Prepping for surgery

Hey friends! Today I’m sharing how we navigate prepping for surgery (and detoxing after!)

Last year (2019), I had 3 surgeries. 1 fertility preservation “surgery” to remove 24 eggs from my ovaries (see my horrifying experience HERE), 1 to implant my port for chemo and 1 to remove it!

Anytime you are in a hospital setting your risk of infection increases due to chemical and antibiotic resistance strains of bacteria like C diff. Anytime your skin is broken in a hospital your chance of infection increases a little and if you have a weak immune system it raises yet again.

SO! I am all about being PREPARED and being PROACTIVE. Which means that as Patrick was preparing for umbilical hernia surgery, we set a few basic things in place to support his body through the process.

Pre-surgery

Vitamin D

Low levels of Vitamin D increase your risk of developing post op infection as well as leaving you more susceptible for many other diseases. Patrick recently had some bloodwork done and I encouraged him to get his vitamin D levels checked. I’m glad we did because they were way too low! Just below the conventional bracket, and significantly below what we would prefer for optimal health. Since then we have been supplementing with vitamin D to boost his levels.

Added bonus, Patrick struggled with keeping his blood pressure in a normal range and low vitamin D levels can contribute to that so we are killing two birds with one stone.

Probiotics

Taking probiotics before surgery can improve the outcome and reduce the inflammatory response. Probiotics can also improve your recovery and support your immune system. So obviously, I provided him with a good probiotic :)

Antibacterial

And finally, I recommended a low dose broad spectrum, botanical to support beneficial bacteria, immune response, and kill pathogenic bacteria. A catch all post surgery to keep any bugs he might catch from getting out of control.

Day of surgery

The day of surgery the biggest concern was pain. I am all for modern medicine when it comes to managing pain temporarily, but along with narcotics comes some major constipation as well. So the goal was to get off the pain killers as soon as possible (ended up only being about 24 hours) and get ahead of the poo problem as much as we could.

We used high doses of magnesium (I’m loving this brand), senokot (an herbal laxative) and dried prunes in combination to help in this area. It took about 24 hours, but even prescription laxatives can take 24 hours to kick in so this worked well.

Post surgery

I remember well the discomfort that came after my fertility preservation surgery. Even though the pain diminished within a few days, the general discomfort, feeling of bloat, and sensation of walking with a bunch of rocks wrapped around your lower belly was terrible. This seems to be very similar to how Patrick is describing his recovery.

He was able to move around by himself by Friday (surgery was Thursday) and the pain significantly diminished within 2 days, but the discomfort in his belly made it feel awkward. After about 24 hours on th prescription pain meds he was able to use ibuprofen or curcumin occassionally.

I had planned a trip to Columbus to visit Restore Hyper Wellness on Monday so we could give his body and extra healing boost.

We scheduled a 1 hour hyperbaric oxygen therapy and a vitamin IV.

Vitamin IV

The IV he got was a blend of vitamin C, glutathione, toradol, and proline.

Vitamin C and glutathione are major antioxidants that your body uses for cell repair, immune system health and liver detoxification. One of the ways I like to support the body after things like anesthesia is a mild detox with things like this.

Toradol is an anti-inflammatory like ibuprofen, and delivered in the bloodstream it has a strong effect. He was actually given this in the hospital before we left, and we got another dose at restore.

Finally, we added some proline which is an amino acid that helps with immune system and wound healing!

Hyperbaric oxygen therapy

Hyperbaric oxygen therapy has long been used in hospitals for wound healing in more extreme circumstances. Thankfully, it is becoming more accessible for the individual who wants to be really engaged in their health. Hyperbaric oxygen is know well for supporting wound healing but it can also be supportive for neurological healing after brain damage, injury, or even parkinsons.

Results

Happily, Patrick left restore feeling noticeable better. It certainly gave him the extra healing boost we were hoping for. It’s a bummer we don’t live closer as doing some hyperbaric a few days in a row could have really sped things up, but even so, one treatment had him walking out of the building normally. He was less stiff, the brick he described feeling in his stomach was gone, and he was no longer walking slowly.

Ongoing considerations

Patrick is going great! 5 days post surgery he is back to work after a long weekend of rest and recovery. In a few months we may test his poop just to check in on things, but as far as we know all is well! He isn’t supposed to lift anything heavier than 10 pounds for 2 weeks and he’s already flirting with danger by picking up the cat haha.

I hope that this post was helpful and gave you some ideas to support you through any hospital stay or surgical experience you may have in the future!

References:

Probiotics and surgery:

• https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5590023/

• https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5198246/

• https://forteelements.com/wp-content/themes/x-forte-elements/assets/pdf/forte-pre-and-post-op-nutrition-white-paper.pdf

Vitamin D:

• https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5356990/

• https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4413543/

Hyperbaric Oxygen

• https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3058327/

Top 5 Essential Oils for Boosting Immunity

Hey Everyone, My name is Melissa. I’m a mama to 5 wonderful kiddos, one of which was diagnosed with Crohn’s disease and has been one of the catalysts that started my journey to helping others with their health and wellness using essential oils. I was so excited when Kylene asked me to share a bit about essential oils and immunity. Through becoming a Crohn’s advocate and health coach, I love to use what I’ve learned on my health journey to help others. With that being said, let’s get to the good stuff!

When it comes to boosting our body’s immunity, there are many things that can be done. Obviously, focusing on eating healthier, getting adequate sleep and decreasing stress are great places to start. However, what I have found over the years is that sometimes our bodies need extra help. 

Essential oils are a great tool to add to our daily routine to provide that extra help to support and boost our immune systems. Below are my top 5 essential oils for immune support. Some of you who are familiar with essential oil may be surprised to see that Thieves did not make the list. It is, by far, one of my favorite oils for this topic, however it is such a powerhouse oil that it deserves it’s own post!!

Top 5 Essential Oils for Boosting Immunity

First of all, what are essential oils? They are the lifeblood of a plant which is extracted from the flower, stem, leave, bark, or fruit. The oils provide nutrients to the plant as well protection from disease. Those same qualities of the plant can be used by our bodies to help increase our overall health. All essential oils have antimicrobial properties, however each differ in which properties they contain. When several are blended together and applied to the body or diffused, they provide a powerful compound which is especially useful for targeting a broad range of viruses and bacteria in the body or in the air. 

1. Tea Tree

Tea Tree oil comes from the leaves of the melaleuca tree (or tea tree) and has been used for centuries by the aborigines to heal cuts, wounds, and skin infections. Not only is this powerful oil an immune stimulant, it also has twelve times the antiseptic power of phenol, as well as antiviral and antibacterial properties making it one of the most powerful immune-building essential oils. 

Incorporate Tea Tree into your daily routine for immune support by adding a drop or two to the bottoms of your feet each morning. Because our feet contain the largest pores on our skin, applying oils there allows the benefits of the oil to be released into the body and absorbed more efficiently. Add 5 drops to a diffuser to purify the air. 

        2.      Oregano 

Like Tea Tree, Oregano comes from the leaves of the plant. Because of its antiviral and antiseptic properties, Oregano is profoundly beneficial for killing germs. It too is an incredible immune stimulant and is known for its ability to fight infection and inflammation. This oil is considered a “hot” oil, meaning when applied to the skin it can cause a warming or hot sensation. It is best to dilute this oil by applying with a carrier oil like fractionated coconut oil. 

Combine Oregano with Tea Tree and coconut oil to the bottoms of your feet to fight viruses and help boost immunity. Add a few drops of Oregano to a diffuser along with a few drops of the next oil, Lemon, and enjoy a spicy and uplifting scent that purifies the air.

 3.    Lemon

All citrus oils are incredibly energizing and beneficial to those dealing with stress, anxiety, and depression. When diffused, Lemon oil has amazing properties that not only uplift your mood and ease anxiety, which contributes to our overall immune system health, but it also contains powerful antioxidants that boost the immune system by fighting off free radicals.

When ingested, Lemon oil helps remove toxins from the body and increase immunity. Try adding a drop of Lemon oil to your glass of water each day to stay healthy or help fight a cold. Sore throat? Add a drop of lemon to a spoonful of raw honey 3x a day.  Diffuse 5 drops of Lemon throughout the day to purify the air and make you feel refreshed and energized. Please note that Lemon oil contains Limonene which can break down plastic. When adding it to drinking water use a glass jar and metal straw. Lemon oil is also phototoxic, so it should not be used on the skin before significant sun exposure. 

  4.      Lavender & Frankincense 

Both of these are “must have” essential oils for the home. Both are beneficial for almost any situation. 

Lavender

This oil is incredibly versatile. In fact, it is known as the swiss army knife of oils for its countless uses. Unlike the other oils mentioned above that are immune stimulants, lavender helps the immune system by offering calming and soothing properties that can help reduce stress and ensure your body gets the restorative sleep it needs. Both stress and lack of sleep contribute to a lowered immune system.

Rub Lavender on bottoms of feet or Diffuse 8-10 drops of Lavender at night for restful sleep. To decrease stress and/or anxiety, add a drop of Lavender to each palm and rub together. Then cup your hands over your mouth and nose and breathe deeply several times. This can be done throughout the day or whenever stress or anxiety are elevated.

Frankincense

Like Lavender, Frankincense has numerous uses. Because of its grounding and antidepressant properties, it too works wonders in the lives of those dealing with stress and anxiety. When diffused or directly inhaled, this amazing oil balances emotions and has the ability to decrease elevated heart rates and high blood pressure, both contributors to stress, anxiety, and a weakened immune system. Where Frankincense differs from its friend Lavender, is its ability to fight against infection because of its anti-infectious, antiseptic, and immune-stimulant properties. Because of this, Frankincense acts as a shield, preventing the spread and development of germs in the body. Combining it in your household cleaner makes it a vital weapon against cold and flu as well! 

For daily emotional and immune support, add a drop or two to the bottoms of your feet. Inhale directly from the bottle to uplift the mind and spirit or combine with other immune supporting oils mentioned above for an immune supporting powerhouse blend. 

Immune Supporting Roller Blend:

Add 10 drops Frankincense, 10 drops Lemon, 10 drops Tea Tree, 5 drops Oregano, and 5 drops lavender to a 10ml glass roller bottle and top with fractionated coconut oil. Roll along the spine and bottoms of feet daily to boost the immune system. When the immune system is compromised or you are fighting a virus or cold, apply the oils more often throughout the day. Also, like any natural supplement or homeopathic, to see the effects you want, essential oils must be used frequently and consistently. They are tools to use daily to support overall health. 

I encourage you to add essential oils into your daily routine! The above oils are great ones to start with. Essential oils are amazing tools to have in your tool kit to help support your emotions, sleep, and especially your immune system! Our family has been using them for years and we are the healthiest we have ever been! It’s important to note that not all essential oils are created equal. I only recommend pure therapeutic grade essential oils that you know have been grown, harvested, and distilled with the highest of standards.

If you are ready to incorporate oils into your life, I would love to help you or answer any questions you may have. You can find me over on instagram @well.made.essentials 

Faith vs. Fear - taking charge of your responses

Faith vs. Fear

Hi friends! WOW. What a weird time we are living right now. The difference in emotions from last week to this week couldn't be more palpable! I am seeing so many posts about fear and anxiety surrounding what might happen, restrictions that are being put into place, and just not feeling like you can live a normal life right now....

So I wanted to provide several resources to hopefully support you during this time...

First, I wanted to share my perspective on all of this, and why I'm not personally freaking out. 

1) Faith

Number one, and by far the most impactful is my faith. I know, as I did through my cancer journey, that whatever happens happens. And whatever I may personally experience in my own life, shows up for a reason. It's therefore my ONLY job, to be open to lessons I may learn, stay calm,  and receive it in faith. When things happen in our lives beyond our control, it is the best opportunity to give God all the control. Ultimately He's in control any way so...

2) There is a difference between fear and anxiety, and being proactive and conscientious.

I am certainly being very proactive, and very conscientious, but I choose not to be fearful or full of anxiety about things that may or may not happen. So far, I have survived all scary and negative things that have happened in my life, and there has never been a moment where worry or anxiety helped me navigate those times better.

So what am I doing to be proactive? Well I'm certainly not slacking on my supplements. One of the  things we DO have control over right now, is our bodies and our own personal home environments. Eating healthy foods, getting outside for walks and fresh air, taking immune boosting and detoxifying supplements etc.... my usual.

70% of your immune system lies in your gut. Prioritizing your nutrition, optimizing sleep, stressing less, and dialing in on your supplementation are all supportive.

In addition, when we went grocery shopping we did stock up a little more than usual. Being proactive is something within our control. When we take steps on things that are WITHIN our control, it helps us relax al little more about things that are NOT within our control. 
 

3) Find the good.

Don't tell me that when a few activities were cancelled you didn't feel a LITTLE relieved that your schedule was a little less booked? :) Now, being quarantined for several weeks, not being able to eat out or gather in large groups is NOT ideal.

However, finding the silver linings and maintaining a positive attitude can only HELP your immune system (where stressing lowers it!). I'm choosing to be grateful for less stuff going on. This came after a particularly busy season where our lives and schedules were PACKED and in fact, had this not all happened, we would currently be hosting a German exchange student in our home, and in a little over one week Keegan and Patrick would be flying to Japan and my parents and I would be flying to Prague for vacations.

I could be totally bummed but I'm not. This in no way impacts my life in a negative way in the grand scheme of things, and in fact, it's nice to have some down time.

You don't have to love this, you don't have to LIKE it. But you CAN choose to be happy, positive and joyful. Which is good for YOU, your body, and your family during this time!

4) Find the JOY

Intentionally seek out things that make you laugh. Laugh at all the toilet paper memes. Make jokes yourself. Get on TikTok and watch how silly people can be in the midst of life upheaval. Watch funny Netflix movies. Be purposeful about stress relief!!

How can I help??

In order to support you more fully, I am posting updates in my FB group #Youtrition - in regards to healthy food delivery services, supplements when they are available etc (it may appear the world is out of Vitamin C, but there are options!).... to hopefully encourage you with some ideas and tips through this unprecedented scenario.

I am also offering stand alone coaching calls at a discounted rate from now until the end of March. I don't normally offer stand alone calls, but I wanted to offer this as an option for anyone who wants to ask some questions, get some tips or anything else you feel may be supportive during this time. The hour is all yours to use as you need!

If this would be supportive to you, you can book a call below.

DEEP breaths!!!!!! Take a moment to think about something that makes you happy, visualize it. Feel it in your body. Create a positive emotional state for yourself right now.

Stay safe, and stay healthy.

I'm getting sick - now what?!

When anyone in my house gets sick, I JUMP into action!!! I would rather throw 10 things at it and be proactive immediately than get behind the curve and have a house full of sick people. Here are a few things we do when we are feeling under the weather.

This Content is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition.

1) Increase immune supporting vitamins

I take vitamins and supplement DAILY. It’s quite a handful every morning, plus some support throughout the day. I you’re trying to be healthy in 2020 you should probably be taking some basics - see why HERE. But on top of that, when someone in my house gets sick, I may add a few or increase the dose on some that are more supportive to the immune system.

• We take liposomal vitamin C - 2 squirts under the tongue for 30 seconds 2x a day. This may increase to 3-4 times a day when sick. I will also be getting vitamin IV’s before I travel that include B vitamins, magnesium and Vitamin C.

• I add in elderberry syrup. A spoonful 3-4x a day.

• Biocidin is an anti-viral, antimicrobial supplement I use with my gut protocols, but if we aren’t currently taking it and someone gets sick - we bring it back in. It’s a concentrated dose of herbs and essential oils known to support the immune system, kill pathogenic gut bugs and leave the good ones we need! (It’s INCREDIBLY effective).

• Stay on or increase probiotics and/or add sauerkraut or yogurt (dairy free) too. This is especially important if you are fighting a tummy bug.

• Depending on what’s going on sometimes we add things like Umcka cold and flu as well.

• I often forget about this, but recently remembered to use my Ultimate Aloe ( that’s the brand) aloe juice. It’s antiviral and with this brand you can drink several glasses a day safely.

• Recently I’ve also been eating 2-4 Brazil nuts/day. They are a major source of selenium and selenium deficiency has been connected to viral infections so - boosting selenium can be considered anti-viral. Eat your Brazil nuts! But 2-4 is all you need.

2) Bone broth

Bone broth supports your immune system by dosing you with lots of good minerals. In addition, it’s warm, soothing, and gut healing to boot. Homemade is always best, but other brands like Kettle & Fire or Epic might be more convenient.

3) Essential oils

I like to diffuse essential oils anyway, but if we get sick, I use thieves essential oils like it’s my job. A blend of clove, cinnamon, lemon, eucalyptus and rosemary, it’s a potent immune support and germ killer. You can roll it onto your wrists or the bottom of your feet, or diffuse it in your home. I like to use a roller on my wrists and diffuse it while I sleep.

If feeling nauseous, you can diffuse peppermint oil or add a drop of peppermint to your daily smoothie or protein shake.

4) Rest

I know it’s not always possible, but when it is, it’s smart to take the day off work, go to bed early, and relax as much as you can as soon as you feel like you are getting sick. Sleep is when your body recovers and if you are getting sick your body usually signals strongly that you need to get more rest. Id you respect that instead of pushing through, increase nutrition, and listen to your body, you can often nip it in the bud or dramatically cut back the symptoms or duration!!

I hope these basic tips have helped! Stay healthy my friends!

Resources:

• https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4288282/

• https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0161475499700059

• https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmicb.2018.02338/full

• https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5552930/

• https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6612361/

How to be successful in all aspects of life

Hi there!!!

Whether you want to be successful in business, relationship or my speciality….HEALTH, there are some common themes that you must adhere to in order to grow. So here are my top tips on

How to be successful in all aspects of life

1) Get ready to be uncomfortable.

If you are someone who finds that you constantly resist things that make you uncomfortable, then you are probably also someone that doesn’t reach the goals you want to reach. Why? Because growth means discomfort. And often. a LOT of discomfort.

If you want to get better in business, you have to work on your communication skills. Maybe you’re an introvert and have to push through some major fears.

If you want to work on your health, you have to make changes that are terribly uncomfortable. You must stop bad habits, put mental and physical effort into thinking about and preparing the foods you make. You must invest financially to get testing, hire a coach, etc…. Health is NOT COMFORTABLE (at first).

2) Get over yourself.

In order to grow we must get over ourselves. We obviously don’t know everything or we would have accomplished it all already. Be willing to learn, ask for help, hire a specialist, or start new conversations. If we walk around like we know it all, well….pride comes before a fall. And no one likes to be friends with a know it all anyway. Collaborate, listen, learn, and constantly be growing. Seek out new opportunities and continue to challenge yourself.

3) Be full of integrity.

If you were late to meetings and left projects unfinished at work, you would get fired. Yet we are willing to do this to ourselves constantly.

If you want to have a better relationship, you must keep your commitments, be full of integrity, show up, and be trustyworthy.

If you want to accomplish your biggest health goals, you must have personal integrity. Show up for yourself, Follow through on the goals you set. Get accountability. Finish what you started.

Sometimes this simply means doing what you say you will do, or acting on what you SAY is a priority to you. (actions are definitely louder than words when it comes to our health).

Other times it means hiring a coach or specialist who can listen to you, challenge you, keep you accountable, and push you when it get tough to keep you on track. Often people outside of our situation can see the big picture, identify our weaknesses, and see what needs to be done more clearly than we can! But often this takes embracing step #2 in order to be successful :)

4) Be willing to invest

EVERYTHING worth anything takes investment. The statement “you get what you pay for” really is true. Being a health coach, I see how often people want to discount their own value.

They wouldn't blink to spend the same amount of money on a child, a pet, or a charity. But when it comes to investing in their own bodies, health and future, they get really uncomfortable really fast. And I get it. It’s definitely hard.

BUT every relationship takes work, every business coach that is worth their salt costs money, and any health coach that will be able to take you from point A to point B will be an investment as well.

When I started viewing these costs as INVESTMENTS even though it brought a lump to my throat because of the commitment, I knew it was worth it. It held my feet to the fire. If I felt uncomfortable, I was more likely to put in the effort to take the steps necessary to see the growth and results I needed. And boy did I GROW.

And I see this over and over with my clients. Over the years, those who didn’t want to invest, or invested just a tiny bit of money or time didn’t end up seeing the results they wanted.

But those who were immediate action takers, jumped in with both feet, trusted me, did the work and invested to a point that made them uncomfortable, saw the biggest results and the long term WINS.

Investments aren’t just about money - they are about the emotional value you place on something. A rock might be worth nothing at all - but a rock with a famous artist rendering on it can sell for thousands of dollars.

When you’re working on your health you must value 2 things exponentially. The person you hire, and yourself. When those things align. you will see incredible results!

Change is hard. It’s scary. There are never any guarantees. But if you are ready to get uncomfortable, get over yourself, keep your commitments and be willing to invest, I bet you’ll see some dramatic changes over the next year!!!

To your health,

XOXOX

Supplements I love!

Over the past 3 years, I have really developed some FAVORITE supplements. I am convinced I’ll be on supplements for the rest of my life, and unless we have a massive overhaul in our farming industry where the soil becomes so incredibly nutrient dense again that all our organic produce is overflowing with natural nutrition, then I’m ok with it…

Over the past 100 years, modern farming techniques and industrial food practices, while providing food around the world and throughout the year, have lessened the nutrient density we get. Unfortunately, choosing organic doesn’t fully solve this problem, the soil itself needs to be regenerated. You can learn more about regenerative agriculture HERE.

www.ecoorganics.com

In addition to nutrient loss, we are also getting exposed to more chemicals, herbicides and pesticides. These products are shown to be carcinogens, liver toxins, neurotoxins, hormone disruptors, allergens, and in microscopic doses, they kill off beneficial gut bacteria.

This leads us to the need for good supplementation. Even when we eat a whole food, natural, healthy, organic diet, it can be difficult to get the levels and variety we need. Everyone is different of course, but here are some supplements I generally like for everyone.

A Multivitamin

This is just a no brainer. Simple, easy, covers a lot of your bases. But not all multivitamins are created equally. Sourcing, quality, and bioavailability are all important. You want to avoid vitamins with folic acid, and choose a more available form like folate or methylfolate. You also don’t want chemicals, fillers flavors, or poor quality ingredients added in.

My favorite multivitamin is: Dr. Amy Myers The Myers Way Multivitamin.

Beef Liver

Beef liver is like nature’s multivitamin. You might see an increase in energy with beef liver since it’s packed with B vitamin in a whole food source. Additionally, it’s a high source of vitamin A which is great for your immune system and your skin.

Historically, tribal cultures prioritized organi meats since they were so nutrient dense. NOW, we are used to eating the muscle meat and avoiding organ meat but we are doing ourselves a disservice.

Often the organ that you eat is beneficial for that organ in your body as well - so eating liver is supportive to YOUR liver.

I can hear the questions “But Kylene, the liver detoxifies, won’t you be getting a lot of toxins?” No! The liver certainly filters and breaks things down for us yes. But in order to do this, it stores up a TON of nutrients in animals as well as humans. So when you are eating liver you’re getting a mega dose of beneficial nutrients that help your body function well!

Don’t worry, you don’t have to eat it. I like Vital Proteins brand and I take 4 tabs a day.

If you want to branch out to additional organ supplements, check out another brand called Ancestral Supplements.

p.s. quality is important - only get animal products or supplements from pasture raised grass-fed sources.

Probiotic

Unless we are intentional about it, we don’t eat very many fermented foods today. The most common food we may eat would be yogurt, and often the yogurt that is available is low quality and full of sugars. But a high quality fermented food is incredibly healthy for your gut!

Foods like sauerkraut, kimchi, fermented veggies and high quality yogurts (I usually go for dairy free and no adde sugars) are great additions to your regular diet.

If you have ever had antibiotics, struggle with bowel movements, bloating or any other digestive complaints, a regular dose of a probiotic can certainly be supportive.

I personally love Megaspore Probiotic. This is a spore based probiotic that does not need to be refrigerated. These are natural strains that you would be exposed to out in nature.

Other probiotics can be helpful with different strains and perhaps even used in combination with Megaspore, particularly in cases where you have had a lot of gut damage or previous antibiotic use.

Vitamin C

We are some of the only mammals that don’t naturally produce our own Vitamin C. When we are stressed our need goes up and our adrenals burn through whatever stores we may have. Conversely, having enough vitamin C helps our stress responses and supports our immune system.

I personally like This brand of Liposomal Vitamin C. A few pumps under the tongue for 30 seconds 1-2x a day and you avoid any digestive discomfort from tablets in addition to getting it right into your blood stream.

Everyone is different and of course every protocol I create for client is unique. You can take all the supplements in the world but if you haven’t address food sensitivities or gut pathogens you may not be absorbing them efficiently. Work with a practitioner if you are looking for a personalized approach to your nutrition and supplementation!

Interested in working together? Set up a free functional health assessment call at the link below and let’s get to know each other!

Additional resources:

• https://bengreenfieldfitness.com/article/supplements-articles/what-is-the-best-multivitamin/

• https://bengreenfieldfitness.com/article/supplements-articles/ben-greenfields-ultimate-supplement-guide/

• https://www.thepaleomom.com/7-nutrients-youre-probably-deficient-in/

Should you be worried about the coronavirus?

WHEW! this is a story that isn’t going away, and it’s creating worry in many….

So let me get straight to the point. Should you be worried about the coronavirus?

Short answer:

• YES if you are elderly, have a low immune system, get sick easily, or live in an area where there are lots of cases.

• Not so much if you live in the US, have a good immune system and take sensible precautions.

Let’s review some information:

Regular flu impact 2019 USA:

“CDC estimates that influenza was associated with more than 35.5 million illnesses, more than 16.5 million medical visits, 490,600 hospitalizations, and 34,200 deaths during the 2018–2019 influenza season”

-CDC.gov

Coronavirus impact 2020

• “Fourteen cases have been diagnosed in the United States, and an additional 39 cases have occurred among repatriated persons from high-risk settings, for a current total of 53 cases within the United States” -CDC.gov

• 6 deaths have been reported so far in the US

• 2.3% fatality rate (mostly in immune compromised individuals like the elderly)

Look at the comparison. We aren’t freaking out about the regular flu, so why are we freaking out about this version?

Often, we focus on ALL the negatives…instead of offering free, supportive information on how people AT HOME, by themselves can boost their immune systems and take steps to completely avoid these issues.

To put this into perspective:

• “On average, someone dies of CVD every 38 seconds. ... On average, someone dies of a stroke every 3.70 minutes” - Professional.heart.org

• “In 2019, an estimated 606,880 people will die of cancer in the United States” - Seer.cancer.gov

• “According to the CDC, 79,535 deaths occur each year due to diabetes. The number of fatalities related to diabetes may be underreported” - MedicalNewsToday.com

• MERS has a 35% death rate.

Every few months, the media latches on to something NEW that is an epidemic that will surely kill us all. We cannot live our lives in fear. What we CAN do, is make sure that our nutrition is on point, our immune systems are in tact, and that we practice good hygiene.

For sure, the rapid spread of this virus is something to be monitored and aware of.

Other Thoughts:

• Coronavirus can only spread through water droplets that get into your respiratory system through your mouth or nose. If you wash hands and don’t touch your face or get sneezed on, you should be ok.

• Poor nutrition can weaken your immune system or strengthen it. Start prioritizing what you EAT as part of your prevention plan.

• When traveling, wipe down airplane seats, wear a mask (like Vogmask.com) to keep from touching your face, and wash hands with soap and water frequently.

• Anytime your immune system is compromised, you’re in danger. The deaths you ARE seeing, even over in china, are primarily showing up in the sick or elderly. If you have a kickass immune system you can get it (just like any virus) and recover, or not even notice.

Things to boost your immune system:

• Plenty of Vitamin D (naturally from the sun if you can get it, high quality supplementation if you cannot.

• Vitamin C - liposomal supplementation, or vitamin IV (I would recommend looking into an IV if you have been sick recently or will be traveling). Here is a cool article on how China is using IV vitamin C to treat and prevent the virus. Thankfully, you have access to this in the states and can voluntarily take advantage of it!

• Supplemental antivirals and antioxidants like biocidin, elderberry syrup, liposomal vitamin C, liposomal glutathione and olive leaf extract.

Things to do to just be careful:

• IF you have a weak immune system, DON’T TRAVEL. Obviously. Be smart.

If you are healthy and choose to travel:

(countries are shutting down where it’s a BIG issue so that’s already taken care of…)

• Wipe down the surfaces of your airplane seat and table with alcohol based sanitizer.

• Carry an alcohol based hand sanitizer with you (you can make one yourself LIKE THIS with essential oils and alcohol)

• Wear a mask when traveling - mostly to keep your hands away from your face. Wash it before using again.

• Wash hands regularly with soap and water. If you bite your nails or lick your fingers, STOP now.

• Take your supplements!

• Consider using portable diffusers with specific essential oils to purify the air in your home or on a plane. For example, studies have shown tea tree and eucalyptus are antiviral and can kill the flu virus. Some oils are even studied for treating respiratory disease (the coronavirus is primarily showing up as a respiratory issue)

So to keep it SUPER short and to the point, don’t freak out!!!! YES there are contagions, YES there are deaths, YES there are diseases that we can all get.

But guess what? STRESS weakens your immune system.

Be smart, and take the media freak out with a grain of salt. In 3 months they will focus on something new that’s going to kill you.

Do some other research!

• www.drheatherpaulson.

• https://holisticurgentcare.com

Check out these additional articles:

• https://myersdetox.com/coronavirus-how-worried-should-we-be/

• https://www.greenmedinfo.com/blog/orthomolecular-journal-vitamin-c-coronavirus

OVERALL - BE SMART.

Obviously take precautions- be careful when traveling. WASH YOUR HANDS WITH SOAP. Maybe as a positive result from all of this someone will stop biting their nails and washing their hands more

p.s. this article is in no way intended to usurp advice from your medical practitioner and is not intended as medical advice in any way. Speak with your doctor if you have concerns about your health.

Sources:

• https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/02786826.2012.708948

• www.cdc.gov

• https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2994788/

• https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/ffj.3252
  
  

Kylene, what do you eat to stay healthy and fit?

Hi friends! I get a variation of this question a lot - whether it’s specifically in regards to MY eating, or women wanting to know what healthy eating means in general for THEM….

Maybe YOU have tried 20 different diets, you’re gaining weight, your’e tired, your’e frustrated and you simply can’t seem to move the needle. (Check out my recent post on the fad of “plant based” eating HERE.

I get it! Many of my clients begin this way as well and I’ll give the same answer I give to everyone. #YOUtrition. You can learn exactly what I mean in my podcast episode HERE or my previous blogpost HERE.

While I believe in a unique approach to each individual, here are the overarching guidelines that work for EVERYONE…

Healthy Eating Guidelines That work for Everyone

1) Avoid processed foods.

This includes anything with refined sugars, corn syrup, food coloring, or unnatural ingredients. You can simply ask - was it made by God, or made by a factory? If a factory, skip it. (I do still utilize packaged foods but I choose brands that use high quality ingredients. You can ask the question when reading the ingredient label - could I make this at home if I had the time or inclination? If so it may be an ok product. If it’s packed with words you don’t recognize - skip.)

2) Go gluten free 100%.

It doesn’t matter who you are, what your life history is, or what symptoms you are experiencing, for my clients and myself, this is a non-negotiable. You can learn more about WHY in this Youtube video HERE .

3) Go organic.

Unless a certain type of produce is a “safe” crop known not to be sprayed with pesticides and herbicides, or it has a thick skin that you do not eat, go 100% organic. Pesticides are linked to liver toxicity (which can lead to a whole host of disease but can also show up in weight gain and fatigue), cancer, hormone disruption and more….

You may even be doing your best to eat a “heart healthy” diet by starting the day off with a granola bar or oat based cereal like cheerios….but last year the environmental working group found that ONE serving of these cereals (and who measures just one serving?) goes above the “safe” limit of glyphosate for children. And I would argue there IS not safe exposure.

Microscopic particles have been shown to kill beneficial gut flora. Pesticides kill things. It also kills things in your GUT.

4) Dig deeper and get testing.

This includes food sensitivity testing, gut testing and possibly more. Simply addressing these sources of inflammation and lead to unexpected and EASY weight loss.

I personally live a life where probably 80% of the food I eat is purchased by me and made in my home. The other 20% is conscientiously choosing when out to eat without compromising core values (like being gluten free etc….).

Exercise doesn’t have much to do with it

You may be surprised to learn that as a former personal trainer, exercise is not a component of the plans I create for my clients. Now to be clear, I always encourage movement, walking, and if the client is healthy enough, exercise,. But I never lay out a fitness plan and in most cases I’m actually asking them to calm it down a bit to allow for healing.

And guess what - these clients STILL lose weight.

I’ve had clients drop 10 pounds without effort simply by following their food sensitivity test report.

I’ve had other clients from 10 pounds simply by going gluten free. Before they even GET a test result.

I personally choose to lift HEAVY, but I ONLY work out twice a week. I’m seeing amazing results. So while it would be tempting to double this amount, I listen to my body and even on weeks where we have tried 3 sessions, it doesn’t seem to give my body enough recovery time and I simply don’t feel as strong. This way I have lots of recovery time and I can not only CRUSH it every time, but I can regularly increase my weights.

Dig Deeper

If you do some of the basics and feel like you have “tried everything” but still can’t see results, that’s where a coach like me can come in and help you dig deeper!

Food sensitivity testing is certainly one of the most popular tests I run. However, I choose to run my business in a way where I never offer one test alone because I want my clients to leave with RESULTS. So while yes, many can simply follow a food sensitivity test and see some benefit, OFTEN where there are food sensitivities, there are also other imbalances in the gut so I like to pair it wit ha comprehensive stool test.

This allows me to see how we can REALLY make progress by healing the gut, removing stressors (stressors can be parasites, bacteria, food sensitivities etc….) and adding in needs ( things like minerals or vitamins your body needs).

Think Liver

Where there is weight gain and/or weight loss resistance, there is probably some liver stress, or what you might think of as a sluggish liver. Our bodies are bombarded by stressors daily and our liver does a phenomenal job but it needs two things:

1) A whole host of nutrients to function optimally

2) A break from toxins or else it can get bogged down

So for example, if you are eating a food daily that your body is sensitive too, and wearing perfume that is full of chemicals, experience a lot of mental emotional stress, and have some hormone imbalances, then your liver has a high work load!

Everything we are exposed to must go through the liver to be broken down and made non-toxic. This requires an enormous amount of energy and nutrition. In fact, your liver STORES extra nutrients for a rainy day. But if we aren’t eating a healthy diet, and instead we eat a nutrient POOR and inflammatory diet, in addition to living in the modern world, then we are setting our liver up for failure. Literally.

Fatty liver is something that is difficult to diagnose unless you actually get some imaging done for another reason. Bloodwork alone doesn't necessarily tell you that a fatty liver is developing.

If you experience fatigue regularly, weight loss resistance, pain in your right side, digestive issues, etc… your liver may need some support!

Are YOU ready to invest in YOUR health??

Interested in learning if working together one on one is the right fit for YOU? You can schedule a free functional health assessment call at the link below. This call allows me to understand your goals, your vision for health, what you have tried and determine if I am the right fit to help achieve those goals! If not, no worries, I’ll do my best to point you in the right direction by the end of the call!

Preparing for international travel

Friends! I’m going to be honest…I’m totally overwhelmed with everything we have going on over the next 2 months!

First, we are hosting a German exchange student through Keegans school. We were hoping to be in our new home and have lots of space for her but the timing didn’t work out so it’s crunch time to GET ORGANIZED in our small home and make space for her! In June, Keegan will go to Germany and live with her. It’s gonna be such a cool experience for him!

So right now we are in clean, pack, and organize mode….but just to make it more complicated, I decided to change the carpets before she gets here. Like I said, I was planning to host her in a brand new home, and when we started cleaning out the spare room to make this work I just didn’t feel good waiting on the carpets until after she’s gone. So we are getting new carpet and will have to pack everything in our bedrooms away, get it installed, and then unpack before she gets here… HA!

Right after we host her, we are all going on international travels. She is leaving back to Germany, Keegan and Patrick are going to Japan with his school over spring break, and my parents and I are going to Europe.

Pretty much as soon as we all get home our new home will be completed and we will need to sign off on it, close, and decide when to move in!

WHEW!!!!

It’s a lot on top of our already busy work schedules.

I’m definitely a planner, and one thing I’ve had to think about is traveling away from home with food sensitivities. Last November Keegan got his food sensitivities tested for the first time, along with a genetic test.

When we acted on the results, the change was immediate and dramatic. He felt better physically, and he seemed like a different kid emotionally. It was like a dark cloud lifted. He was happier, less moody, his gut felt good again…it was amazing!!!

We now have 3 tests that show he is sensitive to Gluten - a food sensitivity test, a stool test, and a genetic test. indicating predisposition.

When I researched being gluten free in Japan, apparently it’s a bit tricky.

I’ll be traveling to Prague and Vienna and it seems like it won’t be as big of a deal.

But for both of us there are precautious to be had.

Here are a few steps we are taking to make sure we stay healthy on our trips:

1) We will print out celiac travel cards.

I you go to this website you can choose which language you need and print out a card that you can show when you get into restaurants that says that it’s important your meal doesn’t contain wheat! Super helpful!

2) We will be taking gluten enzymes.

There are several to choose from, but the one I’ll send Keegan and Patrick with on this trip is Wheat Rescue by Microbiome Labs. The reason I’,m choosing this one for this occasion is because a) the bottle count is perfect for the amount of time and meals they will have while there - one at each meal. b) it’s a more comprehensive product including probiotics and beneficial yeast which will be supportive overall to their guts when on this trip

3) Keeping up on out normal supplements like vitamin C and Glutathione

Those are two major antioxidants that support your body under stress. Travel and flying is stressful on your body even if you don’t feel it emotionally! I personally feel crappy when flying and need to support my body extra.

4) STAY hydrated on the flight!!

I will be very focused on staying hydrated on our long flights!

5) Personally, I will also be ordering a new Vogmask for the long flights.

After my cancer journey in 2019, I am extra conscientious of any toxin exposure and stressor on my body so these are just a few steps I’ll be taking to be prepared. I’ve already gone through a liver support process for a month which should give my body some breathing room and I will be getting some Vitamins iVs before our travels to really give myself that extra boost!

What tips do you have for traveling with sensitivities?

5 Minute Rose Petal Scrub

I LOVE getting a big beautiful rose bouquet (don’t we all?) but I’m always so sad at how quickly they die! If you have any secrets to keeping a bouquet perky for longer than 3 days I would love to hear it.

So when I saw the idea of using your dropping rose petals in a sugar scrub I knew I had to do it! I’m so happy to keep using my roses long after the bouquet is gone.

5 Minute Rose Petal Scrub

I saw a similar recipe and used what I had on hand. Feel free to personalize this and make it your own!

Ingredients:

• Rose petals

• Almond Oil

• Granulated Sugar

• 15-20 drops lavender essential oil

Directions:

1. Pull all the petals off that you want to use

2. Fill a blender with the petals, oil, sugar and oil. You will need to adjust the oil to get the right (thick) consistency. I ended up using about 2/3 of a 16oz bottle for mine.

3. Blend. You may need to scrape the sides a few times,

4. Plan in a container and set it in your shower to enjoy!

Lots of different oils could be used depending on what scents you like! I personally had lavender and so that’s what I used, but you could use any other cent you enjoy or even a blend.

p.s. not recommended for the face!

Enjoy!!!

Is plant based right for me?

Hey there friends!

There are topics I like to avoid and topics that I just love to dive into. This one is somewhere in the middle because I feel the NEED to write this, but also know I’m gonna be ruffling a few feathers here…but alas, here I am.

I have been noticing that more and more people are going “plant based” recently. And I’m fairly certain this is in large part due to the popular Netflix documentary “Game Changers” where they create a convincing argument for being vegetarian/vegan.

I have many problems with this and here are a few:

1) #YOUTRITION

There is NO one diet that works for everyone. Period. End of story. You can’t convince me otherwise.

We all come from different genetic backgrounds and experience different stressors, medical history, and athletic performance levels. Someone that comes from Italy and thrives on a pescatarian or Mediterranean diet will not feel as good eating meat and potatoes. But someone from Scotland will probably be starving and get really fatigued if they start trying to eat like an Italian.

How about this…..what makes you FEEL good? Have you ever stopped to ask yourself how meat or vegetables make you feel? Do you know how you feel after a steak vs fish?

2) Fake news

Documentaries (and news in general) can skew facts, pull them out of context, and make you believe that they want you to believe. You better believe that this documentary was made with the INTENTION of selling you on this lifestyle. It was a not a “let’s seek the truth and discover what works” documentary. Which is fine, just go into it with your eyes wide open.

3) Censorship

This is a documentary on Netflix, a company who happens to block other documentaries with opinions they don’t agree with. Again, this is fine being that they are a private company and have the right to do so…but just like any other news organization, realize that what you have access to is biased.

4) Practicality

It is exceptionally difficult to balance and maintain a HEALTHY vegetarian or vegan diet in the long run. Possible, but difficult. Many vegetarians or vegans will feel better up front and then at a certain point begin to feel worse than they did before they started. Usually because of nutritional deficiencies and sometimes due to choosing more processed foods.

A mom reached out to me to support her vegan daughter - when I asked what her diet looked like it was comprised of jello and vegan processed garbage food. Refined, processed, denatured foods are still garbage, nutrient void, inflammatory foods no matter what label they have. This young lady (despite the urgings from her concerned mother) was unfortunately unwilling to make the necessary changes to feel better and would rather stick to a misplaced ideology than support her body nutritionally.

But WHY do some people feel better when they make the switch?

If someone feels better it’s most likely due to the fact that they are starting out with more plants in their diet which makes everyone feel better. More fruit, more veggies, more nuts, seeds and beans….awesome.

If they feel better away from MEAT, it’s quite possible that:

a) they were previously eating conventional meat which is terrible for you. Conventional beef comes from a poorly treated, grain fed animal and when you stop eating crappy meat, you’ll feel better.

b) It’s also quite possible that if you feel better eating less meat you are genetically predisposed that way. But I did say LESS meat, not no meat. The percent of people that will feel good on NO meat long term seems to be very low.

I have known quite a few ladies recently who have tried “plant based” even for a short term cleansing purpose and simply felt like crap.

Look, I 100% understand wanting to be healthy. Wanting to prioritize plants. And wanting to avoid harming animals. I am with you on all of those things.

But the reality of it is that humans are carnivores and always have been. The choice we really need to make is to choose healthy farming practices, and support the healthy and HUMANE treatment of animals. This means that cows should be pasture raised and 100% grass-fed. It’s only when we feed them grains to fatten them up and support CAFO farming practices that we get skewed omega fatty acid ratios (more inflammatory than anti-inflammatory) and sick cows. Chickens should be pasture raised and free to roam and eat bugs. Basically - what is healthy for nature and the animal, ends up more healthy and nutritious for us.

How about we spend more money on these types of products and drop our consumption to fewer times a week to afford supporting these measures, instead of being so extreme and risking potential nutrient deficiencies?

Meaningless terminology

What the heck is plant based anyway? Vegetarian is plan based. Paleo is plant based. Keto can be plant based. EVERYTHING can be plant based. And frankly, it should be.

How about this….we stop following fads, and simply eat really food? Why not choose to give your body (and mind) flexibility without extreme limitations? Simply commit to choosing the highest quality on a regular basis and asking yourself when you look at a food - will this fuel my body and give it information and nutrients it needs - or not? (By the way, grass-fed beef liver alone provides extremely high amounts of vitamin A. In addition, it’s a great source of B vitamins, CoQ10, amino acids and all the fat soluble vitamins. It’s like nature’s multivitamin.)

When people make dramatic changes in their diets and feel BETTER its usually because they are:

1) EATING MORE REAL FOODS and

2) AVOIDING PROCESSED GARBAGE

It has less to do with the macronutrient content, and more to do with the quality of the foods being eaten.

The sad truth is, that every diet can have a junk food version. Fries and beer are vegetarian and “plant based”. Fast food bun-less burgers and crappy cheeses with fillers are “keto” and a flourless dairy free chocolate cake is “paleo”.

Let’s get honest with ourselves. How many fads have we tried? And how many are you currently still utilizing? Right. They weren’t life changing, they weren’t a magic pill, and they didn’t get you the results you want. So stop. repeating. the cycle.

The real reason we don’t see results is because we aren’t willing to make the DIFFICULT decision. That decision is prioritizing our health over our desires, wants, and fitting in.

We all want pizza. We all want soda. We all want Oreos. It’s EASIER.

Where there is true commitment there will be long term lifestyle decision that are made and that stick. Small steps, made consistently over time is where true change occurs.

When the commitment isn’t truly there, then neither will the results be.

3 things that are more dangerous than

(healthy, grass-fed pasture raised) meat

1. Gluten

2. Pesticides

3. Sugar

But that’s another article for another time :)

Want to dig deeper in the meat debate? Check out these articles below:

• https://robbwolf.com/2012/03/14/red-meat-part-healthy-diet/

• https://robbwolf.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/Binnie2014.pdf

• https://www.marksdailyapple.com/what-does-the-who-report-mean-for-your-meat-eating-habit/

• https://thepaleodiet.com/red-meat-paleo-diet-often-type/

• “A massive review of 20 studies including 1,218,380 individuals found that processed meat was associated with an increased risk of heart disease and diabetes. However, no association was found for unprocessed red meat” https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/is-red-meat-bad-for-you-or-good#section3

• https://chriskresser.com/why-the-optimal-human-diet-includes-animal-protein/

• https://www.goodhousekeeping.com/health/diet-nutrition/a20706930/what-diet-is-best-for-the-environment/

Your at home UTI emergency guide

UTI’s are THE WORST. For a long time that was the one thing I would JUMP on an antibiotic for because they cause so much pain and discomfort! In fact, over the period of about a year to a year and a half, I had three. THREE!!!!! So I was VERY relieved when, after I became an FDN and started working on my gut health, I NEVER got them again….

That is, until January 3. Happy new year to me. You’ve beaten cancer, now let’s fight a UTI.

Let’s start at the beginning.

Disclaimer: This post is not intended to diagnoses treat, prevent or cure a disease. The author is not al licensed medical provider and should not be viewed as such. The advice listed on this website should not be taken for medical advice or in place of your doctors recommendations.

What IS a UTI?

A UTI is a bacterial infection. It can be located anywhere in your urinary tract system and all the way up the kidneys if it’s particularly bad. Usually if you are catching it quickly, you find it mostly in the urethra and bladder.

The most common bacteria that causes UTI’s is E coli (about 90% of cases) but could also be klebsiella or other opportunistic bacteria. This does make a difference in the approach.

Why do you get UTI’s?

Contributors may be:

• Dehydration - not drinking enough water to flush the bacteria through your kidney and bladder fast enough.

• Low beneficial bacteria or yeast. When we have a healthy balance, the good guys keep the bad guys in check.

• Over-use of antibiotics (see above reason)

• Poor hygiene

• Suppressed immune system

• Too much sugar

If you’re like me, you may find certain patterns or perhaps identify changes you made recently that can set you up for the imbalance. In this particular instance there were several changes that I think compiled….I recently switched probiotics, I dropped a supplement that fights gut pathogens extremely well, I allowed myself to get dehydrated, AND I ignored the initial warning signs.

I felt the UTI coming on, but ignored it since I hadn’t had one in so long. I should probably take things more seriously after chemo!!

Since I had SO many drugs pumped into my system in 2019, AND I had some MAJOR antibiotics thrown in on top of that due to an infection during round two, my gut bugs may not be totally restored….

What can you do about it?

You have several options. You can go conventional, non-traditional, or a blend of the two.

Conventional:

Actions: Go to the urgent care, or get an appointment with your regular doc asap.

Approach: Kill the bacteria (remembering that antibiotics don’t discriminate and will kill the good bacteria as well).

They will take a urine sample, send it off for a culture, and in the meantime provide you with an antibiotic and pain killer. In my previous experience, one of the reasons I would jump to this is because the antibiotics works very quickly for me an otherwise I would be stuck on the toilet because of the burning an discomfort.

Often, UTI’s recur leading to multiple antibiotic doses in a short time, or a long term low dose antibiotic. This may lead to other imbalances such as yeast infection, gastrointestinal symptoms, c diff and more…

Non-Traditional:

Actions: Hit a Whole Foods, health foods store, or your at home medicine cabinet.

Approach: Flush our the bacteria, hydrate, kill biofilms, increase beneficial bacteria, support immune system.

I am a believer in giving alternative therapies a strong effort when possible. Just like getting sick as a child helps the child build their immune system and create a resilience and resistance to disease, the same happens in adulthood.

Chemo is not only a major stressor on the body (obviously) but it can also create some antibiotic resistance. Hello - your body BEEFS up after getting exposed to dangerous things! So I really want to save my sensitivity for any future emergencies that may happen. In those instances I really want the antibiotics to WORK!

When you google at home UTI remedies you’ll find all sorts of recommendations like chew garlic and drink straight cranberry juice. While many suggestions are helpful and accurate, they may work for some and not others, or you may be in so much pain you don’t feel like they can be of any use whatsoever! I get it….you’ve got to weed through and find what work for you.

HOWEVER. Many natural remedies are REALLY effective. And I often believe that if you go natural, it’s best to do a combination approach or choose products that combine several ingredients so that you have the best chance of responding well.

Natural remedies and the reasoning behind them:

D-Mannose: Binds to e.coli and keeps it from adhering to the bladder wall. This helps flush it out! Works fairly quickly and if this is an e.coli UTI (90% of them are) this should work fairly effectively. Check out UT. Vibrance for a blended powder with other supportive herbs.

Uva Ursi: Several chemical compounds in this pant are shown to fight infection - best at the beginning of an infection and cannot be taken at high doses or for long periods of time. A study demonstrated it to be helpful in preventing recurring UTI’s when combined with dandelion. UT Vibrance includes D Mannose, Uva Ursi and dandelion together!

Cranberry: Controversial at best many studies think it’s better as a preventative than a treatment. The tannins are thought to be responsible for helping you fight a UTI. Capsules have a stronger concentration than juice does, so you have to drink more juice. However, you get the added benefit of hydration when choosing the juice option. If using cranberry, I would not recommend it as the only approach. Choose 100% organic and unsweetened cranberry juice and mix with pure water to dilute. *it may cause diarrhea in some.

Vitamin C: Vitamin C can make your urine acidic limiting the growth of some bacteria. It has also been suggested that Vitamin C is bacteriostatic (stops the bacteria from proliferating). If nothing else, it supports your immune system. Avoid the gastrointestinal upset with high doses of Vitamin C by choosing a liposomal version.

Biocidin: This is by far my favorite, and had I not been trying to give my body a break from this supplement it would have been my go to. This is an herbal blend which acts as an antibacterial, antibiotic, antiviral. Yes, it’s basically magic in a bottle. It kills bad bugs while sparing the good guys. It also busts biofilms. This supplement is particularly great because it would target E coli AND other bacteria covering your bases if you fall in that 10% of different bacterial infections. An acute dose would be 10 drops on the tongue, 3x/day for 10 days.

*I do feel the need to make a special note, and that is….be smart! If you feel that your infection is not improving and/or you feel pain in the your back like it’s spreading to the kidneys, go to the doctor immediately!!!! Or go to the doctor FIRST and get antibiotics as a back up so you don’t have to wait if your home remedies aren’t strong enough!

What I did:

I often take a very moderate, middle of the ground approach. I avoid medicine when I can, but appreciate it and accept it when necessary.

So I got an appointment with my doctor right away and got my backup prescriptions. Plus it was a Friday so better to be prepared over the weekend. The problem was that this pain began at 6am, and I couldn't get in until 11:55!! They would not send a prescription order to the pharmacy (new regulations I think) and I cried when I got off the phone because I had been experiencing SO much discomfort through the morning!!!

I got to work doing as much WOO as I could get my hands on in the house.

1. I took CYSTEX. Now, this is cheating a little bit because it’s technically an OTC medication for UTIs. It includes a pain killer an an antibacterial. I always recommend that if someone wants to go the natural route but is in a lot of discomfort or pain to try a few doses of this while everything else “kicks in”.

2. Dosed up on liposomal Vitamin C and biocidin. Often, a few pain killing doses of CYSTEX and a 10day round of biocidin will completely knock a UTI out. I’ve recommended that to people and they have seen great results. I’ve been almost DEPENDENT on that supplement for 3 years (every time I try to get off of it I get some kinda sick….case in point). So while I have that as a backup, I actually wanted to personally find another alternative. I was also already taking some liposomal Vitamin C, so I just kicked it up a notch.

3. Drank a TON of water with 100% cranberry juice. Yes, it is incredibly tart, but it really does seem to be useful. (In addition to helping you stay hydrated)

4. UT Vibrance. Like I said, normally I would just stick with my trusty biocidin but I wanted to try something different. So I ran to Whole Foods to get D-Mannose which tons of women swear by. Thankfully, I came across this product called UT Vibrance which includes D-Mannose, Uva Ursi, dandelion, and more…. It’s a powder that you mix in liquid 4x/day. Once I took that, my symptoms subsided an other than keeping up on my vitamin C and my cranberry hydration, I didn’t need anything else! The UT vibrance seemed to kick in very quickly and by the time I got to the doctor I was comfortable.

5. Probiotics. I had recently switched from my favorite long term probiotic Megaspore which is a spore based probiotic. But I knew that with some things going on in my gut recently that I needed another probiotic with a different blend. So I switched to Klaire labs ABX which is beneficial for balancing you out after a round of antibiotics. When the UTI started, I brought megaspore back in and did 1 tablet of each in the morning and another in the evening for a total of 4 tabs/day.

If I had to narrow it down to the bare necessities, it seemed that the combination of probiotic therapy + UT vibrance was the most effective for me. I only took the biocidin the morning it started and as able to drop it after that.

Conventional vs. Non-traditional/out of the box/alternative/holistic/whatever-you-want-to-call-them treatments.

As you can see, there is a time and place for both. I often fall somewhere in the middle, exhausting natural options before hitting medication if I need to.

The pros to medication are that it works fast and when it comes to pain killers you can get a stronger dose. The cons however are that the antibiotic might not work for your body or for that particular infection which means you may have to go through 2 or even 3 antibiotics before seeing the results you want. This can be devastating for your gut health in the long run. Even if an antibiotic does work, you can become resistant to it, and it kills the good bugs with the bad bugs….so depending on the balance that is left one it’s done, the stress you are under, how well you eat, what kind of water you drink etc….the opportunity arises for pathogenic bacteria to have a greater opportunity to overgrow taking you back to square one… One round of antibiotics can devastate some people and lead to more frustrating symptoms and long term side effects.

The pros to natural methods are:

• There are typically no negative side effects (except occasionally things like bloating or diarrhea when taking high doses)*

• You can mix and match until you figure out what works

• They normally SUPPORT your body instead of FORCING the body to do something

• They don’t damage beneficial gut bugs

The CONS however are that sometimes they are weaker, take longer to take effect, or in some cases might not be effective at all. This is why I usually take a blended approach when it comes to natural remedies instead of choosing one herb or ingredient.

*Any time you go in and shake up your microbiome things like diarrhea and bloating may occur. While slightly annoying, its not necessarily a bad thing. Diarrhea is your body getting things OUT, and as bad bugs die and the balance shifts, bloating may occur. I had both when I was at the highest dose of UT vibrance (20g of d mannose in a day). It was a small price to pay to kick the UTI and I lowered the dose as the days went on, regulating my poop and getting rid of the bloat!

What now?

I always recommend making a doctors appointment to confirm. Simply having a diagnosis can point you in the right direction. It can also provide you with emergency back ups if you DO need to use those prescriptions. If you have had UTI’s many times and are looking to support your body’s natural defenses and kick it for good, the natural approach may be more beneficial. If you are prone to UTI’s then stocking up on some of recommendations above may be helpful so you can tackle it as soon as you feel it coming on.

Always listen to your body, be smart about it, and don’t be afraid to use a combination therapy when needed! For example: should you need or choose to use the antibiotic approach, including a probiotic therapy at the same time can help mitigate the negative and long term effects. Work with a practitioner to make the best recommendations for you!

Interested in working together? My 1:1 clients get full access to me throughout our time together so if anything like this comes up, you can reach out and get support immediately!

If you are struggling with more chronic conditions like:

• Recurring UTI’s

• Recurring sinus infections

• Diarrhea/constipation

• Bloating

• Acid Reflux

• Mood swings

• PMS

• Fatigue

Then let’s talk! I work with my 1:1 clients very closely to make the best recommendations in testing and personalized protocols for their unique situation and needs. If you are serious about investing in your health and taking dramatic steps to feel your BEST, then click the link below to sign up for a free functional health assessment call where I can find out more ab out you and y our goals and struggles, share my process, and find out if working together is the right fit!

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Sources:

http://pennstatehershey.adam.com/content.aspx?productid=107&pid=33&gid=000278

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3370320/

https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/conditions-and-diseases/urinary-tract-infections

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3784967/

10 Netflix series to watch when you're laid up

During treatment, I spent hours, days even, laying in bed watching Netflix since I didn’t have the energy or strength to do much more surrounding the treatment dates. The pattern usually looked like me getting treatment on a Friday, and staying in bed on and off through Sunday -getting up for walks, for etc….

That meant I watched a LOT of Netflix!! So I thought a succinct little recommendation review might be helpful if YOU are laid up too :) Below are some of my favorite shows (some I watched during and others I just love), a short description, and of course…how many seasons you can count on!

Cheers

Follow the life of Sam Malone - a bar tender and womanizer, as he goes through life and love. Funny, and relatable, you’ll feel like you know all the “regulars”. There are a 11 seasons.

Frasier

Frasier was a regular character on cheers so I obviously had to start this series a well. Turns, out, this series is even better. Frasier is a goofy psychiatrist who blunders his way through romantic relationships, lives with his Dad and his Dad’s physical therapist, and has humorous conversations with his brother Niles, another psychiatrist. There are 11 seasons.

Jane the virgin

Jane is a virgin who get artificially inseminated by accident! This starts her life on a path she never would have chosen, but would also never change. Get to know her family in this comedy-drama! There are 5 seasons.

Royal Pains

Follow a concierge doctor and his brother through the hamptons as the treat the wealthy. There are 8 seasons.

Friends

Believe it or not, it was only in the past 2 years or so that I finally watched this series!!! Follow a group of friends as they navigate living, working and dating in NYC. There are 10 seasons.

The Good Witch

Very Hallmark-esque :) Cassie always seems to know exactly how to help her friends and neighbors find just what they need in her shop. She is a pillar in the community helping everyone she can. There are 4 seasons.

When Calls the Heart

A young school teacher from a wealthy family, decides to rough is as a one room schoolteacher in an old western town. It soon becomes her home and where she falls in love. There are 5 seasons on Netflix.

Sherlock

Benedict Cumberbatch makes this a MUST see series. He adds a neurotic yet lovable touch to the ever popular Sherlock Holmes. Sadly there are only 4 seasons, but another one is on it’s way! Drama, excitement and humor - all in one!

The Good Place

A group of humans finds themselves accidentally in heaven. A funny perspective on the afterlife and how you might react if you were meant for…the other place. There are 3 seasons.

New Girl

Funny and kind of inappropriate at times, this is a modern spin of friends. Follow a group of friends, help together by Jess, as they navigate life, and love in NYC. Funny, ironic, laugh out loud. There are 7 seasons.

I hope you enjoy these 10 series! Many of them are laugh out loud which we know comes with it’s own health benefits making it even better to prioritize when you’re sick!

Constipation 101 - Everything you need to know, to go!

Hello friends!! Today are going to talk about all things CONSTIPATION!!! That’s right poop. Or rather, lack thereof! We will answer the questions:

• Why are you constipated?

• Why is constipation bad?

• How often should I be pooping?

• What can I do about constipation?

So that you can take some action steps TODAY!

This is one of the #1 reasons my clients come to me and also something many are embarrassed to reach out and talk about. I’m here to normalize the conversation and talk about your poo! So let’s get to it!

Why are you constipated?

This is the million dollar question and how to treat the constipation highly depends on the answer! This is why when someone is chronically constipated I always encourage them to #TestDontGuess . Let’s get to the bottom of the CAUSE so that we can not only FIX it, but avoid having this problem in the future!

Causes of constipation can range from:

• Lack of water

• Lack of fiber

• Too much fiber with not enough water

• Food sensitivities

• Gut damage/inflammation

• Pathogens/bacteria/yeast overgrowths in the gut

• Stress

• Hormone fluctuations

• Nutrient deficiencies/Malabsorption of nutrients (damaged gut)

• Medications

• Eating too much protein

• Lead exposure

• Mold exposure

• Using too many binders

If this is a new issue, take a look at this list and see if you are able to identify anything here that may be the culprit. You can begin working on that right away, or find a practitioner (like me) that will assist you in getting the the bottom of it (pun intended) :)

Why is constipation bad?

Besides general discomfort when constipation becomes a chronic problem, constipation leads to many issues including:

• Abdominal pain (pressure/stretching of the colon)

• Reabsorption of toxins

• Inflammation in the colon

• Reabsorption and circulation of hormones (leading to hormone imbalance)

• Extra toxic burden for the liver

• May lead to weight gain (again toxic load and hormone imbalances)

When thinking about health your poo is one of the FIRST places to start because if you aren't pooping then we can't make progress in a lot of other areas.

For example - if you want to do a cleanse of any kind, nourishing different organs and pulling toxins out of your body, you must start with the colon or all those toxins will get built up, and just make you sicker!

If you want to work on your hormones, you better be pooping! Your liver breaks down toxins, chemicals, and used hormones and sends them off for excretion....if you don't excrete them, they get reabsorbed and can cause hormone imbalances .

If you are going through a gut protocol and targeting parasites, yeast, bacteria - all those fun things that cause bloating, fatigue, weight gain, brain fog, malnourishment and more.... you better be pooping!

Poo is about 60% dead bugs.... In addition to food, chemicals, and hormones, you are also excreting the exoskeletons of your microbiome....if you are killing more off intentionally to help your microbiome rebalance in favor of the good guys, you definitely want to be clearing them out - NOT holding them in!

What is normal poop?

Shockingly, many will tell you that if you poop 3x/week you aren’t constipated. In reality here is what you want to look for in healthy poo:

• You poo every day a minimum of once. Preferably 2-3 times.

• You poo within 20-45 minutes of waking up

• Your poo doesn’t stink up the whole bathroom

• You don’t see excessive amounts of undigested foods in your poo

• It’s long not chunky (little balls, chunky poos, or hard and uncomfortable to push is leading to constipation)

• Should be soft but held together

• It’s not a weird color (green, black, yellow etc…) - medium brown color is normal.

• You don’t require coffee to go

Do any of these shock you?? I bet you identified with at least one…maybe the coffee??? While a nice lovely perk in the morning, we shouldn’t be dependent on our cup of joe to make us go!

What can I do about constipation?

Again (sorry I’ll say it till it sticks!) I recommend working with a practitioner if this is a CHRONIC ongoing issue, or if it’s becoming chronic with children. If it’s just an occasional annoyance however, there are lots of at home remedies to try that are easy, inexpensive and that you can keep on hand once you find what works for you.

Prunes

Yup! good old prunes. Eat 3-6 dried prunes daily and see if that works for you! If you choose to do a glass of prune juice instead, make sure you drink it after a meal to avoid a big blood sugar spike!

Eliminate Gluten and Dairy

I know I know. I JUST saw your eyes roll. Here I am preaching against gluten and dairy again. I’m sorry, but they are the top two food sensitivities that I consistently see make THE biggest difference! Gluten in literally EVERYONE, and dairy in some (arguably most).

Just try it! What do you have to lose….except poop?

I really believe if you aren’t willing to eliminate these things to SEE if they help - you aren’t REALLY committed to your health. Just like alcohol, if you can’t get rid of it for 30 days….you have a problem my friend ;)

There are several reasons gluten is a problem and I made a video about it here if you want to dig deeper!

Increase fiber and water at the same time

Did you know that if you increase your fiber without increasing your water, that instead of making you poop fiber can also constipate you? POOP!

Make sure you are increasing both at the same time. In addition, don’t be drinking Metamucil to get your daily dose of fiber. Make sure you’re increasing things like broccoli, cabbage, root vegetables, chia seeds, flax seeds and beans.

Some recommend that you increase your fiber to a minimum of 50g a day. I recommend that you take a look at where you are starting from (maybe use myfitnesspal for a few days to get a baseline) and then intentionally add in the foods listed above. Start with a large side of broccoli at dinner for a few days for example and make up to half your plate in veggies at every single meal.

Castor oil packs or internal castor oil

Castor oil is a remedy that many in the holistic world swear by when it comes to constipation. Some use it as a regular castor oil pack and some take it internally. It does appear to be safe when ingested as long as it’s an organic, cold pressed version and dosed appropriately.

Castor oil pack:

• Wool or flannel

• Organic castor oil

• Plastic wrap or towel

• Heating pad

Fold the wool cloth into 4ths and soak one side in castor oil. Lay over the liver, cover in plastic wrap or a thin cloth, and then place heating pad on top to drive the old deeper into the skin. Let it sit for 30 minutes to an hour and repeat daily.

For more information on Castor Oil and dosages, click HERE.

Squatty Potty

Did you realize that in some cases it may simply be that you aren’t sitting the way God designed us to sit that may be causing your potty troubles? Squatty potty to the rescue! Simply add this little stepper in front of your potty and put your feet on it every time you need to poo. It helps open up your valves so to speak and let the flo go.

Coffee enemas

People get almost as freaked out by this as they do about going gluten free. But I’m telling you, everyone in my family has done this and it’s not as scary as you think. Coffee enemas are used to clear out the colon, stimulate the production of bile and glutathione - a major antioxidant.

To do a coffee enema boil 4 cups of purified water, add 3 TBS of coffee enema coffee (yes that’s a thing) and let it boil for 5 minutes. Strain the water so the coffee grounds are no longer there, and let it cool to between 98.6 and 101. (right around comfortable body temperature. Too hot or too cold and your body will reject it).

Follow the coffee enema package instructions to proceed. You can learn WAY more about why coffee enemas work HERE.

Things to know:

• Start with less coffee and see how you respond

• Start will less water ( or break your first one up into 3-4 small doses back to back) to see how you respond

• Never ever hold it in if it’s uncomfortable or you have a big urge to poo

• Always use lubrication of some sort and never use an enema with open sores or injuries near your butt.

• If you are comfortable, the goal is to retain it for 10-12 minutes

• Be smart about it.

I did a video all about coffee enemas!

Probiotics

Often, constipation may be due to an imbalance in your gut flora - the good bugs and the bad bugs….bad bugs can make you constipated. I would recommend taking a quality spore probiotic (Megaspore is my favorite) because spore based probiotics get all the way through your system just like food based probiotics. You’ll notice they do not need to be refrigerated and have less strain counts. They don’t need to have as many strains as other probiotics because many of those strains die in the stomach acid and don’t get through your system like spore based probiotics do.

You can purchase Megaspore by setting up an account with my online supplement dispensary here:

Supplements

There are a few supplements that may also help.

Magnesium: if you are constipated you may be in need of magnesium. You can get this through epsom salt baths, topical sprays ( I like EASE magnesium spray) or supplemental form. The best supplemental form of magnesium for constipation is magnesium citrate.

Vitamin C: can also make you go. Vitamin C diarrhea is the only side effect of high doses of vitamin C. As long as it doesn’t bother your stomach as you titrate up, you can take 1000mg every hour until you poop. If you start to feel uncomfortable just stop - but again, there are no know negative side effects other than diarrhea when you hit max capacity.

Dr. Christophers Lower Bowel Formula: is another supplement specifically designed with herbs to help you go. This is something you can take more frequently to avoid getting constipated in the first place.

Senokot: while this is an herbal laxative, it’s a little stronger than something you would want to take daily so I would use this for a limited time to clear out, but would always choose it over miralax or ex-lax!

You may find that a nightly combo of magnesium citrate and vitamin C does the trick! Find what works for you. Always be responsible when it comes to dosages and check with a doctor or practitioner when working with children or existing medical conditions!!

DIG DEEPER

If constipation is a chronic issue for you, don’t simply try to treat the symptom, figure out why it’s happening. I’ve worked with clients for years now with symptoms ranging from daily stomach pain, to chronic constipation, to rotating between constipation and diarrhea and the information we can get from functional labs is priceless!

Instead of guessing, we are able to clearly find healing opportunities in the body and work with nutrition changes, lifestyle modifications and targeted (not guessing) supplementation to address the problems, heal the gut, and get results.

One of my favorite client testimonies was an awesome lady who came to me at a time when she spent 1-2 hours in the bathroom

EVERY MORNING. Within a few weeks of working together, I checked in and she was down about 5 minutes every morning. That’s amazing!!!

Food, supplements, sleep…that’s all great. But if you have bugs causing the problem you’re not going to identify them, or effectively get rid of them, without test results and a target protocol!

Try all the fun tips above FIRST! And if that doesn’t help, let’s talk!

You can always schedule a health assessment call with me to see if working together is right for you :) ** (serious applicants only)

Want more content like this plus recipes, challenges, and a community of likeminded #YOUtrition seekers? Join my free FB community #YOUtrition - Nutrition that works for YOU!

To you and your healthy poo :)

References:

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/apt.12913

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4403030/

http://www.koreascience.or.kr/article/JAKO200503039787121.page

The Content is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition.

Foolproof Pesto Every Time!

Happy Labor Day!

Pesto is one of my favorite sauces. Is that what pesto is? A sauce? Well anyway…whatever it is, it’s delicious and can go from topping gluten free toast, to spicing up your egg breakfast, to being a great dip for your beef kabobs. And while most store bought pesto has dairy and varies greatly in flavor from brand to brand, I’m going to show you how to make the most delicious pesto every time - at home - dairy free - and it’s EASY!

Basil is the primary ingredient and flavor that makes pesto so delicious. Did you know that basil is also anti-inflammatory, boosts your immune system and is an antioxidant too?! So this is the perfect recipe to whip up as we find ourselves at the beginning of cold and flu season!

Ingredients:

• 1 cup organic cashews (roasted and salted adds more flavor)

• 1 large bunch of organic basil (approximately 2 cups of leaves)

• The juice of one 1 organic lemon

• 1/4 cup olive oil (to begin with)

• 4-6 garlic cloves chopped

• Pinch of sea salt

Directions:

1. Rinse the basil and cut off the stems

2. Add all ingredients to a food processor and blend

3. Observe the texture and add oil as needed until it is spreadable but not creamy

4. Taste and add garlic and salt as needed. This really adjusts to your personal flavor profile and helps make the pesto as strong and flavorful or as mild as you prefer.

Enjoy! Because the seasonings are so simple and so personalized in measurements, you can make this pesto the exact right flavor every single time!

Change it up:

• Use any nut you like or, do what I did the other day and use up 2-3 different nuts you happen to have in your pantry. The flavor profile may change slightly, but really any nut blend will work as the base. Usually store bought pesto includes pine nuts.

• Use cilantro instead of basil for an different flavor and added detoxification
  

p.s. we love to make some gluten free pasta with pesto as the sauce! What’s your favorite way to use pesto?

Find more fun information about basil here:

12 Benefits of Basil - Dr. Axe

What is Basil Good for?

5 Budget Friendly ways to support your body during cancer treatment

Hey there!!

Affiliate disclosure

I recently shared an article on what supplements I used during chemotherapy , and how much we spent out of pocket to take an integrative approach to my cancer treatment.

I KNOW that integrative care can be expensive. It is not covered by insurance, specialists are paid per visit, and fancy treatments like vitamin IVs are all out of pocket. While there’s no way to integrate your care COMPLETELY free, there are ways you can get resources and information that you can incorporate yourself for an affordable rate.

I will just state a caveat/personal opinion here: If at ALL POSSIBLE I would highly recommend hiring a specialist. During chemo you are tired, easily get demotivated, and experience brain fog or “chemo brain”.

While you may be 100% capable of doing your own research, finding what works and implementing yourself when healthy, you will, at minimum, need a support system to encourage you, cook for you the way you want, and help you accomplish any therapies you’d like to utilize through this process.

That being said, here are lots of resources for you!

5 Budget Friendly Ways to Support

Your Body During Cancer Treatment

1) Books

There are SO MANY books that you can read about integrative care, nutrition, supplementation, how cancer works, how you can support your body during and after chemo etc…. Here are a few that I have found to be really wonderful resources:

Beating Cancer with Nutrition

I found this book to be not only incredibly encouraging, but also packed with information! I particularly appreciated the authors approach to integrative care. His point is that sometimes it IS necessary to address the toxic load through conventional treatment (getting rid of tumors, going through chemotherapy etc) but that it is not only MORE effective to use nutrition to support your body, but done right, nutrition and supplementation can also help you to avoid unnecessary side effects by protecting your organs, cells, energy etc….

In this book, Patrick Quillin discusses what causes cancer, foods that fight cancer and so much more. You will learn so much about your body, the environment, toxicity and more! In addition you’ll receive specific supplement and dosage recommendations, a letter for your oncologist, and lots of recipes in the back.

The Cancer Fighting Kitchen Cookbook

You may or may not use all the recipes in this book, but U found it incredibly helpful to skim before beginning treatment. Rebecca Katz talked about things I wouldn’t have known to think about including how to eat before, during and after an infusion. Regardless of whether you use these recipes, during your treatment, it’s a fantastic resource and it’s filled with super delicious recipes!

Emotional Detox

Many believe that cancers develop because of “stuck” emotions or unhealed traumas. Whether you believe that or not, this healing journey will be deeper and more long lasting if you dive into emotional and spiritual healing avenues throughout this process. I would encourage you to do a lot of research on this topic, ask for prayer from your church, and become open to what God may share with you during this time!

The Metabolic Approach to Cancer

While this isn’t a book I read during my own treatment phase, I have heard nothing but wonderful things about this book and the author. If you want to learn more about your body and the development of cancer ( and what you can do to prevent recurrence in the future) then this is an amazing resource!

Radical Remission

This time of your life is HARD. Regardless of where you are, it’s crucial to fill your mind with positive thoughts, hopeful images, and pans for the future. Reading inspirational stories of people who have gone into remission and what tools were shared between them can be really encouraging!

Green Smoothie Diet

Whether you are prepping your body BEFORE chemo, approaching treatment through natural methods only, or recovering from conventional treatment, greens, juices, and smoothies are a fast way to get dense nutrition into your cells! Robyn Openshaw has not only experienced health problems herself, but has been hit with cancer several times in her immediate family and she has traveled the world visiting cancer treatment facilities.

2) Podcasts

There are SO MANY doctors, naturopaths and healers that use this platform to educate the public. This extends their reach far beyond what they would be able to accomplish by just seeing their patients 1:1 in the office setting. Below are some specific podcast episodes you may enjoy - if you enjoy the episode, consider listing to other episodes from the same host!

Dr. Mercola and Dr. Nasha Winters “Natural Cancer Remedies” - this episode provides valuable information on testing, integrative care and more….

Ben Greenfield Podcast “How to cure Yourself of Cancer “ with Eric Remensperger - listen to one man’s story of healing! And scroll down to the bottom of the show notes for several other episode on cancer!

The Stern Method Podcast “Natural Healing Success” with Robyn Openshaw - Robyn shares her own health stories, her families experience with cancer, and her experiences visiting cancer treatment facilities around the world.

3) Online Holistic or Integrative Care

Websites, Blogs and Therapies

The Truth About Cancer

Chris Beat Cancer

The Stern Method

Gerson.Org

BudwigCenter.com

BreastCancerConqueror.com

4) Nutrition

Do I REALLY need to add this one? Yes. Because most doctors will not give you any information on what to eat before, during, or after cancer treatment! Before and after treatment (when your immune system is functioning) fresh fruits and vegetables are the way to go! (But no, I’m not telling you to go without protein - it’s crucial for detox!)

I actually don’t promote extreme diets like Keto or juice fasting, but there may be situations, cancers, and stages where this may be appropriate. Work with a professional in this area if you want to do anything extreme so that you can monitor you blood work and results regularly.

General principles apply to anyone with any cancer, at any stage of treatment however and those are the same overarching principles that cover the rest of the world as well. Eat real food.

Many docs are so worried about you losing weight that they will encourage you to “eat anything” to maintain your weight including ice cream or mcdonalds. Because that helps your immune system function well, your cells repair, and your energy bounce back…RIGHT?! While nutrient IVs may be needed in emergency situations, maintaining a nutrient dense diet throughout and making sure you are getting healthy foods and protecting your gut, can only HELP you maintain your protein levels and weight.

There isn’t a whole lot you can do to save your immune system during chemo. It’s gonna take a hit, period. But you CAN support your body by eating anti-inflammatory foods. The same kind of diet that is beneficial for everyone. Not extreme, but filled with whole foods.

Eat fresh fruits and veggies until your white blood cell counts get low and then switch to cooked and steamed but don’t stop eating vegetables! Fill the rest of your day with healthy fats, high quality proteins and nutrient dense meals to support your muscle maintenance, brain health, cell health, and energy levels.

p.s. I personally had weird cravings around chemo treatments in addition to major food aversions. Listen to your body! I gave myself a 72 hour grace period where I would be much more lax about balancing my meals and go with what felt or tasted good (within certain guidelines). But then I would do my best to get back to a balanced diet!

“Chemo, radiation and surgery will reduce tumor burden but do nothing to change the underlying conditions that allows this abnormal growth to thrive”

- Patrick Quillin “Beating Cancer with Nutrition”

Don’t underestimate the power of food to change your cellular environment! Nutrition, mindset, and spiritual healing are all steps you can take to not only support yourself DURING treatment, but prepare your body to be as strong as possible BEFORE treatment and remain in remission AFTER treatment.

5) Supplements

I’ve already shared what supplements I personally used, but I would always recommend you work with someone specializing in integrative care! WHY? Because if your symptoms change or a side effect begins to develop, you can always change course under their supervision.

Every coach needs a coach, every athlete needs a trainer, so even if you feel really educated on supplements, this is a stressful time where you will feel fatigued and not quite yourself. Utilize as many support resources as you can! Supplements are one of the more affordable therapies available!

There are some supplements that protect you during chemotherapy, some supplements that specifically attack tumors, and some that boost your immune system and support your mitochondria and cell health! You’ll want to incorporate different ones at different times throughout your healing journey.

Once you are in remission I would recommend at minimum doing a food sensitivity test to lower inflammation and see which foods you have developed sensitivities to after the enormous amount of emotional and physical stress you just went through. I would encourage you to re-test 3 months later, and then 6 months after that as your body continues to heal.

Want more support? Join my free Healthy Through Hodgkins community where I share integrative approaches to healing, nutritional tips, detox information and more!

p.s. nothing in this blog is meant to take the place of medical advice. Please share changes you make with your oncologist, and hire specialists to advise you in any medical concerns. This is not a medical website and I am not a doctor.

3 things that trash your gut (and what you can do about it)

Hello friends!

I’m sitting on my hotel patio in sunny California this morning getting ready to attend the Mindshare Collaborate summit! I had some down time before everything gets rolling and wanted to share a few things that get our tummies into trouble and of course….what the heck we can do about it!

Almost all of my personal clients have SOME sort of gut distress whether it be bloating, constipation, stomach pain or acid reflux. Below are just a few things to consider when experiencing some of these problems!

Stress

YES STRESS!!! I put this point first because of ALL the things we want to address, stress is the one that we most want to overlook. We are busy, we live in a world where we want to go go go, drink all the coffee, and accomplish all the things….but stress is really the underlying problem that contributes to the development of disease, but also our seeming inability to heal once we experience symptoms….

Poor food choices

Well, obviously, you knew that I couldn’t mention tummy troubles without mentioning food. I promote #YOUtrition which means there is no one right diet that works for everyone HOWEVER there is ONE food I get hard core with my clients on and insists that they eliminate 100% and that is wheat/gluten.

The overarching principles that work for everyone are:

Avoid gluten like it’s the plague (it’s soaked in glyphosate which kills your beneficial gut bugs and gluten is inflammatory)

Avoid processed foods as much as possible and when needing something quick, choose foods that technically could be made at home if you had the time or inclination ( always read labels to determine this!)

Limit sugar intake. This might be the hardest right?! 3 things you could incorporate right away that make a big difference:

1. Stop drinking soda ( and don’t switch to diet)

2. Stop drinking latte’s and drink black coffee (I like Foursigmatic) or cold brew with a splash of vanilla almond or coconut milk

3. don’t have sugar in your house. Ever. ( This way if you are going out to eat and want a gf dessert you don’t stress about the sugar - it’s treat! But you also don’t have a bag full of white sugar at home just waiting to be used.

Overuse of Antibiotics, NSAIDS and pharmaceuticals

There is a time and place for all of these, but they are grossly overused in a culture where we seek a quick fix and a pill for every ill instead of putting the time and extra effort in to live a healthy lifestyle, get to the underlying problems causing the symptoms we want to relieve, and prioritize nutritional density like our lives depend on it (which they do by the way) :)

So what can you do about it?

Well, LIMITING your stress, ditching gluten sugar, and processed foods, and being mindful anytime you need to use prescription or over the counter symptoms reliever.

If your’e reading this then chances are you’ve been exposed to gluten, sugar, stress and prescriptions so I want to dig a little deeper into a few more things you can incorporate right away

Probiotics

I encourage everyone to use a quality spore based probiotic like Megaspore! Thats my favorite, and if you would like a recommendation, just shoot me your email and I’m happy to set yup an account for you! After stress, and, well, LIFE, it’s important to make sure we are refueling our guts with the good guys.

I also encourage you to begin incorporating probiotic rich foods like kimchi and sauerkraut on a regular basis! YUM. I love some good sauerkraut next to my meat and veggies!

Soothe and Repair

Beyond feeding our guts the good stuff, we want to make sure that the damaged caused from all our past bad habits (hello Mountain Dew and Oreos!) are healed - a great supplements like GI Repair from Innate response is filled with soothing herbs like marshmallow root, aloe, slipper elm, and include L-Glutamine which helps the cells in your gut lining repair themselves!

Bring in the JOY

Stress relief is about so much more than just becoming ZEN and getting into yoga, meditation and mindfulness. It’s a bout BALANCE which means you also need to create a life you live and include things that make you joyful and happy. Laugh more - spend time with friends, watch silly movies, take a hike and connect to nature, and walk barefoot outside!

What tips have you found helpful? I’d love to hear below! Share this post with a friend you think might find this useful!

3 Day Refresh

Hey there!!!! I am MORE than anxious to kickstart my healing journey and to give myself a solid 3 day boost, I recently finished the 3 day refresh from Beachbody!

Now before you think I’m just pushing an MLM product….let me share my Beachbody history and thoughts with you :). A few years ago (2015) I began my pursuit of a healthier, stronger me by joining an online fitness group using Beachbody workouts (21 day fix, etc!). I LOVED IT. I decided to sign up as a coach and actively worked that as a job for about 2 years.

The reason I “walked away” from that isn’t because I disliked it, but because I found my true calling as an FDN, and my focus on physical perfection became less and less important as I became more and more obsessed with the idea of lifelong vitality, internal health, spiritual health and exercise in moderation.

That being said, I promise to ALWAYS be honest with you and that means sharing things that I like AND don’t like about certain companies or products….so I don’t want you to assume that because I’m sharing a Beachbody product that I endorse everything they sell.

For example, here are a few things I do not endorse/support about Beachbody:

• The exercise every day no matter what mindset

• The portion control for life mindset (container system)

• Many of their performance supplements/shakes (ingredients or quality or purpose)

• Folic acid and fortification in the whey shakeology and Vanilla Fresh shakes (not necessary and not ok for people with MTHFR - which many people don’t know they have)

  What I DO like about Beachbody:

• Really great at home workout programs (as long as you don’t get obsessed and can still listen to your body and take breaks!)

• Beachbody on Demand option allowing for streaming of yoga, bodybuilding or HIIT workouts in your own home

• In their health and wellness line overseen by Isabela Daikler and Darin Olien the quality and thought that goes into their products is amazing - this includes Shakeology, 3 day refresh and the 21 day ultimate reset. This line is very separate and distinct from their performance/athletic line and is highly focused on deep nutrition and gut health - things I LOVE!

I really do LOVE vegan shakeology. There are several reasons I love it including the amount of nutrition you get in one shake, the flavor that beats all other protein shake competition, and their actual concern for the quality of the ingredients from around the world. In fact, whenever they do an ingredient or product formula overhaul I’m always pleased with their reasoning. The more research I did, the more I was impressed with their dedication to a truly healthy product packed with superfoods. That and the fact that I simply feel better when I drink it! Trust me - I stopped drinking it for 2 months and as soon I brought it back in I noticed a difference!

Whew! Now that we have that out of the way :) I’ve been struggling this past year with my love for SOME of their products, but my focus on building my own brand and not wanting to come off as promoting an MLM. But basically, I’ve gotten over it. I’m going to share products I love with you regardless of where they come from. But I will NOT share a product that I DON’T love, just because it comes from a company I like and support. Make sense?

3 Day Refresh

This is the second time I’ve done the 3 day refresh and each time was different! I remember a few years ago when I tried it I was super hungry and had some major carb cravings. This time, much deeper into my health journey, I was full most of the time and really didn’t have any cravings at all!

What is it?

• 3 day refresh is a like a little digestive break, detox kick for your body

• 3 days of nutrition guidance along with restricted calories and specific fiber and protein shakes throughout the day

What it is not

• A permanent weight loss solution

• A total gut healing package

• Quick fix

When should I do it?

• Before or after a vacation

• When you need a boost to your metabolism

• When you just feel stuck

• When you need to get a good dose of fiber

• When you feel like your digestion needs a break

• If you want to ease your way into a 24 hour fast

Now, just to be clear, I don’t normally encourage extreme calorie reduction or portion control as part of a long term maintenance success plan. But for a focused 3 day thing, I view it as a modified fasting program and because it is so short, as long as you get back to real life by using real food afterwards without extreme deprivation and restriction…your’e good to go :)

Your day consists of 3 protein shakes, 2-3 servings of veggies,

2 servings of fruit, and some healthy fats.

Some people experience pretty significant weight loss, but that should not be the goal of this 3 days because most of that is not a maintainable weight loss. If your goal is to focus on veggies, increase your protein and fiber intake, help your poo and digestion improve and get your mind re-focused on healthy eating, then this 3 day refresh is a great idea!!!

If you are looking for a magic pill or sick fix then, well, the isn’t it.

My personal approach

A few modifications I made for my 3 days:

• I could have coffee if I wanted (black or with a tiny splash of almond milk

• I eye-balled the veggie and fruit portions

• I didn’t organize all the meals/servings in the exact order they came on the plan. For example if I wasn’t hungry I’d save my lunch veggie and add it to my dinner veggie for more servings

• I didn’t do raw veggies which you are supposed to use for lunch since my immune system was recovering from cheno

You can use this however YOU want and modify it as needed! It all depend on your personal goals.

Have any questions? Let me know! :)

Other resources you may be interested in:

7 benefits of fasting and the best types

The compete guide to fasting

Intermittent Fasting for Beginners

Supplements I used during chemo

Hello friends!

Many of you have been interested in my use of an integrative approach to treatment during my 3 months of chemotherapy. I chose to follow the conventional method for 3 main reasons:

1. I wanted to stay home close to my family alternative care centers are based throughout the country and the world but would require me to live there for periods of time)

2. My specific cancer has an extremely high success rate when treated with chemo. This is not the case for all cancers. Even my holistic minded, naturopathic and functional medicine friends pointed me in this direction for this case.

3. I had already done SO much with supplementation and lifestyle, my goal was to eliminate the burden of the tumor in my body so that I could continue with my healthy lifestyle allowing it to remain in remission.

That being said, I took a very integrative approach to treatment and we spent over $20K out of pocket to incorporate things like a detox specialist (using after treatment) an emotional code therapist (to dig deeper to any emotional blocks or issues I needed to release that may be hindering my healing, hiring an integrative oncologist/naturopath to guide me through supplementation to counteract any side effects from the chemo and protect my body through the process keeping it as strong as possible, and Vitamin C IVs on the off weeks to help me recover, but also to act as an assist to the chemo itself.

That’s a pretty hefty price tag but one we were willing to pay. Choosing conventional treatment was something Patrick and I both had peace about, but living with long term side effects like heart damage, lung problems, or peripheral neuropathy was NOT something I wanted to deal with later. In my view, choosing to pay quite a bit up front to support my body through this journey is in replacement of paying for long term medical care the rest of my life.

One of the most effective and affordable portions of my investment were the supplements and many have asked what used! I wanted to share them below but first I must say that I don’t recommend just reading a book and incorporating supplements, or guessing at what your body needs. I know quite a bit about supplementation and my body but I hired a specialist to guide me through the process and the tweaks and adjustment she helped me make were invaluable the past 3 months. If you would like to hire the same woman I used you can visit her website at www.drheatherpaulson.com

So let’s get to it! Below are al the supplements I was taking by the end of my treatment and that I will remain taking for the next few months.

Most were recommended by my naturopath, some were from personal preference, some were added as we went along and some I was horrible at taking.

1. Acetyl L Carnitine - For protecting my heart, lungs, kidneys and possibly helping fatigue

2. L- glutamine - to maintain muscle mass, heal my gut and epithelial lining, prevent mouth sores, and protect against neuropathy

3. Vitamin E - immune system support

4. Vitamin D - immune system support

5. CoQ10 - protect the heart and mitochondrial support

6. Beef liver - provides B vitamins, Fit A, selenium, and I always feel better on it. In fact, I didn’t take this the first part of my treatments and I’m fairly certain my hair stopped falling out in conjunction with when I brought it back in to my daily regimen

7. Marrow plus - added in once my WBC began dropping after treatments.

8. Amy Myers Multivitamin - this was just a multi I really love and was already taking - I ran out and didn’t refill it towards the end just because I was taking so many other things

9. Vitamin C - immune system support

10. Complete B-Complex - B vitamins are very helpful with energy and preventing neuropathy. Always look for a high quality b complex that uses folate or L methyfolate and not folic acid

11. Alphs Lipoic Acid - protects against neuropathy

12. B-6 (pyridoxal 5 phosphate) - assist with nausea

13. Biocidin - this is an herbal antibiotic and I didn’t take this at first, but after getting an infection, spending an night in the hospital, and having to be on a ROUGH and strong antibiotic for 10 days, I immediately added this back in when that was over and never had any more problems. It’s the safest, most gentle and still most effecti antibiotic alternative I know of.

14. Fish oil - for inflammation and cell health. I was horrible at takin this but intend to be much more religious about it during recovery

15. Curcumin - anti-inflammatory - again I was horrible with taking this just on top of everything else!

And there you have it! This ended up being a VERY large handful of supplements at breakfast with a few second doses later in the day when I could remember and or make my self do it. It was quite a bit. But I will say, I think it helped me tremendously :)

Want more encouragement, tips, and information on integrative care? Join my free community

Healthy Through Hodgkins!

God is good all the time. All the time, God is good.

We hear this phrase often, but do we really believe it? Over the past 7 months, it would be easy for me to become depressed, discouraged, angry, frustrated and so much more. I mean, who dedicates their life to getting healthy and helping others stay healthy and then gets cancer? Doesn’t seem fair does it…

But because of my faith, I knew from the start that:

1. There was a plan

2. Whether I enjoyed the process or not, there was a purpose and

3. I would come out strong in the end andlearn some yet unknown lessons that needed to be learned

And sure enough, here I am, at the end of this journey (and the beginning of a new one) having fulfilled each of those things.

Plan

Not surprisingly, from day 1, I saw that God had been planning this journey for several years.

• I discovered my tumor had been there for 2 years

• I discovered later that cancer develops (like autoimmune diseases, another form of immune system dysregulation) over 7-10 years

• I knew that had I not gotten sick in 2015, I wouldn’t have become an FDN

• Had I not become and FDN, I wouldn’t have gotten to deep into healing, and already put in several years of work

• Had I not put in the work, this journey may have been much more difficult for me

• Had I not become an FDN and really invested in myself and my business I wouldn’t have gone to Mindshare (a networking summit with some of the top functional medicine docs around the country)

• Had I not gone to Mindshare, I wouldn’t have had access to any of the experts I used to guide me through this process (detox expert, emotional healing expert, integrative naturopath specializing in cancer)

• Had I not had access to these people I may have experiences loads more symptoms and not recovered as quickly in between treatments. I am walking away with no long term effects on my heart, lungs, or nerves and during the process I never experienced severe constipation, or pain of any kind. The most regular symptoms for me were fatigue, nausea and some acid reflux/discomfort from the epithelial lining being so raw from this process. I didn’t even lose all my hair ( I really think it stopped when I started taking beef liver again!) I had some many people praying for me across the country - I know that God protected me in many ways throughout this process.

  So…..You see…..from the beginning I knew there was a plan. God knew that this was part of my journey and he set me up to navigate it as successfully as I possibly could. He blinded my eyes to the tumor ( which I could see in pictures stating 2 years prior) until it was the right time and I knew the right people.

But for whatever reason….this was still something He wanted me to experience.

Purpose

I knew there was some purpose to this. Maybe it was to solidify my stance that there is benefit to both conventional and natural medicines….maybe it was to strengthen my faith….maybe it was to help me empathize with clients and understand the body better….

Whatever the reason, I knew there was a purpose. And while I have learned MANY lessons, and had many A HA! moments, I may learn the ultimate purpose much later….or never at all….

Discovery

The first 3 months were the hardest. My body was shocked with this new treatment, I didn’t know what to expect, and anytime my white blood cells tanked it scared me. Everything was so new. The second treatment was the hardest as I ended up with an infection and an overnight hospital stay. This effectively eliminated my recovery period between treatments and so I wasn’t as strong going into the 3rd. But then around this time, I decided I really needed to continue living my life. I couldn’t just STOP living and so as I felt well, I did things that made me happy like singing and being around people again.

And throughout this last half of treatment I had revelation upon revelation about the kind of person I want to be, the kind of life I want to live, how I want to relate to other people and even how I want to run my business.

This isn’t to diminish the pain, fear, and uncertainty of this process. It’s not fun, and treatment weekends are the worst. Over the next 3 days I’ll spend most of my time in bed, popping nausea pills, sleeping, and forcing myself to drink water that to me tastes disgusting just to avoid dehydration which makes EVERYTHING worse.

But I simply don’t know how I would have navigated this without my faith. Without knowing that God had a plan, I wouldn’t have been looking for it. Without assuming there was a purpose, I wouldn’t have been able to keep my mentality positive and hopeful. Without knowing that there were lessons to be learned, I wouldn’t have be open to receiving all the downloads I was being divinely sent.

This was something I was meant to go through. I’m thankful that I can see the light at the end of the tunnel, I praise God for knowing what I needed, and I can’t wait to implement my new life goals. Some of the best things in life come from the most painful experiences. I hope I never have to go through this again, but the battle was worth the win.