"Not that I have already obtained, or am already made perfect. But I press on, that I may obtain that for which Christ Jesus also obtained." Philippians 3:12 Yesterday, during my reflection of "PMS", positive mindset shift, I mentioned my current physiological state of peri-menopause and the effect this hormonal change has had on my body and soul. Today, I'd like to zone in and learn a little bit more about Estrogen. I will be using Dr. Sara Gottfried's book, The Hormone Reset Diet, to obtain my information. She states, "estrogen is the hormone primarily responsible for making us uniquely women, with breasts, hips, curves and glossy locks; that is, we're not simply small men." Estrogen is highest during puberty, the middle of one's menstrual cycle, and during pregnancy. Estrogen is lowest during menopause or when a woman has her ovaries removed. Dr. Goffried states, "When I completed my medical training, no one talked about estrogen dominance. I was taught to prescribe birth control pills for women with ill-defined hormone problems up until age 50, and hormone replacement therapy after that. I knew the birth control pills balanced out women who had too much estrogen, so the term "estrogen dominance" had a context in my mind. But as I learned more about the particular issues women face - difficulty with weight gain, breast tenderness, ovarian cysts, premenstrual syndrome, endometrial polyps, fibroids, endometriosis - I realized that estrogen dominance was the elephant in the room that most modern medicine was not addressing, and meat consumption plays a key role. " In her own plight to lose weight, Dr. Gottfried discovered that estrogen dominance related to eating grain-fed, hormone-injected, superbug-infected conventionally raised red meat raises your body's estrogen levels, slows down your digestion, makes you bloated or constipated, and messes with your gut microbiome. Oh my Lord, just thinking about this makes me sick to my stomach! Dr. Gottfried offers a visualization of the consumption of a typical burger ..."as you smell the aroma of the burgers cooking on the grill, you may be unaware that they were previously part of cows raised in a concentrated animal feeding operation (CAFO) and fed grain, typically genetically modified corn rather than grass, and highly stressed...and you don't think about how the standard practice for cattle is to treat them prophylactically with antibiotics and dewormers, thereby breeding bacterial and parasite resistance which can trigger hard-to-treat infections and food-borne illnesses." Apparently, this practice has been going on with poultry since the 1940's. Dr. Gottried informs us that when we eat steroid-injected meat which is used to fatten them, it fattens us up as well. In addition, fake estrogens called xenoestrogens are embedded in the synthetic chemicals. Grass-fed meat, as opposed to what we traditionally eat, contains up to ten times more omega-3 (good, healthy fat). Grain-fed meat has too much omega-6 which leads inflammation and more fat storage. She then shares that since our liver is not designed to process the toxins, we store the toxins in our fat cells. When we have stored too many toxins in our fat cells, it leaks out into the bloodstream which is tied to insulin resistance, obesity and breast cancer. Dr. Gottfried recommends substituting conventional grain-fed red meat with locally grown grass-fed beef. Other options include cold water fish such as salmon, cod and tilapia; pastured chicken and eggs, lentils, beans, nut butters and seeds. She also recommends eating eating one pound of vegetables a day such as kale, spinach, cabbage, arugula, broccoli, radish, carrots, squash, bell peppers and cauliflower. A typical menu could look like this: Breakfast: 3 egg omelet (pastured eggs), 1/2 cup aspargus and 1 cup cooked spinach; Lunch: Banana Almond Milk protein shake, 20 cashews, and 1 cup chopped bell peppers; Dinner: 6 ounce wild salmon, 1 cup broccoli, 2 cups salad." Even though I have not started a "diet", I am way more conscious of my food choices, how I spend my time, what my goals are and how I feel. Yesterday, I had the will power to say no to Christmas cookies at work. I passed that tray of cookies about 1,000 times, and I watched as it went from a full tray to two cookies. I was not tempted one time to eat from it! I have ate a healthy breakfast every day this week, and I prepared and ate a healthy lunch and afternoon snack every day. I worked out 3 days, and plan to work out this morning. I started my thermogenic supplement, and I take my doTerra Lifelong Vitality pack every day. I've also added a daily probiotic (good bacteria) to my routine. I've been blogging for 20 days, which means I am actively changing my brain. By staying focused on my goal, I am developing healthy new dendrites which means healthy new thoughts. In addition, over the past week, I've lost 1.7 pounds and feel more energy than I have in a long time! Praise God!
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