could actually have everything you want? What if you could take the best care of yourself and support those around you, without anyone losing out or getting hurt? You absolutely can, and that’s what Transformative Coaching helps you to discover.

You can learn as much as you want about gut healing, functional nutrition, exercise, time management, meal planning and so on, but if you can’t find it within yourself to make the space in your heart and all areas of your life to lovingly apply the information, you may make changes for a short while and see some results, but they won’t last.  It’s the changing of your mindset and learning to listen to and honor your body’s (and your spirit’s) cues that makes it all stick.

As you can imagine, there’s no way I can teach you all of this in one or even a few sessions. That’s why I offer my Enlightened Wellness 90-Day Intensive. This program gives you the time you need to change your diet and develop the best way of eating for your unique physiology. It also allows for the consistent and expert guidance and support that you need to turn your health around and get unstuck in all areas of your life.

 In case you’re wondering, I don’t offer lesser programs, because I’m in the business of transformation. Transformation takes time and a deep level of readiness to not only make some big shifts in your diet, but in all areas of your life. Can you do this on your own? Some of you can, but most of you would be best served by a guide to show you the way, as well as to hold space for you. You need the right support and the right accountability to make this leg of your personal healing journey highly effective and transformative. Will you be totally transformed in 90 days? Listen, we’re never done growing and fine-tuning, but give me 90 days, and you will look back to yourself on Day 1 and see a very different person; and I promise you, you won’t want to go back to the way things were before.
If you’re ready to make the most of this opportunity we call Life, let’s take a no-strings-attached test spin with a FREE 30-45 minute Enlightened Wellness Clarity Session. The purpose of this session is to help you get clear on how you want to feel and why, as well as what’s holding you back, so that you can make an informed decision about how to get started on your healing journey. This session will also give us both a chance to explore how it feels to work together, with no expectations regarding the outcome.  All I ask is that you only schedule this session if you are already open to working together.

Remember--I don’t need clients. I want ideal clients, because the healing work that I do is not just about having a career or a livelihood. It is my life’s purpose. It is supportive of the way I want to feel when I wake up in the morning and when I go to sleep at night. So,if we’re not a good fit, or one or both of us isn’t fully on board, I won’t try to keep you. If we ARE a good fit, it’s still your choice.

Here’s to your Enlightened Wellness and being fully alive on all levels!

Health and Happiness,

Angie

My Professional Evolution Explained

I’ve been going through some major transformation these days in my business, and I’m sure that some of you who have been following me have noticed. It’s true that that I no longer do a la carte assessments or work on an as-needed basis. I now only work with clients who are ready to jump in with both feet, and get their Enlightened Wellness on, in my Enlightened Wellness VIP 90-Day Intensive. It's also true that my program has expanded to include lots more value, including functional lab testing, Transformative Coaching, supportive free gifts, and of course, I am always expanding my knowledge and education in Functional Nutrition. Along with that, my pricing has gone up as well. It’s been a long personal journey to get to where I am now, which includes being able to value my own services (and each person's transformation) at what they are worth. Thank you for being understanding of my professional evolution! Another change happening right now, is a name change. I’ve used the name Gourmet Healer for many years, and as I have broadened the focus of my practice beyond just food, I have come to feel that the name just doesn’t convey what I do as a holistic practitioner and coach. So, as you may have guessed already, the new name of my practice is Enlightened Wellness, which feels completely in alignment with all of the aspects of this beautiful healing-art that I am honored to share with you and with the world. In the coming weeks, you will also be directed to my new website when it’s ready. I can’t wait for you to see it! 

Health & Happiness,

Angie

5 Tips to Resolve Your Personal Energy Crisis

How's your energy level these days?

One of the top complaints I hear in talking with people, is low energy/fatigue. In fact, I can't recall a client who DID NOT list this as a major symptom. 

In our society, this is actually becoming the norm. I call it your personal energy crisis. It’s pretty much always a concern for people who approach me, and I know that there are a lot more people are out there struggling with this and other symptoms of dis-ease—they just haven’t yet made the connection between how they feel and their daily choices, OR they haven’t felt inspired to take charge just yet. How often do we just accept the way that we feel as normal, even when it’s SO not normal?

So, back to your personal energy crisis. What gives?

We can certainly blame poor sleep and caffeine addictions. There's no doubt that these are major players in the human energy crisis, but of course, we always want to know what’s behind the most obvious roadblocks in order to truly solve any problem. Behind poor sleep and caffeine dependence, we have chronic stress. Did you know that in addition to increasing stress hormone production, sugar cravings and belly fat, poorly managed chronic stress, both emotional and physical, also increases oxidative stress and inflammation? Oxidative stress is basically when you have too many oxidative/damaging compounds coming in (think chemical exposures, radiation, toxic waste from bacterial overgrowth in the intestines, etc.) and/or being made during normal metabolism, in combination with not having enough antioxidants and nutrients in reserve to keep the system in balance. This leads to cellular damage, and therefore, systemic inflammation. This oxidative stress and inflammation burns through what little antioxidants you do have in reserve and damages the energy producing parts of each and every one of your cells, your mitochondrion. Your mitochondrion actually create quite a bit of free radicals, or oxidizing compounds as part of their normal functioning, so if you are antioxidant-and nutrient-depleted, which is pretty common these days, these guys can become easily bogged down, and therefore, so can you. Now just imagine that on top of being “crazy busy” and stressed, and not getting enough good food, sleep, water and exercise in, you are regularly exposed to industrial chemicals from say, conventional personal care products, new furniture, a new car, a new mattress, home /work space renovations, plastic-derived chemicals from water bottles and other food and beverage containers. If you live in modern society, and you're reading this email, this is probably your life more or less, and you're likely exposed to all of these chemicals every second of every day—especially if you spend most of your time indoors. Your body’s chemical load is a major predictive risk factor for chronic diseases, and as you may have guessed, one of ways chemical exposures and toxic burden contributes to chronic disease, is by causing oxidative stress. You see, when the liver has more than it can handle, due to over-exposure and under-nourishment, oxidative stress ensues, and this is why so many people feel so depleted all of the time, even when they are making efforts to get more sleep, exercise and eat better. There a lot of angles from which we need to address oxidative stress, and that’s exactly what I do with my Enlightened Wellness VIP clients in our initial 90 days together. The cool part is, even though there are a lot of moving parts, it’s all rolled into a practical plan that feels pretty seamless.  

Do you have oxidative stress? 

If you have a chronic disease like Type 2 Diabetes, Heart Disease, High Blood Pressure, an autoimmune disease, Parkinson’s Disease, etc., you definitely have oxidative stress, which contributes to mitochondrial dysfunction and energy depletion. If you experience the following in any combination (the more symptoms you have, the more serious the level of oxidative stress and damage to your mitochondrion), you are also most likely experiencing oxidative stress.

Oxidative stress shows up as:

Fatigue/low energy; digestive issues, including Irritable Bowel Syndrome, chronic gas/belching/bloating, heart burn, chronic constipation and/or diarrhea; skin irritations, such as eczema, itchy skin, rosacea and acne; muscle and joint aches/pains; brain fog/spaciness/forgetfulness, anxiety, depression, mood swings; autoimmunity; headaches; and even weight gain or weight loss resistance, particularly in the abdomen. Now, you may be thinking, "How can we zap the oxidative stress & inflammation? What foods and supplements can help to lower oxidative stress and inflammation?" That's good thinking, and you'll definitely want to use these tools, but to truly solve the problem, we must also get to the root of it. That's what the functional nutrition approach is all about. It's not just about targeting symptoms, it's about giving the body what it needs to thrive and removing the things that are taxing the system. Now, this is similar but slightly different for everyone, and that's why an individualized approach is needed. And for each unique person, the best approach is made up of several strategies used simultaneously. That’s exactly what we figure out in the Enlightened Wellness VIP 90-Day Intensive.

Here are my top 5 tips for resolving YOUR personal energy crisis: 

These are some of the biggest factors that I see work every time for my clients, short of some tweaks for each individual. Remember--address these simultaneously, and you’ll get the most benefit.

1.) Remove inflammatory foods, caffeine, alcohol, added sugars and chemical food additives with an elimination diet. My clients get great results with the Autoimmune Protocol, which can be individualized and made practical for each person.
2.) Remove/reduce pathogenic microbial overgrowth in the gut and replenishing good bugs with probiotics and fermented foods.
3.) Reduce environmental toxin exposure by switching to natural personal care and cleaning products, using glass water bottles and food storage containers instead of plastic, using a water filter and air purification system at home and at the office, if possible. Reduce emotional toxins as well, which I address with my clients via Transformative Coaching. Start by spending less time with people who gossip and complain and more time with positive people who lift you up and inspire you to be a better person.
4.) Eat chemical-free/organic and local produce that is fresh and has been plugged into the soil as recently as possible, for nutrient retention and even some good microbes. Farmer’s markets and local Community Supported Agriculture, in addition to growing what you can, are great ways to keep your food local and fresh.
5.) This is a big one. Eat more greens! Get at least 3 servings of leafy greens each day, like kale, chard, watercress, spinach, arugula, salad greens, and even wild greens, like purslane and dandelion greens (make sure you know that these haven’t been sprayed with pesticides or herbicides). Greens are great for energy production, because of their chlorophyll content. New research shows that we don’t just make energy from glucose like we once thought. We also make it from sunlight, and from chlorophyll, the substance that makes plants green. If you remember from science class, chlorophyll is energy made by plants from sunlight. So, this tip is actually two-fold: eat more greens and get out in the sun on the daily for an energy boost. Additionally, the nutrients from a plant- and greens-rich diet, will protect you from the sun’s rays as needed. Now, I also want to let you in on a little secret supplement tip: In addition to eating your greens, you can also supplement with chlorophyll. Here in New Mexico, we have an excellent source of supplemental chlorophyll, made in Santa Fe, from locally grown greens. It’s called ChlorOxygen, by Herbs, Etc. I take about 2 dropperfuls per day in water, and I recommend that you do the same. Add a dropperful to at least 20 oz of purified water (preferably in glass). When you’re halfway done with your water, fill it back up. Keep doing this until the water is clear, and then add another dropperful, repeating this process. You’ll not only get more cholorphyll into your system this way, but more water, and that’s important energy-wise, as well!
I hope these tips inspire you to take charge of your health, in only the way that YOU CAN!

Now, raise your hand if….

       You are ready to resolve YOUR energy crisis and a whole lot of other symptoms at the same time.
       You are ready to make some BIG changes to get BIG results in your health AND your life.
       You realize that you need a guide to show you what to do to feel better AND keep you on track!
       You are tired of trying to do this on your own.
       You want to embark upon an experience that will change the way you see yourself and your health, so that you no longer have to TRY SO HARD to be healthy—YOU JUST ARE.

If you raised your hand, and you are ready to invest in yourself in order to maximize the quality of this life you have been blessed to live, I would LOVE to chat with you. Feel free to schedule a FREE 30-45 min Enlightened Wellness Clarity Session with me. No strings attached, but I do ask that you only schedule this session if you are serious about the possibility of working together, which means that you should read up on my philosophy and the Enlightened Wellness VIP 90-Day Intensive before you schedule.

I hope to talk with you soon…Here’s to YOUR Enlightened Wellness!

Health and Happiness,

Angie