I was able to recover from back spasms quickly due to the strength training I had done over the years; building muscle and strengthening my bones. Two Saturdays ago, I was bending down to put something into my freezer when a severe pain shot through my lower back. In the words of Forrest Gump, it…
Wellness
The American Heart Association Says Coconut Oil Is Going To Kill You. Why They’re Wrong!
Doesn’t it seem that nearly every time we’re told by dietary experts that something is really healthy for us, eventually we find out that it’s really not? Or something we thought was harmful actually turns out to be quite healthy? Back in the early 80s, I was working at a hospital where several staff members…
How We’re Getting Lean And Mean With A Low-Carb Healthy-Fat Diet
Did you ever get a really nice compliment that made you feel really good because it validated all the hard work you’d put into a project? Compliments like those don’t come around all that often, but when they do, you’re left with a smile that seems to last all day. Barbara got one of those…
New Study Finds You Can Lose 11% Body Fat And Get Healthier In Only 8 Weeks On A Low-Carb Egg Based Diet
A recent study from the University of Alabama found that you can lose 11% body fat and become healthier in only 8 weeks on a low-carb, egg based diet. And you don’t have to count calories. I know it sounds like some sensational…
Researchers Say A Gluten-Free Diet May Harm Your Heart: Is it True?
Recently, the media felt it necessary to once again alert us to the dangers of a gluten-free diet (GFD). This time their warning concerned the potential harm a GFD could do to your heart. A Foxnews.com’s headline read, A gluten-free diet may…
Vinegar: A Simple Diet Hack That Can Speed Up Your Weight Loss
You’re a busy person who is always looking for ways to do things smarter, faster, and cheaper. You’re also one of the millions of Americans currently trying to lose some weight. Here’s a simple hack that can make that process a little easier…
Chronic Stress And Belly Fat Part 4: How To Win The Battle
This is part 4 in a 4-part series on chronic stress and belly fat. In parts 1 through 3 of this series, I’ve examined the high correlation between chronic stress and increased belly fat, the hidden dangers of excess belly fat, and how stress causes an increase in appetite which further…
Chronic Stress And Belly Fat Part 3: Why Your Appetite Seems Out Of Control
This is part 3 in a 4-part series on chronic stress and belly fat. You’ve been under stress for a while now. The boss has been on your back, the bills are piling up, your significant other is acting weird, your aging parents constantly need your help. The list could…
Chronic Stress And Belly Fat Part 2: The Hidden Dangers
This is part 2 in a 4-part series on chronic stress and belly fat. If you’ve suffered from chronic stress you’ve probably experienced some of these symptoms: anxiety, depression, fatigue, headaches, digestive disorders, loss of concentration, or motivation, disrupted sleep patterns…
Is Stress Causing You To Gain Dangerous Belly Fat? Part 1
Okay, you’ve known for a while that you have to lose a few inches off your middle. So you’ve cut down on the calories and begun to exercise. But nothing’s happening. The inches are still there. For some reason, you just can’t lose that belly fat. It’s giving you too much stress anyway…
5 Important Differences Between A Gluten Free Diet And A Paleo Diet
Some of you are looking at the title of this post and might be saying, “Hey, that’s not a fair comparison. A gluten-free diet (GFD) is not a comprehensive diet like the paleo diet. The GFD simply eliminates gluten from…
How Our Food Philosophy And Mission Developed
Recently, Barbara and I received a wonderful comment from a reader telling us how our blog had helped her go gluten free. This reminded me of why we originally started The Gluten Free Homestead. In 2004, four members of our family went gluten-free…
New Study Reveals Almost 20% Of Celiac Children May Not Heal On A Gluten-Free Diet
Last week as I was glancing through my Google news feed on celiac disease, I came across three headlines that startled me. I had to read each headline twice just to make sure I was reading them right.
Do Winters Get You Down? You Could Have SAD
Winters get you down? You could have seasonal affective disorder. Here are actions experts recommend to make the winter season a lot easier. When I was young, every year right after Thanksgiving my dad would suffer a complete personality change. From his usual vibrant, happy and optimistic self, he would become irritable, fatigued and just…
Want To Be More Relaxed And Creative In The Afternoon? Drink Tea
At 4 o’clock every day, I drink tea. Let’s take a look and see why tea might be the perfect afternoon beverage. You know that feeling? It’s 3 o’clock in the afternoon. Your batteries are running a little low. You then start thinking about having just one more cup of coffee to give you the…
Do Dietary Antioxidants Really Reduce Free Radicals In Your Body?
You’ve seen the headlines proclaiming the health benefits of antioxidants. You’ve read the blog posts telling you to eat more blueberries, or drink more green tea or indulge in more dark chocolate because these foods are packed with healthy antioxidants that are crucial for gobbling up nasty free radicals that do your body harm.
Pomegranate And Berry Blast Green Smoothie (Weekly Workouts)
Pomegranate And Berry Blast Green Smoothie is an incredibly nourishing smoothie, and just wait until you taste how delicious it is too. The last few weeks after our workout sessions, I’ve loved whipping up this nutritious smoothie for Barbara and me. It really seems to give us the boost of energy we need after working…
Amazing Pomegranates: One Of The Healthiest Foods In The World
Pomegranates have been prized by numerous cultures throughout the ages and may be one of the healthiest foods in the world. When I was a child, I remember my mom bringing home an unusual fruit one day. It looked a little like an apple but not exactly. She said it was a Chinese apple. I…
How To Optimize Your Sleep Cycles For A Restorative Night’s Sleep
Whenever your body experiences any kind of stress, it goes through a series of hormonal and physiological processes that allow each part to adapt in a way that makes it better prepared to meet that stressor the next time it appears. This recovery process is the same whether the body is stressed by lifting a heavy…
My Experience With Chronic Fatigue And Strength Training (Weekly Workouts)
This is my experience with chronic fatigue and strength training. Strength training and cardio can provide a respite from stress of the day. It was a beautiful October day in 1986. The air was fresh, the leaves were just starting to announce a new season, and the Mets were in the playoffs. It was a…
Why Barbell Squats Might Be The Most Important Exercise You Can Do (Weekly Workouts)
Barbell squats are the most important exercise for developing overall strength and fitness. There is no other exercise that compares with them for gaining strength and making you a physically better functioning human being. If you’re not doing squats, then you’re missing out on an exercise that can have a tremendous impact on your future…
5 Steps To Become More Disciplined In Your Fitness Routine (Weekly Workouts)
Check out this post where John shares motivation and goal setting tips for discipline in your fitness routine. These steps can also be applied to any area of life. Last week, I wrote about how fear, power, freedom and love are the primary motivators that keep me committed to a successful workout routine. However, while the right…
4 Important Motivations for a Successful Workout Routine (Weekly Workouts)
I am starting a new series on the blog where I will be sharing Barbara’s and my weekly workouts. Today, I also wanted to share with you the four motivations that I believe are important for a successful workout routine. I’ve now been working out for about 18 months. During that time, I have missed…
The Extraordinary Health Benefits Of Extra Virgin Olive Oil You Need To Know
Here are the extraordinary health benefits of extra virgin olive oil including cooking with EVOO, and how to buy it. “He went to him and bound up his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he set him on his own animal and brought him to an inn and took care of him.” – The Parable…
What You Need To Know About Healthy And Unhealthy Cooking Fats
Cooking fats are an essential part of many recipes. Whether you’re pan searing a steak, frying up some scrambled eggs, or sautéing some veggies, you’re going to use some kind of animal fat or vegetable oil in the recipe. However, after you’ve finished consuming that very tasty meal, do you know if that fat you used…
How I’m Beating Sarcopenia With Weight Training
Weight training helps to improve muscle mass and strength. In this post, I show you how I did it. Did you know that if you’re over 30 years old you’ll start losing muscle mass every year? It’s true, you will. The normal human aging process dictates that everyone, at some point, in their thirties will begin losing…
How To Make Super-Nutritious Sauerkraut
In this post, you’ll learn about the many important benefits of sauerkraut. I’ve included a step-by-step guide with recipe tips, beautiful photos, and a video showing how to make it. You’re going to love this sauerkraut. There’s nothing like the taste of homemade. Today, I’m excited to share a step-by-step tutorial for making your own…
How To Make Delicious 24-Hour Probiotic Yogurt
Do you eat 24-hour probiotic yogurt?
Well, if you’re one of three million Americans who have celiac disease, or if you’re one of seven hundred thousand people who have ulcerative colitis, or if you’re one of the twenty-five to forty-five million people in the U.S. suffering from irritable bowel syndrome, or you’re someone that is taking or has taken a lot of antibiotics, then you probably should be eating this healthy yogurt.
How 24-Hour Probiotic Yogurt Can Help Improve Your Health
When you were first diagnosed with celiac disease (CD), you probably began to follow a diet of elimination and replacement. You eliminated all foods from your diet that contained gluten and replaced them with similar gluten free (GF) ones. You eliminated all medicines and supplements that contained gluten and replaced those. You eliminated all cosmetics…
Why Many Celiacs Don’t Completely Heal On A Gluten Free Diet
You’ve just been diagnosed as an adult with celiac disease (CD). Your doctor tells you that in order to prevent further damage to your intestines and to heal properly you must go on a strict gluten-free (GF) diet. You leave the doctor’s office very unhappy with the prescription but relieved that you might have found an…
Stay Healthy This Winter: How To Increase Humidity In Your Home
When I was a kid, I would suffer the same things every winter. I’d have terribly dry skin and plugged sinuses, and I’d wake up every morning with a dry scratchy throat. I was definitely not a fan of northeastern winters. My family’s heating system was the cause of my suffering. Our home was heated by…
How To Make Beef Bone Broth (And Why It’s Good For You)
The days are growing colder here in the Northeast, and winter is nearly upon us. That means it’s also nearly cold and flu season. Drinking a steaming mug of beef bone broth is a wonderful way to strengthen your immune system during these months. In fact, bone broth is such a wonderful health-boosting food that my family and I love drinking it year round.
Should Celiacs Purchase A Nima Gluten Sensor?
How many of us celiacs have been terrified of eating out because we just don’t know if our food will be contaminated with gluten? What if someone developed a machine that could test your food before you ate it to determine if there was gluten in it or not? Boy, would that relieve a lot a stress,…
How I Overcame My Fear of Going Gluten Free
Six ways I overcame my fear of going gluten free. It can be a diet that heals and brings wonderful new tastes and experiences to the palate. My husband, John, is visiting the blog today with this article about overcoming the fear of going gluten free. – Barbara I was at a business meeting recently…
Is There Arsenic In Your Rice?
Is there arsenic in your rice, how dangerous is it, and which rice has the least amount? My husband, John, is visiting the blog today with this informative article. ~ Barbara Does the rice you eat contain arsenic? Unfortunately, it does. As it turns out all rice contains some amount of arsenic. Unfortunately, for those on a…
Is Your Lipstick Gluten-Free?
An article by Nicole on whether we should be using gluten free makeup. When I adopted a completely gluten free diet, it was quite an adventure making sure that every product that I bought did not contain any gluten. Gluten is a composite of proteins found in wheat. And let’s face it. It can be quite sneaky. Imagine…
Getting Healthy: My Fitness Routine
Today, John talks about getting healthy and starting his fitness routine after 28 years of chronic fatigue. Three years ago I wouldn’t have believed it was possible. Even a year ago I didn’t think it was possible. At 58 years old, I’m back in the gym lifting weights. WOW! After being unable to do any strength training…
6 Ways Resistance Training Makes You Healthier
My husband, John, is visiting the blog today with an article about the many benefits of resistance training. ~ Barbara “I don’t want to feel sick anymore. I want to feel better!” That was my constant lament during the years of suffering with non-celiac gluten sensitivity (NCGS) and chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS). Those of you who…
Is Sarcopenia Stealing Your Strength and Your Life?
My husband, John, is visiting the blog today with an article about resistance exercise. ~ Barbara Two winters ago I was finally starting to recover from the effects of non-celiac gluten sensitivity. You can read my story here: Journey to Health: John’s Story. My 25-year bout of chronic fatigue was abating to the point where I felt I was…
How’s Your Sleep Routine?
“A good laugh and a long sleep are the best cures in the doctor’s book.” – Irish proverb I like the nighttime. I’m talking about past 12 o’clock or even 1 AM. It’s a time when everyone is asleep, and I can spend time in the quiet stillness reading and writing with no interruptions. Sometimes I…