Does Sugar Cause Inflammation and Pain? Everything You Need to Know Does Sugar Cause Inflammation and Pain? Everything You Need to Know Inflammation is an important part of the immune response, but when it becomes chronic, it can lead to the development of chronic diseases such as obesity, type 2 diabetes, and heart disease. Sugar is a potential cause of chronic inflammation. But does sugar cause inflammation and pain? This blog post will review what inflammation is, how sugar promotes inflammation, and tips for reducing your sugar consumption.   Understanding Inflammation Inflammation re ..read more

The Gut Check: Unraveling the Effects of Alcohol on Gut Health While enjoying a social drink occasionally likely isn’t cause for alarm, excessive alcohol intake carries several health risks, including high blood pressure and various cancers. But what about the effect of alcohol on the gut? While we’re still learning about the effects of alcohol on the gut in humans, animal studies provide clues about how alcohol intake could harm our gut. Excessive alcohol intake is correlated with changes in the gut microbiome, inflammation in the digestive tract, increased gut “leakiness,” and impaired nutr ..read more

Celiac Disease Self-Care If you’ve been diagnosed with celiac disease, you’re probably familiar with the gluten-free diet. For people with celiac disease, following a gluten-free diet is an essential part of managing the disease. But the gluten-free diet is quite restrictive, which can lead to feelings of treatment burnout. That’s where celiac disease self-care comes in. For people with celiac disease, self-care is incredibly important for managing the emotional side effects of following such a restrictive diet. This article will provide some strategies you can use to engage in self-care with ..read more

Your Constipation Care Plan: Natural Remedies for Constipation Feeling stuck? Constipation is a common medical problem, yet many people don’t seek help for it. Luckily, there are several natural remedies that you can use to improve constipation. Read on to learn how to create your own constipation care plan using natural remedies like green kiwi fruit and fiber supplements. What is Constipation? Before creating your constipation care plan, it’s important to note that there are two types of constipation – chronic constipation and constipation-predominant irritable bowel syndrome (IBS-C). Both ..read more

Breast Implant Illness When I became a dietitian, I had no idea the profound effect food could have on the body. It wasn’t until I started to get more into the functional/integrative side of nutrition that I realized the powerful impact of the combination of food and supplements.  I have been focusing on the gut microbiome for over 5 years in my practice, but over 10 years in continuing education. I see clients with a variety of gastrointestinal and autoimmune issues. This summer I received a phone call from a client that was sick from her breast implants. I always thought there ..read more

What Is the Low FODMAP Diet? Have you or anyone you know ever had digestive issues? Most of us would probably answer “yes” to that question; we’ve all had days where we haven’t eaten very well or we’ve over-indulged (I’m looking at you, Thanksgiving) and our stomachs have paid the price the next day. But when those food issues start to happen with increasing frequency and the duration or intensity increases, that’s something different. It can be just embarrassing, of course — symptoms such as bad gas or bloating — or can be distressful when that stomach issue turns into constipation or cr ..read more

     What about the Newest Craze of the Meatless “Meat” Products?   Meatless “meat” products have been around for a long time, such as Boca Burger and Morning Star Farms, but lately I have been hearing about more products and brands.    I have very limited knowledge on the impact that eating meat has on the environment. I know a few reasons, such as it takes a lot of land, food and water to feed the animals that are giving us meat. I have also heard that the impact of the pesticides and chemicals used on the feed is harmful. As far as cows, they do pro ..read more

        New Study On The Use Of Common Drugs On Our Microbiome A recent study presented at European Gastroenterology week looked at common drugs and their impact on the microbiome. They found that the drug categories with the biggest impact were Proton Pump Inhibitors (PPI), Metformin (used for Type 2 DM), Antibiotics, and Laxatives. The gut microbiome of PPI users showed increased abundance of upper gastrointestinal tract bacteria and increased fatty acid production, while metformin users had higher levels of the potentially harmful bacteria Escherichia coli (E. col ..read more

Lemon-Dill Butter Chicken A short story behind this recipe. The last time we went to visit my mom she made us this chicken dish. My aunt had made it for her and she liked it so much she asked for the recipe. So, to make a long and kind of boring story short, I do not have anyone to give credit to for this recipe. It looks like it was printed from a magazine, but there is not date or name. I have modified the recipe a bit as well to make it low FODMAP. It is already gluten-free! I personally love the taste of this dish, but there are two facts to consider before making it: This dish is NOT ..read more

Why a Prokinetic?   Each year that I have been in practice, the more clients I see with small intestinal bacteria overgrowth (SIBO). When I opened my business over 3 years ago, SIBO was not a term in my vocabulary. I honestly don’t remember where and when I first heard about it. Now I have individuals reach out to me not only to help with diet, but if multiple rounds of Rifaximin didn’t help, what can they do? I have learned much about SIBO and how to help those struggling with it. This is a growing issue, where it is estimated that 60% of those with IBS actually have SIBO. If this is ..read more