Are you always tired and have low energy levels? Do you deal with constipation? Do you struggle with sleeping and insomnia? Are you struggling with maintaining good blood sugars?
If you answered yes to any of these questions then this is a post that might help you! Many of the symptoms you are experiencing could be improved with the addition of minerals.
Inflammation is a word that gets thrown around a lot in the nutrition world. Maybe you’ve heard of inflammatory diseases or an anti-inflammatory diet? I was pretty unaware of inflammation until it affected me. I first found out about my inflammation about a year ago after tests run by a functional medicine clinic. I started going there because of some problems I was having that I couldn’t figure out. My inflammatory marker, hsCRP, was high and I was also having some insulin resistance, which goes hand-in-hand with inflammation. I was completely shocked that I was dealing with insulin resistance but it was starting to make much more sense. There were things happening in my body causing problems that I didn’t know about. That’s just my story but it also may sound a lot like your story.
Hello friends! I hope this new year is finding you happy and well. I kind of feel like my new year so far has been a whirlwind and bam, it's already the 18th. We've visited more with friends, we're back to soccer and baseball practices and we've been home a lot lately due to the bitter cold temps in KC. This week we had -20° windchill and then it will be 50° this weekend. That's KC for you.
One thing holds true for me when I am out of my food routine (whatever that really is) for whatever reason, I miss eating something green! I don't discriminate (too much) when it comes to what kind of green foods I like to eat but I want them regularly! I'm going to share with you why green foods are good for you and easy ways to incorporate them into your routine, even when life gets, well, like life.
Greens are full of vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, phytonutrients and carotenoids. Antioxidants help protect healthy cells from damage. They can be vitamins, minerals or carotenoids. Phytonutrients, or phytochemicals, are compounds found only in plants that help protect them. They also have health benefits. Common Phytonutrients are lutein and beta-carotene. Carotenoids are a phytonutrient that has antioxidant properties. Anyway, there is a lot of great s#!$ in green veggies, or all veggies for that matter.
We have been little traveling peeps this year, at least more so than usual. My husband traveled a lot last year for his previous job and we were fortunate enough to earn a companion pass on Southwest with points. That means wherever he flies, I fly for free (same days and flights only). We are trying to take as much advantage as our bank account and calendar will allow.
We've done Mexico, New Orleans, Austin and Park City, UT. We have hopes for a few more trips before the end of the year, including somewhere fantastic for our 10th anniversary in November. Any recommendations? We are thinking Belize.
I jumped on the Kombucha bandwagon a while back and am still hanging on. I really like it because 1. it isn't very sweet 2. gives me a little pick me up in the afternoon and 3. it helps curb my sweets craving. It is a tea meets juice meets cider meets vinegar drink. Sounds weird and a little hippy, right? It is kind of weird and hippy since it starts from a mushroom kind of thingy and turns into fizzy yumminess with flavors galore. I drink a few ounces occasionally or use it to make cocktails that are really good and not too sweet. I will share a little more about kombucha and some of my favorites.
Kombucha, pronouned kom-BOO-cha, is a fermented drink made from tea, sugar, and a SCOBY (symbiotic culture of bacteria and yeast). The SCOBY looks like a rubbery pancake. The mixture ferments to produce enzymes, acids, microflora, B vitamins and a tiny bit of alcohol. The fermentation process can sometimes cause a sour flavor as well as some carbonation. Most of them don't have sugar added after the fermentation process so are pretty low in sugar content.
