Quinoa Salad

Testimony of the Day

“Hi Maria, I have read ALL the diet books, I’ve done LOTS of different diets, LOTS. I understood each diet’s CONCEPTS, but never understood science UNTIL I met Maria Emmerich! I was eating arugula, spinach, strawberries, blueberries, Ezekial bread, nuts and seeds, and on and on, you name it, if we were supposed to eat it, I ate it, including grass-fed grass-finished beef and I still couldn’t keep the weight off! I could lose weight but I have never been able to maintain it. AND, I would never lose everything I needed to lose.

Now I understand some of the science thanks to Maria, and what IS affecting my chemistry, and I will continue to be a STUDENT with her daily BLOG’S, etc.! Before I had a consultation and worked with Maria for 6 weeks, I had been introduced to Maria’s BLOG by an acquaintance almost a year prior. I read, read, read her BLOGS, etc. and also bought ALL of her books except the children’s one at that time. That was a year ago. I started to incorporate her recommendations into my life, food-wise, and even some of the supplements she recommends, and I actually still wasn’t loosing. I mentioned this to the acquaintance who introduced me to Maria’s BLOG and she theorized that maybe there is something, supplement wise, that Maria could zero in on that would help me lose and maintain, or that maybe I am still doing something wrong, meaning eating something wrong.

WELL, after working with Maria for 6 weeks I think she has zeroed in on the culprit, dairy!!!! Also, I was, occasionally, eating the Trader Joe’s sprouted grain bread, so between that and the occasional dairy, we are on to something VERY important for me. I am only getting detailed and personal to help you understand that Maria KNOWS HER STUFF! Maria is exactly what I have been looking for, someone who could/would/and did tailor her services to ME, and for ME! Getting back to ALL the books I have read and diets I have done, I have never read one or talked to anyone who can and does explain the science as Maria does, plus I understand it at the same time!!

I am just mad that I didn’t hear about Maria sooner because it could have saved me a lot of money and time AND wear and tear on my body!!! Do what she says as she knows what she is talking about!!! I am just at the early/beginning stage of my journey with Maria, I am running up and down the stairs in my home where before I had to hold on because of the pain, my CRAVINGS are GONE but the fact that I can have something sweet and delicious, “healthified”, while losing weight is a Godsend to me!! The best part is that I don’t even crave anything anymore!! I AM A STUDENT FOR LIFE and will also try to be a TEACHER of Maria’s way and live by example to all my precious children and grandchildren!!! Thank you Maria for ALL that you do and DID for me!! Mary Ellen

To get started as Mary did, click HERE.

Quinoa

Another question I am frequently asked is about quinoa. Yes, it is higher in protein than most grains, but for those with a damaged metabolism or anyone who wants to lose weight, it is way too high in carbs.

We all know that sugar is bad, but we mistakenly believe complex carbohydrates are healthy and we need to eat them in abundance. BUT what if I told you that “Complex carbohydrates” and “Whole Grains” are just glucose molecules hooked together in a long chain; the digestive tract breaks it down into glucose…also known as sugar. So a “complex carb” diet and a “sugary” diet are pretty much the same things.

To watch a helpful video on how carbs become sugar, click HERE.

Menopause and a “Well-Formulated” Keto-Adapted Diet

All starchy foods, like rice, “whole grains”, potatoes, and sweet foods, like fruits, raise blood sugar quickly. When digested they are immediately absorbed into the bloodstream, causing an increase in the hormone insulin. Insulin clears sugar and fat from the blood and to be stored in the tissues for future use. This causes inflammation and weight gain. No matter where the carbohydrates come from; 4 grams of carbohydrates equal one teaspoon of sugar in our body. Let me say that again…4 grams of carbohydrates equal 1 teaspoon of sugar in our body. So with that thought, a small Blizzard has 530 calories and 83 grams of carbohydrates; which equals 21 teaspoons of sugar. A nine-ounce bag of potato chips equals 32 teaspoons of sugar!

Our body produces 3 types of estrogen:

1. Ovaries produce healthy estrogen: Estradiol (we want this)

2. Fat Cells store and form unhealthy estrogen: Estrone (we DON’T want this)

3. 3rd type is produced only when pregnant: Estriol

A well-formulated keto-adapted diet works for menopausal symptoms by replacing glucose that’s lacking from the estrogen-deprived brain. When glucose can’t get into the brain, it causes hot flashes and low cognitive function, two common complaints of my clients going through menopause. Ketone bodies are water-soluble fat breakdown products that can pinch hit for glucose in the brain and other tissues.

When the brain is deprived of estrogen after decades of exposure, hot flashes arrive. During the years of exposure, estrogen becomes closely involved in the transportation of glucose into the brain cells. When we are menstruating and have healthy estrogen, it transports about 40 percent more glucose into the brain cells than would be shuttled without estrogen. When the healthy estrogen goes away at menopause, the transportation of glucose into the brain cells decreases, and the brain cells become a little starved for energy. The hypothalamus responds to this starvation by increasing the release of norepinephrine and adrenaline, which increases the level of sugar in the blood, to raise the heart rate, and this causes an increase in the body temperature. A hot flash is an outward sign that the brain’s trying to protect itself from blood sugar starvation.

Ultimately, you want to use fat to fuel you’re your body instead of carbs. Carbohydrates promote inflammation and lead to hormonal imbalances that further intensify symptoms. Women who are already in menopause and halt the detrimental symptoms with a well-formulated keto-adapted diet often see a regular menstrual cycle return, less belly fat tissue, along with increased libido.