Health and wellness
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Cold and flu season is upon us and while we want to blame the kids at school for spreading it around (school is a petri dish), truth is, everywhere we go now is potential for those nasty little germs. So whether you’re fighting the flu, strep, or just a head cold, here’s a few things you can do to get you through it and on your way to feeling better.
!. Rest! I cannot stress this enough! Rest is probably one of the most, if not the most, important thing you can do right now. Get in your comfys and climb in bed early. Sleep in when you can. Put your phone or ipod away from your bedroom (an entirely different room would be best), and do some relaxation techniques to help you fall asleep faster. 2. Eat well. This is the most critical time to eat your fruits and veggies. If you weren’t a big greens eater before, now is the time to up your raw foods game. Google raw shake recipes and load up. Your body is crying out for good nutrition, give it what it needs! 3. Hydrate!!! Another very important thing. Water, coconut water, limited amounts of Gatorade, organic apple juice. When you have a fever, even if you’re not throwing up, you still need to hydrate. Try to get at least 64 ounces of liquid a day. And no, wine and spirits are not the same. Healthy liquids people! 4. Try your best to fight off the bugs with natural cough and cold meds and homeopaths. My favorites are Hylands homeopathic cough and cold and Oscillococcinum (both are sold at Walgreens, Target and Walmart) and help your body ward off the nasties faster and build your immune system. 5. Probiotics! Another must whether you’re fighting off a bug, or needing to clean up your gut, probiotics is a must have pretty much always. 6. And last, when you’re all better, take the time to really clean your house and get rid of all the critters that invade your body. But, instead of using bleach, use a non toxic enzyme cleaner that will eliminate all. Basic G from Shaklee or Simple Green are two very good green cleaners that will do a great job in scouring your house. They even get rid of the strep virus and they’re organic! Good luck this season and stay healthy!!!
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Its that time of year again! Where the heck did this year go?? I’m telling you, I don’t even remember celebrating 2017 (no I wasn’t drunk!), and now look! Xmas 2017! 18 days until Christmas, and things are crazy here. But, even though things are a little nuts, I’m still fitting in working out, and now I’m starting a new menu plan. Well, it’s not exactly that exciting, but I’m giving up Gluten, for now anyway. Perrrrfect time to start this, I know. Especially since every year, we have our annual baking day a few days before Christmas. What to do, what to do?? I’ve gone Gluten free in the past, and actually stuck with it for a few months. No I don’t have celiac disease nor am I Gluten intolerant, but I can say that I may have some gluten sensitivities now and then and when I’ve gone gluten free, I actually feel better. Granted I picked the worst time to do this, but whatever. Which brings me to my next topic. New Year’s resolutions. I was talking to someone the other day about resolutions, and what my take on it was. Her and I both agree that making resolutions was sorta lame. I mean, hey, if it helps you keep your eye on the ball, and motivates you, then cool. But my feeling is this, why not start now? Why wait until the 1st of a year to start? Kinda why I started the gluten free thing now. It may be bad timing, but I want to do it, and no better time than the present. If you’ve been wanting to loose weight and have started looking into diet plans to start the new year, well why not start now? I’ve always thought that if you wait, and say “Well, I’ll start the first of the year That’ll be my New Years Resolution!” then maybe you’re not ready. If you’re that excited about something, do it now! In some countries, the New Year has already started! So, I’ll leave you with this. First: Get excited about something. Anything. Changing your diet, wearing a new style, starting classes, changing your hair, whatever! Second: Do it now! I love this saying that I have tacked to my desk and I say it in my head everyday “Do it now, Deal with the Fear later” Love it! And Third: Be good to yourself. Through all the craziness right now, take some time to do something for you. Meditate, relax, do yoga, read a book, watch your fav show, whatever it is, just take that time. Happy Holidays and Namaste!! There are so many articles talking about what sugar does to the body, how it causes inflammation and how it can contribute to a plethora of health problems, and how it can actually feed cancer that we’ve found ourselves reading labels like crazy. And it seems like every week there’s a new discovery about what sugar can cause what problem. So what is the truth? What sugars cause the most trouble and how can we avoid them and still enjoy life, stay healthy and reduce inflammation? Do we also need to get rid of carbs, because we know that crabs can turn to sugar in our gut? Natural versus processed and does it matter?
Sugar is one of the most controversial ingredients in nutrition. I myself, have always had issues processing sugars, whether they come in the form of dairy, gluten or straight up processed goodies like pastries and candy (ugh..). I’ve had gut issues for many years because of a childhood riddled with ear infections, strep and antibiotics and now as an adult, my passion for a clean diet has brought me here, advocating for answers as to what is healthy and how we can live cleanly even while consuming our favorite foods. Sugars are basically a classification of carbs. Once sugar is digested, it is absorbed in the form of glucose, and then our pancreas secretes the hormone insulin which gets the glucose and gets it to the cells to use as energy. That’s why some kids, who are ultra-sensitive to sugar, go crazy when they’ve had too much sugar, and then they have their crash. The same is true for carbs seen as healthy, such as sweet potatoes, quinoa, and buckwheat. The biggest difference is the speed with which this happens as the healthy alternatives are complex carbs. The idea that you should get rid of all carbs because you’re afraid of gaining a pound is absolutely absurd. You need carbs for fuel, and complex carbs, healthy carbs, provide us with great nutrition. The flip side, if we eat too much bad sugar, the insulin will in turn convert and store excess glucose as fat in our bodies, and while insulin is present, our bodies can’t burn fat, giving us that hated pudge in our mid-section. Excess sugar can not only make us insulin resistant (which can lead to diabetes), cause inflammation, but also leptin resistant-leptin is what tells our bodies to burn fat and tells us when we are full. So where do we go from here? When you see something that is ‘sugar free’ read the label. It will most likely have things like coconut sugar, honey or maple syrup. Those sugars are better than refined sugar, but, they are still sugar albeit much healthier. So what can we do? Everything in moderation. My rule, I try and stick to 25 grams of sugar a day, added sugar. When I bake, I use natural organic coconut sugar or applesauce, and when I have buckwheat pancakes, I use maple syrup as a treat. I don’t feel bloated and crappy as I would with refined sugar, I don’t get that sugar rush and I know it’s much healthier than the refined. What’s scary is sugar is hidden in EVERYTHING now! It goes way beyond candy bars and cakes. And it’s given lovely new names like dextrose, maltodextrin, fruit juice concentrate, cane juice, etc. EEEEEK! Learn to read labels on everything. Protect yourself and make sure this holiday season, you try and bake with more natural alternatives. There are tons of recipes online and I will be posting some here next week. Enjoy the season and Namaste!!! I’m Baaaack! Wow what an amazing trip! I think we did just about everything we could do in 11 days. Swam with dolphins, watched the manta rays night feed, my son and husband jumped off the End of the World cliffs, lots of snorkeling, visited the Kona coffee plantation and picked some beans, went to a luau, ate too much, sat in the sun too much, didn’t sleep enough!, and just had an incredible time with my family. As the kids get older, it gets harder and harder to get them all together for a trip like this so it was really a treat. Especially with my two older ones that are in college. I was a happy momma! The flights there and back were slightly nerve wracking, but really I wasn’t terribly freaked out. I think the biggest scare is take off. We had to fly from Denver to Los Angeles which was 2 hours and then from LA to Kona which was 5 hours. And Delta has seat back movie screens where you can watch all the movies you want for free and they give out free headphones! I know there’s been a lot of strife about airlines lately, but I can honestly say that Delta was really great. On our way back, the flight from Kona to Los Angeles was delayed by an hour and our connecting flight in LA was only an hour and twenty minutes, so I was worried about our bags making it onto the next flight. But, Delta got us there on time, made sure our bags were loaded and the next flight waited for us! I was very impressed! So if you’re looking for a great airline, Delta is it. No, I’m not being paid for this! One of the things that happened during our trip was, even though I applied sunscreen like crazy on my 11 year old, he played all day in the ocean, yes I reapplied, and he still got a really terrible sunburn! I felt like the worst parent on the planet! He got blisters all over his shoulders and was in a great deal of pain. I thought, “what the heck did I do wrong?” For the rest of the trip, I covered the wound, yeah it became a wound, and made him wear a sun shirt the entire time he was out in the sun. I applied aquaphor, which is a thick Vaseline type ointment, and did that several times a day. Fortunately he recovered with no lasting scars. The thing I discovered was that salt water will and does remove all sunscreen. So, when you have skin that isn’t quite ready for all day sun, or even a couple hours, and you know you’re going to be there all day, make them wear a sunshirt. They’re SPF is 50 or higher, and there’s very minimal risk of sunburn. So, how do you protect their face and their eyes? Goggles on the eyes, and Bull Frog sunscreen on their faces. Yes, it’s not a natural sunscreen, which I always try to do, but of all the sunscreens it is the best for faces and can be easily washed off with soap and water when you’re done in the sun. Bull Frog is the brand surfers use when their out all day. And for my serious fair skinned monkeys, I need that! Anyway, I could ramble on, but all in all, the trip went well and I survived the flight. Have a great week and remember to do something wonderful for you this week!!! Namaste and cheers! Were heading off to Kona, Hawaii until the 5th of August! I'm very excited, I think the kids will love it, its a beautiful island, but I HATE FLYING!!! Yes, you heard me. And, from Denver, its a 6 1/2 hour flight. Over the ocean, for nearly 7 hours! I hope I survive. If you don't hear from me for a month, you know my plane crashed and I died. My youngest, who is the engineer in the family, said "Mom, the chances are 0.000002 that our plane will crash. You are more likely to get struck by lightening than for the plane to crash."
The other day, when it was raining here, and there was lightening, I'm pretty sure I was struck. Well, I had my headphones in and I heard a crackle, but its sorta the same thing! Ok, not really. But anyway. How am I going to get through it? My husband downloaded a binaural mediation for people who are afraid to fly and Ive been listening to that for the last two weeks, so hopefully that will help. Otherwise, I pray for the other passengers on the flight, it won't be pretty. So, if I make it to Hawaii, and that's a big IF, I will post pics here and tell about my experience. Take care all, and wish me luck! And have a great week! Cheers!! I get asked this question all the time. In fact, it comes up more often than just about anything else. Questions like "Should I be taking vitamins?" " What sorts of vitamins should I be taking?" "What are the best vitamins on the market?" So, how does one go about finding the best supplement? And, the bigger question is, do you actually NEED supplements? I personally don't take a lot of supplements. I take some essentials, but for the most part not really. The reason is, I eat pretty well. Not a ton of sugar and virtually no processed foods, and I eat a ton of fruits and veggies. But if you are feeling like you need something more and are feeling run down, the first thing I would tell you instead of popping a supplement, is clean up your diet. Really look at what you're eating on a daily and weekly basis. What I ask my clients to do when we first meet is make a food journal. Start with a week first. Write own everything that goes into your mouth, including drinks, and be honest with yourself. This is for you, and if you're really serious about getting healthy, then this is the best place to start. When you get down to the nitty gritty of your diet and be truthful with yourself, then you can assess if you really need vitamins and supplements. Vitamins add to your diet, and quite frankly most vitamins don't do a lot. Most sit in your stomach undigested, sometimes for weeks. Yes, you heard me, weeks. Whereas good foods get digested right away and absorbed right away. If you are in the market for a good vitamin, I highly suggest doing your research instead of going to the grocery store and picking up any ol' vitamin. Chances are pretty good that that vitamin didn't have to pass a lot of tests to get on the shelf and there aren't a lot of restrictions with some supplements. That's why most won't benefit you really at all. One website I think is the best for really cutting out the middle man and telling it like it is, is Labdoor. They do a ton of research on vitamins and supplements and so far I have found them to be the best. The will rate them based on quality, ingredients, and purity. You need something that will absorb in your system everyday and release quality ingredients with a quick delivery. So, based on that, when and if you decide you want to go that route, when you just don't feel like you're getting enough, do extensive research first. Look into what you really need and go quality over price. You do get what you pay for in this case and you want to only put the best into your system. Good luck and cheers! Wow! Has it really been since the end of May the last time I blogged?! You guys need to tell me these things! Summer has been a little nutso since the kids got out of school. They get the summer off, but momma still has to work! And of course that ole’ parental guilt sets in when I can't take them to pool everyday, give them projects to do all the time, or make sure they don’t spend hours a week playing video games. Try as I might, my kids get bored. But I read an article recently that said its ok for your kids to be bored now and then. Sparks imagination. Then my kids must be as creative as Picasso!
Anyway, I also found this cool site that lists a bunch of easy things to do with your kiddos that will help fill the ‘you’re and awesome parent bank’. Being a parent that works that’s always a tough balancing act, but it can be done! So enjoy your summer and relax, and I hope some of these ideas ease the pain of ‘omg what do we do now’? Cheers!
Cheers!! I LOVE spiritual stores! You know the kind. You walk in and smell peony incense mixed with a moon witch candle flickering in the window. Cases of crystals and bowls of multi colored stones, books on chakra clearing and 12 ways to find peace with your spirit guide. Walls of hemp clothing and purses, and natural ways to bathe without using actual soap. I love it all. I have been visiting these stores since I can remember, and each and every time I'm there I feel at home. I feel like saying "Ok! Ive been out in the dark cruel world of chemicals, processed food and bad mojo, I'm home! Clear my chakra and refill my energy stores with some Dragons blood Zen and lavender!" Yup, I truly feel like saying that.
So when I made my way over to Spirit Wise in Denver last week looking for something to clear things up, I felt my energy instantly lift! Two lovely ladies greeted me, by name (wait how did they know that?) Ha! I called and asked where they were, my GPS was acting up. I said I was looking for a stone, a specific stone to clear the air in a manner of speaking. They showed me where their stones where and in the meantime I wanted to take a peak around. The smell of Sai Nag Champa made me feel right at home as did the very large black cat named Sampson who rubbed against my leg eliminating all the bad mojo from the outside world. After coveting everything in the store, I finally made my way to the case of stones. They were all beautiful, each one carrying with it an energy all their own. But, there it was. Almost as though it knew I was coming. A gorgeous rose quartz, the stone of emotional health, body healing, and abundance. I asked to hold it and then I knew. That's how you pick out a stone, you know. Wait for one to speak to you and then hold it. When you purchase it, make sure you either soak it in salt water to remove the energy from whomever made the piece or spray it with Lavender oil. After I got mine home, I held if for a little while and since then, I haven't taken it off. I feel like it gives me peace and good energy. I believe in the power of stones and know that when I find the stone I need at that time of need, it seems to work for me. Whats your stone? I think its time you look for one. Oh and, I found this website, if you don't have a spirit store near you, that sells tons of awesome amazing holistic items! Love it so much! Good Luck in finding yours!!! Cheers!!! I have had so many people over the last few months ask me what I think of cleanses ad if they are worth all the work. The fasting, the non-stop bathroom visits, spending your day dreaming of food, downing gallons of water, herbs and teas that taste like the inside of an old shoe, ingesting more fruits and veggies in the week than the average vegetarian does in a year, yeah you know the drill. Is it worth it?
I myself have done cleanses. Many in fact, and I can tell you that yes some do in fact work. And some don't. I would say, if you are thinking about doing a cleanse, make sure you do your research, a lot of research. Many offer things from weight loss, to better gut health to improved digestion, to clearer thinking and longevity. There are so many different kinds that its guaranteed to make you pretty confused. If you're not used to fasting, that can be a huge endeavor. Depriving your body of food for the first time ever, your body will rebel in the form of fatigue, moodiness, cravings, and really the list goes on. Cleanses can be tough. And you have to be careful which you decide to go with, because some can do more harm than good. So speaking of cleanses, this week I'm doing one. One that, in my opinion from someone who has done several over the last few years, is pretty challenging. Its a kidney cleanse created by Dr. Schultze, to help eliminate toxins from your kidneys. Things like old medications, environmental toxins, refined sugars, crystals, and basically anything that may slow down your kidney function. Granted I don't take medications, but really anything that passes through your kidneys will and does get eliminated. Its an intense regimen that requires discipline, but really anyone can do it if you're in the market for a great lethal body altering cleanse! By the third day, zero food. Were talking nothing except liquids. Now yes, I don't completely cut out all nutrition because that teas and juices give the body nutrients for those few days, but nothing, not even salads. Yikes! So I will let you know how things go, what the outcome is by the end of the week and if I survive! I just started today so I'm still pretty chipper, since I had steak over the weekend and a good meal last night. My body hasn't come to grips with the no food aspect of things yet, and it's still pretty happy. Enjoy your week, enjoy eating (wish I could..) and I'll touch base next week with the results! Cheers!! This last weekend we got a lot of snow here in Colorado. Not thrilled about it, but it wasn’t one of those snows where it’s hard to drive cuz the roads are a disaster and you freeze to death just running to the store for eggs. It was actually really pretty, although it was a bit heavy and broke some branches off trees that were trying to blossom. Weird weather. But here in CO, anything is possible. You can go from 80 degrees one day and snowing the next and sometimes in the same day!
The weekend before I had pulled a muscle in my neck and WOW, it was a good one! I seem to carry a lot of my stress in my neck and across my shoulders (other people carry theirs in their low back, middle back, maybe in their head where they get headaches), mine always in my neck. And its also from writing, where yeah, I don’t have my lap top level and in a good spot where my neck wont strain (yes my chiro lectures me all the time..). So, there it was, one beautiful knot in my neck that put pressure on my vertebrae, oh what fun! I did everything I could think of when it first happened, to alleviate the pain. Ice. Heat, massages, but to no avail. Then I broke out the heavy guns, arnica, pressure, a visit to the Chiro, and my daughter made me a heat pack made with rice in a sock. Wow! That made a huge difference!! After a few days the pain subsided and I was better. It still took about a week to really feel a lot better, and in that time I continued with the arnica and heat pack. By Friday, all was well. I can see why people reach for pain meds and anti inflammatories to help with the pain right away, but you know, in the long run, it makes things much worse and puts a lot of un wanted pressure on your body to repair itself from the side effects of those. So if you can, the next time you’re in pain, either from an injury or from a lingering problem, try some other more natural methods. Drink more raw shakes, take more natural pain remedies, and take care of yourself by relaxing and taking it easy. That’s probably the biggest factor, take care of you! Enjoy your week and Namaste!!! |
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