Eating too fast is a serious issue and has detrimental consequences to your digestive system! When you don’t take the time to fully swallow each bite before taking the next bite, that’s when you know you may be eating to fast! If you are a fast eater, you probably aren’t even aware that you are taking 4-5 fork fulls of food in the time it takes a normal paced eater to take one.

The whole digestion process starts in your mouth in the chewing phase. It is really important to actually chew! We should be chewing at least 20-25 times per forkful.

The following digestive problems occur when we eat too fast:

• We delay the feeling of fullness when we eat too fast. Therefore we tend to overeat.
• It is harder for our digestive system to function properly, resulting in poor digestion, including indigestion and heartburn.
• It increases the chances for experiencing indigestion and heartburn.
• Causes the gut to contract, sending you to the restroom almost immediately after eating, a sign of poor digestion, since it means you are not breaking down the foods enough to absorb the necessary nutrients.
• Weak digestion leads to a weak immune system, which leaves you susceptible to illnesses.

Improve your digestive health simply by eating slooowwweeeerrrrr.

Eating is supposed to be a mindful event. Fast eaters miss not only the nutrition in their food, but also the leisure of taking the time out to relax and improve their wellbeing. Perhaps not coincidentally, fast eaters are often guilty eaters, who feel that food is at fault for making them fat, and that they need to quickly sneak their meals because they are doing something wrong. Ironically, it may be the speed at which they eat it which is actually at fault!

Enjoy your food slowly and stay healthier. Here’s how:

• Stop and take a deep breath before eating a meal. Be mindful and remind yourself to pay attention to your breathing and the pace at which you eat.
• Eat at a table, away from the TV or computer (which tend to contribute to overeating.)
• Eat in a quiet, relaxing environment and never eat when you are upset or after (or during!) an argument.
• Make sure you chew and swallow your food before putting the next bite in your mouth. Set your fork down between each bite to train yourself.
• Make sure you are actually tasting the food. Try to notice how the taste changes during the eating process. What is the aftertaste? How is the initial taste? Focus.
• Take smaller bites. Try to count to 30 while chewing.
• Try to figure out why you speed eat and / or overeat. For example, many fast eaters grew up competing with a sibling for food. Eat it now, or it’s gone later. Many carry this with them into adulthood.

Some Benefits of eating slower:

• You will begin to enjoy and favor healthier, whole foods as most commercial and processed foods are engineered in such a way to only taste appealing in the first few bites.
• All the stomach aches and things that “didn’t agree” with you may disappear.
• A trimmer waistline.
• Stronger body from better absorbed nutrients

Eating slower is a simple, healthy habit that can be easily learned, improving health and disease prevention factors tenfold. If you are recovering from life as a fast eater or could use a little help in your digestion, Probiotics are a very valuable supplement for your digestive aid.

For those suffering the consequences of fast eating, some healing can be brought on by blending your food with a high powered blender such as the Vita-Mix. This type of blender allows you to receive ALL of the nutrients from your food whether you chew or not! due to the fact you can make a smoothie out of ALL of the parts of the vegetable. This type of blender does not separate out all the “good” stuff like a juicer does.

What's next? Uranium enriched Bread?!

Bread is everywhere! We can’t escape it, it creeps into our diets daily. However, I try to keep it to a minimum. Here’s why:

If you ask me (which you did, right?) I’ll tell you that most “Whole Wheat Bread” is poison too! I’m talking about commercial processed breads – most of which (among other undesirable ingredients) – include bromide (more on this evil chemical soon). Oftentimes, sadly enough, if its a typical highly processed commercial bread, the fact that it is whole wheat doesn’t make it much better than choosing its white brother.

So…Why is bread bad for you?

There are different schools of thought at work here. Some say that even whole wheat commercial bread is better because it is loaded with fiber and its glycemic index is lower. However, what I’m concerned about in processed bread is a pretty nasty ingredient- bromide- and the fact that all the naturally occurring nutrients have been stripped out in the factory process.

I don’t buy the argument that commercial/processed whole wheat bread is still healthy because all the vitamins and minerals (calcium, iron, vitamin E, etc) are added back to the flour as part of the process. Its still no match for the naturally occurring nutrients that were there in the first place! Also, the companies are using them in their synthetic form, which are not able to properly adapt to our bodies.

Processed bread is treated with a variety of chemicals from the ground to production in order to “bleach” the flour and prevent it from sticking- such as:

• insecticides
• fungicides
• benzoyl peroxide or chlorine dioxide (known to cause cancer)
• methyl bromide
• nitrogen trichloride
• alum
• ammonium carbonate
• nitrogen peroxide

Yuck!

These “hidden ingredients” can cause:

• allergies that manifest as bloating, diarrhoea, eczema, asthma, headache or general malaise or lack of energy
• leaky gut syndrome
• growth of unfriendly toxin generating bacteria in the gut
• slowing of bowel transit time, so toxic substances are in contact with the bowel for longer

It sure makes me crazy that someone would buy a refined, processed “whole wheat plus fiber” bread at their grocery store, hoping it is what they need to support the gastrointestinal tract and help flush out toxins. When they are getting the opposite!

This somewhat dated video of Dr. Mercola in the grocery store describes this scenario:

So…What’s Bromide?

Bromide is a dough conditioner found in most flours as potassium bromate. It came into use in the 1960’s as an “improvement” on potassium iodate.

I’ll cut to the chase: Bromides disrupts the endocrine system and slow down the metabolism. Because bromide is also a halide (Any organic compound that contains a halogen atom can be considered a halide) it competes for the same receptors that are used in the thyroid gland (among other places) to capture iodine. This will inhibit thyroid hormone production, resulting in a low thyroid state. This throws your metabolism out of whack.

Why on earth do they use it, then?

Some commercial bakers claim they use bromated flour because it yields dependable results, and it makes more elastic dough which can stand up to bread hooks and other commercial baking tools.

The UK banned bromate in bread in 1990. 
Canada banned bromate in bread in 1994.

Back in 1999, the Center for Science in the Public Interest petitioned the FDA to prohibit the use of potassium bromate, charging that the FDA had known for years that bromate causes cancer in lab animals, but had failed to ban it.

Who’s not using it?

I prefer non baked breads, known as “live bread”. Not only are the enzymes, minerals and vitamins (all the “goodies”) in it, but no bromide is added and it is more filling, energizing and nourishing.

There are many brands of live bread, my personal favorite being Ezekial Sprouted Bread. I’ve also heard that some manufacturers are starting to advertise their bread as “Bromide FREE.” Look for these!

The healthiest option, though, is to look for “Sprouted Bread”. This is bread that hasn’t been baked but still retains a very bread-like state. It’s packed with all the naturally occurring nutrients and enzymes that processed bread strips out. Other healthier options is to make your own bread from grains such as spelt, quinoa, rice, etc.. (You can easily make your own at home with a Vitamix blender. View this link for a closer look.)

Cast thy bread upon the waters, friends. Let it drown.

References:

Is Whole-Grain Wonder Bread Really Good for You?

The Little-Known Secrets about Bleached Flour…

Iodine and Chelation, Heavy Metals and Halogens, International Medical Veritas Association

Like many people these days, you might be searching for an alternative to antibiotics. It always seems any little infection we get, the answer from doctors is always the same: Antibiotics!

It is foolish to always rely on antibiotics as the quick fix to any infection, since they can have so many different causes, and every time we take these meds, our bodies build up a resistance to them…meaning that antibiotics often cause more problems than they ultimately fix!

But there is an alternative…. GSE – Grapefruit Seed Extract. Seriously!

This “liquid gold” is made from the pulp of the grapefruit seed. GSE is a bitter, yellow-tinged liquid. Just a few drops mixed in water or juice is the usual method of usage. Here’s my favorite: Nutribiotic – GSE Liquid Concentrate, 4 fl oz

The seeds of grapefruits, when processed into the liquid, unleash their plant chemicals (or, scientifically speaking: Polyphenolic compounds). The plant chemicals released from the grapefruit seed happen to be extremely anti-microbial , meaning they fight against bacteria, fungi, viruses, and parasites and disallow them to thrive. GSE doesn’t stop there. It also strengthens the immune system and naturally aids the body to rid itself of toxins, and to neutralize free-radicals (making it an excellent antioxidant.)

It has so many other uses…here are just a few of them:

Internal uses

• Sore throats: gargle with it a few times a day to rid you of your sore throat.
• Alkalizing substance:It is known that alkalizing the body (or maintaining a healthy pH level in the body that is not too acidic) is the key to health disease prevention. Fungi, bacteria, and parasites can’t survive in the alkaline environment created by GSE.
• Intestinal problems: Stomach pains, digestive problems, and diarrhea can all benefit from a shot of water with 6 or so drops of GSE.
• Vaginal yeast infections: A douche with GSE can clear up a yeast infection.

External uses

• Jock itch
• Thrush
• Skin fungus
• Insect bites
• HPV and herpes

Nutribiotic – GSE Liquid Concentrate, 4 fl oz is an essential on any backpacking trip. I traveled all over the world and it came in very useful for every little off stomach in third world countries.

Best of all, you don’t build up immunity to it…and you don’t need a prescription. You just feel….clean inside. Thank me later.

So whenever you are looking for an antibiotic alternative, reach for the GSE! This anti-microbial “liquid gold” has over 100 uses to ward off fungus, bacteria, viruses and even intestinal parasites!