Egg Drop Soup

Ingredients

• 1 medium yellow onion, diced
• 2 celery stalks, diced  (optional)
• 1 Tbs coconut oil
• 8 cups of chicken broth (or well-salted water)
• 1/4 tsp fresh ginger root, grated
• 1 tsp coconut aminos
• 1/4 tsp sesame oil
• sea salt to taste (optional)
• 3 Tbs arrowroot powder + 3 Tbs water
• 6 eggs

Instructions

1. Melt coconut oil in a large pot over medium heat.
2. Add onions and  celery, and saute (stirring occasionally) until translucent (about 15 minutes). Stir in broth.
3. Add ginger, coconut aminos, and sesame oil. Bring to a boil. Add sea salt to taste if desired.
4. Mix arrowroot powder with water until smooth. Pour into soup and continue to cook until thickened (about 10 minutes).
5. Meanwhile, whisk eggs together. After soup has thickened, pour eggs intermittently into soup. For beautiful, ribbony eggs be sure to do this step after   soup is already thickened. Serve hot.

Pastured vs Omega-3 vs Conventional Eggs – What’s The Difference?

The Different Types of Eggs Are a Confusing Mess

March 6, 2013 | by Kris Gunnar

There are several different types of eggs, which can leave people confused.

What all of them have in common is that they come from chickens, but they vary depending on how the chickens were raised and what they were fed.

• Conventional Eggs – These are your standard supermarket eggs. The chickens are usually raised in an overfilled hen house or a cage and never see the light of day.
  
  They are usually fed grain-based crap, supplemented with vitamins and minerals. May also be treated with antibiotics and hormones.
• Organic Eggs – Were not treated with antibiotics or hormones and received organic feed. May have had limited access to the outdoors.
• Pastured Eggs – Chickens are allowed to roam free, eating plants and insects (their natural food) along with some commercial feed.
• Omega-3 Enriched Eggs – Basically, they’re like conventional chickens except that their feed is supplemented with an Omega-3 source like flax seeds. May have had some access to the outside.

Conventional vs. Omega-3 Eggs

A study compared the fatty acid composition of 3 types of eggs: conventional, organic and omega-3 enriched (1).

1. Omega-3 eggs had 39% less Arachidonic Acid, an inflammatory Omega-6 fatty acid that most people eat too much of.
2. Omega-3 eggs had 5 times as much Omega-3 as the conventional eggs.
3. There was very little difference between organic and conventional eggs.

It is clear that hens fed an omega-3 enriched diets lay eggs that are much higher in Omega-3 than conventional eggs.

This is important because most people eat too little Omega-3.

Unfortunately this study didn’t measure other nutrients, only the fatty acid composition.

Conventional vs. Pastured Eggs

In 2007, Mother Earth News magazine decided to test the nutritional value of pastured eggs and received such eggs from 14 different farms.

They were measured in a chemical lab, then compared to the USDA standard conventional egg.

As you can see, eggs from pastured hens are more nutritious than the conventional eggs you might find at the supermarket.

They are higher in Vitamin A, E and Omega-3s. They are also lower in Cholesterol and Saturated Fat, but I don’t think that matters.

A study I found on pastured eggs produced similar results (2).

Other Terms For Eggs

There are other more loose and confusing terms, including Free Range and Cage Free, which may or may not be any better than conventional eggs.

Free range could mean that there’s a small window on the hen house where the hens have the option of going outside.

Cage free just means that they aren’t raised in a cage. They could still be raised in a smelly, dirty overstuffed hen house.

Take Home Message

At the end of the day, pastured eggs are your best bet. They are more nutritious and the hens were allowed free access to the outside and ate a more natural diet.

If you can’t get pastured eggs (like me) then Omega-3 enriched eggs will be your second best choice. If you can’t get either pastured or Omega-3 eggs, then try to find eggs that are either free-range, cage-free or organic.

But even if that’s not an option, then conventional eggs are still among the healthiestand most nutritious foods you can eat.

To sum up:

Pastured > Omega-3 > Organic > Free Range/Cage Free > Conventional

This just goes to show that what we eat isn’t all that matters… it also matters whatour foods eat.

Lamb Patties

Ingredients

• 1 lb ground lamb
• 1 tsp sea salt (optional)
• 1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
• 1 Tbs coconut oil

Instructions

1. Form meat into 4 patties. Season each side with sea salt (optional) and black pepper.
2. Add oil to a medium skillet over medium-high heat.
3. Add patties and cook, turning often.
4. 1/2 inch patties are done after 3 minutes per side at 160°, but cook to your desired level of "done-ness".

GRAIN FREE CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES

Ingredients

• 3 cups almond flour
• 1/2 cup coconut oil, melted
• 1/2 cup raw honey
• 2 large eggs
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp sea salt
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 cups Enjoy Life Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 375℉.
2. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
3. In a small mixing bowl, combine dry ingredients. Set aside.
4. In a medium mixing bowl, beat the eggs, honey, and vanilla extract with a hand mixer, or wire whisk.
5. Pour wet ingredients slowly into dry ingredients and beat with mixer or fork until combined.
6. Add the melted coconut oil and continue to blend until combined.  Stir in chocolate chips.
7. Drop Tablespoon size balls of cookie dough onto prepared baking sheet.
8. Bake for approximately 8-10 minutes.

SAUTÉED SWEET POTATOES

Ingredients

• 1 tbs coconut oil
• 1 large sweet potato, grated
• 1/4 tsp cinnamon

Instructions

1. Heat a skillet over medium heat.  Add coconut oil.
2. Once skillet is heated, sauté grated sweet potatoes until tender (a few minutes or so).
3. Sprinkle with cinnamon and mix well.

Paleo Pancakes

Ingredients

• 
• 2 bananas
• 2 egg
• 1 Tbs coconut flour
• 1-2 Tbs almond butter
• fresh or frozen blueberries
• 1/4 cup nuts of choice (walnuts, macadamia, almonds are good), chopped
• 1 tsp. coconut oil
• Dash of sea salt (optional)

Instructions

1. Mash bananas in a bowl.
2. Add the eggs, coconut flour, almond butter, blueberries, and nuts and salt, and whisk until well blended.
3. Heat a large non-stick skillet over medium heat along with a small pat of coconut oil.
4. Pour small discs of batter onto the hot pan (around 3-4" around). They'll be easier to flip if you keep them from the edges of the pan.
5. Flip when batter loses its "tackiness" around the edges.
6. Cook other side slowly over medium heat until fully cooked.
7. Reapply oil to the pan after each round of pancakes.

GREEN SMOOTHY

Ingredients

• 1/2 apple
• 1/2 pear
• 1/2 tsp freshly grated ginger
• 2 Tbs flax seeds
• 6 large kale leaves (take out woody stems), or 2 handfuls of spinach
• juice of 1 small lemon
• 1 cup water

Instructions

1. Quarter apple and pear, remove stems and seeds and put in blender.
2. Add remaining ingredients to blender and puree. Add more water if needed.

Add fresh fruit, cucumbers, slivered almonds, coconut, fresh herbs or different dark leafy greens for tasty variations on this recipe.

Adrenal Fatigue...Signs, Symptoms, Treatment

Your health is on a continuum. On one end you have optimal health, and on the other, you have chronic illness. Your adrenal health works in the same way. You can be one step away from healthy and functioning, or you can have full-blown Addison’s disease, also known as chronic adrenal insufficiency. This creates a very large gap, and I find that many people fall somewhere within this spectrum.
To receive an Addison’s diagnosis, you must have lost 90% of your adrenal glands’ function, but you can still have adrenal issues without this diagnosis. Anything between optimal health and Addison’s disease is referred to as adrenal fatigue, a mild form of adrenal insufficiency that occurs when your adrenal glands are overstressed.
The primary role of your adrenal glands is to produce and regulate the stress hormone cortisol. Your adrenal glands also produce sex hormones, estrogen and progesterone, and they produce your neurotransmitters, adrenaline (epinephrine), norepinephrine, and dopamine. These hormones and neurotransmitters regulate your metabolism and communicate with other organs, like your brain, kidneys, and reproductive system. However, chronic stress can suppress your adrenal glands, causing them to release insufficient amounts of these necessary hormones.
Causes of stress:

• lack of sleep
• poor diet (processed, junk food)
• stimulants (caffeine, sugar)
• rigorous work schedule
• emotional trauma (unhealthy relationships, death of a loved one)
• overtraining (marathons, training without rest days)
• lack of fun and excitement

We live in a very stressful world. We work 80-hour weeks, sacrifice our sleep, drink two cups of coffee to stay awake during the day, reach for sugary foods for more energy, and these habits affect us emotionally, mentally, physically, and spiritually.
When you engage in stressful activities, your body enters into the fight-or-flight mode, where it believes that you need a surge of energy in order to survive. The primary stress hormone in your body is cortisol. Since its function is to provide you with a burst of energy, cortisol increases your blood sugar, suppresses your immune system to save energy, and begins breaking down your storage of protein and carbohydrate. Over time, high levels of cortisol can lead to insulin resistance, weaken your immune system, and eventually cause muscle wasting, if not properly addressed.
Signs of Adrenal Fatigue:

• unexplained weight loss or weight gain
• body aches and muscle pain
• fatigue (difficulty getting out of bed in the morning)
• low blood pressure
• salt and sugar cravings
• shakiness or lightheadedness after skipping a meal
• dizziness upon standing
• feeling of tired and wired
• sleep disturbance
• low libido
• infertility
• thyroid imbalances
• hair loss
• blurred vision
• severe allergies

How to test for adrenal fatigue:
Since we live in a toxic, high-stress world, I assume that most of my patients have some amount of adrenal fatigue. I listen to the symptoms and lifestyle of my patients in order to assess whether someone has adrenal fatigue. In addition, I use saliva testing if patients want to get a baseline level or track their progress.
Functional Medicine Adrenal Stress Profile
This saliva test can detect imbalances in the stress hormones cortisol and DHEA by taking four samples throughout the day. Imbalances in these hormones can affect energy levels, emotions, and lead to many other health concerns, such as anxiety, allergies, chronic fatigue syndrome, insomnia, depression, migraines, recurrent infections, menstrual difficulties and infertility.
How to treat adrenal fatigue:
It’s important to remember that your adrenal glands are not the underlying cause; they’re just caught in the crossfire. The best way to treat adrenal fatigue is to address the root cause: stress. I encourage you to think about your personal daily stressors, and take your health back into your own hands. If you suffer from adrenal fatigue, the most important thing you can do is to establish a routine. Below you can find some of my suggestions for establishing your routine.

1. Go to bed at the same time every night (preferably before 10 pm) and get 8 hours of sleep.
2. Learn to say NO when you have reached your limit.
3. Do something relaxing every day (warm bath, walk in the park, yoga, meditation, acupuncture, etc).
4. Don’t over-exercise. If you’re fatigued after your workout, you might want to scale down.
5. Eat a protein-rich breakfast before 10 am.
6. Consume fruit with a source of protein (nuts or nut butters).
7. Avoid alcohol, sugar, gluten and dairy (toxic and inflammatory foods).
8. Consider supplementation (adaptogenic herbs, B vitamins).

Adaptogenic herbs help the body adapt and cope with stress. This is my go-to treatment to support the adrenal gland, as we work together to find the root cause of your adrenal fatigue.
The brand I use in my clinic is Douglas Laboratories’ Adreno-Mend, which is a blend of Rhodiola rosea, Panax ginseng, and a number of other herbal extracts.
Vitamin B Complex is ideal for adrenal support. All B vitamins are critical for the chemical processes within the adrenal glands.
For added adrenal support, you can also take magnesium, omega-3 fatty acids, and vitamin C.


-Author:  Amy Myers, M.D.