Holistic Nourishment

I was in Tucson Arizona in April for the annual National Association of Nutrition Professionals Conference. It is such a great opportunity to connect with my fellow nutritionists, learn about cutting edge nutrition topics, and share our passion for the healing power of natural living. I wanted to share 5 lessons I learned at this year’s conference.

1. Food is information for your body. What message do you want to communicate? How about nourishing your cells with vitamins, minerals, phytonutrients, and energy-boosting foods! Did you know that the origin of the word “recipe” stems from the Latin word “recipere” which means “medical perscription“? I love that! Hippocrates had it right when he said to let medicine be your food and food be your medicine!

2. 1 in 2 men and 1 in 3 women will develop cancer in their lifetime! And cancer diagnoses worldwide are expected to increase by 45% in the next 20 years.  A lifetime of sub-optimal lifestyle drives cells to malfunction and become cancerous.  In fact, our environment contributes to 90-95% of cancer origins! The best cancer prevention involves eating organic, whole foods, plenty of plants, and supplementing with nutrients like CoQ10 and NAC that support healthy mitochondrial function.  (more…)

Since starting my studies to become a Naturopathic Physician, many people have been so curious to learn what an ND is and how our training is different than traditional medical school. Naturopathic Medicine is a system of primary health care that emphasizes prevention and the self-healing process through the use of natural therapies.

What is the Difference between and ND and an MD?

Take a look at this graph by my colleague, Dr. Erika Krumbeck:

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Looking for a natural toothpaste that is low-cost and easy to make? This recipe will not only clean your teeth, but will also support oral health and strengthen your teeth.  All of the ingredients work synergistically to kill bad bacteria, scrub plaque off your teeth, whiten, and freshen your breath. What a great way to support your oral health!

Ingredients:

• 3-5 tsp organic coconut oil, melted
• 2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp diatomaceous earth
• 3 tsp calcium and magnesium powder
• 1-2 drops of essential oil (optional: peppermint, orange, lavender, wintergreen are examples)

Directions:

Add all powdered ingredients in a small bowl or jar. Mix well. Add coconut oil and essential oils. Mix again. And brush your teeth! You can use a small spoon to scoop out the toothpaste from the bowl.

non-toxic lifestyle

If you eat right, you will thrive

What Does it Mean to Eat Right?

• Organic Whole Foods: Quality Matters
  • Produce: in season is best
  • Meat: pasture-fed, cage-free eggs, wild caught fish
  • 5-6 Smaller Meals Each Day (eat breakfast!)
    • Keep blood sugars (energy) stable
    • Always eat protein or fat at every meal/snack
    • 10+ Cups of CLEAN Water
      • If your urine isn’t clear, drink more
      • Never go anywhere without a reusable water bottle
      • Address Digestive Issues
        • GI tract is our connection with the external world (how food becomes energy)
        • Digestive problems indicate there is something not right with what you are eating
        • 70% of your immune system is in your gut
        • Digestive issues can lead to nutrient deficiencies and poor athletic performance
        • Avoid Food Allergens
          • Dairy, gluten (wheat), soy, peanuts, tree nuts, fish, shellfish
          • Allergens weaken your immune system, destroy your intestines
          • Weak intestines leads to toxic molecules entering your body and making you sick

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Store-bought lotions often contain toxic chemicals and harsh ingredients that are easily absorbed through your skin.  In fact, Americans are exposed to over 100 toxic chemicals each day from all of the personal care and cleaning products!  That is a significant source of environmental toxins because these types of compounds are easily absorbed through your skin and go straight into the bloodstream.  Fortunately, you can easily make your own nourishing lotion at home! (more…)

Castor oil packs are a great way to decrease pain, promote skin health, and boost immunity.  Castor oil comes from castor seeds and it is very high in a unique fatty acid called ricinoleic acid. The oil diffuses through the skin and into the organs and vessels where the ricinoleic acid can act as a mild irritant. Mild irritation can be good for the body—it can stimulate movement of fluids, recruit immune cells, and encourage peristalsis (the intestinal contractions that aid in removing waste), among other physiological processes. (more…)

One modality of Naturopathic Medicine is Physical Medicine. At Bastyr University, I am learning about many different ways in which to support the body by using my hands.  Not only do we learn how to give high velocity adjustments (like chiropractic techniques), we also learn about using water to help the body heal (hydrotherapy), visceral manipulation, massage, and we can elect to study Craniosacral Therapy as well. This month I took an intensive course on using this form of therapy to support my patient’s heal.

What is Craniosacral Therapy?

Craniosacral Therapy is a gentle, non-invasive hands-on therapy that follows the subtle movement of connective tissue (fascia) in the body. The practitioner will lightly place her hands on areas of restriction in order to facilitate the body’s release of those areas of tension.  This treatment started in the osteopathic community in the early 1900′s as a way to feel the movement of bones in the skull and fascia.  By freeing the bones and fascia, the practitioner is able to assist the body in regaining normal function in the nervous, lymph, hormonal, myofascial, and gastrointestinal system.  Craniosacral Therapy is a whole person therapy focusing on physical, mental, and emotional health.  The practitioner is merely a guide and facilitator of the healing process of the patient’s body.  The primary goal of a session is to maximize overall health. (more…)

A Tonic for Health: Contrast Hydrotherapy

Contrast hydrotherapy is an ancient technique that resets the autonomic nervous system, improving vascular health and supporting the immune system.  It’s use dates back to Hippocrates, around 500 BC.  The Roman Empire is famous for their public bathhouses, and hydrotherapy is still commonly used today in Germany and many Latin American countries.  Contrast hydrotherapy involves the immersion of a limb or body part in alternating hot and cold water.  In this way, you are exercising your circulatory and lymphatic systems, stimulating movement of nutrients into the area and waste away from the area.

Hydrotherapy can “tweak” homeostatic mechanisms pertaining to body temperature regulation by affecting the autonomic nervous system and tonifying blood vessels.  It also stimulates the release of nitric oxide from your artery walls, which dilates your vessels by relaxing the muscles in the vasculature, thereby reducing stress on the vessels and improving blood flow.  Contrast hydrotherapy also supports the immune system by increasing lymph movement.

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2013 is rapidly coming to a close. Are you ready for this year’s holiday season?  Here are some tips for staying healthy, and some health-promoting gift ideas.

5 Tips to Stay Healthy this Month & Plan for a Year of Wellness

1. Start each day with a warm glass of water with lemon juice and sea salt to hydrate and refresh.

2. Remember your food sensitivities and avoid holiday treats that contain these ingredients, especially dairy and wheat! Instead splurge on a delectable treat within your food plan (ie. a hot chocolate made with raw cacao and coconut milk!)

3. Choose organic whole foods for 85% of your food intake, and save the 15% for treats at special events. This way you can feel good about eating right, but also be able to indulge and enjoy this merry season. (more…)

Nutrition for Athletes

Exercise puts stress on our bodies so it is important to nourish and feed yourself if you are an athlete.  Here are some recommendations and tips to change your body composition, build strength, maintain muscle mass, and feel energized for your workouts.

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Gardening: An Important Aspect of a Nourishing Lifestyle

Do you grow some of your own food? Have you wanted to start but just have not been able to for one reason or another? Now is a great time to start! A nourishing lifestyle is not only about eating well, it’s about living well. And growing and cultivating your own food has so many benefits for your health (and your wallet). Get your whole family involved and transform your yard into a garden and haven for beneficial insects and especially for bees!

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Pack On The Fun, Not The Pounds

Guest Post By Cole Millen

It can be difficult to maintain a healthy diet in general, and that difficulty tends to be compounded on vacation.  With temptations like in-flight snacking, minibar treats and restaurant foods many people return from amazing trips only to discover that they’ve gained five or ten pounds.  Vacation doesn’t have to mean unhealthy eating though, and with the proper planning and self-control anyone can eat healthy on the fly.

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Stress management techniques like meditation, yoga, and deep breathing can enhance the body’s ability to handle and recover from stressors like chronic disease, work stress, or relationship stress. These practices bring the body in to a state of relaxation, dominated by the parasympathetic nervous system. New research is providing some insight into why yoga and these techniques are beneficial to our health. (more…)

and how we can regain control of our health through natural living

Recently I found a great article about how expensive healthcare is for the U.S. and the world. I wanted to share with you some highlights from the article about how many people in the world are not well. You can find the full article here: (more…)

Hormones determine how we feel! They are powerful molecules essential for maintaining physical and mental health. We frequently think of estrogen as being a female hormone, and testosterone as a male hormone. But men and women make and use both! Plus there are several others that affect health.  An imbalance of any one hormone can throw your physical and mental health out of balance, causing aggravating and potentially serious health problems.

One size does not fit all when it comes to hormones! Your hormones are like your fingerprints, unique to you. In order to be optimally healthy, you need to know if you have any imbalances. (more…)

In traditional cultures, balancing health with a balanced lifestyle was a core belief.  They live in harmony with the environment.  The diseases of modern civilization were rare.  Food and medicine were interwoven.  All cultures used special or functional foods to prevent disease.  Food could be used at different times and different situations and used as either food or medicine.  Foods, cultivation, and cooking methods maximized community health and well-being.  With methods passed down through generations, cooking processes were utilized that enhanced mineral and nutrient bioavailability.  Today, the modern lifestyle lacks many of these traditional practices, and we have the high prevalence of chronic disease to show for it! (more…)

Not only are we exposed to external environmental toxins (air pollution, pesticides, heavy metals…), we are also exposed to our own internal toxins produced by the body.  These toxins are often not neutralized and excreted from the body, but rather stored in the fat cells.  When the body is under stress, it can release these toxins into the blood stream where they can wreak havoc on many other places in the body, causing inflammation and burdening the liver.

So how do you know if you are toxic? Do you suffer from headaches, excess weight, muscle/joint pain, food allergies, depression, insomnia, fatigue, asthma, body odor, or acne/eczema? If so, your body is trying to tell you that it is out of balance and these matters need to be addressed before they become serious health conditions.

Genetically Modified Foods: Why So Many of Our Children Have Behavioral Problems & Why There is a Rise of Allergies and Chronic Disease

Genetic engineering is the process of adding a gene from another species into your target genome.  Spider genes have been inserted into goats to make bullet-proof vests. Cow genes have been inserted into pigs so the pigs have cow hides. 88% of corn produced in the US and 96% of soy are genetically modified. Canola and alfalfa crops are also genetically modified.

GMO FACTS:

Since the mid 1990’s when GE crops were introduced, we have seen nationwide increases in GI diseases, inflammation, leaky gut, cancer, diabetes, heart disease, allergies, eczema, birth defects, infertility, autism, autoimmune diseases…
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In this 45 minute webinar, learn about the causes of insomnia and how you can get a better night’s sleep tonight! Focusing on blood sugar support, hormonal balance, neurotransmitter balance, digestive health, and body composition, this webinar is not just about Insomnia, but about how to adopt a nourishing lifestyle for optimal health!

Watch here:

Conquer Insomnia: 5 Ways to Better Health and Sleep

And let me know what you think!

Bones cycle through periods of growth and breakdown throughout the course of your life.  By our mid-20’s bones begin to lose their ability to regrow and are more prone to breaking down.

What Leads To Osteoporosis?

Eating an acidic, inflammatory diet including caffeine, alcohol, soda, refined sugar, processed foods, a high-salt diet, a meat-based (high protein) diet, and a low vegetable diet can all contribute to bone thinning.  Eating foods you are allergic to can also lead to bone loss because your gastrointestinal system will be inflamed and have increased permeability (more, larger molecules and pathogens can pass undigested into the blood stream) which in turn increases the acidity of the blood and draws alkaline nutrients out of the bone.  Moreover, malabsorption can lead to nutrient deficiencies that can inhibit bone regrowth.

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What is the key to maximizing the nutrient content in your whole grains? Soaking and sprouting!

If you think about what a grain is, you will realize that grains are seeds, waiting to be buried, watered, and grow into a new plant. Seeds and legumes (beans, nuts) may also develop into a full grown plant.  But why don’t the grains start growing? What is keeping them from germinating? (more…)

Nutritional Guidelines For Those Thinking of Pregnancy

Recent research has discovered the nutrient environment of a growing fetus and baby significantly impacts genetic expression. Overall health and risk of disease are in part dependent on the mother’s health and nutrient intake before, during, and after pregnancy.  Just as nutrition is important to growing kids and adults, so to is it critical for the first weeks, months, and years of development.  (more…)

BASAL METABOLIC RATE

Calculating your caloric needs is in part based on you Basal Metabolic Rate is the amount of energy (calories) needed to keep a person alive.  That includes a person’s heart beat, lungs movements, brain function, tissue processes, and body temperature.  When a person exerts themselves beyond these basic measures energy expenditure increases.  Even intensely exercising for a short amount of time can increase caloric needs. The quantity and quality of food you eat, water you consume, and heat your body produces all affect your BMR. (more…)

Take Charge of Your Health!

Ready to make some changes but not sure where to start? Take a look at one of these recommendations. Pick one, try it out for a week and see if you notice a change! (more…)

These days, most ice creams are full of toxic additives.  Ice cream manufacturers are not required by law to list the additives used in their products.  Independent testing has discovered some toxic chemicals in ice cream that don’t appear on the ingredient list. What else are they hiding?

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Drinking pure water is a crucial factor of a healthy lifestyle.  With your body being between 60-70% water, this substance plays a fundamental role in regulating all aspects of biological activity. Being dehydrated is the root cause of countless conditions that lead to tiredness and general malaise. Are you dehydrated?  (more…)

Do you have food allergies, digestive distress, environmental toxicity, acne, or eczema? You may have a leaky gut! Read more to learn what happened and how to heal yourself.  (more…)

Maintaining a healthy balance of gut microflora is the key to efficient digestion and overall health. Dysbiosis is a condition when your healthy gut flora have been compromised and overtaken by disease-causing microbes.  Food allergies, the overconsumption of refined sugars and flours and processed foods, use of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, antibiotics, hypoacidity of the stomach, excessive consumption of alcohol, or the overconsumption of carbohydrates and fiber can lead to dysbiosis.  (more…)

The path of digestion begins even before you put food in your mouth.  When you see and smell, or even just think about food, your salivary glands (parotid by the ear, sublingual and submandibular), release an enzyme called amylase, and mucus and water to coat the lining of the mouth.  Chewing your food is crucial to prevent malabsorption and indigestion.  (more…)

There is an increasing occurrence of gluten sensitivity and intolerances today.  Some people believe it is the result of genetically modifying the food we eat, although there is still no conclusive evidence of this.  Perhaps the increase in allergies is a result of poor nutrition and sedentary lifestyle finally taking its toll on this generation. However, by adding new DNA to foods, new proteins are being expressed in these foods.   (more…)