So how much should you take? The American Heart Association (AHA) recommends eating fish twice a week, especially fatty fish like mackerel, lake trout, herring, sardines, albacore tuna, and salmon. These are high in EPA and DHA. The AHA also recommends eating tofu and other soybean products and canola, walnut, and flaxseed, and their oils, which contain (LNA), which can become omega-3 fatty acid in the body, but more research is needed in order to establish that there’s cause-and-effect relationship between alpha-linolenic acid and preventing heart disease. On the AHA website, you can find exact recommendations on how much omega-3 oils to eat each day.

As with a many good-for-you supplements, you may not notice changes right away, but within a few weeks, I suspect you’ll start to reap the benefits of an improved complexion, higher endurance, and increased ability to concentrate. In the end, you’re investing not only in your current physical and mental well-being, but also in your future as you age.

Tina Turbin

     It all begins with a little planning. Some restaurants offer menus online. This way, you can choose a meal ahead of time; this makes you more likely to choose something healthy, just in case you are pressured to decide quickly what you want while you’re at the restaurant or in case you arrive super hungry with your eyes bigger than your stomach, so to speak. Avoid arriving hungry by staying well-fed throughout the day between meals with small, high-protein snacks, so you don’t over-indulge when you eat out.

     So what should you choose? Avoid fried and battered foods, which are high in calories and fat. A lot of American restaurants will accommodate your individual needs, so you can ask to have your food prepared another way such as grilled, broiled, roasted or steamed. As a healthy side, you can ask for steamed vegetables or a salad instead of greasy French fries.

     So you’re at the restaurant and you’ve ordered yourself a delicious healthy meal of grilled chicken and steamed vegetables, for example. Your next challenge? The generous portions are two to three big as what you’re accustomed to. Go ahead and split it with someone or ask to have half of it already packed to-go so you can enjoy it later.

     You will be plenty satisfied with your lean protein-packed, low-fat, low-carbohydrate meal, but if everyone else is ordering dessert, you can ask for some fruit and a coffee drink to keep yourself occupied with an item of yours instead of staring at the others’ plates.

     For a regular, well-balanced diet, I recommend home cooking, but there will be times when you’ll have to or want to eat out. If you follow these tips above, you’ll be able to stick to your healthy diet and feel great during and after your dining-out experience.

Tina Turbin

Sixty percent of Americans are deficient in Vitamin D. Your doctor will be able to test you for a deficiency with a simple blood test. An optimum level is above 35 ng/mL. The daily recommended value is about 2,200 IU a day with some sun exposure of about fifteen to twenty minutes a day. Some researchers suggest as much as 5,000 IU every day during the winter when sunshine is at its lowest levels. If you choose to take it as a supplement, make sure you take D3, which is the same type of Vitamin D your body produces. Foods that are rich in Vitamin D are milk, cold-water fish, and egg yolk.

Tina Turbin

Last year, I met a man at a conference representing ALCAT (antigen leukocyte cellular antibody test), a test that measures levels of food and chemical intolerances, also known as sensitivities, and is available all over the world, in the U.S., UK, Ukraine, India, and Saudi Arabia. My husband’s success with this blood test will follow, but for now, let me explain the simple, basic, yet powerful details of this test.
Once your blood arrives at their Florida laboratory, ALCAT lab technicians determine a general baseline of your blood and immediately expose the blood to various “test agents” based on the package you purchase. For example, you may choose molds and certain foods, or just foods, or chemicals and foods, etc. The blood’s reactions to their agents tell the lab what degree of reaction, if any at all. The data is rapidly compiled. You or your healthcare practitioner will receive the result with easy-to-read information and a simple-to-understand and a chart to follow.
My husband had to deal for years with a very high CRP (C-Reaction Protein) level. CRP measures inflammation in the body, which very long periods is not healthy and can cause all sorts of trouble for the heart, organs, joints, and age-related situations. I was told years ago that it’s a good test to have done in your forties as a preventative action.
So after years of doctors trying to help my husband lower his CRP, and after many other tests to try to pinpoint why it’s so high and where it’s causing damage, my husband decided to have his blood drawn for the ALCAT. His results come back seven days later, and he has a few foods in his “severe” list to avoid for six months. Nothing major, except it does show he had reaction to casein and wheat as well.
My husband would eat wheat, bread, and crackers mostly, so to me this news was a godsend. Finally I could have my dedicated GF kitchen. The dairy was another story. He loves his cheese. It was going to be an interesting six months.
Over this period of six months, he grew fond of gluten-free pasta, crackers, breads (especially my homemade bread) and even started eating my rice cheese.
It’s six months later and he retests his CRP after no wheat and dairy and five other foods. For the first time in many years his CRP came down from a dangerous constant high to very near normal. His only change had been avoiding the seven foods in his extreme list and a few in his mild. There are three columns: extreme, mild, and no reaction.
I’m thinking, “Drats, now he’ll go back on wheat if he retakes the ALCAT and it says he’s clear of wheat.” Well, he retested and had about six foods, plus the gluten, reacting high again (even though he’s off it). The casein is less.
He feels great, lost some weight, less nose troubles, and he’s decided to refrain from wheat and dairy. The only change he made to lower his CRP was this ALCAT test. Pretty amazing.
You can learn more about ALCAT and other results at 1 (800) US-ALCAT or by visiting www.alcat.com. You can also do a Google search on CRP, C-Reactive Protein, to read some basic details on this, if you’re curious.
Ask your doctor about the ALCAT or even suggest it if you’re in your forties or older. I hope this was helpful.
Tina Turbin

Please enjoy my latest article on NABBW: http://www.nabbw.com/display_marticle.php?marticle_id=158

Tina Turbin

Another important aspect of diet is increasing your daily intake of protein. Many women don’t get enough of this nutrient. Protein keeps you energized by sustaining your blood sugar level much longer than carbohydrate-packed foods. It also stimulates dopamine production, a neurotransmitter that keeps you more alert, and keeps your energy up by raising your metabolic rate. Cut out carbohydrate-packed snacks and replace them with healthy proteins like walnuts, almonds, cheese, etc.

Drinking enough water is also an essential way to keep your energy up. Some people often mistake signs of dehydration for fatigue. Your cells need water in order to function at their optimum level, and coffee or diet soda isn’t going to cut it. Tea is often a good idea, but I recommend keeping a water bottle with you and sipping from it all day. You should aim for eight glasses of water daily.

Tina Turbin

It all starts with grocery shopping, for which you must make like a Boy Scout and “be prepared.” It is best to create a menu for the week with breakfasts, lunches, dinners, and snacks determined for each day before you even make your grocery list. Choose healthy recipes that take thirty minutes or less to prepare, unless you know you’ll have more time available for cooking. There are many easy, healthy recipes available online which you can prepare in a snap. Make sure there are enough high-protein foods and snacks, which won’t leave you with low blood sugar and send you to high-fat and high-sugar snacks for a fast blood sugar boost.

Before hitting the grocery store, eat a big, filling meal, so you won’t deviate from your shopping list by picking out items that look good just because you’re hungry. You can’t binge on foods that aren’t good for you if you don’t have them in your home, after all. This will not only result in a healthier set of groceries, but will save you money, as well!

Tina Turbin

     Even just the signs of a deficiency in B vitamins will sounds familiar to you as the symptoms of childhood mental disease. Deficiency in Vitamin B1 can result in fatigue, poor memory, irritability, and insomnia. A B2 deficiency can cause depression. Deficiencies of B3 may begin as depression, but untreated may progress to psychosis or even dementia. Deficiencies in Biotin may cause a variety of problems, including skin disorders and eczema, dandruff or hair loss, fatigue, depression, even hallucinations.

     Children can also suffer from a classic case of low blood sugar. Studies show that breakfasts rich in protein keep the body’s blood sugar level higher and more stable than breakfasts such as, say, the American breakfast staple of sugar-packed cereals. Kids are bound to peak in the morning and then crash later in the day, exhibiting hyperactivity and lethargy during the school day.

     The consequences of improperly diagnosing a mental illness instead of treating malnourishment in a child can be severe. If you care about your child and children in general, it is imperative that you and your child’s teachers learn the crucial difference between children’s mental disorders and inadequate nutrition.

Tina Turbin

Laura contacted me to ask to do a review on me and my site and of course we  got into the conversation of celiac and gluten-free, some of my favorite subjects. I have a new friend who loves food as much as I do and she is a phenomenal reviewer and writer on foods and restaurants. We have so much in common.

She previously reviewed Deerfield Bakery in the Schaumburg, Illinois and it just so happens that I just had a terrific conversation with Tim Schmitt, the owner and will be reviewing his products and his 3 bakeries next month!

Laura wrote and published an article released today about me and my website http://GlutenFreeHelp.info , the article is entitled  Entrepreneur spreads the word about wheat allergies.

You are even treated to my gluten-free flourless chocolate cake recipe!

Thanks you Laura!

Tina

Many of us are eating Genetically Modified Foods (GMOs) whether we realize it or not.  Do you know how to tell the difference?

It turns out that you can easily tell whether the produce you purchase at the grocery store is a GMO simply by reading the PLU (price look up) code.

Here’s what you need to be aware of:

1. If the PLU is 5 digits and begins with an 8, then it a Genetically Modified Organism.

2. If the PLU is 4 digits, even if it contains a symbol at the beginning, then it is not a GMO.

Regarding your purchases of processed foods, keep in mind that according to Wikipedia, as many as 75% of ALL processed foods on American shelves contain at least one GMO.

Unfortunately, there doesn’t seem to be a way to discern if a packaged item contains GMOs or not.  Yet another reason to avoid the entire middle section of the grocery store as much as possible.

For wholesome, nutritious and delicious recipe ideas, be sure to visit my gluten-free recipe page.

Best,

Tina