Welcome to fall!
If you haven't had a chance to watch the new Netflix docuseries called "Living to 100," I highly recommend it! This new series shows how exercise, nutrition, lifestyle, and community support can improve your heathspan and lifespan. I have included one of the Blue Zone recipes that they eat every day.
Blue Zone recipe! https://www.bluezones.com/
Blue Zone documentary! https://www.netflix.com/title/81214929
Ikarian Longevity Stew With Black-Eyed Peas
This healthy stew can help support our efforts to prevent chronic disease, healthy aging, and longevity. Why not try it? The Blue Zones around the world use food as medicine and medicine as their food (Hippocrates 400 BCE). Recent studies do not underscore the importance of the therapeutic potential of lifestyle interventions but are also generating valuable insights into the complex and dynamic transition from health to disease. Using a Mediterranean style of nutrition is adopted by those in these Blue Zones around the world. This recipe is a Mediterranean-style dish that has a nice nutrient-dense profile of vitamins and minerals. The antioxidants offer many health benefits such as heart health with omega 3’s, balanced blood sugar, longer satiation to reduce in between meal snacking, feeling fuller without bloat, cellular energy, and metabolic support, to name a few. No wonder it's called the longevity stew. Enjoy!
Fall allergy season is upon us!
Seasonal Pollen
Don’t let allergy season keep you from being outside in the great outdoors with Mother Earth 🌎 Preparation and being proactive are key to managing our environmental allergies. If you don’t know what your allergies are and find yourself suffering each year in the spring, fall, or all year, I highly advise you to get some testing to identify your personal bio-individual triggers. Remember, testing is better than guessing to find relief. An allergy occurs when the body’s immune system identifies a substance as harmful and overreacts, resulting in many different symptoms. I have listed some below. Can you identify with any of these symptoms?
• Itchy, watery eyes
• Itchy nose
• Sneezing
• Runny nose
• Rashes
• Hives (a rash with raised red patches)
• Stomach cramps, vomiting, diarrhea, bloating, swelling, redness
• Pain, tongue swelling
• Cough
• Throat closing
• Wheezing (a whistling sound when you breathe)
• Chest tightness and losing your breath
• Feeling faint, light-headed, or "blacking out”
Allergens can enter our body through various ways:
Nose and Lungs
—pollen, ragweed, house dust and dust mites, mold spores
—pet dander
—latex dust
Mouth
—food (especially packaged)
—medications or supplements you swallow
Injections
—medications that are inserted through needles
—insect bites and bee stings
Skin
—common skin allergies: allergic contact dermatitis, eczema, chronic urticaria, angioedema
—plants like poison ivy, sumac, and oak can cause reactions when touched
—latex, metals, ingredients in beauty and health care products
—household products
Allergy Relief Protocols
* Allergy testing to identify what allergens and/or food sensitivities are causing you the most symptoms to treat effectively.
* Air filtration system to help combat dust mites, mold, and pet danger.
* Don’t sleep with a window open or a fan directly on your face.
* Use an air diffuser with essential oils (EOs). A few EOs that work well for inflammation and as an expectorant for the lungs and the nose: Eucalyptus, peppermint, lemongrass, basil, tea tree, frankincense, clove, camphor
* Cool compresses for sensitive eyes to ease swelling, itching, and discomfort, and warm water flushes for tired and dry eyes, especially after being outside.
* Using a Neti pot
Nutritional Spotlight for Allergies
Consuming whole foods adds natural antihistamines to your allergy regimen. Sources such as nettle, quercetin, vitamin C, bromelain, and probiotics can all be found in whole food.
Nettle: supplement, teas, tinctures
Quercetin: dill, fennel, onions, chili pepper, blueberries, cranberries, spinach & kale, cherries, lettuce, asparagus
Vitamin C: raw red & green peppers, grapefruit, oranges, kiwis, broccoli, strawberries, Brussel sprouts. Bromelain: supplement form, pineapple has bromelain but in the core and skin, which we don’t eat Probiotics: yogurt, kefir, kimchi, kombucha, tempeh, miso, sourdough
* Please consult a certified holistic health, medical professional, or allergist to support a bio-individual plan that is right for you. Those who are pregnant, nursing, or with kidney disease should consult their physician. Dabeek, WM & Marra, MV (2019). Dietary quercetin and kaempferol: Bioavailability and potential cardiovascular-related bioactivity in humans. Nutrients. 2019;11(10):2288. Retrieved from doi:10.3390/nu11102288
Mental Health Support
2 Breathing Techniques for Reducing Stress and Anxiety:
4 x 4 Box Breathing
This breath technique is used for deep breathing to connect and reset the nervous system. It can relieve anxiety and stress and improve mood.
* Sit comfortably, back supported, or lay down whatever feels comfortable to you.
* Breathe in slowly for a count of four; start by expanding your belly and filling your lungs with air, like zipping up a coat.
* Then hold your breath for 4 seconds, trying to avoid inhaling or exhaling by focusing on stillness for 4 seconds.
* Slowly exhale through your mouth with your tongue gently resting on the roof of your mouth for 4 seconds.
* Repeat steps 1 to 3 until you start to reach a state of calm and feel re-centered. Usually, 3-4 sets work well.
4 x 7 x 8 Breathing
This breath pattern is based on the Pranayama breath work, an ancient yogic practice of regulating your breath. It can also provide a gentle, calming way to relax before sleep, waning worries and a restless mind, reduce blood pressure
and heart rate.
* This can be done lying down in bed before sleep or sitting with your back supported. Try to relax and let your body be soft.
* Close your mouth gently, tongue resting on the roof of your mouth
* Inhale through your nose for a count of four.
* Then hold your breath for a count of seven.
* Next, exhale completely through your mouth, making a whoosh sound like a wave for a count of eight.
* This is one round; repeat as necessary it will be different for everyone.
Epigenetics!
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