To Supplement or To Not Supplement

Dietary supplements are debated. Do? Don't do? Necessary? Not necessary?

I think everyone is different and everyone has unique needs. Rather than base your dietary supplement decisions on articles or blog posts, experiment for yourself. Curious about adding a supplement to your daily regimen, then try it out for a few weeks. Most natural vitamins and supplements will only do good, however, if you are on some prescription medications check with your doctor first before experimenting with dietary supplements, there are some supplements that don't mix well with medications.

I am a firm believer in dietary supplements. I take a handful of supplements daily. Even though I eat a very veggie heavy, balanced diet, of almost all organic produce, I feel supplements make a significant impact in my overall wellbeing and general feeling of good health. I also load up when I am feeling run down or a possible cold coming on, often kicking it in the butt before I become a gooey mess.

The argument is that if you are eating well and enough of a balanced diet then you should not need to supplement with dietary vitamins, minerals and supplements. I disagree. Food is just not as nutrient rich as it once was. With such a large population to feed and depleting the natural resources of the soil, unfortunately veggies don't have the same vitamin and mineral profile they once did. Again this is where buying organic and/or growing your own veggies is greatly beneficial; more nutrients. Even if you are an avid juicer like myself, still, you are probably not reaching your daily needs for most essential vitamins and minerals. (Check out https://www.reviews.com/juicer/ for a helpful juicer review.)

Yes, foods nowadays are fortified with vitamins and minerals. However, if it is fortified, it means a few things: 1) it is likely highly processed 2) it likely is coming out of a container of some kind 3) the naturally occurring vitamins, minerals, etc. were probably stripped out during the preservation process 4) foods consumed as close to as how they come from the earth don't need to be fortified. Fortification sounds like a good thing, but it's not. Your vitamins and minerals occurring in your foods shouldn't require a label, just a glorious color–green, yellow, orange, purple, red–eat your colors = lots of naturally occurring vitamins, minerals, supplemental goodness.

So with that understanding of doing your best to eat really nutrient dense, colorful veggies and fruits, with a few superfoods sprinkled in, you will be well on your way to getting more goodness than most.

I have read many articles and books on this topic, because it is of interest to me, and like I mentioned above, I am always willing to try a new supplement and see how it affects me. Here is a list of supplements everyone should be taking daily. While it is still debated, there is increasing evidence that everyone needs, and is severely deficient in this areas, so if nothing else, try adding this supplements to your diet for a month and see how they make you feel. It's a good rule of thumb to add one supplement/vitamin at a time. This will give you a clear representation of if the supplement is working for you or not.

10-20billion CFU probiotic (preferably the refrigerated kind)

• Probiotics and gut health are a hot topic right now, as it should be. The living microbiome we all have in our guts are our immune system hub. If they are not happy you are not happy. The slew of angry microbiome symptoms is long and wide. If you have ANY digestive issues, and even if you don't, add probiotics to your daily life. If you have brain fog, lethargy, general meg-ness, add probiotics to your life. They will make a noticeable difference. Promise! You can get probiotics from fermented foods like kefir, sauerkraut and kimchee, but why not do both and take a high CFU capsule everyday too. Your mind, gut and butt will thank you.

Vitamin D3

• Almost everyone, seriously everyone, is Vitamin D deficient. Even the recommended USDA 1,000-2,000 IUD/day is probably too low for most, especially in the winter, especially if you live a colder, darker climate. Vitamin D deficiencies can manifest in depression, lethargy, anxiety, the list keeps going. I would say start with the upper recommended dose of 2,000 IUD/day and experiment from there. I have read some even suggest upwards of 10,000 (!) IUD/day. Do what works for you, but make sure you have a VitD supplement in your daily life regardless of where you live, also make sure it is gel capsule, which is better absorbed.

A daily multi-vitamin 

• You want something that is well rounded and has a high percentage of your daily recommended intake for vitamins and minerals. I personally like the Solaray brand for many of my supplement needs.

Omega 3s

• Again a huge laking here for most people of these healthy fats. Good fats make your hair shiny, skin clearer, helps lubricate everything from joints to, brain synapses to bowel movements. Most diets are skewed in ratio of Omega 6s to Omega 3s. Omega 3s are the good fats and are naturally occurring in cold water fish, walnuts, flax seeds, chia seeds and so much more. Either take a supplement and, better yet, take a supplement and add these awesome superfoods to your daily diet too (I love to throw all my O3s in my mornings smoothie)

Dietary Fiber

• It is recommended that we need 25g-38g (women vs men) of fiber everyday. You know what, most of us aren't getting that with the things we eat. So double up here. Eat lots of veggies, fruits, gluten free whole grains that all have naturally occurring fiber AND take a supplemental dietary fiber. Your bowel movements will never be the same.

Turmeric

• Turmeric is a natural anti-inflammatory. It is a spice commonly used in Indian cuisine. It gives curries that bright yellow-orange color. Turmeric is nature's ibuprofen. I have noticed a huge different in my general inflammation and body achy-ness, especially after a strenuous workout by adding turmeric to my daily supplement list.

If nothing else, add these bad boys into your daily regimen and notice the difference in how you feel.

Another tip, which may sound odd, but I swear...Listen. To. Your. Body. I only take supplements when I resonate with them. I know, I know, that sounds wonky, but it is true. I will hold the supplement in my hand before I take it. And I tune into my body. If I have a general icky feeling or no feeling at all, I won't take the supplement. I take this as my body's way of telling me I don't need it. Sometimes if you take the same supplements everyday you can hit a point where you have sufficient levels, it's okay to back off. Listen to your body. Hold your supplement in your hand, tune in and your body will let you know if you need it or not. You don't have to be super rigid about your daily supplement and vitamin intake, trust your intuition, don't be afraid to experiment with your body and see what is working for you and what isn't.

That leads into one last point, when adding new supplements, vitamins and minerals into your life, first do your research, figure out why you want to take something, what are the benefits, what are the side effects, could you be getting that from food? But know, sometimes you will get digestive upset when adding a new supplement to your life. This is normal and should clear up pretty quickly. With added fiber you may get gassy. Some supplements may give you the runs. Others may make you feel woozy when not taken with food. Don't exceed the recommended dosage on the container and it is always a good rule to take your supplements with food (expect probiotics, take those on an empty stomach, like first thing in the morning, to let them work their full magic). If your digestive upset doesn't clear up in a few days, stop taking the supplement. This is where introducing new supplements one at a time will help you easily identify the culprit of the upset. I tried taking a resveratrol supplement for a while and I would immediately get diarrhea. I have allergic reactions to drinking red wine, I thought, I will get the benefits from the capsule, nope, the diarrhea was immediate. So I stopped taking them. You can try to find a different brand, or maybe if you tune in, your body will tell you, "Nah, I don't really need that." So listen.

Here are the other supplements I use in my daily life, in case you are curious. If you are curious as to why I take these, you can contact me alixhealthcoach@gmail.com or visit eatbelivewell.com for more info:

Magnesium Glycenate - an essential mineral many are deficient in
Quercetin - nature's antihistamine, great for allergy sufferers
Vitamin D - a must if you live in the Northeast
Turmeric - anti-inflammatory
Probiotics - happy gut

Superfoods. Sprinkle them on your salad. Add them to a smoothie. They are awesome! You need these in your life:
Chia seeds
Flax seeds
Hemp seeds
Flax oil
Liquid minerals
Spirulina
Chlorella
Bee pollen
Freeze dried organic greens or JuicePlus
Potato starch - natural resistant starch

Stop Should-ing Yourself

My mind lives in a constant state of "shoulds". You should be like this, you should have that, you shouldn't want that, you should because...shoulda, woulda, coulda. Fuck shoulds! I say!

If you are like me your are swayed by societal expectations, standards, judgments, whathaveyou of what we "should" all want, need, be, aspire to, define success by, the list goes on and on and on! Ack! How are we expected to get out of bed in the morning with all these shoulds?

Shoulds are a judgment. They are a comparison that somehow where you are right now is not enough. That. Is. Not. OK! You should not should yourself or others. Especially ourselves! Again if you are anything like me you are hardest on yourself more than anyone ever could be ever; and when someone says something, or constructively criticizes you, you snap, because you have spent so much time putting yourself down and should-ing yourself long before the loving person said something simple like, "You know, you should..." cue tears.

I just had a radical thought... I SHOULD not be anywhere then where I am right this very moment! Mind blown?! Radical thought, right?! 

Being caught in shoulds means it is impossible for you(me) to be present. You are always comparing to the past or expecting something in the future. A shit load of shoulds. Be now. Live now. Accept you as you are RIGHT NOW, without any shoulds, comparisons, judgments, or expectations. You are exactly how you should be right now and love that self entirely!

We do not change out of disgust or hatred towards self. We change out of loving-kindness for ourselves. We change out of loving our self enough to want something different, something positive, perhaps, dare I say better (but there are hidden shoulds and comparison in better) so, change comes when we love yourselves enough to be open to growth.

Practicing loving-kindness towards ourselves is SO much hard than loving-kindness towards others. It is also so much easier to forgive others' faults, missteps, shoulds, yet somehow we can't extend the same empathy towards self.

To that I say stop should-ing yourself!! (Another glorious anthem I learned at this past weekends' NVC seminar). 

So my current should directed at myself is I should be healthier, thinner, more fit. Hell I'm a Health Coach right, I gotta look the part. Well yes, I need all those things from a place of good health, but I am no means unhealthy. I am just carrying more weight than I like to. So I've been beating myself up, "You should..", " You should...", and then I said, excuse me, but if I were talking to ANYONE else, a client, a friend, a loved one, I would never should them! I would never tell them to be anywhere else than where they are right now, and yet I can't extend the same courtesy to myself, WTF?!? Right! How cruel can we be to ourselves?! 

The past 2 years have been very emotional and straining, and to pow, expect Cameron Diaz' body in a mere 3 months of starting to heal and take care of myself, after 2 years of building frustrations, sadness, stress on top of stress, etc., that's a big f-ing should, madness I tell you. Madness! So I just honored myself and my beautiful body for it's strength and courage to embark on a journey that is scary–self-employment in a burgeoning, some may call a woo-woo field, but I believe in it and I believe that this is my true passion and calling. So what, if I am a work in progress while I am helping my clients who are also a work in progress? It does not mean that I don't have the education, knowledge and ability to support my clients. I can and will be a Health Coach even if my health is something I work on daily.

I think health is like yoga, both should be thought of as forms of practice. You never achieve perfect health. You never achieve perfect yoga nirvana bendiness. Both are practices of surrender, loving-kindness towards your body and breath, and what they both do for you now, at this moment in your life and on your mat. Health and yoga are not end goals, they are daily reminders to practice loving-kindness, maitri (my new favorite word), towards self, to nourish your body with clean, good whole foods, and yoga is practice with your current amazing body, building strength, groundedness, and an ability to move and breathe in gratitude and acceptance of you, as you are NOW.

Stop should-ing yourself and I will too. 

We are beautiful right as we are this very moment–writing blog posts in pj's, glasses, no makeup or bra, loving myself because this is the one body I get. I am taking care of myself, addressing past pent up emotions, eating well, moving daily and growing and nourishing from the inside out, because for the first time in my life I feel like the path in front of me, although foreign, is bright and encouraging and extremely exciting to be on.

I should not be anywhere but where I am right now.

Soaked Almonds and Loving-Kindness

There is so much to write about because there is so much going on – good stuff, building my business and growing self and my spirituality – all awesomeness!!

First an oops - learn from my mistake lesson....

I have read over and over the value and ability to get more nutrients from nuts and seeds by soaking them. Soaking helps remove the naturally occurring toxins on most nuts (hey they are meant to be planted to grow a new plant, these toxins protect the nuts and seeds) and also helps the nutrients, minerals and vitamins be more available for you to digest. Read more about the philosophy and way to soak your nuts from Wellness Mama, she explains it well.

So I purchased some beautiful, organic raw almonds and covered them with water and a bit of salt for a little over 24 hours. I rinsed them until the water ran clear and then I spread them out to dry. I skipped the suggested step of drying them in the oven, it seemed counterintuitive to me to "dry" the nuts in the oven after you just uncovered all the goodness. I thought maybe it would bake away the goodness, that, and I don't follow directions well :-P, I'm a do-it-yourselfer, and sometimes I pay the price.

So I let my almonds sit out to dry for the better part of most of a day, maybe 10-12 hours, then I threw them in a glass jar.

They were delicious, creamy, juicy (who knew a nut could be juicy?) and I also noticed I could eat fewer as a snack and feel more fulfilled and for a longer period of time. I'm sold, soaking nuts is the way to go!

So I attended a seminar this weekend, more on that in a bit, but I grabbed my jar full of soaked almonds, threw it in my bag to take with me. On one of our breaks during the seminar I realized my nuts we starting to mold - eew! So I picked out the few and went about eating my nuts. Well today, they are filled with mold, double eew! So yeah, I guess the drying process in the oven is necessary, and I suspect the super low temp (150˚ I think) won't likely do much nutrient zapping and will likely save you from having to compost your entire batch of gorgeously, soaked organic almonds.

Nice pic of almonds you might think.....but no, see the yuckiness?! Wahh! :(

Learn from me kids! Don't waste your money and FOLLOW DIRECTIONS ;-P.

So this seminar....

I took a seminar on Open Communication, also known as Nonviolent Communication with Peggy Smith, at the Green Gem in Bangor this weekend. What a beautiful, eye opening, expansive experience. It was so amazing to learn how imperfectly we communicate and how we so easily say words and judgements, often not even intending to, but being hurtful to or triggering the recipient. Hence all the conflict in the world! :o While I did learn about active listening or empathic listening in my Health Coach course at IIN, I had the ability to practice it this weekend and so much more. 

I would highly, highly recommend as a universe we learn more about nonviolent communication. It should be taught in schools early on. If we all were more in touch with our feelings and new that there are universal needs we all have, we could avoid SO much conflict. It was liberating to learn that there are core universal needs that all humans have, and no this does not mean are "needy", but that we all have basic needs that are associated with every. single. feeling. we have. When we have a feeling it is because it is associated with a need being or not being meet.

NVC is a beautiful practice and a glorious tool because communication is imperfect, but if we learn to approach each other from a place of empathy, openness and curiosity the world would be such a better place.

Lastly this ties into a book I have been reading each morning upon waking, When Things Fall Apart: Heart Advice for Difficult Times, by Pema Chödrön. It is an illuminating and insightful book. While I can not due it justice in a mere few sentences, what is really resonating with me right now is Pema talks about maitri the sanskrit word for loving-kindness. Loving-kindness for ourselves, which so few of us actually practice and believe is even a possibility, extrapolating into loving-kindness for each other.

I think both the book and my recent attendance to the seminar illuminates my need, but also the universal need for loving-kindness towards self, everyone and everything in this world. 

But let's each start with loving kindness to our selves.

What makes maitri such a different approach is that we are not trying to solve a problem. We are not striving to make pain go away or to become a better person. In fact, we are giving up control altogether and letting concepts and ideals fall apart.

The most difficult times for many of us are the ones we give ourselves. Yet it's never too late or too early to practice loving-kindness.

Info Fiend Find: Don't Fear Fat

EAT WELL
Making a Case for Eating Fat
By ANAHAD O'CONNOR
MARCH 4, 2016 5:45 AM March 4, 2016 5:45 a

For years Dr. Mark Hyman was a vegetarian who kept his intake of dietary fat to a minimum.

Whole-wheat bread, grains, beans, pasta and fruits and vegetables made up the bulk of his diet, just as the federal government’s dietary guidelines had long recommended.
But as he got older, Dr. Hyman noticed something that bothered him: Despite plenty of exercise and a seemingly healthy diet, he was gaining weight and getting flabby. At first he wrote it off as a normal part of aging. But then he made a shift in his diet, deciding to eat more fat, not less – and the changes he saw surprised him.
He lost weight, his love handles disappeared, and he had more energy. He encouraged his patients to consume more fat as well, and many of them lost weight and improved their cholesterol. Some even reversed their Type 2 diabetes.
Today, as the director of the Cleveland Clinic’s Center for Functional Medicine, Dr. Hyman has become an outspoken advocate about the health benefits of eating fat. He promotes it on talk shows, educates other doctors, and has even managed to wean his close friend Bill Clinton off of his previously prescribed low-fat vegan diet.
Now in a new book called “Eat Fat, Get Thin,” Dr. Hyman takes a deep dive into the science behind dietary fat, making sense of decades of confusing health recommendations and building a case for why even saturated fats, which have long been vilified, belong in a healthy diet. Dr. Hyman argues that Americans have been misled about the benefits of fat because of a disconnect between nutrition science and food policy. In the book he challenges the nutrition orthodoxy while also exploring the food industry’s outsize influence on official health recommendations.
Recently, we sat down with Dr. Hyman to discuss his thoughts on the gap between nutrition science and health recommendations, the reason you should always plan your meals, and why he never leaves home without a stash of “emergency foods” in his backpack. Here are edited excerpts from our conversation:

Q.
Why did you write “Eat Fat, Get Thin”?
A.
I wrote it because we’ve been suffering from 40 years of bad advice about fat that’s led to the biggest obesity and diabetes epidemic in history. The myth that fat makes you fat and causes heart disease has led to a total breakdown in our nutritional framework. I felt it was important to tell the story of how fat makes you thin and how it prevents heart disease and can reverse diabetes. I think people are still very confused about fat.

Q.
In the book you argue that nutrition recommendations are often contradictory. How so?
A.
This year, for example, the U.S. Dietary Guidelines for the first time removed their longstanding restrictions on dietary fat. But they still have recommendations to eat low-fat foods. They say total fat is not an issue, but you should drink low-fat milk and eat low-fat dairy and other low-fat foods. It’s a schizophrenic recommendation from the government, and it’s the same with other professional organizations such as the American College of Cardiology and the American Heart Association. There’s a mismatch between the science and the government and professional recommendations.

Q.
What’s driving this disconnect?
A.
I think the government based its recommendations on some very flawed science, which took hold. It became policy that was turned into the dietary guidelines and the food pyramid that told us to eat six to 11 servings of bread, rice, cereal and pasta a day and to eat fats and oils sparingly. It’s very hard to overturn dogma like that. It’s embedded in our culture now. It’s embedded in food products. The food industry jumped on the low-fat bandwagon, and the professional associations kept driving the message. Unfortunately the science takes decades to catch up into policy and into practice. And I’m trying to close that gap by bringing awareness to the latest science on how fats and carbs work in your body.

Q.
You reviewed hundreds of studies while writing this book. What is your conclusion on saturated fat?
A.
It’s a huge area of controversy. But large reviews of randomized trials, observational research and blood-level data have all found no link between saturated fat or total fat and heart disease. Yet there are still recommendations to limit saturated fat because it raises total cholesterol and LDL cholesterol. But it also raises HDL, and it increases cholesterol particle size, so you actually get a net benefit.

Q.
What do you say to scientists who argue that saturated fat does in fact cause heart disease?
A.
I think the challenge with the research is that a lot of the data combines saturated fat in the context of a high-carbohydrate diet. The real danger is sweet fat. If you eat fat with sweets – so sugar and fat, or refined carbohydrates and fat – then insulin will rise and it’ll make you fat. But if you eliminate the refined carbs and sugar, that doesn’t happen. I think saturated fats can be bad in the context of a high-carbohydrate diet. But in the absence of that, they’re not.

Q.
What foods do you eat and recommend to your patients?
A.
What I eat is a cross between paleo and vegan diets. It combines elements of the two, so I call it a “pegan” diet. It’s low in sugars and refined carbs, and it’s very high in plant foods. About 70 to 80 percent of your diet should be plant foods. It should also include good-quality fats like nuts and seeds, olive oil, avocado, coconut oil and fatty fish. It should basically include whole, fresh food that’s unprocessed and high in fiber and phytonutrients. I always say that vegetables should make up 50 to 75 percent of your plate.

Q.
In a world where fast food is everywhere, wouldn’t that be fairly difficult for most people?
A.
It’s actually very easy to eat well if you just know what to do. The reason most people don’t succeed is they don’t plan their food. They plan their vacations, they plan their kitchen redesign, but they don’t plan out what they’re eating, and that’s a recipe for failure. I always think through how and where I’m going to get my food every day of every week. I also carry with me a set of emergency food so that I’m never in a food emergency.

Q.
What are the “emergency foods” that you carry?
A.
I have to protect myself from myself because I’ll eat whatever if I’m hungry in an airport. So I always carry packets of almond butter, cashew butter, an Evolution bar, a Bulletproof bar, a Tanka bar and a KIND bar. I basically have fat and protein as my snacks, and I have enough food in my bag to last an entire day so I don’t make bad choices.

Q.
We talked a lot about fat. But what is one overarching message you would most like people to understand?
A.
I think we have to get rid of the prevailing dogma that all calories are the same, and that we just need to exercise more and eat less, which is what the food industry and the government promote. The truth is that you can’t exercise your way out of a bad diet. Metabolism is not a math problem. It’s a hormonal problem. Food is not just energy. It’s information. It’s instructions that turn on or off different switches in your body that regulate hunger and metabolism. Obesity is not about how much you eat. It’s about what you eat. If you just focus on quality, not calories, then the quantity takes care of itself.

New Things I've Been Trying

Health and wellness is a lifestyle. You don't just, boom, become healthy, or fit, or muscular, or clear headed, have clear skin, poof, brain fog is gone day, it takes time. Just think about how long it took you to get acne, or that extra 15lbs, or regular bowel irritability; none of it happens over night, it takes time to break down, just as it takes time to build it back up.

With that said, little bits daily, over time make a huge impact. Like eating a salad for lunch every day. Or moving every day, simply just going for a walk or taking the stairs, it adds up! And we all know that there isn't enough time in any of our days for 30-1 hour chunks of time to workout, or take a walk, or make your lunch instead of grabbing a fast food lunch, but think about it, if you took little steps each day, slowly, but surely, one day you'll have health and wellness, almost without even noticing it. The more you do little each day perpetuates healthier choices for the rest of your life.

It comes down to self-care. Which so many of us are horrible at. Don't feel bad, we all do it. We put everyone's needs before our own. We worry about our kids, our spouses, our family, our friends, our coworkers, even our boss, before we worry about ourselves. It is only when someone points out that you should be taking better care of yourself, or something bad happens (knock on wood), like a perpetual cold, or a injury, or creepy chronic illness; that we take note, slow down and say to ourselves, "Hey, maybe I should take better care of myself."

So let's not get it to that I-must-take-care-of-myself-know-place-or-I-might-fill in the blank (get diabetes, gain another 15lbs, have high blood pressure, die!) because little things each day add up and make a difference! AND the more you start taking care of yourself the better you will feel, the more you will want to continue to take care of yourself (ie make healthier food choices) and it will make taking care of all the those people around you easier. Trust.

So here are a few things I have been adding to my daily routine, that I am really liking:

Daily Dry Brushing

Dry brushing is exactly as it sounds, you brush your dry body with a dry brush. It sounds kinda weird and like it may hurt a little, but it feels great. You do it right before you get in the shower. I like to let the hot water run a bit to get the bathroom all warm, then get neked and start brushing in long smooth, gentle strokes from your toes to your neck. 

I know it seems weird, but seriously give it a try. Buy a soft bristled, natural brush and give it a whirl. You know that typical winter skin tightness and itchiness that won't go away no matter how much lotion you put on - gone! Seriously, my skin is not dry or itchy and I am not going through every lotion known to man this winter. 

Dry brushing has a slew of benefits from increased circulation and blood flow, getting rid of dead skin cells (hence the no itchiness), reducing cellulite (who doesn't want that!?), exfoliation, and all around general self love (you can't hate on yourself, while you are brushing, it's not possible, it feels too good). Learn more at from Wellness Mama, a great blogger I follow.

Coconut Oil in Coffee

If you haven't seen my IG posts about this deliciousness or haven't tried it yourself - you gotta! It's like Starbucks at home, but better. I swear, who doesn't want a frothy latte each morning in your pjs from your own kitchen! It's amaze-balls.

I stopped drinking coffee for a little over a year when I realized I was lactose intolerant. I stopped putting cream in my coffee and almond milk, try as I might, was just not good (all those who say otherwise - you lie!) and soy, yeah, no, I try not to eat too much soy. So I got rid of coffee in my life. It was sad, because I have always loved coffee. And really it has never given me much strife. And they say either you can drink it or you can't and your body will tell you. It never kept me up at night, I didn't get coffee poops (Google it), I didn't get jittery or anxious; and I love everything about coffee! The smell, the taste, the subtle nuances, the different roasts, I kinda became a coffee aficionado, so to give it up was a sad, sad day. To me there is nothing better than waking up, curling up in your pjs with a hot cup-o-joe, such an awesome way to start the day, am I right!?

So when I saw something recently about coconut oil coffee I had to try it. I'm in heaven. I still only drink 1-2 cups max a day but coconut oil makes it SO much better. Everyone knows coconut oil is the new wonder oil - slather it on everything right - we've all seen the memes. But seriously I love, love coconut oil, and no don't worry about the fat, it is the "good for you fat". 

Take a spoonful of coconut oil (figure out your preference, start with a teaspoon) throw it in a blender, add hot coffee and blend for a few secs, pour into a mug and enjoy your frothy, latte, only slightly coconut-y, coffee and go to heaven. One tip, I like my coffee super hot, and I found that if you put all your coffee in the blender it cools it down too much, so I pour half my black coffee in my mug, then blend the other half with coconut oil, it stays nice and hot that way.

Coconut oil coffee!! OMGEEE so delish! First time I tried it this am. Awesome!! I stopped drinking cream in my coffee (and coffee for almost a year) bc of being #lactoseintolerant 😢 but this makes up for it!! Take 1-2Tbsp of #coconutoil, preferably #organic, put in blender, add hot coffee. Blended deliciousness frothiness!! ☕☕😲😍🙌 love it!! #coffee #coconut #latte #coffeenevertastedsogood #neverneedstarbucksagain

A photo posted by Al St. Cosine (@alstco) on Feb 1, 2016 at 3:24pm PST

Apparently there are health benefits (an added bonus, read more here) but I am just so excited to be able to have my morning coffee everyday and it is better than ever.

Ginger Tea with Meals
It is recommend in Ayurvedic medicine to drink ginger tea with meals. It aides in digestion. For someone who has off and on digestive problems adding ginger tea to each of my meals for the last few weeks had made a noticeable difference. I don't get gassy or bloated. Even if I start to get gassy after a meal, if a drink a cup of ginger tea the gas goes away. It is recommended to drink a hot cup of ginger tea with each meal or after each meal, if the ginger flavor doesn't go with the meal, I will enjoy it after (an added bonus for those with a sweet tooth, it kinda is like dessert, if you need it sweeter add a spoonful of honey.) I would highly recommend everyone add ginger tea to your daily meals.

Lastly, I've learned about:

EFT

Also known as Emotional Freedom Technique or Tapping. I could write a whole blog post on EFT and I probably will do a follow up. It is amazing! EFT is recognized by the CDC for treating PTSD better than talk therapy for veterans. But it does so much more than treat PTSD. You can use it for everything - from daily stress, to menstrual cramps, to physical pain (do you know that 85% of physical pain has an emotional connection??), to emotional pain, for weight loss, and fears, you name it, I bet you EFT will help.

EFT has pressure points that you tap while focusing on the stress, pain, fear, anxiety, what have you, and it actually changes the energy pathways in your body and brain. Almost like acupuncture without the needles. The rhythmic tapping helps you process the stress or emotion and actually rewires your brain to not register "it" as intensely. Your brain does not know the difference between being chased by a bear or nightmare or movie of a bear chasing you. EFT allows you to help your brain and fight or flight reponse to calm down. With as much stress as we all live with each day, our brains and body's are constantly triggering the fight or flight response, so it burns out and we can't tell the difference between a real or stress or a perceived stress. 

I know it might sound crazy and even looks a little silly, but seriously it works!

I can't say enough about EFT and if you are interested to learn more read this article. 

If you would like to know more about any of these tools that I am loving right now, or are interested in any others, send me an email.

While these daily things might not be for you, I urge you to find yours, find little healthy things you can add to your day to day, and trust me they will add up and make a difference in your overall health and well-being long term.