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Tag: LEAP

Miyoko’s Vegan Cream Cheese from Cashews and Coconut Cream

If you are living dairy-free, it can be hard to find a good, satisfying cream cheese, so I was thrilled to discover Miyoko’s Plainly Classic Vegan Cream Cheese. A little tangy, smooth and spreadable, it’s seriously yummy.

Made from cashews and coconut cream, it’s a safe option for many people on restricted diets, or following a customized anti-inflammatory LEAP dietary program for maximum relief from inflammation.

Enjoy it anywhere you’d enjoy regular cream cheese: on wheat products like bagels, crackers, or toast; or, if you’re trying to avoid wheat and gluten, try it with gluten-free bagels, rice crackers, or even gluten-free matzohs (made from potatoes).

You can even bake with this vegan cream cheese: hello cheese cake! I’ll let you know if I make the attempt to make a dairy-free, wheat-free cheese cake with this. If you make one, please share the recipe in the comments below!

If you want to know more about the anti-inflammatory benefits of a customized LEAP diet, contact me to schedule a free initial phone consultation to learn more about it.

The Role of Food Sensitivities in Chronic Inflammation

The Role of Food Sensitivities in Chronic Inflammation” is the title of the talk I gave at 10am on Sunday, September 23rd, 2018, at the Trinity Conference in Schaumburg, Illinois.

I discussed the connection between our gut and our immune system –did you know that 60-80% of our immune system is in our gut?!– and giving proven methods for  resolving inflammation in our bodies.

“Healthy Products, Healthy Food, Healthy Life” is the subtitle of this conference that is open to anyone interested in feeling better and living naturally.

Watch the video of this talk below!

Chronic Sinusitis Can Be Due to Food Sensitivities

Do you suffer from chronic sinus infections, drippy nose, or just plain old congestion? If so, the cause is likely something you’re eating all the time that you don’t realize is making you sick.LEAP-logo

Here’s a testimonial from a client who received a customized anti-inflammatory LEAP diet based on Mediator Release Test (MRT) results and found a life where she no longer has sinus issues. As a Certified LEAP Therapist (CLT), my job is to design a customized anti-inflammatory diet to resolve symptoms. The MRT allows us to pinpoint the triggers of inflammatory activity instead of shooting arrows in the dark and so produces real results.

LEAP Testimonial

I originally sought counseling from Dr. Yarnell at the advice of a good friend. I have had chronic sinus pressure which resulted in me taking a nasal decongestant every day. I also used to get about 4 sinus infections a year which ended with me taking antibiotics. Otherwise, I was a very healthy person who regularly exercises, only ate organic produce and didn’t smoke. Therefore, I was a bit skeptical of whether or not the LEAP program could really make a dramatic difference for me.

I was also concerned with my ability to stick to the program. The first two weeks were restrictive. For someone who had multiple cups of coffee every day and a piece of chocolate, this seemed daunting. However, because I was feeling so much better and Dr. Yarnell was my advocate I was able to get through it. Once I started introducing new foods I felt like I had so many options and zero interest in the foods that caused me to feel bad.

The benefits of LEAP were amazing and unexpected. My hair started growing thicker, I no longer crave caffeine or sweets, I have more energy, I sleep better, I am less anxious and I think more clearly. My sinus issues are gone as well. I also realize that I could not have done this program without the guidance of Dr. Yarnell. She is relateable, encouraging and worked with me to develop a customized program. The blood tests alone would not have allowed such a complete transformation.

I have recommended the LEAP program and Dr. Yarnell’s guidance to my family and friends – and look forward to hearing their success stories as well.

~Lauren C., New York

I Was Infected with Listeria When I Was Pregnant

camel riding with my son who survived listeria in the womb
Here is my son today, a healthy survivor of listeria infection in the womb.

About eleven years ago, when I was nine months pregnant with my first child, I accidentally became infected with listeria, a bacteria that spreads through unhygienic food handling practices. Since listeriosis (listeria infection) can cause stillbirth, I was treated with massive doses of i.v. antibiotics over several days. Thankfully, my baby was born alive, but we have been dealing with the consequences ever since.

You can ready the whole story here as it has been posted on the Stop Foodborne Illness wall.

Listeria is the same bacteria that killed a bunch of people who ate unwashed cantaloupe a few summers ago. Here are some tips on how you can stay safe from foodborne illness.

Those life-saving antibiotics given to a developing fetus killed the listeria in the placenta but also destroyed my son’s digestive system before he even emerged from the womb. No one had mentioned the long-term effects this treatment might have on the baby that survived it.

The quest to heal his body led me on a direct path to the dietary management therapies I employ today as a naturopathic doctor (ND) and Certified LEAP Therapist. It’s fair to say that getting listeria irrevocably changed my life, my career, and my passions.

I’m thankful to have found a way to heal my son and turn him from a failure-to-thrive baby into a healthy and robust almost-11-year-old, and to be able to use the knowledge gained from my journey to help others heal and recover their health.

I could not have foreseen the path my life has taken, and I thank you all for reading and taking me along on your own journey toward health.

Namaste.

What Causes Headaches? It Could Be A Food Sensitivity.

Last month I noticed that I began to get headaches regularly every afternoon. I didn’t immediately suspect that it was a food sensitivity reaction, but once I realized what was causing it, I was able to make the headaches disappear.

I’m not a person prone to headaches and after the third day in a row of having dull pain above my right eye I began to suspect something was wrong. Of course, I jumped to all sorts of rational conclusions first: it was a tumor that was causing the pain, what if it were a parasite behind my eye, or maybe I had brain-eating amoebas!

Then I gave it some thought and asked myself to remember when the headaches had started and what had changed at that time. I realized that my headaches had begun after we had arrived back home from our east coast vacation. I had been suffering from a cold that week so hadn’t thought of a headache as notable since my sinus cavities were full, etc. But then the cold ran its course and I still had the headache every day more than a week later.

I wondered if the problem could be caused by the agave syrup I used to sweeten my cup of decaf coffee at home. On vacation I was using cane sugar in my coffee, but at home I usually use agave. Food sensitivities can be delayed by up to four days, so a headache beginning around 3 pm could very well result from a drink at 7 or 8 am.

I stopped using agave syrup the very next day and had only a faint headache that afternoon. Two days after ceasing using the agave I was completely headache-free. It has now been four days without a headache and I am convinced it was the agave.

I feel lucky to have been able to identify the culprit and find relief so easily! Many of my clients complete MRT food sensitivity testing and find they are sensitive to as many as thirty or forty foods. After they complete a washout and some healing time, they often find that there were one or two big offenders that were tipping the scales for everything else.

I worked with a 29-year old attorney who had suffered from migraines almost daily since she was twelve years old. With MRT testing and the LEAP Immunocalm Diet, she was able to identify her biggest sensitivity as being from the additive fructose. As in High Fructose Corn Syrup. She realized that everything she used to eat as a busy career woman contained fructose and she had been unwittingly keeping herself in pain.

The first two weeks after removing all fructose from her life she went through a washout period and experienced about a dozen migraines. Then they stopped for good. Now she lives a migraine-free life as long as she avoids her fructose trigger. She feels like a new person. She received a raise and a promotion and is happily living migraine-free.

Sometimes you just don’t know until you know.