First We Rest, Then We Resist - Post-Election Thoughts and Resources
As a woman who has supported hundreds of other women, minorities, and members of the LGBTQ+ community through their health challenges, and as an auntie of 8 nieces with a mixed race, mixed faith family, the last week has been heart wrenching for me. For all of you who are feeling the gravity of this and facing an uncertain future, please know that you are seen and loved, and that I am standing with you! Read on for support, resources, and ways to take action.
Halloween Fun Without the Sugar Hangover
Halloween is my favorite holiday and for many it holds happy memories from childhood and from watching kids enjoying the fun. But the aftermath is not so fun. Sugar is very addictive and it weakens the immune system, increase symptoms of ADHD, and contributes to weight gain, brain fog and fatigue. So what can you do now to avoid “over-treating?” Read on for tips on enjoying a healthier Halloween.
Beating the Late Night Munchies
Night-time snacking is a common struggle, and it can really contribute to weight gain. When you eat within less than 2-3 hours of sleeping, your body is more likely to store that food as fat. Believe it or not, there’s a lot going on behind the scenes of night-time snacking: habits, hormones, emotions, nutrition deficiencies, sleep deprivation – even the influence of television. Read on to learn how to beat those late night munchies.
Can You Actually Speed Up Your Metabolism?
Many people blame their expanding waistlines on a slow metabolism or age. But is that really what's keeping you from reaching your ideal body composition? In this post I’ll share how you can create a better metabolism by eating enough of the right foods and working out smarter, not harder.
Boosting Glutathione with Nutrition
For people struggling with fatigue or chronic illness, maximizing glutathione is a top priority. Glutathione is our body’s main antioxidant and it protects our cells from oxidative stress and facilitates energy production. It is also essential for proper immune function, controls inflammation in the body, and is the most critical component in our bodies’ detoxification system. Read on to learn practical ways in which you can use good food and healthy lifestyle practices to increase glutathione production in your body.
Obesogens - What They Are and How to Avoid Them
A subcategory of endocrine disrupting chemicals, obesogens are toxic compounds that interfere with our hormones and endocrine function, and cause weight gain, weight loss resistance, and metabolic chaos. Awareness of obesogens and their effects can help you to make informed decisions about your lifestyle and product choices to promote better metabolic health and reduce the risk of chronic disease.
Acid Reflux and the Ugly Truth About PPIs
Acid reflux is a painful and aggravating condition experienced by millions of people every year. The medications most often prescribed (Proton Pump Inhibitors or PPIs) are associated with a wide range of serious health conditions. Before deciding to take these medicines, you should know how they work, the damage they can cause, and which natural alternatives can be used to safely treat reflux.
Anxiety: Holistic Solutions for Kids and Adults
Anxiety disorders affect a whopping 25.1% of children between 13 and 18 years old. And research shows that untreated children with anxiety disorders are at higher risk to perform poorly in school, miss out on important social experiences, and engage in substance abuse.
Regenerative Agriculture: A Holistic, Symbiotic Solution for a World in Crisis
Over the past few decades, the food crisis has grown exponentially due to soil erosion, chemical pollution, conventional farming methods, and decarbonization of the soil food is grown in. A solution to this crisis lies in Regenerative Agriculture, an approach to farming that replenishes the organisms that support the growth of nutrient-dense food.
Don't Say No to Easter Chocolate!
When it comes to indulging your sweet tooth over Easter, it’s all about "Strategic Indulgence" and choosing quality over quantity. Low quality milk (and dark) chocolate are loaded with sugar and have been so processed they no longer retain the benefits of real cacao. Organic dark chocolate with 70% or higher cacao is the way to go for satisfying a sugar craving!
Seasonal Allergy Relief
If you suffer from seasonal allergies, you may not want to rely on anti-histamines. They can be a life saver when nothing else will work, but drugs like Benadryl also increase other health risks. There are lots of ways you can mitigate allergy symptoms in natural ways.
How Hormone Imbalances Can Sabotage Fat Loss
Your hormones play a huge role in helping or hindering your weight loss efforts. They can affect everything from your appetite to where you’re most likely to store fat, and if certain hormones are out of whack, it can make it difficult to burn fat. Here are some of the hormones that play a role and ways you can get them working for you, not against you.
Eggs - Health Food or Heart Hazard?
In the late 70s, eggs got a bad reputation because they are high in cholesterol . In recent years, however, research has provided us with a more accurate understanding of the difference between dietary cholesterol (in foods we eat) and blood cholesterol (the amount of cholesterol our bodies make).
What Does It Mean to Be Body Neutral?
We have been hearing a lot about body positivity lately, but there’s also a new movement called body neutrality. For people struggling with self-love and positive body image, body neutrality can be a whole lot easier to achieve than self-love and it’s a great stepping stone.
A Scale Killed My Sister - by Jenifer Sapel
Many of us have been ingrained that our value is determined by our looks, our body, our weight, and other arbitrary "merits" that actually have nothing to do with our real value as human beings. This poem helped me transmute some rage about our obsession with a beauty standard that is harming us. Thank you, Jen, for allowing me to share your words.
Juicing vs. Blending - What's better for you?
Juice fasts often sound like the magic pill for excess weight, bloating and low energy and there are definitely some benefits to juicing, especially for people who don’t normally eat enough vegetables or fruit in their regular diet. Blending, done smart, though can give you the same benefits as a juice fast but with none of the drawbacks.
Leaky Gut 101: What Is It and What Causes It?
“Leaky gut syndrome” may arise when factors such as infection, chronic inflammation and food sensitivities cause the tight junctions of the gut cells to separate, allowing the intestinal walls to be breached more easily. When this happens, the gut is considered “leaky” which may result in a heap of health problems including autoimmune disease.
Can Going Gluten Free Help You to Lose Weight?
Going gluten free is a popular choice for losing weight but it pays to be super smart about how you go about a gluten-free diet. It’s really easy to get things wrong and put on weight instead. Making sure your transition to being gluten-free is healthy will be more likely to promote fat loss.
IBS and Gluten: What’s the Link?
There can be a lot of crossover with celiac disease and non-celiac gluten sensitivity, which can both have similar symptoms to IBS. Often, IBS is more of a symptom of other underlying issues than it is a condition of its own, and avoiding gluten can be a real game-changer.