It's Time to Lose the Fear About Fat!
I cannot preach this any louder! 🗣 Please rethink your fat consumption and read these awesome fat facts. The conventional "normal" levels on a lipid test are...well...BS!
P.S. From a Functional Medicine lens, a healthy cholesterol level is anywhere between 180-220 🥰
FAT FEAR (no more)...very important repost from @realfoodology about FAT and losing your fear of consuming high quality fats in personal moderation...
Check it out:👇
- The low fat movement was one of the worst fads humanity has ever participated in.
- Your brain is made up of fat & runs on fat. It needs fat to function at optimal levels!
- Alzheimer’s is on the rise and many experts believe this is a result of fat deprivation and higher consumption of sugar from the 80’s/ 90’s food trend.
- When you take fat from food it makes food bland, so fat free foods was are pumped full of sugar to make up for the taste loss.
- More fat, less sugar for a healthy brain!!
Problems Associated with Reduced Cholesterol:
- 200% increase in cerebrovascular accidents
- 300% increase in liver cancer
- 200% increase in lung disease
- 200% increase in depression and suicides
- 200% increase in addictive behavior
- Reduced cholesterol levels are associated with poor steroid hormone production (e.g. cortisol, estrogen, testosterone, progesterone)
- Studies consistently show higher levels of cholesterol (between 180-220) are very protective for hormone support.
Ok...getting off my soap box now 🤗
Photo cred @kitchenwitchbroth
It's Harvest Time! What are you making?
It's Harvest Season! Loving this shot from @meganfaletra+ @mountainroseherbs
"Many of us are currently up to our elbows (literally!) in fall food preservation, our kitchens permeated by the smells of old family recipes or new garden goods experiments. Whether you're canning, pickling, fermenting, or freezing, there's nothing more satisfying than adding your own special blends of homegrown or lovingly selected herbs and spices to the culinary creations that will see you through the winter (and maybe beyond!). What projects are commandeering your countertops right now?
Summer Nutrition Musings
Here are some Summer Nutrition Musings from the wise Lyssandra Guerra of Native Palms Nutrition 🥦🥬🍋💗
・・・
TIRED
BLOATED
FATIGUE
LOW CONCENTRATION
STUBBORN WEIGHT GAIN
GASSY
CONSTIPATED
MOODY
OVERALL FEELING MEH
MAYBE it's what you're eating, when and how you're eating? . . .
Sometimes a handful of very good recommendations is all that is needed to jumpstart a new health pattern. 🧡
. . .
Questions? Ping us and learn more about our 6 Weeks to Glow program in partnership with @lyssandra_nativepalms that combines nutrition, acupuncture, lab analysis and functional medicine to help you feel and look your very best from the inside out ✨
Beneficial Foods for Spring!
I love this rundown from @phasesacupunture of all the beneficial foods for the spring time! . .
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Here are 5 foods recommended to eat throughout the season of spring
🥬Green Foods: During spring, it is recommended to eat foods green in color and rich in chlorophyll that help accelerate rejuvenation of the liver. This includes things like alfalfa, spirulina, chlorella, parsley, wheat grass, kale, Swiss chard and collard greens.
🌿Spring Vegetables and Herbs: peas, watercress, asparagus, barley grass, and radishes-all of these help move liver Qi and open up the liver meridian.
🍋Sour Foods: lemons, limes and grapefruit are all good choices that help cut fats that may have been stored up in the body during the winter months, while also keeping the liver Qi moving smoothly. Other sours include dill, kombucha, pickles, vinegar, and kimchi.
Naturally fermented sour foods are also beneficial as their live enzymes improve digestion.
🌱Pungents: Spring onions, garlic, scallions, turmeric, basil, cumin, fennel and pepper can help be the extra kick we need to get things flowing.
🥕A Little Sweetness: Think young vegetables such as young carrots and beets. This nourishes the blood and helps keep you vital during all the new activity. Just make sure you're cooking by stir fry or steam grilling in order to allow your body to easily digest all of the nutrients!
📍And acupuncture can help address any imbalance or health issues that are occurring due to diet, stressors, autoimmune disorders, or injury.
Face the spring with hope! ❤️
Brooke's Healthy Chocolate Bark (recipe)!
Make Brooke's Healthy Chocolate Bark! ❤️🍫 I love to make my own chocolate! I have dialed in this recipe over the years, but it is originally based on a #wellnessmama recipe. This is one easy way to add coconut oil and magnesium to your daily diet!
Magnesium is depleted in much of our soil and many people are deficient in this important mineral.
✔️
Signs that you need more magnesium in your diet are muscle cramps, insomnia, low energy, constipation, migraines, low bone density, and mood issues. I add spices used in Chinese Medicine like Gui Zhi (cinnamon), Sha Ren (cardamom), and Huo Ma Ren (hemp seed hearts) for awakening the Heart and Spleen, and soothing the Large Intestine.
⬇️✨Get The Recipe✨ ⬇️
Ingredients
1 cup of Coconut Butter*
1 cup of Organic Cacao Powder
1/2 cup Raw Honey or to taste- using half this amount or less will make a bittersweet chocolate.
1 teaspoon of Real Vanilla Extract
Optional Spices: 1 tsp Cinnamon, 1 tsp Cardamom, ½ tsp Sea Salt
Optional Toppings: Toasted chopped nuts, goji berries, hemp seed
♾ Instructions
Melt coconut butter in a double boiler or a glass bowl on top of a small pan with an inch of water (make sure water isn't touching bowl) over medium heat.
When cocoa butter is completely melted, remove from heat and add cocoa powder, honey, vanilla and other spices. If using a solid raw honey like Tropical Traditions, melt with the coconut butter.
Make sure all ingredients are well incorporated and smooth. At this point, make sure that no water or liquid gets in to the chocolate as it can cause the texture to get mealy! Be careful even with wet hands or a drop of water in the mold! [Note: I've also just melted all of this on very low heat in a small pan and not had a problem with it, but this isn't as reliable as the double boiler method]
Pour the chocolate into molds or onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or a glass pan to harden. Add toppings to back of chocolates.
Let harden in the fridge until solid, then remove from molds. If using a baking sheet for bark, break into chunks. Will store for over a week in fridge or can be kept in the freezer for longer.
NOTE : *You can also use half coconut butter & oil! Enjoy!!!
Spotlight on Bitter Melon!
Bitter Melon! 💗
I love the bitter melon, it’s somewhat unusual to come across in the grocery store, but you might start to see it available as organic more often this time of year. 💫Bitter Melon is a blood sugar regulator: several studies show positive results in decreasing glucose and hemoglobin A1c in people with diabetes. 📋We think that it helps our tissue use glucose in a more efficient way, allowing for a more effective secretion of insulin and less sugar cravings. 🤸🏽♂️
Packed with nutrients: full of Vit C, A, folate, potassium, zinc, iron, and fiber!
🙅🏽♂️Full of antioxidants: Several studies using concentrated amounts of bitter melon extract have shown that it is effective in killing off a variety of cancer cells.
💪🏼Supports healthy metabolism: High fiber + increasing glucose breakdown = efficient metabolism
😋Yummy!: Stir fried, salad, sauced,
Why Magnesium Is So Important!
Are you getting enough
MAGNESIUM?
. . .
Nutrition wisdom my our fav expert @lyssandra_nativepalms ✨
Magnesium is rich in green vegetables and fruits… helps to ease digestion and anxiety (even harsh PMS symptoms)…I believe a common link between the two is magnesium deficiency.
WHY?
Estimated 80% of adults are lacking in this mineral, also known as the 'calming' mineral… If you aren’t calm, you may feel on the crazies. Feeling stressed (chronic low or high levels all the time) impedes on a properly functioning digestive system. Neurotransmitters like serotonin are synthesized in the gut…however if there’s gut dysfunction like constipation, there’s no synthesis happening, in other words…those neurotransmitters that help make you feel calm, happy, and ambitious aren’t being made, instead you may feel blocked and anxious. Magnesium deficiency also slows peristalsis, causing constipation and when you’re constipated physically and emotionally, life is crappy. Make sense?
So, eat your greens and take a supplement when necessary. Need specialized guidance? Our popular 6 WEEKS to GLOW in partnership with @lyssandra_nativepalms is back... early bird special pricing until APRIL 7th. Email us to learn more and sign up.
💚
#rootandstem #magnesium #antiinflammatoryfood #antiinflammatorydiet #sixweekstoglow #nutrition #functionalmedicine #acupuncture #health #springcleanse #springdetox