Health – Vitality Detective

Low Carb Flaxseed Focaccia Bread

Veronica Benton — Mon, 02 Dec 2019 04:18:29 +0000

I have been following the 131 Method for a few weeks now, which is a diet-phasing program, meaning, you follow a specific diet in cycles. I am LOVING it. My digestion has never been better, my sleep has improved drastically and I am preparing delicious recipes that my whole family enjoys. The program is designed with our health in mind. Restoring health and restoring whatever imbalances we have in our body created by stress, bad diet or simply eating foods that don’t agree with our body.

One of the recipes that I have enjoyed the most is this Flaxseed Focaccia Bread which is not only low-carb, but the flaxseeds are incredibly beneficial to our hormones. The best part? This recipe is fat-burning and is extremely simple!

Ingredients:

2 cups ground flaxseed
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon sea salt
5 eggs
½ cup water
⅓ cup avocado oil

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350°F.

In a bowl, mix the flax, baking soda and salt.

In a blender, add the eggs, water and oil and process for 30 seconds (mixture will be foamy).

Add wet to dry ingredients, and stir well (again, this will seem foamy).

Pour into a 9-by-13-inch pan lined with parchment paper.

Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until golden brown on top.

Experiment by adding herbs such as garlic, rosemary or basil.

Click here if you want to learn more about the 131 Method and follow my journey as I continue. If you want support, you can contact me and I will help you along the way.

Trouble Sleeping?

Veronica Benton — Fri, 27 Apr 2018 15:21:48 +0000

Trouble Sleeping?

What your doctor is not telling you that could make a difference...

I hear so many of my clients have trouble sleeping and many people in general come to me with either difficulty with falling asleep or they wake up during the night and can’t go back to sleep or it takes hours to return to their slumber.

We all have an internal clock. Experts call it a circadian rhythm which is responsible for our ability to wake up in the morning and go to sleep at night. Cortisol and melatonin are hormones responsible for our circadian rhythm. These two are like alternating energies in our body where we are awake, alive and excited with cortisol and tired, sleepy and groggy with melatonin. How can you tell if your production of cortisol and melatonin are off? Are you wide awake in the morning and all day? Are you tired, sleep and groggy all night? If the answer is no, then there is an imbalance.

CORTISOL

You may have heard of cortisol being labeled as the “death hormone” (eye roll). But the opposite is true. Cortisol is necessary for many processes in the body and without it we would die. Cortisol is responsible for our management of stress… meaning, it’s the first thing that kicks in when there are internal or external reasons for stress as our body tries to return to a destressed and balanced state of well-being.

Internal stressors, for example, can be an infection or a chronic condition or even trauma. External stressors could be marital or financial issues, problems at work, etc. Stress isn’t always a bad thing because an exciting project or event can leave us felling really great, but it is our response to the stress that results in negative or positive feelings. It is the negative feelings or mood or tone caused by stress that are problematic and can make us sick. Cortisol can help us feel really good–we have more energy, our senses are heightened, etc. Roller coasters and birthday parties and lottery tickets and any kind of thrill can give us that “high” when we are winning in life. But cortisol production goes up when our “fight or flight” response is triggered and our safety or our egos are threatened; defending your honor can spike your cortisol (think about those arguments on social media, are they worth it?)

Blood sugar levels can also be the cause of sleep issues. My clients who have trouble sleeping sometimes have a blood sugar problem which keeps them from staying asleep. Why? Because if your blood sugar drops to a dangerous level, your body will wake you up as a survival mechanism. In other words, cortisol wakes you up so that you can eat. Many of my clients find that once they’re able to balance their sugar through a comprehensive nutrition plan, they are also able to stay asleep.

Ebb and Flow

We all have cortisol in our body at all times and our cortisol levels go up and down, depending on our needs. It goes up in the morning when we wake up and it goes down in the evening when we are getting ready to go to sleep, so that it can allow for melatonin, our sleep hormone, to go up and allow us to sleep. To explain this a bit better, imagine a wave in the ocean reaching a peak (or a rising tide of cortisol in the morning) and then gently dwindling down as it hits the shore (or how the tide goes out and levels are lower).

When we have trouble sleeping or staying asleep, it means that something with our circadian rhythm is not working right. Blue light emitted from our electronics, such as phones, tablets, TV’s, etc., will actively inhibit the production of melatonin. Quite literally, your phone and your LED can keep you from sleeping. If you watch TV in your bedroom and leave it on when you fall asleep or if you check your phone or tablet while you’re in bed that may be one of the reasons you’re not sleeping well. (HINT: There are apps which change the color tone of your phone or tablet from blue to brownish to help prevent this problem but the better solution is to just not use them when you are in your bedroom. I use a phone for my waking alarm, but I don’t use the phone while in bed.)

MELATONIN

Besides being the sleep hormone, melatonin is also responsible for slowing down the development of cancer cells. That deserves repeating: if you aren’t producing enough melatonin, then your body is less resistant to cancer.

LED lights are a huge concern in the development of prostate and breast cancers in Europe according to a recent article (April 2018). Why? Again blue light from LED street lights for drivers at night or outside your residence interferes with our body’s ability to produce melatonin.

Another thing to look at is that 75% of melatonin is produced in the gut. Low levels of melatonin could point to having a pathogen (such as a bacterial infection or a parasite) that may be interfering with the production of melatonin. Many of my clients come to me with leaky gut, IBS and other digestive issues. Once we test their gut bacteria and address the issues we find, then they begin to feel better and their sleep improves naturally.

I don’t recommend supplementing on melatonin without knowing what truly is happening first. It is much better to look at the other factors I have mentioned such as eliminating the sources of sleep issues before using supplements. In fact, although I do include melatonin in my client’s customized plans, I recommend against using it long term (so that their body doesn’t get used to it like a crutch by supplementing it instead of producing it on its own). The type of melatonin and the dosage that someone needs should be determined before using it as a supplement.

Recommendations

Here are a few things you can do before you consider using melatonin as a supplement:

Change the settings on your devices for nighttime use;
Stay away from ALL your devices (even your TV) two hours before going to bed;
Take your devices out of your bedroom or keep the screens off;
Use blackout curtains if ANY outside light is entering your room when your bedroom lights are off;
Use a sleep mask if all else fails to block any stray light;
Change all blue/white LED lights to yellow light. Even better if you can use yellow light that adjusts to a lower level as it gets darker outside;
Low-impact exercise during the day (like lifting weights) can set the stage for restful sleep;
Meditation or yoga can counteract negative stress and can help you clear your mind during the day and before going to bed;
If you feel tired in the morning or tired after lunch as well as having sleep problems, you may want to try cutting out all sugars to see if that helps.
Drink your coffee black and avoid donuts or anything with sugar as an ingredient. This means that even a “healthy salad” can be bad for you if the dressing has sugar as an ingredient.

Avoid energy drinks completely because they will destabilize your cortisol production and will not set the stage for a natural production of cortisol and melatonin.
Hydration is always important to hormone production and regulation, so you should always make sure to drink 8 ounces of water before each meal to stay hydrated and doing this will also help you to avoid overeating.
Your body is smart and will regulate its temperature at nighttime, rather than cranking up the heater at night, try lowering it a bit (I have mine at 70) and use a weighted blanket;
If you drink coffee after 2:00 pm and you don’t sleep well, then you may want to consider eliminating any coffee after 2:00 pm.
Run a hormone panel to see how your melatonin levels are looking (My favorite test is the DUTCH test because it provides a clear picture of how your hormones are metabolized);
Run a gut pathogen test (I run the GI Map on my clients which gives me a pretty good picture of their gut health);
Talk to me. Sometimes reading all this may not really sink in, but a phone call can help.

Once I have answers, I am able to provide some sleep support to my clients. I will oftentimes recommend certain supplements such as valerian root or a small dosage of melatonin (for no more than 30 days) to help them sleep. Again, melatonin CAN and will help, but you have to eliminate problems outside of your body first, then if that is not enough, then you need to know exactly how much to use and which kind. Melatonin should only be used to jumpstart your body’s production and should not be used long-term.

Baked Salmon with Mango Salsa

Veronica Benton — Sun, 04 Feb 2018 12:07:18 +0000

While trying to come up with a healthy and easy recipe to make, I decided to expriment a little. I came up with this heatlhy recipe.

Ingredients:

4 small salmon fillets, cleaned and deboned

For the sauce:

1 red bell pepper

1 yellow bell pepper

1 orange bell pepper

1/4 red onion

1 cup water

mango chunks (set aside)

5 leaves of fresh basil

Bragg’s Sprinkles (spices you can buy at any health food store)

a dash of Cayenne pepper

Black pepper to taste

Juice of 1 lime.

Preparation:

Preheat the oven at 350 degrees. Boil the bell peppers in the cup of water, once the water boils place the bell peppers under cold water to remove the skin. Make sure to de-seed them too. Add the spices, fresh basil, black pepper, sprinkles, cayenne pepper, add chopped onion and mango. Add lime juice, black pepper and salt to taste.

Place the salmon on a pyrex, add some additional spices on both sides of the salmon. Then bake it for about 20 minutes. Serve with a side of greens and the mango salsa on top.

Photo by Casey Lee on Unsplash

Homemade Nutella®

Veronica Benton — Sun, 26 Feb 2017 18:34:51 +0000

Homemade Nutella^®

I truly LOVE Nutella^®but never buy it due to the sugar content.

Did you know that a 2 tablespoon serving of this delicious spread contains almost as much sugar as a small Snickers^®bar? Nutella^® has 21 grams of sugar and a small Snickers^® bar contains 24 grams of sugar. Which means that eating 2 tablespoons of Nutella would be like eating a small candy bar as a snack. And there is hardly any nutritional content in the commercial stuff. Because of all these reasons, I decided to come up with my own healthy recipe using good ingredients so it would be loaded with nutrition, healthy fats and very little sugar and it came out DELICIOUS (with the additional benefit of being super easy to make!)

Ingredients:
2 cups raw hazelnuts
1/2 cup raw cacao powder
1/4 cup honey (or pure maple syrup)
3 dates (pitted)
2 tablespoons coconut oil
2 tablespoons full-fat coconut milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 teaspoon salt

Preparation:
In a food processor, grind the hazelnuts to a fine consistency. Add the cacao and the maple syrup, continue to blend in the food processor until they are the consistency of butter (about 10 minutes). Mix in the pitted dates and blend for another 3 minutes. Add the coconut milk, vanilla, coconut oil and salt and blend until it’s completely smooth.

NOTE: Mine formed into a ball. It was very, very smooth. If you don’t like this consistency, you can add a bit more coconut milk to the consistency that you prefer (one tablespoon at a time and continuing to blend). Store in a Mason Jar. I was able to fill 1 large Mason Jar.

My recipe has ONLY 5 grams of sugar for a 2 tablespoon serving, 8 grams of HEALTHY fats and 118 mg of potassium.

The Ten Worst Foods for IBS

Veronica Benton — Mon, 12 Sep 2016 05:12:01 +0000

If you have irritable bowel syndrome, constipation or other digestive issues, you may be eating foods that are making these issues worse. I suffered from irritable bowel syndrome for many, many years. I didn’t know it at the time, but I was eating a lot of foods that were making the issue worse.Whether or not these foods may cause issues for you is truly personal, but I invite you to consider experimenting and seeing if avoiding these foods might help you. Here are the ten worst foods for IBS.

Grains

We have all heard about gluten sensitivity. What many of us don’t know is that there are many foods that have cross-reactions with gluten. For example, corn, rice, oats, and other grains might not have gluten in them, but some of them may be difficult to digest.

What exactly is gluten? Gluten is a mixture of proteins that are found in certain grains such as wheat, barley, oats and rye. People with celiac are extremely sensitive to gluten, however, there is also a non-celiac gluten sensitivity which many people suffer from. This type of sensitivity is on the rise and for many people with gut issues, gluten may be one of the most common causes. Suggestion: remove cereals, breads, corn, rice and all grains from your diet for a period of time and see if that helps. Avoid gluten-free processed products as well, these products may be gluten-free, but due to being processed, are not the best option when trying to heal. You can always use potatoes and sweet potatoes as your sources of carbohydrates. The good news is that you don’t have to feel deprived. You can always make your own bread with gluten-free flour.

You can read more about the connection between non-celiac gluten sensitivity and irritable bowel syndrome here.

Processed Foods

Processed foods such as chips and cookies can cause irritation in the gut so it is best to avoid them. If you TRULY want to eat an occasional cookie or chips, you are better off preparing them from scratch at home using whole, unprocessed foods.

A lot of processed foods have excess sugar in them. If the root cause of your irritable bowel syndrome is bad gut bacteria, the excess sugar might make your symptoms worse because bad bacteria usually feeds off of sugar.

Sugar

If you are suffering from irritable bowel syndrome or other digestive issues, sugar can make the symptoms worse. If you are craving something sweet, it may be best to eat a serving of fruit with natural sugar instead of pastries or other sweets.

Dairy

Many people with irritable bowel syndrome are lactose intolerant. For some people, this intolerance occurs as a result of a stomach bug. When the lining of the gut is damaged, our body is less able to process lactose which is a protein present in milk and dairy products. You can replace milk with a non-dairy milk substitute such as coconut or almond milk.

Click here to read more about how dairy can affect the gut.

Beans

If you suffer from constipation and/or diarrhea as well as bloating, pain and stomach discomfort after eating beans, then it may be best to avoid them at least for a while until your gut heals and you are better able to tolerate them.

Fried and Fatty Foods

Fried foods such as French fries and fatty foods tend to irritate the gut. Instead of eating foods that are high in unhealthy fats, choose good-quality and healthy fats such as coconut oil, olive oil and avocado oil, as well as salmon, mackerel, tuna, grass-fed butter and ghee.

Artificial Sweeteners

According to the University of Maryland, no artificial sweetener is considered safe for people who suffer from IBS. Sucralose, Sweet n’ Low and saccharine can be major triggers for IBS.

Alcohol and Carbonated Drinks

Alcohol and carbonated drinks may trigger IBS. This may have to do with bacteria in our gut that feeds off of sugar contained in alcohol. Carbonated drinks usually have excessive caffeine which can be a gut irritant.

Coffee

Coffee stimulates the gut and causes it to overreact. This effect happens not only with regular coffee, but also decaf coffee.

Why? Researchers have stated that it is possible that caffeine triggers a hormone that signals the colon to contract, which then triggers IBS.

Raw Vegetables

The fiber in raw vegetables may be difficult to digest for IBS sufferers. Try sautéing your vegetables in a bit of coconut oil or steaming them for a few minutes to make it easier for your gut to handle it.

It is quite possible that when you address the issues that are causing your IBS symptoms, you will eventually be able to reincorporate some (if not all) of these foods and drinks into your diet again.

If you are interested in receiving a FREE copy of my “Gut Performance” report, you can click here.

Can Irritable Bowel Syndrome be reversed?

Veronica Benton — Thu, 25 Aug 2016 22:09:01 +0000

Can irritable bowel syndrome be reversed? IBS affects approximately 50 million people in the United States (one of every 6 people). IBS symptoms include diarrhea and/or constipation, distention, bloating, discomfort and pain.

What are the causes of irritable bowel syndrome?

If IBS is so common, you would think that the causes for everyone are the same, but that’s not the case. Two people may have the same or similar symptoms and yet the causes may be completely different. In my case, I had a common parasite called blastocystis hominis which is known to cause IBS symptoms. I’ve had clients with other causes such as H. pylori, C. diff, Giardia Lambia, SIBO and other bacteria. The reason IBS symptoms are so common however, is because doctors normally don’t run the appropriate tests to find the root cause. Their approach is to run a colonoscopy and/or endoscopy which may not reveal what’s causing all your symptoms. Instead of treating symptoms, isn’t it better to discover what the real problem is and address that instead? You bet!

Find the root cause instead of treating symptoms

What can you do to heal?

The GOOD news is that a simple stool test can reveal the root cause and once you find out the cause, then it’s a lot easier to provide your body with the tools it needs to start feeling better. Removing foods that you’re sensitive to, addressing the pathogen, parasite or bacteria and a few changes to your lifestyle helps tremendously.

Every single one of my clients has been on a different healing protocol, one that addresses diet, rest, exercise, stress reduction and supplementation. My approach is simple, we make a few easy lifestyle changes and you start to feel better. I wouldn’t want you to live off of supplements and medications for the rest of your life. I’m sure you don’t want this either. While I do believe in the importance of some supplements (such as probiotics, minerals and vitamins), there are many others that I don’t recommend long-term.

One of the things that was extremely enlightening for me was how much better I felt when I had all my digestive issues resolved. My fatigue, brain fog, sleep issues and even my hormonal issues improved. I also had difficulty building muscle but that problem also went away after I addressed the “blasto”.

If you would like to try a few simple steps to begin to feel better, you can download my FREE “Gut-Performance” report by clicking here.

Inflammation and Cortisol

Veronica Benton — Tue, 23 Aug 2016 21:20:22 +0000

Did you know that there’s a difference between “good” inflammation and “bad” inflammation? Have you ever burned yourself and gotten blisters, redness and puffiness? Those blisters, redness and puffiness are all caused by inflammation not the burn itself. See, our white cells go into action when we’re either injured or when there’s a sign of “danger” in our body. White cells produce chemicals. Those chemical’s job is to clean, throw out, heal, repair, etc. And inflammation’s job is to get us back to normal and healthy as quickly as possible.

But there’s a difference between acute inflammation and chronic inflammation. Acute inflammation is what happens to you when you burn or injure yourself. It’s also what happens when we have a flu or cold (sore throat, fever, body aches, are all caused by inflammation while our body is fighting the virus). But we live in a society that has fallen victim to chronic inflammation. Chronic inflammation is caused by eating the wrong foods (or food-like products). Chronic inflammation can be silent, because many times we’re not aware that we even have it until it’s too late. Obesity and heart disease are caused by chronic inflammation.

Another interesting fact is that cortisol is also known to cause inflammation. Why? Because cortisol is the “stress hormone” so when we are under ANY type of stress, be it external (like work-related, financial, relationships, etc.) or internal (such as in the case of a burn, injury, illness or infection), cortisol levels will rise in order to deal with the “emergency”.

So what causes chronic inflammation? Food – or food-like products. Processed food. Sugar and/or foods that we’re sensitive to (that we might not be aware of). The interesting thing is that many times, we have intolerances and sensitivities to foods that are actually considered “healthy”. I for example, am highly sensitive to legumes (such as beans, lentils and peanuts), as well as ALL dairy (even yogurt).

What is fascinating about food sensitivities and inflammation, is that there are several health conditions that are linked to them, such as:

Migraines (and headaches);
Asthma and allergies;
Autoimmune disorders
ADD/ADHD
Kidney problems
Skin Conditions

So how do you find out if you have a food sensitivity? A simple way is to try an elimination diet for 30 days. I like this approach better than juice cleanses because when you juice, you remove all the beneficial fiber from the vegetables and fruit, making the juice higher in sugar. I am in no way saying that juicing is not good for you, but if you’re going to juice, make sure that you also have some good-quality protein with your juice, so you don’t end up with blood sugar imbalances.

There’s also a lab test that you can run to find out what foods your sensitive to, such as LEEP which has helped my clients find answers quickly. The good thing is that many times, you don’t have to eliminate foods forever, just during the time you’re focusing on healing. If you DO have food sensitivities, more than likely, you might have a case of leaky gut.

Interested in learning more? Get my FREE “Gut Performance” report by clicking here and be added to my newsletter so you can find out more about my upcoming “Steps to Vitality” group.

IBS Facts Your Doctor Won’t Tell You

Veronica Benton — Mon, 20 Jun 2016 21:54:04 +0000

I used to have irritable bowel syndrome which was finally resolved last year after addressing what was causing it. One of the things that surprises me about this condition is that many doctors don’t look for the causes, but instead, just provide symptom-relief. When I first developed IBS, I remember clearly asking my doctor at the time to run some lab tests to see if I had any “bugs” or things that could be causing it. I was under a lot of external stressors at a time: a divorce, a car accident, a new job and a recent move. My doctor told me that she would not run any tests and that my symptoms were likely due to all the stress I was under. It took me many, many years, to actually find answers. My intention now in writing this article is to help you by providing information on the IBS facts that your doctor won’t tell you.

I will not discuss why my doctor wouldn’t run the tests, because quite honestly, I have no answers on what the reasons behind that were. But I can say that in speaking with countless other people with IBS, I hear several commonalities: their doctors won’t listen to them. Their anxiety and stress is often-times ignored. Other symptoms are ignored. They go to their GI Doctor and get no answers. They have little improvement. Their doctors often-times won’t include lifestyle and dietary changes as part of their treatment. Medicines are giving them horrible side-effects. Triggers are dismissed. Sounds familiar? If so, you’re not alone. I went through the same.

When dealing with debilitating symptoms, we have one of two options: We do nothing, or we look for answers and try to find alternatives. For many years, I did nothing. Then I changed my diet, saw some improvement. I had somewhat good days but I had tons and tons of bad days. My dietary changes offered SOME relief. I removed dairy. I also removed gluten. I stopped buying “gluten-free” processed items. I started cooking ALL my foods from scratch. I created healthy recipes for myself and my family. I ate whole foods only. However, some of the symptoms were still there. If I was under a lot of stress, I’d have a flare. On top of that, I started having issues falling asleep at night, I felt fatigued and foggy-brained. I also started to have hormonal imbalances and it was hard for me to develop muscle regardless of how hard I trained.

In looking for answers, I discovered alternative approaches, including Functional Diagnostic Nutrition® and became a practitioner. Thanks to FDN®, I was able to run some lab tests and get some answers. One thing to note is that people with irritable bowel syndrome have a hard time assimilating nutrients. And we often have a hard time identifying what triggers the flare-ups. Of course, this should come as no surprise to you if you suffer from this condition. What I didn’t know however, is that there’s a condition called “leaky gut” in which your intestines which become highly permeable, meaning that the tight junctions in the intestines that are supposed to keep the bad stuff out, become loose, causing an autoimmune response, and in some cases, irritable bowel syndrome. I also didn’t know that there are several pathogens (parasites, bacteria and fungi) that may cause irritable bowel syndrome symptoms. In my case, I discovered that I indeed had a leaky gut, as well as a one-celled organism (parasite) called “blastocystis hominis”. According to PubMed, there is a direct link between blasto and IBS. Click here for the reference. But there are MANY other bugs as well. When speaking with people with IBS, they have told me that in many cases, their symptoms started with food poisoning and never went away completely.

Once I discovered the cause, I had one of two options: go to my doctor for treatment, which would have likely required antibiotics (that is, if my doctor was even willing to treat it, because blasto is something that doctors often won’t treat). Or take a more natural approach at addressing what was going on – which meant that it may take longer. I have always been of the belief that antibiotics should only be used as a last resort. Why? Because antibiotics not only kill the bad stuff, but they also kill the good bugs, which may have put me at a higher risk for being re-infected. Considering how sick I had felt for so long, I decided to address my issues through a more natural approach. I developed a specific meal plan for myself, keeping in mind what this pathogen liked. I also used some very specific probiotics and herbal supplements, not only to address the protozoa (blasto), but also to help reverse some of the damage in the gut, which helps in keeping these bad bugs away. I paid attention to my rest. My energy levels. I continued to exercise to keep stress levels under control. And I watched my diet like a hawk.

In my case, the infection was addressed successfully and I have been symptom-free for almost a year now. Was it easy? Not always. But it was worth it. While I can’t guarantee that someone will have the same level of success that I did, I can say that taking an alternative route at addressing your IBS symptoms will probably help you feel better. I know for me, diet was the most important part of it. But also creating a self-care protocol that was customized to my personal needs helped tremendously as well. I am now able to sleep soundly. I no longer feel fatigued all the time. And the best part, is that I no longer feel stressed-out when going out with my family because of concerns of having to use a restroom.

If you want to find out if you may have leaky gut, assimilation issues, or even a pathogen, I recommend taking my free leaky-gut assessment by clicking here.

Grilled Chicken

Veronica Benton — Mon, 16 May 2016 21:09:20 +0000

My hubby asked me this weekend to make a grilled chicken. He wanted something similar to “El Pollo Loco” which is one of our favorite flavors as far as chicken goes. I have been pretty good about coming up with recipes that are tasty and very similar to recipes from different restaurants. I knew that they use citrus for their marinade as well as mild peppers. So with that in mind, this is how I made it:

Ingredients:

Juice from 1 organic pink grapefruit
Juice from 2 organic juicy limes
3 small organic sweet, yellow bell peppers (I also used 1 organic red bell pepper)
1/2 tsp oregano
1 tsp turmeric
2 tsp finely chopped garlic
1 Tbsp white vinegar
1 Tbsp avocado oil

Directions:
Place all ingredients in a blender and blend for about 3 – 4 minutes until ALL ingredients are mixed well and peppers are pureed. Save 1/4 cup of this mixture in a separate bowl for basting while grilling (this is important, NEVER EVER use the same mixture that you marinated your chicken in to baste as you can end up with a bad, bad case of salmonella)

For the chicken:
I used a WHOLE organic chicken which I sliced and separated into pieces. Place the chicken into a flat, large pyrex and pour sauce on top of it. Cover and refrigerate for 45 minutes.

Pre-heat your grill for about 5 minutes. TOSS the marinade that had the chicken (so you don’t end up using it by mistake) and then grill your chicken for a good 1:30 hours and medium heat, flipping and basting it every 10 minutes or so with the sauce you set aside.

A note of caution: Check your chicken close to the bone to make sure that it cooked completely. Oftentimes, you are only able to tell if the surface cooked completely and you might end up missing the meat close to the bone. It may also be easier to use chicken breast with no bones (although I like the flavor better with the bone in so if you make it this way, just make sure to cook it thoroughly).

Does this sound like you?

Veronica Benton — Sun, 08 May 2016 23:08:07 +0000

Does this sound like you?

You eat healthy, exercise consistently, live a healthy lifestyle, try to manage stress in the best way possible and yet…

Digestive issues plague you (yes THOSE issues)
You do the same workouts or diet as others and you don’t get results
You have difficulty getting lean or building muscle
Falling asleep can be challenging or maybe you wake up in the night and can’t easily fall back asleep
A big event, job interview or important meeting puts knots in your stomach or you have to run to the bathroom
Your doctor treats your symptoms but doesn’t know what’s causing them

I had all this and more and I was there too for a very long time. In fact, I thought back then that I was “pretty healthy”. It wasn’t until I found myself in fitness training for a competition that I started to notice how “not-so-healthy” I truly was. I was having issues building muscle and my digestion didn’t improve no matter how “clean” I ate. It was so bad, that even going out with my family was stressful because I never knew how my digestion would behave.

In looking back, one of the things I realized is that it had been at least 15 or more years since I had “normal” digestion. And I had gotten to a point where I just ignored the symptoms because when trying to get answers from my doctor, all he had done was give me medication to manage my symptoms without asking me the kinds of questions I know he should have asked. So I ignored my digestion issues and sometimes they would get better and other times they would get worse. I didn’t want to live for the rest of my life with a medication to manage symptoms. I wanted to find out what was going on with my gut and see if I could get them resolved or at least improved but I didn’t know where to go.

I had heard about Functional Diagnostic Nutrition® Practitioners through friends who had sought help from one and how they had been able to resolve some of their health complaints. Desperate for answers, I decided to look into their program and get my own answers. Through FDN®, I was able to run functional lab tests on myself and got some surprising things that my doctor never discussed with me:

Leaky gut
A protozoa
Hormonal imbalances
Assimilation issues
Food sensitivities

You know that saying “knowledge is power?” I felt extremely powerful for now having answers and clues to what was going on with me. And with this new acquired knowledge and the certification that came with my training, I was able to create a self-care protocol that allowed my issues to improve and even go away completely. 12 years of suffering from digestive issues are history.

Today, as a certified FDN® Practitioner, I help people find answers to what’s causing their most common health complaints. I don’t diagnose nor do I treat disease as a doctor would. Instead, I find healing opportunities in your body to provide the support it needs through a self-care protocol so that you can get your vitality back once we do the detective work to get you there.

If you think that you might have any of these issues, then the one sure way to know is to see if you have a leaky gut. You can start this process by taking a quiz that I developed called “The Leaky Gut Check”. You can also download my FREE Gut Performance report which might offer some help to start to feel better. And of course, you can always make a free appointment with me so I can provide some insights.