Health

20 Things I Learned on My Health Journey

I set out on a journey to heal my rare skin condition from the inside out. While I am not an expert, it’s been on my heart to share what I learned in my three-month journey to a functional medicine approach. I hope you find it helpful! And remember, we’re all different!

1. Hydrate throughout the day and drink less during meals.

2. 12-Hour fast from dinner to breakfast. If you eat dinner at 7pm (dessert and late-night snacks included), wait 12 hours from the last food item to eat again. This gives the body the time for it to utilize all the nutrients in the food you’ve eaten and absorb or get rid of everything accurately.

3. Rather than many small meals a day, allow enough time in between meals for your stomach to ’empty out’ before you put more in it. Think of it as a conveyor belt, you don’t want it backed up and then overflow. That causes your body to rush and not able to fully distinguish what goes where or absorb all the nutrients possible.

4. Take Supplements. Our society, our depleted ground nutrients and our busy schedules do not permit proper vitamins and nutrients from our food, solely. My top three recommendations to incorporate are: Probiotics, Vitamin D, and enzymes.

5. The best detox you can do is to skip a meal. As I mentioned before, this allows time for your body to use all the nutrients and get rid of waste.

6. Women: For balanced hormone levels, it’s good to eat 3-4 eggs per day to get your good cholesterol up. This will help alleviate painful cramps and uncomfortable bloating. (I used to miss work the morning of ‘that time of the month’ and bloating was so painful for me.)

7. Up your Vitamin D, especially 3-months prior to cold months. This will help your energy levels, help lesson the chance of seasonal depression, and helps your immune system stay strong.

8. Chew Slowly. Eating is a practice. It’s social. Enjoy it. Make sure you have chewed sufficiently before swallowing. This also helps with absorbing it and transferring it all to the right places.

9. If you ate a lot. Make sure to finish with foods that are going to bring your blood sugar down sloooowly. It’s not healthy to spike and plummet. Foods to help lower: avocado, fish, garlic, sour cherries, vinegar, vegetables, chia seeds, cacao, berries, nuts, whole grains, eggs, and coffee.

10. If you had a ‘cheat meal’ take 2-3 enzymes right after or as soon as you remember. They help break down carbohydrates and alcohol.

11. Get extensive blood work done at your physicals. Make sure toxins are something they are going to check for. We don’t realize how much toxicity is around us and in our food. The good news is, with proper diet, you can lower your toxicity levels. I did! My mercury was double what it needed to be and by dieting correctly I was able to get my levels back down to normal!

12. Drink water in the morning to hydrate your body from all the work it did while you were asleep.

13. If you suffer from bloating, avoid gluten and dairy. Also, avoid leafy greens as they can produce gas in your stomach. OUCH!

14. If you feel like you have low energy, try “23 and Me” the health option to check to see if there is an underlying gene mutation that has gone undetected. This could be a game changer for you and your doctor. Then you two can map out the right diet, supplement, and health plan for you to get back to feeling like you again!

15. Shop your groceries at Thrive Market: They deliver healthy food and natural products at wholesale prices saving you money and offering cleaner food options.

16. Listen to your body. Treat it well. It will thank you in the morning.

17. Carbohydrates and sugar, that is not in its simplest form, can feed bad bacteria in your gut. Gut-health is so important to learn about and understand.

18. Stress has the potential to cause a leaky gut. It’s so important to address a potential leaky gut but also to practice habits that lower your stress levels: nature, yoga, exercise, take small breaks while working, meditation, worship, or whatever quiets your mind. Write in a journal, share what you’re grateful for at the dinner table, listen to calming music.

19. Get out in Nature…often. This naturally helps your: mindfulness, optimism, and relationships.

20. Surround yourself with positive, supportive, uplifting and encouraging people!

Thank you SO much for reading. I think this is one of my most informative and important Blog Posts to date! If you know someone who might find this information interesting and helpful please feel free to share! I appreciate your support and as always….

Choose Happy. Choose Healthy. Choose YOU!