Evolutionary Wellness with Ellen: February
February 28, 2021 | Late Winter/"Feels like Spring!" Edition
This Recipe is a Life Changer - Truly!

In the pathway of healthy eating, often times certain foods will fall away. Bread is one of those foods!

I've personally eaten very little bread in the last couple years, and while I don't miss it, I do miss the convenience of it!

***Drumroll Please***

ENTER: "Life Changing Loaf of Bread" (see recipe below). This may just make your life a whole lot better!
Support from Ellen
Read more about my mentoring programs in nutritional counseling, energy healing and nature-connection, below.
Long COVID Resources and Further Support for Healing
I hope you have been enjoying some early Spring weather were you are. It's bringing great joy to my being to feel/see/breathe in the new life emerging! And with this new life, I feel new hope for healing! Please keep reading below for my latest update on the resources I've been using and have put together for COVID/Long COVID.
Long COVID: Compact Yet Extensive Resources for Healing
Early Spring 
by Rainer Maria Rilke

Harshness vanished. A sudden softness
has replaced the meadows' wintry grey.
Little rivulets of water changed
their singing accents. Tendernesses,

hesitantly, reach toward the earth
from space, and country lanes are showing
these unexpected subtle risings
that find expression in the empty trees.
Long COVID Resources

Hello dear friends,

I hope that the updates I've shared about current research/resources for healing in re: to COVID and long COVID these past few months have been helpful for you, or for anyone in your circle of loved ones.

This month, what I'm sharing, which is a compact yet extensive list of resources - a compilation of all I've shared before, with some new resources - I hope will be of additional service to you!

After this, I likely won't be writing as much about COVID, and will get back to other nutritional and health topics, so save this for reference if needed!

***Everything shared below by myself, Ellen Kittredge, CHC, is for informational purposes only. It is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice and should not be relied on as health or personal advice. Always seek the guidance of your doctor or other qualified health professional with any questions you may have regarding your health or a medical condition. Never disregard the advice of a medical professional, or delay in seeking it. If you think you may have a medical emergency, call your doctor, go to the nearest hospital emergency department, or call the emergency services immediately. Do not start supplements without the guidance of a health professional, as there are possible contraindications between supplements and medications, as well as contraindications in general given different health conditions. Please discuss everything with your doctor or someone who is your trusted healthcare professional.***

If you do choose to work with supplements, it is important to make sure all supplements are high quality, so definitely source from a health food store rather than CVS, Boots, or any place like that. All supplements are not created equal! I do recommend calling a place like Village Green Apothecary, which carries doctor-grade brands, and has a team of nutritional experts, herbalists and pharmacists working on staff, who can help to provide very specific guidance for you.

The standard supplements that seem to be recommended that can be helpful are:

Vitamin C with bioflavaonids (immune support and healing from the inflammation of COVID)

Zinc (super important for immune support and healing from the inflammation)

Quercetin (a potent bioflavonoid, and really important for stabilizing the mast cells, which could be dysregulated by COVID - see below. Also an antihistamine)

Vitamin D with K2 (incredibly important to be at a good level with this. 30 is the low end of the lab normal range. Most docs would recommend being above 50, so get tested and see what blood levels are, and then dose accordingly)

Both Vitamin C and Vitamin D have a huge amount of research behind them at this point that indicate they are significantly helpful with minimizing COVID symptoms if taken in higher doses at early onset. Of course, as with all of this information that I'm sharing here, run this by your doctor or trusted medical professional.

Additionally, and this is especially for certain symptoms of long COVID, it could be wise to take: 

A low histamine probiotic (look for these strains: lactobacillus rhamnosus, lactobacillus plantarum, and also possibly: saccharomyces Boullardi)

Magnesium (important for uptake of Vitamin D)

Niacin (the flush form - nicotinic acid - start with a very low dose of 25 to 50mg - see videos and research papers linked to below for more about why this could be helpful)

CoQ10 (for help with energy)

Melatonin (for help with sleep but also has other antioxidant benefits)

Selenium 

Vitamin A (careful with this as you can overdose if taking retinol form for too long)

B vitamins, including B12 and possibly B6

NAC (NAC is a precursor to glutathione. Or, take glutathione if you can find a very high quality bio-available glutathione supplement)

COVID seems to be causing anemia for some, so if there is really low energy, in addition to supplementing with B12 and CoQ10 for energy support, might be good to test for iron, and/or eat some high quality red meat or other foods high in iron.

Histamine Intolerance and COVID/Long COVID

A certain percentage of people who develop long COVID seem to be developing histamine intolerance as part of their symptom display. And so, if you are eating high histamine foods and don't know it, they could be contributing to ongoing inflammation and challenges with healing. So, consider eating low histamine, both during infection as well as afterwards, if you develop long COVID.

These are good lists for what low histamine foods are.
 



Generally speaking, rest, hydrate well, avoid all inflammatory foods (Like gluten, dairy, GMOs, alcohol, etc.) and toxins, and sleep as much as possible.

Additional medication support:

Ivermectin was recently approved as a COVID and possibly long COVID treatment in the US. So discuss this treatment option with your doctor. This is a very safe drug that's been used a lot in South America, Africa and other places around the world and has research as well as anecdotal evidence for effectiveness again COVID.

Also, a knowledgeable doctor may want to prescribe anti-histamines, as that can be helpful to counter some of the symptoms. And, mast-cell stabilizing medications may also be warranted in the treatment of Long COVID. So do consider that as well in your conversations with your doctors.

AN AMAZING SERIES OF EDUCATIONAL YOUTUBE VIDEOS

Gez Medinger, a long hauler in the UK has done a lot of research on various treatment protocols for Long COVID. I'd recommend watching all his videos for some more of the background of some of what I share above. 

Here's a more recent video, but there are several he made before this that are really helpful for background as well. Do watch them all, and also follow the links to the research papers which are shared with some of the youtube videos. 

If you start to develop chemical sensitivity post COVID - i.e. start to feel really sick when smelling chemicals, perfumes, etc. that could be a sign of Mast Cell Activation Syndrome (MCAS). If that's the case, its really important to follow the low histamine diet, as well as take the 4 standard supplements I shared above as a starting point...

Some doctors are finding this connection to be incredibly common in long COVID. More about MCAS and its connection to long COVID, shared by UK Doctor Tina Peers, is HERE. And HERE.

Foods that are high in the nutrients mentioned above 

These are not exhaustive lists, but simply some of the foods that are higher in these nutrients.

Quercetin: grapes, apples, cranberries, blueberries, black currants, cherries, black plums, many fresh herbs, cruciferous veggies - cabbage, broccoli, kale, brussels sprouts, bok choy, tat soi, arugula - peppers, lettuce, chicory, red onion, asparagus, 

Vitamin C: most fresh veggies and fruits!

Zinc: Fresh oysters, sardines, beef, lamb, turkey, whole grains, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds pecans, Brazil nuts, almonds, walnuts, ginger root, maple syrup

Vitamin A (beta-carotene form) Kale, sweet potatoes, carrots, winter squash/pumpkin, spinach, cantaloupe, broccoli, asparagus, liver, lettuce 

Vitamin B6 (pyroxidine) sunflower seeds, fish (tuna, salmon, trout), liver, beans, lima beans, navy beans, garbanzos, pinto beans, brown rice, bananas

Selenium Brazil nuts, tuna, organ meats, halibut, beef, sunflower seeds

Nervous System/Brain Retraining for Long COVID

The Gupta Program is an incredible and very reasonably priced program for healing from chronic health conditions, including now, evidence coming in for support with healing from long COVID. You can do a free 28 day trial to check it out and see what it's all about, or purchase the entire program which includes 3 months of live support with Ashok Gupta, the founder (who healed himself from CFS/ME with what he's sharing in this program). 

Personally, I’m at about 90 - 95% recovery at this point, after following most of what I’ve outlined above for the last few months.

My most recent explorations, to get myself fully back to 100%, have involved genetic testing, which was highly instructive and has helped me to hone in my diet and supplement protocol a bit more tightly, given the multiple genetic polymorphisms I have which impact detoxification, methylation, hormonal balance, and more (and also likely explain some of why I developed Long COVID in the first place). 

If you’d like to consider getting some genetic testing done, here in the UK, I can recommend LifeCodeGX. In the US, you can work with Dr. Ben Lynch, author of Dirty Genes, a book I highly recommend adding to your book list this year, especially if you have any chronic unresolved health issues that don’t seem to be healing with just the standard recommended healthy dietary and lifestyle changes.

And the final realm I’m looking into is testing and support for identifying underlying infectious processes that may have been triggered by COVID, and have contributed to my immune system getting so overwhelmed and out of whack.
For me this involves looking into my history of Lyme Disease and EBV, as well as considering parasite testing, since I’ve traveled quite a lot internationally in the last several years.

What sort of history of infections do you have?

Might they have been running at a low volume in your body for a while, and have been re-activated post COVID?’

If you’re trying everything I’ve shared above, and have made progress but aren’t all the way better yet, do consider both genetic testing and testing for underlying infections/toxicity, as these could be the final aspects of the key for your healing.

I sincerely hope this information is helpful to you and to your loves ones who may have been impacted by COVID!

It's by no means exhaustive, as there are many different treatment options being shared right now, but these are the ones I've been able to study and also implement myself these last few months, and so feel comfortable sharing about because of that.

Here's to your continued healing!

Ellen
p.s. My Spring Cleanse will begin April 12th, with pre-cleanse support starting April 5th. If you missed the Winter Cleanse and/or want to continue your healing pathway into the Spring, do look for an announcement about registration opening for that around the Spring Equinox.

Evolutionary Wellness

"A butterfly must struggle to break out of its cocoon. But the struggle to emerge from the cocoon forces the fluid from the butterfly's body into its wings - a necessary process for enabling it to fly."

- Charles C. Manz
My Evolutionary Wellness Mentorship Program

A personalized one-on-one mentorship program designed to support you in realizing the next level of your health and wellness.

This program is designed for the person who is truly ready to heal.

I am committed to your success and will be bringing out every tool I have in my toolkit to support you in your evolution.

The sessions are a combination of:
  1. Nutritional recommendations/support/ guidance.
  2. Energy clearing sessions to remove the blocks that we identify together are in the way of your success.
  3. Spiritual and nature-based guidance/direction (if desired).

This program is for you if you are interested in having breakthroughs in not only your physical health, but if you are also committed to evolving your overall consciousness to a place of true balance - mind, body, spirit.

This Program is designed for those who are ready to be sovereign in their life and align with their higher self/highest truth. There is no time like the present to wake up to the fullness of who we are and create the life we want to be living.

Contact me on email to schedule an introductory consult. Or read more about my programs and offerings here.

"When I began counseling with Ellen my thyroid was unmanageable, my cholesterol was too high, I was overweight and lacked the energy to get through my day. Only 7 weeks into her program, my bloodwork results astounded me. For the first time in years my thyroid was balanced and my cholesterol and lipid profiles were right on target. I knew my energy was higher and that my focus and stamina throughout the day had improved but the bloodwork was much more than I could have hoped for in such a short time. 

If you are willing to do the work, Ellen offers a no-fail program. Her knowledge base extends far and wide. I was particularly impressed with the preparation she did prior to each meeting, picking up on details so often ignored by medical professionals. 

She was able to prescribe a program that allowed me to loose twenty pounds and learn a new way of eating that will keep me healthy, happy and feeling good in the years to come and I am finding very enjoyable. Her pleasant manner put me at ease, making learning easy, she challenged me while providing encouragement when needed. 

To walk away after these sessions, with bloodwork that was excellent and twenty pounds lighter was great, but the improvement in my energy and mood has been delightful.

I recommend Ellen without any reservation, simply put, she is the best!" - Matty Maccaro, Maryland
Life Changing Loaf of Bread
Life Changing Loaf of Bread

I am so grateful to the Cleanser who shared this recipe with the Cleanse group in January.

We’ve been making it in my home these last few weeks, and I can tell you that quite honestly it’s what I’ve been looking for for years, in terms of a great healthy satisfying snack and/or component to a healthy breakfast!

You can do all sorts of substitutions and make it more savory or more sweet. Do check out the full instructions at the link here. 

Life Changing Loaf of Bread
(source: see link above)

Ingredients
  • 1 cup (135 grams) sunflower seed kernels (not in the shell)
  • 1/2 cup (90 grams) flax seeds
  • 1/2 cup (65 grams) hazelnuts or almonds
  • 1 1/2 cups (145 grams) rolled oats (if making gluten-free, make sure to get certified gluten-free oats)
  • 2 tablespoons chia seeds
  • 4 tablespoons psyllium seed husks (3 tablespoons if using psyllium husk powder)
  • 1 teaspoon fine grain sea salt (add 1/2 teaspoon if using coarse salt)
  • 1 tablespoon maple syrup (for sugar-free diets, use a pinch of stevia)
  • 3 tablespoons melted coconut oil or ghee
  • 1 1/2 cups (350 milliliters) water

Instructions
In a flexible, silicon loaf pan or a standard loaf pan lined with parchment, combine all dry ingredients, stirring well.

Whisk maple syrup, oil, and water together in a measuring cup. Add this to the dry ingredients and mix very well until everything is completely soaked and dough becomes very thick (if the dough is too thick to stir, add one or two teaspoons of water until the dough is manageable).

Smooth out the top with the back of a spoon.

Let sit out on the counter for at least 2 hours, or all day or overnight. To ensure the dough is ready, it should retain its shape even when you pull the sides of the loaf pan away from it or lift the parchment.

Preheat oven to 350° F / 175° C.

Place loaf pan in the oven on the middle rack, and bake for 20 minutes. Remove bread from loaf pan, place it upside down directly on the rack and bake for another 30 to 40 minutes.

Bread is done when it sounds hollow when tapped. Let cool completely before slicing.

Store bread in a tightly sealed container for up to five days.

Freezes well too – slice before freezing for quick and easy toast!
Evolutionary Wellness and Ellen's Nutrition Counseling| [www.ellenkittredge.com]