Signs and Symptoms of Stress

How much influence does stress play in your life?

• When you feel out of control and confused due to an unexpected challenge such as a chronic illness, you experience symptoms of stress. When you are unable to satisfy your longing for the things that really matter to you, you may become frustrated and discouraged.
• The symptoms of stress fall into 4 categories and can interfere significantly with your ability to cope. They may accentuate some of the symptoms of the disease you are already experiencing.

The four areas where we experience the symptoms of stress are:

• Behavioural symptoms: procrastination, withdrawal from friends and family, increase or decrease in appetite, decrease in energy, inability to sleep, low motivation to participate in normal activities of life or the use of drugs or alcohol to cope.
• Emotional symptoms: feelings of sadness, depression, anxiety, irritability, low frustration level, excessive crying or angry outbursts.
• Mental symptoms: loss of motivation and concentration, decreased ability to complete daily tasks as your mind is consumed with worry and fear, decreased memory, reduced capacity for decision making, poor problem solving ability and loss of hope.
• Physical symptoms: excessive fatigue, physical weakness, headaches, lower back pain, muscle tension leading to tremors and spasms, increased heart rate, elevated blood pressure, increased respiratory rate, irritable bowel syndrome and digestive complaints.

List the symptoms that you have that you think might be related to stress.
The most important thing you can do to decrease your stress is to find a small step forward and to take it with courage and hope. Taking a conscious and positive action to deal with your situation is the single most important thing you can do to improve how you feel.

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Testimonials

Few people are lucky enough to have a mother as caring, supportive, and motivated as mine. One of the most important lessons I have learned from my Mom is the lesson of perseverance. My Mom has always believed that there is a solution and action plan that can match every challenge in life; she believes that we all have amazing, inherent gifts, and that the choices we make in life either stifle our talents or allow our true personalities to shine. So, when she was stuck with a screaming, emotional, tantrum-ridden two year old, there was no way that she was going to believe that that was truly who I was meant to be as a child. This is how my story begins. It begins with a mother who, despite other people's insistence that I was just a grumpy kid, discovered that the real reason for my behaviour was that I had food sensitivities to dairy, eggs, and paprika.
How did she cope with this daunting task? What I remember most was how she never let me feel left out. She brought me McDonald's on hot dog days in elementary school, baked me my own slice of birthday cake to bring to friends' birthday parties, and still makes me my own special pumpkin pie at Thanksgiving. I know that she looks at me sometimes and wonders what that berserk two year old would look like now at the age of 28. It makes me sad to think that I would be such a different person today, and that my family would have lived through that stress alongside me. Mom, I am so blessed to have someone in my life who has always believed that I have amazing things to offer the world, and who has helped me learn and stay true to the values that enable me to be my authentic self today.

Cari

We met at the Temple Grandin workshop in January. I'm not sure if you remember me but I think of you often. You gave me your pizza crust recipe and I have it memorized by now. It is an awesome recipe and our son really likes it. The rest of our family enjoys it as well. Our son has been gluten-free for 2 months and the difference is amazing. He did not speak at all before we tried the diet and yesterday I had a 3-sentence conversation with him! My heart just soars.
I am so grateful I met you and had the opportunity to talk about diets. It is always such a gift when my higher power sends such a wonderful person such as yourself my way. Please keep in touch and remember the coffee pot is always on at our house.

K.G. ~ parent of a 9-year-old boy with autism

Our son was a hyperactive, skinny, 4-year old who ran all day and couldn't sit still. He said "No" to everything, had stomach aches all the time, and never slept through the night. As he got a little older, he developed severe asthma and was unable to participate in recess or PE at school. Marg listened to me and led me step by step through the process of identifying what foods were bothering him and how to substitute for them. I committed 150% to the process as I felt completely frustrated and hopeless.
Marg's help was like the sun peaking between the clouds on a stormy winter day! We persevered with the elimination primarily of dairy and gluten and the results were nothing short of incredible. Within 6 months, our son was a happy, pleasant, cooperative boy without stomach aches. His asthma continued to improve and he was able to join in all the fun at school. I still remember the day he came home elated that, for the first time, he was able to play at recess.
Our son is now a healthy, happy, successful 20-year old. I can't tell you what a difference Marg has made to our lives. There is no telling where our family would be today without her help.

LF

I always know there is a safe place for me when coaching with Marg. She has amazing strength and resilience that I can draw from, which has made her my guardian angel as our family overcomes food sensitivity issues. Marg has amazing intuition for what I need and want, when I want and need it. She shares her wisdom and experience unselfishly and helps find hope and love no matter what circumstances are playing out in my life. I am always at peace, and at the same time inspired, each and every time I talk to Marg.

Elena Verlee C.P.C.C.
Mom, Entrepreneur, Author, Speaker, and certified life coach
www.connectthedotscoach.com
www.crossborderpr.com

Margaret has been a valuable resource and coach to several nursing leaders in the First Nations and Inuit Health branch of Health Canada this year. Her knowledge of nursing practice and experience, coupled with her skill as a coach and compassion as a human being have served a very challenging team well.

Juhree Zimmerman R.N., B.Sc.N., M.Ed., C.P.C.C.
Master Certified Coach
www.strategyforsynergy.com
... coaching leaders and relationships

Since I was little I have dealt with all kinds of stomach issues. When I would have an attack, we would always try and decide if this was the time to go to the hospital. Never really knowing what was wrong we tried to pass it off as anything we could. Lactose intolerant, irritable bowel, plain ol' gas, but nothing really seemed to fit the bill, or help. As I got older there were more symptoms appearing but I never thought of them as symptoms but just part of growing up. I was exhausted all the time as an 18-year old. I was itchy and had nightmares. 14 trips to the bathroom a day was about average. I even became more foul-mouthed, which was something I really did not like!
My mom was a client of Marg's and through a wonderful conversation, I feel like I was given a chance at a new life. Mom and I had our first phone call with Marg and both cried with joy. My sensitivity is dairy products, but it was making it hard to digest grains as well. For the first month I dropped all dairy and grains to give my body a fighting chance. Within 2 days, I already noticed significant changes. I even told my mom that I would love to hike a mountain! Marg gave me recipes to try and a book to read for more information specific to me. My husband, mom and dad helped support me immensely. I still am figuring out my exact diet, but I feel great. I have loads more energy and I don't miss the rest! I feel like a person who is full of life and ready to take on the day.
Marg has been such a blessing to me. She has made me realize that my story is important and that I can live with freedom and joy. She is very knowledgeable and is able to really work with you and give you the full support that you need. She has also become a dear friend to us. Thank you so much Marg!

Ashlyn Faber, 21 years old

This workshop really stirred my soul. Marg used fun exercises and created the time and space to get in touch with my inner self. This was inspiring and motivating.
Jennifer Foster, workshop participant
Marg puts you at ease straight away and any apprehension you feel about divulging your personal feelings and emotions is immediately quieted. Marg's thoughtful insight and ability to delve into any problems you be facing makes it harder for you to continue to ignore, yet makes it easier for you to tackle and try again tomorrow.
Monica, workshop participant
As my coach, Marg Evans has been a "mama bear" in her support of my dreams. She is unfailingly kind, caring, and insightful; she is passionate about helping me give my best to this world; and she can be tough on those inner voices that undermine me. Marg is a masterful coach and champion for anyone who is serious about living from their highest intentions.

Donaleen Saul
Writing Coach
Author of the book on life after suicide, "Did You Know I Would Miss You"
www.dsauljourney.com

As a Registered Nurse I thought I understood nutrition and its impact on the body. Not so! After listening to Marg Evans explain about food intolerances I learned a lot and realized that my son's symptoms fit right into what she was saying. I had a much healthier and happier son when dairy products were removed from his diet. Thank you so much Marg for your help with my son's diet and health and mine as well.

Margaret Kerr R.N., B.S.N.

Coaching is life changing! And coaching with someone like Marg is one of those opportunities that rarely come along in life. I see this gift as from God and honor and respect it as such. Marg is a unique individual who has chosen to live BIG in her life and then draws from that as she challenges me to not settle for anything small in my own life! I am not the same person after having worked with Marg as my Coach. Don't miss the opportunity!

Faye Webber C.P.C.C.
Certified Professional Life Coach
www.onwardcoaching.ca

I came to Marg looking to change my life. I had spent almost a decade of my life not living up to my true potential and I desperately wanted to make changes in my life with the help of a Life Coach.
Marg helped me open up my life and share things I never spoke about before; this was the first step in breaking through my personal barriers. From this step I learned so much about how and why I was living my life the way I was; because of my past and the disempowering beliefs I had.
Marg coached me each step of the way and helped me find my true self. I am very blessed and honored to have worked with an amazing Life Coach; you Marg were my angel of hope.

M.W.K.

I highly recommend Marg both personally and professionally to anyone looking for a coach. Her kind, warm heart and diverse personal and professional experiences, when coupled with her stellar coaching skills translated into a wonderful coaching experience for me as her client.

Kathy Santini C.P.C.C.
Certified Professional Life Coach
www.arbutuscoaching.com

I was diagnosed seven years ago with Systemic Lupus and have since been pursuing mainstream and alternative therapies to address the pain, fatigue, hormonal problems and mood disorders which seem to accompany most auto-immune diseases. Many sources I read suggested that identifying food sensitivities could be critical in managing or recovering from Lupus, Fibromyalgia, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, hormonal imbalances, adrenal fatigue, and mood disorders so I came to Marg for help.
I found her to be experienced, intuitive, wise, resourceful and compassionate. Not only was she able to quickly pinpoint my food sensitivities (dairy!), I walked away with an arsenal of skills for how to successfully adapt my diet to help me stay off dairy and avoid creating new "rebound" food sensitivities.
It has been two months since I went "dairy-free" and my pain level is down, my energy and stamina are getting stronger and my mood is becoming more hopeful. These changes take time and I am deeply grateful for Marg's twenty years of expertise in this area as I continue to find the diet that will best support a full return to health.

MJ

Margaret Evans has been a recipient of a "Community Partner Award" from The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society of Canada. Marg has given countless hours of her time to raise funds for blood cancer research and patient service programs and to raise awareness of the unique needs of young adults diagnosed with cancer. Marg is perceptive about client needs and is well acquainted with the resources in the community and how to access those services for the benefit of others.

Sharon Paulse
Patients Services Manager
The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society of Canada, BC/Yukon Region

One of the most significant changes I made in my life as a result of coaching with Marg was changing my family's eating habits. Many symptoms and behaviours that had been problems for years with my children disappeared! After we were successful with the food sensitivities, I knew that the rest of my life was going to change—for the better!!
I can hardly imagine how alone in the world I felt, before meeting Margaret. I shared my soul with her and she showed me that I had wings in place to soar—And then I did!!

Tina Meyer, CPCC
West Coast Coaching
604 644 8077

Working with Marg has been a gift sent from God at a time when I was ready for change. Marg used humour, intuition and powerful questions to guide me to a future full of hope, light and joy. She believed in me, championed me and even got fierce with me, but always recognized me as a strong person with the answers to my own life. It has been a pleasure to be on this journey with Marg as both friend and coach.

Dianne Hutchinson R.N.
Registered nurse, life coach
diannehutch@shaw.ca

Marg, I want to thank you for taking the time to come to our University and working with our diverse group of staff.
Your workshop, "Balancing Your Busy Life - Proven Strategies to Have it Now" couldn't have come at a better time! We have been trying to juggle our busy professional lives with all of the other 'stuff' of our personal lives and we really needed a sounding board and a fresh perspective.
You designed a workshop to suit all of us, part reflective, part interactive and wholly meaningful. Everyone who participated really benefitted from your warm personality, and your challenging yet respectful questions which really got us thinking. More importantly, I believe that all of us are able to act differently, based on some new perspectives around our lives and the choices we make.
Thank you and I look forward to your coming to our University again!

Cathy Anderson
Educational Advisor, University of the Fraser Valley

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Our Commitment to Clients

• To hold you as being capable and resourceful and the best expert on your own life. I will ask you the questions that will help you find the solutions from within yourself.
• To honour the fact that you have many important relationships and many different aspects to your life. I will spend time getting to know you so we can create a powerful coaching alliance.
• To work with you to sort through the challenges that you are facing and help you figure out what you want to do to move forward with hope and support.
• To help you navigate the resources available to you related to any health challenges you are dealing with. I will support you to find the type of help that you identify as best suited to your needs.
• To offer advice in my role as a nurse consultant only in situations where you request this type of information.
• To help you explore different ways of looking at your situation and to challenge you to develop a new action plan to again move toward your dreams when you find yourself stuck, frustrated, and discouraged.
• To work with you to increase your awareness of the choices you are making in your life and help you decide if they are truly leading you to the kind of life you want. We will look at the power of "living by choice" and find ways to help you regain this power in areas of your life where it may have slipped away.
• To acknowledge and celebrate all the wonderful successes and failures that you have. I will challenge you to show the same love for yourself.
• To help you identify the values that you hold that are most important in helping your reach your goals. We'll explore how you live those values every day and find creative ways to change some old habits to get you where you want to go.
• To never pass judgment on your words or your behaviour but, instead, to be supportive and to believe in you, no matter what.
• To honour the importance of client confidentiality and to not share any of the information discussed between us with anyone else without your permission.

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About Margaret

As far back as I can remember, I wanted to be a nurse who looked after children and their families. I fulfilled my dream and graduated from the University of British Columbia School Nursing 5 years after finishing high school. I fell in love with a medical student in my final year and married him after graduation. We have been married 34 years and have raised 4 wonderful adult children. It is their pictures plus our daughter in law that are flashing on my website!

My nursing experience took me to a number of clinical settings but it was the time I spent in paediatric oncology and the intensive care nursery that I loved the most. I was inspired as I watched families face such huge adversity. It was a privilege to watch them find internal strength and resilience that they didn’t know they had. I was always struck by how important it was for both the patient and the family to feel supported and heard. I experienced, first hand, the power of touch, a kind word, a thoughtful cup of tea and a few minutes of undivided attentive listening. It was such an honour to witness their stories alongside them. It was this opportunity to listen deeply to their individual stories that I loved the most.

When I chose to leave my “paid” nursing career and stay home with our 4 children, I did it in honour and celebration of the things in life that meant the most to me. I was aware, even then, how important it was to make conscious choices and decisions that were in line with my values. I have never regretted my decision.

Along the pathway of 56 years of living, I have also faced personal challenge and adversity. I have had to adjust to the difficulties of a chronic illness that often gets in the way of what I want to do and I have faced the death of a number of family members. Our children were bothered by food sensitivities from a very young age which frequently offered challenges with no clear solutions. We all persevered and gradually discovered that diet changes made a huge difference and their health and behaviour was transformed. They are now healthy and thriving adults. (You can read my entire Journey of Hope by clicking on this link)

I have had the privilege of sharing this information with hundreds of other families over the last 25 years and helping them experience, as well, the power of addressing food sensitivities. Our 2 year old grandson and are children are living proof that it works!
As our kids left home and I had more time and space to imagine what the next page of my life might hold, I again returned to my love of supporting families. I re-certified my nursing credentials and am now able to call myself a Registered Nurse again. I am a member in good standing with the College of Registered Nurses of British Columbia. I found the wonderful career of life coaching and completed all my training and international certification through the Coaches Training Institute. I am now a fully Certified Professional Coach. I am also a member of the International Coaches Federation.

It is now my privilege to support parents and families as they try to maximize the health and potential of their children. I get the opportunity to listen to their stories and help them to find the internal wisdom and strength that they often forget that they have. I enjoy the experience of helping mothers find meaning and balance in their day to day grind, children to find relief from some very debilitating symptoms, people with chronic illness to find new dreams and new hope and the opportunity to coach many young coaches as they, too, work to fulfill a dream and create a life they had only imagined was possible.

My life is amazing! I still struggle some days to find that elusive balance that allows me enough time to do all the things I love at a pace that is peaceful. I still have days where my joints hurt and my head aches and I have to adjust what I do. I am, however, committed to finding peace and joy as often as I can and encouraging others to do the same. I do my best to live fully in the moment and let go of the worry about tomorrow. I trust that tomorrow will unfold as it should and encourage myself to wait until then to see what it holds.

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WHY ME ? FACTORS CONTRIBUTING TO FOOD SENSITIVITIES

There is much talk in newspapers and magazines and even on Oprah about the topic of food sensitivities. As people become more aware of the impact and power that the food they eat can have both on their health and their behaviour, they are drawn to wonder if this issue applies them.

How do you know if you have a food sensitivity? How on earth did that happen? In our parent's day, this topic seemed to be unheard of.

Here are a few of the reasons that food sensitivities develop and why they are more common in this generation.

1. Family history: When I work with clients I spend considerable time unraveling their family history as many answers are found there. There is often a common thread of things such as ear infections, eczema, asthma, learning disabilities, chronic digestive complaints, alcohol abuse and behaviour challenges. In many families these symptoms are minimized and tolerated because they are so prevalent and considered the norm. Often these behaviours and symptoms change as the person grows older and it is very common to hear a story where a colicy baby becomes a toddler with ear infections, a school aged child with learning and behaviour challenges, and an adult with migrane headaches. Although the symptoms change, the cause and the trigger is usually the same food.

2. Effects on baby in utero: The diet and lifestyle of a pregnant woman is very important in determining the health of her newborn child. Foods consumed by the mother that she is sensitive to increase the likelihood that the child will also be affected. It is important for her to avoid foods that she knows have created some type of symptoms for her before she was pregnant and to find healthy alternatives. Many woman are aware that they have digestive symptoms when they consume dairy products yet drink large quantities of milk during pregnancy. This increases the risk of the child having a dairy intolerance so alternatives to dairy are a wise thing to choose.

3. Method of feeding: The early introduction of cow's milk into the diet of many children can result in colic, other digestive symptoms such as green stools as well as repeated ear infections and colds. Breast milk is definitely the milk of choice for children up to a year and even longer if there is a family history of food sensitivities. It is also important, however, that a woman who is breast feeding pay close attention to her own diet. If the baby has colic or any other symptoms, they are most often related to something the mother is eating. Colicky babies often have an amazing change in behaviour when the mother stops consuming dairy products. It is well worth giving it a try.

4. Introduction of solid foods: When solid foods are added to the diet of a child, it is important that they be added one at a time with at least 4-5 days between them. Often reactions take a few days to develop so going slow in the key. The foods that are common allergens should be avoided (dairy, wheat, egg, citrus, peanut butter, seafood) until the child is well over a year or longer if there is a family history of intolerance to one of these foods.

5. Multiple doses of antibiotics: Children and adults with food sensitivities often have repeated infections. These include ear infections, chronic bronchitis, pneumonia and sinus infections. While antibiotics are often necessary to cure the problem, they also have a significant impact on the digestive tract. They kill some of the bacteria in the bowel that facilitates digestion and the body then struggles to cope with food that is eaten. Some foods are poorly digested and are allowed to ferment in the bowel. This further compromises digestion and increases the symptoms of food sensitivity. The result is a roller coaster of symptoms and antibiotic use. The only way out of this cycle is the removal of the offending food from the diet along with other healthy food choices and things like acidophylus to recolonize the digestive track.

6. Diseases of the digestive track: People suffering from diseases like Crohn's Disease, Celiac Disease and Ulcerative Colitis are at increased risk for food sensitivities. Their bowel is inflamed and "leaky" resulting in many foods being absorbed into the body before they are completely digested. This results in chronic inflammation and can be a major cause of symptoms. Anyone who has a major illness like the flu with diarrhea or a severe ecoli infection is also at risk for food sensitivities until their bowel has had time to heal. Avoidance of dairy products is usually essential for the digestive symptoms to clear up.

7. Medications: Many medications are very irritating to the digestive tract and long term use can increase the risk of food sensitivities. Drugs used in Parkinson's Disease are an example as well as any of the anti inflammatory drugs such as Ibuprophen or aspirin.

8. Life Stresses: The bowel is very sensitive to your emotional state. Chronic stress results in a fight or flight response where your body is in a constant state of alert. When this happens your digestive system shuts down and much of the food you eat is not completely digested. Long term stress can weaken your immune system and increase your chances of developing a food sensitivity.

9. Diet and Nutrition: A varied and balanced diet is absolutely essential both for your health and to help you avoid the development of food sensitivities. The over consumption of a very few foods results in poor nutrition and a high likelihood of the development of a sensitivity to that food. This is most commonly seen in children where their diet is limited and they often will only eat very select foods. The food commonly craved is dairy products and children's diet becomes restricted to cheese sandwiches, macaroni and cheese, ice cream and yoghurt, and chocolate milk. These children very often have chronic runny noses, recurrent ear infections, whiny behaviour and many wet their beds as long as the age of 8. The solution is to remove dairy foods completely and offer them a wide variety of other healthy foods. How do you do that - topic of next week's blog!!

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Value honour choices make finding motivation easy!!!

I offer you a couple of questions to ponder: What will it take for you to do that one thing in your life you have been avoiding? What is holding you back? How might your life be different if you stepped up and did it?

Procrastination is a habit. When we face some task or decision we feel we "should" do, we very often avoid the topic. We find multiple excuses to do something else and are very clever about justifying our actions. Why is that? What is the hurdle that makes us so often stumble in our efforts to get the things we think we most want in life?

The answer is really very simple - we aren't connected enough to the reasons that really matter to us - not the reasons that matter to our parents, to our children, to our boss, or to our friends but the reason that is compelling and significant to us, alone.

Much of life coaching is about helping people connect deeply to what they value. It is true that a fulfilling life is one where our decisions and choices are in line with what is important to us. When we cheat ourselves and make decisions based on the plans that other people have for our life, it is almost impossible to find the joyful and peaceful life we are seeking.

So,I challenge you today - make a list of what matters to you. If you look back over the successful decisions and choices you have made in your life, what strengths did you draw on? Where did you show huge resilience and courage when you thought you'd never made it through? Value words are words like adventure,contribution, family, intimacy, perseverance, solitude, growth and nature. There are many, many more you can find for yourself.

If you are struggling to find the words that work for you, look back over your life and notice the themes that are present in times of joy, fulfillment and success. Is it when you are outside in nature that you are the happiest? Are you most fulfilled when you are spending quality time with your family doing things loaded with adventure? Do you find the soul filling rest that you long for in the solitude of the forest, the sounds of a beach, or the comfort of your own bedroom? Are you lonely and feeling isolated and need more intimacy and human connection in your life?

For my clients, I encourage them to create this list and keep it in some readily available place. When there is a decision to be made or a choice that seems difficult, they refer to this list. The process is simple. If they love adventure and the decision gives them more of that, the decision is likely a good one. If it brings more fun, more human connection, or the potential for most rest and solitude, it will likely fill their soul. If the choice takes them away from many of these things, the decision definitely won't feel right and won't serve them in the long run. This process enables them to find clarity in their decisions and consistently brings them closer to the life that they want.

Last week I wrote about the specific carbohydrate diet and the potential impact it can have on your health and your life. For me, the motivation to do it is based on the highest things in my life that I value - freedom, faith, family, choices, health, independence, intimacy, and peace. By doing all I can to be healthy, I am free to do the things I want, I can spend amazing quality time with my friends and family, I get to choose my life rather than let my circumstances choose for me, I can be independent rather than dependent on others and I can find the peace that I long for in my life as I lean into my faith to find my way. My life has been transformed because of this concept.

So, I ask you again, what choices are you avoiding that are negatively impacting your life? If you more fully honoured what you value, what is the first thing you would change? Is there something in your health that you know needs to be addressed that you are consistently avoiding?

Margaret Evans R.N., B.S.N., C.P.C.C.
Registered nurse, Certified professional life coach

Websites of the week: www.simpletruths.com, www.makeadifference.com
View these websites for the most beautiful and amazing short movies that will inspire you in all the areas of your life!

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GRAIN FREE DIET A LIFESAVER!!!

After a brief delay in posting on my blog because of family illness, I am delighted to again offer a little bit of the information that has transformed my own health. I have an autoimmune disorder called "Henoch Schonlein Purpura" - a fancy name for a problem that can impact my joints, my digestive system, the blood vessels under my skin and in my brain as well as my quality of life. A "flare up" can potentially railroad my life and force me to slow down to a snail's pace - something I resist in every way that I can.

As I have followed religiously the SPECIFIC CARBOHYDATE DIET, my symptoms have almost totally disappeared. The diet isn't always easy (sometimes it is downright challenging!) but the difference it has made in my health makes it all worth it. The diet consists of eating vegetables, fruits, meats and fish, some types of legumes as well as nuts and honey. The foods that are avoided are anything that falls into the category of a complex carbohydrate.

WHAT IS A COMPLEX CARBOHYDRATE?

Any foods that contain long chains of sugars that your body needs to digest are eliminated from the diet. The reason for this is that the enzyme amylase that digests these foods is often impacted when the gastrointestinal tract is inflamed. The little finger like projections on the bowel wall that hold this enzyme are flattened and covered with mucous and thus foods requiring this enzyme are left undigested. This creates irritation, increases inflammation and allows harmful bacteria to overgrow. This can result in a multitude of symptoms including joint inflammation, diarrhea and/or constipation, headaches, and bladder irritation along with both behavioural and emotional challenges.

The foods that are avoided include all grains (including rice), potatoes, starchy vegetables, and some types of legumes. Baking is done, instead, with ground almond flour which creates the most amazing cakes, waffles, and treats you can imagine. As well, most people find it helpful to avoid dairy products in the beginning although some people can tolerate home made yoghurt or dairy foods without any lactose.

If you have any type of autoimmune disorder, I encourage you to consider giving this diet a try. It can potentially transform the lives of people with Crohn's disease, ulcerative colitis, and many other problems where the digestive system is the trigger. It is easier and safer than taking yet another drug and infinitely easier than trying to live with the many symptoms of your problem.

The SPECIFIC CARBOHYDATE DIET is also the diet that is most often recommended for children with autism. Although removing dairy and gluten can often make some difference, often the removal of all grains for a period of time is what offers the most help.

If you are curious about the idea of this diet, please email me and let's have a conversation. I am pleased to share my own personal experience as well as the 25 years of experience I have had with many clients committed to improving their own health. My email address is margaret@dynamicchoices.ca

Margaret Evans R.N., B.S.N., C.P.C.C.

Registered nurse and Certified life coach

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