Category: - Holistic Living: Your Pathway to a Balanced Life

Top 10 Gut-Friendly Foods to Include in Your Diet

10/20/2024

Gut-friendly foods

Welcome back to another installment in our gut health series! This week, we're taking a look at some of the best foods to support your gut health (and no - they're not all fermented foods - though I know that might be what you were thinking).

Check it out below to learn how to improve your gut health with foods that are as delicious as they are beneficial!

These tasty and gut-friendly foods won't require spending a lot of money on pricey exotic ingredients, or making multiple trips to different stores. These foods are all easy to find at your local grocery store (or make at home), and equally easy to incorporate into your daily diet.

Understanding the significance of gut-friendly foods can transform your health journey. These foods contain probiotics and prebiotics, which are essential for maintaining a healthy gut microbiome. A balanced gut microbiome not only aids digestion but also strengthens the immune system and enhances overall well-being.

These 10 naturally delicious gut-friendly foods will keep your gut - and the rest of you - happy and healthy! :-)

FREE Plant-Based Coaching Masterclass

10/6/2024

Plant-based coaching class

It's the start of a new month and you know what that means...

It's time for your October freebie!

I've got something a little different for you this month...

If you've been reading this blog for a while, you probably know that I'm not really a "diet" follower. I believe in moderation in all things, consuming whole, high-quality foods that are raised using natural, sustainable, and regenerative methods, and eating things that God made. If I had to pick one "diet" or way of eating, I would trend towards either Mediterranean or Paleo.

However, I know that many people these days are moving towards a plant-based diet, which works very well for some people. (My own mother is a "situational vegan," or "flexitarian," consuming mostly plant-based foods most of the time, although she is flexible with her diet in social situations.)

Several of our readers have asked for more content on plant-based or plant-centered eating, and for those of you interested in this type of diet, I am sharing an interesting resource this month.

This online Masterclass is geared towards those who are interested in sharing the plant-based diet with others, and coaching people on how to achieve success with plant-based eating. If this appeals to you, you can learn more about how to get access to this free Masterclass below - if you're at all interested in helping others through sharing your love of plant-based eating, you'll definitely find this session useful!

[Video] Why Are Healthcare Costs So High In America?

9/22/2024

Why is healthcare so expensive in America?

I'm back this week with a very interesting podcast episode from my favorite Functional Medicine doctor.

With the election just around the corner, it seems timely to address the political side of health and healthcare. In particular, this episode deals with the question, why the heck does healthcare cost so much in America?

In case you've been wondering about this, you'll find a very interesting explanation in the video below.

You'll also learn about some of the initiatives that need to happen in order to not only bring prices down to a more reasonable level, but also improve our health as a nation.

As you may imagine, there's not a single easy solution to these issues. Rather, it will take a multi-faceted and dare I say "holistic" approach to tackle these tough matters. But doing so is imperative for not only our health, but our economy and even our national security as they discuss below.

[Podcast] What Women Should Know About Fasting & Health

4/21/2024

Fasting for women

Although fasting has been practiced for centuries (often for religious or medical reasons), this practice has gained new popularity in recent years among health circles for its health and weight loss benefits.

However, a recent study claiming that fasting may actually harm cardiovascular health flies in the face of previous research, and has been gaining media attention.

Keep in mind that this was a limited study, and few long-term studies have actually been done on the subject of fasting. However, there are some caveats to keep in mind when deciding whether or not fasting is right for you.

For one thing, as is the case with most medical topics and studies, little attention is paid to the differences between men and women. Contrary to popular belief, women cannot follow the same health and fitness protocols as men and expect to see the same results.

Unlike men, women in their reproductive years have specific hormonal considerations, and their rise and fall throughout the month impact everything from energy to focus, mood, metabolism, and the ability to adapt to good-for-you stressors like exercise or fasting.

This interesting podcast episode addresses the benefits of fasting, but also dives deeper into how women, in particular, can develop fasting routines that align with their hormonal needs. Check it out below!

[Podcast] Getting to the Root Cause of Our Social, Economic, & Healthcare Crises

2/11/2024

John F. Kennedy Jr podcast

This month's featured podcast episode takes a bit of a different slant to talking about our country's healthcare issues...

I don't often share a lot of political stuff here, except when I feel something is extremely important to address. In this case, we're talking about the three biggest issues facing our country, and as they discuss on the podcast, so many of these issues go back to one specific root cause: FOOD.

That's right: the root of our struggles with social and economic inequality, as well as, of course, our nation's health, is actually related to the foods we consume (or can afford and have access to).

To find out more about why this is the case - as well as what one presidential candidate is planning to do about it - check out the eye-opening episode below.

[Free Cookbook] 33 Gut-Friendly Recipes for Better Gut Health

11/5/2023

Gut-healthy recipes

It seems we can't go more than a day or two lately without hearing another news story about the importance of a healthy gut or maintaining our microbiome. The more we learn about this unexplored terrain, the more it seems we still have to learn!

I first became fascinated with gut health when I started learning about making my own fermented foods at home, and I've been experimenting and discovering new delicious flavors ever since. Fermentation is fun, safe, and tastier than you'd ever imagine! :-) Be sure to check the blog archives for some of my favorite fermented recipes - as well as the occasional epic fail...

For this month's freebie, I've got a really special one for you. This recipe book is packed with delicious, nutritious, and gut-healthy recipes to try for yourself. Learn more below, or just head over and download your free copy here!

Can Eating Together Make You Healthier?

10/22/2023

Social eating together for health

Today we're exploring an interesting question: Can eating with friends and loved ones actually improve your health?

It's a question we Americans don't usually spend a lot of time thinking about.

In many European countries, mealtimes are considered social times, sometimes lasting hours, and involving plenty of stimulating conversation along with the food. I remember this as one of my favorite things about visiting Europe!

Growing up in a half-Italian family with several siblings, mealtimes were often noisy, boisterous affairs - especially when friends or extended family were involved. My husband still sometimes gets overwhelmed at Christmas dinner at my parents' house with all the generations gathered together talking over each other! :-)

However, in much of modern America, the trend over the past century seems to have been towards more and more solo eating habits. In this interesting podcast episode of The Doctor's Farmacy, they examine the question of whether this trend is negatively impacting our health as a nation...

The Role of Nutrition in Holistic Health: A Guide to Eating for Optimal Wellness

9/17/2023

Holistic nutrition

Today, we're continuing our Holistic Health series by taking a closer look at eating holistically. In the world of holistic health, where the mind, body, and spirit work in harmony, the significance of nutrition cannot be overstated. True holistic nutrition is not merely about counting calories or tracking macros; it is about nourishing the entire self - from the physical vessel to the innermost spirit!

While most of us might not think about it, eating is (or can be) a spiritual act.

If we stop mindlessly stuffing our faces and truly consider the act of eating, we begin to realize that consuming food connects us to the world around us in ways that few other human behaviors do. We are literally taking parts of the outside world into our bodies when we eat.

And it's not just the physical food that we take in. We are also connected to the earth where the food was grown, the water, sunlight, air, and other factors that went into growing or producing the food, and all the people who had a hand in producing the food and bringing it to our table. To take it further, eating could even be seen as an act of worship to our creator who created the correct conditions for the food to grow and thrive and produce fruit for us to consume.

Once we begin to look at it this way, it becomes much simpler to eat well. Is the food that you eat honoring the environment, the soil, the air? Is the way it was produced supportive to the land that was used to grow it and the people who grew it, or is it harming the ecosystem and poisoning the land and those who touched it along the way?

These are all things to consider as we explore the profound connection between nutrition and holistic well-being.

[Podcast] Food Is Medicine: Prescribing Food for Chronic Disease

9/10/2023

Food as medicine

This week, I wanted to share a very interesting discussion on the role of food in health.

Of course, we all know we need to "eat healthy" in order to be healthy - but what does that even mean?

There are literally millions of blogs, articles, papers, journals, and books about healthy eating available to us, yet as a country, we continue to struggle with diet-related disease and other health problems year-after-year, without much sign of improvement.

Here are just a few startling statistics:

Did you know that the US spent $4.3 trillion on healthcare in 2021, and we are on pace to top $7 trillion by the end of this decade?
Only approximately 12% of Americans are considered “metabolically healthy.”
That means the other 88% of us aren’t even meeting basic medical guidelines for things like blood pressure, blood glucose, cholesterol, and other markers of metabolic health!

So what's the problem?

As we've discussed so many times before, it all comes back to what we eat.

There's no simple answer (well, there is, but most people don't realize it), but all of the conflicting nutrition information out there isn't helping matters. Most people who try to eat healthy simply end up more confused than ever, and often give up before seeing results.

However, there are some promising developments in the medical sciences that may actually help to move things in the right direction. In this fascinating podcast episode, you'll learn more about why food should actually be considered "medicine," and how some efforts are being made to bring this philosophy into practice in the modern medical system.

FREE Autoimmune Diet & Recipe Guide

8/6/2023

Auto-Immune Diet with recipes

It's August already, which means, it's time for your monthly freebie! :-)

This month, I've got a helpful guide for you on a serious topic. Excess inflammation has been linked to numerous diseases and health conditions, including devastating autoimmune conditions that impact millions of people worldwide.

Let's first clarify that inflammation has a purpose. Inflammation serves as a complex and dynamic response orchestrated by the body's immune system to combat harmful stimuli such as pathogens, injuries, or irritants.

However, an extended state of inflammation can have counterproductive effects on the immune system itself.

When the body remains in a perpetually inflamed state, the immune system's ability to function optimally becomes compromised. This weakening of the immune response can lay the groundwork for the emergence of autoimmune conditions, in which case, the immune system begins to mistakenly attack the body's own tissues and cells, leading to a self-destructive cycle.

To break free from this detrimental cycle and promote healing, reducing inflammation within the body becomes paramount. Embracing lifestyle changes that focus on dampening inflammation can have a profound impact on managing and mitigating autoimmune disorders. Dietary choices rich in anti-inflammatory components, such as omega-3 fatty acids, antioxidants, and certain vitamins, can aid in reducing overall inflammation levels.

The good news is, this means that an autoimmune diet is a powerful way to reduce inflammation and autoimmune conditions. Download this month's free guide, and discover the top 12 anti-inflammatory foods - along with 20 great-tasting autoimmune-approved recipes!

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