This is my first attempt at blogging!!!! I am really excited to write this article and would love your feedback.
I had my inspiration today in the silence of my home while my boys were enjoying a Ranger game with their Dad. While updating my website I became inspired to take the plunge and start blogging! If you've read my bio, you may know that I am a mom to two boys, 7 and 9 years old who keep me very busy. We follow a Paleo lifestyle to manage health, sleep, behavior and attention concerns. I am currently eating a mostly Autoimmune Paleo Diet (AIP), to manage my Autoimmune Diseases (Celiac and Hashimotos). The AIP diet is mainly a paleo diet minus dairy, nightshades, nuts, coffee, chocolate and eggs. I know you're thinking....WTH do you eat???? My staple foods are meat, some fish, plenty of vegetables and some fruit. I feel my best when I eat this way, and have been tolerating a lot more foods as time goes on (healing the gut is primary). A big part of starting a diet like this is mindset, knowing that I am nourishing and healing my body is a big motivator as is avoiding flare ups and feeling my best. When I was first diagnosed with Celiac over 13 years ago, I had a lot of anger and it took me about 5 years to accept it and start to grow from it. There weren't a lot of resources available nor social media at the time so it felt very isolating. With internet and social media, there are so many places to get support, recipes and connect with people that are following similar diets. Now I consider Celiac to be a gift in many ways. It has led me on this path of helping others and I have been able to help my children maintain health and overcome challenges naturally, without medication. I also find I enjoy food a lot more than I ever did, finding sweetness in vegetables which I never noticed before. Eating this diet has helped me heal my severe digestive problems, as well as control my inflammation, blood sugar and eliminate chronic pain. Managing my blood sugar imbalances was a HUGE problem for me in the past and it's a HUGE piece if you have any health condition (or if you want to prevent one). Despite eating healthy. in the past I was ALWAYS starving and couldn't go more than 1-2 hours without eating. I would also wake in the middle of the night to eat because I was starving. Night wakings are often a sign of blood sugar imbalances, even if you are waking to pee. With blood sugar imbalances, you wake because blood sugar drops and this then causes cortisol to increase, causing you to become wakeful. Once awake, you then notice you have to pee. I would wake up 4-8 times some nights. I worked very hard on regulating my blood sugar by keeping a journal of what I ate and taking my blood glucose readings with a glucometer in addition to dietary and supplemental support. Using a glucometer is a great way to monitor your blood sugar regularly.. Ideally, fasting blood glucose levels should be between 80-90 (preferably below 86). After a meal, blood sugar will go up but it should return to normal after 2 hours of eating. High carb meals will make blood sugar spike. Post meal glucose levels should be under 140 (ideally under 120). Here are the best times to take blood glucose readings: *when you wake in the morning *before meals *right after meal *60 minutes after meal *120 minutes after meal *before bed Signs of low blood sugar (hypoglycemia) include: *headaches *confusion *shaking *irritability *light headedness *hunger *Sweating *weakness Signs of high blood sugar include: *increased thirst *increased urination *fatigue *increased appetite *weight loss *tingling in hands and feet *cuts heal slowly *digestive problems Here are some tips to manage your blood sugar: *Eat right for your metabolic type (consider taking a Metabolic Typing Test) which will help you determine the correct macro nutrients (proteins, fats, carbohydrates) at meals. *Include healthy proteins, healthy fats and unrefined carbohydrates (vegetables, roots, leafy greens, etc) at each meal and snack. *Avoid eating any fruit/treat without any protein or fat. Best time to consume is after a meal in moderation. *Avoid processsed/refined sugars and flours found in packaged foods. Instead bake a healthy treat with honey and grain free flours. *Eliminated sugary beverages *Eat a protein/fat snack before bed (i.e. nuts, meat) *If you are noticing times of low blood sugar (i.e. every day at 2:30), have a snack a half hour before this to avoid drops in blood sugar. *If you are finding that you have blood sugar consistently above 100 or below 80, consider working with a qualified practitioner to help manage your blood sugar *Drink plenty of filtered water throughout the day. A general rule of thumb is drink 1/2 your weight in ounces of water a day. For example, if you weigh 150lbs., drink 75 ounces of water. This would increase if you exercise or drink dietetics like coffee. I would love to hear from you about your struggles or successes with managing your blood sugar. Please also let me know what subjects you would like to learn more about. Thanks for reading.... To your good health, ~Tina
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Tina Gilberti, OTR/L, FDNI am a busy mom of two boys, a Functional Diagnostic Nutrition Practitioner and Pediatric Occupational Therapist who is looking to share information on how to raise a healthy family giving tips for diet, sleep, exercise and self care. Thanks for reading :) Archives
September 2015
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