Acid Reflux; ‘Diet’ foods; Almond Flour Cut Out "Sugar" Cookies
Health Tip:
Be careful with all the ‘diet’ foods on the grocery shelves. Many are sweetened with chemicals—aspartame (Equal), sucralose (Splenda), and saccharine to name the common ones. They are toxic to the body and nerves, can cause headaches, prevent weight loss, and even mimic Multiple Sclerosis! Stevia is a better option for no calories. Honey is also a great sweetener to use with a lower glycemic index.
Monthly Article:
Acid Reflux: The Rest of the Story
(Iron, B12, and digestion)
The general public has been told only about half the story when it comes to acid reflux.
Your body actually requires acid in your stomach to digest your food. Your body actually produces hydrochloric acid to digest your food. When the system is working properly, your food is quickly digested by this acid in the stomach and then the food moves on within about 20 minutes to 2 hours into the small intestines. Meats require more time to digest than fruit and veggies.
When your stomach acid is too low, your food sits in your stomach longer than it should and it actually begins to ferment. This fermentation process actually forms another acid. This is the culprit acid in most cases of acid reflux. Your food and the acid continue to sit in your stomach and then are more likely to come back up, or reflux.
Acid neutralizers, like Tums, can make the reflux not hurt but does nothing to fix the underlying issue. Acid suppressors, like Prevacid and Protonics, actually suppress your natural hydrochloric acid production. While this again will make a person more comfortable by lowering overall acid, it again does nothing to fix the underlying issue. In actuality, both end up making the problem worse. (Side note: Tums is NOT a good supply of calcium as it is almost impossible to digest this calcium in a low acid environment.)
There must be sufficient acid in the stomach for the body to be able to absorb both iron and vitamin B12. If a person has low stomach acid the likelihood of anemia increases. If a person is anemic, and any ‘leaks’ have been ruled out the next item to consider is low stomach acid and the regular use of acid suppressors or acid neutralizers.
If there is not enough stomach acid to digest food the problems will continue to the rest of the digestion process. This could lead to constipation, diarrhea, or alternating between the two. It can cause inflammation in the intestines which might lead to diverticulitis or colitis. It can also cause ‘leaky gut’ which makes a person more prone to food intolerances.
It is important to find out if low stomach acid is the culprit. An easy self test would be to try an over-the-counter supplement called Apple Cider Vinegar tablets which will increase stomach acid. If taken and acid reflux improves, continue taking the vinegar tablets. You can also put about ¼ tsp of Apple Cider Vinegar in 8 oz of water and drink it instead of purchasing the tablets.
If nothing changes, there may still be a low acid condition that the vinegar is not strong enough to help with. If so, please speak to Dr. Smith and she will test to see if you need a stronger, but still natural, supplement.
If your stomach hurts more after the vinegar, this means that you have an irritation in the stomach that needs to be healed first. This irritation started because of the fermentation of the food and once the irritation is healed, the low acid condition must be addressed. Dr. Smith can help you find out how to heal this stomach irritation.
Recipe of the Month:
Almond Flour Cut Out "Sugar" Cookies
(Diary/Egg/Grain Free, Paleo)
Ingredients:
2 cups fine ground blanched almond flour (such as Honeyville, not Bob's Redmill it's too coarse ground)
Scant less than 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
3 tablespoons coconut oil, softened or liquid (*see alternative fat subs below)
1/4 cup honey (or vegan liquid alternative such as agave/coconut sugar)*
1-2 tablespoons thick applesauce** (depending on how watery your apple sauce is)
1 tablespoon gluten free vanilla extract
*Option: Sub Ghee (Tastes great and is lactose & casein free) or Organic palm shortening for the coconut oil).
**Option: Omit the applesauce and replace with fat choice. The apple sauce gives it a lighter texture but all oil works great too, especially if using ghee.
*Note: This recipe has only been tested with honey. 'Coconut nectar' may significantly change the taste and texture of the cookie, as it is darker in flavor, color and it's lower in acidity. You may want to replace 1/2 teaspoon of the vanilla with apple cider vinegar or lemon juice for best results.
Directions:
In a medium sized bowl, combine dry ingredients; mix together well.
In a separate bowl, mix together the oil, honey, applesauce and vanilla.
Add the liquid ingredients to the dry ingredients, mix until combined and form a smooth ball.
Wrap the dough in parchment paper or plastic and chill the dough for at least one hour or longer (till firm enough to roll out)
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees
Roll the dough out between two sheets of parchment paper (using a very light sprinkling of coconut flour as bench flour to keep it from sticking. Just don't overdo it or the dough will get tough. The dough should be rolled between 1/2 inch and 1/4 inch thick, depending on what you like. Thickness of the cookie will affect the baking time. Chill the dough as needed to keep it at a workable texture. It is also helpful to put the dough into the freezer for a few minutes once rolled out and on the cookie sheet. This will help with the cutting.
When ready to cut out the cookies, dip the cutter in coconut flour and cut through the dough. Using a thin metal spatula, transfer the unbaked cookie to a parchment lined cookie sheet. The unbaked cookies are easiest to transfer when cold. For this reason I like to cut small batches at a time, storing half of the dough in the fridge until the next round of cutting. Once the sheet is full, chill the cutouts in the freezer again for a few minutes if needed. Chilled dough holds it form better as it bakes.
Bake the cookies in a 325 degree oven for about 10-12 minutes (slightly longer for thicker cookies) or till slightly golden around the edges. Baking times will vary depending on the thickness/size of the cookie.
Leave cookies on the cookie sheet until cool. They may seem fragile at first, but will firm up as they cool.
The amount of cookies yielded will vary depending on the size of cookie cutter you use and thickness of the cookie. These cookies are even better after being chilled in the fridge.
http://urbanposer.blogspot.com/2012/10/almond-flour-cut-out-cookies.html?m=1
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Tuesday February 4 at 6:15
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