holistic health – mind. body. soul.

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Natural Ways to Boost your Health During Corona

It’s more important than ever to be boosting your health right now.

It’s not the time for fueling up on sugar, flour or anything inflammatory to your body.

Inflammation IS the pre-cursor to disease developing in your body.

But right now, during the Covid-19 pandemic our only defense is our own immune system.

We need to fuel our bodies with foods that help us not hurt us especially now.

Our emotional health also has a lot to do with how we fight disease. Right now our stress level might be a bit high to say the least. Learning to process negative emotion is key to handling stress in our bodies.  I just wrote another blog post on Why It’s Good to Feel Bad here which is an important part of being healthy.

When the emotional body and/or spiritual body is out of balance disease develops because often we suppress our emotions throughout our life.  It then might show up as a diseased condition but it didn’t begin at the physical realm.  The thought or emotion that triggered the condition to develop began in an environment that moves much faster; the world of emotion and spirit.  Learning to process emotions is the key to balance your emotional body.

But in this blog post, I want to talk about boosting your immune system through food and natural ways.

We need our own strength to give it a fighting chance not just now but as we age.

I think this is also a wake up call for a lot of people in our country and now realizing how much we need our health in a time like this.  The last 10 years we definitely have grown in this area that our food we eat affects our health.  Yet, the United States still has a growing problem of unhealthy individuals that could be reversible should they just change their daily eating habits.

Here’s 21 ingredients that you should include in your recipes that will help keep your health up:

  1. garlic (chop and let sit for 10 minutes so beneficial chemicals to release)
  2. onion
  3. greens/veggies (kale, spinach, romaine, broccoli, artichoke, arugula, asparagus, swiss chard, collards, broccoli rabe, cauliflower, (colored peppers, eggplant, tomato – night shades and in some, not all, individuals cause inflammation), etc.
  4. radishes
  5. cucumbers
  6. leeks
  7. organic stocks (grass-fed beef, chicken, veggie)
  8. almonds
  9. walnuts
  10. brazil nuts
  11. seeds
  12. ginger
  13. turmeric
  14. beans
  15. berries
  16. apples
  17. apricots
  18. wild fish (i.e. salmon)
  19. quinoa
  20. whole grains (if tolerated)
  21. citrus fruits

Here’s some herbs that can help support your lungs and/or immunity:

  1. mullein leaf (make into a tea along with schisandra berries for a support to your lungs) (delish!)
  2. astragalus (adaptogen to help support your lungs)
  3. ashwaganda (adaptogen to help support stress in your body)
  4. herbal teas such as green tea, echinacea, lemon balm, elderberry, passion tea, etc.

Drink water!!!!

You don’t see anything in a box, nothing has a label.

They are just natural whole foods.

When clients ask me what they should eat, it always starts with whole foods they like to eat and start to crowd out the unhealthy foods, start adding in more vegetables and build from there.  You slowly crowd out the unhealthy foods.

I’m a certified life and holistic health coach, if you need help around navigating and making sense out of your problems or want to get healthy or lose weight, now is always better than tomorrow to start working on making your life the best it could be.  I offer free 20 minute mini-sessions.  Contact me to get a link to my calendar.  I can’t wait to help you!

 

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Why it’s Good to Feel Bad Even During Covid-19 Pandemic

Why in the World Would I Want to Feel Bad Feelings?

Especially if they don’t feel good.

I know it seems counterintuitive.  But stay with me here.

As a human being, we have a primitive brain that is constantly wanting to seek pleasure.  When you experience discomfort in your body (negative emotion), your brain actually thinks you are in danger (in primitive times this served us) so its immediate response is to find comfort – pronto!

We spend a LOT of time avoiding, resisting feelings and acting irrationally and we don’t even realize it.  It kinda goes under our radar or it exasperates into something worse.

For example:

  • It’s why we look to eat or seek comfort foods even when we aren’t even hungry.
  • It’s why we might want a glass of wine or an alcoholic beverage on a stressful day.
  • It’s why you might find yourself doing a lot of other things besides the things you said you were going to do today.
  • It’s why we use medicine to calm the discomfort in our bodies when we experience anxiety.
  • It might be why you lash out at your partner or kids.

In 2016, Xanax (used for anxiety) was the 19th most prescribed medication in the United States, with more than 27 million prescriptions. 😱

All these things provide a quick dopamine hit to our brains — but what it really provides is a false pleasure that has net-negative consequences.

They may feel good in the moment but it usually doesn’t serve us long term.

We use all these things to escape our feelings.

These last few weeks, with the Corona Virus pandemic spreading throughout our world; anxiety, stress and uncertainty has increased exponentially.  

So let’s talk about why you would want to feel negative feelings in the first place.

Especially the ones that might feel bad like anxiety, disappointment, sadness, anger, frustration, uncertainty and any other negative emotion that comes up.

Actually, right now during this pandemic, is the perfect time to practice feeling negative emotion because it’s processing emotions that will help you actually help you feel better. 

Not wanting to feel negative emotion is like saying something is wrong with the way you feel.

Your brain wants to fix it immediately.

As crazy as this might sound, negative emotions don’t need to be fixed.

They need to be felt!

Even though we go through life thinking they do and we do everything in our power trying not feel them.

So why would we actually want to feel bad?

Because we are human and it’s part of the human experience.

All of it.  The good and bad.

Somehow, we think we are supposed to be happy ALL-OF-THE time.

And, we go through life thinking that is the goal but we will always be disappointed thinking that.

Here’s how we know:

  • Who wants to feel excited when their vacation or big event gets canceled?
  • Who wants to feel happy when their mom dies?
  • Who wanted to feel glad when they lose their job?
  • Who wants to feel excited when their children’s school is canceled?

I don’t know about you, but I want feel terrible when these things happen.

We are here to live the full human experience.  50% negative / 50% positive.

Our brains do not like uncertainty or feeling any discomfort.

It’s constantly looking to solve for certainty.  It looks to the news, as you scroll through social media, articles seeking for answers to solve for uncertainty.

It’s normal.  It’s what our brains want to do.

A desire to be happy all-the-time has a price – it has negative consequences.  It also cuts us off of living a full human experience.

We were born to live the human experience.  That. is. it.  It’s not all rainbows and daisies.

It has never been this way — have you noticed?  It will never be that way either.  Bad things happen.

Our life is supposed to include both negative and positive emotion.

With the Corona Virus pandemic, our brains seems to be hyper-focused on the doom and gloom and has our brains making things up that aren’t even true.

Have you noticed your brain going from one situation like I’m nervous about people not keeping their distance or still going out – being angry about it, then jumping to job loss, the economy, your friend who is a nurse that might get sick then the next thing you are watching the news and they are polling the numbers on the amount of deaths last night.

Stop.

None of this serves you.  Be informed but don’t overwhelm your brain with the negative.

Don’t start thinking of all the negative things that “might happen” to compound your emotion even worse.  And, if you do — then give equal air time to the positive.

Ask yourself what good is going to come from this.  Believe me there is a LOT of good too.

Here’s some:  the world is connecting in a different way (none of which probably would of been possible 15 years ago), some can work from home, kids are still learning online, having more connection with a loved one that you may have been disconnected with, better parenting skills if you have kids at home.

Listen we can think of the bad but we have to also have to give our brains fair play for the good.

So — I’m not going to leave you flat with all your negative emotion and not know what to do with it — as if there is actually something to do with it.   So…

Next time you experience negative emotion your body.

Just notice it.

Take a seat.

Don’t judge it.

Allow it to just there in your body.

How does it feel?  Describe it.

Does it feel heavy?

Does it feel light?

Where is it in your body?

Is it at the pit of your stomach, in your throat, top of your chest?

Where in your body do you feel it most?

Does it feel hard, soft, fast, slow.

If it were to have a color, what color would it be?  Red, green, black or ??

Breathe it in.

Just feel the emotion.

Just let it be there.

Do not react.

Do not resist.

Do not avoid.

Just let it be there.

Breathe.

Just notice that you feeling the emotion is not really harmful.

It’s just a sensation in your body.

That. is. it.

It’s not going to hurt you to experience this feeling.

You are not going to die to experience the feeling.

It’s just there.

You will realize it’s not that bad.

Your brain will calm down.  Your body will relax.  Breathe.

As you continue to process negative emotion you will actually experience less of it.  

As you get good at practicing negative emotion when they arise, you get used to it and you won’t be on auto-pilot to the fridge for food or want a glass of vino to escape it.

Yes, life will still be 50/50 but you will realize the feeling is not harmful.  You will not die.

You will just experience the emotion.  You are human.

You won’t resist it.  You won’t react to it.   You won’t avoid it.

This takes practice.

You might only be able to sit with it for a minute before deciding you want to escape it with food or something else.

However, long it takes, it takes.

Do not judge yourself or ever beat yourself up over “avoiding” it with something to mask the emotion you are feeling (such as eating something you didn’t want to eat, or anything else you do) — that never serves you.

Come from a place of compassion for yourself.

Sometimes the emotion comes along for ride — but as a passenger, not in the drivers seat of your life.

We may still feel it.  It may feel less intense.  Our brain will learn to be okay with it.

We teach our brains we are resilient human beings.

We can do hard things.

You got this my friends.

I’m a certified life and holistic health coach, if you need help with this or know someone that does, don’t let yourself fall through the cracks, set up a free 20 mini-session so you can get the help you need so you can feel better.  Press the contact button for👆🏻a link to my calendar to set your free-mini session.

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Create Space for a Morning Routine

This is the perfect time to start a morning routine of creating space for yourself, especially if you have never had one before.

Life is always happening for us not to us.  

With COVID-19/Corona virus circulating in our world right now, it has a lot of us feeling uncertain and fearful.

It feels scary.

Our brains are in 5th gear in trying to keep us safe.   

As a human, we crave certainty. 

I want to offer to you that it’s not anything outside of you that is making you feel uncertainty.   

Not even the corona virus.

It’s in fact our thoughts that is creating uncertainty.

Our feelings are ALWAYS created from our thoughts.

A morning routine can help you create more certainty and direct you to an intentional and deliberate life no matter what’s going on outside of you.

What an AMAZING gift you can give yourself, your life and the humans around you.

My morning routine is sacred to me.  

While I’ve always had some sort of morning routine, creating space for myself every morning has been the best gift to myself since having kids. 

It was even more important when I started a business since I had to be my own boss, employee and go getter!

It brings peace.

It brings awareness.

It brings intention vs. reaction. 

If you want certainty, it must start with YOU.

Start your day with what it is YOU want to create vs. what the world might demanding from you. 

Pings, alerts and human voices in your home or the humans on TV?  Stop it!

Creating space and a morning routine for myself keeps me centered in the direction I truly want.  Even in times of what feels like a lot of uncertainty.

Here’s my usual morning routine.  I hope it helps you create one for yourself.

If you have never had one before, you can start small, just do #1 and #2.

Create space for you and your own brain not everyone else’s.

  1. Put your phone on silence before you go to bed.  I set mine to automatically go to bedtime at a certain time.
  1. Wake up early.  Or, at least 1-2 hours prior to when you normally awake to create this special and sacred space for yourself.

Research shows our brains are sharp & creative in the morning regardless if you are a “morning” person. 

  1. Upon waking, do not look at your phone or flip open the news.  

Do not let your inbox, messages, or any social media, or TV upon waking become the director of your day.  You be the director!  

Our brains  natural instinct is to keep you safe so it looks to be startled.  You get and decide to be in charge of what you intend to consume.

  1. Enjoy a full glass of room-temperature lemon water

Benefits:  lots of vitamin c, boosts your metabolism, oxygenates your blood and supports your gut/digestion and metabolism.

  1. You can skip coffee or tea and just enjoy lemon water.  But, when I’m ready to sit, I enjoy a cup of Four Sigmatic Coffee/Chaga Mushroom mix.  I started this a few months ago and I love it.  

I drink it black.  It tastes like coffee.  

Prior to this I was drinking homemade bullet-proof coffee but I had to ditch the dairy and it was an easy switch for me!

It it still helps my brain focus and think better!  Mushrooms are one of the most powerful foods you can eat for your health!  

Mushrooms have been used for thousands of years and are beneficial for disease prevention and/or healing including cancer!

  1. Journal.  I start with Dear God & Universe, 

List, state and visualize 3-5 things you’re grateful for — big or small it doesn’t matter.  

Everyone on this planet has something to be grateful for.  Get creative!

Being grateful immediately puts you out of fear and raises your emotional state.

You can not be grateful and fearful at the same time.

  1. Next, do a complete brain dump and get what is in your brain out on paper so you can have a look at it!  Don’t assume you know what’s in there.  A lot of our thoughts are negative and sub-conscious.

Write it with pen & paper in your journal, not typing.  Research shows a connection in using a pen and paper is much more effective than typing.  

See what your brain is thinking.  

Our thoughts ultimately are creating our life whether we like our life or not.  

It’s a good idea to see what it is you are actually thinking.  

Do not judge yourself and the sentences your brain is thinking. Just write and continue to write until you have nothing left in there.

As you get comfortable with journaling, you might not think you have anything else to write.  You can start asking yourself questions to prompt you.  

When you ask your brain questions, it immediately looks for answers.

Don’t worry about if someone will see it.  And, if you find yourself holding back because of that, just write in on paper and you can throw it away.  If you are new to journaling than it might take some practice to get use to it.  Think of it as a gift not a chore.

  1. Set an intention for the day.  How do you want to show up?  Write it down.  Go after it in every single thing you do!
  1. If you are not a meditator, take a few quiet minutes for breathing so you can get present and create space for yourself.

Here’s two breathing techniques that help reduce anxiety, bring you into the present moment, and promote overall well-being.  

I highly recommend them and you literally can use these techniques any time you are feeling stressed not just in the morning.

Dr Weil’s 4-7-8 breathing technique 

Alternate Nostril Breathing 

  1. Read.  Spend time reading even if for 10-20 minutes.  I love personal development whether it be learning something new in health, business or inspirational so it sets my creativity and intention in full mode.
  1. Okay, so now you are ready to move your body.  You, of course, can exercise first — before journaling.  Do what works for you. 

Movement or exercise gets your blood and lymph moving. 

It immediately moves you out of your current state and into a higher vibration.  Your vibration or emotional state is what drives you to take the actions or inactions in your life.  If you are feeling kind of low, you will not have the drive to take the actions you truly want.  When you are in a raised higher vibrational state, you attract more of that into your life.  It’s the law of attraction working for you not against you.

It immediately helps your brain get clear and focused.  Clarity is power! 

Circulating your blood and stretching your body is key to staying young and vibrant no matter your age.  

Now you are ready to start your day! 

Instead of looking at your phone/news/social media immediately, you have created space – for YOU to create a conscious and deliberate life on your terms not everyone else’s. 

As you practice this daily, you will get even more intentional, aware and direct your life into a routine that is conscious and deliberate to what you do want.  

At the very least, you start to become aware of your thoughts so you can make conscious changes and create the life you do want instead of being at the effect of everything around you. 

If you need help around what’s getting in your way or you just need help to navigate a problem you are experiencing, send me an email.  I offer free mini sessions, so you can walk-away with some tools and get a mini-experience of what coaching can do to help you, today!  

Remember life happens for us, not to us.

I’d love to hear back from you either via email or in the comments, if creating space and a morning routine has changed your life.  

It certainly has mine.

I can honestly say that out of 365 days in the year, I most likely only have skipped this 1-2x throughout the year due to unforeseen circumstances/travels.  

At this time, with COVID-19 as our circumstance it seems like it’s filling our lives with uncertainty and fear, but really it’s our thoughts that create that.  

This is a great practice to start so you can get a hold of the certainty, intention and the deliberate life you crave and want.  It’s still possible with everything happening around you!

Namaste. 

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12 Ways to Improve your Health

1.  Eat mindfully

Put the phones down, computers away.  Really be present with your food, the textures, smells and the visual plate that is in front of you.  Be grateful for your food.

2.  Eat a varied whole foods diet

Eliminate junk and processed food.  Eat a diet that whole food based.

3.  Don’t eat based on how you feel

Many times we are eating because we are bored, lonely, frustrated, angry, anxious, fearful, etc.  Try your best to move through your emotion without relying on food for comfort. Go for walk, exercise or journal and try drinking water first despite you may not feel like it – or face head on and deal with what you are avoiding.

4.  Don’t replace sleep with caffeine

This will become a vicious cycle and the only way to avoid it is not drinking caffeine when you feel tired especially after 12 pm.

5.  Reduce stress

Meditate.  Breathe. Journal.  These are all good ways to release stress

6.  Eliminate sugar

The best way to control sugar cravings is cold turkey for a minimum of 2 weeks.  After 2 weeks you will notice sugar does not control you

7.  Drink at least 6-8 glasses of water a day

Drinking as much water as you can will help release toxins, hydrate and help you eat more than you desire

8.  Incorporate self-care in your daily or weekly regimen

Doing something just for you, whether that means getting your nails down, facial, just spending some time alone possibly reading a new book, journaling, or even organizing things you have been avoiding

9.  Reduce and limit alcohol to 0-1x a week (limit to 1 drink)

Despite people thinking drinking a glass of wine a day may be good for you.  No amount of alcohol is good for your health. Drink in moderation or leave it for a special occasion.

10.  Exercise 3x a week for at least 20 minutes

Any movement you do outside of your regular daily day will enhance your health for the better.  Start today by simply fast walking.

11.  Eliminate toxins in your cleaning and skin care routine

There are so many natural products on the market there is no excuse not to change up your cleaning and skin care routine.  This includes everything you put in and on your body as well as in your house. These toxins build up in your body over time and cause stagnation in your lymph and blood circulatory system.  Organs have to work much harder to release them out of your body causing stress.

12.  Eat one extra vegetable a day

Eating extra veggies everyday will always be a good idea.

What’s one new habit you are going to try this week?  Let me know in the comments!!!

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Eat Your Yolks!

Eat your yolks!  They are considered the perfect food and the healthiest part of the egg! They provide so much more than what is found in the whites. The yolks provide valuable vitamins such as A, D, E & K, omega-3 fats, folate, antioxidants and choline!  It is also not the demon of what is associated with high cholesterol levels in your blood or heart disease.  Your liver actually makes about 75% of your body’s cholesterol so whether you are eating it in your diet or not you are still producing it. One the reasons your body produces it is because it needs it. Every single one of your cells produces cell membranes made from cholesterol.  

One of best reasons we need to eat the yolks is that it contains choline!  Which has been identified to be an essential nutrient that we do not get enough of. Choline functions like b-vitamins so it’s often grouped in this category because it promotes optimal health in the liver, nervous system, decreases heart disease, helps support cell structure and metabolism. 

The source of your eggs makes a huge difference in quality of the nutrients it provides. You want to eat “pastured” eggs from organic chickens!  Once you have eaten pastured organic eggs you will never want to eat commercially raised eggs again.  You will notice the difference in the color of the yolk! An organic pastured egg has deep rich orange color where as a commercial raised egg lack color mainly because they are not exposed to sunlight and have a diet that is depleted in nutrients.  

Eating the whole egg helps lower blood pressure which most people think the complete opposite as well as helps individuals with diabetes 2 and is rich in brain fats so it’s great for neurological function too.

Eating raw eggs is actually more nutritious than eating cooked eggs. Make sure if you are eating raw they are from a high quality source you trust as well as organic and pastured. There is a warning for food safety when consuming raw eggs. The risk is high if you are eating conventional eggs where Salmonella is more probable than a small organic farmer. Cooking destroys some of the nutrients of the yolk so if you cook them the best way would be soft boiled or poached where the yolk is still runny.

So let’s recap, most of the nutrition in the egg yolk not the white which is merely protein. The yolk is loaded with nutrients, like bioflavonoids, brain fats like phosphatidyl choline, powerful antioxidants and sulfur. Eat your yolks and not just 1 or 2 a week! It’s without a doubt better than eating cereal that is processed (no matter how healthy you think it might be) and probably will raise your blood sugar.

Try eating the whole egg for a nutrient dense meal!  Let me know in the comments if you love eating  yolks or are you a die hard egg white person!

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12 Uses for Lavendar Essential Oil

Lavender Oil

Lavender oil is one of the most popular doTERRA essential oils because of its light, powdery aroma, and its myriad of uses for everyday life. Taken from the highly aromatic lavender flower, lavender oil has been used for centuries for its distinct aroma and powerful benefits. Whether you need to soothe the occasional skin irritation, ease feelings of tension, or promote restful sleep, lavender oil has many practical uses.*

As a naturally soothing and calming essential oil, you will find that lavender is a helpful oil to keep on hand. I love it and use it for a restful sleep every night as well as for scarring and skin irritations.   It really is amazing.

 

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Dairy – Is it good for you or not?

It seems the 20 years of the “Got Milk” campaign has really got us believing that milk is so good for our health and bones.  But is Dairy really good or not?

Now a days there are all kinds of nut milks on the market. Is it a fad, is everyone allergic or lactose intolerant?

There are some cultures that can tolerate lactose (milk sugar) – but many do not. There is also casein (one of the proteins found in milk – the other is whey) which is another issue for some and is slow to digest – it takes around 7 hours to digest.

Dairy was not even consumed until after the agricultural revolution. Here in the U.S. parents usually switch their babies to cow’s milk after age 1. We are the only species that drinks another animal’s milk which if you think about it – it’s kind of weird! Babies produce lots of lactase which is an enzyme that helps absorb our mother’s milk.  After weaning, they stop producing as much lactase which is why some become lactose intolerant. Like I said, certain populations tolerate it better(1).

Dairy in general is inflammatory, mucus producing and is growth producing.

It has been linked to ear infections in children, tumor growth, joint inflammation, increases insulin, skin issues like acne, psoarsis and eczema as well as respiratory and cardiovascular issues.

Dairy sometimes produce vague symptoms. And, by vague I mean you are not having an acute reaction to it.  It shows up in different ways – usually inflammation of some sort. If you are lactose intolerant, you may have an acute type reaction usually within an hour or so – such as stomach pain, diarrhea, gas or bloating.

If you are drinking conventional dairy you are likely adding hormones and antibiotics that causes issues in your gut and disrupts your endocrine system. Furthermore, most milk here in the U.S. is produced from A-1 cows which is part of the problem. And before I totally go off in another direction on A1 vs. A2 cows because that in itself is a whole other story. I’ll just give you the short version. Regular milk mostly here in the U.S. contains A1 beta-casein, which is partly broken down to beta-casomorphin-7 (BCM-7) in the stomach. BCM-7 has been linked with several adverse health effects. In Europe, they have A-2 cows and it seems they do not have the problems we do with dairy.

RAW, full-fat, organic grass-fed dairy on another hand is said to be extremely beneficial to our health. New York is one of 26 states where it can be bought with restrictions although where I live I have not come across where you can buy raw milk. California for example is much more readily available and even sold in stores because it’s legal. Pasteurization in conventional milk kills any nutrients that are valuable to our bodies which is why raw milk is the better option.  Raw milk contain live bacteria which is what makes it beneficial. If you do find raw milk in your area, make sure you are aware of the farmer’s practices so to be sure it is safe.  The FDA will demonize raw milk, however, I don’t have confidence in an agency that is paid by the US treasury as well as receives pay checks from drug companies. They are far from protecting us from dangerous foods on the market.

Organic, raw, grass-fed fermented diary in the form of kefir or yogurt has beneficial nutrients and in some cases healing to your body. Be sure to make sure the yogurt you are buying is not filled with sugar and other fillers.

What about Calcium?

There really is not a high amount of calcium in milk and there are much better sources. There is actually more calcium in leafy greens then there is in dairy.  Nuts and seeds are another excellent source of calcium besides it also has fat which helps absorption. Many people are under the assumption drinking low-  or no-fat milk is good but it leads to low absorption of calcium. Sardines is another excellent source of calcium. Dairy is acidic and vegetables are alkaline so another plus for eating vegetables over dairy for calcium. Plus, because dairy is acidic your body naturally aims to neutralize the body and will take calcium from your bones. Much contrary to many beliefs about dairy for preventing osteoporosis.  Studies show vitamin D is better for your bones than calcium.

Bottom line:

For me, I don’t drink milk or eat yogurt for quite a number of years. But I do eat grass-fed butter, ghee (which his actually dairy free but I mention it as a butter alternative as it also has a lot of healing properties) and occasionally eat cheese. When I do eat cheese, my joints are inflamed and my face breaks out – so I always regret it.  It also causes me digestive distress and bloating. It has caused me more harm than good so I stay away for the most part.  I seem to be okay with grass-fed butter on occasion or at least I think so.  Even with all the negative side affects it has been the hardest for me to 100% give up.  I try not to focus on it honestly and it works for the most part.
It’s always good to declare you don’t eat something rather than you can’t have something (even if it’s only you are talking too :).  When your brain hears can’t it connects it with deprivation.
Now, that’s not to say you will have the same issues. Some tolerate dairy well but I’d source your dairy from grass-fed cows at the very least.  And, if you are able to get raw dairy from a reputable farmer/source that would be your best option to reap the beneficial nutrients.
Cows that are raised on pasture and eat grass have a different nutrient profile than cows that are eating grain (which actually makes them sick which is why they need to give them antibiotics). Grass-fed/grass-finished cows have more more Omega-3 fatty acids and up to 500% more Conjugated Linoleic Acid.  The omega-3 to 6 ratio in grass-fed cows is perfect.  Grain-fed/conventional raised cows omega-6 ratio to omega-3 ratio is about 20 to 1.  The much higher ratio in omega-6 creates inflammation.  And if the cow is eating antibiotics so are you causing disruption to your microbiome.  This is the same for eating conventional beef vs. grass-fed.
Dairy sometimes has vague adverse symptoms and the best way to see if you have a sensitivity is to do an elimination diet for at least 7-9 days then reintroduce it for 3 days and see how your body reacts.  Most people do not even realize that dairy is in fact causing a lot of disruption to your health until you take it out.
Here is a website I found very informative about milk facts from the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences – Cornell University.
How well do you tolerate dairy?  What’s your take on it?  I’d love for you to share in the comments.
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Boost your Immunity During Cold & Flu Season

Are you someone that gets sick often throughout the year?

What you eat can suppress or boost your immunity!

Don’t wait until you are sick to get better.  It will take twice as long to recover if your immune system is suppressed.

With the kids back in school, germs seem to spread like wild fire.  Cold and flu season is just around the corner.

Here’s what you can do to help boost your immunity. 

Digestive health is key to keeping your immune system healthy.  

Approximately, 70-80% of your immune tissue is in your digestive tract.  There are tens of trillions of microorganisms living in your gut.  Keeping your gut flora in balance will help boost your immunity to fight off infection.

It’s not so much the food in themselves that prevent you from being sick.  It’s food that helps support your digestive system and liver.  These are two areas in your body that help keep you healthy in the first place.

Here’s what you can do:

  1. eat cruciferous vegetables such as broccoli, cabbage, brussel sprouts, cauliflower, collard greens, kale, radish, etc.
  2. include a rainbow of vegetables and fruit in your daily meal plan
  3. take a high quality probiotic supplement
  4. take a high quality vitamin d3 supplement
  5. include fermented foods in your diet to boost your gut bacteria
  6. sip on homemade bone broth regularly
  7. eat seasonally, it has a profound ability to improve your gut health
  8. eat zinc rich foods like shellfish, eggs, legumes, nuts and seeds to name a few
  9. drink lemon water first thing in the morning to alkalize and oxygenate your blood
  10. use lots of fresh herbs in your meals – they have anti-viral/bacterial properties
  11. eat shiitake, reishi or even regular mushrooms in your meals often
  12. replace coffee with green tea or matcha tea (there is also lions mane mushroom coffee!)
  13. add ginger to your tea and meals
  14. cook with garlic & onions
  15. take elderberry syrup daily
  16. ditch the chemicals you are using in your home, they disrupt the good bacteria in your gut

Do you need to do everything?  No, but doing quite a few would be most beneficial.  It could look something like this.

Wake up, drink fresh lemon water, take your supplements, start your day with veggies and a high quality protein,

Here’s what you should stay away from if you want to keep your immune system healthy

  1. sugar
  2. alcohol
  3. processed foods
  4. dairy

What to do if you get sick?  Here’s ways to help you recover quicker:

  1. drink bone broth regularly
  2. rest as much as you can and give your body time to heal
  3. drink echinacea tea
  • Echinacea herb
  • Elder flower tea or elderberry syrup (you can take elderberry syrup every day)
  • Ginger and lemon tea
  • Turmeric golden milk or tea
  • Cinnamon
  • Garlic
  • Shiitake or Reishi mushrooms
  • Onions
  • Green tea
  • Clove
  • Oregano
  • Rosemary
  • Thyme

Using essential oils is also another great way to boost your immunity.  I love and use doTERRA brand because I know they are of high quality.

doTERRA On Guard  protects against environmental and seasonal threats with essential oils known for their positive effects on the immune system when ingested. I use this particular oil on the bottoms of my feet after my shower. It can also be used on surfaces throughout the home as a non-toxic cleaner. When diffused, doTERRA On Guard helps purify the air, and can be very energizing and uplifting.  They also have caplets you can ingest and take on a daily basis.

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Nutrition Will Always Outweigh a Diet Mentality

We’ve all been there.  Going from one diet to the next trying to lose weight or trying to get healthy as certain diets might promise.

Following a specific diet might help you lose weight temporarily or even get you a bit healthier for a while. What you don’t realize that almost anything will work initially if your diet is pretty crummy.

There are a lot of popular diets circulating around but what works for one for one person does not mean its good for your own body. There are a lot of factors that come into play when it comes to your diet and health. There are plenty of women out there that might look like they are healthy because they have been blessed with “I can eat anything I want and not gain weight”.  Their diet might include lots of coffee, bagels and pizza!  There is no nutrients in this type of  diet and eventually this will catch up with them in some form or another.  Usually looks like catching colds often, viruses, hormonal issues, lethargy, hair loss, autoimmune issues, or something worse.

Everyone needs a good mix of nutrients that will help your body thrive. Mixing up your meals from week to week is a good way to get in as many nutrients as possible instead of relying on isolated supplements to make up the difference.  Your body just doesn’t work that way.  It often needs another nutrient or fat to absorb it.

Next time you are meal planning.  Think of your plate as “how much energy and nutrients am I getting from this meal”. When you sit down to a eat plate of pasta with meatballs feels a lot different than sitting down to meatballs on top of a bed of zucchini noodles or spaghetti squash.

There are three macronutrients required by humans: carbohydrates, fats and proteins. Each of these macronutrients provides energy in the form of calories.  From there it’s micronutrients which are vitamins and minerals.

The quality of each of these is important. Eating grass-fed meat is much healthier than eating conventional raised meat.  Eating healthy fats such as an avocado, coconut oil or extra virgin olive oil is much different than eating unhealthy chemically processed oils such as canola and soybean oil (aka vegetable oil).  Many people assume because it says “vegetable” oil it’s good, it’s not – almost all soybean crops in the US are GMO. The nutrition make up is totally different.  The amount of omega 3’s to 6’s are the perfect ratio in grass-fed meat.  In conventional raised meat it’s about 1-20 ratio of omega 3’s to 6’s which is off balanced.  We do need omega-6’s in our diet but too much causes inflammation in our body leading to high blood pressure and clots.

If you are counting calories then you have to remember not all calories are the same. And, calories in, calories out is an outdated method of losing weight nor is it effective. Or, is it useful when it comes to your health. Eating a 100 calorie snack pack is definitely not the same as eating a 100 calorie apple. The nutrition, vitamins and minerals that in an apple plus the fiber your body needs to move your waste along does not even closely compare to the 100 calorie snack pack. Plus it isn’t even real food so your body doesn’t even know how to process it.  And, please don’t fall in the trap of using a “low calorie” flavored creamer in your coffee. It’s filled with junk and preservatives and sometimes chemicals that is not good for your body.

When you eat a nutrient dense diet that is unique to you, you naturally lose weight. And, you will naturally boost your health because your body is getting the nutrition it needs to thrive.

It may not happen overnight as say a 500 calorie deprivation diet that is for sure to set yourself up for failure. But giving your body the nutrition it needs is sustainable long term where you never have to diet. You lose your cravings because your body is getting exactly what it needs.

Many times cravings are just your body begging for the void nutrients. Like when you find yourself reaching for chocolate possibly your body is just lacking some magnesium.

What about sugar cravings? Certainly, sugar is not good for us right.

Every cell in your body actually needs glucose and often times these sugar cravings are a sign that we are deficient in certain trace minerals like chromium, magnesium, vanadium and zinc from a poor diet. But if you are eating a lot of refined sugar then you will certainly be craving more sugar. The easiest way to stop that refined sugar craving is cold turkey. Try eating sweet vegetables such as carrots, sweet potatoes or fruit. Do not replace sugar with artificial sweeteners. They are not good for you at all!

Our food is meant to be diverse in nutrients and taking one supplement for a specific mineral if you are deficient is not the same.

Your body is designed to work perfectly given the right nutrients and environment.

Everyone is unique.

Everyone needs to eat according to them not what everybody else is doing.

A varied nutrient dense diet will bring you more vitality than following a diet that will leave you void of certain nutrients. Your body becomes imbalanced and often leads to sickness when it doesn’t have proper nutrients.

Most times we are eating for the wrong reasons ~ namely stress, avoidance or just numbing out what we do not want to feel or deal with at the moment. We use food for comfort whether you realize it or not.

Diets are directly setting your body up for deprivation.  This usually backfires because it usually leads to massive cravings, binging and overeating which will sabotage your attempts in the first place. And, you set your brain up for feelings of guilt, unworthiness, undeserving, etc.

When you figure out what works best for your body is where you feel your best. You don’t get sick as often. You have sustained energy all day. You aren’t craving foods left and right.

You don’t have to eat perfect and there really is no perfect anyhow. Forget all those crazy diets out there!  Just start eating a variety of food and nutrients that your body is craving and needs to thrive.

You don’t have to eat less you just have to eat right.

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Stop Avoiding Your Emotions

If we learn to manage our emotions, instead of avoiding them, we could literally change any area of our lives we wanted to.

Can you imagine life with:

  • sustainable weight loss
  • not overspending when your don’t have money to spend
  • not using alcohol as a buffer to avoid an emotion (do you even realize you may be doing that?) Does 7 pm Friday night cocktail ring a bell?
  • not eating sugar
  • not procrastinating
  • fill in the blank of what is not serving your well-being!

It sounds pretty amazing if we could just master this one life hack of managing your emotions.

Is it hard?

Well it is, if your brain is telling you it is.

Will there be resistance?

Of course!

Our brains have not evolved in a way that truly serves us. It is still in survival mode from thousands of years ago when we had to survive the dinosaurs and lions, tigers & bears, oh my! The brain’s job is to keep you safe. Even if in today’s world we do not have to survive those treacherous animals. It will try it’s best to keep you safe and comfortable even if that does not serve you.

The brain is basically in fear and survival mode at all times. The brain is really good at what it does. The brain is constantly looking to be right and also seek pleasure.

When you learn how to manage your mind and sit and feel an emotion you normally avoid, your entire life can change – really it can!

You will start showing up for yourself, your well-being, you become authentically who you were meant to be, you learn to love yourself, you can start that business and take action instead of procrastinating and making excuses!

And…drum roll…you can have sustainable weight-loss. Yes, you can stop going from diet to diet your entire life only to gain the weight back.

What do you want to do? What is it that you want in your life?

There are basically 60,000 thoughts per day. Your brain is designed to avoid pain and seek pleasure. When you avoid an emotion, you basically are getting a feel good dopamine hit in your brain. Once it learns something and does it over and over, it doesn’t take any energy to do it. It just becomes a routine. It becomes unconscious so you may not even be aware you are doing it.

The problem with that is it’s temporary and it’s also artificial.

Did you ever notice after you eat the food you didn’t want to eat, you feel bad and it only causes more negative emotion. It becomes habit and a vicious cycle. Your brain is trying to avoid an emotion so you feel good (temporarily). You may not even be aware of it. It could be an unconscious thought and it creates a feeling which is driving your actions and ultimately your results.

It’s okay to feel bad. It’s okay not feel good 100% of the time. Without contrast, we wouldn’t be able to enjoy life because everything would be the same. Life is not meant to be happy 100% of the time. To be truly authentic in our lives, it requires us to feel negative emotions 50% of the time just as much as it does positive ones. Otherwise, we are not really showing up authentically, are we? We just cover up our emotions.

We really have not been shown how to deal with our emotions. It would of been wonderful if we were taught this in school or even from our parents.
Instead we were taught to hide our emotions as a kid. Things like don’t cry, don’t feel bad, don’t worry, don’t be angry, don’t tell anyone, etc. It truly has made a mess in our society if you think about it. Nobody knows how to deal with life. We wind up with anxiety, 50 lbs overweight, drinking, clutter, shame, worry, stressed, fill in your vice, or truly not showing up for yourself. It will keep you stuck, not taking action and making every excuse in the book! You may “feel” justified but it has everything to do with your brain avoiding pain and seeking pleasure.

The question you might be asking is.

How do I fix this?

I have to let you in on a secret. It doesn’t go away (I mean the feeling of wanting to avoid the pain and seeking pleasure).

However, when you learn to manage your feelings and emotions and ultimately manage your mind – whoa – it’s like you are awakened!

You can seek and create any emotion you want to feel.

You get to choose.

Your emotions are just an indicator of what thoughts you are thinking and what’s going on with you.

Step 1: Become aware of your emotion you are wanting to avoid at any giving moment. When you become aware, you can look it from outside your mind. You become the observer.

It’s powerful when you realize you are not your thoughts.

Sit with that emotion for a moment without anything other than just feeling it. What does it feel like in your body? Be okay with it. It’s okay to feel this emotion. It’s not going harm you.

Let it go.

It will leave you. The urge will go away.

Talk to it and just say thank you but I’m choosing a new thought. Embrace it with purpose!

Step 2: generate a new emotion you want to feel.

What thoughts you will have to think? What does that feel like in your body? How can you feel this emotion today?

Tony Robbins says we attach meaning to everything. Those meanings turn into emotions, and ultimately, those emotions frame the life we live.

Step 3: journal. Write down what you are thinking or feeling. When you can see your thoughts on paper, you can tell what your mind is thinking. You have the ability to change the thoughts. Practice this everyday. I like to do this in the morning, some like to do this at night so they can release all their thoughts before they go to bed. It really doesn’t matter as long as you get in the practice of seeing what you are thinking you can slowly start to shift.

I invite you to try this on and see how it feels. Be curious, be fascinated. Become aware! When you give up the false pleasures, you can live a life of total well-being.

 

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