Mindful Chatter

Natural Home Remedies

Your kitchen is full of natural home remedies! Of course you have heard of the benefits of certain foods for vitamin and mineral support but they have even more to offer than a vitamin boost! Here are a few favorites.

 

 

 

1-Garlic.

   

Garlic is a phenemonal immune system builder. It can also be used to treat coughs. Steep garlic in boiling water for at least 15 minutes. Drink as a tea to settle your lungs. Some even claim mashing it and rubbing it on your feet is even more powerful!

 

2- Yogurt

Yogurt has so many benefits! It can be rubbed onto the skin to soothe a sunburn. It can be soaked in gauze  and placed on the body to destroy fungus. It can also be ingested to soothe the stomach and build up immunity in the gut AND it can be blended with strawberries to create a fresh facial mask!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

3-Avocado

This amazing little gem can be mashed and rubbed in your hair for an excellent remedy for thirsty hair! Apply it all over the hair and put your hair up for 20 minutes. Rinse and let it air dry.

 

4-Ginger

This is hands down my favorite remedy. Ginger can be used for nausea, digestive complaints, inflammation, and colds and flu. Soak fresh ginger in boiling water for at least 15 minutes and drink several times per day. Ginger essential oil is also wonderful for easing depression and when applied with a carrier oil (jojoba or olive oil) it can soothe an upset stomach.

 

5-Lemon

Lemon is a wonderful cure for enhancing the immune system and cleansing the liver. Start your day with warm water and lemon to cleanse the digestive system or make fresh lemonade to help the body to detoxify naturally.

 

Enjoy!

Sugar: Nothing Sweet About It

Here’s a question for you:  what drug is small, white, and contributes to over 100 health conditions? 

The answer is sugar.  In America, many if us are suffering from an addiction to sugar- the average American consumes over 150 pounds of sugar and related sweeteners each year. Considering that there are  17 teaspoons of sugar in a single can of Coke, its pretty easy to see how quickly our intake of sugar can add up.Try this simple test to see if you have a sugar addiction: see if you can go one week without any sugar.  

One of the first things you’ll notice is that sugar is just about EVERYWHERE-  not only in drinks, but in salad dressings, sauces, cereals and most processed and restaurant foods.  As you look through you’re pantry to weed out sugar, beware that it often masquerades under other names, such as:

    * barley malt  *  beet sugar  *   brown sugar  *  buttered syrup  *  cane-juice crystals  *  cane sugar  * corn syrup  *  dextran  *  dextrose  *  ethyl maltol  *  fructose  *  fruit juice/ fruit juice concentrate  * glucose  *  honey  *  lactose  *  maltodextrin  *  maltose  * molasses  * sorbitol  *  sucrose  *turbinado sugar

 The second thing you'll notice is that after a few days, you might experience what is known as withdrawal symptoms. The symptoms of sugar withdrawal can include headaches, fatigue, depression, drowsiness, skin eruptions, and mucus or throat discomfort, weakness or slight nausea.  If you ask us, anything that you experience this level of response when obstaining from it isn’t really a food, it’s a drug.  Think about it- have you ever gotten irritable from not having your daily apple?

In addition to causing weight gain and obesity, sugar is the culprit behind a host of health issues. According to Nancy Appleton, Ph.D, author of the book Lick the Sugar Habit, excess sugar can throw off the body’s homeostasis and may result in a number of other significant consequences, such as

• Sugar can suppress your immune system and impair your defenses against infectious disease.
• Sugar upsets the mineral relationships in your body: causes chromium and copper deficiencies and interferes with absorption of calcium and magnesium.
• Sugar can cause can cause a rapid rise of adrenaline, hyperactivity, anxiety, difficulty concentrating, and crankiness in children.
• Sugar can produce a significant rise in total cholesterol, triglycerides and bad cholesterol and a decrease in good cholesterol.
• Sugar causes a loss of tissue elasticity and function.
• Sugar can increase fasting levels of glucose and can cause reactive hypoglycemia
• Sugar can cause many problems with the gastrointestinal tract including: an acidic digestive tract, indigestion, malabsorption in patients with functional bowel disease, increased risk of Crohn's disease, and ulcerative colitis.
• Sugar can cause premature aging.
• Sugar can lead to alcoholism.
• Sugar can cause your saliva to become acidic, tooth decay, and periodontal disease.
• Sugar contributes to obesity.

While it may be a daunting task to completely eliminate sugar from our diets in one clean swoop, here are some tips to move towards a sugar free diet:

1) Get rid of it! Remove sugar from your refridgerator and pantry, including your "secret stash", so that you wont be tempted to nibble when your relaxing or watching TV.

2) Keep a journal or talk to a trusted friend if you notice any emotional associations with your sugar cravings.  Many of us are conditioned to associate sugary treats with happy times, and may reach for goodies when we're feeling stressed, sad, or bored,

3) Get your family or housemates on board!  Its often easier to make a major dietary change when you are not the "only one".

4) Give your body time to accept, and integrate, any dietary change.  The first two days of sugar withdrawal can be the worst, but it may take a month or more to completely change your system.

5) Make substitutions- instead of reaching for a candy bar, try fruit (grapefruit can be particularly helpful in cutting a sugar craving) or a small piece of 70% dark chocolate.   

6) Get a  Bio-Energetic Assessment to see if there is a underlying cause for your sugar cravings, such as yeast or nutritional deficiencies.

For more information:

Why a Sugar Free Diet is Worth It

Stop Sweet Cravings

 

 

Belly Fat?

The single most common complaint I hear about in my office is belly fat. No one knows where it came from, or how to get rid of it. Although there really is no exercise that will single handedly target this problem, there are certain foods that can make it worse and other techniques that can help to minimize the problem.

 

Sugar. One of the main causes for belly fat is a blood sugar imbalance. When the body is overloaded with sugar it releases excess insulin, causing the belly to store food for fat. Skipping meals can also create an imbalance, and cause swelling in the abdomen. Juices, white sugar, dried fruit, white flour,  white rice and soda can create this issue but they are just a few of the foods that contains loads of sugar.

 

Stress. Stress causes the body to release excess cortisol, a hormone used when the body is in "fight or flight" mode. It is also used for inflammation and to increase the body's immunity. But when the body is under extra stress it releases too much cortisol, and the relaxation mode is never activated. Too much cortisol can cause increased abdominal fat, which is associated with a greater amount of health problems than fat deposited in other areas such as heart attack, stroke, metabolic syndrome and cholesterol issues.

What is your outlet for stress? Find something you are passionate about and practice it each week. Or make a bubble bath a ritual. Try massage. Incorporate yoga. But more importantly find time for YOU.

 

 

Oxygen. Oxygen is key to burning belly fat. Fat does not burn without oxygen. This is why exercise and breathing exercises are key. When exercising try interval training-change your intensity throughout the workout. I like this routine:

3 minute warmup

30 seconds of intense

90 second cool down

30 seconds of intense

90 second cool down

repeat 5 times

The best thing to have before you do this is whey protein and then don't have any sugar or caffeine after you have finished.

 

Here is a tip from Dr. Mercola on exercises that can assist with belly fat but please keep in mind no amount of exerise will help abdominal weight if you have other underlying imabalances.

:http://fitness.mercola.com/sites/fitness/archive/2011/04/08/for-killer-abs-try-some--pushups.aspx

 Alcohol. Although moderate amounts of alcohol in wine can be beneficial, too much alcohol can be detrimental. Alcohol foces the liver to work harder. The liver is also responsible for metabolizing fat. So if the liver is working hard to detoxify the alcohol it can't metabolize the fat. In addition, testosterone is a metabolic hormone and although it is higher in men, women produce it as well. Alcohol has been known to supress testosterone in men.

 

Digestive Issues. If you are eating foods that you are allergic to, or you are not digesting the food you are consuming, this can cause bloating and indigestion. In addition this causes inflammation. When the body is inflamed cortisol is released and once again the abdomen swells. Find out if you are allergic to or sensitive to any of the foods you are eating and uncover the cause of your digestive issues. You can get tested in our office or find a practitioner that you trust.

 

Fucoxanthin: Fuco is a carotenoid found in hijiki and wakame seaweed. Studies have shown that fucoxanthin isolated from the wakame promotes loss of abdominal fat.

 

 

I hope this was helpful!

Nicole