The one thing I truly loathe hearing is people blaming their past, current or future health problems completely on genetics. It bothers me that people are so easy to put their own personal health out of their own hands. When someone blames their health condition completely on genetics, not only have they attempted to take blame off of their lifestyle, but even more important is that they have taken the healing out of their hands. Well, your genetics are not the end-all-be-all, epi-genetics is a more accurate way of looking at health conditions.

Epigenetics, straight from its Latin derivative is outer-genetics meaning outside sources that impact gene expressions. What this means is that there are non-genetic influences on your DNA, which impacts how it is expressed. So if you tell me that you have high cholesterol because it’s ‘genetic’… Sorry but I just don’t buy it.

Some people will read this and be upset that unless they take control of their lifestyle and their health issue may not resolve. Others may read this and be content that they actually have control over their health condition and then they can resolve their health issue. Which one are you?

I think you can take control of your health condition, modify your lifestyle and eliminate this outer source that is causing chaos upon your body. Essentially, the environment impacts your genes and can cause your body to change and modify itself it order to compensate. Take for example the infamous genetic-blaming disorder hyperlipidemia, also known as high cholesterol and high triglycerides. Many people will see their doctor, and they will be told that they have high cholesterol and if dieting and exercise doesn’t help then it ‘must’ be genetic. However, what if they are just not introducing the right foods, or perhaps they are doing other things like excess alcohol, that could be contributing to their cholesterol issues. Or perhaps they are cholesterol-deprived and their body is trying to compensate with excess cholesterol production. Maybe they are under extreme stress. Each of these aspects are epi, or outside environmental sources.

Nutrigenomics, the study of nutrients on gene expression is a new up and coming science. A book I just read by Naturopath Dr. D’Adamo (of the Blood Type diet) goes very deep into nutrigenomics. It is called The Genotype Diet. This book is way ahead of its time, and I highly suggest you read it. It essentially takes everything I said, but puts it in a book with personalized genetic analysis. Go get it!

-Ralph Esposito

Follow me on twitter @ nutritiondocnyu

Has the novelty of having the kids home from school worn-off – for both you AND the kids?! Yep, it’s that time of year again – the younger half of the household is more restless than usual and getting the blues, while the adults try to downplay their relief!  Back-to-School!!

So let’s start with the wake-up.  If you don’t own a trumpet but, would still like to get the kids out of bed quickly – Take at least a week to slowly shift your kids’ sleep schedule back to meet their needs: At least 10 hours of sleep for six to eleven year olds and at least 9 hours of sleep for ages twelve and above.

To avoid having your carefully prepared bag lunch find its way immediately into the trash when out of your eyeshot – Make Lunch a Team Effort- When it comes to creating healthy, yet desirable school lunches, the trick is to involve the kids in planning and preparing new lunch ideas. Offer them 2 or 3 healthy options each day. When your child chooses one, ‘team-up’ to make and pack the lunch. Whether it’s spreading on condiments, rolling up tortillas or filling baggies; the effort will give kids a sense of pride when sitting down for a healthy lunch! Together come-up with a collection of favorite sandwiches and offer-up a fresh variety each day of the week. When children become bored of their school lunch favorites, often most of their lunch ends up in the trash instead of their tummies.

Be creative when using basic sandwich staples. Think chicken and corn, ham and avocado, cheese and carrots or cream cheese and jam. While there is no way to ensure that your child is not trading away their food, you are preventing them from buying school lunches which consist of mostly processed food.

TIP 1 – Crunchy nuts make great snacks for older kids.

TIP 2 – Avocado is the perfect substitution for mayo on a sandwich.

TIP 3 – Pack meals in small portions as children tend to snack on several items at once.

And then there’s always the sneaky method of tricking your kids into eating healthier meals.  Let’s Play Hide n’ Seek with Veggies! Preschool children consumed nearly twice as many vegetables and 11% fewer calories over the course of a day when researchers at Penn State added pureed vegetables to the children’s favorite foods.

In their study, published July 25, 2011 in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, the researchers served vegetable-enhanced entrées to 39 children between the ages of 3 and 6 on three separate days. “We incorporated several vegetables into the dishes, including broccoli, cauliflower, zucchini, tomatoes and squash,” said Maureen Spill, a post-doctoral fellow in nutritional sciences and the study’s lead author. “We were pleased to find that the children found the vegetable-enhanced versions to be equally acceptable to the standard recipes.”

According to Spill, the children ate the same amount of food regardless of the vegetable content of the meal. AND they found similar results when they served vegetable-enhanced meals to adults.

OK, even so – you’re not always sure that they’re getting enough balanced nutrition – we’ve got some amazing supplements – specially formulated just for kids!

Like: All-1’s Childrens Formula Vitamins & Minerals Powder which is a whole food powder and allows for better absorption.  It’s Hypoallergenic with no colorings, flavorings or sweeteners and contains not only a complete vitamin profile but important chelated minerals and amino acids too!

Or: Flora’s Kinder Love Childrens Multivitamin this formula provides Calcium, Herbal Extracts, B Vitamins and Vitamin C, A, and E making it an ideal multi-vitamin supplement to help maintain all-round health and vitality in children whose diet may be deficient in some of the nutrients they need.

And how about:  NutriBalance Children’s Formula which is intended to provide easily assimilated nutrition to support proper mental functioning and gastrointestinal health. It’s loaded with a balance of essential vitamins and minerals – but, it also contains probiotics to assist with digestion and has no yeast, wheat, corn, sugar or dairy products.

Best Health!

-Jeanne Ricks, CHC, AADP

I have some homework for you, but don’t worry it won’t require any calculus or Shakespeare literature.  The next time you go food shopping, take a look at the ingredients list on the food you buy. I can almost guarantee that you will find one of these ingredients in your food:

• Corn
• Soy
• Wheat
• Gluten (common in many wheat/grain products)
• Dairy
• Eggs
• Peanuts

These foods won’t kill you per se, but they are known allergens and depending on the individual they can truly make your body feel sub-par. Many people think an allergen is something you have a physically visible reaction to. For example, many people are allergic to peanuts and have a serious adverse reaction to them. However, this is not always the case with these other allergens.

Why would you want to eliminate these foods, well here are a few reasons.

Tummy Problems:

If you have an gastrointestinal issue that has difficulty going away, like IBS, food intolerances, bloating, gas, indigestion, irregular bowel movements, then eliminating these foods from your diet may, and likely will, relieve or remove these symptoms.

Skin Issues:

If you experience acne or any other skin issues like eczema, dry skin or your skin just isn’t clear, eliminating these foods may give you insight as to the culprit of the problem. By eliminiating these foods, your liver will have the opportunity to actually cleanse the body and not worry about removing these allergenic foods.

Allergies:

If you deal with chronic allergies, not a specific food allergy  (like peanuts), but sinus issues or other allergy symptoms, then perhaps your body is trying to tell you something.

Inflammation:

Chronic inflammation can be very painful and depressing. Dealing with chronic inflammation, such as back pain, nasal issues, or other inflammatory responses can be reduced with eliminating certain foods and introduces others. The body does an excellent job at healing itself, and inflammatory response are the body’s way of trying to clear up and resolve a problem. But how can it do so without the proper nutrients?

I know what you’re thinking. Yes, corn, soy, dairy, eggs, peanuts, soy, wheat and gluten are in a lot of foods, a lot, and yes it is hard to avoid these things. But it is not impossible, I know because I have done this exact program.

As one of my favorite professors, Dr. Sheldon Watts, once said, “Eat as close to the farm as possible.” Although most of us live very farm from farms, we can find foods in the market that are not processed or filled with corn, soy and the such. By eating more fruits and vegetables, and gluten free grains like oatmeal, buckwheat, brown, rice and quinoa, this program is absolutely possible. Add protein like, Purity’s Ultra Protein Vanilla Shake, wild salmon, free-range chicken, bison meat, or lamb.

This may seem difficult, but by eating healthier in just a week you will feel 10 times better than you thought you could.

Side Note:

• Try to avoid caffeinated drinks like coffee, soda, and black tea. Opt for ginger tea, decaf organic coffee and WATER!
• If you can try to buy organic or free-range chicken. Bison meat is naturally free-range. Also, wild fish like wild salmon is a much better option, given the additives that are found in farmed fish.

-Ralph

If you like my blogs follow me @nutritiondocnyu on twitter!