Tips for Injury Prevention and Recovery with Dr. Blake Bohanan, DPT

Hey friends! In this episode, Dr. Blake Bohanan shares tips for preventing exercise-related injuries and best practices for recovering quickly should those injuries occur. He also shares about his journey into opening his own practice, Shift Performance PT, here in Knoxville, TN.

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Topics in this episode…

Why workout injuries are so common, especially this time of year. 

How to prevent common injuries from happening in the first place.

Best practices for recovering from exercise-related injuries

How the Shift Performance PT therapy model is different from traditional physical therapy.

Learn more about Shift Performance PT here.

"Balancing" A Healthy Lifestyle

Hi friends! Today we are jumping into the topic of “balancing” a healthy lifestyle and how I believe this idea of “balance” is leading a lot of us to burn out and or leaving us feeling stuck. Let’s get into it! 

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I think we’ve gotten too attached to the idea of balance, especially when it comes to living a healthy lifestyle or maintaining healthy habits. So often when I ask people what they’re most frustrated with or what they’re struggling with in regards to their health, I get a lot of responses about frustration with inconsistency with working out or how they’re eating as well as a lot of frustration with not being able to balance it all. The question - “how do I do all of this” comes up a lot. Sometimes a “healthy lifestyle” can feel like a whole lot of boxes to check, which really feels like a whole lot of work! Right? 

I mean, that’s why so many of the fad diets become so popular, even though they often aren’t actually good for your health long-term, but they promise a result without all the work. 

I think we have made the ideal “healthy lifestyle” into something that is actually not realistically attainable. In reality, who can get 8 hours of sleep (2 of those being deep sleep, at the optimal time of night) every night, wake before the sun, drink 32 oz of perfectly filtered, lemon water, eat a nutritious large breakfast with the optimal amounts of carbohydrates, protein, and fat within an hour of waking + 15 different vitamins/supplements; practice complete mindfulness while getting completely ready for the day; spend time outside; space perfectly portioned and balanced meals out all throughout the day the day; stand for 10 minutes every hour; get 10k+ steps; get an hour workout in; be totally present and accessible for your family; feed your kids a beautiful, nutritious dinner; avoid too much caffeine or screen time; keep your home completely clean and laundry caught up; get everyone to bed at the ideal time of evening…. And then turn around and do it all the next day! Oh and did you notice I didn’t even mention anything about actually working a job or having any obligations or responsibilities… 

You hear me say all of this and think it sounds ridiculous - and it does! But how often do we subconsciously hold ourselves to this kind of standard and then feel like we just can’t “balance” it all when we don’t measure up. I have 100% felt this way and tried so hard attain this kind of “balance”. 

So what do we do? If we aren’t looking for balance, what are we looking for? 

I think that living a healthy lifestyle, and maintaining healthy behaviors/habits, looks a lot like a balanced scale and a lot more like juggling. 

Do we want to build a solid foundation for our health? Yes. Do we need to focus on all the different areas of a healthy lifestyle - sleep, stress, exercise, nourishment, relationships… yes - but not all at the same time. And I think that shift in mindset is what makes the difference between someone who is able to settle into participating in healthy behaviors, steadily making progress in their health, and someone who sets a goal, is all “into it” for about two weeks or a month, and then burns out. 

Think of someone who is juggling 5 bowling pins -  is he aware that all 5 are there? Yes. Is he focusing on all 5 of them at the same time? No! Just the ones in his hand at that moment and then his focus shifts as it needs to in order to keep all of the pins in the air. 

It’s just not possible for us to focus on all aspects of our health at the same time. I kind of wish that it were! My personality’s bend toward perfectionism wishes that I could master all of these areas of health and check off every box, but the thing is that I’ve tried it and it just doesn’t work! 

When we allow ourselves to focus on 1-2 areas of our health or 1-2 healthy habits at a time, it prevents us from becoming overwhelmed and burnt out so quickly. Then when we feel confident in one area, we can move onto another. This allows us to actually feel successful and to make real forward progress - it may be slower than we want to go, but it greatly increases the odds of us actually achieving our goals.  

So think about the most pressing or needed change that you need to make for your health. Is it sleep? Is it hydration? Is it eating more plants and veggies? Maybe it’s cutting out processed, chemical-full foods? 

I asked you guys on Instagram earlier in the week to give me an example of just one thing you feel like you need to focus on for your health and I would walk through what this practically looks like in the episode. Several of you said exercising consistently or being more active - something like that.

That’s a great one and super common. So let’s talk through some ideas of what that may look like practically:

• Make an appropriate goal - to move your body 5 days a week (not to work out every single day and lose 10 lbs.). The goal is simply to move your body. 

• Make it work for you:

  • Figure out what activity/exercise you actually enjoy

  • Decide if you do better alone or do you need someone to keep you accountable? Would you enjoy a group activity more than a solo workout? 

  • Brainstorm your usual excuses - time, energy, soreness? What has prevented you from being consistent in the past?

  • Schedule it ,but be flexible. Your week won’t go exactly as planned, so you need to be able to not be completely thrown off. (This may look like planning to walk M,W,F and do Barre or Pilates on T/R but it is 12 degrees outside or it’s raining all week, so you do a quick youtube workout or stick to pilates/barre every day instead.) You have to be able to pivot or you’ll never stick with it.

  • Track your activity with an app or watch to give yourself a little extra accountability. 

Do you see how changing your focus from 5 goals or areas of focus to just this 1 could lead to more successful progress? It’s like a snowball effect. A little change and progress leads to another change, which leads to another, and another. Before you know it, you look back and things look completely different. 

Here’s the thing - consistency and success in one behavior or habit usually crosses over into another. For example, when you’re feeling good about how you’re moving your body, you will likely naturally be more intentional about what you are eating and if you’re hydrated. Or maybe you’ll notice that your sleep starts to naturally improve and you start to pay more attention to the quality of your sleep overall. Success usually breeds success leaving you feeling more confident in how you’re caring for your health. Which is really the goal at the end of the day anyway. 

So I hope that you will try adjusting how you approach living a healthy lifestyle and choose to focus on 1-2 things at a time. I believe it will be a game-changer for you. 

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What's Coming in 2022 + Some Thoughts from the Heart

Hi friends! In today’s episode, I want to give a little of a preview of some things coming in Q1 of 2022, as well as share some things that have been on my heart recently.

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2021 has been a great year in a lot of ways and there have still been some pretty difficult parts, right? It felt like it lasted forever, to me at least! I love new beginnings and thinking about the potential of the future, so the end of the year and coming new year is always an exciting time for me. I’m really looking forward to 2022 both in my personal life and for what’s coming for the Health Forward community. So I wanted to share a just a few things that are coming in Q1 of next year that you can be watching for:

• A new round of HF group coaching is starting in mid-January 2022. This is one of my absolute favorite things to do. It’s the perfect way to get health education and coaching at a lower cost and time commitment - and you get to be part of a community of women with similar goals and struggles as you!

• The Move Forward, Feel Better Course is live on my site again! This is a perfect option for the DIY-er or someone wanting more education about how to support their health but may not have the budget or schedule capacity for personalized health coaching.

• The #hfpodcast will be back again with a new season starting in January but will now feature new episodes every other week. This will allow me to devote more of my attention to working with clients while still providing quality healthy-living education and encouragement for you on the podcast.

I wanted to leave you with a few thoughts today that I’ve just been thinking about for a while. This question of “does it even matter to spend time/energy on my health” just keeps coming up for me, and I’m guessing I’m not the only one. 

Especially for those of us who follow Jesus,  is this something we should even be concerned with? 

I keep being reminded of this idea of Struggle and progress. While there is absolutely no perfection on this side of heaven and we will never be able to outrun the curse (my pastor recently said if Mother Teresa and Jack Lalanne couldn’t escape death, none of us have a chance! It was a super encouraging sermon {jokes - it actually was}), but I don’t think that means that we just decide to not care. I hear a lot of people say “well I’m gonna die of something” as an excuse to treat their bodies really poorly. I know that they are mostly kidding, but in reality, I think that way of thinking subconsciously affects the way that a lot of people see their health. I feel like there can be a huge disconnect between Christians and not caring for their bodies. By no means am I trying to equate some level of holiness with good health or living a healthy lifestyle? You are not more godly because you are fit or a certain size, or because you don’t have __ health problems. The opposite is also true - you aren’t more godly because you disregard the “earthly”, physical, and focus solely on the spiritual. As with most things, there is tension here. So many things in life aren’t either/or but both/and - and I think our mindset when it comes to our health and the caring of our physical bodies falls under this category as well.

Should we be trying to perfect our bodies/find the fountain of youth/become obsessed with how our bodies look or even feel?? No - that’s both very self-centered and pretty pointless, honestly. Are we going to be symptom-free, disease-free, problem-free in this life? No. As a matter of fact, we can pretty much expect the opposite. 

Does that mean that we shouldn’t care about the health of our bodies? Should we abuse the bodies that God gave us with food/drinks/substances that damage them, fill our minds with toxic junk, and just generally ignore our health? No! That’s not stewarding the gift of these bodies that God gave us to experience this life with. I don’t believe that’s what we need to do either.

Will there always be struggle? Yes. Can there also be progress and improvement too? Absolutely yes. 

I really believe this in the depths of my heart. This is what makes my approach to health and what I do different. I am coaching you to know how your body works and to care for it as the gift that it is. Not to lose a certain amount of weight or look a certain way. Not to look or even feel perfect - that isn’t a real possibility anyway.

I often get asked what program I follow and the simple answer is that I don’t. I don’t do “programs'' or sell products. I just teach real-life, sustainable, actionable steps to support the health of your body. If you’re looking for a quick-fix, super easy (also hear me say - likely unsustainable and maybe even unhealthy) way to make changes to your body or your health, then I’m not it. I’m passionate about this stuff because I think it matters and I encounter so many unhelpful theories about health that I want to offer you something different. 

If this is something that resonates with you, check out my course or enroll in this upcoming round of group coaching coming up in January. 

I hope that this episode encouraged you or gave you a different perspective. I’m excited for what’s to come in 2022 and continuing to support you in your health journey.

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How Oral Health is Connected to Overall Health with Melody Frank, RDH

Hi friends! In this episode of the #hfpodcast, my friend and Registered Dental Hygienist - Melody Frank, is sharing how our oral health directly affects the quality of our overall health. She is also sharing tips and recommendations for good dental home-care and periodontal disease prevention.

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Questions Answered in this Episode:

How is oral health connected to the overall health of the rest of the body?

What are some common things that we do that can be damaging to our oral health?

Are there things, besides normal brushing and flossing, that are supportive of our oral health? 

Give us all the deets about oral hygiene - how often should we really brush and floss? What are your tips for people who hate flossing? 

Resources Mentioned In this episode:

Ask the Dentist, Teeth Talk Girl

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How to Choose A Probiotic

Hi friends! Today’s episode is in response to a very common question that I’m asked, which is “which probiotic should I take? Which do you recommend?” I’ve talked about probiotics in several different episodes but I wanted to consolidate my thoughts into one episode for you.

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My guess is that you probably know that probiotics are beneficial to our gut health and you may even be taking one, but I often get questions about which kind of probiotic I recommend or think is best. 

Before I answer that question, I want to back up just a little bit and make sure we cover the why behind taking probiotics. I always want you to be educated on what you are putting into your body and why/if you even need it - so let’s start there.

Our gut microbiome is an ecosystem within our bodies that is made up of trillions of microbes - some that are beneficial to our health, and some that aren’t so much. Just as with any other kind of ecosystem, balance is key in order for it to thrive. The same is true for our microbiome. 

Many factors of our normal day-to-day lives work against this balance. For example, a few of the most common issues are:

• Standard American Diet (It’s referred to as SAD for a reason)

• Poor sleep quality

• Chronic stress 

• Overuse of medications like antibiotics, PPIs, and antidepressants (while these are necessary at times they are major contributors to an imbalanced microbiome)

There are many other factors that can contribute to imbalance in our guts, including genetics, that we can discuss in another episode. I just wanted to reiterate the point that most of us need to have probiotics in our daily regimen (whether from food sources or through a supplement).  

A few important things to look for in a probiotic supplement:

• Multi-strain blend that includes both lactobacillus and bifidobacterium strains

• CFU count above 5-billion (with a few exceptions) 

• Third-party tested for quality of ingredients and end result 

A couple of pro-tips taking a probiotic:

• Start with a small dose and build your way up to the recommended dosage of the package

• Rotate the blend that you are taking every few months to ensure you are including a wide variety of strains

A couple of my favorite brands for probiotics are Mary Ruth Organics and Klaire Labs. 

Mary Ruth Organics has both a general probiotic that every member of the family can take. It’s a raw probiotic, so you will notice that the CFU count is lower and that is okay in this case. It is also a tasteless liquid and shelf-stable so it’s super easy to take and very budget-friendly. 

They also have a few targeted probiotic blends that are pretty new but I haven’t personally tried those yet. 

Klaire Labs is my other go-to, especially for more targeted probiotic blends. Their Therbiotic-Complete formula is one of my absolute favorites and the one that I typically recommend for most of my clients while we are working together as it has a wide spectrum of strains and a high CFU count. They also have an antibiotic support blend that I love for anyone on or coming off of antibiotics, as well as a blend called Target gbX that is specifically designed with strains that support the gut-brain connection, which is great for just about everyone but especially for those who may be dealing with mood disorders or anxiety/depression. 

Both of these brands are third-party tested and you can find their products through their own websites and even have Amazon stores that include most of their products. 

Before I wrap up for today, I do want to mention one caveat when it comes to taking probiotics. If you have serious gut health issues like SIBO or Leaky Gut, it isn’t a good idea to just start taking a high dose of probiotics and assume that it will fix it. If you aren’t also doing some work to heal your intestinal lining, you may actually experience worsening of your symptoms, so please make sure you are working with a professional who is trained in gut health - someone like myself or maybe a functional medicine nutritionist or physician who can guide you through the process of healing your gut. 

How to Support Your Liver Health

Hi friends! Today’s episode is kind of a “part 2” to last week’s episode on liver health. In that episode, we covered what the liver does and a few of the really important roles that it plays in our overall health, as well as what can happen when we don’t support our liver health. In this episode, I’m sharing practical ways that we can support the health of our livers as they support the rest of our bodies. 

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There are a number of ways that we can help support the health and function of our livers and most of them can be done from the comfort of our homes! So that’s great news! I’ve broken these down into a couple of categories to hopefully help it be easier for you to remember (you can always go to the show notes as well). 

The very first thing that we can do to support the health of our livers is… can anybody guess it?? You know what I’m going to say...

Improve gut health

I know that I sound like a broken record here, but I’m not exaggerating when I say that the health of our gut affects just about everything else in our bodies - especially our livers. If our guts aren’t healthy, toxins can be recirculated right back into the liver, instead of being excreted as they are designed to be. 

So if you are experiencing a lot of gut health issues, work with a professional trained in gut health to address the root cause. If you struggle with constipation or regular bowel movements, this is something that needs to be addressed ASAP with a treatment that will address the root cause and not just force your body to go. Unfortunately, these kinds of medications, while necessary at times (for short-term use), do nothing to heal to cause of constipation, and can harm the balance of the microbiome even more, which just perpetuates the problem. 

Here are a few ideas to help, if this is something you are struggling with: 

• High-quality bone broth daily 

• Deep breathing/box breathing before all meals

• Eating every 3-4 hours (fiber, protein, and fat)

• Add more variety to your meals (change out produce often)

• Gargle every day (start small and build up to 2-3 minutes at a time)

• Take a multi-strain probiotic (best to start this after a few weeks of the daily bone broth)

• Hydrate!! (½ body weight in oz of filtered, mineral water daily; can also add electrolytes to help)

Prioritize key nutrients 

Your liver is dependent on certain nutrients to function effectively. It needs protein to supply amino acids which assist with detoxification. It also needs liver-friendly nutrients including vitamin C and B vitamins, zinc, and selenium,  as well as antioxidants found in cruciferous vegetables like broccoli, cauliflower, brussels sprouts, cabbage, and kale, for example. Healing foods like garlic and turmeric can also support liver function by assisting with the production of liver enzymes.

One simple tip for increasing the intake of these essential nutrients is to aim for half a plate of vegetables at every meal, making sure to include some/all of the cruciferous ones that I just mentioned. If you’re also working on your gut health, most of these veggies are more easily digested when cooked (sauteed, roasted, steamed, etc.).

There are some other nutrients and herbs that may also be helpful in supporting the liver: 

• NAC (N-acetyl cysteine) and Glutathione are both antioxidants that have been shown to support the liver 

• Milk Thistle, dandelion root, and astragalus are commonly used to nourish the liver and assist in healing, especially for those with congested/fatty livers. You can often find Liver Support Teas that are made of a blend of these herbs. 

Increase lymphatic movement

Unlike the circulatory system, the lymphatic system doesn’t have a pump to keep things moving. It is dependent on the movement of your muscles and tissue to move the lymph around to different lymph nodes in the body to be filtered and then recirculated.

Moving our bodies every day for even just 10-15 minutes can help increase circulation as well as movement within the lymphatic system. Dry Brushing is also a helpful tool for increasing lymph movement in the body and can be done daily or several times a week before showering or taking a bath. 

Reduce toxic burden

One major way that we can help support the health of our livers is by reducing our exposure to toxins. As I’ve talked about many times, the body - specifically speaking here about the liver - is designed to filter toxins, so we don’t need to try to be 100% toxin-free or live in a pure bubble, however, we can place an undue burden on the liver when the number of toxins we are exposed to and the rate at which we are exposed to toxins is really high. Remember how in the last episode we talked about how every single thing we breathe, digest, or absorb has to be filtered through the liver. So when we are continually eating, breathing, and absorbing things that are full of chemicals that are harmful to our bodies, we have created a huge workload for our livers. 

So what are some simple ways to reduce our exposure: (have entire episodes about this 24, 64, and 65)

• Choosing organic produce (for the dirty dozen) and organic, antibiotic-free meats dramatically reduce the number of herbicides and pesticides we are exposed to.

• Increase awareness of the ingredients in personal care products and cleaning products. (EWG)

• Decrease foods/substances that create a greater workload for the liver such as alcohol/drugs, sugar, caffeine, high-starch carbohydrates (especially w/o protein and fat). 

Use Alternative therapies

There are a few other ways to support the liver that I wanted to mention:

• The use of a castor oil pack over the liver is believed to increase circulation to the liver as well as help in the production of one of our master antioxidants - glutathione. 

• Epsom salt baths are helpful for many things, especially in relief from sore muscles and even in reducing stress. Some also believe that the absorption of magnesium sulfate from the epsom salts can also support the liver. 

• Acupuncture has been shown to improve circulation and therefore decrease stagnation. There are many studies showing that acupuncture is helpful for liver function. 

• TCM believes there to be a direct link between unresolved feelings of anger or sadness and poor liver health. We know unresolved emotions and trauma can also lead to chronic inflammation and even poor adrenal health as well. So all the more reason to be sure you are paying attention to your emotional health as well, managing stress well, as well as seeing a counselor if you feel that you need some additional support navigating through past experiences or feelings (most of us do). 

Adding in a combination of few of these ideas into your daily and weekly rhythms will help support not only your liver health but your overall health as well.

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Why Liver Health Matters

Hi friends! In today’s episode, we are talking about our livers and why it’s so important that we take good care of them! The health of our livers is probably not something that often crosses our minds, but it is one of the most important organs in our bodies both for everyday function and long-term health. So let’s get into talking about the liver…

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The liver is the unsung hero of our bodies. It performs over 500 essential functions and unless something is going wrong, it rarely ever gets noticed. Most people I know don’t go around thinking about their livers throughout the day, yet it’s functions are vital to all other body systems’ ability to function. 

For example, here are a few of the essential functions the liver is responsible for:

Digestion and absorption

Our livers help turn our food into energy. It stores and distributes both fat and glucose, as well as metabolizes both cholesterol and protein.  It produces bile which is vital for digestion and absorption of key vitamins and nutrients and then distributes those nutrients out to the body. It also produces key enzymes that are needed for other chemical reactions all over the body. In addition to distribution, it also stores vitamins and minerals that will be needed in the future. So just by listing these few things, this shows that our livers help regulate our blood sugar, cholesterol, and hormone levels. 

Immune Function

Our livers produce of certain proteins and components of the immune system such as cytokines as well as various other immune cells. Our livers maintain a certain amount of controlled inflammation which assists the body in detoxification, but when this becomes uncontrolled or dysregulated, it can lead to systemic inflammation which damages the immune system and can even lead to auto-immunity or cancer. 

Hormone Function

The liver is hugely important for hormone health. Our livers create proteins and cholesterol that carry hormones all over the body. In addition, it also helps deactivate hormones and assist with ridding our bodies of excess hormones, or ones that we no longer need. This process is vitally important. For example, with the hormone estrogen, our livers actually regulate which kind of estrogens our bodies produce, as well as help with the processes that remove excess estrogen from the body. Without this essential function, an excess of estrogens can build in the body leading to estrogen-dominant diseases and cancer.  

Detox 

The function that our livers are best know for is detoxification. The liver is responsible for the movement of the blood in our bodies. As a matter of fact, almost 1½ liters of blood pass through our liver every single minute in order to be filtered. Through this process it extracts toxins and stores nutrients for later use (which we discussed when talking about digestion and absorption). The liver detoxifies in three phases that must stay in sync with each other. 

Phase One is bioidentification. This is when your body sends out enzymes that put a red flag on all toxins. Phase two is conjugation. This is when the body attaches molecules to those flagged toxins to make them either water soluble or fat soluble. Phase three is elimination. This is when the body actually flushes the toxins from our bodies when we use the bathroom (and sometimes through sweat). If one of these phases isn’t working correctly, it can damage our body’s cells and allow the toxins to continue to circulate in our bodies, further taxing our livers and creating a loop of inflammation. Every single substance we breathe, ingest, or absorb through our skin will pass through our liver, which creates a huge workload for it every single day. 

The point here is that every other system in the body is dependent on the function of the liver and when our livers are healthy, and functioning well, this works great! However, the truth is that the majority of Americans are walking around with less-than-healthy livers. 

What happens when our livers aren’t healthy

It’s estimated that up to 90 million Americans (that’s almost ⅓ of the American population) has Fatty Liver Disease, which is basically inflammation of the liver that occurs when apprx. 5% of cells in the liver are replaced with fat cells. This causes the liver to be unable to keep up with it’s 500+ essential functions and add to systemic inflammation in the rest of the body, which can lead to other chronic diseases like heart disease, diabetes, even Alzheimers and Dementia. 

If Fatty Liver Disease is left untreated, it can progress into Fibrosis, and even Cirrhosis of the liver, which leads to liver failure (fatal). Liver Disease doesn’t just occur because of alcohol or drug use or Hepatitis. Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease is the most common form of liver disease and is caused by a combination of lifestyle and genetics - most commonly high-starch/high-sugar diets, insufficient protein intake, intake of trans fats and artificial chemicals, unresolved emotions and trauma, lack of movement in the lymphatic system, and overexposure to environmental toxins. It’s not usually only too much fat, as the name would suggest.

Symptoms of an unhealthy liver or fatty liver disease

There aren’t always immediate symptoms, which can make it tricky. When symptoms do occur, some common ones are:

• Abdominal pain, fullness in the upper right side

• Nausea, loss of appetite (especially in the AM)

• Swelling in legs/abdomen

• Fatigue

• Brain Fog/confusion

• Waking up at night in the 2-3 am range regularly

You can ask your provider to run labs to check enzyme levels most commonly found in the liver ALT and AST. If either level is over 30, especially ALT, this can be indicative of a damaged liver. It’s important to note that by the time these levels are above normal, damage to the liver is already happening. So we don’t want to wait until then to care for and support the health of our liver. 

The good news is that livers regenerate and that our body has an amazing ability to heal. It will need some support from us, but an unhealthy liver, even most diseased livers, with the exception of cirrhosis, can be become healthy and well-functioning again. 

In the next episode, I am going to share ways that you can support your liver health to prevent an unhealthy, sluggish, or diseased liver, as well as ways that you can help your liver to heal if you are already experiencing liver dysfunction or disease. Make sure you stay tuned for that episode! 

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My Simple Method for Meal Planning

Hi friends! In today’s episode, we are talking about meal planning. There are many different methods and ways to meal plan, so this is not necessarily a “how-to” or a list of things you “should” do, this is just me sharing how I do things in this current season of life that I am in. I’ve had other podcast episodes about meal planning - tips for meal planning, the importance of it, etc., and even since recording those episodes, things in my life have changed and I don’t do things exactly the way that I did then. That’s just normal and a part of life. Everyone has to learn how to shift how they do things based on the season that they’re in. So today I’m sharing what is currently working for me and I hope that it gives you new inspiration or ideas, as well as give you permission to meal plan in a way that best serves you. 

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A little something you may or may not know about me, depending on how long you’ve been around the podcast, is that I am an Enneagram 9w1. (If you don’t know what that is it’s a personality test that I often reference because I think it’s super helpful.) So, that basically means my mind is a complicated, sometimes contradictory place. So I love all things organizing, order, planning, ideas, and future, but I don’t always love executing said plans, and I’m not very good at motivating myself to carry out a plan that I’m not “feeling” in the moment. I also don’t like chaos or feeling stressed about what we’re having for dinner, regretting an impulse choice, etc. (like I said, it’s complicated). So, as you can imagine, meal planning is extremely important, for me. I have tried many times to go without some kind of meal plan in place for the week and it always turns out badly. I most often end up stressed, and really frustrated with myself for not just taking the time to have a plan in place, get groceries, and get ahead of things rather than feeling like I’m constantly playing catch-up or regretting my choices. You may have a totally different personality and be absolutely fine to just go with the flow and not really need a plan in place, but that is most certainly not me. Also, from my experience working with clients, it seems that most people do better with some kind of plan in place, especially if they’re trying to be intentional about what they are eating.

There isn’t one certain way that is “right” when it comes to planning meals for yourself or your family, and there are tons of different methods that are great! Depending on your personality, the season of life you’re in, and your schedule, you may find some methods more helpful than others. I encourage you to be open to trying new ways of doing things, as well as willing to change methods of meal planning if what you have been doing is no longer serving you. 

For example, I have previously used methods where I meal plan and grocery shop two weeks at a time, or even a month at a time, but in my current season of life, I do not have the mental capacity or time to devote to doing that. Currently, I only plan meals about a week at a time, and instead of using a particular system or journal like I did before, I simply use my notes app on my phone. 

As I said in the title, my current method is super simple: 

• I start by looking at my calendar to see how many meals we will be able to eat at home that week.

• Then, I plan any themes/special things that we have going on. For example, we try to stick to something taco-ish on Tuesdays and we always do pizza Fridays - sometimes out at a restaurant and sometimes at home. 

• Next, I look for inspiration for recipes. I’m not a person who enjoys eating the same things over and over, so I’m often looking for a new recipe, something we haven’t had in a while, or a new spin on something we love. I mostly use Pinterest and a couple of my favorite Instagram accounts (Real Food Dieticians, Shawna from A Little Less Toxic, my own recipe highlights) to choose new recipes. 

• Once I’ve assigned meals to certain days (very loosely), then I add any needed ingredients to my grocery list (which I keep in the same document in my notes app) and add any items that I can to my online grocery order.  

• Currently, I’ve been getting the majority of my groceries through Kroger’s online pick-up or through Thrive Market.  On occasion, if I have time and mental capacity, I’ll go to Trader Joe’s or Whole Foods for meat and specialty type items but that’s pretty rare these days. 

The key here is to do what works for you in the season that you’re in.

I have a couple of free resources that may be helpful for you: The Foods that Heal Guide is a list of my favorite nourishing and nutrient-dense foods to keep your fridge and pantry stocked for easy meal prep; and the Easy, Healthy Eats recipe e-book has a few of my go-to recipes with ideas for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

How to Protect Your Immune Health

Hi friends! Immune health and sickness have been on our minds a lot over the last two years and while the information I’m sharing today isn’t new, I wanted to give it a refresh because, let’s just be honest, there’s some misinformation, as well as just weird info out there right now on this topic. I understand that it’s easy to get caught up in fear and have so much advice thrown at you that you don’t really know who to trust sometimes. So today's episode is a few simple reminders of ways to support and protect your immune system’s ability to do its job.

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So right from the start, I want to say that what I’m talking about today isn’t a treatment protocol in any way. This is education about the immune system and how you can best support it and protects it so that it can do the job it was designed to do. Our bodies were created so intricately and intelligently, and our immune systems know what to do - just like our hearts know how to pump blood through our bodies and our stomachs know how to digest food, however that doesn’t mean we can and treat our bodies any ole way and expect them to function well, right?.  Just as with our cardiovascular health or our digestive health, the way we live our lives - what we eat and drink, how we sleep, how we manage stress, etc. all affect our immune health as well. 

So that brings us to what we can do to support our immune systems and help them function well. 

As with just about everything else, we have to start with the gut. Over 70% of the immune system is housed in the gut. Studies have shown that the immune system is actually influenced and taught by the gut microbiome. The microbiome helps determine the vitality of the immune system and its response to infection. We can easily conclude that poor gut health equals poor immune system function. So that is where I think we start. 

Support good gut health 

Two main aspects that I focus on when working on gut health are protecting the gut lining and supporting a healthy microbiome - both are crucial for good gut function and overall health. 

One of the main ways to protect the gut lining is to repair any current damage. Increased intestinal permeability (aka Leaky Gut) is more common than you may think and doesn’t always look like digestive symptoms, although it certainly can. When the gut lining is healthy, it creates a tight barrier all along our digestive tract, but when it is damaged large holes or openings can happen along the tract that allows food particles, toxins, bacteria, etc. to escape into the bloodstream. This causes chronic inflammation in the body which can make you more susceptible to illness and impair your immune response. 

One of the simplest ways to help repair the gut lining is by incorporating bone broth into your daily dietary intake either through drinking it or using a bone broth powder.

When it comes to the microbiome, the goal is to have a healthy balance of microbes. We are made up of trillions of tiny microbes, some good guys, and some not so much. When the bad guys (or pathogenic/opportunistic) outweigh the good guys, that’s called Dysbiosis. Research has linked dysbiosis to many common diseases as well as an altered, impaired immune response. 

A few ways to support a healthy microbiome are: repairing your gut lining, taking a quality, multi-strain probiotic; reducing food-related toxins like herbicides and pesticides, antibiotics in meat, etc.; promote healthy digestion and nutrient absorption by chewing thoroughly and not rushing through meals or eating when overly stressed. 

It’s also a good idea to eat a wide variety of high-fiber fruits and vegetables. One great way to expand your variety is by eating seasonally and trying 1 new fruit or veggie each time you buy groceries. 

Lastly in regard to gut health and food, remember to be mindful of your sugar intake, especially this time of year. I absolutely all the fall/holiday desserts and treats that come along with the holiday season, but the intake of sugar can quickly add up and start to cause inflammation in the body. Enjoy the season to the fullest while also being intentional. 

Mind your S’s

In addition to caring for your gut, a few other lifestyle factors have a huge impact on our immune health. I like to call them the 3 Ss - sweat, stress, and sleep. 

Sweat

We all know that we need to exercise regularly to keep our bodies functioning well, but I’m not sure that we often think of it in relation to our immune systems. When we exercise - move for an extended period of time and get our heart rates elevated a bit, it also helps to create movement in our lymphatic system - which helps our bodies get rid of toxins, it increases oxygen to all areas of our bodies - which increases healing, and helps to reduce stress and chronic inflammation. 

In addition to exercise, I also love the use of a combo of dry brushing and either regular detox baths or a sauna to induce sweating and release toxins from the body. This can be especially helpful when you start to feel sick and may not have the energy for exercise. 

Stress

Stress activates our fight or flight response, which when experienced in short-term situations, can actually activate the immune system to fight off an infection or “intruder” more quickly. Chronic stress experienced in a long-term situation, however, can have detrimental effects on the immune system by triggering chronic inflammation and altering the production of cytokines and T-cells which work to protect our bodies. 

So a couple of quick reminders on ways to reduce the effects of chronic stress on the body: 

Exercise, as we just talked about, can induce the good effects of short-term stress and activating the immune system, while also allowing cortisol (stress hormone) levels to regulate, which can help with inflammation. Practicing mindfulness and meditation, including deep breathing exercises can also help to regulate cortisol levels and allow the body to enter into the rest and digest state. Another great way to help your body deal with stress, and therefore support your immune system, is to get outside every day. In addition to the vitamin D, the fresh air often helps to reset mood and can also help with circadian rhythms, which can help with the last S that I want to mention today, sleep (Ideally, you can combine these three things together).

Sleep

Sleep is really one of the most important components of supporting good health in general, and especially of supporting and protecting the immune system. Getting enough good-quality sleep enables a well-balanced immune defense. Research has shown that during certain phases of sleep that immune function actually increases, which allows the body to more efficiently overcome illness and injury, as well as increase immune memory which allows the body to be better prepared to fend off future illness. 

The opposite is also true, lack of good-quality sleep can interfere with the healthy functioning of the immune system. Sleep deprivation has been linked to short-term illnesses such as viral infections, as well as long-term health conditions like diabetes, heart disease, and neurodegenerative diseases as well as depression and even cancer. It is believed that this is connected to increased chronic inflammation levels in the body brought about by the lack of sleep. 

I have an entire episode on sleep that’s full of tips (episode 29) but I wanted to share a few quick ways to help prioritize good-quality sleep. 

Both exercise and managing stress which we just discussed go a long way in promoting good sleep at night. All three of these - sleep, stress, and exercise - work cyclically together, each one helping in the other areas. 

Also, having a good bedtime routine that you do consistently each night can help trigger the brain that it’s time for sleep. Avoiding blue light after dark and any kind of emotional stressor, as best as you can control it. Research shows that your body gets the most restorative sleep, in which the immune system can actually strengthen and renew itself, in the window of time about 3-4 hours after the sun goes down. This would mean that it’s important to be getting into bed well before this time so that you are sure to be asleep as this window of extra-restorative sleep begins.

These are truly the foundation of a healthy immune system - good gut health and solid lifestyle behaviors that support your body’s ability to function properly. 

Extra support 

In addition to that foundation, you may need some extra support, which in my opinion is where vitamins, minerals, and other supplements are helpful. 

I have another episode that dives more into each of these areas, so I’m not going to get very into it today, but I often get questions about what is helpful, so I want to briefly mention it. 

• Whole-food multivitamins to fill in nutritional gaps 

• Whole-food multimineral can also be helpful, especially with sleep (magnesium)

• Probiotics (multi-strain)

• Vitamin C (liposomal in time of stress or sickness) and vitamin D (especially in the winter months)

It’s true that the more intentional you are for caring for and supporting your body, the better it will function. That’s not to say you will never get sick, you will - and that’s okay. Your body is intelligent enough to know what to do. We just need to be sure that we are supporting it well and not living our lives in such a way that it hinders its ability to function well. 

I hope that this episode has been helpful to you and gave you some good reminders of how to support and protect your immune system, especially as we continue to manage life during a pandemic, and especially as we get into the fall and winter months. 

If you have any questions, email info@yourhealthforward.com.

I also have opened my schedule back up for a few new clients for the fall, and I would love to help you. Schedule a free health coaching discovery call here.

Reference: https://www.ifm.org/news-insights/gut-health-immune-response/; https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3256323/;

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24798553/; https://www.sleepfoundation.org/physical-health/how-sleep-affects-immunity

*Disclaimer: Product links listed in this episode are affiliate links that provide a small commission to me with no additional cost to you. Thank you for your support!

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PCOS 101

September is PCOS awareness month and so for today’s episode, I wanted to do a quick deep dive into some basics about PCOS. It is actually the number one hormonal imbalance condition among reproductive-aged women and sadly, the leading cause of female infertility. So, this condition affects a lot of women and like many other hormonal issues, it can take a long time to get a proper diagnosis. So I want you to be informed about what PCOS is, what some of the common symptoms are, and if you or someone you love has PCOS, what we can do to help with it!

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PCOS is a common hormone and metabolic condition that affects up to 15% of reproductive-age women. It is associated with a higher risk for long-term health issues such as heart disease, diabetes, hypertension, sleep apnea, and infertility. Higher instances of insulin resistance, IBS, and depression/anxiety are also reported with PCOS. 

Symptoms often associated with this disorder are absent or infrequent menstrual cycles, excess weight gain or inability to lose weight, excess facial or body hair, head hair thinning or loss, severe acne, and often (but not always) insulin resistance and polycystic ovaries. 

PCOS is the most common form of hormonal imbalance and while experts know that it is rooted in inflammation and insulin dysregulation, what actually triggers PCOS is not understood. There seems to be a genetic factor, as women with moms or sisters diagnosed with PCOS are likely to have it as well. Also, as with any hormonal condition, gut health plays a major role. Some believe that it can possibly be linked with a combination of imbalanced gut flora and increased intestinal permeability, which leads to increased inflammation in the body. This can cause cells to become rigid and unable to receive the signal from insulin to let glucose into the cell (which leads to your pancreas continuing to pump out more insulin, and left untreated eventually becomes insulin resistance). Although ovaries do not become insulin resistant, when bombarded with insulin, the ovaries can respond by secreting testosterone. An excess of insulin can also inhibit the secretion of sex hormone-binding globulin (SHBG) which is the protein that binds excess sex hormones like testosterone and estrogen. This creates a perfect storm for these common PCOS symptoms.

PCOS is a clinical diagnosis, which means that it’s based on having a grouping of some PCOS symptoms and ruling out other diagnoses. Often a physician may want to perform an ultrasound to check the ovaries for cysts, but it is important to note not every woman with PCOS will have polycystic ovaries (despite the name). Most women with PCOS do have insulin resistance, but again - not all. It’s important that you work with your physician and be informed on the recommended lab tests that can be helpful for making a diagnosis. Functional medicine practitioners recommend a full thyroid panel, a full hormone panel including estrogen, testosterone, DHEA, SHBG, progesterone, prolactin, LH, FSH, and AMH, as well as a lipid panel and fasting blood glucose and insulin, and A1C. There may also be other tests as well as research about PCOS continues to be published. 

Once someone receives a PCOS diagnosis there really aren’t a lot of great conventional treatment options. The most common option is to take hormonal birth control and while that can help with symptoms, unfortunately, it doesn’t do anything to actually heal the cause of the symptoms. Not only that, but some believe that it may actually worsen the condition over time. Metformin is also a common medication given to women with PCOS. Just be sure to research and speak with your doctor about the common negative side effects that can be associated with it. 

While there is no cure for PCOS, there are things that a woman diagnosed with PCOS can do to help with symptoms as well as target the underlying known contributors to PCOS - blood sugar dysregulation, poor gut health, and inflammation. 

When I work with clients who have PCOS the first two things that we work on are supporting balanced blood sugar and healing their gut. So let’s talk about some foods, supplements, and lifestyle modifications that can help with those things.

When it comes to food, the first thing to remember is that your body needs to feel safe and know that it can count on adequate fuel throughout the day. The best way to do this is to eat a balanced meal (meaning fiber, protein, and fat) about every 3-4 hours. So that typically looks like breakfast, lunch, dinner, and at least 1 snack, maybe 2. You don’t want to eat continually or fall into grazing throughout the day, but also don’t skip meals or go long periods of time without eating. 

Some specific foods that can help:  

• clean sources of protein: wild-caught, omega-3 rich fish such as salmon, cod, trout or sardines; bone broth, grass-fed beef

• High fiber carbs:  cruciferous veggies, pumpkin, beans, rice, berries, goji, cherries, onion, parsley, garlic, freshly ground flax seeds 

• Healthy fats: walnuts, coconut, olives, 

• Herbs, spices, teas: cinnamon, turmeric, ginger, decaf green tea, Holy Basil tea, liver support teas - like milk thistle or dandelion 

There are some supplements that may also be helpful. I do just want to remind you that everyone’s body is different and may respond differently to herbs/supplements. It’s really best to work with a practitioner who is knowledgeable about these supplements and your particular healthy history. With that said, Vitamin D and methylated B-complex can be helpful because a lot of women (in general), especially with PCOS, are deficient in these. Herbs like Vitex, Dong Quai, saw palmetto, nettle root, and licorice can help with some of the common PCOS symptoms. Inositol is another common supplement given to help with insulin sensitivity and other common issues with PCOS.

There are also some lifestyle recommendations and alternative therapies that can be helpful as well. We all know that regular exercise is good for us, but especially for women with PCOS daily movement is vital for reducing inflammation, balancing blood sugar, and supporting gut and liver health. It’s also important to participate in weight training at least 2x per week (either bodyweight or added weights) which has been proven to help increase insulin sensitivity, allowing it to be more useful in the body. It’s also recommended that women with PCOS prioritize getting 8-9 hours of sleep each night and commit to stress-reducing routines like daily walks and downtime from social media and other emotional stressors. Acupuncture can also be helpful. Many women have also found seed cycling to be helpful - and that probably needs its own episode but essentially is eating certain types of seeds in the follicular phase of your cycle and then switching to other seeds in the second type of your cycle. This can help the body get rid of excess hormones more efficiently and may support more balanced hormone levels. It also provides a great source of fiber which is helpful for gut and liver health  

Ultimately, if you or someone you love has PCOS it’s important to know that even though there isn’t a cure, symptoms can be managed and your body can be supported in such a way that the condition doesn’t have to take over your life. Make sure to get a good team of healthcare professionals on your side that can help you with all aspects of your health and really take the time to learn about PCOS and about how your own body responds - what works for you and what doesn’t. 

Friends, I hope that this episode has been helpful for you. If you’re struggling with PCOS know that you aren’t in this alone and that there is help available for you. Start with some of these things that I’ve mentioned today and build a team of people around you that can support you in this journey. As always if you have any questions, you can send an email to info@yourhealthforward.com. 

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What You Should Know About Essential Oils

Hi friends! In this episode, I’m talking about a topic that I really enjoy - Essential Oils! They have been all the rage for quite a while now, but today I really wanted to get into the basics of what they are, how they actually work, what safety considerations we need to follow, as well as what some of my favorite oils are and how I use them. 

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What are Essential Oils?

Essential Oils are concentrated aromatic liquids that are derived from various parts of plants. They are the true essence of the plant and have many useful properties for the plant, like attracting pollinators, repelling pests, etc. but they also have useful properties for humans. Pure essential oils are harvested at their peak, properly distilled, and completely unaltered or added to in any way. 

It’s important to note that essential oils can not cure anything. They are meant to be used to ease common symptoms and support the body’s natural healing abilities. They are considered a form of alternative medicine but should not be used to replace prescription medications or other therapies prescribed by your physician. 

What should you look for in an essential oil?

The two things that matter most when considering essential oils are quality and purity. You’ll often hear about different grades of essential oils - therapeutic and food grade. What’s important to know here is that there is no official grading system for essential oils in the US (it’s often just a marketing tactic); however, there are a few markers of both quality and purity to look for. An essential oil should be clearly labeled with its full botanical name and not contain any additional ingredients, fillers, or something else that ers, or additives. The essential oil company should be completely transparent about their quality standards and the ingredients/processes that they use by providing a GC/MS report or an equivalent (this states exactly what is in the bottle of oil). It’s also important that the essential oil be stored in a glass bottle that protects the oil from light, such as an amber glass bottle. 

How do essential oils work? 

Essential oils can have many beneficial effects, which we’ll get into in a minute, but first I want to explain how they interact with the body. Inhaling essential oils interacts with the olfactory system in the body, which stimulates the limbic system, and then the hypothalamus in the brain. This, in turn, affects the cells in our body. For example, many essential oils help with emotional health by promoting relaxation, energy, focus, or reducing worry or nervous energy. This happens through this process of stimulating the limbic system, impacting the hypothalamus, and then triggering cell memory - especially when the scent is associated with feelings of calm or comfort. 

How do you use essential oils safely?

There are two main ways to use essential oils - inhalation and topical application. There are a few different ways to inhale essential oils but by far the easiest is by using a diffuser. This disperses the oil into the air which allows you to both enjoy the aroma of the oil but also experience the therapeutic effects through the process I just explained. Most aromatherapists suggest diffusing for about 30-minutes at a time. 

You can also benefit from essential oils by applying them topically. Many essential oils are very beneficial for skin health, muscle pain, and some even believe they can help with inflammation. When using an essential oil topically, it’s extremely important to dilute the oil properly with a carrier oil/lotion. Most oils should have a dilution guide right on their label or at the very least on the company’s website. There are a lot choices to use for a carrier oil. My personal favorite is fractionated coconut oil, but jojoba oil, argan oil are all great choices.  You can also buy pre-diluted oils and lotions - just be careful to check the label for additives or unnecessary ingredients. 

It’s also important that if you are using oils around pets or children that you check to make sure that they are safe for that. Also, if you are pregnant or nursing, there are certain oils that aren’t safe during that time, so make sure you are doing your research. 

What are some of my favorite oils? 

I’m by no means an expert on essential oils, but I have been using them for several years and have found them to be so helpful! I don’t really get into the whole which brand is the best discussion because I feel like so much of it is marketing but obviously, as I shared before quality matters, so do research on the brand that you use and don’t just grab something from the shelf at the grocery store without reading about it first. Personally, I mostly use Plant Therapy oils. I really appreciate their transparency, their customer service, and educational resources, and I really love their prices. Again, that’s not to throw any shade at the other brands, that’s just what has worked the best for me and my family. 

Before I wrap up today, I want to share with you a few oils that I always try to keep on hand and why I love them so much. 

Lemon 

It’s such a bright and cheery scent. It can help with improving both your mood and ability to focus. It’s also great to use around the house for cleaning. I add it to my all-purpose cleaner, use it to scrub my sink, remove stickers and labels from bottles, and so much more. 

Lavender

It’s probably the most common essential oil and has endless benefits. It helps to promote relaxation and sleep. It can be used topically to soothe burns or other skin irritations and it has antimicrobial properties. 

Peppermint

Another really popular oil that is helpful for so much. It helps soothe skin by providing a cooling effect that is also really helpful for muscle pain. It is great for helping calm digestive discomfort and reducing nausea, as well as helping with tension headaches. It also is great for diffusing and promotes energy and mental clarity. 

Frankincense

This is a great oil for skin health. It can help with aging and improving skin elasticity. It has been shown to help support lung health and clear breathing. It can help ease aching joints and calm inflammation. It also has emotional health benefits by promoting a sense of calm. 

Clary Sage

This oil is one of my favorites and most used. It can promote a feeling of calm and reduce feelings of anxiety. It can also help with PMS symptoms by providing relief for cramps as well as helping to stabilize your mood. I consider this one a must-have. 

Germ Fighter

This is an essential oil blend from Plant Therapy (it is comparable to Thieves oil) and contains Lemon, Clove Bud, Eucalyptus Globulus, Cinnamon Cassia, and Rosemary oils. It’s great for supporting the immune system. I use this in our hand sanitizer, as well as apply topically when I feel like one of us is fighting something off. I also diffuse this regularly in our home, especially right now. I also just love the scent! It smells like Christmas to me!

I hope this has been helpful for you! Whether you are on the fence about essential oils and wondering what all the fuss is about or whether you’ve been using them for a while but didn’t really know all the details behind how they work, I hope you now feel more educated and empowered to use essential oils for yourself and your family. 

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How Your Life Affects Your Health with Dr. Clayton Bell, MD

Hi friends! In this episode of the #hfpodcast, Integrative Medicine Physician - Dr. Clayton Bell, MD, shares the impact that different aspects of our lives can have on our health. He discusses how the foods we eat, intense seasons of stress, and even unresolved trauma can lead to common health concerns.

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Questions answered in this episode:

• How did you become passionate about integrative medicine?

• Why is what we eat so important? Does it really have that much of an impact on our health?

• With hundreds of types of diets out there, each promising to be the best, how do we know which is the best for us? 

• The phrase “food as medicine” has become popular but is a bit ambiguous. Can we really use food to help our bodies heal? Can you give some examples? 

• What are some common issues with women’s health that you see in your practice and what do we need to be aware of?

Resources mentioned in this episode:

• UT Medical Center TRE Research Study - Jill Maples (jmaples1@utmck.edu/865.305.9367)

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A Few of My Favorite Less-Toxic Swaps

Hi friends! In today’s episode, I want to share a few of my favorite less-toxic swaps that I feel have made the biggest impact on me and my family. 

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When it comes to learning about toxins and how they can affect the body, it’s easy to start feeling overwhelmed. Where do you start, how do you know what to swap, etc. I remember feeling so overwhelmed when I first started learning about all this stuff and kind of like I needed to just chuck everything I owned and start over. Obviously, that’s not realistic or even smart. The goal is never to bring more stress or fear/anxiety into your life bc those things are just as, if not more, toxic than all the chemicals. I have an entire episode dedicated to how to start the process of reducing toxin exposure in your life, so if you find yourself feeling that way, go back and give that one a listen. Today I just want to highlight three of my favorite swaps that we made and why I feel like they’ve had a big impact on my health and our home. 

Berkey Water Filter System

First, I want to start with the one we use the most often - the Berkey water filtration system. We use our Berkey every single day, multiple times a day - it even travels with us when we can take it. It is by far one of my favorite less-toxic investments that we have made. 

Let me back up and explain what it is: The Berkey Filtration system is a counter-top water purifying system that removes unhealthy contaminants and impurities from your tap water.  

We chose the Berkey because I wanted a filtered water option for our family and I wanted an option that was sustainable and affordable. Even though there is some government regulation on what is allowed in our tap water, I knew that it wasn’t really a safe option for drinking due to some testing we had done previously, but then I also looked up a contaminant report (from Berkey) for water coming from our water company and it found that 11 contaminants that exceeded the EWG’s guidelines and each of them were believed to be carcinogenic (increases risk for cancer). 

This wasn’t an overnight switch for us. We started by switching to bottled water, then a water cooler in the house, then finally the Berkey. For us, the final deciding factor was the amount of money we were spending each month just on water! The amount that we drink and use for cooking, etc. it saved us money, in the long run, to go ahead and invest in the Berkey system. 

Some of the things I love about it is that it doesn’t filter out minerals, which can lead to dehydration; it doesn’t require power,  so can be used in emergencies, and if there are unsafe water conditions in our area; it can be easily disassembled/reassembled so it can travel with us as well. 

I highly recommend switching to the Berkey! As of recording this a few of the sizes were sold out, so if you’re interested in getting one, I suggest you don’t wait! We have the Big Berkey which holds a little over 2 gallons at a time. 

Essential Oil Diffusers and Safe Candles 

The next less-toxic swap that I wanted to highlight today is essential oil diffusers - specifically switching them out for scented candles. I know… it’s about to be Fall, and candles are so cozy, especially those cute pumpkin ones that Target just put on the shelves. I hear you! But did you know that most regular candles actually pollute the air of your home? Most are made from paraffin when burned emits chemicals like benzene (which scores an F from the EWG with high concern for increased risk of cancer, genetic defects, reproductive issues in males, asthma, and much more), toluene (which scores a 10 also with reproductive and developmental concerns). Unfortunately, some of the soy candles aren’t much better because they are full of synthetic fragrances, which are often also made of petro-chemicals (petroleum-based just like paraffin - therefore having all the same carcinogenic and reproductive dangers) as well as phthalates, which are known endocrine disruptors. Not to mention, the allergy/respiratory irritant factor associated with synthetic fragrances. 

I’ve always been extremely sensitive to fragrances and even when I used to buy conventional candles, there were only a couple of scents that I could tolerate without having a reaction.  So what do we do instead? 

The good news is that there are options that not only are good for our health but also can actually help clean the air in our homes. I love using essential oil diffusers in my home and personally, I feel like they are also cozy and inviting. I love that I can actually support the health of my family while making my home smell good! There are so many fun diffusers on the market, some with flickering effects, just like a candle. Some of my favorite scents to use are lavender, orange, and frankincense together, or just using Germ Fighter (or Thieves) which smells like a holiday candle to me! In my bedroom, I love using lavender, of course, but also Clary Sage - both smell amazing and help to induce deep, restful sleep. 

I’ve also recently learned about a few candle companies that are making safe candles from 100% beeswax (which actually cleans the air in your home by emitting negative ions) or another clean vegetable oil source, and scented purely with essential oils. I haven’t personally tried any of these yet, but I have my eye on a couple made by Fontana Candle Company that I want to try for the fall/holiday season. 

Laundry Detergent and Cleaning Products 

The last less-toxic swap I want to talk about today is laundry detergent and cleaning products. Laundry detergent is one of the first swaps I recommend to my clients because #1 - it’s a super easy switch and #2 - your clothes/sheets/towels are touching your body all day/every day. Most regular laundry detergents are full of chemicals like SLS, dioxane, ethoxylates, formaldehyde, and of course - synthetic fragrances. As we just talked about, these chemicals cause very serious concerns for things like endocrine disruption, reproductive issues, respiratory/skin irritation, and even cancer. Our skin is our biggest organ and our clothes sit on our skin all day long. So while many of us may love the lasting scents that may come from our favorite detergents, fragrance softeners, or scent boosters, we have to remember that all of those chemicals are sinking into our skin and into our bloodstream. It’s not worth it! 

Especially when there are so many less-toxic ingredients on the market. My favorite laundry detergent is currently the Thrive Market brand unscented powder (all ingredients score an A or B on EWG). I’ve been using it for probably close to a year and have zero complaints about it. It’s affordable, easy to use, and I just add a couple of drops of essential oils to the bag if I want it to be scented. I’ve also heard great things about the Molly Suds Laundry Powders (also scores an A on EWG) though I haven’t tried it myself. 

The same concerns are true for household cleaners as well. Though those usually don’t touch our skin regularly, we breathe them in while using them and the chemicals emitted from them pollute the air in our homes. Did you know that it’s estimated that the air in our homes is at least 2-5 times more toxic than the air outside? Think about that - with all the air quality issues we worry about polluting the environment outside, inside of our homes is typically worse! 

Branch Basics is a wonderful brand of cleaners (they also have laundry products) and they are an amazing resource for education about toxins in our products and the effects they can have on our health. Again, the Thrive brand has safe options, and personally, I’m a big fan of making my own cleaners. Mainly because it’s the most affordable option for us, and right now I’m in a season where I have the time to do it - not that it takes much time at all. I actually use @alittlelesstoxic’s recipe to make most of my cleaning products. I will link to those in the notes but they are very easy to find on her Instagram feed as well. There are many other clean, safe brands of cleaners out there as well but just be careful about actually looking at the ingredients. Just because something is marketed as being “all-natural” or “green” doesn’t mean it’s actually made with safe ingredients - a lot of that is just marketing. The EWG is my favorite resource for looking up ingredients - simply type in the name of the ingredient and then the word “EWG” into the google search and it should come right - usually the first or second search results listing. 

So those are a few of my favorite less-toxic swaps that I feel have made a huge impact on the health of our family and the air quality of our home. I hope this has been helpful for you and maybe gave you some things to think about. Again, remember the point here isn’t to freak you out or make you panic, but I do want you to be informed about the concerns associated with these toxic ingredients as well as the better, safer choices on the market.

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Living Life 'A Little Less Toxic" with Shawna Holman

In this episode, Shawna Holman of A Little Less Toxic shares how making simple changes over time drastically improved her health and why the ingredients that we put on, in, and around our bodies matter so much. She also shares practical ways to start reducing the toxic burden on our bodies without feeling overwhelmed and stressed out.

LISTEN HERE: APPLE PODCASTS | SPOTIFY | STITCHER

Questions answered in this episode…

How did you first learn about the impact of toxins on your health?

Is reducing one’s toxin exposure/burden actually important or just something trendy to market “clean” products? Does using less toxic ingredients really impact our health?

How did you start reducing your toxic-burden? How do you recommend others get started in their own journey?

Learning about toxins can feel overwhelming, what is your encouragement for those who are afraid they can’t live a perfectly “clean” lifestyle?

Resources mentioned in this episode: EWG, Think Dirty - Live Clean App

Follow Shawna in all the places: Instagram, Youtube, alittlelesstoxic.com

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How I Supported My Body through Surgery

Hi friends!! In today’s episode, I’m sharing about my recent endometriosis surgery and some of the things that I did, both pre-op and post-op, to support my body through the process. My hope is that this episode will help those of you who may be looking at an endo-surgery for yourself or a friend/family member, but also for anyone who may have any kind of abdominal surgery, or really any surgery at all. Surgery is hard on the body and providing it with a little extra support can go a long way in speeding up recovery time and post-op symptoms.

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So in the last episode, I shared with you guys that I was going to be having another surgery for endometriosis and that I would update you on how everything went, as well as how I supported my body through the process. So today, I want to share those things with you. 

I’m about 1.5 months post-op at this point and thankfully, feeling really good! Overall, this was the smoothest and best surgery experience that I’ve had (of the 3) and I’m so grateful for that! I had a whole lot of people supporting me - praying for me and helping out - which I think has played a huge part in how smoothly I’ve recovered, but I also think that doing a few things both before and after surgery has really helped, as well. 

Pre-Op:

As anyone who has ever had surgery knows, it’s quite hard on the body. So, a few weeks before my surgery date I started doing a few things to both strengthen my immune system. I was already taking a prenatal vitamin as well as omega-3 supplements, CBD oil, and a probiotic daily - so I made sure to be very consistent with those. I also started taking an additional dose of liposomal vitamin c and vitamin d. I also tried to be really consistent with moving my body and getting good sleep. I even added melatonin to my regiment a few times a week, just to ensure that I was getting good, deep sleep and because it acts as an antioxidant. (Note- I did stop the omega 3s and melatonin one week before sx as they can thin the blood a bit). 

I also wanted to support my detox pathways as much as possible, knowing that I was going to be given a lot of medication (which I very gladly accepted), so I upped the times of week that dry-brushed and took detox baths. 

The surgery itself went very well. Going into it, I knew that I had cysts on both ovaries, and given that it had been 6 years since my last surgery, I honestly expected for it to be really severe. However, the surgery only took a little over an hour and there were very few lesions, at least in comparison to last time ((where I had stage 4 lesions). My doctor was also quite surprised and happy with that. As I said, I was given so much medication - more so than any other surgery prior, but again - I gladly accepted it. Thankfully, I had no complications (and had a very easy IV stick, which is usually not the case for me), so I was able to go home shortly after waking up. I will say that if you ever find yourself needing to have surgery, get yourself a BFF that’s a nurse to go with you! I basically had my own private nurse who took great care of me, kept me laughing and chatting all day, and was looking over everyone’s shoulder to make sure everything went according to plan. :) {Chrissy, you’re the real MVP here!} 

Post-Op:

So, once I got home, I was given meds to help with both pain and nausea. Thankfully, I didn’t experience that much nausea this time, but I did stay on top of it with the meds for the first 24 hours. Trust me when I tell you that puking and abdominal incisions DO NOT go well together. DO NOT RECOMMEND. I was pretty bloated and uncomfortable from the CO2 that they use to inflate the abdomen for surgery. This is a super common symptom after any kind of laparoscopic abdominal surgery and usually resolves in a day or less. 

The next few days looked like a lot of resting and sleeping as much as I could (hello, 3-yr old:)). I was pretty unsteady for about 24 hours and needed help getting up and down for a couple days. The pain stayed at a moderate level for 3-4 days and was easily manageable with the pain meds and I was able to wean down to just taking Aleve after about 3-4 days. 

During this time I did try to get in as much bone broth / bb protein as I could to start helping my gut recover from all the meds. I also upped my daily dose of probiotics since I was given antibiotics during surgery and also went back to taking the omega supplement as well as CBD, vitamin D, and extra vitamin C. 

Within a couple of days, I found myself wanting to move more, but I quickly had to learn to listen to my body because if I was walking around more than about 5 minutes, I would start bleeding more. That probably lasted for about 5ish days and then I was able to extend that time. 

One of the most challenging parts for me this time was the effect that the anesthesia (and possibly some of the meds) had on me emotionally/mentally. I felt super foggy and kind of just in a funk for about a week. I don’t remember that being an issue in previous surgeries. 

I would say that I was feeling back to myself, at least 90%, at about 2 weeks post-op, and now I am fully 100% back to normal, or honestly probably a little better than I was before surgery. I’m working my way into exercise, prioritizing my core strength and pelvic floor right now, so doing mainly Pilates for that. I’m also continuing with my vitamin/supplement regimen with the extra vitamin c and higher probiotic doses daily, as well as trying to get 3-4 dry brushing sessions and detox baths every week. 

My post-op appointment went really well and so we will resume trying on our own for baby #2 for a while. I will go back in for a follow-up in about 4-5 months, and I am starting acupuncture back next week (a couple of episodes on that if you want to know more - episode 32 and episode 54). So we’re hopeful and will just see what happens. Right now, I’m just really thankful to have the surgery behind me and to be feeling good, less inflamed, and more energetic. 

I hope that this episode has been helpful for you! If you have an upcoming surgery, I hope that you will use some of these tips and ideas as you prepare and recover. If you know someone with #endo or who may have surgery coming up, pass this episode along to them. It can be so unnerving not knowing what to expect or what recovery may look like, so I hope sharing my experience will help a little with that as well as empower you to know that there are things that you can do to help support your recovery. 

Before I leave you for today, I wanted to share with you a little encouragement - especially for those of you who may be facing surgery or any kind of concern over your health. The morning of surgery, I opened my Bible for a few minutes with God before heading to the hospital. I knew I didn’t have a lot of time, so I just randomly opened it, planning to just read a Psalm or Proverb. I opened it to Psalm 35, to a verse I don’t even remember reading before, that said “He takes pleasure in His servant’s well-being” and it brought me so much peace. I hope it brings peace to you as well! 

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Health Update + What's Next for Health Forward

Hi friends! This is episode 62 and this week, I’m just sharing a quick personal health update with you as well as what you can expect for the next several weeks from Health Forward. This is an untraditional episode but as I support you in your health journey, I also want to be transparent in sharing mine with you as well.

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The rest of this summer is going to be a little different around here and I wanted to share a little of what is going on behind the scenes, rather than just disappearing for a month and you wondering what was going on. 

As I’ve mentioned a couple of times now, I started having symptoms of what I call an “endo flare” last fall and after seeing my dr and fertility specialist, both confirmed that it’s time for another excision surgery. That is coming up at the end of next week. So obviously, I’m not thrilled but I’m ready to get it over with and hopefully get back to feeling like myself again. (for more of my endo journey, listen to episode 31 and episode 61). 

That being said, it’s not a super fun recovery and based on my last couple surgeries, I’m not going to really feel back to normal for at least a few weeks - so there won’t be any new podcast episodes again until mid-August.

I am planning to document/share some of my recovery process because I feel that could be helpful for any of you who are also dealing with endo or having surgery soon (of any kind). I plan to share what I’m doing to assist my body in healing and managing symptoms/inflammation after I’ve recovered a bit.

With all of that said, I am really excited for the fall. Episodes will start back in mid-August and I have some guest interviews lined up that I can’t wait for you guys to hear. I think you will really enjoy them and find them so helpful. I will also be taking on a handful of new clients in the fall and may have a few fun surprises brewing as well. 

So, I hope that you enjoy the rest of your summer. I appreciate your well-wishes and prayers, and can’t wait to talk to you again soon! 

Keep moving forward, friends. Go love your people well, and I’ll talk to you soon!

What I've Learned about Body Image and Chronic Disease

Hi friends! In this episode, I’m sharing some things that I’ve learned recently about navigating body image while dealing with chronic disease and how it’s affecting me personally. My hope is that some of these things that I’ve learned will be helpful and encouraging for you too!

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So if you’re thinking, “wow, Alaina - you’ve been talking an awful lot about body image lately…”, let me just say - you’re not wrong. 

A couple of months ago, one of my favorite people to follow online - Jess Connolly - started promoting her new book “Breaking Free from Body Shame” that comes out this month, and instead of a launch team, she created a community called Good Body Gals - if you listen to me here, online, or in real life, you’ve definitely heard me talk about it. :) I joined it because 1) - I’m a Jess fan-girl and 2) because I wanted to learn more about struggles with body image and body shame - especially from a Christian perspective, not only for myself but for the women that I coach. I wanted to be better equipped on how to help them work through some of these issues as well.  

What I did not anticipate is that right about that same time, I would start having Endo symptoms flare up and find out that I need to have another surgery soon. It’s been six years since my last surgery and when I had that last one I was in the thick of a long season with infertility, so I really wasn’t sure how the news would affect me this time around. I certainly wasn’t prepared for the way it would affect my body image. 

Last time, I was so much younger and was so deeply wounded and hurting from the journey I had been on. I remember feeling like my body was broken or betraying me back then but this time, I expected it to be different, I guess. I’m older, I feel like I’ve healed a lot emotionally, I’ve grown a lot spiritually, and by God's sweet faithfulness and grace, I am a mom now! I even went back to school and learned how to help others with Endo and other health challenges… how am I struggling so much with this now?

But it wasn’t different. If anything, I think it hit me a little harder this time. 

My thoughts quickly started spiraling - I thought I was done with this part of my life, you know - the “pain into purpose”, Cinderella story thing. A chapter in my story that I could look back on and credit with helping me know God more and finally figure out what I wanted to do with my life. 

I’m a health coach now! I teach other people how to move through their own health challenges and support their bodies in functioning the best that they can! How can mine be struggling so much? 

I felt frustrated. I felt a little ashamed. I felt like I didn’t do enough, didn’t know enough. That it was somehow my fault. 

I know the reality. I know that Endo is never truly gone/cured (outside of something miraculous- which I do believe can happen but don’t believe that everyone’s story goes that way). If I hadn't learned and applied what I have to try and support my body, things would likely be much, much worse. I probably would’ve already needed surgery again long before now, but the thing is, logic doesn’t really have much of an effect on feelings, does it? 

I’m so thankful that God allowed me to join the Good Body Gals community right at that same time. He knew that I would need to have some truth poured into me and spoken over me to fight these feelings. {Btw, this episode isn’t a plug for Jess or her community - although I highly recommend it to any woman, anywhere, any age}. My point in all of this is that this is a hard issue that so many of us deal with. Whether it’s as simple as feeling disappointed in yourself every time you look in the mirror, or something horrible and derogatory that someone has spoken over you that you’ve allowed to define you and still ring in your ears today, or if it’s some kind of brokenness and weakness that you are experiencing in your body - whatever the circumstance poor body image or body shame is a common struggle that when left unchecked or unmet with the truth, will start to affect the rest of your life and your health. 

I want to share just a couple of the things that I’ve learned or been reminded of over the last few weeks that I hope will help you too. 

My body is not a project 

This one really got me. I didn’t realize it until I heard it specifically addressed and taught on, but this is something that I have subconsciously thought about myself at least since I received the #endo diagnosis, maybe before that. My body being able to function, be fertile, perform, look and act the way that I wanted it to is something I have been striving toward for the past 8 or so years. Don’t get me wrong, I 100% believe in supporting our bodies to be as healthy and functioning as they can be - but for me, especially while I was going through infertility, it crossed over into obsession and consumed me. This idea of always striving, always improving, always optimizing consumed more of my thoughts, time, money, and probably even my prayers than just about anything else during that time. When I realized that I was starting to be symptomatic again, it was so easy for all of those obsessive “need to fix it” type thoughts to start rolling in again and with it these fears and insecurities that maybe I wasn’t worthy enough or knowledgeable enough to do this - to keep teaching you how to support your own health.

My body is not a tool 

Another lesson that was shared recently was the idea that not only is my body not a project, but it’s also not a tool. To be honest, I had some mental/emotional resistance to that one at first. I think I’ve always believed that my body or my health was a tool for me to turn around and use to serve others - and that sounds good, right? I mean, aren’t we supposed to be selfless and all about helping others? 

Here’s the issue with both of these ideas: when we view our bodies, or even our health, as a continual project or as a tool only intended for other people, it can quickly lead us into shame and feelings of failure because the “project” will never be done or complete on this Earth - the goalposts will keep moving and we won’t ever catch them, and at some point, our bodies aren’t going to feel like a very useful tool anymore - they aren’t going to perform, look, act, or be able to be used the way that they once were. Both of these ways of thinking lead us to look at ourselves with shame, guilt, or disappointment. And the real, real issue is that they have us just looking at ourselves.

The actual beautiful truth that we can replace these false ideas with is that God created our bodies as a gift!  He made them so that we would have a way to experience Him and worship Him while we are here on this earth and also be able to experience the rest of His creation. When we adopt this perspective instead, we find ourselves looking at God rather than ourselves and that’s the whole point. He made our bodies good and beautiful because they reflect Him. 

God’s Glory

The last thought I want to leave you with today is something that was so, so convicting to me. God is God - and that means that He is always after His Glory. When we find ourselves getting caught up in how our bodies look, how they are performing, how healthy they are or aren’t - we need to think long and hard about our motives. Why do we want those things so badly? Is it so that other people will see how good we look, how hard we’ve worked, how healthy we are, how much weight we’ve lost or muscle we’ve gained? Do we want other people to see us? If it’s about that, if that’s where our motives are - then we are out for our own glory. If we find ourselves thinking “wow - look at her” or “wow - look what she’s been able to do” (and friends, let's be honest - we have all thought those things at some point), then we are trying to take God’s glory. As believers, as women who bear the image of God, our goals should be wrapped up in people looking at us and saying “wow - look at God”, “Wow - look what God has done.”

I know that is tough and kinda stings because it got me too. I’m still preaching it to myself as much as I am to you - but if we are going to experience true freedom in our health and our body image, we are going to have to align ourselves with the truth of what God says about it (He created us after all) and then we will be able to care for our health and our bodies as the gifts that they are. 

Some exciting news… 

Lastly, I want to share some exciting news with you today! As we are talking about aligning ourselves with truth and caring for our bodies as the gifts that they are - I have created something that I believe will help you do just that! 

For a long time, I have been wanting to provide an option for women just like you who are wanting to support their bodies and improve certain areas of their health but want to do it in a way that actually moves their health forward with a real, lasting impact. I know how overwhelming it can be to try to figure out what to do first and which thing is best for you, specifically - and I want to make that easier for you than it was for me,  which I why I started coaching - but I also know that not everyone has the budget or schedule margin for one-on-one coaching. So I’m so excited to share with you that I have created an eCourse! Hooray! 

The Move Forward, Feel Better course is a 4-module course, in which you will learn the exact steps needed to:

• Sustain your energy throughout the day, without the afternoon crash

• Support a healthy weight that’s right for your body

• Improve the clarity of your skin, from the inside out

• Increase your mental clarity and ability to focus

• Build a strong, well-functioning immune system

• Stabilize your mood and reduce frustration with yourself

• Foster a healthy body image that’s based on the truth of who you are

• Support your gut health and overall function of your body

So now you’re thinking “sounds great… but what’s the price?” {See, I told you that I’ve been where you are. ;)}

While I’ve seen other courses similar to this one that retails anywhere from $300-$400 and I could easily charge that for this course, I want to make this as affordable and accessible to you as possible, which is why I’m offering this course for only $79. 

And as a special gift, you can also get a follow-up, 1-hr, group-coaching session with me for absolutely FREE when you enroll in the course by next Thursday, June 17th (that’s one week from today).

Once you enroll in the course, you will have lifetime access to all the videos, course guides, a private FB community where you can be in community with other women, just like yourself so there is no better time to take advantage of this offer - start moving forward in your health journey, and caring for your body as the gift that it is. And don’t forget, when you enroll with the code HFpod you will also get a free group coaching session with me! 

I’m so excited to be able to offer this course to you! You can get all the details, as well as enroll in the course by going to yourhealthforward.com/course. 

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CBD: What You Need to Know

Hi friends! In today’s episode, we are talking about CBD. CBD can be a controversial topic (what isn’t these days?🙃 ). Some people have found it to be extremely helpful and rave about it, others are skeptical or downright condemning of it. I’m not here to be a CBD pusher, but I do want you to be educated as to what it is, how it works in the body, and how it may be beneficial for your health so that you can make an informed decision. 

LISTEN HERE: APPLE PODCASTS | SPOTIFY | STITCHER

It’s common to think that CBD is a recent trend in the health/wellness world, but actually, various forms of the cannabis plant have been used for thousands and thousands of years. Chinese medicine textbooks, dating back to 2900 BC (like early Bible, pre-Abraham times) note its use for its healing properties, including pain relief, sleep aid, and anxiety reduction. Its use is also noted in medical texts from India and Greece dating back thousands of years ago. As a matter of fact, the cannabis plant was a commonly used medicine in the US in the 1800s (apparently they even prescribed it to help with baby’s teething pain) until fears about it began to circulate in the 1940s, and then it was actually banned in the US in 1970. CBD has now been made legal again at the federal level across the US and the FDA even approved its first CBD-derived medication in 2018. So even though it may feel new and trendy - it most certainly is not. 

What is CBD?

CBD (cannabidiol) is a cannabinoid, which means it’s a therapeutic substance derived from part of the cannabis plant. There are actually lots of different kinds of cannabinoids, and CBD along with many others primarily comes from the leaves and flowers of the Hemp plant (which is a type of cannabis plant). Hemp is also used to make clothing, paper, etc. 

Although CBD is the one we hear the most about, the hemp plant contains many different types of cannabinoids including CBG, CBN, and THC (which is likely what you know as the intoxicating component of hemp).

So, I think it's important to realize that these terms mean different things. CBD and hemp are not synonymous. CBD is one component of the hemp plant. CBD is not marijuana, although both can be derived from different parts of the hemp plant. 

Each component has a different way that it affects systems in the body. 

How does it work?

Our bodies actually house a system made up of neurotransmitters and receptors called the endocannabinoid system. These receptors are found all over the body (brain, skin, muscles, GI tract, immune cells, heart, and blood vessels - just to name a few) and respond to chemicals released by the endocannabinoid system naturally to help keep our bodies healthy. This system plays a part in regulating many different functions in the body, including mood, memory, gut health, hormone balance, pain, inflammation, immunity, and appetite. Its overall purpose is to keep our bodies in homeostasis- or a steady state of function. 

The different types of cannabinoids from the hemp plant, actually connect to our internal endocannabinoid receptors and cause them to release healing effects on the body. 

What are the health benefits of CBD?

When talking about CBD specifically, it connects to TR PV1 receptors in the body and can help in reducing anxiety, nausea, pain, and inflammation, it has also been reported to help with seizure disorders, improve sleep, aid digestion, and help with hormone balance. 

It helps our bodies move out of the “fight or flight” (sympathetic) state and into a more relaxed, “rest and digest” (parasympathetic) state so it’s great for dealing with stress. 

CBD is also an antioxidant that is believed to be more potent than even vitamin C and is protective of the brain as well.  

So as you can see, there are a lot of possible health benefits from taking CBD. So maybe you’re wondering if it would be good for you. There aren’t any known serious adverse effects of taking a pure CBD oil, although some have experienced GI upset, some drowsiness, and fatigue - although in a lot of those instances, it’s possible that the dosages were too high. 

Recommendations

It is recommended to take a full-spectrum CBD oil, that will include other types of cannabinoids (CBG, CBN) and terpenes, which all work together and each has receptors in the endocannabinoid system. This does mean that it will include THC, but only at or below the federally legal level of .3% - which means it will not cause any intoxication. 

There are also brands that are completely THC-free, just be aware that you may not get quite as many benefits from it as you would a full-spectrum option, but it would still be beneficial. 

For general wellness purposes, a daily dose of 10-50 mg is recommended. For dealing with chronic pain or inflammation, a daily dose of 10-100 mg is recommended. As with most herbal supplements, it’s best to start with a small dose and then work your way up until you feel it’s at a good level.

Personally, I’m a big fan of the Ancient Nutrition brand of CBD products. They have oil, capsules, and a powder option that is mixed with collagen peptides. All of their CBD products are organic and third-party tested, so you can trust that they are pure and completely safe to take. They are also full-spectrum CBD products that also include other inflammation-fighting ingredients like turmeric, black pepper, and MCT oil, so you get the maximum health benefits.

Q&A

On social media this week, I asked what questions you guys had about CBD, so I’m going to answer a few of those very quickly: 

Will CBD show up on a drug test? 

In order to be legal in this country, a CBD product must contain less than .3% THC, which means it should not show up on a drug test. However, I would think about a few things if this is something that concerns you or if you need to consider it for your job, etc.: A full-spectrum CBD product will contain THC, so there is always a small chance that it could show. If you are worried about that, I would just opt for the THC-free options, also known as a CBD isolate, which means that the whole hemp plant wasn’t used, only the Cannabidiol. Also, just be mindful of where you purchase CBD. Personally, I wouldn’t buy it from just any pop-up shop or tent on the side of the road :). I would only purchase for a source that I know does extensive third-party testing and guarantees a pure product. 

Is it really beneficial to consume CBD orally? 

I guess most of this episode has already answered this question but I also wanted to point out that there are also some brands that offer CBD-infused creams and lotions for topical pain relief. These can also be helpful, but you won’t get the systemic benefits that I mentioned before in just a topical product. Also, I would recommend opting for an organic option even in a topical option, because hemp plants can often be sprayed heavily with toxic chemicals, which then will be sitting on your skin.  

Is CBD good for a sleep aid? 

A great question! Overall, CBD is going to help your body be in a more relaxed state, which should naturally lend itself to better sleep. There is also specific research, a study done in 2020 by Digestive Disease and Sciences, that looked at people with a painful disease that caused insomnia who used CBD for relief and 87% of those participants said it improved their sleep.  So I think the chances of it helping are pretty high.

So ultimately, you have to decide if you feel that CBD is right for you and would be helpful for you, but now I hope you can confidently say that you understand what it is and how it works. I personally do take it and have felt that it’s been beneficial for me with dealing with anxiety, as well as dealing with inflammation and pain.

Giveaway

This is the 60th episode of the #HFpodcast, which I think deserves a little celebration, so I am going to be giving away a bottle of the Ancient Nutrition brand CBD oil, along with a couple other of my favorite stress-relieving favs to one of you!

In order to be entered into the drawing, make sure you are following me on Instagram, like the post talking about this episode, and tag a friend in the comments who may need to learn more about CBD. For a bonus entry, leave a rating and review of the podcast and share it on social media. All the details of the giveaway will be in the Instagram post, as well and the giveaway will run through next Wednesday,  6/9/20.

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Intermittent Fasting: Helpful or Harmful?

Hi friends! Today we are talking about Intermittent Fasting (IF). It’s been a buzzphrase in the health and wellness industry for a while and there are wildly different perspectives and opinions on it. In this episode, I want to look at exactly what IF is and what are the ways it can be helpful, as well as how it can be harmful and who may not benefit from it.  I’m also going to throw my own opinion into the mix and share why I haven’t adopted this practice for myself. Let’s get into it! 

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What is Intermittent Fasting (IF)?

Intermittent fasting is a term used to describe a certain approach to eating that includes abstaining from food for short periods of time. Time-restricted eating Is the most common method of intermittent fasting. For this type of in a minute fasting you eat during a shortened window of time during the day, which extends the amount of time you’re not eating overnight. This can be anywhere from a 12 hour fast to a 16 - 18 hour fast, and often includes skipping a meal either breakfast or dinner. You can choose to eat three meals while using this method but they will be closer together than usual. 

How it can be helpful:

A quick search on Google or Pinterest will list out multiple health benefits from intermittent fasting. Things such as helping with weight loss, burning fat for energy instead of glucose, lowering insulin levels, improving insulin sensitivity, benefiting cognitive abilities, and supporting the circadian rhythm and leading to better sleep.

Sounds amazing, huh? Well, before you decide to skip breakfast forever, let’s look at some of the ways IF can be harmful. 

How it can be harmful:

While it’s true that some people to do well with intermittent fasting, it’s also true that certain people may not do well with it, particularly women. Fasting, while possibly having short term benefits, can also lead to long-term ramifications. IF leads to higher amounts of cortisol to be produced in the body, which again can be good short term (like as in exercise), but in the long-term can lead to chronic inflammation (just as in exercising too much). This spike in stress hormones can cause the body to feel unsafe. Our bodies thrive and function their best when they feel safe. Food is a signal of safety to our bodies - that’s the way we are wired. So when we go longer amounts of time, or even days, without eating that can signal to our bodies that something is wrong and that we aren’t safe enough to eat. Again, this can lead to chronic inflammation in the long term, which is the exact opposite of what we’re trying to achieve. 

For this reason, IF can have negative effects on women’s hormone health and fertility. When a woman’s body does not feel safe, having a well functioning reproductive system is not a high priority. Some studies have shown that by simply extending the fasting window to 14 to 16 hours, or quickly reducing the amount of food that someone takes in during the day, the body can start to shut down some of the communication between the brain and the reproductive system. 

Also, while some say intermittent fasting can help with insulin resistance and blood sugar issues, the flipside to that is that it can also lead to blood sugar dysregulation in the long term. 

An increase in stress hormones can lower  insulin levels, but also increase blood sugar (glucose) levels. Insulin is the hormone that allows our body to use up glucose or blood sugar, so having an increase in glucose while also having a decrease in insulin can lead to having higher blood sugar levels overall - which again is the opposite of what we are wanting. 

The other issue that can sometimes happen with intermittent fasting is that because you’re eating your meals closer together, in a shorter window of time, this can sometimes lead to not having enough space in between meals for proper digestion and good gut health. 

In a healthy gut, the MMC (migrating motor complex) - sometimes also called the housekeeper of the gut - sweeps through the small intestine, moving any food or waste along into the large intestine for further digestion about every 90 minutes (Think of it as our gut’s clean up crew). The problem Is that any eating or drinking of something that has calories (even a cup of coffee) can interrupt that process. Ideally we would be spacing our meals apart about every 4 hours, but that becomes very difficult to do in an 8-hr or shorter window. 

When this mechanisms can operate as it should, it can create an environment for Dysbiosis, SIBO, and overall poor gut health. 

So as you can see, there are both possible pros and cons to intermittent fasting.

Why I don’t practice IF, personally: 

Personally, I’ve chosen not to practice structured IF. As a woman who has an inflammatory condition- an inflammatory hormonal condition, at that, the risks outweigh the possible benefits for me. I also don’t recommend it to most of my clients, as most are women also dealing with underlying chronic inflammation, gut issues, and hormonal imbalances.

Also, an Interesting note - an ISSA article states that most of the studies done on Intermittent Fasting have been done on men. It states that *“Out of seventy-one studies found in Harvard’s database for intermittent fasting, only thirteen include women at all. Beyond that, absolutely none of the controlled studies focus on the female population in general. There are no controlled studies that allow us to draw intelligent conclusions about how intermittent fasting affects the female population.” 

The article goes on to say that women are less likely to lose weight or experience positive health benefits from IF and seem to experience the best health when they maintain an unchanging flow of nutrient intake throughout the day. 

This is what I recommend to my clients and implement in my own life as well. I think a 12:12 model can work really well for women - a 12 hour eating window and a 12 hour fasting window at night. That pretty much follows our natural circadian rhythm of eating while it’s daylight. I advise my clients to eat a balanced meal that includes carbs/fiber, protein, and fat within an hour of waking - and then ideally eating balanced meals every 4 hours. I also think it’s important to listen to your body and follow your hunger cues. Again, it’s important to make your body feel safe, and restricting food will likely have the opposite effect. 

At the end of the day, remember that food is nourishment and fuel for the body. It’s not something to restrict and/or reward yourself with.

*https://www.issaonline.com/blog/index.cfm/2018/this-hot-diet-trend-is-not-recommended-for-women

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Why We Struggle with Consistency

How often have you heard “consistency is key”? It’s everywhere, right? In a lot of instances, I think this is absolutely true, but I want us to go a little deeper today because consistency is often a pain point for people when it comes to their health. Often when I ask my friends or even my Instagram followers what they are struggling with the most or where they feel like they need the most support, every single time the overwhelming popular response is “consistency”. Consistency in exercising, getting good sleep, eating nutritious food, not eating junk food every night, and on and on it goes. I would venture to guess, you’ve probably had a few of those thoughts yourself and I would say “me too”. I have found myself feeling the same frustration - “ugh! Why can’t I stay consistent in this?!”

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Recently I’ve been doing some work that’s prompted me to dig deeper into the idea of body image and diet culture - and why we so often feel like we are failing in this area of consistency. One thing that has come up for me and that I think may be one of the biggest contributors to this common struggle is a misalignment between our mindset and our goal. 

I know that sounds a little philosophical, but hear me out on this. 

When the goal (our desired result) is to lose weight, get our bodies “summer-ready”, change sizes or “tone up” a certain area, or even to feel “good” or get back to feeling energetic like we did 5 or 10 years ago, etc. - we will get overwhelmed. First of all, those things are not always in our control. We can do all the “right things” - follow all the principles of living a healthy lifestyle and sometimes still not lose a pound, or still not get pregnant, or still have a disorder or disease. So that’s going to feel really frustrating and we’re probably going to give up. We will also often give up because of the massiveness of the goal. It doesn’t seem attainable - it feels so far out of reach, so we often won’t see the value in sticking to whatever plan we had made for ourselves. 

However, when the goal is something attainable, something we can control, something that is directly and immediately affected by our choices, it makes following the plan easier, therefore allowing us to be “consistent” in our behavior. 

Let me put this in a practical context and use this for an example: 

Scenario - It’s 9:45 pm and you can’t stop thinking about the ice cream in the freezer. 
Goal: Be able to fit back into the jeans you wore two summers ago (the pre-covid ones :P)

Your thinking will most likely go something like this: “ugh - this sucks! I bet ____ doesn’t have to worry about not eating ice cream.”, or “meh! Who cares? I’ll never get back in those jeans anyway”, or “I’ve already fallen off the wagon the past few days, what’s one more treat? I’ll do better tomorrow”... and then you either deprive yourself and don’t eat it while inducing shame and judgment on yourself and others; or you do eat the ice cream and immediately feel regret or apathy about the goal you set for yourself. This leads you to the question, “Why can’t I be consistent in what I’m eating?!” Does that sound familiar?

Now contrast that with the same scenario but a different goal:

Scenario - It’s 9:45 pm and you can’t stop thinking about the ice cream in the freezer. 
Goal: To feel good about how you are caring for your body 

Can you already feel the difference? In this scenario, your thinking may go something like this: “hmmm… well, every time I eat that ice cream, my stomach gets so bloated and I feel miserable for hours. I don’t think it’s worth that. What else do we have instead?” , or “I love that ice cream - that sounds so good, but it is going to probably spike my blood sugar pretty high. What can I eat with it to help stabilize my blood sugar?”, or maybe even “Ah yes! I’ve been waiting for the perfect time to try that ice cream and I know it’s made with good ingredients. Let’s go for it!”. So either you choose to eat the ice cream or you don’t, but you make a conscious decision that won’t be followed by guilt or regret. 

The difference is that with the second goal, you are making a decision from a place of loving and caring for your body right now, just as it is, rather than making a decision from a place of shame or apathy while putting a ridiculous amount of pressure and expectation on yourself. 

One of the biggest enemies of consistency is unrealistic expectations. 

There is definitely something to be said about being intentional and scheduling things into your day or week like prioritizing sleep and exercise. There is a practical, logical piece of actually planning things into your calendar or schedule because if you don’t, it probably won’t happen. But again, we are much more likely to make choices that support our wellbeing when we are operating from a goal of caring for our bodies and stewarding them well. 

So I want to challenge you to take a look at your goal or your lack of goal. If you are feeling discontent or wanting to change something about your health, what is your goal? Is it to take good care of your body, to love it well, and to support it in functioning well? If not, consider making it your goal. It will change how you make decisions. It will change how you feel the decisions you make. It will change how you feel about yourself. 

If this idea rubs you the wrong way or you find yourself rolling your eyes a little bit while listening to this, ask yourself why. Dig in a little bit. Does the idea of loving your body, caring for your body, or stewarding your body well seem weird or even wrong to you? Do you feel like your body is subpar or broken or maybe shouldn’t even be considered at all? If so, why? Where did that idea come from? 

If you find yourself feeling this way - let me ask you a few questions that I hope will change your perspective. Do you believe that your body was created by God? The same God that created the sky and the ocean, and the sun and the moon. Do you remember that after He created man and woman - their bodies - He said that it was good? Do you actually think that He could make something that is bad or subpar? If you find yourself thinking that about your body that way or talking about your body that way, isn’t that insulting your Creator? 

Please know that I don’t ask you these questions to put shame on you, if anything I want to help pull shame off of you. Friends, we think that our biggest problem or struggle or obstacle is not being consistent, but in reality, our biggest obstacle is that we have a misalignment between our mindset and our goal. 

When we view our bodies as something to be fixed, or a project that always needs to be improved, or even as just a tool, or really anything other than a good creation of the Father in which we get to experience this life and experience Him, we will not be motivated to be consistent in caring for our bodies. It will feel useless, pointless, we might even find ourselves believing that it’s vain. 

I’m not saying any of this as someone who has conquered this or figured it all out but as someone who is right there with you. I’ve been working through some of these thoughts and feelings myself over the past few weeks. I’ve had to dig deep and ask myself these same questions about what I believe about my body and the One who made it. I can honestly say that realigning my mindset with what God says and focusing on the goal of caring for my body out of a place of love, gratitude, and stewardship, has made a huge difference for me and I believe it will make a difference for you too. 

It’s easy to get caught up in what culture says about health or about what we should look like, eat like, workout like but as believers, as women who follow Jesus, that is not where we find truth and direction for our lives. 

If you feel frustrated with yourself because you don’t feel that you can “stay consistent” or because you lack motivation, ask yourself these questions. Check your mindset and focus on the goal of caring for your body, being kind to and grateful for your body instead of trying to make it into something or make it look a certain way. 

If you feel like you need to do some work around the issue of body image or body shame, or if you would just like to know more about a kingdom mindset about health and body image, I encourage you to check out Jess Connolly’s Good Body Gals community. I have found it incredibly helpful for my own soul as well as helping me think about how I teach and coach other women. You can find all the information about it in her Instagram bio or by searching for the tag #goodbodygals. 

If you feel like you need one-on-one support in this area or in knowing what steps to take, what being kind to your body looks like, what a healthy lifestyle looks like for you, I’d love to help you with that. I offer a free initial consultation where I learn about your specific needs, goals, and current obstacles and together we can come up with a plan to help. You can learn more about that by going to yourhealthforward.com. 

That does it for me today, friends. Thanks for spending some of your day here with me. Keep moving forward, go love your people well and I’ll talk with you next time!

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