Little things lead to big things...

Hello loves! Last time we spoke, about 2 weeks ago, I was not feeling so awesome. I was feeling pretty shitty, in fact- let's just be honest here, sometimes this wellness journey is bumpy and rough and full of setbacks and you just want to throw in the towel and eat a bunch of crap and feel sorry for yourself. And then, hopefully, you only do that for a little bit and then you snap the hell out of it. I had my snap the hell out of it moment right about when I wrote the last blog post- I just felt like, here I am trying to help people get better, to feel well again, to share my story, and I am not listening to my own words! But a big part of sharing your story is sharing your WHOLE story, and sometimes, we feel like crap. Sometimes we have setbacks... sometimes, we feel uninspired and fat and tired and overwhelmed. We are human. The important part is to always remember all the good work we have done, and not get to wrapped up in the "what we are doing wrong right now". Because these setbacks, they are not wrong if they teach us something. For me, it was not eating in the best way (hello too many gluten free pizzas and a few too many nights that involved a glass or two of wine) and not making sleep and self care/love my priority. My back locked up (stress + bad habits always do this to me) and it was a pretty loud and clear message that I was not doing even close to my best to take care of myself. My body (and I bet yours too, if you listen) is really good at yelling at me when I am not doing my best to take care of myself. So I took note, and I decided to change a few things, to get back on track. And I am happy to say, the little steps I have been taking are making me feel AWESOME. About two days after my revelation two weeks ago, after I had recommitted to self care, I started feeling WAY BETTER. Leaps and bounds way better. Energy, mood, digestion... it all bounced back so quickly (because of all the hard work -groundwork- I have done in the last few years to get better) and really motivated me to keep it up. I wanted to share this with you today, and tell you about the little steps I committed to that helped me get back on track and facilitated major awesomeness feelings. Here they are, in no particular order:

1. Cut out the crap: My eating had been sliding quite a bit- a few too many gluten free pizzas, way too many "treats" (even paleo treats and gluten free treats are too much sugar- honey, coconut sugar, agave, it's all still sugar), and my once in a while glass of wine had turned into a once an evening glass of wine... it all added up to me feeling bloated and tired and having some breakouts, none of which I like dealing with. So I cut it all out. No more booze, scaled waaaaay back on the treats, and went back to the diet that makes me feel the best (for me it's Paleo, but I don't care what you do, as long as you eat food that makes you feel fantastic- energy after you eat, not sluggish, no digestive complaints- real food, no packaged crap or fast crap with questionable ingredients). I made the crock pot my best friend (again)- when you feel crappy and tired, you probably have little motivation to cook some amazing fresh meal for yourself, so let your crock pot do it for you. It's amazing what a few nights of crock-potted stew made with all fresh ingredients for dinner will do for your energy and motivation. Once you start feeling a little more energy, you can start back up in the kitchen and not rely on the crock pot so much (or whatever, just use that little guy as much as you can!). Also, for me, I have found that if I want to feel at my absolute best, I must cut out alcohol. I am not a crazy boozer, but I do enjoy wine- alas, I get a hangover from even two small glasses of wine (I've always been bad at processing alcohol, and it's only gotten worse as I've gotten older), so it was time to cut it out (again) completely. I am not telling you that you must cut out booze to feel great (although, I am pretty sure across the board you will if you do) but I am telling you to take a look at your habits and pinpoint where you are not treating yourself optimally. If your glass of wine in the evening a few nights a week doesn't make you feel slightly foggy the next morning like it does to me, then good on ya... I just know my body functions so much better without it. Whatever your body doesn't like, cut it out. No ifs ands or buts. I promise it's worth it.

2. Prioritize your sleep: I know, you hear this all the time. I know, you are so busy. Get over yourself. You must sleep, and you must do it every day for a good long chunk of time. If you don't prioritize sleep, you will not feel well. Period. It's non-negotiable on a wellness journey. Commit to going to bed at a certain time (for me, it's in bed reading by 9pm) and stick to it. It will be hard. Some things may not get done because you prioritize bedtime. But you will be way more alert, happy, and actually able to function better and do more with your time if you have slept well. Don't give me your excuses, just do it.

3. Go easy on yourself: I am carrying around about 15 extra pounds that I would love to get rid of. I hate seeing my love handles in the mirror, and I feel crappy that my favorite jeans are pretty tight at the moment. Because we are actively trying to get pregnant, now is not a great time for me to go on a crazy weight loss quest. I am upping my exercise a bit, and committing to eating better, and then just letting the rest be what it is. I have been trying to talk to my body every day, and thank it for all the amazing things it does for me (even with those pesky 15 lbs!). I can walk my dog for 5 miles and not get winded. I can dance with my husband. I can run after my favorite almost 4 year old. I can get up in the morning! Those are all infinite victories. Screw worrying about the 15lbs. I may lose it, or it will be extra padding for the baby I hopefully will be carrying around soon. No matter what, I am thankful for my breath and my body. And sometimes we need to remind ourselves of this everyday, and instead of punishing ourselves (pizza, anyone?) because we feel bad about ourselves, we need to accept where we are and thank the sky above that we are even here in the first place! (preach it girl!)

So there you go- little things lead to big things. Today I am feeling amazing -and that is why we are all here, on this wellness journey together. To feel amazing. I hope you are feeling awesome these days, and if you are not, I hope this post finds you and motivates you. As always, if you have questions please feel free to leave me a comment! Much love!

Three natural ways to support your lymphatic system through the cold months.

Holy crap it's almost November!!!! and I haven't blogged in TWO MONTHS!!!! sorry for the hiatus loves! But we're back! Today I am going to just jump right in- I haven't been my best wellness warrior over the past two months, I won't lie, and it's time to get back on track! Back to home cooked meals, back to journaling, back to running around in the fresh air and playing with my dog... back to focusing on being well. Sometimes, when we fall off the wellness wagon, it can be tempting to do a "cleanse". To some of you that may mean a juice cleanse, or some kind of restrictive eating where you are not providing your body with enough nutrients in order to "cleanse" the system. I have talked about it before, but if you haven't heard me say this, here you go- I am not a fan of a cleanse where you are restricting nutrients and calories. I think a fresh vegetable juice is a wonderful addition to a healthy lifestyle (in moderation, and in the right time of year/temperature- juice is extremely cold to the system and this time of year you want to keep your system nice and warm to help your immune system function properly). Eating properly prepared whole foods, with lots of healthy yummy fats and incorporating bone broth into your meals (or just drink a mug of it like I do!) daily are great ways of supporting your wellness goals this time of year- but there are other things you can do to help your body gently detox daily, that help support your immune system and well being that don't involve food. I am going to outline three of those things today.

The lymphatic system is part of your immune system, and happy and flowing lymph fluid is vital to your health. If your lymphatic system is moving sluggishly (due to an overabundance of processed foods weighing your digestion and elimination down or too much sitting and not enough moving your body on a regular basis) your immune system will suffer. We all want happy energetic lymphocytes! Lymphatic "cleansing" can be a great tool in the winter months to keep your body happy and healthy. Here are three ways that I (try) to support my lymphatic system daily:

1. Dry skin brushing: Dry skin brushing is a simple way to encourage better lymphatic flow, and it might be the easiest of the three things I am going to talk about here to incorporate into your daily life. Dry skin brushing before you shower in the morning is a great way to support skin health (gentle exfoliation) as well as stimulating your lymphatic system. Grab your self a natural bristle dry skin brush (they have them at places like Whole Foods) and brush your skin, starting at your feet, in long gentle strokes, always moving towards your heart. I raise my hands in the air and brush down my arms, under my armpits, towards my heart, and up my legs, over my belly and booty, towards my heart. If you have areas with cellulite (who doesn't??!!), you can go a little harder with the brush strokes in those spots- cellulite is partially a build up of lymph, plus fat cells, and dry brushing can help move it out. Jump in the shower when you are done and enjoy your glowy skin!

2. Castor oil packs: The Castor oil pack is a long used home remedy to support many areas of health. Using castor oil packs over your digestive system can help with digestive issues, and using them over your uterus when you have PMS can alleviate cramps. I used them to help dissipate my ovarian cyst, and use them for menstrual issues most months. They are also very cleansing to the lymphatic system, via the liver, so putting a castor oil pack over the liver can help cleanse the liver and make it easier for it to filter out the junk that the lymphatic system is asking it to process and get rid of. Castor oil is a very powerful plant oil that "removes things" from your system- I use it in my oil blend that I use for oil cleansing my face, it pulls gunk out of the pores, and it is also an effective laxative because of it's ability to "pull stuff out". I am not going to get into the science behind the Castor plant here, suffice to say it is a potent natural remedy. Only do a castor oil pack for 30-45 minutes, and don't do them multiple days in a row- one every other day for a few days is enough, one week out of the month. Don't do them for cramps when you are actively bleeding heavily during your period, because they can cause you to move more blood then your body should. (Ps. the picture above is of the humble and powerful Castor plant). Directions for administration of Castor oil packs:

(Castor oil is very thick and stains, so be sure you are doing this in clothes that you're not worried about, and lay on a towel while doing it)

Spread a thick layer of ORGANIC Castor oil over the area you want to treat (intestines, stomach, uterus, liver, etc). Take a thin old towel or piece of flannel and lay it over the area with Castor oil on it, and lay a hot water bottle on top of that, that is as warm as you can handle (no electric heating pads, only a hot water bottle - old school style, one of those red rubber ones, they have them at the drugstore). Allow the hot water bottle to sit on the area for 30-45 minutes, and then remove and clean the castor oil off your body (you may need to shower to get it off your skin). I keep my Castor oil pack flannel in a jar in the fridge, and use it over and over again without cleaning it (Castor oil is very hard to wash out of cloth) until it's done (about 10 uses). Do that every other day for one week out of the month.

3. Rebounding! Yes, rebounding is just a fancy way of saying jumping on a trampoline. The movement of rebounding specifically targets the lymphatic system, and basically gently jolts it into flowing better. I bought a rebounder from amazon for about 50 dollars, and I jump on it for about 10 minutes most days. It is a great thing to do before you dry brush your skin in the morning, and is really refreshing and fun!

So there you have it, three ways to support your lymphatic system, which helps to maintain a healthy immune system, during the fall and winter months. There are so many ways to cleanse your system, and I hope you will try one of these (or all of these) methods to help keep your lymphocytes happy! Happy brushing, castor oil packing, and jumping! Please let me know if you try any of these and what you think!

To everything there is a season... Ways to support your health as summer transitions to fall.

Yes, yes, I know, I know, we are going to talk about fall and it is August 20th?!!! You may think I am crazy, but just stay with me here. In my last post I talked about listening to your body, listening to its rhythms and its signals. This post will expand on that- I am going to talk about listening to the earth and its rhythms, and how these clues can help us stay happy and healthy in each season. Yes it is only August 20th, we are a full month away from the autumn equinox- but many ancient health modalities (Traditional Chinese Medicine, Ayurveda) consider this time in the year to be transitional. You can just feel a hint of change in the air. Here in Santa Cruz the last few days have been a little blustery, a little bit cooler, and we even had a little rain! It's not cold by any means, but you can feel it, that charge, the beginning of change. This is THE time to transition your body, as the seasons transition, to keep yourself well and your immune system healthy and ready for all that fall and winter have to offer (i.e: flu, being stuck indoors, colds, etc). Transition happens slowly for the seasons, and it should happen slowly for you too, as you adjust your eating habits and lifestyle habits to mirror what is going on externally in the climate around you. In Ayurveda, it is the transitional time between Pitta and Vata season (I am not going to introduce you to Ayurveda, it is a huge subject and so fascinating, and if you are interested I suggest a google search and a Dosha quiz). Pitta season (summer time) is dominated by heat (this is extremely simplistic, it is much more complex but because I don't want to write a book length blog post I am going to keep it very simple) and Vata season (fall/winter) is primarily dominated by air (i.e: dryness, wind). It makes sense if you think about it- hot and humid summer season, fall and winter season that requires a scarf and sweater. Now is the time to transition from raw food, salads, and cooling drinks, to warmer cooked foods, soups, and warm drinks. Doing this will support your immune system and your overall health as the days get cooler. So, as you wellness warriors now have your ears perked up to what the earth is telling you, and you can sense the cool wind creeping in during the evenings, here are some suggestions to help transition your body and mind during the transition to fall:

-Herbal teas like Dandelion and Burdock root tea in the evenings help gently cleanse the body, and support healthy immune function. These herbs help the liver and kidney to function at their best, and that in turn means better sleep, better skin, better digestion, better hormonal function... In Ayurveda, herbs that are considered liver tonifiers (such as Dandelion) help cleanse excess Pitta (heat) out of the system. Tulsi tea is a great herbal tea that calms vata in the body, and is a good tonic for this time of year.

-Slowly transition to warm, cooked foods. Not all at once, but start thinking about cooked breakfasts and cooked dinners, instead of focusing on raw salad, raw fruit, smoothies, juices, etc. When I talk about cold foods, I mean temperature cold as well as the nature of the food itself- in TCM and Ayurveda, fruit juice even at room temperature is considered cold in the body. Green tea is considered cooling to the body. I know this seems like a strange concept to anyone who doesn't have experience with either of these practices, but it really is true. For example, take green tea. You (most likely) drink it hot. So temperature wise it is hot. But the nature of the herb (in TCM/Ayurveda green tea is a herb, but all foods are looked at this way) is cooling and astringent- that is why sometimes green tea makes peoples throat feel dry! This is a case where you need to listen to your body and see how you are affected by a certain food or beverage. Another example is coffee- coffee is considered HOT HOT HOT regardless of the temperature it is when you consume it. It can cause heartburn, acid stomach, and shakiness, which are all symptoms of the "hot" quality of coffee itself. Long story short, start to transition your eating habits to more cooked, warming foods (cooked foods, foods spiced with warming spices, ginger tea). Broth is an excellent thing to start making and consuming now as the seasons change, it will warm you and really helps keep that immune system up. It is also a good time to stop drinking cold water, and sip warmed lemon water throughout your day to keep you hydrated and just a bit warmer. Also, a slight side note: eating cooked, warming foods (no cold juice or dairy, no raw cold veggies) is super important for children in this time of year. Children's immune systems are (in general) not as strong as adults, and this will help them greatly to resist the many bugs they come into contact with- especially if you have a child that gets sick a lot, warm foods with lots of broth, minimal cold dairy and cold raw fruits and veggies seriously supports their immune system.

-Up your healthy oil game: I hope you oil pull (see my old post about it if you don't), and if you do, now is a good time to transition from coconut oil to sesame oil (ALWAYS ORGANIC!!). Sesame oil specifically warms the sinuses and helps keeps your sinus cavities healthy and happy. And just as some extra protection against the dryness of the season (Vata), dab a little bit of sesame oil in your nostrils and your ears after you use your neti pot and oil pull in the morning- it protects the ears from bacteria, and a little oil in the nostrils after the morning neti pot to clean the nose/sinuses helps to prevent bacteria and viruses from sticking to the mucous membranes in your nose. Now is also a good time to make sure you are getting your daily healthy oils/fats (I take a tablespoon of ghee daily, but you can use olive oil or sesame oil). Taking oil daily helps with internal and external oleation- it will help keep you regular and help keep your skin nice and moist (Vata imbalances can manifest as constipation, dry skin, etc).

-Cover that neck! We all know that you can't actually get a cold from being cold (because, well... SCIENCE!)... buuutttt... it is widely recommended in Ayurveda and TCM that when it is windy, you cover the back of your neck. This is where "wind" gets into the body, and can cause immune weakness. I am sure you are thinking "okay Steph, that's a bit out there"- and honestly, I thought so too when my acupuncturist insisted that I always have a scarf. But trust me, it works. I am sometimes the crazy girl with a tank top and scarf on, because it is warm and windy- I want to make sure I protect my neck and keep my immune system humming. And I do have to say, since I have been doing it for the last year I haven't gotten sick (knock on wood!)- I have also become the girl with all the pretty scarves!

So here we are, at the end of summer, when the light takes on that beautiful orange color, and the wind very gently starts to rustle in the trees, when everything is still warm and summery, but touched with a hint of fall... this is the time to listen and watch the seasonal change, and listen and watch as that is reflected in your body. If you gently and nourishingly transition your lifestyle habits to support this change in season, you will notice that the start of flu season might pass you by without a hiccup. It's all about understanding that our bodies are part of the earth, and honoring that. Now go out and enjoy this last bit of warmth and sun before it's really time for fireplaces and sweaters!

From Functional to Flourishing: the first step is just to listen...

I have so many things I want to talk about for this series "From Functional to Flourishing",  and they are all bouncing around in my head- my notebook is getting quite full of ideas, but I think before we delve into the things we need to do to "get well", first we have to acknowledge where we are right now. REALLY where we are. Not "I'm fine" or "everything's okay". We need to listen to ourselves. Okay, I know that sounds cheesy, but it doesn't make it untrue. Maybe you get headaches. When? Is there a time of day it happens? Why? Is there a food, or an emotion, or something that is triggering the headaches that you aren't noticing? Maybe your skin breaks out. Where on your face does it break out? Forehead? Chin? Does it happen after you eat something in particular? Is it during a specific time in the month? Maybe your neck hurts. When does it hurt? does it hurt after physical activity, or does it hurt when you are emotionally stressed? We have all had stuff in our lives, where we know what the physical issue is, but we don't really understand why it is happening. I had crazy migraines, and it took me years to figure out that gluten triggered them. My neck and shoulders were always sore and painful, and it took me years (and the help of a great therapist) to understand that it wasn't just because of certain physical movements, it was because of specific emotional stressors. You are probably thinking right now "okay Steph, listen to your body, blah blah blah we get it". But if you feel unwell, tired, crappy, you may know some of the reasons why, but I would be willing to bet you don't know all of the reasons. So here is the first step- Listen. Really listen. Have a cup of coffee, and afterward pay close attention to how you feel. Does your throat feel dry? Does your stomach feel a little acidic? Does it make you feel jittery? This step is not about eliminating anything, it is about really taking a look at ourselves to see how things are really affecting us- even so called "little things".  Do you eat rice and feel bloated and gassy? Do you eat cheese and have a stuffy nose? Do you speak to a specific person and then have a headache come on? It is easy enough to say "I get headaches". Sometimes it is not as easy to acknowledge "I get headaches after I eat ____". You may just not notice what the triggers are, and now is the time to figure it out. Once you can put the " _____ causes _____ " puzzle together, taking the steps to get well is so much easier.

So, take a week. Don't change your life at all, don't change your diet or your routine, just listen. Write it down. Write down everything so you remember! Everything you put in your mouth, the things you do in the day (good or bad), write it down and then observe how you feel and write that down too. Went for a hike? Feel great? Write it down. Had a pizza? feel bloated? have a zit or two pop up the next day? write it down! Take a week and chronicle your life (come on, it's one week, you can do it) -you would be surprised at all the things you eat and do that you don't even think about. At the end of the week, take a look at what you observed- When you eat tomatoes, you get heartburn later on. When you eat a cold beverage or smoothie, your throat gets sore. When you eat dairy, your eyes are goopy the next morning (my acupuncturist calls this "ice cream eyes!"). I would be willing to bet you don't pay this close of attention to your body, and trust me you need to. These are all subtle signs that things are slightly amiss. Now, heartburn here or there may not be a big deal to you now, but these are signs that the body is unhappy with something, and not amending it can lead to long term affects that are more serious.

The path to feeling well begins with listening. Listen to your heart and your gut (literally and figuratively), and all the other organs that are trying to tell you something. Understanding our triggers is the first step to understanding what it takes to be well, and to know your triggers you must first take the time to really listen to your body- listen to all the little things it tells you that you'd rather just ignore. You'll find after a little bit that your body tells you loud and clear what it does want and does not want, and by listening you honor the place inside you that strives to be well, to feel better, to vibrate on a higher plane.

Please give the week of listening and documenting a try, and please let me know in the comments or on Facebook if you do this and what you find- I would love to hear from you! Be well.

moving back to happy...

Hi everyone! Apologies for the two month hiatus, it has been a doozy of a few months. I said goodbye to my dear sweet Cosmo on June 1st, and was so grateful to be able to be with her, safe and warm and at home when she moved out of our world. It has been rough adjusting to her being gone- I didn't realize how much energy one tiny little cat contributed to our household until she was gone. I still catch glimpses of her out of the corner of my eye in our house sometimes, and I find comfort in knowing she had a great life. We buried her right out in the garden, with a big pink dahlia on top of her grave.

I have also been dealing with some health issues, and since this is a health related blog and I strive to be open with my life and struggles, I will explain what has been going on. I have been dealing with pelvic pain and benign ovarian cysts for a while now, and have been using acupuncture to help treat these issues. In late May, I had an ovulation that was excruciatingly painful, and was able to see the doctor the first week of June for an ultrasound. I was fearing that my cyst had returned- but not so. My right ovary had hemorrhaged during ovulation (hence the pain) and the blood was not moving out of my ovary. My doctor (who is wonderful) explained that there is no western diagnosis or treatment for such a thing, but that clearly something was/is going on with my ovarian health- he seemed to think that after being on birth control pills for so long (12 years), my body is still learning how to make hormones, ovulate properly, etc. (When you take hormonal contraception, your body doesn't have to do things like make hormones because the pill supplies them already, so when taken for a long time to body stops making hormones, which facilitate things such as proper ovulation, and it can take a long time for the body to relearn how to do all this when you remove the artificial hormone source from you system). My doctor suggested acupuncture to treat this, which I was glad to hear because I currently use acupuncture to treat the other issues (cysts, etc). I have a fabulous acupuncturist who specializes in women's health and fertility, and we set up a plan to remove stagnation from my reproductive organs and clean out all the old stuff that is preventing my body from functioning properly. It has been interesting treatment, and I have made a lot of progress in the short amount of time we have been addressing the hemorrhage. It was painful recovery and I felt like I was a water balloon ready to pop at any moment (major bloating) for the entire month of June, but I am starting to feel better and I can see positive changes in my health recently. I am hopeful that a healthy lifestyle (good food, good rest, good mental health practices) plus targeted acupuncture and herbs will get me on track and hopefully pregnant by the end of this year!

It was my 33rd birthday yesterday, and my husband has been off work all last week and this week as well. We have been doing lots of celebrating- we hiked to the top of Fremont Peak and stood on 300 million (!!!!) year old marble looking out over the entire Salinas Valley, Monterey Bay and even back towards Gilroy... we had a decadent dinner at La Posta in Santa Cruz...we spent an afternoon wine tasting at Alfaro winery in Corralitos, and this week we are planning a day in Big Sur. This time has been wonderful to just get some joy back, to lift a bit of the sadness of Cosmo passing and the frustration of my health issues, and I am feeling well. I haven't felt like blogging much, but I feel my mojo coming back, and writing is feeling good again.

I hope everyone is well and enjoying our beautiful summer (whilst conserving water!). I am going to take the rest of this vacation off from writing and will be back next week with a fresh new post to get myself back in the blogging game. Happy Summer!

Life's sunsets...

Just a quick update today- people have asked about the next blog installment, and I wanted to let you know what is going on and why I haven't posted this week. Our beloved cat, Cosmo, is making her exit from this world right now. She is 15 years old, and has kidney failure and a lung tumor that is restricting her ability to breathe. We have known that she had not a lot of time left for awhile, but in the last few years she has bounced back incredibly from multiple health issues, so we weren't sure if this downturn was the final downturn... now we are sure. She seems to be free of pain, and we are just trying to keep her warm and cozy until she decides to make her exit. I will update the blog next week after she moves on and we have had some time to say goodbye to our beloved little girl who has been with us for so long. Thanks for all of the well wishes some of you have already given me. Death is part of life, and I am trying to honor it and her as best as I know how.

From Functional to Flourishing: Part One- the first steps

Hello Loves! Here we are today, ready to jump into the new series I will be writing, "From Functional to Flourishing". As I said in my last post, I have gotten many requests lately from friends and internet readers who are feeling crappy and don't know where/how to start feeling better. I SO UNDERSTAND HOW YOU FEEL! Two years ago, I was sick, stressed, frustrated and exhausted with no idea how to change my life in order to not be those things! It can be so overwhelming to change anything about your life when you are feeling crappy, and you may defeat yourself by trying too much at once and failing and thinking that you can't get it together so you just don't try. Now I understand that little changes can facilitate big changes, so I encourage everyone to start small- you probably don't have the energy for big! I am going to break this series up into a bunch of posts on different things, but today I am just going to start with 2 easy things for you to incorporate into your life right now- baby steps, right?

(I have to put this out there- I AM NOT A DOCTOR. If you feel unwell, see a doctor. I encourage you to see a Naturopath rather then a conventional doctor, but do not rely on the internet to solve your issues. Everything I say here is only based on my personal experience, and may not work for you.)

I am a firm believer that food can heal you or harm you, so that is the first place I am going to focus on. Many people have asked about cleanses- do I do them, how do I do them, what do I think of them...? In my mind, there are two different ideas floating around about what a "cleanse" is. Some people think it's a juice fast or the Master Cleanse. Others think it is a pure whole foods based plan (like Whole 30 or the 21 Day Sugar Detox). I believe a fast is different then a cleanse. A fast (consuming only juice or liquids for a set amount of time) sets most people up for failure. We need whole food. Period. In my opinion, you only screw with your metabolism when you fast to "cleanse", and if you go right back to eating pizza and beer after you juice cleanse, you really haven't helped yourself at all. A whole foods cleanse where you can set yourself up for a new way of eating/a new mindset about food permanently is going to be much better for your health, because it sets up a healthier lifestyle rather then restricting for a few days and then going right back to where you were. I of course think fresh pressed veggie juice is a part of a healthy diet, but it shouldn't be your whole diet. This brings me to my first baby step to thriving:

DITCH THE PROCESSED FOODS! In my next post I am going to talk about elimination diets and what you can do to feel better via specific foods, but today I just want to start slow with all this... If it comes in a bag or box and it has more then 2 ingredients (I am not talking about dried pasta or beans or flour and things like that) DO NOT EAT IT. No processed salad dressing (oil and vinegar is a winning homemade combo that is super quick and lacks all that extra sugar and chemicals and processed crap that store bought salad dressing has), no cheese puffs, no crackers, etc. Shop around the outside of the grocery store (dairy, fruits and veggies, meat, bulk bins for beans, nuts, etc) and stay away from the inside isles that are full of junk (even at health food stores, organic packaged food is still processed!). You can have easy, lovely meals with beans and spices and veggies thrown into a crock pot in the morning for dinner that evening that taste better then the packaged equivalent and it will be so much better for your body. Just walk away from shelf stable foods. It will take a little bit more time to cook rice and veggies and meat, or crock pot a stew, or chop veggies for a fresh salad then it would to microwave a dinner, but you are going to have to start somewhere and this is it! Invest in a crock pot, it is by far the easiest way to get fresh food when you have no energy to spend a bunch of time in the kitchen- and make extra so you can freeze it and have a ready meal when you need it!

Second baby step to thriving:
Drink a cup of warm water with lemon in it right when you get up in the morning. I drink 16 ounces of warm water with a half a lemon squeezed into it every morning, and this goes a long way to helping you feel well. Even if you are a coffee drinker, I am not telling you (right now at least) to stop drinking coffee- just start with a cup of warm lemon water first. The warm water hydrates and activates your digestion, and the lemon is very cleansing to the liver (and helps your skin glow). After sleeping all night, your body is dehydrated, so putting warm water into it straight away will do you good. I find that it helps my bowels to move properly, and actually gives me energy because it hydrates my body quickly.

So that is it for today: no more processed food, and warm lemon water in the morning. Start there, and please let me know how it goes and how you are feeling! Next week I am going to talk about elimination diets and removing inflammatory foods to foster wellness. Until then, have a fabulous packaged food free weekend!

Wellness series: Radiate

Hello Blog readers! Happy May! The month of April has flown by, and mine was filled with lots of awesome stuff- visits from beloved friends with their new babies (the best kind of visits!), a re-commitment to a way of eating that helps me thrive (back to the Paleo template and feeling great), a new acupuncturist who specializes in and is treating us for Fertility (which has been super interesting and we have seen lots of positive changes already), and a huge new addition to our garden project (even more yummy food growing this year!). In the last week or so, I have gotten 4 requests from friends and blog readers who are trying to start down the path to wellness, and are looking for some "where to start" guidance. It seems more then a coincidence that I have been asked about this repeatedly recently, and I started mulling over the idea of doing a sort of "where to start when you feel like crap" series to highlight what worked for me and give some easy recommendations for starting your journey back to feeling well. I am going to try and focus on basics that will work for everyone- it is so overwhelming when you feel like crap and know you need to eat better/heal your gut/deal with your life/get more energy, etc etc etc- feeling terrible and trying to do so much at once to change is unmanageable and will just make most people throw in the towel right away. It's all about little steps that then add up to big changes. Nothing is going to change overnight, but you can and will get to a place where you think to yourself "hey, I haven't had a headache in a few days... and I didn't even notice" (or something similar, that was just my first experience with starting to feel better). I will break it up into categories, such as food, hormones, sleep/stress, supplements/herbs, and mind/emotional work... something along those lines - this is a fluid process, so I don't have it all totally mapped out now. Food will be the first topic, as that I feel food is the most important part of any healing journey. Food has the capacity to help us to thrive or help us to die, and I firmly support letting food be thy medicine... So my next post will focus on that. Today I just want to suggest something a little "woo woo" (that's the phase we use when I talk about something hippie-dippie around these parts), but something that I used as a tool when I began my healing journey (so bear with me, we are about to get flowery and mystical up in here!). I am a reader and a writer by nature, so words and images are very powerful to me. I love the sounds of certain words, and the colors and images that they invoke. Even just thinking about a word or an image can change your mindset (think mantra or power phrases) and focus your brain. When I started trying to get better, I sat down one day and thought "what do I want? in one word, what do I want to feel?" and I started writing down all these words that were inspiring to me in terms of wellness... such as "heal", "thrive", "nourish", etc. I picked my favorite of those words, and wrote it in colored markers on a piece of paper in my journal (you could just do this on a piece of paper too) and doodled pretty things around it, and it became my mantra- when I felt like shit or felt like eating something that I knew would make me feel sick or when I felt like I couldn't get a handle on my emotions, I envisioned my word. It helped center me, helped to remind me why I was trying to motivate to cook dinner instead of grabbing packaged food. I know you are probably all smiling a little smile and thinking "Oh Steph, you're so cute you are such a hippie", and while that is true, it really did change something for me. And it might work for you. It is really easy to get overwhelmed by the bad stuff when you are feeling unwell ("I always feel crappy and I won't ever feel better so I am just going to resign myself to feeling like this because cancer is unavoidable and the world is horrible" etc etc etc)- it is good to have a little mental gong of sorts, to bang on and remind yourself that you can get better and you will get better. If that sounds crazy to you, no worries, I get it, but it worked for me and I still use my word frequently to motivate me to keep moving towards thriving.

So we begin the wellness series with a word. I will share mine with you, feel free to use it or to come up with your own. When I asked myself what I wanted, when I was feeling completely sick and bogged down and in a big mud puddle of unwell, I decided I wanted to radiate. Bright beautiful light, radiating on everything and making everything warm and sunny and nourished. So I leave you with that today, go out into the world and RADIATE! Even if all you can muster up today is a smile at a stranger, or a compliment to a friend who is exhausted too, do it and radiate and feel a little glimmer of a glow. And feel free to chuckle at my hippie dippie-ness while you think it :)

A skin clearing "latte" that tastes almost as good as the real thing...

The humble dandelion. Who knew such a cute little weed could help our skin look beautiful and clear? Dandelion is a wonderful herb for helping the liver function better, clearing the skin (because a happy liver = happy skin) and building blood in the body. Come springtime, we see Dandelion pop up in all sorts of cleanses, juices, etc, and for good reason. Who doesn't want clearer skin and a happy liver?

My body has a hard time with cold foods/drinks. I love my juicer, but I can only make fresh veggie juices in the summer, when it is very warm out and my body temperature won't get too cold when I consume a cold food. Raw salad, cold beverages, sushi- they are all very cold foods per Traditional Chinese Medicine, and when I started going to my acupuncturist she advised me to stay away from cold foods since I have a tendency towards a low body temp. I notice if I drink/eat something cold, I will get a little headache and a stomach ache, a sure sign that my body is unhappy. So I look for ways to use cleansing foods and herbs in warm ways, such as warm veggie soups and warm teas.

Dandelion tea is a great way to incorporate the highly cleansing plant into your life. I buy the Traditional Medicinals brand, I trust them and they make some great teas. Dandelion tea is a good substitute for coffee or black tea, if you are tying to limit your caffeine intake. My husband and I have been completely caffeine free for about a month now, and I tell ya, it is liberating! I stopped drinking caffeinated coffee about 2 years ago, after being a 3-5 cup a day-er in my past life as a grad student. Coffee makes me crazy jittery and sweaty, and I needed to get off of the "needing it to function" train. My real love is black tea- for me, there is nothing quite like a strong cup of good black tea with a splash of cream in it. But, alas, even my black tea was affecting me, albeit less then coffee, but I was still noticing some side effects. Since we are trying to get pregnant, and I knew I wanted to be caffeine free once we get a baby cookin' in there, I figured why not get a jump on it now and get through the groggy mornings post quitting caffeine before I was knocked up. Enter Dandelion tea. Roasted Dandelion tea has a great bitter roasted flavor, not unlike black coffee or black tea. Now, I'm not saying it's the same, IT'S NOT. But it's close enough for me to enjoy it for now instead of black tea, and the added health benefits of drinking it are worthwhile too!

Here is a simple Dandelion tea "latte" recipe:
Brew a strong cup of Dandelion tea (make sure it is organic!)
Add about 1/4 cup to 1/2 cup of coconut milk to it.
Drink and enjoy.

The coconut milk adds good fats to the drink, and lends a hint of sweetness to cut the bitterness of the Dandelion tea. I make my coconut milk at home, to avoid canned coconut milk which always contains emulsifiers and other weird ingredients, as well as to avoid BPA. It is super easy to make:

Put 1 cup shredded unsweetened coconut into a blender. Add 2 cups boiling water. Blend until well shredded, to a nice creamy consistency. Let it cool. Poor it through a very small gauge sieve or cheese cloth to separate the coconut meal from the liquid. The liquid is your "cream" and you can use the leftover coconut meal for any number of baking projects... it can be used to make some super yummy macaroons! This makes about a cup to a cup and a half of coconut milk.

I hope you give the humble Dandelion a try this spring, and let me know if you try the Dandelion latte. Cheers!

How to whiten teeth naturally for a happy healthy smile.

Between my husband and I, we have had more then our fair share of "tooth issues" over the years. Knowing what I know now about how diet, specifically grains and other inflammatory foods, affects the body, and seeing how much our health has improved by removing almost all grains/legumes and vegetable oils from our diet, and consuming properly soaked nuts instead of un-soaked,  it's no wonder we have dealt with quite a few cavities in our time (before said new diet). Sugar is not the only villain in tooth decay, phytic acid (mostly found in grains, legumes and nuts) and gut imbalances play a huge role as well. We have been on a mission in the past few months to remineralize our teeth (that sounds weird at first, but your teeth are bones, and your bones remineralize- like when you break a bone and it heals, or you work on adding bone mass when you have osteoporosis). The remineralizing protocol is for another post, but introducing it is pertinent to this post- I also wanted to whiten my teeth, and after reading about some of the ingredients in my "super clean hippie" toothpaste (I was using Desert Essence SLS/Flouride free with tea tree oil and neem oil), I decided I was going rogue and getting rid of the toothpaste for good. Screw putting questionable ingredients into my mouth just to give me a false sense of protection from decay! Side note: Please don't use commercial toothpastes - Crest, Colgate, etc- they are full of plastics (yep), chemicals and sugar (seriously) and do more harm then good.

So then, what are we doing to naturally clean and whiten our teeth?

It's super simple. And I promise you, my mouth is just a clean and fresh and tingly as it was when I was using store bought toothpaste- more so, actually.

My tooth whitening/chemical free tooth care regiment:

MORNING:
1. Tongue scrape first thing in the morning. LITERALLY first thing. I wake up, go to the bathroom, and scrape my tongue. It is a key player in maintaining a healthy mouth- there are a lot of toxins and gross things that accumulate on your tongue in the night, and you want to clean it off first thing (before you eat or drink anything) so that you don't swallow them back into your body.

2. Oil pull. I am currently using sesame oil (helps to warm the sinuses and clear sinus congestion) but coconut oil is great for overall mouth health and whitening. I have dedicated a whole blog post to oil pulling, so if you want details check that post out. This step is a huge part of the whitening.

3. Floss and brush. I floss with silk floss (no plastic!) and then brush. Right now I am using my remineralizing tooth powder that I make at home (which I will follow up this post with info on that), but you can easily replace toothpaste with baking soda and peppermint essential oil. Take your clean toothbrush, wet it, dip it in a jar of baking soda (aluminum free) and then put one drop of essential oil (spearmint and clove oil work well too) on it and brush away. It will feel very different the first few times you do it, but I promise your mouth will feel nice and clean. The baking soda is a mild but enamel safe way to clean and lighten teeth, and the essential oil is antibacterial.

4. Rinse with homemade mouthwash: 3 parts water to one part hydrogen peroxide and 2-3 drops essential oil (I use peppermint, it is refreshing as hell). The peroxide naturally whitens, and the essential oil leaves you fresh and minty.

EVENING:
1. Brush with activated charcoal. Here is the real whitening superstar! Activated charcoal is something we should all have in our medicine cabinets. You can use it for poisoning situations (food poisoning, actual poisoning, etc), and it absorbs toxins from the body rapidly, then moves them out of your body without harming you. The same is true for your mouth- when you brush with activated charcoal, it binds to all the crap deep down inside your (porous) teeth and in your gums, and pulls it out. Who doesn't want that? The only funny thing is that you look kind of crazy, like a little kid who ate a bunch of oreos and it's all over their teeth. Brush brush brush, spit, rinse (be careful in your sink- porous material will soak it up and it can stain!) and then move to the next step...

2. Brush and floss and rinse as outlined above. I swear the charcoal will come out of your teeth entirely, and you won't look like a very scary person with black teeth. But you will look like a person with a fresh, white smile that was obtained without using really scary bleaching chemicals!

Simple as that. I have noticed a huge difference, and my mouth feels great. I feel better knowing I am not putting anything questionable into my mouth (therefore my body), and that I am not spending a bunch of money on scary chemicals to assuage my vanity. Let me know if you try it, and good luck not laughing at yourself in the mirror when you have black teeth!

The simplest thing you can do to improve your health and your life...

I am going to hit you with a profound statement right now, are you ready?

Every single thing you put in your mouth either fights potential disease or feeds it.

BAM.

That is a pretty life changing statement... well, at least to me it is. My view on food has changed drastically over the past few years. I thought that I used to "eat well"- I for the most part avoided junk food (although I ate my weight in taqueria burritos), don't have a sweet tooth, and ate kale and blueberries on occasion . Little did I know that even though I thought I was eating "well", my body was breaking down. Stomach aches, heartburn, gas, bowel "flow" issues- you have probably had them in your lifetime, perhaps more frequently then you would like. You may even know the foods that trigger these issues, but "it's all good, just pop a tums!". I am here to tell you that those symptoms are not good. Even on occasion. We all get food poisoning every once in awhile, or the stomach flu, but I am not talking about symptoms from those ills. I am talking about symptoms from crap food. Or symptoms from foods that your body just can't handle (lactose intolerance, anyone?) Our modern medicine system (or more on point, our modern pharmaceutical system) has a "cure" for every symptom, so that we can go on eating the shit that is making us feel like shit- just pop a pill afterwards and don't worry about how those chili fries are treating your insides! But here's the thing- gas, bloating, etc-those are all just SYMPTOMS, symptoms of something greater going on. Maybe a little heartburn is worth the taste explosion of joy that are those chili fries... but I would be willing to bet your stomach and intestines, if they could speak, would not agree with you. We know so much about inflammation, and how chronic inflammation is the root of most western disease (cancer, heart disease, diabetes, etc). A stomach ache, or diarrhea, or heartburn, creates inflammation in the body (well, it's a sort of chicken and egg situation really- inflammation caused by a substance creates the heartburn which creates more inflammation... but I won't get into the biochemistry behind all that). And over time, that inflammation adds up (like in my case, where inflammation caused leaky gut, triggering my Celiac Disease). For many people, all that inflammation results in a leaky gut, which we also know so much more information about now, and are finding that leaky gut contributes to/triggers a host of ills- Celiac disease, Diabetes, Heart disease, Cancer, ADD/ADHD, Austim... the list goes on and on. It's interesting to me that one of the newer ways to help deal with Austim for some children is implementing the GAPS diet, which removes almost all inflammatory foods (all processed foods, gluten, nightshades, egg whites, etc etc) and many people are seeing vast improvements in their children via this diet. Back to the point- yes, a stomach ache or a bout of heartburn here or there *won't* kill you (now), but over time the effects of those things do add up in the body. Everything in moderation may not be the way to go when it comes to putting crap in your body.

So on to a really, really easy way to deal with all that. I could create a list with all the things that contribute to inflammation (eating foods made with processed vegetable oils, GMO's, questionable meat made with pink slime, etc), but let's just keep it simple here. Most of this stuff can get really overwhelming really fast, and I think it's important to take easy steps first to change your health, so that you see results and can encourage yourself to continue. So here it is:

Stop eating processed crap.

That's it.

If it's "shelf stable" and has more then 2-3 ingredients (I'm not talking dried pasta here), don't eat it. If it's packaged and says anywhere on the label "vegetable oil/canola oil/soy anything" don't eat it. If it was made anywhere where you can get a burger for less then 5 dollars, don't eat it. If sugar is in the ingredients list and that seems weird to you (there does not need to be sugar in pasta sauce, that is ridiculous), don't eat it. A simple way of dealing with this in the grocery store is only shopping around the outer sides of it- fresh fruits and veggies, fresh quality dairy and meat, bulk grains and beans, etc. I shop this way- we have virtually no packaged food in our cupboards- only dried beans, a few flours and other baking ingredients, and spices and vinegars... I understand that not everyone has the time to cook home cooked meals every day. Of course you don't! But that doesn't mean you can't make better choices- maybe trade Taco Bell for a Taqueria where they grill real meat instead of weird "meat product". Maybe that means trading the crappy Lays potato chips for chips made with avocado oil or olive oil (or better yet, air pop some popcorn instead!). Switch to eating the clean fifteen and avoid the dirty dozen to get some more organically grown veggies and fruits in your diet (http://www.ewg.org/foodnews/summary.php). Make burgers at home, where you can control the ingredients rather then going to Burger King.  STOP DRINKING SODA (period). Little steps. Most importantly, LISTEN TO YOUR BODY. When you get gas, or heartburn, or whatever symptom after eating a meal, listen. If eating a meal makes you feel heavy and crappy and bloated, listen. I did not listen to my body when I felt this way, and I continued to not listen until my body screamed at me to stop. Many of us think, "oh I don't have symptoms of IBS (or whatever issue) so I am not going to worry about it", but the effects of crap food are cumulative, and may add up to IBS (or something worse) for you at some point. Don't pop a tums and move on, ignoring what your body is telling you. Respect the gift of being alive by supporting your body's ability to CONTINUE BEING ALIVE. Strive to be well, rather then to be just "okay".

Just put down the processed crap. Your body will thank you for it, I promise.


Side note: I got an overwhelming response from my last post- so much love and support and "thank you I needed this right now!" was given about what I wrote, I was moved to (happy) tears by things that people had to say, in facebook messages, comments on the blog, and directly to me. I appreciate everyone's love and support so much, and hope to continue write things that you guys need and want to hear. Thanks so much!

the cult of busy... or, how a vaguely nasty facebook comment made me proud of myself.

Oh the joys of facebook. Being able to say something to someone that is rude and vaguely hurtful without having to say it to their face (not to mention the horrid things that are said anonymously on the internet) is part of the dark side of social media. I love my facebook, I love being able to connect to my friends and loved ones around the world in ways that would not be possible without it. I love sharing my life, and seeing other peoples joys. I don't especially love people who judge behind a computer screen. A few days ago, I posted about something I was doing, and I got a snarky comment along the lines of "how nice it must be to have nothing to do". Now, this was from someone who knows me, but they don't know me that well. I don't expect everyone to know my life story, but I share a considerable amount of my personal life with pretty much anyone who knows me (I'm an open book, baby!), so to snark me for "not being busy enough" is pretty callous- the last few years have been ROUGH (we're talking body/mind overload/breakdown). To snark ANYONE about their life choices sucks, but that's a whole other topic there. Ranting commence:

I have noticed, in recent years, that being busy has become a badge of honor. You know that friend you have, who for the last 20 years has been "the busiest they have ever been!"? I don't mean with normal life things like school and work, I mean every second of every day is crammed with something they "must" do. Or "should" be doing. You haven't seen them in a year (but you live 10 minutes from each other) because every moment of their life is "jammed"? Or maybe that is you, and you haven't sat down and taken a moment to breathe in who knows how long... Now, this is not a judgement on people who are overloaded in their lives, because lord knows our world is overloaded and we are all taking on way to much every day, and the last thing anyone needs is to be feeling more pressure about the way they are living their lives. But we also don't need to be sitting up on our "busy" thrones, judging people who aren't as "busy" as we are. This is just a personal point of view from someone who pushed it WAY TO MUCH, and broke herself. Yep, that's exactly right, I broke myself. I ignored every single screaming cue that my body was giving me to slow the f*#k down, and then my body just stopped. And I finally listened to my body, when it told me to stop. I stopped. I stopped everything. I understand that some people don't have the luxury to stop everything- you must pay your bills, and parent your kids. I am so grateful that I have a life situation where, for now, my husband supports us financially and we are able to exist on one income. We have made sacrifices with that choice- we won't be buying a house for a very, very long time. I know that completely halting one's life is not possible for some people. But what is possible is to listen to your body, really listen, and learn how to say no. Do only the things that you have to do to survive (eat, sleep, play with your kids and do your job) and do nothing else. You do not have to be "busy" to be worthy- remind yourself that daily. I hear things like "oh, you're JUST a yoga teacher" or "you're a stay at home mom, what do you do all day? it must be nice to be home relaxing all the time" (I can't tell you how much that one pisses me off, and I am not a mom!) I hear things like "I wish I had time to read" or "I don't even have the time to cook a meal". I don't know about you, but reading books, even a page a day before I fall asleep, and cooking a meal (even just once in awhile) are non negotiables for me. And because some random person on the internet chooses to judge me because of that doesn't change the fact that I am doing what is right for me, and that is more then enough for me to feel worthwhile. I wish we could all support the person who "just" wants to be a yoga teacher- man was I grateful for that person when it was pretty much all I could do to get myself to yoga class daily and nothing else- I needed that yoga teacher more then she knew! We need to be lifting each other up for our individual choices, not tearing someone down when we are feeling overwhelmed with our lives. And having been a chronically "busy" person before my breakdown, I know how hard it can be to let that go. You feel like people will be let down by you. Well, I can tell you, the people who truly love you are the ones who go "you're overwhelmed? let me bring you some dinner tonight so you can sit on the couch with your little one instead of cooking" rather then the ones who judge you for your need to sit in silence for a hour. I think a lot of people believe that by being busy, they are contributing, or doing what they are "supposed" to do. For me right now, I am supposed to be writing. And drinking tea. And looking at the beautiful trees. And hugging my friends. And going to therapy. And recovering. And I am happy with this place that I am in. And I wish the "busy" person who snarked me was happy with the place they are in, but I fear they are not. And that makes me sad. Even if all you can do is take a hour a week to laugh with a friend, have a good cup of coffee, walk on the beach, just do something that you love just for you, that is still an hour you took to be free and feel good. Even if it means literally sitting and staring into space for an hour. Our brains are not meant to GO GO GO! I hope that no one breaks themselves like I did. And I hope that if they do, they can recover and realize how damaging it is to judge other people for not being busy. I am proud, in this moment, to not be busy. To be where I am. To get here took work. I haven't been sitting around on my arse eating bon-bons every day. I have worked hard in therapy, worked hard restructuring my diet and my stress levels and my health so that I can heal. Worked hard to get to a place where I can breathe again. I am proud of my choices, and I am finding more and more that when people criticize your choices it has more to do with their own issues with their own choices then anything to do with you.

Now I will get off my soapbox and go back to not being busy. Thanks for listening.

a little extra help when you are feeling overwhelmed...

I have been getting some requests for blog posts (well, advice requests followed by "you should blog about that, I bet a lot of people would love to hear what you have to say..."). I absolutely LOVE getting asked for advice about wellness, and getting asked to write about specific topics on the blog- it really makes me feel like I am doing the right thing with my life, and really reaching people. I dropped the ball a little bit with getting some of said posts written, because my dear husband got sidelined with the flu (and if you know him, you know he NEVER gets sick, so when he does it's usually a doozy- this is the second time in our 8 year relationship that he has been sick, and the only other time was Pneumonia, so that tells you a lot right there). My last post on Elderberry syrup was a timely one, and by giving him a teaspoon of Elderberry syrup every 3 hours for two days we were able to knock out the 102 degree fever pretty quickly, along with plenty of rest and homemade chicken soup (with cilantro and tumeric, yum). BUT this is not a post about the flu, I think I have covered that pretty well in previous posts.

A dear friend asked me last week about using herbs to help deal with stress- she knows quite well about my struggles with stress, and she herself has been feeling pretty bogged down by it lately. Now, here is my disclaimer- I am NOT a Doctor, Naturopath, Herbalist, etc, and all of the knowledge presented here stems ONLY from my personal experience with using herbs for support during times of stress, and my own personal research into said herbs. I STRONGLY encourage everyone to do their own research, talk with their Doctor/Therapist/Naturopath/Acupuncturist, etc, when adding herbs to their lives- herbs are very powerful and should be respected. Take a moment and do some digging to find out what you think will be best for you. I will try to lay this out in a concise way- there is SO MUCH information out there about herbs, and it can be hard to understand and find the right formula that works for you (that's why I really encourage people to go see a Naturopath or Acupuncturist- it takes the work out of it). Everyone's stress manifests differently, and some herbs are more helpful in certain situations then others. Without further ado:

-If you are feeling fatigued, anxious, and have symptoms of stress induced insomnia (racing thoughts, waking up and can't go back to sleep, etc), then ASHWAGANDHA could be for you. Ashwagandha is an Ayurvedic herb (also known as Indian ginseng) that is a potent stress fighter, and is good for long term use as an adrenal tonic in cases of adrenal fatigue. I have used this herb over periods of months (I am still recovering from adrenal fatigue), when I was dealing with large amounts of stress and having anxiety, and I really feel like it helped keep me centered in the storm, and helped me to sleep. Important note: if you are allergic to nightshades (tomatoes, eggplant, potatoes, peppers), do not take Ashwagandha because it is a nightshade.

-If your menstrual cycle is making you a crazy emotional person, and you can't seem to get a grip, VITEX (also known as Chaste Berry) might work for you. Vitex works to balance your hormones, specifically helping to regulate and balance the pituitary gland, the effect of which cascades to the other hormone regulating glands in your body, therefore helping with PMS and other cycle issues, which in turn helps to alleviate stress. Important note: do not take Vitex if you are using hormonal birth control, it will mess with you more- get off those artificial hormones (reasons why for another post) and get your hormones back to optimal without the use of artificial hormones that have long term negative effects on your body.

-If you are feeling low energy, need more vitality and stamina, (maybe you need lots of caffeine to get through the day) then MACA may be right for you. Maca is a root from South America that is an adaptogen, meaning it doesn't "add" anything to your body, but helps your own system adapt by balancing your hormones and giving you energy. My husband swears by Maca (it regulates hormones, helps naturally boost energy, and can be an especially good tonic for men), and has really noticed a difference in his energy and vitality since he has been taking it (for about a year now). It is said that Peruvian warriors took Maca to help with endurance and vitality on long arduous journeys, and as that I have amazing Peruvian family members, I can attest that these people know their shit, and they have known what's up for a very very long time. Important note: Maca may cause some people to feel jittery (myself included) and if you are dealing with anxiety specifically, this may not be the best choice for you.

-if you are feeling emotionally unbalanced (things that would not normally stress you out make you emotional and overwhelmed), your well-being just feels out of whack, or you are feeling exhausted by normal life, REISHI mushroom might work for you. I take a mushroom tonic (multiple types of medicinal mushrooms in one formula) through most of the fall and winter, for emotional support and because specific phytochemicals in the mushrooms are potent immune boosters. I have personally noticed an improvement in my well being while taking a mushroom tonic, and while I can't say it's totally due to the mushrooms, I do think that they really help me to stay balanced.

These are the herbs I have tried on my own (I have had a few other formulas given to me by my kick ass acupuncturist, but have no grasp on Traditional Chinese Medicine, so would not even try to recommend their formulas), and have had great success with some of them. I think it is (again) super important to do your research, and of course try them only one at a time, and give yourself enough time on them (most need months of daily use to have observable results). Remember that herbs are potent, but they are not a magic pill- they take time to work, and we must take other steps as well to deal with stress (ex. exercise, diet changes, therapy, journaling, yoga, meditation, acupuncture, massage). Herbs are there to support us, gently, as we learn to really take care of ourselves along the path of wellness.

If you are dealing with overwhelming (crushing) stress, please please PLEASE see a Therapist, Naturopath, or Acupuncturist (in my case all three!) who can really help you and tailor a path back to thriving for you. If you just need a little help, try one of these herbs (and maybe some deep breathing!) and see if things improve.

I hope that helped, and please let me know if you try any of these, have used any of these, and if it helps! Wishing everyone a stress free existence!

Scoff at flu season with Elderberry Syrup!

Alright pumpkins, the height of Flu season is officially upon us, and it seems people are dropping like flies. I spent about 4 months of last year (Thanksgiving through March) battling bouts of the flu/colds (at one point, I thought I might need to go to the hospital, which, if you know me, means I was REALLY sick). My immune system was super low (years of gluten reaction will do that to ya), I was having major emotional issues with some of my family (depression doesn't help your immune system) and my hormones were still going crazy from coming off birth control (it takes SOOOO long to get your normal hormonal system back up and running after a long time on artificial hormones- but it is possible!) So the last 6 months have been me focusing on getting well, period. It's my main life focus. And I vowed that this year, I WOULD NOT GET SICK. So far, since last March, I haven't had even a sniffle (which I cannot take all the credit for- my therapist, my acupuncturist and my chiropractor have been major players in keeping me well). Long story short, we are heading into the thick of flu season, and this morning my facebook news feed was full of "I /my spouse /my child have the flu what can I do??!!" posts, so I figured it was a good time to post about my favorite flu fighter, that pretty much anyone can use (kids, babies, pregnant women, all humans really)... drum roll please...

... Enter Elderberry Syrup. My husband tells me stories of his great grandmother keeping an elderberry bush, and making syrup out of the beautiful purple berries to give to the kids (he just thought it tasted good, he didn't know it was also a potent flu fighter). Alas, I do not have an elderberry bush to make homemade syrup with (it is on my list of things to do when we have our farm) but luckily I live in Santa Cruz, where there is a health food store on nearly every corner, and we have access to a huge amount of herbal medicines. Elderberry syrup is a super easy way to prevent the flu- when taken as a preventative during flu season (1 teaspoon a day works for me) it ups the amount of T cells (white blood cell immune system Navy Seals) and works to prevent the flu from taking hold in your body. When taken after a known exposure to the flu, I up the dose to a few teaspoons a day. The recommendation for taking it when already sick is generally a teaspoon about every hour or so, but do your research on that one- I haven't had to take it yet so I am not positive on the dosing for already sick people. Elderberry is very high in vitamin C, and that may be the key to it's flu fighting ability, along with all those purple plant pigments (antioxidants) that are oh so good for you.

I use Gaia Herbs Black Elderberry Syrup, I really trust the company and have used many of their supplements. They have a nighttime formula as well, with passion flower and valerian root in it if you need a little bit of support to help you sleep as well. My hubs and I take it when we think we may have been exposed and when we know we're going to be around a sick person. In the height of flu season, because my husband is a paramedic and is exposed to stuff constantly, we take it everyday.

If you haven't gotten sick and don't want to, if you have kids (little ones are germ factories- and I mean that in the most loving way!) or if you are feeling a tickle in the back of your throat, I highly recommend picking up a bottle of Elderberry Syrup. It tastes yummy and is an easy way of coasting through flu season. Sending you all healthy flu free thought! Let me know if you try it!