What Is A Toxin + Why Should You Care?

You are exposed to hormone disrupting chemicals + toxins every single day.

I define a toxin as anything you eat, breathe, put on your skin, that your body doesn’t recognize + has no use for. Some are easy for our body to eliminate (water-soluble), while others are more difficult + can get stored in our fat cells (fat-soluble).

These toxins can build up over time, increasing our risk of anything from migraines, to fertility issues and cancer! They can even disrupt our hormones. Most don’t realize that that the amount of toxins we’re exposed to on a daily basis has dramatically increased over the past few decades.

Some statistics for you:

• The average woman is exposed to 168 chemicals every morning through personal care products
• In a study done my the Environmental Working Group, an average of 16 hormone-altering chemical were found in teens (again from personal care products)

So where are these toxins found?!

• What we eat and drink: preservatives, artificial dyes, artificial colors + flavors, antibiotics, herbicides + pesticides, BPA + BPS in plastics
• What we breathe: candles, perfume, fragrance in general, poor air quality, pollution
• What we put on our skin: parabens, phthalates +fragrance in personal care products, flame retardants in furniture, and so much more!

While our bodies have built-in ways to help neutralize + eliminate these toxins, we are often being overburdened —> less than optimal health, sickness, disease. So what can we do?!

1. DITCH toxic personal care products + SWITCH to waterless, pure earth products.
2. Eat detoxifying foods + supplement with detoxifying herbs.
3. Sweat: sauna, exercise (and ditch those antiperspirants!). I use an enzyme-based deodorant that neutralizes stinky bacteria without blocking your pores!
4. Sleep: This is a vital time where your body renews + rebuilds.
5. Dry Brush: Helps move the lymphatic system, which plays a vital roll in immunity. This one is my favorite!
6. Avoid plastics as much as possible: Purchase a glass or stainless steal water bottle (I LOVE this one), avoid plastic Tupperware.
7. Avoid fragrance: Use essential oil based candles, perfume, cleaners, detergents instead!
8. Optimize your bowel movements! Optimal is 1-3 times daily.

What do you do to support your body’s natural detoxification processes?

6 Ways to Naturally Overcome Seasonal Affective Disorder

What is seasonal affective disorder

Seasonal affective disorder (SAD) is a type of depression related to the seasons. It is also called “winter depression” as it typically starts around fall and continues through winter. In most cases, symptoms of SAD go away as the days grow longer and sunnier.

It typically occurs in individuals age 18 to 30 years old, and is more common in women.

Your Health Matters Every Day

Hi all! And Happy New Year! To start off this New Year I have a guest on the blog — Jennifer McGregor! Jennifer McGregor co-created Public Health Library to make it easier for people to find high quality health info. She is a pre-med student who enjoys writing about health and medical topics to help the readers find reputable health resources.

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We all do it. We notice we’ve gained some weight, so we started dieting. Our skin starts to look bad, so we invest in makeup and face creams. But, if you take care of yourself every day, you’ll find that you don’t have to take corrective action for your health quite as often. Especially if you suffer from chronic pain. Here are some great ways to prioritize yourself all the time.

Get more sleep

The benefits of getting a solid 7 to 8 hours of sleep each night are many. Your skin will look better, you’ll have more energy, and you may even suffer from fewer aches and pains since nighttime is when your body recovers from muscle strain. You’ll also enjoy the side effects of REM sleep, which is restorative to the mind. Give yourself enough time to rest each night. To promote better sleep, you should keep your room cool and dark. It can also help to do some decluttering in your bedroom and using a hypoallergenic pillow.

Take your vitamins

There are many different types of chronic pain, and no matter what you suffer with, chances are, you can benefit from keeping your body properly nourished. While this is accomplished primarily through foods, certain supplements, such as 5-HTP, riboflavin, and turmeric, may help ease symptoms. Those who suffer with daily pain might also consider solutions like taking ginger and glucosamine. 

Meditate

Chronic pain and stress are two conditions that tend to overlap. And there is little doubt that stress can exacerbate pain. For this reason, it makes sense to take proactive measures to reduce stress in your life. Per Mayo Clinic, meditation is one of these. When you meditate, you connect your mind and body. You gain a new perspective on the things that cause you anxiety and you can transfer your attention from negative to positive feelings. While this may not eliminate your pain altogether, it will help you cope.

Limit stress

Stress and chronic pain are definitely intertwined, and high levels of stress can exacerbate pain. While reducing stress in this day and age can feel like an impossible task, there are small changes you can make that truly add up. For example, try saying “no” more often so you’re not overextended, or you could try journaling to get worries out on paper. You could also deep clean your home and clear clutter so your home remains a refuge from stress. You can even find ways to outsource help around the house so you’re not overwhelmed. There are myriad ways to reduce stress, so find your sweet spot and make it work. 

Exercise

The thought of regular exercise when you live with chronic pain may sound challenging. However, exercise can make a significant difference in your pain levels and your overall physical well-being. Activities like walking, yoga, strength training and bicycling can be great choices to help those with chronic pain stay active. Plus, with the advent of smartwatches, you can track your exercise and even monitor your sleep so you can see the results of your efforts in real-time and stay accountable. 

Eat anti-inflammatory

You’ve likely heard of the arthritis diet, but you do not have to suffer with arthritis to enjoy the perks of eating anti-inflammatory foods. For instance, you can start eating a Mediterranean diet, which can lower your blood pressure and curb inflammation. It may even lead to weight loss, which, if you are significantly overweight, can help reduce tension and strain on your joints. A Mediterranean diet isn’t boring, and includes fish, fruits and vegetables, beans, grains, and olive oil. Rossella’s Farmacy has a number of great nutrition articles and recipes to help you develop a better, healthier diet.

When you live each day in pain, you have to do everything you can to reduce this for your mental and physical health. The changes above are easy to implement and won’t interfere with your current lifestyle. They are all simple self-care strategies that will go a long way toward helping you live your best, pain-free life.

What ways do you plan to incorporate self-care into your life this year? Share below!

How to Prevent Dry Skin & Stay Hydrated This Winter

As winter approaches us, we humans tend to neglect hydration. Some believe hydration is not as essential as during the summer since we are not sweating as much, while others opt for warm diuretic-containing beverages such as coffee and tea (guilty). However, these cold-weather months can be extremely dry, wicking the moisture from our skin. The skin on my face and hands has already started to feel the effects of it. This is all the more reason to keep the momentum going and continue our healthy hydration practices from the hot summer months!

There are several ways we can help our bodies maintain hydration besides simply drinking water. I will outline some of my favorite, winter-friendly strategies below:

Dry Skin Brushing: Benefits & How to Do It

We all brush our teeth and even hair, but have you ever brushed your skin? Perhaps you weren’t even aware this was a thing!

Dry brushing is a practice that has been gaining popularity, and for good reason! It is the practice of quite literally brushing your skin with a firm brush, typically before taking a shower. I started this habit several weeks ago and have noticed softer skin, but there are many other more significant benefits as well worth note.

How to Supercharge Your Detoxification Systems

On a daily basis we are exposed to hundreds of different toxins. They are found in the air we breathe, water we drink, food we eat, and even the different products we expose our skin to. Our body has natural fighting systems to clear out these toxins such as our lymphatic system and liver. However, our lifestyle choices can determine how efficient these systems work. Although detoxification is a naturally occurring process, there are many steps you can take to raise the level of efficiency. Supporting your daily detoxification processes is essential to prevent disease and feel your best!

Top Foods and Habits For A Healthy Brain

Most of us know someone with some type of neurological disease. Globally, neurological disease accounts for over 6% of disease burden, and it can be extremely traumatic for both the individual and their family. Diseases such as epilepsy, Parkinson’s disease, dementia, multiple sclerosis (MS), stroke, and headache disorders all fall into this category.

At the present, conventional medicine lacks effective and long-term treatments for most of these diseases, and most are seen as irreversible. Prevention is by far the best option. To keep our nervous system healthy and functioning optimally, we must keep channels of communication open between the gut and the brain. This is referred to as the gut-brain axis. A healthy intestinal microbiome facilitates efficient communication between the gut and the brain. Therefore, supporting our microbiome with good nutrition is key. Stress, certain medications, inadequate sleep, junk food, and vitamin deficiencies can all impact your microbiome and cause your “good bacteria” to be replaced by “bad bacteria”. Below I will dive into some of my favorite foods and habits to help optimize brain health and function.

How to Maintain Healthy Eating Habits While Traveling

Maintaining a healthy routine while traveling and on-the-go can be a challenge. This past month I was activated in the Air National Guard to provide assistance in the fight against COVID-19. During this one month period I lived out of a hotel room, which hosted only a mini fridge and microwave. While many of the other military men and women I was working with lived off fast food and donations of chips, pop, and canned tuna, I was fortunate to be able to maintain an eating lifestyle similar to what I live at home. This is how I did it.

My Top Tips and Supplements to Boost Your Immunity Naturally

With cold and flu season still upon us and COVID-19 starting to really fire up, maintaining a top notch immune system is important for protecting not only ourselves, but our family and friends as well. While maintaining good hygiene (i.e. hand washing) is very important, developing and sustaining healthy lifestyle practices is vital for optimizing your immune system so it is strong when times such as this should occur. Below are some of the top ways I have managed to stay healthy and avoid both the cold and flu for TWO years straight (knock on wood)!

Meal Planning 101 for Diabetics

A new diagnosis of diabetes can be scary. Individuals often leave their doctors office knowing little to nothing about the disease, feeling completely overwhelmed, and provided only a few words along the lines of “your blood sugar is abnormally high so now you need to check it on a regular basis”. You may be experiencing crazy symptoms like excessive thirst and hunger, fatigue, frequent urination, and maybe even blurry vision. You might be told you need to improve your diet, exercise, and lose weight, but are not explained even the slightest how.

Who can relate to this? Over the years I have dealt with numerous patients who have stepped into my office knowing nothing about their disease or how to control it. Well today I am going to help solve that issue and discuss diabetes meal prep basics.

“What the heck can I eat?”

Whether you’re a new diabetic or have had diabetes for 30 years, it is important to understand how foods will affect your body and impact your blood sugar. Let me introduce you to the diabetes plate method. This is a way of helping you to control your portions of starchy, carbohydrate containing foods. It also will help you be more mindful of what you are putting on your plate.