You’ve probably never spent so much time at home than now. Thank you, pandemic. The Institute for Natural Medicine would like to help you use this time to focus on your health. Licensed naturopathic doctors have come together from all over the country to offer their wisdom and years of experience in this Foster Your Best Health webinar series hosted by Beverly Yates, ND and Amy Rothenberg, ND to help you improve your health naturally. Think of it as a free house call.
Why an Elimination Diet is the Ideal Place to Start
Diet is a good place to start when reexamining your health because it is the foundation for overall health and wellness. No doubt you are eating at home now more than ever. But are you making the best choices? If this has been on your mind, you are in the right place to find the right food choices to reduce inflammation, limit food reactions and sensitivities and improve gut health, which is the holy grail of wellness and nutrition.
This webinar is one-of-five webinars that focuses on natural health at home. This webinar will take less than an hour to watch and tackles the issue of nutrition and what you can do right now – with all this time at home – to improve your diet. Don’t worry, it won’t mean trying to find expensively strange foods that you can only find online or your family won’t eat.
Let’s get started, first with an overview of the webinar topics. Then click on the link below to watch the webinar. When you register you will get access to all five webinars to watch when convenient.
Is What I am Eating Actually Good for Me … or Not Good for Me?
Good question and one that Denise Long, ND often hears in her practice. Should you eat wheat? What about dairy? Why do certain foods trigger a headache or stomach pain? The answer may be found in an elimination diet, which is a foundational practice of naturopathic medicine.
Dr Long discusses how a cleanse and elimination approach can identify the foods you may have sensitivities and diet-related inflammation that are leading to symptoms that may be hard to explain and never show up on an allergy test.
An elimination diet is a snap shot look into which foods you consume frequently that may be causing food intolerances and nagging symptoms that are difficult to find the cause. If you work with a naturopathic doctor, he or she will be overjoyed that you’ve decided to do this because it will give them clues as to what may be going on at the cellular level (if you need to find a naturopathic doctor, click here).
And, by temporarily eliminating foods and reintroducing them one-at-a-time, you can get a better idea of how your body is reacting to what you eat. They may be subtle, but the symptoms to look out for include, gas, bloating, heartburn, abdominal pain, stool changes, headaches, brain fog or skin reactions.
Why is this important? As Dr Long discusses, if you are eating something that causes inflammation in your gut, this could affect other systems in your body. She explains that everyone is different and that clean-elimination diet is a good place to start to identify food triggers and how your body reacts. By examining your diet – you will have the power to make the best decisions that are right just for you.
She explains that this isn’t something to you should just jump in to if you don’t have the time or dedication. Elimination diets take time, energy and a plan. However, since we are all on a repeat cycle of work, eat and sleep without much else to do, this may be a good time to focus on how your diet is affecting your health. If it’s not the right time, save this webinar and wait until you are ready. But, if you like most others have the time focus on you, by the end of the process, you will feel empowered to make the right decisions on how to eat to reduce reactions and inflammation.
What Does Diet Have to Do with Gut Health?
Crane Holmes, ND shares an overview of special digestive support diets and the microbiome and why you might benefit from changing your daily eating choices. Dr. Holmes specializes in gastrointestinal problems in his practice and how conditions like leaky gut can impair overall health and how to restore balance in the gut.
He starts by explaining what is the difference between nutrition and fad diets? He explains that there are a lot of diets out there that suggest eating certain foods and avoiding others. This might be good idea, but remember that your body is unique to you so what works for your best friend, may not be best for you. Should you eat animal proteins? Avoid gluten? What about dairy? The list goes on. Are they fads or do they have benefits?
Dr. Holmes explains that some of these diets can beneficial depending on your goals and symptoms. These diets provide structure and can help you gravitate to eat healthier and exercise. This might just improve your sleep and how you feel throughout the day. However, they can also lead to nutritional deficiencies, eating disorders and persistent fears of certain foods. They can also be socially restrictive and at their worst, damage the gut microbiome. More on a heathy gut diet here.
Instead, he recommends working with your doctor to find a diet that becomes a long-term lifestyle diet rather than a quick shot at a fad diet. The Mediterranean Diet is a good place to start because it is ideally suited to help keep your microbiome healthy. Foods defined within the Mediterranean diet and Whole-30 Diet have a dramatic impact on your gut health because of the fibers they contain. These fibers, which come from fruits and vegetables, are fermentable in the gut, which feeds the microbiome. Think of them as a lunchbox for healthy gut bacteria. In addition to what you eat, Dr. Holmes is a fan of the Med diet because it emphasizes exercise and socializing with others, while appreciating what you eat rather than fearing food.
Want to Learn More about the Elimination Diet, In-Home Hydrotherapy, How to Stock Your Natural Medicine Cabinet?
This Five-Part Series Brings Natural Health into Your Home. Click on Any One of the Images Below to Foster Your Best Heath.
Learn more about topics covered in this webinar series in the Institute for Natural Medicine content library and from our partners.
- What is an Anti-Inflammatory Diet?
- How Does Naturopathic Medicine Treat Heartburn and Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease (GERD)?
- How Do Naturopathic Doctors Improve Gut Health?
- Savory Mushroom, Leek and Fennel Tart and other Healthy Recipes, by Dr Sally LaMont, ND.
This article is sponsored by the Institute for Natural Medicine, a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization, partnered with the American Association of Naturopathic Physicians. INM’s mission is to transform healthcare in America by increasing both public awareness of naturopathic medicine and access to naturopathic doctors for patients. INM believes that naturopathic medicine, with its unique principles and practices, has the potential to reverse the tide of chronic illness that overwhelms existing health care systems and to empower people to achieve and maintain their optimal lifelong health. INM strives to achieve this mission through the following initiatives:
- Education – Reveal the unique benefits and outcomes of naturopathic medicine;
- Access – Connect patients to licensed naturopathic doctors;
- Research – Expand quality research of this complex and comprehensive system of medicine.
INM's team is made up of naturopathic doctors and health journalists.
