When Our Body Is Talking

What our Body Is Telling usWhat our Body Says About our Health Other signs seem to make no logical biological sense: Eyebrows that no longer extend over the corners of the eyes can indicate an underactive thyroid, and a diagonal crease in the earlobe seems to herald a heightened risk of heart attack. Some body signs can have a confusing range of meanings: Does that bulging tummy signify middle-aged spread or the beginning of ovarian cancer? The problem is that many of us don’t recognize the warnings, even when they’re staring us in the face. Many doctors and nurses alike say the patients should be vigilant for anything new or unusual about their own bodies. Common signals we shouldn’t  ignore. The body is a magnificent machine. When things go awry, it generally doesn’t just shut down without warning, like an incandescent light bulb popping its filament. Instead it sends us little signals (think of them as gentle biological taps on the shoulder) letting us know that something is amiss. Interpreting the body’s quirky Morse code requires a deep level of body awareness that, like any skill, takes time and practice to perfect. We describe, after searches some medical articles, nine of the most common conditions underlying frequent, and sometimes mysterious, symptoms. Read on to clue into your body’s messages.

1.         One likely signal: Itchy ears, throat or mucus membranes How to respond: If you think you have candida overgrowth, the quickest fix is to starve the little buggers. Candida flourish in the presence of both refined and unrefined sugar, such as fresh fruit, dried fruit and fruit juice. Cutting off their food supply can bring their numbers back to a healthy level. They also love refined flour products and anything fermented, such as alcohol and soy, so if you have a serious overgrowth, you may need to cut out all of the above for a number of consecutive weeks.

2.            You’re drinking too much diet soda… One likely signal: Headaches How to respond: When the urge for diet soda strikes, Kathie Swift, MS, RD, LDN, chief nutrition adviser for the online-based sites MyFoodMyHealth and My Foundation Diet, suggests drinking sparkling water flavored with a splash of 100 percent fruit juice and a squeeze of lime.

3.            One likely signal: Chapped lips How to respond: Drinking eight 8-ounce glasses of water a day can be intimidating, so if you’re not able to quaff that amount, you can still get hydrated by sipping herbal tea and working additional servings of fruits and vegetables into your daily diet. The transition to a more whole-foods diet puts us on autopilot to get more water because they are naturally high in moisture.  And, make sure to include whole foods that are rich in essential fatty acids, such as nuts and seeds, avocados, and anchovies and sardines, which help maintain healthy cell membranes and hold in moisture.

4.            One likely signal: Constipation How to respond: Eat more legumes, vegetables, fruits and whole grains. All are chock-full of fiber and other nutrients, making them natural go-to foods. Getting the recommended 35 to 40 grams of fiber a day not only improves bowel health, but it also lowers the risk of diabetes and heart disease. If you want other ways to sneak extra roughage into your day, the best is  sprinkling rice-bran fiber on salads or oatmeal  because it’s gluten-free and has been shown to help eliminate toxins, such as PCBs. Another good fiber boosters is a seasoning  pumpkin seeds, ground flax meal, sesame seeds, kelp flakes and sea salt — basically, a riff on gomasio, which is used as a salt alternative in Japanese cuisine. Put it in a wrap, sprinkle over brown rice or use to garnish soups, she says. “The nuts, seeds and ocean veggies are a nutrient- and fiber-licous powerhouse.

5.            One likely signal: Eczema How to respond: An elimination diet is the best way to pinpoint the offending food. Start with one or two foods you suspect  who prefers to call this the “illumination diet” because its focus is on “illuminating your health.” Don’t know where to start? Foods that are most likely to wreak havoc on the gut include wheat and gluten-containing products, dairy products, sugar, soy, eggs, corn and yeast. If you’re uber-motivated, take Haas’s advice and go off what he calls “the big five” for a week: wheat, dairy, sugar, caffeine and alcohol. It’s not easy to do but you’re guaranteed to learn a lot about your body’s signals. You might also consider keeping a food journal. Spend a week or two writing down what you eat and how your body feels in the minutes, hours and days afterward (e.g., an hour after you eat dairy, you feel bloated). It’s about pattern and symptom recognition and connecting the dots which in turn helps you decide which foods to eliminate first.

6.            One likely signal: Cracks at the corners of the mouth How to respond: Your best bet is eating a whole-foods diet and prioritizing foods high in B vitamins. The richest dietary source of B vitamins is found in brewer’s yeast or nutritional yeast (although, if you have candida issues, you’ll want to skip those). Other solid picks include wheat germ, whole grains, legumes, egg yolks, sweet potatoes, salmon, red meat, liver and poultry. Taking a good B-complex vitamin supplement can also be helpful (particularly if you’re a vegetarian). Under the care of a nutritionally inclined health professional, you may also be prescribed a supplement for a specific B vitamin (or even given a vitamin B-12 shot) to help correct a significant deficiency. But be careful mixing up your own B-vitamin cocktails. When taken in excess and out of balance with other Bs, certain B vitamins can wind up leaching nutrients out of your system. That’s why emphasizing B-rich foods should be your first priority.

7.            How to respond: Weil advises limiting your daily dose of caffeine to less than 300 milligrams (mg). As a reference, a 12-ounce cup of Starbucks brewed coffee packs 260 mg of caffeine, while a 12-ounce Americano (two shots of the coffee chain’s espresso added to hot water) contains 150 mg. A 12-ounce cup of black tea, on the other hand, contains roughly 100 mg and green tea only 50 mg. If you’re going to indulge think about the quality of the source. Are you drinking green tea or a chemical-laden energy drink? What’s a healthy amount for you? Most people know what amount their system can handle. In the meantime, support your adrenal glands with B vitamins (especially B5/pantothenic acid), vitamin C and licorice. Also, fuel up on healthy, whole foods that boost and maintain your energy.

8.           One likely signal: Burping and indigestion How to respond: Boost the first phase of digestion by becoming a more “sensory-based eater,” says Swift. That means enjoy the sight and smell of the meal before you dig in so that your gut has time to release digestive factors, such as hydrochloric acid, in anticipation of a meal. Then, eat more mindfully. Chew your food so that it’s easier for the gut to digest, especially proteins and fats. If you still feel like your food sits in your stomach like a rock, is recommend  trying digestive enzymes, which can help you better digest your food. For example, you might try a product called betaine hydrochloride with pepsin (a time-released protein digestant), found at health-food stores. Hydrochloric acid is the main ingredient in stomach acid. By taking it as a supplement, you’re basically giving your stomach a head start, especially with proteins and fats, which are the hardest food stuffs to digest, meaning they require more stomach acids than carbs. After you begin eating a meal with protein and fat, for instance, take one capsule. See how you feel after a couple of meals. If you feel OK, you can try two capsules and gradually increase to three or four. If you have any sensation of burning or acid indigestion, cut back to a level where you didn’t experience any negative side effects.

9.            One likely signal: Frequent colds How to respond: The experts agree that one of the easiest (and most delicious) ways to restore the gut’s healthy flora is to eat more foods rich in good bacteria, such as miso, sauerkraut, kombucha (a fermented Japanese tea), yogurt that contains live bacteria, and kefir (a fermented milk drink). The gut houses 5 pounds of beneficial bacteria. We have to feed this stuff. If you think your gut needs more than food can deliver, is  recommend  taking a daily probiotic that contains Lactobacillus GG or Bacillus coagulans (BC-30). Although many of the body’s messages can be decoded with a little guesswork and a lot of active listening, it’s important to remember that some of these same symptoms can be signs of more serious illnesses. If  after a couple of weeks of self-care, things don’t improve or resolve, it’s best to consult a healthcare professional. A chronic ache or pain is an invitation to stop and take a look at your life. Our body is telling us it’s time to make a change. Respect its request and odds are we’ll be heading off a greater health issue down the pike. Your health is very important for us. Stay alert When your Body is talking