Constipation and Diarrhea in Children

JENNIFER: Welcome to Dishing up Nutrition. I am Jennifer Schmid, Nutrition Educator and I am proud to say that I have overcome a very serious eating disorder through nutrition. So yes, I have that nutrition passion, and frankly my friends and family get tired of hearing about the power of food. So I am pleased when I get to host Dishing up Nutrition to give my family and friends a break.

 

BRITNI: I am Britni Thomas. I am a Registered and Licensed Dietician and co-host of Dishing up Nutrition.  Jennifer has overcome an eating disorder and I have overcome another very complex health condition called Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome or many call PCOS. Today our show is all about PCOS and how and why people gain weight easily when they have Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome.

 

MARCIE: I am Marcie Vaske, Licensed Nutritionist and I also have overcome an eating disorder through Nutrition. I discovered that I have many food sensitivities and until I stopped eating dairy products and bread products, I had a pain in my stomach all the time.

But, enough about me, let’s talk about Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome. What is it and how does it affect women…so yes it is a women’s disease, but in a roundabout way it affects men because PCOS is believed to be responsible for about 70% of infertility that couples experience.

 

JENNIFER: It may surprise you that PCOS affects between five to twenty percent of women who are of child bearing age.

 

BRITNI: So we know that PCOS negatively affects fertility. What else does it affect and why do some people like me get PCOS?

 

MARCIE: That is a great question because as Nutritionists we work with a lot of women experiencing PCOS, often because they want to have a family. We said that five to twenty percent of women have PCOS but they don’t even know it. They haven’t been diagnosed. So let’s look at the symptoms.

 

JENNIFER: Certainly weight gain is one of the leading symptoms, many of these women are actually considered obese.

 

MARCIE: But other symptoms women with PCOS experience are acne, thinning hair on the head, but excess body hair. We call it hair in all the wrong places.

 

BRITNI: Another sign of PCOS is irregular menstrual cycles, which often start in adolescents.

 

JENNIFER: Some women with PCOS develop ovarian cysts. What are ovarian cysts? They are like little pimples that are cysts that develop in the ovaries which can break open causing severe pain which is not fun. I have friends that this has happened to and have ended up in the hospital. What exactly does Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome mean? The word poly means many and cycstic means that there are little sacs of fluid that are cysts inside ovaries. Women have two ovaries, and these cysts can actually break open. Have you ever had an acne breakout and one of your pimples pops? That’s kind of painful, isn’t it? That’s what it’s like when a cyst breaks but it’s very painful. The other factor that is so frustrating is these women gain weight very easily.

 

BRITNI: So let’s talk about PCOS and weight gain. Have you ever said, “I just look at a brownie and I can gain five pounds?” Well, that is how it feels when you have PCOS. I know because I have to be very, very careful about what I eat so that I don’t gain weight.

 

MARCIE: Last week we had Gary Taubes on Dishing up Nutrition discussing his book, “The Case Against Sugar”, and in his book he talked about how the rate of diabetes has increased since people have been eating more and more sugar. Well, guess what, he also relates the increased rate of PCOS with women eating more processed carbs and sugar.

 

BRITNI: So what seems to be the root of the problem for most women with PCOS? Maybe we could even consider it the cause. Eating too many processed carbs and sugar often leads to insulin resistance.

 

JENNIFER: Because weight gain is one of the most common symptoms, what is the connection to insulin resistance? In our Weight and Wellness series we graphically explain insulin resistance. (I just did this Monday to my class in Lakeville) Let’s try to help you visualize your cells which have become resistant to insulin.

 

MARCIE: First, think of all the cells we have in our body. Each cell has little insulin receptor doors that opens and allows insulin to carry glucose or sugar into the cell for energy.

 

BRTINI: When we eat too many processed carbs, our body calls out to the pancreas to pump out insulin and then too much insulin, which coats the receptor doors, actually partially closes the insulin receptor doors. So some of the extra glucose, or sugar gets turned into body fat. We do best when we have some insulin but not too much.

 

JENNIFER: Insulin is our primary fat storage hormone and is also a master hormone, which means it affects many different hormones, which in turn affects different areas of our body.

 

BRITNI: Insulin resistance is when your cells have developed a crust over the top of the receptor, which blocks the ability to carry the glucose into your cells more efficiently.

 

MARCIE: Let’s dig deeper into this. Women with PCOS seem to have a defect in their insulin signaling pathway, which means they can become insulin resistant very easily.

 

BRITNI: If you are insulin resistant, what does that mean to you? If you have PCOS, what does that mean to you or to one of our clients? I know, because I personally have PCOS and I have been able to keep my symptoms at bay. Granted, my body is much more sensitive to carbs then all of my other friends, so I have to work so hard on my nutrition daily so that I don’t gain weight. I know with the current information and support, you can also reverse your insulin resistance through eating the correct food for your body.

 

JENNIFER: Women who have too much insulin, creating a state of insulin resistance, may often struggle with their sex hormones because the insulin resistance can affect them. I think we often forget that insulin is actually a hormone and women with PCOS have a seven times greater risk for developing type two diabetes, and also a greater risk of developing heart disease.

 

BRITNI: I personally have come to realize that if I want to keep my PCOS under control, I must be in charge of my food. Since I am the captain of my ship, I have eliminated processed carbs. What did I get rid of? These foods never, well, hardly ever, cross my lips. Let me list them: Pasta, bread, crackers, brownies, juice, soda, cereal bars, rice, doughnuts, low fat yogurt and sweet tea… well, the list goes on and on. What are you eating that is too high in sugar? What about a Gatorade after a game. A twenty ounce Gatorade contains nine teaspoons of sugar.

 

MARCIE: That reminds me, last year I had a client with PCOS. She was a young college athlete, actually, a Volley Ball player, who was struggling and trying to lose a few pounds and clear up her acne. She worked out at least two hours a day. She took classes; she had a very busy schedule. She would grab a juice and a cereal bar on the way to the gym every morning. In order to get her insulin resistance and PCOS under control, she had to stop eating the cereal bars, and stop drinking a bottle of juice. What she had been having for breakfast on the way to the gym was full of too much sugar. Both the cereal bar and the juice contained several teaspoons of sugar. She also had to stop her gummy bear habit and her corn chip habit.

It was difficult to convince my client to give up the processed carbs and start eating foods with healthy fat. She believed the old myth that eating fat made you fat. I told this young athlete that her body and her metabolism would love avocados, olives, coconut oil, olive oil, and butter. I finally convinced her to eat four slices of nitrate free deli meat with two tablespoons of cream cheese wrapped around a pickle. To add to that, a sliced apple dipped in peanut butter for breakfast. The protein gave her more energy and helped build her muscles and the fat helped reduce her insulin resistance and slowly, with other changes, she was able to lose ten pounds. She also had less mood swings.

 

JENNIFER: Giving up sugar and processed carbs is hard, which is why I see my dietician Britni every month because I don’t want to go back to my old ways. I have said it before, my meetings with my nutritionist, is life saving for me.

 

MARICE: I think that Gary Taubes, author of “The Case Against Sugar”, said it very well. He said our nutrition researchers in the 1960’s gave us the wrong information about nutrition and health. Researchers, such as Ancel Keys from the University of Minnesota, pointed the finger at saturated fat as the cause of weight gain, diabetes, and heart disease, which was wrong. The real culprit was and is sugar and processed carbs. These foods lead to type two diabetes, insulin resistance, and PCOS.. and of course weight gain.

 

JENNIFER: As we look at the eating habits of eight year olds, or ten year olds, or of teenagers, what do we often find? Sugar, sugar, sugar. Their insulin receptors are just getting overwhelmed with sugar which requires the pancreas to produce more insulin which leads down the path to insulin resistance and for many, PCOS. How do we stop this sugar tsunami?

 

BRITNI: PCOS is a very complex health condition and so is type two diabetes, as well as insulin resistance. Very often, people who have these health conditions are hungry all the time and they crave sugar and processed carbohydrates. So as Nutritionists, we try to help them understand their hunger is a blood sugar problem. It is a biochemical problem. It is not that they are week willed. A women with PCOS must, yes I said must, eat every two hours. It is a full time job. It’s hard work to eat, eat, eat.

 

JENNIFER: Britni, you had Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome for many years before you even knew you had PCOS. What was the cause?

 

BRITNI: I discovered the cause of my PCOS was what I was eating. Like I mentioned before, I am sensitive to carbohydrates like processed foods and sugar. Things like cereal, pasta, and granola bars. I also ate low fat and very little protein. These foods were creating too much insulin in my body that led to PCOS.

 

MARCIE: When you eat, eat, eat, the correct foods, you lose weight and actually you have less insulin resistance. We teach this in our class, called “Peaked Performance”, that Lady Gaga eats some type of meat or fish, a variety of veggies, and generous servings of good fats five times a day. Just look at her energy and strength. If you are healing your PCOS, tell your friends and family that you are eating like Lady Gaga, five times a day and watch your symptoms leave your body.

 

JENNIFER: Now we also know there are other reasons for PCOS besides excess carbs. Maybe you have food sensitivities, maybe gluten and dairy products are a problem for you.

 

MARCIE: Maybe you have been exposed to toxic chemicals that have created excess estrogens in your body. We always start with an eating plan to reduce insulin resistance and some clients need to dig deeper. It often takes one to two years to reverse insulin resistance, even when people are very careful with their carbohydrate intake. Britni is living proof that with hard work and support, you can turn PCOS around.

 

BRITNI: We have these little sacs of fluid in our ovaries that affect different parts of our body. Remember when we said it can cause acne, weight gain, and mood swings? We understand and researchers tell us that those little cysts or sacs of fluid develop in some women’s ovaries because of insulin resistance.

 

JENNIFER: You may be shaking your head and saying, “how dies Insulin resistance cause those cysts to develop in their ovaries”?

 

MARCIE: We often talk about how insulin resistance causes inflammation in your body. It also creates sacs or cysts in the ovaries, so in reality, PCOS is an inflammation problem.

 

BRITNI:  We also know that MS is an inflammation problem. We also know that Chron’s disease, knee pain, Lupus, and heart disease are inflammation problems.

 

JENNIFER: How do you open up that receptor to open up that crust? You need to reduce sugar and processed carbs to stop feeding that crust.

 

MARCIE: Researchers have found that when sugar is removed from the diet of cancer patients, tumors stop growing. You can see why we recommend drastically reducing sugar to a cancer patient.

 

BRITNI: Yes, weight loss is a big factor for many people with PCOS. Another compelling factor to people to change their eating is their desire to have a family. As Nutritionists, we find it very difficult to help people see the actual healing power of food. We try to help them visualize that what they’re putting in their mouth is affecting the little cysts in their ovaries. We know how much the cysts love sugar doughnuts and mocha lattes.

 

MARCIE: But if someone is eating steak, broccoli, and butter, then those cysts will shrink away.

 

JENNIFER: Again, we realize the intense cravings for sugar and processed carbohydrates that people with PCOS have.  We understand that it isn’t easy to change what you’re eating. We offer lots of recipes in our Weight and Wellness cookbook and Nutrition Guide. This works. We know because we have seen it work in others and in ourselves.

 

BRITNI: We always consider food first when we are helping women with PCOS and to reduce insulin resistance, but some clients want faster results. Some women feel their hormonal time clock is running out and they want a family so they want some help from some key supplements. Long time listeners, did you realize that there is a new Omega on the block? It’s Omega 7. You have heard of Omega 3 and Omega 6, but do you know about Omega 7?

 

MARCIE: Omega 7 is a monosatuarated fatty acid. The Omega 7 food source on the weight and wellness plan are those healthy fats such as, avocados, macadamia nuts, Sea Buckthorn, lard, and fatty fish such as anchovies and herring. Omega 7 helps to lower insulin resistance, reduce inflammation of the arteries, lower cholesterol and triglycerides, and yes it helps people lose weight. It can help you with PCOS by reducing the insulin resistant coating on the cell receptors so more sugar goes in to the cell for energy and less gets stored as fat.

 

JENNIFER:  At Nutritional Weight and Wellness we carry a product form Metagenics called OmegaGenicsMega 10, which is a combination of Omega 3 fats form anchovies and Omega 7 fats from Sea Buckthorn. 

BREAK I

BRITNI: You’re listening to Dishing up Nutrition and today we are discussing the cause of Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome and our food solution to PCOS. Next week we are kicking off our half price SPRING INTO HEALTH classes at all seven Weight and Wellness locations. Seven new classes offered to you, our listeners and our clients at 50 percent off. Each class is only $12.50. I encourage you to sign up quickly because we have limited seating. To sign up give our offices a call at (651) 699-3438. 

BACK FROM BREAK I

MARCIE: Welcome back to Dishing up Nutrition. I would like to read comments from Molly who just completed the twelve week Nutrition for Weight Loss program. She said, “My health has improved in the following ways: My blood sugar numbers went from 296 to 100 in twelve weeks, I actually reversed my Type 2 Diabetes, my skin is much better, my anxiety is gone, I sleep better, and I am so happy. Melanie and Oralee are amazing teachers and I feel like they saved my life. I am in this for life. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.” What a story! What a great story of health improvement from just real food. Fasting blood sugar readings at the beginning of the class were at 296, which are dangerously high, and at the end of the series the fasting glucose numbers were at 100, which is normal. Good work Molly! We are all proud of you. As we say FOOD MATTERS.

BREAK II

JENNIFER: You are listening to Dishing up Nutrition. Today we are discussing Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome and Weight Gain.

We talked earlier about one of the causes of PCOS is Insulin Resistance.

Coming up later this month is our popular Weight and Wellness weekend series. In class 2 of this series you will learn all about insulin resistance and how to keep your blood sugars balanced just like we’ve been talking about today.

This is great for people who live out of town that can come to our lovely state of MN and take our 6 week series of classes in just one weekend.

You will learn from 6 different passionate educators, you’ll receive the weight and wellness cookbook and nutrition guide, RN’s can earn 14.4 CEU’s, and you’ll be treated to a delicious lunch and snacks.

The weight and wellness series with be in our St. Paul location Friday, April 21^st through Sunday April 23^rd. to sign up or if you have questions give our offices a call at (651)699-3438 

BACK FROM BREAK II

BRITNI: Welcome back to Dishing up Nutrition. Because of my past eating habits, I struggled with PCOS….so I get it…but I also believe that with diligent and careful eating, you can reverse PCOS.  I encourage you to make an appointment with one of the Nutritionists at Nutritional Weight and Wellness. Most women do best when they come weekly or biweekly. We help you conquer your cravings, reduce insulin resistance, and get your hormones working again. Please give us a call at

651.699.3438. If you have questions, I will personally return your calls (this is true for long distance callers as well) just leave your number and I will get back to you because I understand your frustrations. It could be that your health insurance may cover the cost. I also help women who have PCOS and fertility issues. My name is Britni, so feel free to call.

BREAK III

JENNIFER: You are listening to Dishing up Nutrition. If you struggle with Type 2 Diabetes, Insulin Resistance, Obesity, or Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome, we recommend making an appointment with a Weight and Wellness Nutritionist to get your food right. You may also benefit from adding the supplement Omega 7. As we mentioned before, Omega 7 is a monosaturated fatty acid that helps to reduce insulin resistance by opening up the insulin cell receptors. The Omega 7 at our offices are combined with Omega 3 and is called OMEGAGENICSMega 10. It is Omega 3 and Omega 7 combined to lower insulin resistance. The recommended dosage is to take 2 per day.

BACK FROM BREAK III

MARCIE: Welcome back to Dishing up Nutrition. Our popular Menopause Seminar is coming up on Saturday May 20th in our St. Paul location. This five hour class will help you learn how to eat to support your hormones, discover ways to recharge your changing metabolism, and to understand how eating refined carbs and Trans fats increase your menopause symptoms. You will also be treated to a delicious lunch. This class fills up fast. To sign up, you can reach our offices at (651) 699-3438.

WRAP UP

JENNIFER: Our goal at Nutritional Weight and Wellness is to help each and every person experience better health through eating real food. It’s a simple, yet powerful message. Eating real food is life changing.

Listen up everyone; get your questions ready because next week on Dishing up Nutrition, it’s “Ask the Nutritionist” with Dar and Lea. Some of the topics they will discuss are thinning hair, knee pain, and sleep problems.

Thanks for listening and have a good food day!