Most of us spend more time about thinking what to eat than what to drink.

 We can go quite a long time without food as long as we stay well hydrated. Medically speaking, most doctors agree that healthy humans can go up to eight weeks without food as long as they have water. Living without water is very different from living without food. We need water to live, plain and simple. We lose water through sweat, urine, feces and even breathing. Assuming we are not in a hot or cold climate, and we have a healthy body, we could go up to 3-4 days without water before dying.

Generally speaking the MAYO CLINIC recommends up to 8 cups of water a day. Although Americans regularly drink, it is estimated that 10% of Americans don’t drink water at all….ever.

I once had a client who proudly announced that she is not doing that “WATER” thing meanwhile she had a dysfunctional thyroid and weight problem.

The average healthy adult contains 70% water. As we age the percentage of overall hydration decreases in the body tissues, affecting overall health and symptoms. It is also known that obese people are more likely dehydrated due to the fact that fat cells inhibit the storage of water within the body.

Here are few signs of moderate dehydration:

·         Dry eyes and mouth

·         Heart palpitation

·         Blood pressure fluctuation, getting up from the floor and feeling dizzy are signs of dehydration

·         Muscle cramps

·         Constipation

·         Chronic Fatigue

·         Dry skin -check by pulling the skin on top of your hand if it does not move back quickly you are dehydrated            

·         Dark yellow urine

·         Constant hunger

·         Joint and back pain

·         headache

Chronic dehydration can lead to allergies, autoimmune diseases, cancer, diabetes, lupus, chronic depression and chronic exhaustion. For more information about the connection of dehydration and disease please refer to the book, “Your Body’s many Cries for WATER”, by F. Batmanghelidi.

During my consultation I ask my clients how many cups of water they drink, usually the average person has around 4cups, but meanwhile each of my clients has at least 2- 3 cups of coffee, 2 glasses of alcohol, 2-3 cups of soda per day.

Coffee, soda and alcohol are very dehydrating, even if you find information on the internet telling you different. For every cup of coffee and/or alcohol you lose up to one cup of fluid do to the high content of acid. We all know that beer, wine and coffee makes us end up at the restrooms quite often throughout a girls’ night out.

Most of my clients start their day right away with coffee, which results into an extremer dehydration since the body is already naturally dehydrated from the night before.  

We not only need water to have our body systems function, we also need water to flush out toxins, which is one of the most important factors during chemotherapy and radiation.

But remember not every water has superb quality, I suggest purified filtered water as the best form of hydration. I actually owe a filtration system on the top of my kitchen counter that eliminates chlorine and fluoride from the tap water, without eliminating important minerals.

I once saw an interview with an older very healthy looking woman. The reporter asked her about her BEAUTY and HEALTH secret and she said: “Every day I walk around 5miles at my neighborhood, every time I pass by at my house I go inside and drink one cup of water, so I know after I am finished I had at least 5 cups of pure water for the day.

So next time you happen to read another article about a miracle diet, instead of reading get yourself a tall glass of water and drink it.

Birgit your Herbalist 

Growing up in an environment of homemade stews, soups, dinners and desserts let me believe, that this is the way everyone eats at home.

Once I moved to America as a newlywed, I realized that this is actually more an exception than the norm.

My first visit to one of the big American Groceries store was breathtaking. I have never seen so many premade frozen Dinners in a store. I was so excited, ready to embrace the new life of CONVENIENCE, no more chopping onions so your eyes tear. Here is the future I thought to myself, and I was happy to be part of it.

At that time I did not work fulltime, so I was responsible for Dinners. Every day I walked to one of the grocery stores and picked a fantastic frozen Dinner with mushroom sauce, egg noodles.  After I heated up the Dinner, I even had time to decorate the dining table, put some nice music on, and open a wine bottle, and all this in under 20min.

After a few months of eating like this, I started to feel irritated, moody, tired, fat and exhausted. I immediately thought that this is probably because I just moved to America and I might suffer from culture shock and home sickness. 

Then my digestive problems started. After every Dinner I got really bloated, pinching in the stomach and tired. I could not figure out what was wrong with me, so I decided to research some of the ingredients from my Dinners. It did not take a lot of research until I found out that 90% of frozen, preserved and processed foods are high in MSG.

MSG, monosodium glutamate, is a flavor enhancer that’s known widely as an addition to Chinese food, but is actually added to thousands of food products that everyone in America eats regularly. You can find MSG in canned soups, crackers, meat, salad dressing, FROZEN DINNERS, breads and even in infant formula.

MSG is more than just a seasoning like salt and pepper, it actually enhances the flavor of foods, making processed meats, and frozen dinners taste fresher and smell better, salad dressings more tasty, and canned food less tinny.

MSG has very little taste at all, yet when you eat MSG, you think the food you are eating tastes fantastic!  IT DOES THIS BY TRICKING YOUR TONGUE, by getting your taste buds “excited” to stimulate your appetite. MSG is literally called an EXCITOTOXIN. The food industry has discovered its own “ANTI-APPETITE SUPPRESSANT”.

Here are just a few side effects of eating MSG:

Insomnia, Migraines, Alzheimer’s disease, dizziness, diarrhea, obesity, diabetes, heart disease, asthma attacks, allergies, nausea, chest pain, shortness of breath, mood swings, memory loss and cancer.

This is just the tip of the iceberg, as of right now scientists don’t really fully know what MSG can do to our bodies.

Once I discovered just the side effects of MSG, I decided to go back to my old way of cooking which means cutting, chopping and cooking my own food.  

In case you are interested in reducing your intake on MSG, you need to start reading food labels.

The food industry has noticed that more and more consumers are trying to avoid MSG, so they gave MSG some new names for example YEAST EXTRACT, AUTOLYZED YEAST, HYDROLYZED VEGETABLE OR ANIMAL PROTEIN, PROTEIN-FORTIFIED, ULTRA-PASTEURIZED, FERMENTED, ENZYME MODIFIED, CASEINATE, SODIUM CASEINATE, CALCIUM CASEINATE and even under natural-sounding names such as BOUILLON, BROTH STOCK or MALT EXTRACT.

Besides yeast extract, a common name for MSG is “natural flavors”.

My grandmother from Austria, who is 94 years old, told me “TO KNOW MY FOOD”. To know where it came from, who planted it, picked it, and cooked it.

Michael Pollen author of several nutritional books says:

Don’t eat anything your great grandmother would not recognize as food

Don’t eat anything with more than five ingredients or ingredients you can’t pronounce

Don’t eat anything that won’t eventually rot.

Don’t buy food where you buy your gasoline

And the best advice for last “EAT FOOD, NOT TOO MUCH, MOSTLY PLANTS!”

Birgit your Wellness Coach

(in case you like to know more about the danger of MSG please listen to the video talk from MERCOLA http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2007/08/28/dangers-of-msg.aspx)

Christmas is right around the corner and all what I can think about is STRESS.
Yes, I am a mom of two children and Christmas is everything else but RELAXING AND CALM. 
This year I  started my Christmas shopping on Black Friday at Midnight! Never once in my life did I think I would be standing in line with tons of other crazy shoppers to get one of the must have toys for 50% cheaper. But here I am, happy that I can cross off one more thing of my ever long lasting "TO DO LIST". 

STRESS, we all know it very well. But did you know that STRESS is the main cause for most peoples doctors' visits.
We all know that stress is a major factor of heart disease, indigestion, sleep disorder, headaches, even diabetes and cancer. 
Studies have shown that stress elevates cortisole, a stress hormone. Once our bodies overproduce cortisol other hormones take the backseat like serotonin, melatonin, insulin, estrogen, progesterone and testosterone. 

Here are just a few body symptoms due to hormonal imbalance:
infertility
depression.
anxiety
PMS
diabetes
thyroid underfunction
indigestion
 and weak immune system.

Have you ever noticed that after a prolonged time of stress you are coming down with a flu!
Have you ever noticed that most people get sick during vacation?
Have you ever noticed that during stress even if you skipped meals you gain weight?

Well, you can thank your bodies overproduction of cortisol for that.

Most people would answer the question with a "NO". But let's think about  this for a moment.
Our skin is the biggest organ of our body. Most smokers know, if they try to reduce their cigarette addiction they  place a quit-smoking patch on their upper arm, which will reduce their addiction symptoms immediately.
But what does that mean?

Well, our skin actually absorbs medication faster than our digestive system. 
It's being said that our skin can absorb nutrients and toxins 70% faster than our stomach. 
So why on earth are we buying products that specifically indicate "ONLY FOR EXTERNAL USE". 

Big companies like "CLINQUE" make sure that we are left in the dark. Beautiful models, actors sell their products and let us know that the products will give us beauty and youth. 
Nobody would ever tell us, that certain ingredients of those wonderful pretty glass jars can cause thyroid disease, allergies, hair thinning, weight gain,autism, depression, learning disabilities,  cancer....

There are virtually no restrictions on the ingredients in personal care products (sun lotion, shampoo, face cream, mascara, eyeliner, ......) since the FDA cannot require safety testing of products before they are sold to the public. 

Here are just a few ingredients to name:


 Petroleum based products: Known by names like petrolatum, mineral oil, paraffin, paraffin oil, paraffin wax.
USES:
Used in shampoos, hair relaxers, anti-aging creams, mascaras, perfumes, foundations, lipsticks and lip balms.
HAZARDS:
These chemicals commonly used in cosmetic ingredients are byproducts of and derived from crude oil and may have known or potential carcinogenic (cancer causing) effects. They may also be contaminated with unlisted hazardous impurities such as 1,4 Dioxane and PAHs due to their manufacturing process.
They coat the skin, clog pores, and interfere with the body's natural ability to eliminate toxins.


 Sodium Lauryl Sulphate (SLS)/ Ammonium Lauryl Sulphate: Often disguised on cosmetic labels, especially those labeled as 'natural', with the description 'comes from coconut'.
USES:
Found in shampoo, bath and shower products, and toothpaste. Used to degrease engines, used in car washes and garage floor cleaners. Used as an emulsifying and foaming agent. 90% of foaming products use this ingredient.
HAZARDS:

--May cause damage to the liver, lungs, and immune system.

--May cause depression of nervous system, diarrhea, and reproductive system disorders.

--Severe skin irritant.

--Damages respiratory tract and eyes.


3. Phthlates (pronounced thay-lates: go by names such as Dibutyl phthalate (DBP), di(2-ethylhexyl)phthalate (DEHP), butyl benzyl phthalate
USES:
These toxic cosmetic ingredients are found in perfumes, hairsprays, and nail polishes. Phthlates are used as skin moisturizers, and to enhance penetration of skin. They are also used as plasticizers to soften plastic.
HAZARDS:
--Known to have negative effects on the reproductive system and early development.
--Act as hormone disruptors. Associated with premature breast development in girls and problems with reproductive development in male fetuses.


4. Parabens: Derived from petroleum. Also known as alkyl parahydroxy benzoates; and butyl, methyl, ethyl, propyl, or isobutyl paraben.
USES:
Cosmetic ingredients that are found in deodorants, moisturizers, and some food items. They are used as preservatives.
Hazards:
Interfere with estrogen levels.

5. Fragrance: Usually listed as 'fragrance' (in the US), or 'parfum' (EU). Commonly used in cosmetic ingredients and personal care products, fragrance may contain up to 4000 separate ingredients, although typically most products use an average of 50-100 fragrance ingredients. These ingredients have no restrictions and are not required to be listed separately.
USES:
Often used to mask the scent of other ingredients or to make the product smell more appealing. Fragrance is added to most personal care products on the market. 95% of the chemicals used in fragrances are synthetic derivatives of petroleum.
HAZARDS:
--Fragrance may have an effect upon the central nervous system, and interfere with metabolism, hormones, and act as endocrine disruptors.
--These hazardous cosmetic ingredients can cause headaches, dizziness, breathing disorders, allergic rashes and other allergic reactions, skin disorders, coughing, vomiting, depression, hyperactivity, irritability, and chemical sensitivities.

 BHT: Other names BHT goes by are butylated hydroxytoulene and E 324
USES
Used in facial creams, lipsticks, sun lotions, and mascara. Used as an antioxidant preservative.
HAZARDS
May cause behavioral changes and problems with reproductive system. Contains toluene (See number 8 above) Causes allergic dermatitis.


What can you do?
Start buying organic products and products that have a short ingredient list with names that you can pronounce and understand, just like mine :) There are also great webpages where you can find out the safety of some of your products you use like www.ewg.org

I have created my own personal care products due to the fact that I could not find products that had ingredients I consider safe. And of course I did have some advantage of being an Herbalist:)

Remember your skin absorbs the toxins faster due to the fact that there is no filter like the digestive system. Anything you put on your skin gets immediately absorbed into the blood stream. Once your blood stream has absorbed the toxins, their won't be any barrier towards your brain, organs, and every other cell within your body. 
So next time you buy a shampoo for your children, ask yourself the question "Can you drink it too"!!!

Please check out this video to learn more about the safety of our products!!

Birgit your Herbalist

TI am always on the quest of finding out what people eat who live the longest.  During my educational years I have heard everything from eating meat, no meat, raw food, cooked food, dairy or no dairy. I am a strong believer that real life sometimes can teach us more than scientifically controlled double blind studies.

Here are some longevity tips from the HUNZAS, OKINAWAS and VILCABAMBANS


he Hunzas live at the northern tips of Pakistan, at the Himalayan Mountains. The Hunzas are famous for their high rate of centenarians, people who live up to 100 to 110  years old.
 Dr. White studied the health of 20 100 year old Hunzas, and could not find anything wrong with them, not even their eyesight decreased by age..  Compared to our believes aging is not associated with health decline, instead most of the elderly living in Hunza have extra ordinary vitality and energy. Famous mountain climber recall to have Hunza people  as old as 80 years, carrying their heavy photographic equipment up the mountains, without a trace of exhaustion.

Here is what the Hunzas eat: 80% of their diet is eaten uncooked. When vegetables are cooked, they are typically lightly steamed, using minimal amount of water. Once cooked the water is always consumed with the vegetables. Fresh corn for example is never cooked! They soak lentils, beans, and peas in water for several days. Then they place them into the sun to dry. They eat their beans when they begin to sprout. They grow apricots, peaches, pears, apples, plums, grapes, cherries, mulberries, figs, and many types of apricots. Their favorite food is the apricot. In the summer you can see their roofs of their houses covered with apricots for drying in the sun. Hunza people are famous for eating lots of apricot kernel seeds which evidently have powerful anti-cancer properties (especially vitamin B17).  Hunzas eat rarely meat and only in community celebrations.

Okinawa is made up of 161 beautiful islands is sometimes called “Japan’s Hawaii”. Okinawa has been studied thoroughly because of its high life expectancy. Okinawa today accounts for 15% of the world’s  documented super centenarians (110 years of age). The word “retirement” does not exist in the traditional Okinawan dialect.  Researches confirmed that the elderly had no trace of heart disease, cancer, osteoporosis, Alzheimer’s, arthritis or diabetes.

Here is the Okinawa diet: They eat a diet high in vegetables, nothing processed or packaged. Protein comes from soy most likely fermented soy (miso, tempeh), grains and fish. Seaweed is also a staple food at their diet. The emphasis is on dark green vegetables which are rich in calcium, and they don’t eat any dairy and seldom eat meat.

Vilcabamba is a small village in Southern Ecuador located in an elevated Valley. The Vilcabamba Valley is extremely inaccessible and has therefore been protected from many modern influences just like the Hunza Valley.  Vilcabamba people are famous for their longevity, happiness and vitality. These people don’t have the word “old” in their dialect instead they use the word “LONG-LIVED”.

Here is the Vilcabamba diet: They eat lots of whole grains, vegetables, fruits, seeds, beans and nuts. Once in a while goat milk and eggs are consumed but very rare. Their diet is very low in calories, and protein comes mostly from grains, vegetables and beans. Carbohydrates come from quinoa, wheat, barley, potatoes, yucca and sweet potatoes. Fat comes from avocados, seeds and nuts. They never have dessert instead they eat sweet fruits like mangos, bananas, papayas, figs and pineapples.

But besides their eating habits all three cultures have few other similar lifestyles regardless of their natural habitat.

·        They laugh a lot and only see the bright side of life

·        They are very social sometimes they hike for hours over the mountains to meet their best friend

·        They are naturally active, for example long walks through the mountains to get to their work place. (they 
         don’t engage in excessive exercising, instead they engage in regular daily low-intensity physical activities)

·        They stop eating before they feel full. 

·        They never eat processed or packaged food.

·        They have a very strong believe in the PURPOSE OF NOW - 

·        They take time to quiet their mind via meditations or nature walks.  One 107 year old Okinawa said “Life is short. Don’t run so fast you miss it!”

·        They are very spiritual orientated. 

·        They all have a sense of belonging. The young people love being around elderly since aging is seen as something to strive for.  

If you are interested to learn more about these cultures I recommend the book “Healthy at 100”, by John Robbins, or the book “The Blue Zone”, from Dan Buettner.

 Buddha quote: “A man is only old when regrets take the place of his dreams.


Birgit your Herbalist 

Did you ever wonder what  diet Olympic athletes follow? Well I did a little bit of research and it turns out that it is absolutely individual. Yes, there you have it. We can't ask them to tell us what to eat since every "Body" is different, but there was one thing that was the same throughout all the athletes:

"The main focus was on total intake of calories, high amounts of nutrients and having a healthy balance of carbohydrates, fat and protein!"

 NO pure Atkins diet or neither a pure VEGAN diet. Again we have to settle with moderation in every aspect. 
A former Olympic athlete told me that they are like a perfect running machine, with little or no room of improvisation, which means the moment they eat too many carbohydrates,  or too many proteins and too less nutrients their performance would suffer. 

So what does that mean for us. Focus on an high nutrient diet. If you provide your body with all its essential nutrients like calcium, magnesium, iron, potassium, zinc etc. your body tends to crave the right amount of protein, carbohydrates and fat.  


My favorite swimmer is Natalie Couglin. She announced in one of her interviews that she primary focuses on getting lots of nutrients into her diet. Here is her favorite breakfast: Green Smoothie - coconut water, kale, spinach, frozen pineapple, frozen mango, chia seeds(protein). YOU GO GIRL :)

Enjoy the Olympic Games and remember that not a single athlete is eating desserts, candy, ice-cream and drinks alcohol months before their performance. Once you can do this, you might be able to get onto the 
Olympic  Try-out TEAM :)

Birgit your Wellness Coach 

Have you ever tried to loose weight by eating less, exercising more and actually found yourself gaining weight? Well you are not alone, and NO it is not muscle gain!!!

It was not your fault of not running harder and longer,  it was the fault of your hormone "leptin" which is produced in your fat cells. 
Leptin is a hormone that tells our brain that we had enough food and gives the body the permission to start burning fuel. Simply said your body starts burning fat. 

In case you decided you need to loose 2-3 pounds  overnight, you just figure "EAT NOTHING" run for "5 MILES" and you will be at least a 1-2 pounds lighter the next day. If this would be true you would not be here today.  Our ancestors made it happen that in case of food shortage and hard physical work, our bodies reduce the metabolism (fat burning) to preserve the little fat storage they had. SIMPLY SAID- The better your ancestors stored fat the more likely they survived. 

Leptin is a our weight control office. If leptin senses that there has been way to less food, it calls the brain (hypothalamus) to stop blowing through fuel. It's like with a car. If you happen to notice that you are almost out of  fuel, you will try to use your gas pedal as less as possible, so you can cruise into the nearest gas station without ever burning fuel. 

 So how can you trick your body to avoid the "STORE- EVERY- BITE- OF-FOOD" situation?

Eat high amounts of nutrient dense foods. Most nutrient dense foods have lots of essential fats (Omega 3), high amounts of vitamins, minerals, macro nutrients and easy absorbed protein. 
For example steamed veggies (high nutrients) with flaxseed oil (Omega 3's) and beans (easy absorbed protein) One bowl less than 300 calories compared to one cup of CAPPUCCINO (no nutrients and omega's) same amount of calories. 

The old believe of calories and calories out only works for a short time.. Most people  loose weight on a very restricted calorie diet but most of them will gain all and some back within 2-3 weeks. 

Eating less and exercising more equals "FALSE FAMINE". Jump off from the believe of less is more, start fueling your body with proper nutrients and you might loose weight before you even put on your running shoes!

Birgit your Wellness Coach 

MINI COURSE - More about Seasonal Allergies

As soon as spring has sprung, everyone most likely has the need to stock up on Kleenex.

It’s good to understand a little bit about what seasonal allergies are and why we get them.

Seasonal allergies are, at the most basic level, our immune system stressing out.

Pollen in the air can make ANYONE sneeze for a moment, just the same as sawdust can, but it should not cause a complete attach on your nose, eyes and sinuses.

So how can we calm the body?

 Each body can handle a certain amount of stress. Stress can come from your job, your in-laws, environmental toxins, hidden food allergies, viruses, bacteria and pollen.

If your body can handle high amounts of stress, you can stand in front of somebody who sneezes and you won’t get sick. But if your body has reached its tipping point you might come down with the flu.  What I am trying to say is that something that should be normal-like pollen-are suddenly a big problem.

Another factor in allergies is the tag-team of your liver and kidneys. You need your liver to break down excess histamines that your body produces in case of allergens. This residual material, together with waste water, is then passed in the form of urine, through the bladder before being finally expelled from the body. So in case your kidneys and liver are not doing a great job, your blood stream will reabsorb the histamines again which can cause a vicious cycle.

Here are just a few things you can do to relief your allergies. .

Reduce your exposure to toxins. Wear gloves and a mask when using dangerous chemicals, especially pesticides, paints and cleaning products. Buy green products and don’t use any synthetic beauty products they all cause extra burden on your cleansing organs like kidney, liver, intestines and lung.

Get enough sleep. During allergy season your body needs a minimum of 7-8 hours sleep. If your body does not get enough sleep, it won’t have enough time to detox throughout the night.  The first sign of inadequate cleansing is a feeling of tiredness in the morning even if you had enough sleep.

Eat whole foods. Processed foods contain all sorts of additives, from artificial colorings to preservatives.

Reduce stress. Stress causes high production of cortisol. Usually small amounts of cortisol are a great anti-inflammatory and anti-histamine but in excess it can counteract and cause extra burden to every single cell in the body. Symptoms of cortisol exhaustion are chronic fatigue, weight gain, increased food sensitivity. Did you ever think about why most of the people develop seasonal allergies in their late thirties?

Reduce mucous forming foods.  80% of people are sensitive to certain foods.  Food sensitivity can cause high mucous production within the membranes (nose, lungs, intestines). Did you ever wake up in the morning and you needed to clear your throat, that’s a sign of food sensitivity. Wheat, sugar and dairy are one of the highest mucous building foods.

Support your liver. The herb milk thistle is a known liver ally.  I personal like to increase my intake on Bitter Greens like dandelions, mustard greens and radish leaves. Bitter greens help the liver to release toxins and dead tissue. Chlorophyll  is another great liver ally, it can protect the body from carcinogens and it strengthens and detoxifies liver and blood. (Use chlorophyll or chlorolla tablets) Drink a tea made from dandelion roots, burdock roots and nettle.

Support your kidneys and adrenals Holy Basil or Tulsi reduces cortisol levels and brings back hormonal balance. Horsetail is another great kidney and bladder support. Drink lots of clear filtered water at least 8-10 cups a day. Cut down on salt! Avoid high sodium products like bacon, salami, piece of jerky, sun-dried tomatoes (1000mg one cup), cheeses and snack foods.  And again NETTLE, nettle is a natural diuretic, which means it helps eliminate excess water from the body by increasing urination.  

As you can see there are lots of things you can do to relief allergies. Most important be prepared -plan ahead for the next spring season ;)