Garlic Bread

Are you eating more fiber, taking the right probiotics, magnesium glycinate and still not going #2 everyday? Has your doctor told you that it is fine and that is just how your body is? Well, your doctor is wrong. Everyone should go #2 everyday...it is more important than you think. We are living in a sea of estrogens. When we aren't properly excreting those toxic levels of estrogens, they get stored in our fat cells which is detrimental for weight gain. Fat cells make estrogen and estrogen causes fatty tissue growth. This is a vicious cycle we?d like to avoid. Excess estrogen is excreted in the bowel. When stool remains in the bowel for a longer time, as in constipation, the estrogen is reabsorbed.

Some ways we get too much estrogen is exposure to chemicals that mimic estrogen such as many plastics (microwaving food in plastic dishes or using plastic wraps and containers...like they did in the schools on JAMIE OLIVER's FOOD REVOLUTION) or eating non-organic food. Beef and chickens are typically given potent estrogenic substances (?super-estrogens?) to make them more productive. Our produce is often laced with these substances.

People develop estrogen dominance as a result of a high-carb low-fiber diet, consuming excess fructose, drinking alcohol, having a "Tired-Toxic Liver (see chapter in Secrets to a Healthy Metabolism), or environmental factors...all of which we have some power to control.

The liver is a filter of sorts. It detoxifies our body, protecting us from the harmful effects of chemicals, elements in food, environmental toxins, and even natural products of our metabolism, including excess estrogen. Anything that impairs liver function or ties up the detoxifying function will result in excess estrogen levels. If your liver is tired and toxic, a special diet plan would be in order to help.

Estrogen is produced not only internally but also produced in reaction to chemicals and other substances in our food. When it is not broken down adequately, higher levels of estrogen build up. This is true for both men and women, although the effects are more easily recognized in men. Alcoholic men with impaired liver function develop a condition called gynecomastia, with estrogenic characteristics including enlarged breasts, loss of male pubic hair, and belly fat.

Some signs of excess estrogen in MEN and WOMEN:
-Migraines
-Low back pain
-Weight gain secondary to insulin resistance
-Belly Fat Accumulation (A "Beer Belly" is really an "Estrogen Belly")
-Fibrocystic breast disease
-Excessive PMS
-Menstrual disturbances--irregular and heavy bleeding
-Endometriosis
-Fibroids
-Ovarian cysts
-Breast Cancer

Correcting Estrogen Dominance involves more than just correcting the estrogen-progesterone balance and supporting the adrenals. It is important to eliminate the factors as much as possible. Exposure to xenoestrogens , insufficient sleep, toxic exposure, poor nutrition (high carbohydrates, low fat/protein intake, low nutrient value), and stress are some common causes. I also have suggestions for supplements to help speed the process of healing.

So, do you feel like you are eating the right way, taking the right supplements and STILL aren't going #2? It is most likely a food allergy! Contact me if you need some individualized meal plans and supplement suggestions.

FYI: Even bar soaps leach estrogen's into our bloodstream. Click HERE to find one that doesn't!

Click HERE to find water bottles that don't leach estrogens.

Craig and I love garlic bread. We use to buy the Pepperidge Farms Garlic Bread and eat the whole thing! Yikes, check out this ingredient list (BOLD = Tran-fats!): Unbromated Unbleached Enriched Wheat Flour [Flour, Niacin, Reduced Iron, Thiamin Mononitrate (Vitamin B1), Riboflavin (Vitamin B2), Folic Acid], Water, Margarine [Partially Hydrogenated Soybean Oil, Liquid Soybean Oil, Skim Milk, Cultured Skim Milk, Salt, Mono and Diglycerides and Soy Lecithin (Emulsifiers), Colored with Beta Carotene (a Source of Vitamin A), Vitamin A Palmitate Added], Partially Hydrogenated Soybean Oil, Contains 2% or Less of: Yeast, Salt, Garlic Powder, High Fructose Corn Syrup, Wheat Gluten, Yellow Cornmeal, Malted Barley, Sugar, Vegetable Mono and Diglycerides, Natural Flavor (from Milk Products), Parsley, Enzymes, Citric Acid, Soybean Oil, Autolyzed Yeast Extract, Hydrolyzed Torula Yeast, Xanthan Gum, Extractives of Turmeric (Color) and Annatto (Color). 

I served this "healthified" garlic bread with my lasagna. I knew I was going to be busy that day, so I made it ahead of time and froze it.



"HEALTHIFIED" GARLIC BREAD
6 eggs, separated
1 tsp cream of tartar
1/2 cup unflavored egg white or whey protein
1/4 cup cream cheese, softened
1 garlic clove (or powder)

Separate the eggs, (save the yolks for creme brule) and whip the whites with the cream of tartar for a few minutes until VERY stiff. Very slowly add in whey protein (or egg white protein). Fold the cream cheese and seasonings to the whipped whites. Grease a bread pan very well. Spoon the mixture into the pan and smooth the top with a spatula. Bake at 375 degrees F for 45 minutes until lightly browned. Cool before cutting, then cut into 12 pieces. I also spread a little butter on each piece and rubbed with garlic cloves and sprinkled with Parmesan cheese. I tossed it back into the oven on a broil for 3 minutes until butter was bubbly and lightly browned. Serves 12.

NUTRITIONAL COMPARISON:
Pepperidge Farm Garlic Bread = 170 Calories, 7g fat, 4g protein, 24 carbs, 2 fiber
?Healthified? Garlic Bread = 43 calories, 2g fat, 5.6g protein, 1 carb, 0 fiber

NOTE: Whipping the white properly is tricky, do not under whip or this won?t turn out.

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