Healthy Bite 024 - Joint pain, IBS & Weight Gain - OH MY!

Super Simple Healthy Podcast

Do you suffer from chronic joint pain, weight gain, IBS, diarrhea, constipation, bloating, rosacea, acne, or arthritis? Today I have with me, Michelle Costantini, a Nutrition & Lifestyle Consultant who specializes in the Ayurvedic approach to wellness. She is going to walk us through her top 3 SIMPLE tips for easing these and other ailments! Joint Pain, IBS n Weight Gain – Oh MY! Good morning Michelle! That was a pretty long list of health issues I just read and I’m SO excited to have you talk about how to take simple steps to start healing. Before we begin, can you share your story about how you started, your background and what the heck is Ayurveda? Ayurveda is a 5-thousand-year old holistic system of medicine from India that treats each person individually. It provides simple guidance about food and lifestyle so that people who are healthy can stay healthy and those with health issues can improve their situations. It’s this approach that attracted me to Ayurveda. When my mother was undergoing chemo a few years ago, she was losing weight, strength, and appetite but as long as her blood work was good, the doctors were happy. Unfortunately, it proved not enough. So I began studying Ayurveda in Europe, then I went to India and then I came back here to the U.S. I work as a consultant and I’m also studying for the practitioner’s level. Thank you for that. I know we’ve talked about this to a degree, and while I know the answer, can you explain the common thread with: joint pain, IBS, weight gain, constipation etc? What do people need to pay attention to? We need to pay attention to our digestion. Most people have digestive issues and don’t even know it. If we don’t allow the food in our stomach to digest properly, it’ll remain there, blocked. Putting more food on top of undigested food or partially digested food makes fertile ground for problems like bloating and gas. Over time, these ‘inconveniences’ can lead to more serious problems like IBS, constipation, acne, and even arthritis. The idea is to keep your digestive enzymes working properly and not buried under tons of food or drowned out by quarts of liquid. So what are your top three SUPER simple tips for helping people with joint pain, IBS or weight gain? Well, for joint pain, avoid nightshades - which are your tomatoes, white potatoes (Not sweet potatoes), eggplant, and peppers - all peppers except black pepper. These cause inflammation and aggravate arthritis. For IBS learn to avoid foods that do not combine well - like dairy and fruit for example, like in a shake. And use a few spices in your cooking like cinnamon, nutmeg, cumin, & black pepper to name a few. They really help with digestion. For weight gain - a simple tip: hot water sipping throughout the day (or herbal teas, ginger tea). Avoid cold drinks and especially drinks with ice in them. The cold blocks your digestion and the food just sits in your stomach. Actually, we recommend this for EVERYONE, ALWAYS. It’s the simple, natural way to help your body detox. Some fun things coming up for us in the near future: Michelle and I are teaming up to bring you fun cooking classes and workshops to get you through the Holiday Season. Twin Ponds Integrative Center is having it’s 10th Anniversary Celebration Event! Look for those and other services on my website www.supersimplehealthy.com or facebook page and coming soon to the MINDBODY app! All events will be at the Twin Ponds Integrative Center in Breinigsville, right here in the Lehigh Valley. Michelle’s contact information: 720-745-3453 www.twinpondscenter.com 628 Twin Ponds Rd., Breinigsville. 18031 As always, please leave your comments on iTunes and feel free to share with friends and family. Until next time: Keep it simple. Be Healthy.