Happy Bellies

Happy Bellies
A simple tool to help you balance life’s indulgences and a healthy gut...
It’s summer and all the refreshing treats are making their way into your life! Let’s face it though, life’s indulgences are always there. I am a firm believer in indulging when balanced with healthy eating habits. However, when it is trickier to keep those healthy eating habits in check, there is one tool that will continue to support a healthy gut.
A healthy gut supports a healthy immune system, right?
Well, consider this, we send our kids back to school and dive right into those fall and winter months with an unbalanced gut from all the fun food we consumed over the summer. Not to mention, heading into fall, those sweet treats don’t go anywhere. They just shift from cool refreshing treats to comforting sugar and spice. Not really the healthy balance your gut needs to keep your immune system strong. Not to mention, you want to keep those tummies comfortable and moving, if you know what I mean.
So, what can you do?
Well, you can balance your treats with foods high in probiotics! Some food ideas would be yogurt, kefir, sauerkraut, kimchi, kombucha, or you could even add some apple cider vinegar into a refreshing beverage.
In the morning, try this drink:
8 ounces warm water
1 teaspoon Apple Cider Vinegar
2-3 drops Lemon Essential Oil (I want to avoid the acid of lemon juice but you can always use lemon juice)
1 teaspoon of honey

Consistency with the above food ideas can be tricky. That is why my kids and I choose to supplement with a probiotic. We take them on an empty stomach right before bed. This way, the good bacteria and do it’s work while we aren’t continually introducing food into our stomach.
Before we started probiotics, we would experience bloating after meals, occasional stomach discomfort, skin irritations, and occasional irregularity. After several weeks of consistent use, we no longer struggle with bloating, excess gas, skin is back in check, and irregularity is much more regular!
For the boys, we have fallen in love with Kidscents MightyPro Pre+Probiotics. Notice, it is prebiotics and probiotics! Afte a day of sweet treats, those prebiotics really help those probiotics multiply!
For myself, I use Life 9 probiotic. As someone who has struggled with gut health for a good chunk of my life, I wanted to make sure I was getting the most out of my probiotic. This formula has 17 billion live cultures. How is that for gut balancing???
Now, if you struggle with remembering to pick up the monthly necessities at the store, you will love what I am about to tell you. You can have these products delivered to your door monthly! You pick the date, and they will automatically head your way. No extra though required!
You can view the products at the link below! When you purchase probiotics for the family, you will notice you start to accumulate product points to cash in for future product. You can’t beat improving your health, convenience, and rewards for your healthy choices!
(Adjust quantities as needed)

Wake Up!

Wake Up!
I woke up this morning to a message from my sister-in-law. It was a news article, “Brink of a Fertility Crisis: Scientists says Plummeting Sperm Counts Caused by Everyday Products.” This was a forty year study done at Mount Sinai (article linked below). My first thought is, “We know this already.” We may not know the specifics that the study dives into, but we know this. Second thought, the people who care about this article are already aware of the harmful effects the products on our store shelves are having on our bodies. Why? Well, one, they have either encountered a health problem that required them to wake up, or two, the have been doing the digging on their own based on something someone told them. Third thought, “When are people going to care? When are they going to WAKE UP?” 

Infertility issues were a wakeup call for me. First with food...the products came later. I have said it before. I could have accepted that Clomid or Metformin the day I was told about PCOS. However, I like to know why things are happening to me and asked why. If it were not for a nurse practitioner that enlightened me, I would have taken those pills on the spot and never known what I was doing to my body day in and day out.  

Did I still need the pills? I did. I am incredibly grateful for them💙💙. Medicine isn’t bad. Those pills brought helped me conceive two baby boys. Those pills weren’t taking care of my hormonal imbalances though. It went deeper than trying to conceive. There was a reason my hormones weren’t normal.  Thanks to my nurse practitioner, my eyes were opened. When you start to notice changes in your body based on foods and products you are using, you keep doing better. You are enlightened to a deeper issue that pills aren’t going to fix. Feeling good and healthy is motivating. I also want better for my kids, so I am instilling what I know and learned in them.
 
What we are putting in and on our bodies is having a HUGE impact on us and our children. Hormonal imbalance is just one area of impact. Why do people develop odd reactions, allergies, disorders, chronic conditions later in life? Well, we have pretty much our gut and liver through the ringer for our entire life. That is a lot of damage to undo! It requires patience and consistency which is something a lot of us do not have. 
 
I just cracked open a book called Metabolical: The Lure and the Lies of Processed Food, Nutrition, and Modern Medicine by Robert H. Lustig. This pediatric endocrinologist of 40 years emphasizes the importance of gut and liver health.  I highly recommend it if you are looking to do better for your health. 
 
What impacts our gut and liver? Everything we put in and on our bodies. Food is the hardest part of it all. The food we eat is a decision we are faced with multiple times a day. Here are some rules of thumb that we like to stick to when we are shopping and cooking in our home: 
 
  1. If there is sugar, there must be fiber. That was a big takeaway I got from a documentary called “FedUP”. Fiber is a big factor in how our body processes sugar. 
  2. Avoid “added sugars”. 
  3. Keep things balanced. If we indulge in pizza or burgers, we balance it with some fruit or veggies. 
  4. Wash your fruits & veggies! The unknown toxins and chemicals in soil and crops nowadays can linger on our produce. Let’s wash away what we can!
  5. Prep ahead. On days you feel motivated, going ahead a prep! You aren’t going to feel like doing it at the end of the day. Do all the chopping, egg boiling, and lunch packing ahead of time. 
Products we use on our bodies and in our home are easy to swap, once you find clean products you love and trust. Is it overwhelming? It sure can be!
 
Here are some simple steps you can take to start transforming your home. 
 
  1. Pick a room in your house to start with. Is it the kitchen? Bedroom? Laundry room? 
  2. Make a list of products that you have in that room. 
  3. Set a budget. How much do you have to spend on new product for that room? 
  4. Ask for hacks or DIYS. The beauty of a clean product is the versatility!
  5. Rewards programs. Commitment is scary BUT when it comes to the products you use daily in your home, it is well worth the commitment. Rewards make switching budget friendly.
 Let’s chat, what room would you start with? What is the item that you are having trouble letting go of? 

 




Down the hatch: Another way to support your wellness with oils....

Down the hatch: Another way to support your wellness with oils....
What does it mean when my oil bottle has a white label? 

Well, that while label means you have your hands on a Vitality oil. What does this mean? It is considered GRAS ( Generally Regarded as Safe) by the FDA. Young Living's Vitality labels mean that the oil you have in your hand is okay to use for ingestion purposes. Does that mean go a guzzle a bottle of lemon oil? Um, no. There is a safe way to ingest your oils and I am here to share a couple of those ways with you today. 

I am about to start the 5-Day Nutritive Cleanse. The Digest and Cleanse supplement is out of stock so I am creating my own capsules using Peppermint and Digize Vitality oil. If you have ever applied these oils topically, then you know that taking them in a capsule is about to work all sorts of magic on my GI tract. 

There are various ways to use your vitality oils in capsule form. Some may create an immunity support blend, or a weight loss support blend, or even an oil to aid  with those seasonal sniffles. Here are some examples of recipes I snagged from the Simply Wellness book from Oil Supply Store. 


Now, these capsules look amazing, right? Only, creating your own essential oil capsule sounds slightly intimidating. I am here to show you that it is actually quite simple! Whether you are making a single capsule or a large batch to store in the fridge, this video will walk you through how to create your own. 


This option is perfect if the oils you are looking to use aren't the best tasting. I used to drop my oils onto a teaspoon of honey but Digize is a little too strong for my liking. 

Don't forget about adding your oils to your water! I like mixing up a large pitch of ice cold water to have ready to go all week long. Here are a few of my favorite recipes...

Cucumber Mint Pick Me Up
1 pitcher of cold water
5-7 drops of Peppermint
7-10 drops Orange/Tangerine
Sliced cucumber to float on top.

Citrus Boost
1 pitcher of cold water
7 drops Lemon
7 drops Grapefruit
7 drops Lime
Float sliced oranges on top. 

Afternoon Tea
3 drops Orange
1 drop Spearmint
Mug of warm green tea

Enjoy these recipes and this fantastic tool in supporting your wellness with essential oils.


Eczema...much more than dry skin!

Eczema...much more than dry skin!

It never fails, around this time every year, the word eczema starts popping up everywhere. Every so often, I hear someone blame it on the weather and time of year, but from experience, I have news for you. It is so much more!

The skin is the largest organ of the body. My own skin issues and experience with eczema have taught me, if my skin is acting up, something is going on within. I have always considered it a sign of inflammation. Through some digging for myself and my son, I learned there is a HUGE link between the health of our skin and our gut health. If you are having issues with your skin, you better check your gut.

This time of year, we start bombarding our systems with all of the indulgences and sweet treats. Sugar doesn't do our gut health or immune system any favors. 

So, what are somethings that support a healthy gut? Well, watch your sugar intake! It has a great impact on your gut health. Hence, the flare ups around this time of year. Dairy can also negatively affect your GI tract.  My skin and my son’s skin will flare up when we overdo the dairy. If your skin is suffering, you may want to consider cutting it out completely for a bit.

A good probiotic can help you support a healthy gut! For several years now, we have been using Life 9 for myself, and MightyPro Pre+Probiotic, for the boys. You cannot beat the quality and the all the beneficial strains of bacteria in these two products.  Make sure you are taking your probiotic at night. 

Also consider, apple cider vinegar! If you are not a fan, Bragg’s makes capsules that are easy to swallow. Otherwise, we like this simple “tea” in the morning. My son calls it his “morning tea.”


“Morning Tea”

Mug of warm water

2 teaspoons of Apple Cider Vinegar (we like Braggs)

2 drops Lemon oil (also helps to support your gut and cleanse the system)

1 teaspoon of honey


Now let’s talk about how to help the scaly, itchy, dry patches that can drive a person crazy!!


Have you ever heard of MSM or Methylsulfonylmethane? Well, if not, Google away and be amazed at the benefits. One of them is skincare. You can use a lotion that contains MSM, such as the Genesis Lotion, or you can take one of my favorite supplements called Sulfurzyme. 

Now, why the Genesis Lotion? Well, it contains MSM (big win) AND an abundance of skin supporting essential oils such as Geranium, Jasmine, Coriander, Ylang Ylang, and more! This way your external symptoms aren’t stuck waiting for your internal issues to improve.


I personally, like to add an essential oil blend called Melrose to the lotion. It takes things up a notch! Especially when we are making our way through some flare ups. Melrose is inexpensive and contains Tea Tree, Niaouli, Rosemary, and Clove. I love adding this oil to my shampoo for an itchy scalp as well! This oil is so versatile that I feel like I could write an entire blog entry on it! Put Melrose, Cedarwood, and Lavender in an Epsom Salt bath and you have some winning relief. Whether you decide to use it in your lotion or not, it is a must have for so much more.

This routine is quite simple if you can remember to take your probiotic at night and apply your lotion/oil as needed. All of the above has definitely helped our family though some troubling skin issues. 

This importance of diet...my wake up call

This importance of diet...my wake up call

Sugar...when I realized the impact it has on our health…

 

We are all coming off of a holiday high where our sugar intake was probably at its highest of the year. Have you ever thought about how we absolutely impair our immune system while indulging in our holiday fun and wonder why January and February get us down with illness? 


Sugar effects everything!!! If you are sitting there saying, "Well I don't really eat sweet stuff..." Well, I got news for you, you do not have to have a sweet tooth to overload yourself on SUGAR! America isn't overweight and unhealthy because we are lazy and don't exercise. We are unhealthy because our food is completely riddled with sugar. It isn't always easy to spot, either. Also, sugar is addictive. So that does not help with things either. When we feed our body crap, it craves crap! 

 

When were my eyes opened? When I started to try and conceive and struggled. The doctor looked at me and said, “We can just give you some Clomid and that will solve your problem.”  For some reason, I was not ready to do that and asked the question "WHY?" No one in my family had a history of infertility. Due to me asking that single question, I opened a can of worms that I probably would have never discovered. After bloodwork and an ultrasound, I was told I had PCOS. I had a 2 cm cyst on one ovary and a 6 cm one on the other. I also had what they called a “pretty little pearl necklace” of cysts around my ovaries. Again, the question, "WHY?". It was then that I was told to look at a book called "The Natural Diet Solutions for PCOS and Infertility". 

 

This book basically had me cutting grain, dairy, and sugars from my diet. I started with dairy. A month later, the 2 cm cyst was gone, and the 6 cm cyst was smaller. I moved onto sugar. This means, no rice, pasta, breads, or added sugars.  I looked healthy, but I wasn’t.  Between the dairy and the sugar, I could not believe the changes in how I was feeling. I also saw changes in the patterns of my cycle. I was never overweight. In fact, people used to ask me why I was changing my diet so drastically, because I was not overweight. Looking back at pictures, I did depuff. Again, not that I was big but just looked healthier. 

 

Now, I had always had issues with dairy as a child. As I stopped having the stomach issues, I assumed I grew out of it ( I think a lot of people assume this with intolerances/allergies). In college, I had a lot of stomach issues and did see a GI who put me on a prescription med that was later recalled, and I just never went back. My stomach issues subsided when I decided to cut dairy. The intolerance never went away, it just kept presenting itself in other manners such as skin inflammation, stomach issues, acne, and contributed to my cysts. 

 

I still needed assistance to conceive, however, the body and cycle changes were apparent. When I was pregnant, everything went out the window with my diet. I was not watching anything I ate. When I was done breastfeeding my youngest, I was HIT HARD with insane periods. I had never experienced this before but I knew it could be a symptom of the PCOS. I started to change my diet again BUT NOW I had been oiling. I tried a bottle of Progessence Plus and was amazed and the balance it provided for me during this time. Now that things are back to “normal”, I only use it during part of my cycle. 

 

Looking back I think, had I known what I know now about hormone disruptors, getting away from toxic products and fragrance would have had an impact on my changes as well. I was pretty much a walking advertisement for Bath and Body Works and any type of candle out there. 

 

Things I would tell anyone going through a similar struggle. 

 

  1. Make the sacrifices. Doesn’t mean that you can’t gain some balancing between indulging between the good and the bad later but get your body in check. 
  2. Ask the “Why?”. If I had never asked why, I would have been back and forth with different fertility drugs and never known why my body was doing this. This could have just snowballed into something more serious later. 
  3. Look at natural options. They do work. If you are making changes ALL AROUND (exercise, diet, products) , they work even better! 

 Products to start with, that I would recommend for ANYONE trying to make changes to their diet or improve their overall health. (based on my experience) 

 

  1. Ningxia Red- antioxidant overload
  2. Endoflex-thyroid, adrenal, and hormonal support
  3. Progessence Plus-hormonal support
  4. Life 9 Probiotic- amazing gut support
  5. Master Formula- It has a plethora of vitamins and minerals. Not to mention, it contains Turmeric oil which can benefit any issues of inflammation. 

 

These are your tools!! Use them with your change in diet!! Cut the sugar and go watch Fed Up on Netflix if you need some motivation