Support Your Thyroid Naturally

Posted on by

Your thyroid’s function is to control how quickly the body uses energy, makes proteins, and controls how sensitive the body is to its other hormones.

Your thyroid might be challenged if you’ve been feeling tired, anxious or jittery/fidgety, depressed, in a brain fog, low sex drive, increased or decreased appetite, dry skin, low or excessive sweating, bowel issues, irregular cycles, brittle nails with ridges, pain or numbness in arms, legs, feet and hands, heart flutters, taste/smell is gone, feeling cold or hot, too sleepy/can’t sleep, thinning hair, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, weight gain and/or trouble losing despite exercise and diet control; this is a long but general list and if you feel these symptoms are moderate to severe, your best option is to see your doctor.

Some causes of thyroid dysfunction are from chlorine, fluoride and bromine. Chlorine and fluoride is in much of our drinking water unless you drink well water. Bromine comes from flours used in breads, breakfast foods, cakes & pastries, batter for fried foods and the like – especially processed foods. Too much soy foods can also suppress the thyroid gland function.

Here are a few simple ways to keep your thyroid functioning on a healthy level by using foods and lifestyle improvements. Iodine is an important mineral for thyroid function and should be consumed through whole foods that are iodine rich as consuming too much iodine (through the use of supplements) can be dangerous.

Some simple ways to balance your thyroid function include:

  • Eating an alkaline based diet – Alkaline Foods Chart click and download/print for shopping list reference
  • Regular exercise
  • Increasing chlorophyll through leafy green vegetables and supplements
  • Eat pears and apples regularly
  • Zinc and selenium rich foods, Brazil nuts have both, and/or through supplements
  • Coconut oil – 1 teaspoon daily – use organic, cold-pressed
  • Fish, (except bottom feeders such as shellfish, crabs, lobster, shrimp & krill)

Foods to eliminate include:

  • Fluoride & chlorine
  • All processed foods – artificial coloring and flavorings, preservatives, white flour, white sugar, hydrogenated oils, HFCS (high fructose corn syrup), and canola oil

These are some basic steps you can take to help your thyroid function at its best. Again, if you feel symptoms are bad enough, see your doctor to get your thyroid tested.

Sweet Potato & Lentil Stew (simple & quick)

Posted on by

Collage 2018-03-22 11_07_32Here’s a light, healthy, satisfying and filling stew that will help you feel more grounded. Lentils help cleanse and purify your blood, sweet potatoes add fiber, potassium and helps kick cravings for sweets. Recipe makes about 6-8 servings.

*Add spinach or kale about 5 minutes before serving to add extra healthy goodness.

  • 3 Tbs. Olive oil
  • 4 medium sweet potatoes cut into 1” cubes
  • 1 large onion, chopped
  • 2 cloves garlic, chopped or pressed
  • 2 carrots, chopped or thinly sliced
  • 1-2 leeks cleaned and sliced
  • 1 cup green/brown lentils
  • 6 cups vegetable broth
  • 1 Tbsp. Bell’s seasoning or a combination of ground sage, thyme, rosemary, oregano and ginger
  • salt & pepper to taste

Heat oil in large saucepan, saute
the sweet potatoes, add leeks, onion, carrots and garlic stir to coat – add lentils, broth and spices – simmer 20-25 minutes. Enjoy!

Chewing: Do you truly taste what you eat?

Posted on by

20180322_104523

You’ve probably heard it before, chewing is important. Do you know why you should chew your food well? There are several reasons so let’s get right to it.

1 – Chewing is your first step in proper digestion.

2 – Proper digestion breaks down your food so that your body can absorb as many nutrients as possible.

3 – Tasting your food and giving your brain time to realize that you’re feeding your body which in turn controls overeating.

4 – Chewing your food well gives you much needed moments in your day to s l o w down.

5 – Eating slowly and chewing helps your mind reset itself, it creates awareness and a conscious effort to control how much you eat and eventually what you eat when you make chewing a habit.

Next time you sit down to a meal, pause before you begin, breathe in fully and exhale, set your pace to “slow and easy”, take your first bite and really taste your food. Allow your mind to appreciate that you are eating and what you’re eating. Allow yourself time to enjoy nourishment. Allow yourself to slow down, take your necessary breakfast, lunch, dinner and snack break. Your mind, body and spirit will thank you!

Pantry & Refrigerator Clean-Out

Posted on by

20180319_182341Spring is right around the corner and it’s a perfect time to renew and re-energize all parts of our lives. The first thing I urge you to do is to clean out your refrigerator, cabinets and pantry. Don’t just toss things out to start over – not just yet. The following steps will help you eliminate junk foods and outdated foods, save money, plan a week or two of simple meals using up what you have and clear space for fresher, healthier items.

Grab a trash bag, (and a recycle bin if you love recycling) a pen & paper and a bucket of sudsy water and a cloth.

Step 1 – Go through one shelf/cabinet at a time. Check dates and toss expired items. (if boxed, remove from box and recycle box, toss contents). Wipe shelves down with your wet cloth – wiping out shelves is part of the purge the bad stuff activity.

Step 2 – Write down what items you have left, try to keep them categorized for quick reference.

Step 1 & 2B – Repeat the steps for your refrigerator.

Step 3 – Decide on the coming week’s meals using what you have on hand. Search through recipe books and the internet to find recipes using the ingredients you have. Plan on a few crock-pot meals to make meal-time quick and easy during your busiest days.

Step 4 – Commit to making the chosen meals – commit to eating clean and – commit to being frugal by using up what you have on hand before shopping for more.

When you have used up all of or at least most of your stock and it’s time to shop again, buy the foods that will help you stay on track with a healthy diet and don’t buy in bulk. By buying only what you know you’ll use up, you will save money and time in the future.

Eating healthy doesn’t have to be confusing or time consuming. Getting back to basics and stocking up on only what you will use keeps your closet, your trash barrel and your mind uncluttered and it keeps your wallet fuller!

Maintaining Healthy Blood Pressure

Posted on by

20180314_203908

Whether you want to lower your blood pressure or maintain a good blood pressure, a few simple changes can help.

What causes your blood pressure to be too high? Being overweight, smoking, alcohol, stress, salt, caffeine, sleep apnea & other sleeping disorders such as insomnia, thyroid disorders, inactivity & family history.

You can lower your blood pressure by trimming down just 5-10% of your body weight.

Salt stiffens your arteries which limits how much they can expand and contract which in turn affects the flow of blood through them. Blood carries oxygen throughout the body.

What you eat and don’t eat matters

  • Eat less saturated fats, (i.e. meats, butter, cheese, palm oil & ghee) and more of the healthy fats such as nut oils, raw, extra virgin olive oil, fish and fish oils. These oils help keep the arteries softer and pliable. If you don’t typically eat a lot of fish, use a daily fish oil supplement; learn how to choose the right fish oil supplements here.
  • Soy beans, soy nuts and tofu are rich in phytochemicals that are thought to protect the blood vessels from damage.
  • Black tea increases nitric oxide which helps the arteries to relax.
  • Fruit and vegetables contain potassium which helps balance excess salt in the body.
  • Citrus improves blood flow to the heart.
  • Regular physical activity strengthens your heart; a stronger heart can pump more blood with less effort. Just 30 minutes of exercise per day can strengthen your heart and by choosing more rigorous exercises you increase your chances of having a healthy heart & blood pressure.

Sum it up:

  1. Limit alcohol, caffeine & salt
  2. Quit smoking
  3. Increase fruits & vegetables, healthy oils, soy & black tea, citrus and exercise.
  4. Get help with sleep disorders

A healthy diet equals a healthy heart and more chance of a healthy, happy and long life.

 

 

 

 

 

Beta-Blockers and the Migraine Connection

Posted on by

1518028735562_fx.jpgA while ago I was talking with a relative about headaches; particularly migraines. I get them too often and she mentioned that she used to get them until she began taking beta-blockers for high blood pressure. This information caught my attention and my desire to find an organic supplementation of beta-blockers and the following is what I found.

Beta-blockers relax blood vessels in the body.

Migraine occurs when the arteries around the brain are inflamed.

If you suffer from frequent migraines or any other types of headache, consider trying the following remedies. If you’re on prescription beta-blockers, talk to your doctor before you change you diet even if the change is for the better.

 Natural Beta-Blockers

 Foods:

  • Olive, avocado and grapeseed oils,
  • 70% dark chocolate
  • Berries – blueberries, strawberries, raspberries, blackberries & Fruit: apples, bananas, pineapple, pomegranate, pomegranate juice, and citrus
  • Nuts/Seeds – walnuts, pecans, almonds & sunflower seeds
  • Fish – baked, sautéed or poached, not deep fried
  • Vegetables – broccoli, leafy greens,
  • Garlic
  • Oats

Herbal supplements/remedies:

  • CoQ10 – an antioxidant that helps convert food into energy; also may lower blood pressure
  • Hawthorn berry leaves and flower
  • Feverfew – increases circulation throughout the body & relieves muscle tension
  • Chamomile tea – calms and relaxes muscles and blood vessels

Other helpful habits include:

  • a proper amount of sleep on a regular basis
  • exercise and meditation & yoga for relaxation.

Try one or more of these remedies to see of they help you out so that next time you get a headache, maybe it won’t be as bad or last as long as they do now. Know your headache triggers and try to avoid them. By eating the foods on this list you will be improving your blood pressure, and stress & tension levels as well as cleansing your blood and liver.

Spring Vegetable Stew

Posted on by

 

Health is Wealth

  • 8 Small white or red potatoes cut into 1” chunks
  • 4-6 garlic cloves, minced
  • 1 medium onion, chopped
  • 2-3 small leeks, white part only, sliced about 1 inch slices
  • 6-6 carrots
  • 1 lb. sugar snap peas
  • 2 cups any combination spring greens (spinach, kale, collards, arugula, chard, cabbage)
  • 1 cup white cannelini beans or 1 can rinsed & drained
  • 2 quarts broth (chicken or vegetable)
  • 1 teaspoon lemon juice
  • Freshly ground black pepper

Add broth to a stockpot, bring to a simmer, add potatoes, onions and leeks – simmer 10 minutes, add carrots and snap peas – simmer 10 more minutes, add remaining ingredient sand simmer 5 min. Add lemon juice & ground pepper and serve.

Find Your Freedom from Sugar with These [Easy to Do] Changes

Posted on by

20180228_142413If you’re addicted to sugar it might not be completely your fault. Sugar is found in so many items that you wouldn’t expect to find it. For instance, just today at the grocery store, I needed sour cream and thought why not low-fat since all they truly need to do is skim the fat off and that’s it right? Wrong. The brand I was looking at had three choices, fat-free, low-fat and whole milk. Here’s what I found: the fat-free had 3 grams of sugar per tablespoon, the low-fat had 2 grams and the whole fat had 1 gram; puzzling, yes, to me it is. Why add a bad ingredient to something that doesn’t need it? To make you like it more, crave it more, and want it more. This is the case with so many items. I teach my clients to read labels. You don’t have to study and know every tiny detail about labels but there are basics that help a lot.

You’ll find sugar and lots of it in expected foods such as pastries, cookies, candy, soda, and other desserts, so limiting your consumption of these sweets is very important. It’s sometimes hard to do but once you learn how to curb and even eliminate your sugar cravings, you’ll be amazed at how great you will feel how much energy you will gain and how much weight you can lose!

Some common items that you didn’t know had added sugar; don’t actually need added sugar and to be aware of and steer clear of are:

  • Salad dressing-especially low-fat & fat-free options
  • A variety of drinks, soda, energy drinks, fancy coffee drinks, juice – diet drinks are a bad option as the artificial sweeteners are all chemicals and toxic to your body
  • Mayonnaise – again the fat-free/low-fat options as well as so-called healthier options made with olive oil (they have added sugar!)
  • Ketchup – added sugar, HFCS (high fructose corn syrup) is worse than plain sugar
  • BBQ sauces – also with HFCS, brown sugar and white sugar, a better option is to make your own
  • So-called healthy cereals – many have a load of sugar; even if they don’t taste sweet, they are
  • Breakfast bars & meal replacement bars – opt for the brands with higher protein that carbohydrates
  • Weight loss shakes – meal replacement shakes – again choose higher protein that sugar/carbs
  • Yogurt – choose plain, whole fat Greek yogurt and add your own nuts, berries/fruit, cinnamon, oats & seeds
  • Maple syrup – if it’s not 100% pure maple syrup it’s most likely 100% pure HFCS (high fructose corn syrup)
  • Instant oatmeal – particularly the flavored choices
  • Most foods that are low-fat/reduced fat/fat free have increased amounts of unhealthy sugar

Next time you’re at the grocery store and you’re shopping for items you typically buy, read and compare the labels. Try this for example; Italian dressing and low-fat Italian dressing compare how much more sugar is in the low-fat option. Also, often times, people will use or eat more of the lower fat product figuring it has less fat so it won’t hurt; but more sugar does hurt. The type 2 diabetes rate is increasing every year and it can be reversed if you choose to eat healthy and be informed.

When you begin to decrease the amount of hidden sugar in your foods and body you begin to decrease your cravings for more sugar and increase your health. Your body craves what you feed it most – choose less sugar and more naturally sweet, whole food.

Food, Mood & Lifestyle Happiness

Posted on by

I don’t remember where but I once read this line, “Your relationship to food mirrors your relationship to your life” and as I pondered it, I realized that it’s a pretty accurate statement.

What does this statement actually mean? Well, I took it apart in ways that I personally had felt about the types food I was eating. It looked like this:

Food to me had been:

unsatisfying                             lacks quality                      rushed

not enough                               disconnected                     comforting

boring                                        stringent                             over-indulgent

uninspired                                too serious                          an emotional ‘safe-place’

Then I took a look at how my personal life felt at the time and it matched my connection to the food!

What does that tell me? Plain and simple, I needed to make changes.

How do you relate the foods you eat to the way you feel about them? How does the food taste, satisfy, fill the void and fuel your body? When you eat, do you feel that the particular food you ate wasn’t the one that you wanted so you forage through the kitchen for something else? When you eat, do you enjoy the taste and the full mealtime experience? Do you feel satisfied and fulfilled with your life as it is on a daily basis? Do you feel good about your routine and free time? If not, it’s time for you to make changes too.

When you live your life fully and in the moment, you make better choices overall. You feel more confident and satisfied in your daily routine and major choices as they come along. When you free yourself from being “stuck” you free yourself of feelings of being left out, missing out and trying so hard to “fit in”.

Begin to free yourself; realize your “reflection connection” and start making changes.

Want help getting started? Contact me @Dawn@initiatewellness.com Together we will get you on your path to food & lifestyle happiness.

Winter Woes, Water and Vitamin D

Posted on by

20180207_143421-1.jpg

Water

Most of us drink plenty of water during the warmer months; or so I assume everyone does. If you don’t, I urge you to work on making water your new best friend; that and sunshine.

In the winter months, we tend to drink more hot drinks like coffee, hot chocolate and tea, and often alcoholic drinks to ‘warm the blood flow’ – all of which are dehydrating. Tea is probably the least harmful especially if you’re drinking herbal teas and a few cups of plain green tea without sweeteners every day. Why drink water in the winter? Your body is made of 70% water! It needs clean, fresh water every day to filter toxins out of your blood and flush them away. When you don’t drink enough, your body will hold on to whatever water it has to store no matter how clean or ‘dirty’. Dehydration leads to water-weight gain. The more you drink, the more you flush out.

Water can also help alleviate the following symptoms:                                                          

  • Depression
  • Heartburn
  • Chest/ heart pain
  • Abdominal/digestive/reflux pains
  • Lower back pain
  • Joint pain
  • Migraine headaches
  • Colitis pain
  • Fibromyalgia pains
  • Morning sickness during pregnancy
  • Bulimia
  • Obesity
  • Cholesterol plaque
  • Osteoporosis
  • Osteoarthritis
  • Gout
  • Strokes
  • MS, MD and Parkinson’s disease

Many of us take medications on a daily basis to make life bearable when we simply could benefit more from water. In return we often get side effects from the medications such as organs becoming toxic and our dependency on the drug.

Infuse your water overnight with lemon juice, citrus fruits, strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, cucumber, melon, mint, lavender, chamomile (tea), cinnamon & apple slices for mild to bold flavoring.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/6543766  

Vitamin D

We get most of our vitamin D from sunshine but in the winter months even if we’re outside a lot, we don’t get enough due to long pants, winter coats, hats and gloves. Healthy levels of vitamin D are responsible for helping the body utilize calcium properly which in turn alleviates overactive neurological reflexes, hand and foot spasms, and cramps and spasms of the vocal box.

Healthy levels of vitamin D also:

  • Supports and regulates the immune system
  • Supports brain function
  • Maintain a healthy body weight and aids in weight loss
  • Headache support – lessens frequency and severity
  • Asthma – lessens the frequency and severity of attacks
  • Rheumatoid arthritis in women
  • Protects against radiation damage
  • Can lessen depression
  • Protection from cancers – a recent study showed a deficiency in vitamin D among cancer patients no matter how good or bad their diet was.
  • Supports heart – lower D levels may increase risk of heart attack

Women with arthritis and diabetes are more susceptible to lower vitamin D levels all year but especially during winter months.

Natural ways to get enough vitamin D:

  • Fortified foods – milk, cheese, cereals, bread
  • Natural ways – egg yolk, some mushrooms, salmon, tuna, mackerel, cod liver oil
  • Supplements – prescribed OTC supplements daily 2000-5000 i.u. daily as well as a good quality fish oil capsule daily.

Drink your water, eat the right foods and take a daily vitamin D supplement for optimal winter and year round health.