Posts by admin

Vitamin D is an essential fat-soluble vitamin. It’s sometimes called the “sunshine vitamin” because our skin makes it when exposed to the sun. It’s also the most common nutrient deficiency.

Like most vitamins, vitamin D has many functions in the body. It’s mostly known for its ability to help build strong bones. But, vitamin D is also important for a healthy immune system, digestive system, heart and mental health, blood sugar regulation, fertility, and resistance to cancer.

How much vitamin D do we need?

To get enough vitamin D from the sun, a general rule is to get about 15–30 minutes of sun between 10:00 a.m. & 3:00 p.m. at least four to five times a week to the face, arms, legs, or back without sunscreen.

When it comes to vitamin D from foods and supplements, in Canada and the US, the Institute of Medicine (IOM) has set target daily amounts. This amount, called the “Recommended Dietary Allowance” (RDA), ensures that at least 97% of people get enough vitamin D every day. Those recommendations are:

• 10 mcg (400 IU) per day for infants under the age of one.
• 15 mcg (600 IU) per day for everyone aged 1-70 years old, including pregnant and lactating women.
• 20 mcg (800 IU) per day for everyone over the age of 70.

What are the sources of vitamin D?

You can get vitamin D in a variety of ways. These can include:

• Being exposed to the sun. About 15-20 minutes three days per week is usually sufficient.
• Through the foods you eat.
• Through nutritional supplements

Common low vitamin D Symptoms:

• Low immunity and getting sick often
• Depression
• Excessive fatigue
• Hormonal imbalance
• Low bone mineral density

My final thoughts are this:

Next time you see your doctor for a check up make sure to ask them if you can check your vitamin D levels, and if you are someone who is constantly feeling fatigued it may be time to make an appointment with your doctor to get your vitamin D levels checked. Also make sure to find food sources that contain vitamin D and to start implementing them in your diet.

Great healthy food sources of vitamin D include:

• Wild Caught Salmon
• Almond Milk
• Orange Juice
• Eggs
• Mushrooms

It’s never too late to start caring about your health.

The million dollar question that has had us all wracking our brains at one point or another…

I think both ways are beneficial for the body, but here are my 6 reasons on why I choose to incorporate breakfast in my daily routine!

1. Breakfast encourages healthier eating

Breakfast helps you reach your daily recommended servings of fruit and vegetables. Those who eat breakfast also tend to consume more whole grains than those who skip the meal. Breakfast also fills your stomach, helping you to avoid overeating and snacking later in the day.

2. Breakfast balances blood sugar levels

Eating in the morning helps your body better break down glucose, also called blood sugar. In fact, you can avoid glucose fluctuations throughout the day by eating fruit, grains, and lean protein within two hours of waking.

3. Breakfast kickstarts your metabolism

Breakfast jump-starts your metabolism in the morning. Getting your metabolism working early helps burn calories throughout the day. Skipping breakfast tells your body to conserve, rather than burn, extra calories.

4. Breakfast boosts energy levels

Breakfast energizes the body. People who eat breakfast show an increase in physical activity throughout their mornings than people who skip it. Activity helps prevent weight gain and fatigue.

5. Breakfast promotes heart health

People who skip breakfast tend to gain extra weight, according to studies. Weight gain contributes to high cholesterol and high blood pressure, which can contribute to heart disease.

Of course, what you eat matters as much as when you eat. Make sure you consume healthy grains, proteins, and fruits and vegetables.

6. Breakfast stimulates the brain

Eating breakfast can actually give you a mental edge. Stable glucose levels can help your ability to focus, reason, and process information.

LA makes use of locally-grown produce, quality meats, and seafood, there’s no reason to believe that sacrifice has to be part of being healthy. Long gone are the days of juice cleanses, small portions, and bland food.

For your clean-eating convenience, here are 5 fast-casual restaurants with delicious food that just happens to be healthy:

1. TOCAYA ORGANICA

Fast Casual Modern Mexican Restaurant. 

The mostly organic menu is made fresh to order by a chef team which, at the new locations, is visible to the front of house.

The Mexican-influenced menu includes salads, bowls, tacos, and burritos. All bases are vegan with the option of adding chef-recommended proteins or cheeses to each dish.

They have plant based and low-carb options such as the “cauliflower rice” and guilt-free cassava tortillas. Also, vegan picadillo and vegan chickn’ for plant based protein options.

Their meat and fish is locally sourced and 100% free of hormones, steroids, and antibiotics.

Vegan, Vegetarian, and gluten free options.

My order: 

Keto Bowl (Spanish-style cauliflower rice, sautéed tri-color peppers, jalapeño-cabbage, avocado, black olives, and arbol salsa)

Plantain Chips & Vegan Queso

2. CAVA

Greek inspired fast casual restaurant.

Vegan and gluten free options.

Cava Grill started in the Washington D.C. area and has since expanded to 20+ locations around the U.S., thanks to raising $60-million in funding their first year.

They have Mediterranean favorites such as hummus, pita bread, and lamb and harissa honey chicken.

Cava delivers on that feel-good promise in a real and transparent way. On the back wall of the restaurant, the names of their local partner farms for both their produce and meat are displayed, along with the charities they’re currently supporting.

My order:

Build Your Own Greens + Grains Bowl

(Half Supergreens + Half “Right Rice”, Tzatziki, Harissa Honey Chicken, Shredded Romaine, Cabbage Slaw, Diced Cucumber, and Kalamata Olives with Lemon Herb Tahini Drizzle)

3. SWEETGREEN

Founded in 2007, sweetgreen is a destination for simple, seasonal, healthy food. They believe the choices we make about what we eat, where it comes from and how it’s prepared have a direct and powerful impact on the health of individuals, communities and the environment. That’s why they’re building a transparent supply network, why they cook from scratch, and why they’re building a community of people who support real food.

They’re committed to supporting small and mid-size growers who are farming sustainably, to creating transparency around what’s in your food and where it came from, and to creating more accessibility to healthy, real food for more people.

My order:

Guacamole Greens Salad

(Roasted chicken, avocado, tomatoes, red onions, shredded cabbage, tortilla chips, spring mix, chopped romaine, lime squeeze, lime cilantro jalapeño vinaigrette)

4. SWEETFIN

Sweetfin’s Mission Statement:

HEALTHFUL, CHEF-DRIVEN POKE MADE WITH LOCAL PRODUCE, SUSTAINABLE FISH, AND INNOVATIVE INGREDIENTS

Sweetfin was created with the goal of providing healthy, nutritious and flavorful bowls with premium quality ingredients and with approachability. Their fast-casual restaurant concept takes all the familiar flavors of sushi and puts them in an easy to eat, portable, customizable, and affordable bowl.

Their culinary philosophy is centered in their “Pole to Bowl” ethos which means that in sourcing their fish they aim to use the highest-quality and most sustainable raw fish they can find while still maintaining a reasonable price point. Their menu is 100% gluten free and they are vegan and vegetarian friendly.

My Order:

Keto Bowl

(Salmon, avocado, cucumber, jicama, kale, cilantro, creamy togarashi dressing, macadamia nuts served over cauliflower rice)

5. MENDOCINO FARMS

Co-Founders (and husband-and-wife team) Mario Del Pero and Ellen Chen created the concept in 2003, determined to lead through empowerment and build a thriving business from just a good idea and a lot of passion.

Whether you dodge dairy, shun soy, naysay nuts, or get around gluten, they are happy to accommodate dietary restrictions and food allergies

They serve chicken from Pitman Family Farms, the most respected family-run poultry farm in the country where the family’s commitment to their animals and their workers is self-evident. They also feature RWA (Raised Without Antibiotics) turkey, which is humanely raised on family farms without any hormones or antibiotics. Their prosciutto, salami, and bacon are all nitrate-free.

They are especially proud that a large portion of our produce comes directly to their kitchens from the fields at Scarborough Farms early each morning, with no distributor or middleman required—it’s simply picked, washed, delivered, and consumed.

My order:

Roasted Mushroom Shawarma Wrap(Shawarma-spiced roasted oyster mushrooms, grape tomatoes, red onions, with cilantro-jalapeno hummus, cucumber, shredded romaine, spicy zhoug sauce, garlic yogurt sauce in a panini-pressed whole wheat tortilla)

Or 

Mama Chen’s Chicken Salad(Shaved, roasted chicken breast, napa cabbage & kale slaw with carrots & bean sprouts, baby spinach, chopped romaine, scallions, cilantro, toasted cashews, crispy wontons with miso mustard sesame dressing)

Juicing for Gut Health

Health begins in the gut. This saying is very popular in the health and wellness world at the moment, and for good reason.

The human gut contains 10 times more bacteria than all the human cells in the entire body. This bacteria promotes normal gastrointestinal function, protects us from infection, regulates metabolism, and comprises more than 75% of our immune system.

Eating(and drinking) a diet rich in fresh fruits and vegetables feeds good gut bacteria and helps them-and us-thrive.

This delicious juice does just that and helps to heal and soothe your gut.

These are some great Digestive Health Benefits from drinking The Gut Healer juice.

Purple Cabbage: Cabbage is a great prebiotic food – meaning that the fiber in it provides fuel for the good bacteria in our large intestines which keeps your gut healthy and helps it digest foods more easily. Insoluble fiber comprises around 70% of the fiber in cabbage. It adds bulk to stools and helps food move through your gut more easily, reducing the risk of constipation

Green Apple: Green apples contain a compound called pectin, a fiber source that works as a prebiotic to promote the growth of healthy bacteria in your gut. The pectin found in green apples can help you break down foods more efficiently

Ginger: Ginger is a common natural treatment for stomach issues, such as bloating and indigestion. Ginger can help increase the movement of food through your stomach, improve indigestion, decrease bloating, and reduce intestinal cramping.

Lemon: Lemons are rich in vitamin C and fiber – and that gives them a range of benefits for supporting gut health. As a potent antioxidant, vitamin C protects the cells against free radicals, and has the potential to reduce gut inflammation and boost the immune system.

Turmeric: Turmeric has a high amount of antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties which can contribute to healthy digestion. It’s used in ayurvedic medicine as a digestive healing agent.

The Gut Healer Juice

Serving Size 2 (8 oz) juices

Ingredients:

• 1 Heads of Purple Cabbage
• 2 Green Apples
• 1 ginger root
• 1 lemons
• 1 turmeric root

Preparation:

Cut, peel, and prepare all ingredients so that they are juicer ready. Put all ingredients through the juicer. Enjoy!

Part of the reason why I wanted to start this blog was because my health journey has been SO challenging. I’ve been very depressed to the point where I’ve been in bed in SO much pain for weeks. Without the support of my amazing friends and family and honestly just hope and perseverance because sometimes even the people closest to you truly don’t understand what you’re going through, I would have never gotten through it. I feel that I need to dive into the beginning of my health journey so that you can fully understand all the trials and tribulations it took for me to finally start feeling better! It wasn’t an easy journey by any means… So, I first realized I had chronic migraines when I was around 15-16 years old. I thought I just had regular old headaches, as did my parents, but when they started getting more intense and were accompanied with nausea, blurry vision, brain fog, and fatigue I realized they were so much more than just a headache. After going to multiple doctors and trying a variety of pain medication, my dad recommended that I go see his Chiropractor friend Dr. Gina Travis(My dad went to school and practiced Chiropractic for most of his life). Once meeting her and telling her my story and what I was going through, she put me on a tight regimen of fruit and vegetable supplements taken 2x daily, neck and shoulder exercises to strengthen the spine, and chiropractic adjustments 2-3x a week. After one year my migraines miraculously disappeared! I went on for 3 years feeling pretty good, with the occasional migraine or two a month but not as debilitating or frequent as they had been. Fast forward to March 2017, after getting engaged to my wonderful fiancé Erik, I decided to go on birth control which ended up being the worst decision I have ever made, because once I started the birth control my migraines came back and worse than ever. I then went on to abuse Ibuprofen and Excedrin to get through work and life. Once, the pain meds stopped working I knew I had a BIG problem. So I made appointments with multiple neurologists to help get to the bottom of my problem. I got an MRI done on my brain to see if I had a brain tumor which thankfully I did not, and the search continued. After months and months of trying various preventative medications with horrific side effects I came across an amazing neurologist who suggested I try both Botox and Aimovig. I had to get prior authorization for Botox(which was my first choice) so I opted for Aimovig. The first month was tough, I had minor side effects and didn’t really see a huge difference in the number of migraines I was having a month. During this time, I was also having sever digestive discomfort and decided to just tackle everything at once and went to go see a gastroenterologist as well, and with lots of testing was told that I had SIBO, IBS, and severe acid reflux. I started changing my diet significantly and tried to be on a mostly alkaline diet, taking out specifically acidic foods since that was what bothered me the most, and incorporating more alkaline food and beverages. With the change of my diet and month three of Aimovig I started feeling SO much better! I originally had 20-25 migraine days a month and as of month three I had five. FIVE!!! I’m tearing up thinking about it now, because I was so miserable and in SO much pain, I thought that was going to be my reality forever. So here I am now, almost a year and a half later while quarantined because of COVID-19 and finally having time to tell my story! As of now I have 1-3 migraines a month, most of my digestive discomfort is manageable if I stick to my strict diet and I feel like I am finally living a somewhat normal life, while still taking necessary precautions to make sure I don’t get sick. I wanted to start this blog for many reasons but my main reason was to be able to help anyone who is going through the same thing that I went through. While I was in my worst state, I took the time to research everything about health and nutrition and follow so many bloggers who were bravely talking about their stories in the hopes to help someone who was going through similar things like me. I learned so much from them, as in what foods heal your body, natural ways to mange migraines, and supplements that help manage symptoms. So my blog will consist of yummy recipes that I love, supplements that I take, diving into which foods heal your body from within and which foods cause more inflammation and may be the culprit of why you feel sick, and miscellaneous Health & Wellness information! Stay tuned 😊

#health #healthfood #healthandwellness #migrainesufferer #SIBOsufferer #chronicpain #healingwithfood #healingfromwithin #healthiswealth