Creating a Conscious Birth With Prenatal Yoga

What is unique about Prenatal Yoga?

Guest Author Rachel Yellin.

When people ask me why they should take a prenatal class instead of a “regular” yoga class during pregnancy, my answer is layered and complex. Let’s start with the basics: The physical benefits. Prenatal classes include poses that stretch areas of the body that are often begging for some extra attention during the intense physical transformation of pregnancy—think the hips, lower back, neck and shoulders. And a well-trained prenatal yoga teacher will offer modifications with props for each pose so that your joints (and your psyche!) feel fully supported throughout the class.

Most prenatal classes will also provide some time for deep relaxation. Restorative poses are one way to release tension and calm your brain. Another technique that I offer in my classes is guided visualization and hypnosis. I also have a CD that women can listen to throughout pregnancy and during the birth. You can find a sample here.  These tools can help you inhibit the stress response (and all of the hormones that come with it like adrenaline and norepinephrine) and induce what’s known as the relaxation response. Learning to feel your way into a state of relaxation is what you need in order for more relaxed, easeful birthing. As simple as it sounds, it is physiologically key! If there is tension in the pelvis during labor, the space from front to back is going to be shortened and the space from side to side is going to be minimized. So one of the greatest gifts is learning to recognize when and where you are tense and then consciously letting that tension go. If you practice conscious relaxation on a regular basis, you’ll have the inner awareness to tune into what’s happening in your body and mind during birth. And you’ll have a much easier time accepting the twists and turns that labor and birth can present!

Emotional Benefits

There are also emotional benefits to doing yoga while you’re surrounded by a classroom full of other mamas-to-be. Most teachers will ask women to introduce themselves and do some kind of check-in at the beginning of each class to create connection. I like to have a weekly theme to the question I ask each week, and I weave that theme into the class as we do the asana practice. So for example, I’ll ask each woman to share some of the things she’s doing to really take care of herself that week. And then I’ll remind them throughout the practice to consciously take care of themselves in the poses, perhaps by coming out of a pose to rest or by coming into a pose a different way or by using a prop.

As we do the check-in, the women learn that, for some, the experience of pregnancy is glorious, glowing, and easy – for others, not so much. It can also change dramatically depending on what stage of pregnancy you’re in. Whatever your experience may be, when you show up to a prenatal class, you’re allowed to come as you are and feel the support and celebration of other women going through the same thing.

Connection

Getting down to the more subtle benefits, prenatal yoga can create consciousness and connection to yourself and to your baby. A prenatal class can help you slow down and direct your attention inward so that you begin to develop a loving relationship with your baby before he or she is even born. You begin to discover and reflect on your identity as a parent and all of the choices that come with it.

Becoming more consciously connected to your body and your baby is one of the ways that prenatal yoga prepares you for your birth experience. And this is what I’m most passionate about—prenatal yoga as birth preparation. A skilled teacher will give you the tools and techniques to do two things: Become more present with your experience and consciously relax into it. There are many ways to do this. You might find yourself in a challenging pose and choose to stick with it, staying soft and breathing into it. Or perhaps the challenging pose crosses over the edge and you need to come down and rest; you consciously make the decision that enough is enough. Either way, you need to have developed the awareness to recognize what you need to do and the ability to stay relaxed while you do it. If you can make these choices in a yoga pose, you imprint the experiences so that you can return to them during labor. It takes practice to engage your mind in a positive way and visualize your desired outcome. But it’s a practice that will help you recognize your strength and prepare you for the challenges of parenthood, making it well worth the effort.

Additional Resources

Rachel Yellin’s CD that women can listen to throughout pregnancy and during the birth. You can find a sample here.  Sandrine’s note – Women I know personally have reported that this CD was of great value to them before and during birth! I have heard it myself and highly recommend it. I receive no referral bonus for saying so!

There are several well-known teachers who have Prenatal DVDs including Shiva Rea, Gurmukh Kaur Khalsa and Jane Austin.

There are also online classes on YogaGlo, taught by Stephanie Snyder. YogaGlo is a small monthly subscription.

Judith Lasater has a book called Yoga for Pregnancy, What Every Mom to Be Needs to Know.

A great San Francisco resource is sanfranciscoprenatalyoga.com. It is the most comprehensive resource guide to pre and postnatal classes in San Francisco. To find a prenatal class in your area, start with your local yoga studio. Many offer prenatal classes. Your doctor or midwife might also have recommendations for reputable prenatal teachers.

About Rachel Yellin

Rachel Yellin teaches HypnoCentered Childbirth Education and a variety of yoga classes and workshops. She also has a private therapy practice as a Depth Hypnosis Practitioner. Feel free to connect with her directly via her website.

Did you do prenatal yoga during your pregnancies? How did it help you during your pregnancy and birth?

Should we eat bacon and if so what kind?

Bacon Lovers.

I know from the positive responses to our bacon posts on Facebook, that by and large, we are a community of bacon lovers, myself included. However, I personally have not had bacon in some time, sadly! It has proven to be a fleeting experience in my life. Since I’ve had inquiries about whether or not I eat pork, I thought I’d address it here:

I was raised in a Jewish home where we didn’t eat it. While we didn’t keep kosher, bacon was simply not part of the nourishing traditions of Morocco where my mother was raised in a mixed population of Jews and Muslims. Neither have historically eaten pork based on the dietary laws in the Torah and Koran. Nonetheless, there was a period of time, in my late thirties and early forties, once I discovered the book Nourishing Traditions that I ate bacon, and needless to say, I loved it! I purchased Niman Ranch in those days by and large because it was readily available and appeared in the Weston A. Price Foundations’s Shopping Guide. Then I got married, my husband doesn’t eat pork and requested that I abstain, which was not problem for me. More recently, I have also taken the MRT food sensitivity test and pork was identified as a food I was highly sensitive to, even though it hadn’t been a part of my diet for years?!

So, despite the fact that I don’t personally eat it, I teach about the benefits and guide our community to recommended sources. I found myself a bit confused about the recommendations made in 2013 Shopping Guide issued by the Weston A. Price Foundation however and approached Dr. Kaayla T. Daniel and Sally Fallon Morell for clarification. They have fine tuned the recommendations as follows to reflect Dr. Daniel’s latest research, and will use these for the 2014 version:

Best: Sausage, bacon, ham and processed meats from preferably soy-free animals allowed to graze, processed without additives such as  mono-sodium glutamate – known as MSG. [Note: Products containing hydrolyzed protein, citric acid, “spices,” or “natural flavors” usually contain MSG.] Pastured meats cured with salt, a small amount of sugar and naturally smoked. Also fine, pastured meats cured with sodium nitrite and added sodium erythorbates or ascorbates, which are antioxidants required by the United States Department of Agriculture. An example would be bacon from US Wellness Meats.

Acceptable: Sausage, bacon and processed meats made with the help of celery juice, celery powder, celery seed, spinach juice, spinach powder, carrot juice, carrot powder, beet juice, beet powder or sodium nitrate but without MSG or other questionable additives.  An example would be bacon made by Niman Ranch.

Avoid:  Most commercial sausage, bacon and processed meats containing MSG, smoke flavoring, liquid smoke or high levels of additives; processed meats that are high pressure treated.

To flush out the reasons behind these recommendations, I am publishing an article by Dr. Kaayla T. Daniel, with her permission:

Still Fear Bacon? Here’s Why the Feel Good Food is Good for You

Kaayla T. Daniel, PhD, The Naughty Nutritionist™

Neal Barnard MD, head of the Physicians Committee for (Ir)Responsible Medicine, tried to round up an army of vegans to protest a Bacon Festival in Iowa a couple years ago but succeeded in recruiting only six volunteers¹

Why so few? Probably fear of bacon! Not fear of death by bacon, which is what Dr. Barnard hoped to fuel with anti-meat rhetoric and billboards of skulls and crossbones, but vegan fears of succumbing to the lure of bacon itself!  Bacon’s smell and taste are so seductive that many vegetarians fear it as “the gateway meat.”

But what of those health risks? What about all that fat, cholesterol and sodium? And what about nitrites? It’s not just vegans after all who warn us against bacon. Indeed, the bacon question has been argued for years, now with most non-vegan internet bloggers concluding that bacon’s “not so bad” if used to add a bit of flavor and crunchiness to “healthy” foods such as salads and vegetables. Comedian Jim Gaffigan spoofed this on Late Night with Conan O’Brien when he described bits of bacon as “the fairy dust of the food community” and eating a salad sprinkled with bacon as “panning for gold.”

A bit more bacon—even a few strips—sometimes even gets the Food-Police stamp of approval; provided it’s a special treat, of course, and not a daily indulgence. But such recommendations usually come complete with a warning to stick with lean bacon, and then cook it so it’s firm but not soft. While that last sounds a bit naughty, it’s actually anti-fat puritanism—the goal being to render the soft parts into fat that can be poured or patted off.

But what if bacon is actually good for us? What if it actually supports good health and is not a mortal dietary sin after all? What if we can eat all we’d like? And feel better too? Naughty propositions to be sure, but ones The Naughty Nutritionist™ is prepared to argue.  And that promise is not just a strip tease!

Bacon’s primary asset is its fat, and 50 percent of that fat—surprise!—is monounsaturated, mostly consisting of oleic acid, the type so valued in olive oil, and three percent as palmitoleic acid, a monounsaturate with valuable antimicrobial properties.

About 40 percent of bacon fat is saturated, a level that worries fat phobics, but is the reason why bacon fat is relatively stable and unlikely to go rancid under normal storage and cooking conditions. That’s important, given the fact that the remaining 10 percent is in the valuable but unstable form of polyunsaturates.²

Pork fat also contains a novel form of phosophatidyl choline that possesses antioxidant activity superior to Vitamin E. and a reason why lard and bacon fat are unprone to rancidity from free radicals.³

Bacon also comes replete with fat-soluble vitamin D, provided it’s bacon from foraging pigs that romp outdoors in the sun for most of year.⁴  As we would expect, the good fat in bacon comes accompanied by cholesterol,  a “no no” according to the Food Police, but a “yes yes” when it comes to a “feel good” food.⁵

Even so, “everyone knows” bacon’s bad for us, and Dr. Barnard would have us think it’s a veritable risk factor for heart disease. In fact, bacon might be good for the heart. And not just because it makes us happy, though that’s surely a plus!

Monounsaturated fat is widely lauded for reducing inflammation and lowering blood pressure, while antimicrobial palmitoleic acid can keep plaque at bay. Triglycerides too may improve because bacon fat is so good at helping us achieve satiety and stable blood sugar. Bacon can thus be useful for diabetics and prediabetics as well as everyone else coping with sugar cravings and carbohydrate addictions. Bacon’s signature salty and savory sweetness not only make it a treat that reduces feelings of deprivation and lack, but could help stabilize blood sugar sufficiently to prevent mood swings, reduce anxiety, improve focus and enhance coping skills.

Those not worried about bacon’s fat and cholesterol often fret about the salt, though low-salt diets actually increase the likelihood of heart disease, hypertension, cognitive decline, osteoporosis insulin resistance and erectile dysfunction. Clearly, salt plays a vital role in Naughty Nutrition™.

Finally, fear of bacon is wrapped up with fear of nitrites. These have been so associated with cancer and other ills that nearly all educated, health conscious consumers think they should either avoid processed meats altogether or choose “uncured bacons” that are advertised as “nitrite free.” Popular brands assumed to be healthy include Niman, Bieler, Applegate, Coleman’s and nearly every other bacon brand found at Whole Foods Market or other health food stores.

The question is, are these “uncured” bacons healthier?

The short answer is no. Dr. Nathan Bryan, University of Texas Houston Biomedical Research Center, pulls no punches when he states:  “This notion of ‘nitrite-free’ or ‘organically cured’ meats is a public deception.”⁶ 

Traditionally bacon was cured by adding sodium nitrite salts directly to the meat. Today’s manufacturers of  “nitrite free” brands add celery salt, which is about 50 percent nitrate, plus a starter culture of bacteria. This transforms the nitrate found naturally in the celery salt into nitrite, which cures the meat.  Although manufacturers label this bacon “nitrite free,” this method actually generates more nitrite from the celery salt than would ever be added as a salt.  Indeed, “nitrite free” bacon can have twice the nitrite content of bacons cured directly with nitrite salts.   “Some convert 40 percent, some convert 90 percent, so the consistency of the residual nitrite is highly variable,”  he says.

Dr. Bryan’s biggest concern is not nitrite content but the possibility of bacterial contamination. “I think it is probably less healthy than regular cured meats because of the bacteria load and the unknown efficacy of conversion by the bacteria.”⁷ And plenty of studies back him up on the value of nitrates and nitrite for food safety..  Indeed, nitrite can convert to desirable nitric oxide in the body. ^8-13

In the good old days, dry cure bacons were produced through hand rubbing with a mixture of herbs, sugars, salt, and the sodium nitrite curing salts.  Or going back even further without sodium nitrite but huge quantities of salt.  The bacon then cures for anywhere from a day to a month before slow-smoking it over applewood, hickory or other wood fires,  generally from one to three days. The extended curing time intensifies the pork flavor and shrinks the meat so that the bacon doesn’t shrivel and spatter as it cooks. Vitamin C in the mix helps form the nitrosylheme pigment that gives cured meats their wonderful red color.  Producers who use sodium nitrite are required by the USDA to add sodium erythorbate or ascorbate (forms of Vitamin C and antioxidants) to ensure most of the nitrites go down the beneficial nitric acid pathway and not turn into carcinogenic nitrosamines.   Flavor can vary quite a bit from producer to producer, and is determined by the ingredients of the cure, the method of smoking, and the timing. The age,  gender,  and breed of the pig, as well as its time outdoors, forage and feed all influence the final flavor of the bacon.

Supermarket bacon may also use sodium nitrite, but not in a traditional way. Instead, manufacturers opt for fast and cheap methods by which inferior quality factory-farmed meat is pumped and plumped with a liquid cure solution that includes sodium erythorbate and sodium nitrite, along with “liquid smoke,” spices and flavorings heavy in MSG. After “curing” for a few hours, the pork is sprayed with more “liquid smoke” and heated until a smoke-like flavor permeates the meat. The pork is then quickly chilled, machine-pressed into a uniform shape, sliced, and packaged for sale. Pumped and plumped bacon may look big in the package, but shrinks, shrivels and spatters when cooked.

Researchers have consistently found carcinogenic nitrosamines in fried bacon,^14,15 but the bacon studied almost certainly comes from factory farms where pigs are fed feeds that include inferior oils such as corn and soy. Fatty acid composition has a major effect on nitrosamine formation, with levels correlating well with the levels of unsaturation of the adipose tissue.^16-20 Far riskier than frying bacon is consuming readymade sources of nitrosamines, such as occur in soy protein isolates, non-fat dry milk and other products that have undergone acid washes, flame drying or high temperature spray-drying processes.^21,22

The takeaway?

Choose traditionally cured or simple salt-cured artesanal bacon, which truly has no nitrites added but depends upon proper refrigeration for safety. The newfangled celery salt “uncured” bacon is deceptively marketed, but still a far better choice than the pumped and plumped bacon-like products found in supermarkets or any of the supposedly healthy fakin’ bacons from turkey or soy. What we want is good old-fashioned bacon from pastured pigs cured with either salt or a precise amount of sodium nitrite curing salts.

If the idea of nitrite still seems scary, consider this:  Ascorbic acid is routinely added to cured meats along with the nitrite in order to promote beneficial nitric oxide formation from nitrite, and to inhibit nitrosation reactions in the stomach that can lead to carcinogenic nitrosamines.²³ Bringing alpha tocopherol (Vitamin E) into the mix seems to further prevent occurrence of nitrosamine formation.^24,25  Old-fashioned processing, involving leisurely time for curing and smoking, further enhances the conversion of nitrite to the beneficial nitric oxide (NO) molecule. And a growing body of evidence shows nitrates (which are in all plant foods) and nitrites (which we need to produce desirable nitric oxide) can be a very good thing.^26,27

So what’s the last word on America’s favorite meat? Indulge bacon lust freely, know that the science is catching up, the media lags behind, and, as usual, our ancestors got it right.

*  *  *  *  *

© 2012 Kaayla T. Daniel, PhD, CCN. Dr. Daniel is the Naughty Nutritionist™ because of her ability to outrageously and humorously debunk nutritional myths. See Dr. Daniel’s bio and visit her website.

Questions and comments about bacon?!

Endnotes

1.  Neuman, Jeannette. Vegetarian Doctors Go Whole Hog to Burn Bacon in Iowa. Wall Street Journal, Feb. 18, 2012, http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204792404577227201273665554.html

2.   Enig, Mary G. Know Your Fats: The Complete Primer for Understanding the Nutriton of Fats, Oils and Cholesterol (Silver Spring, MD, Bethesda Press, 2000. p 135.) Note: Dr Enig’s figures are for the fatty acid composition of lard, not bacon fat, but the percentages should be very close.  Percentages of fat may also vary according to the animal’s diet and lifestyle.

3.   Koga T, Terao J. Antioxidant Activity of a Novel Phosphatidyl Derivative of Vitamin E in Lard and Its Model System J Ag Food Chem, 1994, 42 (6), 1291–1294. This study looks at lard, but likely applies to bacon fat as well.

4.  Daniel, Kaayla T. Save Your Bacon! Sizzling Bits about Nitrites, Dirty Little Secrets about Celery Salt and Other Aporkalyptic News. Posted March 12, 2012.    http://www.westonaprice.org/blogs/kdaniel/2012/03/29/save-your-bacon-sizzling-bits-about-nitrites-dirty-little-secrets-about-celery-salt-and-other-aporkalyptic-news/. This article contains a full discussion of Vitamin D in bacon and other pastured animals, including reports in USDA and other databases.

5. The cholesterol debate is thoroughly covered on the Weston A Price Foundation’s website www.westonaprice.org, on Chris Masterjohn’s website www.cholesterol-and-health.com and in Gary Taubes’ excellent book Good Calories, Bad Calories (Knopf, 2007).

6.  http://www.feedstuffsfoodlink.com/Media/MediaManager/nitrites_and_nitrates.pdf

7.    Ibid.

8.   Skovgaard N. Microbiological aspects and technological need: technological needs for nitrates and nitrites Food Addit Contam. 1992 Sep-Oct;9(5):391-7.

9.   Pierson MD, Smoot LA. Nitrite, nitrite alternatives, and the control of Clostridium botulinum in cured meats. Crit Rev Food Sci Nutr. 1982;17(2):141-87.

10.   Jouve JL,  Calier V,  Rozier J. Antimicrobial effects of nitrates in meat products, [Article in French] Ann Nutr Aliment. 1980;34(5-6):807-26.

11  Christiansen LN, Johnston RW, et al. Effect of nitrite and nitrate on toxin production by Clostridium botulinum and on nitrosamine formation in perishable canned comminuted cured meat.    Appl Microbiol. 1973, Mar;25(3):357-62.

12   Hustad GO, Cervey JG et al. Effect of sodium nitrite and sodium nitrate on botulinal toxin production and nitrosamine formation in wieners. Appl Microbiol. 1973 Jul;26(1):22-6.

13.  Pierson MD, Smoot LA. Nitrite, nitrite alternatives, and the control of Clostridium botulinum in cured meats.   Crit Rev Food Sci Nutr. 1982;17(2):141-87

14..   Fiddler W, Pensabene JW. Supercritical fluid extraction of volatile N-nitrosamines in fried bacon and its drippings: method comparison.  J AOAC Int. 1996 Jul-Aug;79(4):895-901.

15.  Havery DC, Fazio T, Howard JW. Survey of cured meat products for volatile N-nitrosamines: comparison of two analytical methods.  IARC Sci Publ. 1978;(19):41-52.

16.   Gray JL, Skrypec DJ et al. Further factors influencing N-nitrosamine formation in bacon. IARC Sci Publ, 1984;(57):301-9.

17.   Mottram DS, Pattterson RLS et al.  The preferential formations of volatile N nitrosamines in the fat of fried bacon. J Sci food Agric 1977 28, 1025-1029.

18.  Goutefongea R, Cassens RG, Woolford G. Distribution of sodium nitrite in adipose tissue during curing.  J Food Sci, 1977. 42, 1637-1641.

19.  Walters CL, Hart Rj, Perse S.  1979. The possible role of lipid pseudonitrosites in nitrosamine formation in fried bacon.  Z. Lebensm Unters Forsch , 168, 177-180.

20.   Canas BJ, Havery DC et al. Current trends in levels of volatile N-nitrosamines in fried bacon and fried-out bacon fat. J Assoc Off Anal Chem. 1986 Nov-Dec;69(6):1020-1.

21.  Daniel, Kaayla T. The Whole Soy Story: The Dark Side of America’s Favorite Health Food (Washington DC, New Trends, 2005)  122-126.

22.  Hotchkiss JH. Sources of N-nitrosamine contamination in foods. Adv Exp Med Biol   1984;177:287-98.

23. http://www.feedstuffsfoodlink.com/Media/MediaManager/nitrites_and_nitrates.pdf

24.  Mergens WJ, Kamm JJ, et al. Alpha-tocopherol: uses in preventing nitrosamine formation. IARC Sci Publ. 1978;(19):199-212.

25.  Fiddler W, Pensabene JW et al.  Inhibition of formation of volatile nitrosamines in fried bacon by the use of cure-solubilized alpha-tocopherol.  J Agric Food Chem. 1978 May-Jun;26(3):653-6.

26.  Bryan, Nathan and Janet Zand with Bill Gottlieb.  The Nitric Oxide (NO) Solution (Austin, TX, Neogenesis, 2010).    Although this popular book does not contain citations, a quick PubMed search will turn up Dr. Bryan’s contribution to at least 88 journal articles, establishing NO benefits.

27.  Hord NG, Tang Y, Bryan NS. Food sources of nitrates and nitrites: the physiologic context for potential health benefits. Am J Clin Nutr. 2009 Jul;90(1):1-10.

Save on Nourishing Resources

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I have downloaded the entire Village Green Network’s Spring E–Book Bunndle, which includes own own ebook, and can highly, highly recommend it!  I’ve spent a couple of days reading a lot of very valuable information. It works out to 1.30 a book – what I would consider to be a bon fide bargain –> http://bit.ly/11bMeKM! The promotion ends April 23, 2013 so, act now!

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How do we nourish our babies?!

We nourish them even before conception!

Wearing both my Nourishing Our Children Executive and Creative Director hats, I approached Heather Dessinger about her ebook, Nourished Baby, in order to see if she was open to a collaborative redesign in order to restructure the layout for greater clarity and consistency. I also wanted to increase the overall sense of aesthetic by editing some of the existing photographs and adding more to illustrate the content. I hoped to include her book as one of the educational materials we offer the community.

It was the first time since I launched our educational initiative in 2005 that I approached another author in this way. I thought Nourished Baby was a very complimentary addition to our materials, loved what I experienced as Heather’s very personable writing style and the fact that she wrote from first hand experience. Since we are a project of the San Francisco Chapter of The Weston A. Price Foundation, I asked Sally Fallon Morell, president of the Foundation, if she was comfortable with the notion that we would promote and offer Nourished Baby along with our materials.

She approved, and Heather and I embarked on creating the revised version of Nourished Baby which we launched at the 2012 Wise Traditions conference. It has not only been completely redesigned but, includes new content – mainly in the form of new recipes. It has been very well received! Some who already had the originally copy of Nourished Baby choose to donate to receive the new version.

I am incredibly proud of our collaborative effort. I think it is an invaluable addition to Nourishing Our Children’s educational materials and envision it will serve to be transformative for those who are new to the principles Heather recommends for how to nourish our babies. 

Heather’s ebook is offered on our website.

You’ll Learn

• How the actual birth experience can affect what a child craves for life.
• Why a 2004 study of North American women found that their breast milk did not meet the minimum requirements for many essential nutrients – and how to make sure your breast milk is nutrient dense.
• How to understand what the foods you crave represent, and what to eat as a result.
• Why you should skip rice cereal and what to substitute with.
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• Why some believe purees can lead to eat more than they need. When children’s “picky” habits can actually indicate a serious problem – and how to correct it.

Chapters

1. Baby Biology
2. 101 Awesome Boob Facts | Breastfeeding
3. Ready, Set, Now What?!
4. Proceed with Caution – Foods to Limit or Avoid
5. Beyond the Basics
6. Raising an Adventurous Eater
7. Afterward
8. Frequently Asked Questions
9. Excitotoxins and Extrusion
10. Kitchen Equipment
11. Recipes – Meat and Seafood
12. Recipes – Veggie Sides
13. Recipes – Fermented Foods
14. Recipes – Nuts and Seeds
15. Recipes – Custards, Cakes and More
16. Recipes – Fruit and Smoothies
17. Recipes – The Basics

Previews

Table of Contents and Introduction.pdf

Chapter 1.pdf

Sample Recipes.pdf

Testimonials

Nourished Baby has become one of those books in our home that I constantly reference. If it were a paperback, I can only assume that it would have the dark stains and bent cover like my copies of Real Food for Mother and Baby and Nourishing Traditions have. I’ve been asked more than once “Do I need to leave this open?” by my husband who has, yet again, found it on our desktop. Though there was lots of information that I knew, it was presented in a much more tangible language than many other sources out there. As we are in the process of healing my daughters and my gut, this book has played a big roll in our road to recovery, not only for the scientific knowledge, but for the recipes! This ebook is the perfect place to start for moms wanting more information on feeding their babies! – Mae Burke

This is an excellent book – readable, insightful, and most importantly, useful! Heather not only tells you the why but gives you the how to get your baby started on the path to good health. Her passion for health and good eating spills out of this book and into the kitchens of those who read it. The recipes will introduce you and your family to tasty, good-for-you dishes! Nourished Baby is a definite must have for every parent! – Margo

This is a great book for all parents, soon to be, new, or experienced. Lots of excellent information and delicious recipes. – Sasha

Again, Heather’s ebook is currently being offered here: http://nourishingourchildren.org/Nourished-Baby.html

What if the sun doesn’t cause skin cancer?

Article by guest author, C. Andi Locke Mears.

Summer is fast approaching. It is a time when I see fear rampant on the beach in the form of slathering chemicals on our children’s skin or covering them from head to toe. We don’t want them to get cancer from the sun, do we??  So we do our due diligence and cover ourselves and our children with whatever our conscience allows.

But what if the sun really doesn’t cause skin cancer?  

Oh, I know we’ve been told for years that the depletion of the ozone layer decreases our atmosphere’s natural protection from the sun’s supposedly “harmful” ultraviolet (UV) rays.

We’ve been told that these rays damage the skin’s cellular DNA which then produce genetic mutations that can lead to skin cancer. And of course the US Department of Health and Human Services and the World Health Organization both have identified UV light as a proven human carcinogen. The CDC even tells us a few serious sunburns can increase your child’s risk of getting skin cancer.  Pretty scary stuff, huh?  No wonder we cover ourselves and our children with chemicals or clothing – we’d be a fool not to!

I, too, used to believe this until I learned German New Medicine and learned that the sun doesn’t cause cancer. 

GNM is a new science of medicine based on Five Biological Laws discovered by Dr. Ryke Geerd Hamer over 35 years ago. The Five Biological laws explain the cause, the development, and the natural healing of “diseases” in all living beings 100% of the time.  Sandrine’s note: For further reading, please see A New View of Cancer — German New Medicine posted by Dr. Mercola.

GNM allows us to see symptoms and diseases in a different light. It teaches us that cancer is not caused by malfunctions or malignancies but is instead a natural biological program that assists an individual during unexpected emotional distress.

GNM correctly links our psyche, brain, and organ – a true mind/body science that is verifiable in brain CT scans. A whole new world opened for me when I learned GNM. I had to adjust how and when I used each modality in my wellness center from herbs to homeopathy to nutrition, colon hydrotherapy and detoxing.  I found I was able to assist clients with much greater success because I knew what was occurring in their body, why it was occurring, and what to do to help it. And I teach it to every client so they, too, can understand their bodies better and get out of fear.

So, if the sun doesn’t cause what is known as “skin cancer,” then what does? According to GNM, it is caused by what our psyche perceives as an “attack” against the skin, which, incidentally, can include a sunburn.

It is also caused by:

• a figurative attack,
• a verbal attack,
• an attack against your integrity (such as when your boss insinuates you stole from the company when you didn’t, or, if you’re a child, your older sibling mercilessly teases you because you get straight A’s in school),
• feeling disfigured (especially from something that occurred to the skin such as a surgical scar), or
• feeling soiled such as when the skin comes into contact with something we perceive is disgusting, filthy or repellent.

We are hardwired for survival and Dr. Hamer discovered our brain is the conductor of the entire orchestra of cells, organs, hormones, tissues, etc. Thus, when any of these “attacks” occur, our brain instantly sends out the signal to our skin to grow extra cells at the site of the “attack” for the sole purpose of protection. There is no blame here nor are we a victim – our brain is simply taking care of us. With GNM, we now have the knowledge that enables us to understand bodies and support them much more effectively.

When we’re no longer feeling attacked and we’ve resolved the issue, very specific microbes are “turned on” with the sole purpose of breaking down the extra cells. The extra cells will change color, size and texture during what we call a “healing phase.” This is a normal and natural process yet unfortunately is often deemed as malignant and dangerous.  There’s that fear again.

And, incidentally, if you’ve ever had acne, you’ve already experienced a lesser “attack” issue.

What this means is that when we receive a diagnosis of “skin cancer,” we’re already in a healing phase from the attack. Ponder that for a few minutes. What if we had no fear of skin cancer anymore because we recognize our body’s innate wisdom is already taking care of us better than anyone or anything else?

So, do we throw all caution to the wind and allow ourselves and our children to get sunburned? Of course not.

The sun is capable of causing oxidative stress that a healthy body can generally repair easily particularly if the person acclimates to the sun slowly and eats a nutrient-dense diet to stay strong. I still advise people to cover up with direct skin exposure if they haven’t first acclimated to the sun, and even then, it may be prudent to be covered for some amount of time. For children, start with and exposure of 2-10 minutes of direct, noon sun and increase this slowly over several weeks.

Sandrine’s note: Sally Fallon Morell writes, “Sunscreen? Please think twice” in her article Skin Deep:

Pick up an article on keeping healthy and it will almost always recommend a generous application of sunscreen to “protect” the skin. This trend has become so widely accepted that some people wear sunscreen every day, even in winter, and slather their children with it before they get dressed, just in case they may come in contact with that dreaded, unnatural substance: sunlight.

The list of questionable ingredients in sunscreens include benzophenones (dixoybenzone, oxybenzone), PABA and PABA esters (ethyl dihydroxy propyl PAB, glyceryl PABA, p-aminobenzoic acid, padimate-O or octyl dimethyl PABA), cinnamates (cinoxate, ethylhexyl p-methoxycinnamate, octocrylene, octyl methoxycinnamate), salicylates (ethylhexyl salicylate, homosalate, octyl salicylate), digalloyl trioleate, menthyl anthranilate and avobenzone.

Some of the chemicals have been implicated as causing thyroid problems. German researchers found that rats exposed to the sunscreen chemical 4MBC had raised levels of thyroid stimulating hormones and heavier thyroid glands. Another chemical, benzophenone 2, was found to alter thyroid hormone levels, although the effect was reversed by other chemicals present in sunscreens (BBC News, June 10, 2006).

In most situations, normal exposure to the sun is beneficial, not harmful, especially if you take care to avoid polyunsaturated oils and trans fats. If you are fair-skinned and find yourself in situations where long exposure to the sun is unavoidable, be sure to cover your torso with a shirt, wear a hat and use a safe sunscreen like zinc oxide on your nose and cheeks.

The timeless research of Dr. Weston A. Price taught us a diet rich in Vitamins A, D and K found in healthy fats keeps our bodies strong.  Increase pastured lard, butter, raw egg yolks, fermented cod liver oil, high vitamin butter oil, etc.  If we have no fear of the sun and are able to quickly downgrade or resolve any real or figurative “attacks” against us, it means … our body will break down those extra cells naturally and if we support our body’s innate ability to do so, it will.

Thus, GNM gives us the opportunity and knowledge to understand symptoms and “diseases” differently which may, in turn, change how we react and the choices we make. As FDR is often quoted: “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.”  German New Medicine teaches us how to get out of fear so we can spend more time being present and living life to its fullest.

Sandrine’s note: For sunburn, Dr. Thomas Cowan M.D. recommends aloe vera gel or coconut oil for sunburn, or Amla-Plus vitamin C from Radiant Life  - 2 tablets, 2x day. Coconut oil is also great for encouraging tanning and preventing a burn, as well as building up exposure starting with 10 minutes daily and gradually increasing. From The Nourishing Traditions Book of Baby and Child Care: http://amzn.to/13wzJIx

Sources

• http://www.skincancer.org
• http://www.epa.gov/sunwise/uvandhealth.html
• http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8161879
• International Agency for Research on Cancer, Lyon, France.
• Armstrong, B.K. and A. Kricker, How much melanoma is caused by sun exposure? Melanoma Research, 1993: 3:395-401.
• http://www.fda.gov/downloads/AdvisoryCommittees/CommitteesMeetingMaterials/MedicalDevices/MedicalDevicesAdvisoryCommittee/GeneralandPlasticSurgeryDevicesPanel/UCM205687.pdf
• Scientific Charat of Germanic New Medicine, Dr. med. Mag. Theol. Ryke Geerd Hamer, 2007; page 44.

Guest Author

C. Andi Locke Mears is a German New Medicine Teacher, Certified Whole Health Educator, Nutritionist, and Holistic Health Practitioner.  She founded and ran a successful wellness center in Auburn, ME and has currently turned her endeavors to teaching GNM and consulting to the international community.  She is also a Chapter Leader with the Weston A. Price Foundation. You may email her at: andi@learninggnm.com.  For additional information, please go to her website: www.calmhealthworks.com. For more information about German New Medicine, please visit her teacher’s website: www.learninggnm.com.

Question

What has been your strategy for getting benefits of the sun without the potential harm?

The Possible Gaps in GAPS™?

Autism Awareness Month

In honor of Autism Awareness Month, I am delighted to feature Julie Matthews, CNC, who has been a long time colleague and friend. Julie has been specializing in autism for over ten years.  She served as an advisor and volunteer presenter for Nourishing Our Children from it’s inception through 2008, and we’ve collaborated with her organization Nourishing Hope for Autism when featuring the movie Farmageddon in San Francisco.  Without further ado, let’s read from Julie:

Introduction

As a Certified Nutrition Consultant, a long time presenter and supporter of Nourishing Our Children, and member of the Weston A. Price Foundation, I’m excited to be able to share the topic of food and nutrition for autism during Autism Awareness Month.

However, I don’t simply want to share “awareness” of prevalence of autism. Yes, autism has increased from 1 in 10,000 when I was a kid, to 1 in 50 today, but my intent is to share WHAT autism is and what you can do to help children affected! As we shift the paradigm of autism from a fixed, permanent condition, to understanding it as a whole-body disorder – we realize there are many things we can do to improve health and behavior – beginning with nourishing food!

In this community, the power of nourishing food is understood, and the GAPS™ diet is well known and applied greatly for autism. But there’s more to it. In this article I’ll share my experience of food and nutrition for autism, and let you know that if the GAPS™ diet is not “working” as you’d hoped, there are further ideas and diet principles to consider.

A similar version of this article was originally published at Nourishing Hope.

Overview of the GAPS™ Healing Protocol

Extensive scientific research indicates that children with autism suffer from gastrointestinal disorders more than do neurotypical children [1],[2]. We also know that there is an increase in “leaky gut,” or gut permeability in autism [3],[4], and that those with GI issues may not have enough carbohydrate-digesting enzymes (key rationale for to the GAPS™ diet) [5],[6].

One study by Dr. James Adams demonstrated that ASD children had greater incidence of GI disorders and an imbalance of good bacteria; and that gastrointestinal symptoms correlate with autism severity [2].

It’s because of these underlying circumstances and observations that the GAPS™ Diet is so highly warranted as a dietary approach. The GAPS™ Diet is fundamentally helpful for gastrointestinal inflammation, dysbiosis, and digestive disorders.

The GAPS™ diet was created by Dr. Natasha Campbell-McBride and is based on the Specific Carbohydrate Diet (SCD). SCD was popularized by Elaine Gottschall who notably helped heal her daughter of ulcerative colitis through very strict dietary intervention; she brought SCD to the autism community.

The GAPS™ Diet calls for the avoidance of complex sugars and starches such as all grains, potatoes, and sugar except from fruit and honey (that require carbohydrate-digesting enzymes)—and focuses on ingestion of monosaccharide carbohydrates (that do not require carbohydrate-digesting enzymes). Monosaccharides  are single sugar carbohydrates such as fructose and glucose found in fruit and non-starchy vegetables. Eating this way reduces undigested sugars and starches in the gut, things that most pathogenic microbes (like bad bacteria) feed on. This breaks the cycle of feeding pathogens and the inflammation and digestive disturbance they cause, and allows the body to receive nutrients from the carbohydrates it can better digest (monosaccharides). When you remove the substances causing a problem; you can reduce digestive discomfort, improve digestive capacity, and support healing of the gut – all of which can have positive affects on autism and neurological disorders.

However, it’s frustrating to hear/read comments like, “GAPS™ is the only diet that will heal the gut,” or “GAPS™ is all you need to do—you don’t need to worry about other things (i.e. salicylate, oxalates, etc.) if you’re doing GAPS™.” This simply is not true.

The Possible Gaps in GAPS™

In my opinion, GAPS™ is an outstanding diet. Dr. Campbell McBride synthesizes tremendous research and personal experience in bringing forward a useful strategy for so many people. However, it is not the only diet that heals. Just today, a client that followed GAPS™ for two years received some lab tests that helped explain her lack of results. Based on this new biochemical data, she wanted to switch to a new diet. But she was hesitant because she had heard that GAPS™ was the best healing diet. She asked me, “Have you ever seen a child heal on a diet other than GAPS™?” My answer, “Absolutely.” Different diets are right for different people.

There is no “one-diet-fits-all.” Because of their biochemistry or health condition, I’ve found some people require a different diet, others benefit from employing additional dietary principles with a GAPS ™Diet. Following GAPS™ can set a foundation from which to include further diet and nutrition elements required for your specific health condition.

As a nutritionist that works with all specialized diets (not just the GAPS™ diet), I have a unique perspective into the varied dietary factors that influence physiological reactions and symptoms—clients (and doctors) seek me out specifically for my “knowledge base” and clinical experience in this area.

I work with low salicylate/phenol diets; including the Feingold diet and Failsafe diet, the Low Oxalate Diet, yeast diets, low FODMAPS (an acronym for various fermentable carbohydrates) diet, gluten-free and casein-free (GFCF), and grain-free diets from Paleo, to GAPS™ and SCD. I have years of experience helping identify food compounds that can cause reactions.

Salicylates can cause red cheeks and ears, hyperactivity, irritability, aggression, sleep challenges and more. Amines and glutamates can cause migraines, anxiety, pain, crying, hyperactivity and similar symptoms to salicylates. FODMAPS [Fermentable Oligosaccharides, Disaccharides, Monosaccharides And Polyols] can cause digestive upset. Oxalates can disrupt cellular function, affect energy, and cause pain, inflammation and oxidative stress—if they get out of the gut and into the cell.

While improving the gut and subsequent biochemistry often improves tolerance of foods like high salicylates such as grapes, apples, berries and spices, it is sometimes essential to remove the salicylates to reduce the body burden and build up the sulfate pool (sulfur reserves). If you don’t consider this, the GAPS™ diet alone may not be sufficient to address salicylate/phenol intolerance.

For most of us, avoiding extremely high oxalates is prudent. Spinach can have 700 mg of oxalate in 1 cup of steamed spinach —10 times more in one serving than some people eat in a full day. This is enough oxalate to bind and inhibit mineral absorption (calcium and magnesium) in the whole meal. When the gut is leaky, oxalates are much more likely to get through and enter the bloodstream, especially when they are not bound to minerals. Once in the bloodstream, they can get inside the cell and create inflammation, oxidative stress and negatively impact mitochondrial function (conditions common in autism). Being cognizant of oxalate intake (like spinach) in the early stages of GAPS™ is important, and some people may need to be avoid high oxalate foods (like nuts) long term. Oxalates and these other food compounds should be considered on any healing diet.  Learn more about oxalates.

I’ve also noticed a disturbing trend of people following a “low carbohydrate” GAPS™ diet. This concerns me. Problems can arise and one can get too low in carbohydrate, when people start cutting out more and more sugars than prudent. The GAPS™ is a specific carbohydrate diet not a low carbohydrate diet.

Take a fresh look at your GAPS™ diet

Learn more about what could be affecting your GAPS™ success, and discover ways to take your healing to the next level.

In March, I led a 90-minute online session for my Nourishing Hope Support Club titled “The Gaps in GAPS™.” I shared my experience with hundreds of clients/families and want you to benefit from the knowledge – so you can avoid making similar mistakes!

You can get the full replay of “The Gaps in GAPS™?” if you join the Club in time for the next session on April 10, 2013:

Here’s what I covered in Gaps in GAPS™?

• What is the GAPS™ diet
• The science behind the GAPS™ diet and the biochemistry underlying autism
• The research on oxalates and phenols in autism and other disorders
• Common pitfalls and how to avoid them
• How to make the most of your GAPS™ diet

And I answered dozens of questions, including:

• How do I determine if phenols, oxalates, or FODMAPS are a problem for me or my child?
• Should I avoid fruit? Does it feed yeast on GAPS™?
• Am I eating too many or too few carbs?
• Do I need to do this diet for life?

The Nourishing Hope Support Club is the only group of its kind; designed to support and bolster the success of those following specialized healing diets. Join by April 10, and you will receive the “Gaps in GAPS™” session for free and be able to join us for the April topic on “Oxalates and the Low Oxalate Diet.” Use the discount code NOC13.

Join and learn more about the Support Club.

Question

Do you have a child with autism? What have you found effective or ineffective in addressing the symoptoms?

Guest Author

Julie Matthews is a Certified Nutrition Consultant specializing in autism, ADHD, and healthy pregnancy and babies. She is the author of the award-winning book, Nourishing Hope for Autism and founder of Nourishing Hope.

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[1] Buie T, et al. 2010. Evaluation, diagnosis, and treatment of gastrointes- tinal disorders in individuals with ASDs: a consensus report. Pediatrics 125 (Suppl. 1):S1–S18.

[2] Adams JB, Johansen LJ, Powell LD, Quig D, Rubin RA.2011. Gastro- intestinal flora and gastrointestinal status in children with autism— comparisons to typical children and correlation with autism severity. BMC Gastroenterol. 11:22.

[3] D’Eufemia P, et al. 1996. Abnormal intestinal permeability in children with autism.ActaPaediatr. 85:1076 –1079.

[4] deMagistris L, et al. 2010. Alterations of the intestinal barrier in patients with autism spectrum disorders and in their first-degree relatives. J. Pediatr. Gastroenterol. Nutr. 51:418 – 424.

[5] Horvath, Karoly, et al. “Gastrointestinal abnormalities in children with autistic disorder.” The Journal of pediatrics 135.5 (1999): 559-563.

[6] Williams, Brent L., et al. “Impaired carbohydrate digestion and transport and mucosal dysbiosis in the intestines of children with autism and gastrointestinal disturbances.” PloS one 6.9 (2011): e24585.

A child advocates for organic farming and reaches over a million people!

Organic is too expensive. “You can either pay the farmer, or you can pay the hospital!” – Birke Baehr

Dr. Weston A. Price encouraged us to teach, teach, teach … and it is never too young to start!

Lucky, lucky me! I already have all 35 podcasts of the Healthy Life Summit so I can tell you about them in greater detail! I am listening to AnnMarie Micheals interview Birke Baehr, a 14 year old, who was named by treehugger.com as one of the 6 child environmentalist who are making a change in the world. His TEDx talk, presented when he was 11 years old, has been viewed over a million times! He speaks about what is wrong with our food system.

Sunday, March 29, 2013 Free Podcast

During the podcast Birke explains how he embarked on a career as a speaker and advocate at such a young age.  He shares how he discovered what he refers to as the “hidden” production of industrialized food, and his desire to tell the truth.  He reminds us that the next generation is going to be running everything, so he wants his peers to “get it together”.

His dream is no longer to be an NFL football player, but rather an organic farmer. He explains that we’ve moved from 90% to 3% of the American population serving as farmers. He is schooled at home, and credits that as the reason he has read so much about organic farming. He describes himself as a self-learner. AnnMarie wonders how he got involved in all of this and he credits the internet and the topic of high fructose corn syrup for being the starting point for his interest!

I am truly inspired listening to Birke! He talks about the dangers of mono-cultures, pesticides, herbicides, GMOs, chemical fertilizers, chemical additives, Monsanto, and Concentrated Feeding Operations [CFOs].  He shares his experience of meeting Joel Salatin on numerous occasions and his extensive farm tours.  He hopes to inspire other children to become interested in our food system, and also to encourage them to advocate and speak up for anything they have a passion in.

Subscribe to the summit so you can hear him! If you are not available to listen to him and/or the other 35 speakers, you can own the series to download to your computers and/or other devices and you will also receive corresponding slideshows for each podcast!  For a limited time, we can save 75% to own the series.  Read about the promotion.

Listen to the podcast with your children!