Zora Neale Hurston said in “Their Eyes Were Watching God, “De ni*** woman is de mule uh de world so far as Ah can see.”
The recent unrest brings this to bear. As we mourn the lives of black boys and me, black women - who’ve also died and been mistreated by society, are being left out of the conversation while simultaneously being asked to fight for the black man.
Who will stand for us?
During this week’s Kombucha, Wine & Chill Virtual Game Night Demetria Cox, a gardner, health-eating & plant-based advocate and vegetarian chef shared tips on how to grow veggies from scraps four low-maintenance indoor plants that can improve your quality of life. See below for information on both and make sure you follow her on Instagram @deeveggiechef.
If you’ve ever been interested in growing your own food, now is a great time to start. You don’t need to run out and stock up on gardening supplies either. You can start a small in-home garden with organic scraps from your kitchen. You don’t need much - just seeds or roots from your fruits or veggies, fertilizer and a container (can be a glass or cup that you already have).
See below for links and videos to help guide you.
10 Foods that Regrow with Water
Growing from Food Scraps :: 37 Kitchen Scraps You Can Regrow
14 Store-Bought Veggies and Herbs You Can Grow at Home
Kaizen. It’s a Japanese business approach to creating continuous improvement based on the idea that small, ongoing positive changes can reap major improvements. When implemented, kaizen promotes small steps to improvement - like very small. Using a wellness example, someone looking to lower their A1C would first think about the change. That’s step one. Step two would be to research the things needed to make the change. You get the idea?
Using kaizen as a guide to improving your personal health, means making small changes toward that goal. Want to boost your immunity and improve your mood? Try plants. Check out the benefits of having plants in your home.
The infographic below shares information on four plants that can be used to jumpstart your wellness journey.
This article was featured in the March 30 issue of The Charlotte Post
About a year and a half ago I headed to the doctor for my annual exam. I was expecting to discuss my high A1C, low iron and low Vitamin D numbers. I wasn’t expecting to get on the scale and realize I was 123 pounds. There were several problems with this:
I am 4’9”. I can’t stand to be much heavier or I will roll away.
I was the highest weight I’d ever been at in my life; and the last time I was 123 pounds, I was pregnant.
My doctor said I was still in normal range.
I left the doctor with a good bill of health, but I was not happy. I knew I had to do something about this growing belly fat that was contributing to my 123 pound overall weight. I immediately called a friend who directed me to take a food sensitivity test to determine what foods I should stay away from because they cause leaky gut syndrome. I took the test, got the results and continued to eat the foods.
I started working out with a trainer. I paid for this online group to create a specialized diet just for me. I had a breast reduction and began eating less meat and more live foods. I only lost three pounds.
I was devastated, but I soon found out why I wasn’t losing weight. I wasn’t honoring my body. I didn’t truly understand my body and I wasn’t listening to it as it told me what was wrong.
Losing weight is as unique to you as your fingerprint. There is no one-size-fits all diet. Each person is a unique individual with their own set of nutritional requirements that are impacted by many different things - environment, anatomy, metabolism, body composition and cell structure. The concept that one man’s food is another man’s poison is called bio-individuality. Achieving optimal health means that you have to completely understand your body and what foods are good for you and which ones are poison for you. If you want to truly lose weight and achieve optimal health you will need to:
Keep a food journal. Food journaling is the first step in helping you understand how your body reacts to food. Write down in your journal what you eat for 30 days - for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Take note of how your body feels, your emotions and energy levels when you eat during this time. Pay attention to any changes in your skin, hair and nails as well. Our bodies are always talking to us. We just have to pay attention to what it is telling us. Take into account any regular monthly bodily activities and note the symptoms that you have with those changes that may or may not be connected to your food.
Take a food sensitivity test. Within two weeks of starting your journaling practice, take a food sensitivity test. This is a blood test that will help you determine what foods trigger an immune reaction in your body. The food triggers are different for each person. When you eat these foods it damages the lining of your intestines, allowing food particles to get into your bloodstream, which causes inflammation in your body and can cause the body to begin to fight the food like it is bacteria or a virus. This is called leaky gut syndrome. Symptoms of leaky gut syndrome include bloating, food sensitivities, fatigue, digestive issues and skin problems. Knowing which foods trigger this response in your body can help you remove them from your diet, decreasing inflammation and the potential for an unwarranted immune response.
Evaluate your microbiome. There are good and bad bacteria in your gastrointestinal tract (GI tract). When the bacteria in your GI tract becomes unbalanced it can lead to chronic illness and digestive disorders like irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), Chron’s disease, colitis, diabetes, obesity and leaky gut syndrome. Getting a microbiome test will test the bacteria in your system and help determine the best way to rebalance the bacteria for optimal health.
There are several online tests for food sensitivities and microbiome testing that can help you evaluate your microbiome, but this is best done under the care of a functional medicine doctor or nurse practitioner. They can help you evaluate the results and prescribe medical-grade probiotics or supplements. A certified health coach can also guide you through the process and make recommendations to qualified medical professionals who are committed to finding the root cause of your illness.
The most important part of your health journey is honoring your bio-individuality by observing and listening to your body. Our bodies are always talking to us. We just have to listen to what they are saying.
Whether we like it or not, we have a lot of time on our hands for the next few weeks - possibly months. The constant barrage of information - accurate, inaccurate, mythical and conspiracy theories - can create angst and anxiety all around us. It’s important that we take time to disconnect from the world and connect to OUR world. it’s essential that we create a peaceful oasis where we are to ensure we stay healthy, happy and productive. Here are eight ways you can offer yourself (and your family) self-care and love during this stressful time.
Head to @beahealthyclt to find resources that can assist you in putting these tips into action.
Getting to optimal health is a journey. We often jump into diets and exercise routines and they fall flat. It is important to make small, incremental changes that we can support and sustain. There are actions you can take today that will jumpstart your wellness journey, putting you in position to have better health today. These three small steps will support increased immunity, cellular function and help you manage your body fluids and hormones.
We’ve become conditioned to spend the first month of the year focused on our health. This usually includes committing to a diet and exercise regimen that typically never makes it out of January into February. We set ourselves up for failure when we start making health resolutions based on someone else’s health theories. Think about it, what does the person who developed Diet X know about you? You and your body are unique and have unique needs. According to Integrative Nutrition’s founder Josh Rosenthal, diets don’t work because ::
One person’s food is another person’s poison.
Your brain has its own sense of how much you should weigh.
Diets encourage you to put all your focus on external rules.
Additionally, making resolutions that require you to immediately cut out all the things requires discipline. Dan Buetter, the man who founded the Blue Zones, says, “Discipline is a muscle and muscles fatigue.” I agree. You can only deny yourself for so long before you fall off the wagon and abandon the resolution that was focused on someone’s theory who doesn’t know you or your body.
So what should you be doing instead? Honoring your bio-individuality, the unique nutrition needs of your body. You can do this by ::
Keeping a food journal. Keep a food journal for a month. Document what you eat and how you feel overall after eating. Are you bloated? Do you feel sluggish? Do you have energy? What does your skin look like? How do you feel mentally and emotionally? By documenting your meals and how you feel, you can start to better understand what foods and drinks don’t work for you - and what foods have a negative impact on your primary food.
Getting a microbiome test. Microbiome tests give you a full look at your gut health - and that is extremely important. Your gut has been said to be the real brain of your body. Gut health is important because the digestive fluids made in the gut control many bodily functions, including brain function. This is called the gut-brain connection. Getting a microbiome test will help you identify what’s going on in your gut and provide personalized suggestions on how to improve your gut health.
Armed with the information from your food journal and your test, you can then create a plan that will work for you. The personalized plan that you create will honor your bio-individuality and you will be more likely to stick to it because you created it just for you!
Register for the BEAhealthy newsletter to get a free download of a tool to help you inventory your primary food. This is the first step to you being healthy.
I was scrolling through IG and found this little nugget on @quellyrue page :: Know your sources of rejuvenation: the people who light up your spirit, the activities that fire up your creativity and the amount of solitude you need to feel fresh again. Moving toward your goals is not linear. Sometimes you need a good break before taking a big leap forward.
It’s a good time to take an inventory of your primary health, the things OFF your plate that impact your health. Register for the BEAhealthy newsletter to get a free download of a tool to help you inventory your primary food. This is the first step to you being healthy.
There is a tiny town in Pennsylvania that has changed the way we view health.
Doctors began studying the people of Roseto, Pennsylvania after it was discovered the people of the town had extremely low rates of heart disease. Their health success defied what doctors knew to be true at the time. The people of Roseto ate food cooked in lard, drank large amounts of homemade red wine and smoked cigars - all behaviors that negatively impact heart health.
Dr. Stewart Wolf studied the people of Roseto, and what became known later as the Roseto Effect, from 1955 to 1961. He specifically was looking at the impact of social structure on health. What he concluded was Roseto's low rate of heart attacks and mortality compared to the rest of the region and the nation was attributable to the close-knit community and generations under one roof typical of Roseto at the time. As time went on and the culture of Roseto changed to match that of the rest of the world, their rates of heart disease became comparable to those of other communities around the nation. What can we learn today from the people of yesteryear Roseto? Primary food is important. Primary food is more than what is on your plate. It is having healthy relationships, a spiritual practice, a fulfilling career, and joy. Many times we focus on our diet and exercise when we really need to focus on our primary food. An imbalance in our primary food often shows up in what we eat and how we maintain our physical health. It can also cause negative internal body reactions. Take an inventory of your primary food today.
Register for the BEAhealthy newsletter to get a free download of a tool to help you inventory your primary food. This is the first step to you being healthy.
