Wellness | Health Guidance | Nourishing Foods
We were a fairly sick household in February. I say fairly because it was not all at once but one at a time… thank you suppressed immune system… When I finally fell to a cold my lovely friend Heather delivered the ingredients for her amazing …
The need for clean air at home has never been more important. With wildfires raging in our home state and the air quality plummeting, it’s genuinely a big deal. But we also had been living in a house with mold for months and suffering for …
Let’s imagine you have been working on your diet and doing well. You are working toward a healthy diet and clean eating… even goals like 5k runs and exercise groups or (gasp) even a half marathon. The problem is, you have been told by your nutritionist or doctor that your sugar levels are still not in a good range and you are hitting a wall. You have removed soda, processed sugars, and sweets. Now you are left with wondering where the sugar is coming from. Here are a few hidden sources of sugar and what you need to do to remove them from your daily diet.
Coffee Drinks
You may not think about coffee when you think about hidden sugars in your diet. The truth is, your one packet of sugar that you do not think about adding, can add up during the day. You can end up with a large amount of sugar if you drink several cups of coffee a day. On top of that, coffee drinks that are specialty drinks may have much larger amounts of sugar than you think. Though you can request the nutrition facts, there may be artificial flavors that have sugar in them that are not listed separately.
Pre-Made Juices
You may think that you are being healthy by picking up a juice instead of a soft drink. The truth about pre-made juices is that many of them do not contain real juice. Most of them contain a small percentage of juice combined with a large amount of sweeteners and sugars. This is something that many people don’t consider, and unfortunately as a given they believe it’s healthy. If you’re going to go the juice route, which I often don’t recommend anyway, consider getting a veggie blend juice or smoothie (yay, fiber!) that is organic and actually, authentically fruit… and check the grams of sugar on the nutrition facts before you buy.
Frozen Dinners
Frozen dinners, aside from containing endocrine disrupting plastics, rarely come to mind as a containing sugars. In many cases, sugars are used as more than just a sweetener for the small amount of dessert, pasta sauces and breads. Sugars can be found in most frozen dinners, even savory ones. For example, dinners like lasagna and meatloaf or salisbury steak have sugars in them to help sweeten sauces and gravy. To avoid this, you can make your own frozen dinners and that way you know what is going into your pre-made food. It also gives you the option of having food on demand instead of making the choice to get something quick that can be heated but may be loaded with sugar.
Gluten-Free Snacks
People generally think of gluten free as healthy. Often though, sugar is used for texture and as a binder in gluten free baked goods and snacks and it can have far more than a similar product that is not gluten free. Make it a habit to turn over the package and look at the ingredients for hidden sources of sugar.
Pre-Made Health Drinks
Health drinks, like smoothies, are like pre-made juices. They may seem like a healthy choice but they are not necessarily a good choice. Some smoothies contain sweetened milk as well as sugar based yogurts or fruits with very high amounts of natural sugars. Instead, make your health drinks like protein based drinks as well as smoothies at home. You know exactly what is going into your drinks and you can control the fruits and natural sugars as well as boost it with some bone broth protein or Sacha inch protein and a healthy fat to control that sugar spike.
There is always an alternative to sugar that is healthy. You do not have to go with a chemical sugar substitute either. Keep that in mind when you begin to remove sugar in these hidden sources before you jump to the conclusion that there is no replacement option and that these hidden sources will just have to stay in your diet.
Some of my favorite substitutes are dates, raw honey, maple syrup & maple sugar if you are going for a simply cleaner, paleo type diet. But remember that they are still sugar! I like pure monkfruit to sweeten things as it does not have much effect on insulin like a lot of faux sugars do. I transitioned my family (or I should say my husband) off of the bulk of their sugar intake over ten years. I withdrew refined sugar and replaced it with organic and unbleached. Then I moved to rapadura and sucanut. I substituted some of the sugar in recipes with dates, figs or ground fruits like lucuma. He is still not a fan of monk but I find that if I use just a bit he doesn’t notice. For a lot of our birthday and holiday bakes, I opt for Swerve as it is non-gmo and birch based erythritol, but that is few and far between. Allulose, which comes from figs, is also a decent option for diabetic and the sugar sensitive, such as myself. My kids will eat my cookies that are only sweetened with monk fruit these days and love them. The point is these things take time for some, while others can quit cold turkey. I haven’t had sugar in over 20 years as it causes me physical pain.
I hope this helps!
xo,
Brenna
Having to avoid nightshades is frankly annoying. Back in my pre-Hashimotos days when I was running 20-30 miles per week and cutting whole bags of jalapeños onto every meal I also enjoyed a nice fat burger with mushrooms, blue cheese and hot chips (French fries). …
Eating nose to tail might not be your definition of fun, but with some amazing hacks and tricks, it can be so delicious that even the hubs and suspicious children will gobble it up. Incorporating organ meats (offal) into recipes is incredibly nourishing, hormone balancing …
Most of us are hopefully conscious about what we eat, but the holidays have a special way of triggering overindulgence and alcohol plays a big role.
The holidays shouldn’t be a time for guilt but for joy and celebration! Alcohol can be a vibrant part of this celebration, but if you’re watching your health, you need to choose well…
I had to give up alcohol when I realized I had Hashimotos… it was sad really. I very much enjoy a good red wine and a quality scotch, but it’s not the best when you’re trying to heal and your liver needs all the help it can get! After about a year I was able to reintroduce wine because I found Dry Farm Wines. They are lab tested, contain no sugar and are lower alcohol… so perfect for the health conscious.
Just imagine if you could enjoy wines this holiday season that you know fit your lifestyle and taste incredible. Because they really do.
ALL the wines from Dry Farm Wines meet very strict purity criteria. Their list of criteria is long, but here’s an idea:
The result is a Paleo & Keto friendly, naturally lower alcohol wine that tastes pure and delightful.
So the big question I get asked…
Wine is the perfect probiotic… and is right up there with kimchi. And most certainly better than kombucha.
Natural wine is incredible.
Simply, natural wine is when a wine is made with organic grapes and native yeast. Nothing is added, nothing is removed. No human intervention.
That means natural wine is alive in the bottle, full of beneficial bacteria and antioxidants. It hasn’t been filtered or chemically altered in any way.
From a taste perspective, this vitality makes each bottle of natural wine a unique experience. Leave the same bottle open on your counter overnight and you’ll wake up to a whole new wine.
But the beauty of living wine goes beyond taste. All those yeasts, bacteria, and colorful compounds that make natural wine delicious also help you live a healthier life. The secret lies in your gut bacteria.
Right now, as you’re reading this, trillions of bacteria are thriving in your gut. These little companions outnumber your own cells – you’re actually more bacteria than you are human. Feeding the good bacteria in your gut can give you some glorious health benefits: staying lean, feeling happy, and even being more social.
For example…
In short, your gut bacteria regulates your health. It helps you look and feel more vibrant.
So, how does wine enhance it?
Natural wine is alive, which means it’s rich with precious bacteria and compounds that strengthen your microbiome. To name a few …
Polyphenols, the antioxidants that give red wine its color, feed good gut bacteria. They also remove harmful bacteria to make room for the new ones to grow. Two superb sources of polyphenols in your diet are red wine and coffee.
Flavanols and wine aroma compounds protect brain cells from dying in people who drink moderate red wine daily, and ward off Alzheimer’s Disease in mice.
Resveratrol, an antioxidant found in grape skins, makes mice leaner by fostering a balanced gut. You may have heard of resveratrol; it gets a lot of attention in the news, but the reality is most red wines have nearly undetectable amounts of it. Wines that have the most are Malbec, Pinot Noir, Petite Syrah, and St. Laurent.
Saccharomyces cerevisiae is a wild yeast that gives wine a spicy, fruity flavor. But it’s good for more than taste: S. cerevisiae also increases absorption of zinc, magnesium, calcium, and iron through your intestinal wall. Commercial wine is sterilized to get rid of most native yeast, but you’ll find an abundance of S. cerevisiae in natural wine.
Probiotic bacteria also form in wine while it ferments. Commercial wines are filtered to get rid of nearly all bacteria and sediment, but natural wine keeps those beneficial bacteria in. Among them is Pediococcus pentosaceus, a bacterium that attaches to your intestinal wall and protects it from pathogens like E. coli. Wine also contains lactic acid bacteria that have similar probiotic benefits as fermented foods like kimchi and miso, and unique wine probiotics that decrease gut inflammation in mice.
It can, although the harmful compounds are either far lower or entirely absent in natural wine.
Sugar can feed the harmful yeast Candida and other pathogens in your gut. Sugar hurts gut bacterial balance and decreases brain function in mice, too. Stick to “dry” wines that are left to fully ferment; they have less than 3g/L of sugar, which tastes crisp and won’t cause bloating.
Alcohol is a toxin for your gut, too. It increases gut permeability (leaky gut), which can cause gut inflammation. Try to find lower alcohol wines — less than 12.5% ABV — to avoid negative effects.
Acetaldehyde is a fermentation byproduct that increases intestinal permeability and makes you feel hungover. During the final steps of fermentation, though, yeasts use up acetaldehyde as fuel, and bacteria break it down. Natural wines typically have far less acetaldehyde because they’re unfiltered and ferment without human intervention.
The short answer is to get real wine, grown in accordance with nature.
Organic grapes. Grapes grown organically (without pesticides) have more polyphenols and antioxidants than conventional grapes do. Grapevines produce antioxidants as a natural way to protect against microbes and pests. Organic vines aren’t artificially protected by chemical sprays, which means they produce many more antioxidants to survive.
Natural wines. Commercial processing techniques, like extreme filtration, damage or remove many of the good compounds in wine. Manufacturers often replace them with artificial coloring and lab-created yeast strains.
Low sulfites. Sulfites kill bacteria to stabilize a wine. The lower the sulfites, the more alive a wine remains. You can see the difference under a microscope — low-sulfite wine is vibrant with a diverse spectrum of wild bacteria and yeast.
Sugar-free, low-alcohol wine. Sugar and alcohol are the two biggest toxins in wine. Try to find the driest, lowest alcohol wines possible.
So there you have it. By drinking moderate amounts of natural wine, you can help keep the companions in your gut healthy and happy. In turn, they’ll take good care of you.
These are the perfect wines to enjoy over the holidays and to share with family!
For this holiday season, Dry Farm Wines is offering a few specially curated selections:
All memberships as well as holiday gifts can be found here: DryFarmWines.com/BrennaMay
One of the things I love most is that they back up their wines with a 100% Happiness Promise. If you don’t like the wines, they’ll either ship you replacements or refund you fully. And I’ve never had to take advantage of that offer.
Dry Farm Wines has recently launched an Olive Oil line and a Wine-Meets Elixer line as well… and I’m excited about both!
XVOO Extra Virgin Gold by Dry Farm Wines is 100% pure extra virgin olive oil that’s organically grown in small batches by family farms.
There are three Italian oils (500mL bottles) curated for health and enjoyment.
Not all olive oils are created equal: over 75% of imported oils don’t qualify as extra-virgin. Even if you find “extra virgin” oil in stores, it’s likely not accurate. Olive oil fraud is widespread, with fake or diluted products being sold as the real deal. Hi quality olive oils also boast a higher smoke point which makes cooking that much safer and more enjoyable.
Capturing olive oil at its freshest is both an art and a science not practiced by most commercial brands. XVOO curates the most delicious, healthiest, and trustworthy oil on the planet through direct relationships with small farmers, independent lab testing, and a relentless commitment to taste and meet a strict set of criteria, including:
You can pick up some of these lovely oils here: dryfarmwines.com/xvoo/brennamay
Bolixer is pure natural wine infused with wild botanicals. Intriguing… I haven’t tried them yet but I have my eye on the Lavender Red!
If you would like to try these, Dry Farm Wines is throwing in a free tote bag with purchase of the bolixir Intro Mix. dryfarmwines.com/bolixir/brennamay
If you decide to take the plunge let me know! I’ve been enjoying them now for about a year and a half. And they’re compatible with most of my programs… so here’s to health and good wine!
Cheers to your health!
Brenna xo
I was long convinced of the benefits of coffee enemas for months before I gathered all the pieces together to do one… and then it was months again until I actually used it. I was terrified to try. But the benefits speak for themselves and …
Of late this smoothie has been my go-to to get through the afternoon slump. It’s how I break my fast for lunch, and carries me through my post homeschool run so I can tackle a bit of work with a fully functional brain. I love …
Who loves guac?! Personally, I love guacamole… but I truly do not enjoy the speed at which I have to consume it so it does not turn brown. Once in a while I will make fermented kefir guac which doesn’t brown, but I can no longer tolerate dairy so lacto-fermentation is out. I recently took a trip to Middle Tennessee and met some fermentation hippies in posh Brentwood & Franklin but I had to leave off trying most of their goods because of nightshades & dairy. As soon as I got home I took my bag of mushy avocados and fermented onions and whipped up a gorgeous batch of nightshade free fermented guac. I ate it over two days. Not a hint of browning. Yum.
If you’re all good with nightshades, which I am these days thanks to a whole lot of gut healing, just add in as many diced jalapeños as you like! One for mild, 2-4 for spicy.
Give it a shot! Let me know what you think!
Brenna xo
THIS POST CONTAINS AFFILIATE LINKS. As someone who uses a decent amount of supplements because of my MTHFR mutation (amongst others) and is trying to naturally clean my body of parasites, I feel I have a pretty good idea of the quality once I’ve …