4 Turkey Day Survival Tips [deals inside too]
All around the U.S. people are kicking off the holiday season by celebrating Thanksgiving; which means facing some of your biggest food and beverage temptations and stressful travel situations followed by post celebration bloating, weight gain, fatigue, and sometimes just feeling down right sick or crappy.
And even if you’re not in the U.S. celebrating along with us, the holiday season is still happening in your part of the world too. So social gatherings, travel, temptations and celebrations are abundant, and they can leave you feeling less like yourself going into the new year.
But I’ve got you covered!
Whether you’re celebrating Thanksgiving or some other holiday this season, I have 4 survival tips to help you…
- Avoid overeating and bloating while actually improving digestion!
- Maintain your weight and possibly even lose some! (wouldn’t that be nice?)
- Have a ton of energy and to protect yourself from catching a cold!
The best part about these tips is that you can do them anywhere and they don’t require much time, effort or money!
In this week’s video and blog, I share 4 turkey day survival tips that you can use during any holiday or time of the year to feel like your healthiest and best self post celebration.
Before I dive into the tips though, I want to emphasize that your health success this holiday season will require your presence.
The key to having your ideal health and weight is honoring your body’s needs.
And to know what it needs, you need to be present in order to be tuned in to your body. You might be wondering, “what does that mean or how do I do that?”
It’s actually fairly simple, all you have to do is slow down a bit, and tune into what your body is asking you for. And some of these tips are designed to help you do exactly that.
Ok, let’s get into these 4 Turkey Day Survival Tips so you can start putting them into action…
#1 – Front load your water intake.
Feeling hungry and needing to snack throughout the day can actually be a sign of dehydration. Eating carb rich foods, drinking alcohol and traveling during the holidays can majorly mess with your hydration levels so aim to front load your day with massive amounts of water and a pinch of sea salt for electrolytes to stay hydrated. Staying hydrated will help you cut cravings, avoid overeating and fluctuations on the scale.
#2 – Get into rest and digest mode.
In order for you body to properly digest food, it needs to be in the “rest and digest mode”, and not in the typical fight or flight (aka stressed) state that you might tend to be in during the holidays from rushing around trying to get things done or dealing with less than ideal family situations. But don’t fret, you can instantly put your body into rest and digest mode to banish or prevent bloating using deep breathing techniques and by thoroughly chewing your food. Do the 5-5-7 breath (inhale 5 seconds, hold 5 seconds and exhaling 7 seconds) 5-10 times before each meal, and chew each bite 20 times to allow your body to properly digest food. This will also help you recognize when you are full so you don’t overeat.
#3 – Drink more tea.
High quality organic green, herbal and even black teas are packed with a variety of nutrients to reduce inflammation, balance hormones and keep your gut healthy. Peppermint and ginger teas are perfect post meal to promote digestion, reduce bloating and ease stomach upset. Green tea varietals are a great coffee alternative, and cinnamon containing teas make for a great sweet treat, and both help to curb cravings by balancing your blood sugar! Pique Tea is my favorite tea brand because of its quality and easy to mix in cold or hot water powders (great for traveling!).
#4 – Walk, don’t run.
During the holidays, you probably think you need to exercise more to “work off” what you ate and drank. BUT when your body is already depleted from eating inflammatory foods, traveling and staying up late, intense exercise will deplete you even more – making your workout more harmful than good resulting in weight gain, fatigue and feeling run down. It’s still important to move your body during these times, so opt for more restorative exercise such as walking, yoga and pilates.
Aside from being present to implement these 4 survival tips, don’t forget to also be present with your family and friends so you can truly enjoy the holidays.
Joy, laughter and happiness all promote better hormone balance and digestion, which are necessary elements for more energy and weight loss.
Happy holidays to you and your loved ones 🙂
Have you listened to these?
Have you, or someone that you know been struggling with…
Acid reflux or GERD?
Autoimmune conditions or chronic unexplained health issues?
Or how about mysterious hormone imbalances, weight gain and fatigue that might be related to toxic mold?
Then you, or the person you know, need to listen to these podcasts that I was recently featured on so you (or they) can find the missing pieces of your health puzzle and get back to feeling like yourself again!
Click here to see all of my podcast appearances and listen away!
#TBT Tummy Talk
I recently had a consultation with a new client who’s been suffering with acid reflux and GERD since she was a child, and now in her 20’s she is struggles with anxiety, depression and debilitating migraines that have landed her in the emergency room. On top of it all, she’s been on medication for years and things have only gotten worse, not better.
As we got into a conversation about her health history, it became very clear that what she is experiencing today could have all been avoided if someone had listened to what her stomach was trying to say…
Years of indigestion, stomach aches, bloating, gas and irregular bowel movements were all her body’s way of waving a red flag saying “pay attention to me!”
So it’s time for another #throwbackthursday blog so you talk your tummy’s language and uncover the clues it’s trying to share with you about your health too…
***
In the United States alone, it is estimated that 60% of the population (or more) is dealing with at least one symptom of digestive dysfunction — gas, bloating, heartburn, constipation, diarrhea, stomach pain, candida, and the list goes on.
Living with digestive problems has become the new “normal.”
But digestive issues aren’t normal, they’ve just become common.
Don’t believe me? Just count how many TV commercials, in one hour, address at least one type of digestive issue.
Typically, digestive issues begin as minor complaints — a little indigestion here and there, the occasional tummy ache or bout of heartburn — and sooner or later, what was once a minor annoyance becomes something that can literally take over your life. This usually happens for two reasons — embarrassment or lack of knowledge.
Aside from my functional medicine and closest friends, most people find it embarrassing to talk about their bathroom habits or digestive dilemmas but frequently find themselves sprinting to the nearest bathroom, feeling weighed down by a rock in their stomach or popping antacids like candy.
And others just don’t know any better. Either digestive issues run in their family and they’ve accepted that they are doomed to have them too, or they don’t see the connection with a symptom that is far removed from the source such as acne, anxiety, depression or eczema.
In any case, they’ve simply settled for what they’re dealing with on a daily basis.
Digestive issues should not be ignored, it’s your tummy talking to you.
The digestive system plays a vital role in making sure the body receives the nutrients it needs, in supporting the immune system, and in protecting us from bad guys such as toxins.
If your digestive tract isn’t up to speed, then you’re pretty much guaranteed to run into bigger health issues down the road…or maybe you already have?
Think about it.
If you’re not digesting properly, then you’re not getting enough protein to feed your muscles, vitamins to keep your energy or mood balanced, and toxins aren’t being eliminated making for a toxic internal environment.
In this week’s video and blog, I’ll help you decipher what your tummy is talking about, explain why you should be listening and how to respond.
Do you experience any of the following?
- Less than 1-2 bowel movements per day
- Adult acne, eczema, psoriasis, skin rashes or breakouts
- Anxiety, depression, mood swings or a nervous stomach
- Fatigue, cloudy thinking, trouble losing or maintaining weight
- Seasonal allergies, frequent common colds or sinus infections
- Loose stool or an unexpected urgent need to use the bathroom
If you answered yes to any of these then your tummy is trying to talk to you, and you could be suffering from digestive dysfunction.
And chances are, your doctor is unaware of the growing number of research studies demonstrating these alarming findings related to your digestive health:
– The toxicity of persistent constipation may cause common, everyday symptoms like fatigue, attention deficit, and brain fog.
– Autoimmune conditions like Hashimoto’s thyroiditis, rheumatoid arthritis, and multiple sclerosis are almost always rooted in digestive dysfunction.
– Inflammation from gut dysfunction can spread throughout the body, causing inflammation in the brain, joints, sinuses, other important organs and deplete mood balancing hormones known as neurotransmitters.
Digestive dysfunction can cause a cascade of stress throughout the body.
Most doctors are either unaware of this information, lack the training to link digestive dysfunction to other health issues or don’t have enough time to get to the bottom of it. Meanwhile, people like you are paying the price in unnecessary suffering, over the counter digestive aids and medical bills.
As Dr. Nasha Winters (ND), author of The Metabolic Approach to Cancer, says “you are what you don’t poop.”
The good news is…
Digestive dysfunction can be resolved through proper nutrition, rest, exercise, stress reduction and supplementation. As a functional health coach, this is the foundation of the work I do with all of my clients because it relates to just about every single health issue.
I’ve seen clients go from one bowel movement a few times a week, to twice a day in as little as a week after making simple changes to their diet, lifestyle and taking supplements to support their digestive health.
And as a result, they feel lighter, more energized, clear- minded, happy, free and at home in their body!
It’s time to listen to your tummy talk, and to stop settling for a life less lived.
***
If you want to get your hands on the right lab tests and resources to understand what your tummy is talking about, to test and not guess, simply schedule a complimentary Ideal Health & Weight Discovery Session with me today here!
5 ways to prevent breast cancer…
Let’s carry on the conversation about breast cancer in honor of October as Breast Cancer Awareness month AND so you or your loved ones can avoid becoming one of the statistics because…
According to Breastcancer.org, they estimate in 2019 alone 268,600 new cases of invasive breast cancer along with 62,930 new cases of non-invasive breast cancer are expected in U.S. women, and about 2,670 new cases of invasive breast cancer are expected to be diagnosed in men.
So as I said last week, early detection of breast cancer significantly increases your chances of survival.
BUT reducing your risk factors for cancers significantly decreases your chances of getting cancer ever!
High risk factors for breast and other types of cancer can include:
- Family history/genetics
- High sugar/carbohydrate diet
- Use of plastic food and water containers
- Excess estrogen circulating in the body
- A sluggish liver and poor detoxification system
- High oxidative stress (cellular/DNA damage)
- Repeated exposures to hormone altering toxins and radiation
Contrary to popular belief, your genetics dictate ONLY 20% of your health outcomes, and your lifestyle drives the other 80%.
This is great news!
It means you have more control than you probably thought you did over whether you get cancer, autoimmune conditions and chronic or terminal illnesses.
Inflammation is what drives all dysfunction and disease in the body, so when you control inflammation it’s like containing wildfire. The more you contain it, the less devastation it can create.
In this week’s video and blog, I want to give you 5 things you can do to reduce inflammation and your risk not just for breast cancer, but for all types of cancer and chronic diseases!
To start, let’s recap on what some of the most common high risk factors for breast and other types of cancer, terminal illnesses and chronic diseases are. They can include:
- Family history/genetics
- High sugar/carbohydrate diet
- Use of plastic food and water containers
- Excess estrogen circulating in the body
- A sluggish liver and poor detoxification system
- High oxidative stress (cellular/DNA damage)
- Repeated exposures to hormone altering toxins and radiation
You can’t change your genetics but you can change how they impact your health by adopting healthy behaviors that keep them from fostering disease states.
Remember, your genetics dictate ONLY 20% of your health outcomes, and your lifestyle drives the other 80%.
So here are 5 things you can do to reduce inflammation so you can keep your genes happy and healthy, and to prevent cancer or other chronic diseases…
#1 – Eat Anti-Inflammatory & Pro-Antioxidant
You put food in your body every day that can either fuel the inflammatory fire or help to put it out. To drastically reduce inflammation every time you eat, avoid the top inflammatory foods such as gluten, dairy, sugar, soy and alcohol. And then look to replace them with antioxidant-rich foods to reduce oxidative stress (aka cellular and DNA damage) such as goji berries, organic dark chocolate, artichokes, cilantro, elderberries, and wild-caught salmon.
#2 – Rest & Recover From 10-4
From 10pm to 4am is when your body performs critical repair of all of your cells, flushing of toxins and restoration of all systems. It’s like taking your body in for a tune up every night! However, if you’re not sleeping during this timeframe your body can’t perform these duties which can lead to hormone imbalances, toxic back-ups and a multitude of other issues that can trigger inflammation leading to disease. Aim to be asleep by 10pm at least 5 nights per week.
#3- Move & Release
Moving your body daily helps you to maintain a healthy weight, your strength and cardiovascular health AND to release toxins. The lymphatic system is the body’s natural sewage system to eliminate toxins and excess estrogen that can drive cancer and disease, but the problem is that it doesn’t move itself. When you move, the lymphatic system moves too. The more you move the more inflammation and cancer causing toxins can be released!
#4 – Stop & Shift
Did you know that stress can cause inflammation and genetic alterations too? Stress is inevitable but having a daily de-stress routine in place is a proactive way to prevent it from accumulating and contributing to chronic inflammation that can lead to disease. See where you can fit in as little as 5 minutes of deep breathing or meditation in your day. And at a minimum when you feel stressed – stop and shift your mindset by inhaling for 5 seconds, holding your breath for 5 seconds and exhaling for 7. Repeat this 5-10 times to instantly get out of stress mode!
#5 – Tackle The Toxins
Prioritize minimizing your exposures to inflammatory and cancer-causing toxins by focusing on the things you put in and on your body that have the largest impact on your health. You can do this by eating organic food as much as possible, drinking and cooking with only filtered water and swapping out your personal care products such as lotions, toothpaste, deodorant, shampoo and conditioner for less toxic and more environmental-friendly brands.
By taking action in these 5 areas not only will you drastically reduce your risk for cancer and other chronic diseases, but I can almost guarantee you’ll instantly notice an improvement in your energy, weight and overall sense of well-being.
Let’s make a pack to make cancer prevention something we’re aware of all year long, not just during the month of October!
And if you missed it, in last week’s blog I also shared two cutting-edge tools men and women can use to self screen for breast cancer and its high risk factors. You can check out that blog here.
Test yourself for breast cancer [women and men]
October might be breast cancer awareness month, but this is a topic both women and men should really be more aware of all year round.
I’ve personally known too many women in my life who have been diagnosed with breast cancer, all under the average age of diagnosis, which is 62 for women and 67 for men.
According to Breastcancer.org, in 2019 an estimated 268,600 new cases of invasive breast cancer along with 62,930 new cases of non-invasive breast cancer are expected in U.S. women, and about 2,670 new cases of invasive breast cancer are expected to be diagnosed in men.
Early detection of breast cancer significantly increases chances of survival.
AND reducing your risk factors for cancers significantly decreases your chances of getting cancer ever!
Now, cancer doesn’t just pop up overnight. Although it might seem that way if you’re not regularly screening yourself and you all of a sudden find a lump.
But chances are, that lump was growing for some time, and before it was a lump there were other signs indicating an increase in cancer risk such as…
- Heavy or painful periods
- Fibroids and ovarian cysts
- Weight gain and adult acne
- Infertility or reproductive issues
- Chronic fatigue and autoimmune conditions
Just to name a few.
High risk factors for breast cancer can include:
- Family history
- High sugar/carbohydrate diet
- Use of plastic food and water containers
- Excess estrogen circulating in the body
- A sluggish liver and poor detoxification system
- High oxidative stress (cellular/DNA damage)
- Repeated exposures to hormone altering toxins and radiation
In this week’s video and blog, I want to share two tools that any woman can use to self-screen for breast cancer and its high risk factors.
In my opinion, there are two tools or resources every woman (and man) should have access to in order to regularly screen for breast cancer; the DUTCH cortisol hormone test and My Breast Friend™.
So first, let me introduce you to Dr. Veronique Desaulniers, D.C., better known as Dr. V.
Dr. V is a two-time breast cancer survivor. She thus founded Breast Cancer Conqueror® and developed the 7 Essentials System® as a method to empower, support and connect women all around the globe who are facing similar challenges with their health.
Her mission is to also teach women to confidently and consistently perform proper breast self-exams with the assistance of My Breast Friend™, an at-home self-exam kit.
My Breast Friend™ is based on the Mammacare Method®, a scientifically validated breast exam method that has been the gold standard for 3 decades.
With the My Breast Friend™ kit and training, Dr. V teaches women how to properly do a self-exam, about the different types of breast nodules and how to tell the difference between what’s abnormal and what your breasts normally feel like.
For as little as $127, Dr. V helps women become a skilled personal breast examiner for themselves! (get the My Breast Friend™ kit and training here).
Now let’s talk about the DUTCH cortisol and hormone test.
The DUTCH test doesn’t diagnose cancer, but it can be used as a comprehensive tool to evaluate hormones and risk factors.
Estrogen is widely talked about as a major cause for breast cancer, but what really matters is how estrogen is moving through the 2 phases of detoxification, inflammation and oxidative stress (aka cellular or DNA damage).
The DUTCH test can provide a plethora of insights about estrogen, hormone metabolism balance as it relates to cancer risk that can’t be found or as easily identified on a blood or saliva test such as…
- Estrogen dominance – high total estrogens or high compared to low progesterone
- Insulin resistance / carbohydrate and sugar intolerance triggering inflammation
- Estrogen preferring the more carcinogenic 4OH metabolic pathway
- Cortisol and DHEA dysregulation indicating chronic inflammation and stress
- Low Melatonin and Glutathione – 2 antioxidants to prevent cancer
- Oxidative stress levels showing cellular/DNA damage
You can learn more about the DUTCH test breast cancer clues here.
These DUTCH test clues combined with family history can be very helpful not only for preventing and reversing breast cancer, but also for addressing a wide range of other health issues from chronic fatigue, weight gain, autoimmune conditions and more.
AND, for men and women alike!
Armed with these two tools, My Breast Friend™ and the DUTCH test, any woman is able to test for breast cancer risks at any point in time.
The DUTCH test alone can help men screen their risk factors for breast and prostate cancer too.
Knowledge is power, but the tools to go along with it makes it even more powerful! Don’t become a statistic, take your health into your own hands.
And if you need help getting your hands on the right lab tests and resources so you can find the missing pieces of your health puzzle so you can get back to feeling like yourself again, schedule an Ideal Health & Weight Discovery Session with me here today.
What a 72-hour fast taught me…
Fasting has been getting a lot of press lately with the rise in popularity of the Keto diet which has shed light on the benefits of intermittent and prolonged fasting regiments.
In general, fasting can have a wide range of health benefits such as:
- Balancing blood sugar
- Promoting weight loss
- Reducing inflammation
- Regulating hormones that signal for hunger
- Healing the intestinal lining (leaky gut)
- And decomposing damaged cells and generating new ones (this is absolutely fascinating biology, geek out more on it here)
Fasting has been used for ages in eastern medicine philosophies to help reverse or prevent health conditions such as cancer, diabetes and other chronic diseases.
If we think about fasting from a primal or ancestral standpoint, it has been around basically since the beginning of mankind. As hunter-gatherers, our primitive ancestors frequently went without food for periods of time in between successful hunting trips and during times of famine when food sources were low or hard to come by. They didn’t have the luxuries of fast food drive-thrus on almost every corner or food at their fingertips like we do today.
WARNING:
Fasting is NOT right for everyone. Before attempting to fast, you should consult with your health professional about known, or unknown, health conditions that might be contraindicated.
Fasting may not be right for you if:
- Have existing hormone imbalances (thyroid, estrogen, testosterone, cortisol, etc.)
- Currently suffer with sleep issues
- Have underlying vitamin and mineral deficiencies
- Your liver is already sluggish or overloaded
- Have heavy metals or other toxins built up in your body
- Avoid salt or don’t eat enough of it
However, even with some of these contraindications, you can still give fasting a try IF you do the right lab testing to understand what is going on in your body and then take action to best support it while fasting.
I decided to do a 72-hour fast as a way to heal my gut.
Fasting is one of the most effective ways to reset your gut health, to heal leaky gut and improve digestion. When given a break from digesting, the cells of your gut regenerate and produce a whole new lining within 3 days!
I’ve made a LOT of progress in the gut healing department over the years but I’d never tried fasting before in order to fully restore my gut.
I made the decision to try it ONLY after I confirmed my body was in a healthy place to thrive while fasting. I knew my body could finally handle a 72-hour fast when:
I was able to go prolonged periods of time without food while maintaining a high level of energy, indicating my body was “fat-adapted” (able to tap into fat stores for fuel easily).
My thyroid and other hormone tests consistently came back in optimal functional ranges.
I was consistently sleeping well through the night, had drastically reduced other variables of stress in my life and had a solid self-care regiment in place.
I felt 100% like myself on the regular – energetic, at home in my body and strong inside and out.
The physical results of my fast were amazing. I felt lighter, leaner and cleaner on the inside.
But what was most surprising was what I learned about my body and myself over the course of the 72-hours…
In this week’s video and blog, I’ll share exactly what 72-hours of fasting taught me and the insights you can gain about your health from my experience too.
If you’ve ever struggled with your weight, energy or any kind of health issues like me, then you know what it feels like to lose faith and trust in your body; and even if you come back from it, fear about losing it all again can still be constantly running in the background of your mind.
Aside from the physical benefits I got from fasting, it also helped me develop a healthier mindset, a relationship with my body and to finally get over the fear of losing it all again.
Here’s the priceless wisdom I gained from my experience with fasting…
Trust
Before starting the 72-hour fast, I asked my body to trust me. To trust that I wouldn’t push my limits and deplete myself like I had done in the past, and that I would abort the mission if my health or wellbeing suffered at any point in time.
I had to trust that my body was capable and healthy enough to handle a fast going into it. And coming out of it, I have more trust in my body than I’ve had in my entire life. We are truly best friends once again.
Resiliency
With a history of autoimmune disease (Hashimotos), a sluggish thyroid, other hormone imbalances and issues related to toxic mold, I’ve always questioned whether my body would fully bounce back to where it used to be; if I would ever get my physical strength back, be able to eat certain foods again without issues, have unlimited energy and be my 137 pound confident inside and out self again.
Well, I did.
Being able to do a 72-hour fast showed me just how resilient my body is because I couldn’t have done it without feeling all of these things! I proved by body is resilient enough to come back from whatever crisis I might face with my health or in life.
Faith
Faith is waking up still believing something will happen even if it didn’t the day before. Holding onto faith throughout my health journey hasn’t always been easy. You don’t always know how or when the results will come, but believing in the possibility and having faith is what matters. It’s what keeps you going.
Giving up crossed my mind countless times, but that would have meant having to settle for something less than what I deserved or desired so I held onto faith.
And as a result of having faith, here I am. In the best shape and health of my life, having completed a 72-hour fast as a result of being in such good health and using it as a tool to take my health to the next level.
So here’s what I hope you gain from my experience too…
- Understanding that health is as much of a mindset as it physical #healthisamindset
- Your body is capable or more than you could ever imagine so hold the space for that
- Believe in the impossible and have patience because there is a solution for you too
With the right lab tests and resources it is possible to find the missing pieces of your health puzzle, to actually fix what is wrong and finally get back to feeling like yourself again (or for the very first time)!
For more daily inspiration and motivation like this, follow me on Instagram or Facebook.
Last chance to participate [ends Sept. 30th]
Time is ticking for you to participate in my Tackle the Toxins Challenge and win a FREE DUTCH Hormone Test and Consultation with me ($750+ value)!!!
Many of the chemicals found in personal care products have been classified as carcinogens – meaning they cause cancer, or as endocrine disruptors – meaning they disrupt hormones and can lead to infertility issues (in both men and women), painful or irregular periods, more intense PMS symptoms, acne, headaches, night sweats, low energy, insomnia, hyper or hypothyroidism, autoimmunity and much more.
I know it can be tough to give up your old reliable personal care products. Once upon a time, I decided to break up with my M.A.C. cosmetics, Aveda haircare and big brand labels, too, in order to support my health on a greater level.
It took time to find the right replacements and alternative brands that I could trust. Now, I have a completely non-toxic line of beauty, skin and hair products that I love.
This is why I’m challenging you to “Tackle the Toxins” in your personal care products and incentivizing you to do it!
By transitioning your personal care products to non-toxic brands and minimizing the toxic load on your body, you can start to reverse any existing health issues, improve your energy, lose weight and get back to feeling like yourself again!
Here’s how the challenge works…
For each non-toxic BeautyCounter product you purchase (to replace something toxic that you’re using) using my link through September 30th, you will receive one entry into a raffle to win a DUTCH Complete Hormone Test, plus a 90-minute results review and recommendation session with me ($750+ value).
The DUTCH test is one of the most comprehensive sex hormone and adrenal test on the market for understanding what is happening in the body as it relates to hormone balance, losing weight, getting your energy back and feeling like yourself again.
This test has all of the critical markers to truly evaluate your adrenal function and hormone balance including:
- DHEA-S, Daily Free Cortisol and Cortisone Patterns
- Testosterone, DHT, DHEA (PLUS their androgens and metabolites)
- Estrogen and Progesterone (PLUS their metabolites and pathways)
- Melatonin, Serotonin, Dopamine, Norepi/Epinephrine and Oxidative Stress
- And nutritional elements related to hormones such as Glutathione, B12 and B6
With the test, you’ll also get an in-depth 90-minute results review session with me to go over your results and personalized diet, sleep, exercise, stress reduction and supplement recommendations for you to improve or maintain your adrenal and hormone health so you can finally shed the weight and feel great in your body again!
Just to recap…here’s how the challenge works…
For each non-toxic BeautyCounter product you purchase (to replace something toxic that you’re using) using my link through September 30th, you will receive one entry into a raffle to win a DUTCH Complete Hormone Test, plus a 90-minute results review and recommendation session with me ($750+ value).
- Buy one product = 1 raffle entry
- Buy three products = 3 raffle entries
- Buy five products = 5 raffle entries!
It’s that simple!
I selected BeautyCounter’s products as part of this Tackle the Toxins Challenge for a number of reasons…
- Out of all the non-toxic brands I’ve tried, I love the quality and consistency of BeautyCounter’s the most.
- From an ethical standpoint, they are a brand I can get behind; they advocate for stricter product guidelines, give back to the community and are a certified B-Corp.
- Their ingredient list is the strictest one in the industry and they are fully transparent about it.
- They require certificates of purity from their partners and require them to use non-GMO and non-toxic materials.
- Every product is tested every 3 months at a minimum, and every single batch of color cosmetics is tested for hidden heavy metals.
Some of my personal favorite BeautyCounter products include:
- No. 1 Brightening Facial (and the balancing one)
- Tint Skin Hydrating Foundation Linen
- All eye shadows and powder blushes
- Touch Up Skin Concealer Pen
- Nourishing Cream Cleanser
- Rejuvenating Face Cleanser
- Nourishing Day Cream
- Charcoal Face Mask
- Eye Liner Pencil
- And Bronzer
They have a ton of great kids’ and men’s products too!
The more non-toxic BeautyCounter products you purchase to replace your old and toxic ones, the greater your chances of winning!
To participate in the challenge and for a chance to win, purchase your non-toxic BeautyCounter products here by September 30th.
Glyphosate found guilty…
Did you hear?
Glyphosate was recently found guilty by a California jury for causing cancer in a school groundskeeper, who was repeatedly exposed to it in his line of work.
Glyphosate is the primary ingredient found in a pesticide known as Roundup, made by Monsanto, and it’s the most heavily used pesticide in the U.S.
The good news is…
This verdict was a big win in relation to raising awareness around how pesticides, herbicides and other toxic chemicals deemed to be “safe” are actually harmful to our health.
The bad news is…
Every year more than 250 millions pounds of Roundup are used on conventionally grown U.S. crops and in other places around the world. As a result, Glyphosate has been found in all levels of the food chain including water, plants, animals and even in humans.
It has even been found in some organic foods due to water run off and cross contamination.
As a chemical, Glyphosate has been classified as a carcinogen, meaning it causes cancer, and as an endocrine disruptor, meaning it disrupts the glands that produce hormones, that convert hormones and keep them in balance.
Glyphosate was introduced back in the 1970’s and it’s just one of over 120,000+ chemicals that have been introduced in our environment since World War II, most of which haven’t been studied long enough to even know what the long-term impacts are on our health.
In this modern day world, our bodies are facing the largest toxic burden ever known to humankind. Before now, there has never been a time in human existence when so many chemicals existed.
As chemical production and use has increased over the years, we have also seen a steady rise in chemical related health disorders such as:
- Cancer
- Infertility
- Hormone imbalances
- Autoimmune conditions
- Seasonal allergies, colds and flus
- Brain fog and dementia-like conditions
- Irritable Bowel Syndrome and general digestive upset
Everywhere you turn, toxins and chemicals are lurking. In your water, food, air, furniture, personal care and cleaning products.
But we can’t live in a bubble, so what can we do to support our body during these burdensome times?
In this week’s video and blog, I break down exactly what the toxins are doing to your body and how you can offset your exposure to them.
Let’s first explore exactly what toxic chemicals can do to your body using Glyphosate as an example…
It can immobilize certain nutrients and alter the nutritional makeup of the treated crop, meaning you won’t really get any vitamins, minerals or other nutrients from food exposed to Glyphosate.
It decreases the availability of essential amino acids (aka protein building blocks) needed to maintain muscle mass and rebuild cells that the body can only get from food sources.
It contributes to imbalances with good and bad gut bacteria leading to leaky gut, various food allergies or sensitivities.
It increases inflammation, which overloads the immune system rendering it too weak to fight off the common allergies, cold and flu viruses.
It shuts down detoxifying enzymes in the body, and therefore enhances the damaging impacts of other food-borne chemical residues or environmental toxins, and burdens the liver.
It promotes the creation of ammonia in the body which can lead to brain inflammation which has been associated with autism, Alzheimer’s disease, ALS and other cognitive impairments.
And some studies have also shown how Glyphosate disrupts progesterone production, negatively impacts female egg availability and development, alters estrogen levels promoting breast cancer, and disturbs overall steroid hormone balance.
Ugh. It seems overwhelmingly bad, I know, but there is hope. There is a lot you can do to reduce the impacts that Glyphosate and other chemicals have on your body.
To reduce exposure and the damaging effects of Glyphosate (and other pesticides or herbicides) you can:
- Eat organic and non-GMO foods as much as possible
- Drink and cook with only filtered water
- Take a daily liver support supplement
- Avoid food crops most commonly contaminated with glyphosate (even if organic) such as corn, soybean, wheat, barley, rye and beans
Even small exposures to toxins and chemicals have a large impact on your overall health and can contribute to weight gain, fatigue, brain fog, digestive upset, autoimmune issues, hormone imbalances and much more.
Taking action to reduce toxic exposures as much as possible will result in long-lasting positive effects on your health and wellbeing.
If you’ve been eating healthy, exercising and “doing all of the right things” will little to no weight loss or health improvements, then toxins such as Glyphosate might be tripping you up, causing hormone imbalances, leaky gut and overwhelming the immune system, and keeping you from getting results.
This is why I’m challenging you to Tackle the Toxins this month!
The challenge is going on now through September 30th, to encourage you to take control of toxins where you can and swap out some of your potentially toxic personal care products for non-toxic health-friendly ones to promote hormone balance, a healthy gut and liver, and to prevent future diseases such as cancer.
Here’s how the challenge works…
For each non-toxic BeautyCounter product you purchase (to replace something toxic that you’re using) using my link through September 30th, you will receive one entry into a raffle to win a DUTCH Complete Hormone Test, plus a 90-minute results review and recommendation session with me ($750+ value).
Buy one product = 1 raffle entry
Buy three products = 3 raffle entries
Buy five products = 5 raffle entries!
To participate and for a chance to win, purchase your non-toxic BeautyCounter products here by September 30th.
#TBT My One Big Message
It’s time for another Throwback Thursday blog!
But before you jump into the blog, I wanted to remind you about my Tackle the Toxins Challenge!
The challenge is going on now through September 30th, to encourage you to swap out some of your potentially toxic personal care products for non-toxic health-friendly ones to promote hormone balance, a healthy gut and liver, and to prevent future diseases such as cancer.
Here’s how the challenge works…
For each non-toxic BeautyCounter product you purchase (to replace something toxic that you’re using) using my link through September 30th, you will receive one entry into a raffle to win a DUTCH Complete Hormone Test, plus a 90-minute results review and recommendation session with me ($750+ value).
Buy one product = 1 raffle entry
Buy three products = 3 raffle entries
Buy five products = 5 raffle entries!
To participate and for a chance to win, purchase your non-toxic BeautyCounter products here by September 30th.
The challenge is directly related to what I talk about in this week’s #TBT blog 🙂
Ok, now on to the most important thing I want you to know in order to achieve or support your ideal health and weight…
***
You hear me cover a lot of different types of topics in my weekly emails and blog – everything from the latest science about hormone testing and diet to sleep, exercise, meditation and spirituality.
It may not always seem as if these topics have anything in common, but they do. They are all addressing different types of stress that we encounter throughout our day and how to combat it.
Stress isn’t just the mental or emotional stress that we initially think of in relation to work, relationships or traumatic events. Stress is much more than that.
Stress is anything that places a burden on the body.
Whether it’s inflammatory foods such as gluten, not getting adequate rest or sleep, under exercising or over exercising when your body is already fatigued, toxins in your environment, or physical ailments from misalignments in bones and muscles – it all equates to stress on the body.
When I went through my Functional Diagnostic Nutrition training program, we were taught to identify H.I.D.D.E.N. stressors, or malfunctions in the…
- Hormone
- Immune
- Digestion
- Detoxification
- Energy Production
- Nervous System
Looking at these different systems of the body and recognizing malfunction help me to also identify healing opportunities.
But in order to help someone heal and restore health to these systems of the body, I have to know what is causing the malfunction in the first place – stress.
To alleviate stress, I guide my clients in “coaching down contributors to stress, and coaching up function of the body” as my mentor Reed Davis says.
In all of the blogging and work that I do, my one big message for you is…
“I want you to be able to recognize the burden of stress on your body at any point in time and to know what to do about it in order to achieve your ideal health.”
Having a better understanding of what is contributing to a stress burden on your body leading to dysfunction, and taking action to minimize the stress is the secret to optimal health that we are all looking for.
In this week’s video and blog, I talk more about the different types of stressors, how to coach down the contributors and coach up function.
Our bodies are a miracle in and of themselves if you think about all that they do for us on a daily basis with little to no effort on our part: pumping blood and oxygen, breaking down and rebuilding cells, breathing, and giving us the ability to be mobile.
What we don’t realize is that those daily functions require a lot of work and energy from our body already, so we tend to pile on additional tasks, toxins and responsibilities that force our body to work harder.
Our body will essentially do anything we ask it to, but that doesn’t mean we should.
It’s rare that your body will tell you ‘no.’ It will climb to the peak of mountain tops, work through the night to meet a deadline for us and eat almost anything we feed it. But that doesn’t mean we should ask it do those things, especially if it’s already burdened with H.I.D.D.E.N. stressors that we can’t see or aren’t aware of.
Know that stress can be…
- The inflammatory or pesticide laden foods in our diet
- Eating foods that are not in alignment with our nutritional needs
- Staying up late at night consistently or not getting enough sleep
- Exercising at a high intensity or for long durations when the body is tired
- Perceived mental or emotional stress from work, relationships and traumatic events
- Lack of nutrients in the body for functions to actually take place
- Toxins in our environment which burden the liver, alter cells and disrupt hormones
- And there are many more
For the longest time, exercise was actually one of my biggest stressors. As a naturally active individual with a personal training background, exercising was not only a passion but something I was intrinsically driven to do. I was constantly pushing my body to do more, get stronger or go longer.
A huge turning point leading to my remission with Hashimoto’s (an autoimmune thyroid disorder) was turning down the volume on my workout routine a lot, to relieve an unnecessary stress I was placing on my body and allow it to heal. As soon as I cut back on lifting weights and running, and focused more on walking and yoga, my body started to heal more rapidly.
I look back now and I can see many points in my life where I pushed way too hard when it came to exercise. I vividly remember running my first marathon and at mile 22 my body simply refused to keep running, but I kept pushing- an obvious moment in time when the burden of stress on my body was high and likely contributed to dysfunction that I probably never fully recovered from. Now I know better and I would never put my body in that position again.
If I go to bed late, get a crappy night of sleep, cheat on my diet, am traveling or doing anything else that might create extra stress on my body, I’m very mindful about striking a balance by doing things such as skipping my usual workout for something that is more restorative, going to bed early the next day and taking a full weekend to eat healthy and rest.
Using functional lab testing, I’m able to help clients see where dysfunction exists in the hormone, immune, digestive, detoxification, energy production and nervous system BUT the bigger question is what do you do about it.
The secret to restoring balance and health is working towards eliminating the things that are causing stress on the body and giving it the support it needs to function at a higher level.
Just fixing your diet won’t do it. It’s one aspect of healing but not the catch-all solution most hope it would be.
Coaching up function in the body and achieving optimal health requires a multifaceted approach, one that involves:
- Diet
- Rest
- Exercise
- Stress Reduction (of all kinds)
- And Supplementation to support and restore bodily functions while you eliminate the stressors
I have found in my many years of doing this work that the mindset and spirituality components are just as critical as any of the physiological and science aspects. One will only be able to reach a limited level of optimal health without incorporating both and addressing all the burdens of potential stress.
Rebuilding the relationship with your body, taking responsibility and treating it with respect will help you forge forward in optimizing your health. If you don’t change your mindset and the relationship with your body, you’ll continue to beat it down and run into a wall with your health.
So I’ll leave you with this… think about how much stress is on your body at this moment in time as you are reading this blog…
Are there toxins in your environment that you can’t see, hear or feel?
Did you get a crappy night’s sleep?
What was the last thing you ate and was it nutritious or not?
Did your force yourself to work out today or push too hard?
Are you stressed at work or in your relationships?
What else might be contributing to a burden of stress in your life?
Remember to weigh your stress burden regularly and then you can quickly take action to reduce it before it reduces your health.
***
The average adult uses 9 or more personal care products each day, exposing themselves to over 126 unique chemical ingredients – that’s a huge burden of daily stress on the body!
Reduce your body’s daily burden by swapping out your toxic personal care products and participating in my Tackle the Toxins Challenge!
To participate and for a chance to win, purchase your non-toxic BeautyCounter products here by September 30th.
P.S. To access the Activate And Upgrade Your Autoimmune Healing webinar replay that I mention in the video go here
Regardless of whether you have an autoimmune issue or not, this webinar replay can help you to up-level your health. In the webinar, Molly Hamill and I will share best practices that we use on ourselves and with our clients to identify stress on the body, how to take responsibility for it, and how to take action to promote healing.
Tackle-The-Toxins Challenge!
Did you know that average adult uses 9 or more personal care products each day, exposing themselves to over 126 unique chemical ingredients?
Have you ever checked your personal care products to see how many chemicals you might be exposing yourself to on a daily basis?
Even small doses of chemical exposures can cause symptoms such as headaches, brain fog, light sensitivity, hormone imbalances and fatigue.
Many of the chemicals found in personal care products have been classified as carcinogens, meaning they cause cancer, or as endocrine disruptors, meaning they disrupt hormones and can lead to infertility issues (in both men and women), painful or irregular periods, more intense PMS symptoms, acne, headaches, night sweats, low energy, insomnia, hyper or hypothyroidism, autoimmunity and much more.
I know it can be tough to give up your old reliable personal care products. Once upon a time, I decided to break up with my M.A.C. cosmetics, Aveda haircare and big brand labels, too, in order to support my health on a greater level.
It took time to find the right replacements and alternative brands that I could trust. Now, I have a completely non-toxic line of beauty, skin and hair products that I love.
This is why I’m challenging you to “Tackle the Toxins” in your personal care products and incentivizing you to do it!
By transitioning your personal care products to non-toxic brands and minimizing the toxic load on your body, you can start to reverse any existing health issues and promote preventing them in the future.
Here’s how the challenge works…
For each non-toxic BeautyCounter product you purchase (to replace something toxic that you’re using) through September 30th, you will receive one entry into a raffle to win a DUTCH Complete Hormone Test, plus a 90-minute results review and recommendation session with me ($750+ value).
Buy one product = 1 raffle entry
Buy three products = 3 raffle entries
Buy five products = 5 raffle entries!
It’s that simple!
I selected BeautyCounter’s products as part of this Tackle the Toxins Challenge for a number of reasons…
- Out of all the non-toxic brands I’ve tried, I love the quality and consistency of BeautyCounter’s the most.
- From an ethical standpoint, they are a brand I can get behind; they advocate for stricter product guidelines, give back to the community and are a certified B-Corp.
- Their ingredient list is the strictest one in the industry and they are fully transparent about it.
- They require certificates of purity from their partners and require them to use non-GMO and non-toxic materials.
- Every product is tested every 3 months at a minimum and every single batch of color cosmetics is tested for hidden heavy metals.
Some of my personal favorite BeautyCounter products include:
- No. 1 Brightening Facial (and the balancing one)
- Tint Skin Hydrating Foundation Linen
- All eye shadows and powder blushes
- Touch Up Skin Concealer Pen
- Nourishing Cream Cleanser
- Rejuvenating Face Cleanser
- Nourishing Day Cream
- Charcoal Face Mask
- Eye Liner Pencil
- And Bronzer
They have a ton of great kid’s and men’s products too!
Now, you might be wondering, what is so great about the DUTCH Complete Hormone Test giveaway?
The DUTCH test is one of the most comprehensive sex hormone and adrenal test on the market for understanding what is happening in the body as it relates to hormone balance.
This test has all of the critical markers to truly evaluate your adrenal function and hormone balance including:
- DHEA-S, Daily Free Cortisol and Cortisone Patterns
- Testosterone, DHT, DHEA (PLUS their androgens and metabolites)
- Estrogen and Progesterone (PLUS their metabolites and pathways)
- Melatonin, Serotonin, Dopamine, Norepi/Epinephrine and Oxidative Stress
- And nutritional elements related to hormones such as Glutathione, B12 and B6
Along with the test, you’ll also get to meet with me via phone or video call for an in-depth 90-minute results review session to go over your results and my personalized recommendations for you in regards to diet, sleep, exercise, stress reduction and supplements to improve or maintain your cortisol and hormone health!
All you have to do to win is Tackle the Toxins in your personal care products!
The more non-toxic BeautyCounter products you purchase to replace your old and toxic ones, the greater your chances of winning!
To participate in the challenge and for a chance to win, purchase your non-toxic BeautyCounter products here by September 30th.
To learn more about the toxins that might be lurking your personal care products, check out the Environmental Working Group’s Skin Deep Database…
And this exclusive webinar I recently did for my clients about Clean Personal Care Products. Access the webinar here.
Let me know if you have questions about what toxins might be lurking in your products and which alternative non-toxic ones you might want to try!
