What the Heck is the ALCAT Food Sensitivity Test and Why Should I Care?

VeggiesMasahiro Ihara
This is a universal issue that we all need to be aware of.  Sensitivities to foods and other substances cause a reaction by our immune system and over time, this can result in a host of problems.  

Even though we sell the Alcat test, please don’t dismiss this as a sales letter... you never have to take the test to benefit from this article!  Below, I will cover:

  1. What is a food sensitivity and how can it affect me?

  2. How does the Alcat test work?

  3. What can I do today, even if I don’t take the test?

 

What is a food sensitivity and how can it affect me?

If you learn just one thing from this article, then let it be this... you can be sensitive to anything you put in or on your body.  The results of that sensitivity can be subtle and delayed, making it very tricky to figure out.  However, just being aware to the fact that you could be sensitive...

Fructose Overload (Infographic)

Of all the foods that can inflict damage on your body, sugar - especially fructose - is one of the most dangerous. Soda is just one among the many food and beverage sources of fructose, the largest calorie source of Americans today. The sad fact is that the average American drinks more than 60 gallons of soft drinks each year.

 

Often in the form of high-fructose corn syrup, fructose is a potent pro-inflammatory agent that speeds up aging, leads to insulin resistance and obesity, and sets the stage for chronic disease, such as high cholesterol and triglyceride levels, high blood pressure, vitamin and mineral deficiencies, liver disease, cancer, arthritis, and gout.

 

It is recommended to keep your fructose consumption to less than 25 grams per day. If you have a condition related to insulin resistance, keep it below 15 grams. Through this infographic titled "Fructose Overload," discover common fructose foods and drinks you should avoid like the plague, along with stealth sources of this sweetener.

 

You probably don't know this, but fructose is hidden in many of the foods you eat every day....

5 Ways to Sleep Better Tonight

5 tips for a good nights sleepepSos.de

Sleep is a fundamental key to our health and our success.  It’s vastly underrated and undervalued, and I’m going to keep hammering that point.  Being tired is just the body’s way of saying... “yo, dumb dumb... go to bed already.  I have a lot of repairs so you can be ready for tomorrow.”

 

Habits are by far our best friends and worst enemies.  The fact that you are even reading this is proof that you care about your health.  Well, I’m here to tell you that habits, not will power will make all the difference.  Awareness and discipline when life is going smoothly, will create habits that see us through the crappy times.  This is true with everything, including sleep!

 
1.  Get Physical

Even if you’re working out 4 times a week, don’t completely skip your off days.  On those off days, you’ll reduce your stress and sleep much better by being active.  Sometimes it helps to...

Are You Living In An Unhealthy Building?

HousesCity of Vancouver Archives

Does Your Building Depress You?

Everyone has an off day from time to time. Nothing is perfect, which means everyone occasionally has the kind of day that simply depresses you. However, if you have those days more often than not, you may suffer from something more serious than just a bad day. If you are feeling down or depressed, your building might be to blame. You may not think that it’s possible, but building related illnesses are real, and many people suffer from them without ever considering the source.

 

Are You Living in an Unhealthy Building?

It may not sound like something you’ve ever heard before, but sick building syndrome is real. The Environmental Protection Agency, or the EPA, has determined that there are some buildings that simply make its occupants feel sick. While many people experience the same symptoms all over the world, several people in the same building suffering from the same indicators means that the building is...

Active Living Tips For Seniors

Seniors Walkingfaul

The golden years are called that for a reason. Retirement can be a great time of your life, but it’s important to keep up an active lifestyle to make the most of your later years. Here are some tips to help seniors stay active.

 
Get Your Exercise

Exercise is important for all people, but it is especially important for seniors. The fact is that, later in life, the muscular strength decreases and joint problems increase. For those that want to keep up an active lifestyle, getting the proper amount of exercise each day is vital, as it will make the little things (like walking up and down stairs or just getting in or out of a chair) a whole lot easier.

 

There are lots of options for improving your exercise routine later in life. You can join an exercise group (there are lots that are organized just for seniors), or you can work with a personal trainer to develop good exercise habits. Whatever you...

2 Minute Look at the Mediterranean Diet – Can it Lower Cardiovascular Risk?

Mediterranean dietnitdoggx

The New England Journal of Medicine recently published the results of a clinical trial that asked the question; Does eating a Mediterranean diet reduce the likelihood of having a cardiovascular event in people with high risk factor?

 

The trial included 7447 people age 55 to 80 (57% women) and spanned 4.8 years. None of the participants had known heart problems before the trial began, but all of them were at risk. This meant that everyone in the study had either Type II Diabetes or at least 3 cardiovascular risk factors (hypertension, high LDL, low HDL, overweight, family history, or smoking).

 

Everyone was split into one of three groups: a Mediterranean diet supplemented with extra-virgin olive oil, a Mediterranean diet supplemented with mixed nuts, or a control diet (just advised to reduce dietary fat).

 

When the dust settled and they excluded the ones that didn’t stick to the diet, they found that the folks eating a Mediterranean diet had a 29% lower risk...

5 Helpful Tips For Choosing A Gym Membership

gym membershipCherryPoint

Choosing a gym membership can be tricky. Gyms vary in size, offerings, membership benefits, and they types of exercises they feature. Gyms also vary wildly in price and location. A gym that your friend loves may not be a good fit for you.

 

So how can you find the right gym without trying it and getting locked into an expensive gym membership that you won’t use? While some gyms offer trial packages, you should do some research and consider what you want out of your gym ahead of time. Using a specific set of criteria will help you determine the best gym membership for you.

 

Choose a location

The gym that you choose must be close to your regular haunts around town. The gym should be close to your house or your work. You will not want to take the time to travel halfway (or all the way) across town just to exercise. Look for locations in a safe area to ensure...

Is This Strain of Probiotics “The One”?

Rainforestpellaea

A recent study from Japan published in the British Journal of Nutrition found an 8.5% reduction in abdominal area fat over a 12-week period. A 2010 study published in the European Journal of Clinical Nutrition showed results about half as good... that’s still pretty good in my book.

 

This study looked at just one strain called Lactobacillus gasseri SBT2055 (LG2055). But before you clear your schedule to find a product containing just this one strain, let me give you my take on it. Scientific studies are great at isolating one thing, testing that one thing in a well controlled, unbiased manner, and then reporting the results. That’s the way it’s done and that’s the way it should be done. However, it’s the interpretations and resulting actions that leave me scratching my head sometimes.

 

Our bodies contain over 100 trillion bacteria! This number ALWAYS makes me pause. It’s truly beyond the reach of my little brain to fully grasp. By comparison, in 2005,...

The Boob Tube and the Sandman – Does TV Affect How Our Kids Sleep?

watching tvBrett Hammond

Ipod, Fire Kindle, big screen, computer screen, this screen, that screen... all things our kids love to do before bed.  Recent research from the University of Auckland in New Zealand setout to ask the question; Do the things our kids do 90 minutes before bed affect how fast they are able to fall asleep?

 

The researchers looked at over 2,000 kids ages 5-18 and lumped their pre-bedtime activities into 1 of 3 buckets: screen sedentary time, non-screen sedentary time, and self-care.  Then they threw the onset of sleep in 4 other buckets: very early, early, late, or very late.

 

The entire group averaged about 30 minutes of screen time in the 90 minutes before bed and TV was the most common activity.  One of mine has been known to watch Zack & Cody on the Kindle, while watching Psych on the TV!  They found that the kids that had the most screen time were the ones that took the longest to...

5 Ways To Eat Locally Grown Food Without Even Getting Your Hands Dirty

Farmers Market photo by USDAgov

This article also includes the best resources for finding each of these great food sources!

 

If you don’t have the time, space, interest, or desire to grow all of your own food, then you’re in luck! There are several options that will help you, your family, and your community.  Now, I’m not going to go into a long diatribe about mass produced, long haul food.  Just for arguments sake, I’m going to assume we all agree that buying food locally from farmers we know, and farms we could actually visit, is a pretty good thing.

 

CSA (Community Supported Agriculture)

CSA farms have been around for over 25 years, but most people I talk to have never heard of them.  It’s like the garden stock market;  you buy shares with a local farmer and those shares stake your claim to a portion of the bounty.  Each week of the season you will receive a box of farm fresh goodness.  Some CSAs will...