Miss Jane wins!

What does it take to beat the Gluten Gorilla ? It takes 111% and more. Over the past 4 months I have given my health all I have inside of me and out. I went from being very sick to becoming very healthy in a remarkably short time. The key my success is perserverance, commitment and being positive at all times. Along with my mindset, I have found and brought into my life incredible supports from my Naturopath to my Trainer. Of course, my #1 support is always my husband Brandon, who always adapts to whatever my health needs are.

I precisely followed the guidelines and reccomendations of my Naturopath, Jen Newell. My supplement program was followed and will be continued to be followed each day as prescribed. I was open to whatever treatments we were going to pursue and always took them on with a positive mind focusing on the outcomes that would come from the treatments. I knew that each small change I made was for the better and together over time all those small changes would result in my ultimate goal of becoming healthy again. We did a 12 week detox which is a huge commitment but really made all the difference to my health. Just so you are aware I would not be anywhere near where I am today without the care of a Naturopathic Doctor.

My eating plan is key to my life. I love my Naturopath because she very keen on nutrition, we spend a good deal of time discussing and emailing each other sharing nutritional finds. I have eaten extremely well for many years, I don't eat at fast food restaurants ever! I don't eat conventional junk food ever. 'We are what we eat', is what I believe and follow. I want to be healthy and strong so I therefore eat accordingly. My husband and I have tried many ways of eating for 20 years, so for us to get to this place in our eating it is natural. We make all our food from scratch with good quality, mostly organic ingredients. Our cupboards and fridge only house good healthy foods. We spend money on groceries for our health and do not eat out at restaurants (Although, we recently found our first place to eat out once and a while) In the summer we grow a wonderful plentiful garden with organic seeds and soil, we are working towards turning 100% organic over the next 4 years. All our meals are made with love and balanced to meet our cooking guidelines.

One of the best things to strengthen our immune systems is exercise. With my trainer, Jen Mulhall owner of 365 Thrive, I have taken my exercise from dormant to thriving. In the past 2 months I have begun to fit training back into my life in a way that would not compromise my health. I am now at the point where my conditioning and strength is significantly improved. Currently, Jen is writing my next phase of training for me. I have begun to add weight to all my barbell exercises and I am thrilled with how quickly my strength and muscle memory is coming back. At my last measuring session I had lost a total of 17.5 inches off my body. This week my deadlift reached 75 lbs, my bench press hit 65 lbs and my weighted barbell squat was 55 lbs. I have reached the weights which I left off with when I had to stop my training program due to poor health. If you are planning to get into good shape and have significant goals, I recommend a trainer to create a training plan for you. If you want success you need to commit to it. A trainer will guide you towards success.

It is my hope to inspire others to change their lives make it what they want for themselves. My success has led me to a 20 pound weight loss and huge changes in my body. Think of what it could do for you. Be Strong.

Gluten Free Pizza Night

Brandon used Bob's Red Mill Pizza Crust Mix to make a mean pizza. 

My birthday gift for Brandon this past December were graphic pizza plates from Crate and Barrel. We were a little concerned once I was identified as having a Non Celiac Gluten Intolerance that we may never have pizza night again.

Over time exploring with gluten free cooking you begin to develop a new routine when cooking and shopping. However, the gluten free flour mixture is something that takes a great deal of time to explore. Brandon discovered this wonderful pizza flour mix that is wheat, gluten, corn, soy, dairy free at Whole Foods today. It turned out to be a great find and made a great pizza crust. Saturday Pizza Night has been rediscovered in the Holden Steen house hold.

These Are Not Your Flinstones Vitamins

The truth is we need to eat well to make our bodies healthful. However, a few good quality supplements can support your body and its many organs that run daily underneath your skin, bones and muscles. After having a couple of followers ask about supplements I thought it would be a good idea to share with you my daily supplement routine. 

A good quality multivitamin is important to keep the body strong, just in case you are not balancing your meals well or are tight for time, the multivitamin will give your body what it needs for the day. Now if you have any allergies like myself you need to check your labels carefully. Most reputable companies will declare that they have no soy, corn, wheat, gluten, dairy, all of which are very important to me. I can't have my supplements making me sick. My past two Naturopaths recommend Progressive, which is a Canadian company and I have been pleased with the brand. I use the Active Women multivitamin because I am an active woman and my husband Brandon, uses the the same one for men. http://www.progressivenutritional.com/

I take 2 fish oil with each meal, unless I use cod liver oil in the morning protein smoothie or have fish for my meal. It is highly recommended that you find a good source of fish oil. I have been using Ascenta for a few years now and it also has been recommended by both of my Naturopath's. It comes in liquid and capsule form, depending on your needs. If you are having it with all meals and need to take it with you to work, I recommend the capsules. I have just sourced out the larger bottle as Brandon and I go through a bottle rather quickly. http://www.ascentahealth.com/

My favourite supplement for the past few years has been Vitamin D, it is beginning to be more common knowledge now. My Naturopath, Jen Newell suggested high quality drops, so I changed over from capsules. I love these drops, you can put them on anything and I mean anything. I usually put them in a small glass of water so that I know I have actually ingested them. You can put them in a water bottle or in your protein smoothie, whatever works for you. I take 4000 i.u's a day and can take up to 8000 i.u's if I feel I am fighting something. Available through a Naturopathic Doctor. http://www.nfh.ca/en/products.html

I have a dairy allergy (cow and goat) and I am also lactose intolerant. Therefore I take a calcium supplement daily. If you are concerned about getting enough calcium in your diet you may consider adding this to your daily supplement routine. There are other ways to get calcium such as almonds and broccoli for example but you want to make sure that you don't become calcium deficient. I use the same brand as my multivitamin, Progressive which is ND recommended also. http://www.progressivenutritional.com/


Now I have two special little finds to share with you. Firstly, when I was beginning my detox I was getting colds easily. My Naturopath suggested that I take Allimax. This product is made from specially formulated garlic in capsule form, with no odor for your common knowledge. When you are sick with a cold you can take up to 10 in one shot. I have continued taking 1 a day regularly for the past 2 months. If I feel any signs of sickness I have 3 to 6 depending on the symptoms. I haven't got another cold since and I am still detoxing. I love this product and HIGHLY recommend it. It isn't cheap but is well worth you expense as long as you are a preventative person. http://www.allimax.ca/


I saved the best for last. I have all my life on and off, suffered from wicked PMS. So bad that it has been known to put me in bed for the day. I had been on a Vitamin B Complex and discussed this with my Naturopath, Jen Newell. She immediately put me on a new supplement and immediately I began to see results. What is it?, it's made by Vitanica and is called Women's Health Phase 1, Premenstral Support. My cycle that immediately followed after beginning to take this supplement was significantly altered and for the better I must say. My 2nd cycle after taking this for over a month, I had no PMS symptoms at ALL! In fact, I went to the bathroom and found that I was getting my period, on time but with no warning or signs at all. I have had my period since I was very young and it has taken me 30 years to experience what I would say is normal for most women. This is a miracle supplement. If you suffer any difficulties with your period or most importantly PMS, look into this supplement for yourself. Available through a Naturopathic Doctor. http://www.vitanica.com/

Seeing as my period has altered so greatly I asked if she could recommend something for my minor cramping that I am experiencing now. We had a bit of a hiccup to start as the product I bought is derived from corn (one of my allergies), but we were not aware of this. My naturopath did some digging around for me to find a product corn free. It's Magnesium Malate, taken for cramping, sore muscles (those will be coming soon), stress and sleep. I am all set for my next period, ready to knock the socks off of those cramps. http://www.aor.ca/html/products.php?id=153


I hope that you have a good quality supplement routine that you follow. If you are not sure, go to a local health food store and talk with the people. They usually have a great deal of knowledge and if they don't find another store. I have one store I go to because they have really good deals but the sales people have no personality and very little knowledge in my opinion. This is not good for someone who doesn't know what they are looking for. I was just referred to a great store Nature's Source, in Mississauga, Ontario that is better than any of the stores I used in Toronto.

5 Steps To Become Gluten Free

Wondering how to begin a gluten free lifestyle ?

I have been gluten free for five weeks now after being seriously ill for almost 12 months, as well as on and off for a few years. That is right, only 5 short weeks ago my ND, Jen Newell http://newellnd.ca/  informed me that she believes I have a serious gluten intolerance and I agreed with her 100%. We came to this conclusion after 6 days of a gluten in my gut nightmare, prior to my celiac test. I am thankful I am not celiac but I know some of you reading this will be. 

In my short time on this journey towards a gluten free lifestyle I already have a story to tell. My hope is that I can help you get started on a journey that will change your life forever. I did have some reactions at the beginning of my detox, such as a couple of colds. However, I quickly learned how to remedy those in a natural way. The big reaction that occurred just after my 2nd treatment of acupuncture was a cyst that I had for 3 years abcessed and became infected. I spent an evening in the local ER, had minor surgery and the cyst was drained and removed. I continue to detox and my body is responding swimmingly to acupuncture, high quality supplements, clean gluten free eating, proper rest and good sleep. Next week I begin homeopathy treatments. 

I do recommend seeing a Naturopath when dealing with gluten intolerances and allergies, the support system and treatments offered by an ND will help you get back on your feet more quickly. Although, my ND Jen Newell has commented that I respond extremely well to treatments, I know this is because I am positive, believe in the treatments and I am 100% committed to changing my lifestyle to meet my gluten free and other food allergy needs.

I hope that if you are thinking of eliminating gluten or cut it out in any way from your lifestyle this will make it easier for you. If you are on the fence and not sure if you have a digestion issue read my prior blog for some insight into gluten allergies. I also listed my symptoms prior to my diagnosis in a Jane Trains blog see http://janetrains.blogspot.com/2011/12/is-that-light-i-see.html. Such a lifestyle change can be overwhelming and there is a great deal of research one must do to become informed. I have done the research and I am willing to share this with you to make your journey easier and perhaps get you on your own path to health and wellness more quickly.


5 Steps To Become Gluten Free


Step 1: 
Check all products and foods that you have in your home for ingredients that may contain gluten (or other allergens for me it is soy, corn, wheat, dairy, oranges). Familiarize yourself with various names of ingredients that may contain gluten. A resource I found is http://www.celiac.com/articles/182/1/Unsafe-Gluten-Free-Food-List-Unsafe-Ingredients/Page1.html ) 

Step 2: 
STOP using and consuming all products or foods that have gluten. You can give away products to those who can use them if possible, then you won't feel wasteful. Cleanse your cupboards and fridge of all gluten products. Remember they are toxic to you. Some people simply react to coming in contact with gluten in the kitchen, perhaps your toaster has gluten sitting at the bottom that will make you sick. Other people need seperate jars of peanut butter because they react to a knife put inside the jar that had come in contact with glutens. You will find out what your tolerance is, however in the beginning it is a good idea when you have been sick for a long time to cut out the gluten 100%.

Step 3: 
STOP using your makeup and cleansing products if you are prone to skin rashes, they may be your culprit and you didn't even know it. Contact your cosmetics companies to find out if the products you use are gluten free products. For example, I used Clinique as my facial cleansing products, I learned that my products contained gluten, wheat, corn and soy. For my lipsticks I used MAC, I learned that my lipstick had corn, soy, wheat, barley and gluten in them. Who would have thought my lipstick which I am always reapplying may have been making me sick. 

I searched for and found a new makeup U.S. company, Afterglow specializing in gluten free products. http://www.afterglowcosmetics.com/ 

I am thrilled with these products and highly recommend them. I will write a review on Afterglow products in the near future for you.


While deciding on my facial cleansing products I needed to find something to use. In the mean time, I decided on products with the least ingredients possible as I am prone to facial rashes and have been all my life. For my face wash, hand and body soap I used used Dr. Bronners. http://www.drbronner.com/  I chose the baby mild soap for my hands and face, it lathers very well and I don't seem to react. The peppermint bar soap for my body also lathers well and the peppermint is invigorating on the body.  

However, once I had some time to research gluten free companies I was delighted in my research to find Cocoon Apothecary http://cocoonapothecary.com/ based in Kitchener, Ontario Canada. My ND was in the process of ordering some products and suggest I check the website out. Having a former allergy to soy, corn, wheat, and orange it was tricky to find products, many gluten free products contain soy, wheat and orange. I have been using the full line of Cocoon Apothecary products on my face, facial wash, toner, cream as well as other products from this company for a few weeks. I am more than thrilled and am seeing some great results on my face. I will do a review Cocoon Apothecary in the coming few weeks.

Step 4:
Research the topic of gluten free well using the internet for gluten free websites, blogs, facebook pages. There is a marvelous active community of people out there, people have taken the journey you are on right now. They have had some success and some failures, learn their stories and find out what worked for them. People are willing to chat with you, share emails and lend support in any way needed. It is remarkable.

Step 5: 
Go on a Gluten Free shop at your regular grocery, local butcher and health food stores. Create a shopping list once you have had time to research recipes, gluten free products and products that may contain glutens. Be prepared that initially you will spend more money as you change your products over to make your gluten free lifestyle work for you.

While shopping check for new products to see what you may like to try in the future, remember you are safer and it is healthier to make your own food from fresh and organic ingredients than to buy mostly processed or prepared foods. I prefer finding a local butcher who has organic meats from responsible farmers for your protein sources, however my grocery store has excellent organic meat choices too. 

Your health food store will have many products that will be good for you. If you are concerned about your cleansing products you can find many products that would be good for you while you research other gluten free companies like I did. 

Look for a gluten free bakery in your neighbourhood. This will make a huge difference in your life. One day while out on an adventure to a local Oakville organic grocery shop we stumbled across this gem. This is a family run bakery with a wonderful friendly staff who truly understand what tasty gluten free products means to their customers. My husband Brandon usually picks up the orders and they already know him by name. Seeing as I have other allergies they do a special run of dough for me without soy and corn. There products are wonderful and I don't feel like I am missing out on anything in life. I really believe that if you can find your own little Voila bakery you will be very satisfied living a gluten free lifestyle. http://www.voilaglutenfreebakeree.com/

As you can see living a gluten free lifestyle can change your life. The energy, wellness and zest for life that will come to you may surprise you. How quickly your symptoms that have been keeping you unwell will quickly diminish. You will have your life back and it will be a new one. You will have energy to be the person you have always dreamed of being. 


I wish each of you the best success in your individual journeys. I am confident that becoming gluten free you will change your life for the best and forever.

Miss Jane vs The Gluten Gorilla

For years, I have been wondering what was going on inside of my body. I ate extremely well, used good quality supplements, followed a great training program and there was something that had a hold inside of me that I couldn't put my finger on.

It would show up occasionally over the years in the form of flu like systems, although I usually never had vomiting or diarrhea. I would usually describe it as fighting a bug in my system, I must have the flu! What was odd about this is I only ever used to get sick from my allergies and that was it. This type of flu bug seemed to be changing that. For the last 9 months or longer, I have been walking around feeling like I am fighting a flu bug and it continually worsened.

During the summer months I read Paul Chek's book, How to Eat, Move and Be Healthy and I stumbled upon a chapter related to digestion. http://www.eatmoveandbehealthy.com/

Right in front of me was a diagram (see above) that showed exactly what I had been feeling for the past 5 months. The problem was I didn't have an ND to share it with. My MD had already told me he didn't have anything more he could do for me and I didn't want to go the route of seeing specialists, yet. I tried to heal myself with my superpowers of perserverence, determination, intuitiveness, strength. However, I was unable to determine what was ailing me. Gluten had already been tested by my doctor on my request, paid for by me and had come back negative. Gluten was crossed off my list as the insistent culprit. I was unsuccessful and my strength was fizzing out fast.

From Paul Chek's book I knew that despite all my positive attitude, super clean eating, good training program and quality supplements that if I had a digestion problem it could impede all the good practices I followed like a religion. I began to eat super clean, only eating grains after training. The problem was I rarely had the energy to train, so I was eating many grains. I noticed I felt much better eating like this. In fact in the spring when I was very sick I went of gluten at one point and felt much better. However, I thought that couldn't have been the problem because I had tested negative on my gluten blood test. Over the past few months at times, I have been on and off gluten at times. I noticed that I would feel much better when I was off it.

At my first appointment with my Naturopath, Jen Newell ND http://newellnd.ca/ I brought Paul Chek's book. When we got to the part in our 1 and 1/2 hour appointment where we discussed my stomach issues, I pulled out the diagram that I had related so well to in the summer. Very quickly the picture became clear to my Naturopath what could be wrong with me. We decided to do Celiac Test at our next appointment. If I was celiac then I had a gluten allergy that was affecting my small instestine. I mindfully went off gluten for almost 2 days. I started feeling good for a day, then I realized that I need the gluten in my system for my celiac test. Each day for 6 days I made sure to consume a good quality source of gluten.

During the 6 days of Gluten, I learned that I had a Gluten Gorilla inside of me. He was very strong and powerful. Each time I consumed even a small amount of gluten, my body reacted in minutes with body aches, fog in my head, stomach cramps, irritability, exhaustion, zero energy and unrelentless bloating. The day after I began eating gluten I was in bed for a day and a half. Eating the gluten each day put me in a constant state of these symptoms. I took 2 days off work to try to gain some strength to go into work. However, my adrenal glands are non functioning and have been for some time according to my Naturopath, due to the stress of having an allergic reaction each time I consumed gluten, cause my body to be in a constant state of flight or fight. Without proper working adrenal glands my blood pressure is off and when I went back to work for a day I was in a constant state of dizziness as I bent and turned to address my kindergarten children for for hours. By lunch I called Brandon 3 times because I thought I might pass out, I admitted to him that he was right, he should have driven me to work that day.

My appointment seemed to be so far off in the future as my health worsened each day. However, the day arrived, I was tested for celiac disease and I was negative. The test is a pregnancy type test and is done in office within 10 minutes by a pin prick of blood. The results are good because I didn't want to have any damage inside of me due to my allergy. However, my ND concluded that it is her belief that I have a SEVERE gluten intolerance. I now have a reason for what what happening inside my body and it is remedied at home by cutting out all gluten from my lifestyle. I am back in control again, no more trying to figure out what is wrong and put my figure on it.

Many people out there are trying to get stronger, healthier, leaner. If you have a digestion problem no matter how positive your attitude, clean your eating, good your supplements are you might not be getting the results you are looking for. I suggest finding a Naturopath who specializes in Food Sensitivities and begin finding out what could be holding you back. Once you have the answer, you  can take your health back. Perserverence, determination, intuitiveness and strength will free you like it did me, to conquer all your goals.

And so begin the adventures of Miss Jane versus The Gluten Gorilla. Please join me on my new blog, The Gluten Gorilla to find out what Miss Jane does to tame the Gluten Gorilla inside of her. I look forward to sharing my journey as I become gluten free, tackling the Gluten Gorilla inside of me with everything I have. For those of you who know my "Be Strong" motto, you will see how I apply it to an entirely different challenge. Join me on my new adventures, Miss Jane vs The Gluten Gorilla. 

Brandon Steen Jane Vs The Gluten Gorilla http://www.brandonsteenart.com/

Look for my first adventure coming to my blog this week ....