charleston sc

Tag Archive for: charleston sc

10 Tips for Healthy Eating in Charleston

December 19, 2023/in Healthy Living

10 Tips for Healthy Eating in Charleston

Charleston, SC is stunning and can captivate you with its allure of food and beauty. Therefore, I offer you 10 tips for healthy eating in Charleston. Maintaining a healthy diet while dining out can pose challenges, but you can certainly achieve it by making mindful choices. Having moved from a Midwest town with limited healthy eating options in Evansville, IN, my husband and I feel fortunate. We are true foodies who used to drive almost two hours to Louisville, KY, where we discovered a great selection of farm-to-table restaurants. Evansville had earned a reputation as the chain food capital of Indiana! Although many covet chain restaurants, we typically avoid them due to their reliance on processed foods.

Here are the top 10 tips for healthy eating when dining out in Charleston:

Plan ahead: Check the restaurant’s menu online before your visit. Look for healthier options and decide your order in advance, reducing the chances of making impulsive, unhealthy choices at the restaurant.
Control portion sizes: Restaurants often serve larger portions than necessary. Consider sharing a dish with a friend or requesting a half portion if available. Alternatively, you can pack half of your meal to take home.
Choose water or unsweetened beverages: Opt for water, herbal tea, or sparkling water over sugary drinks or alcoholic beverages. These options are lower in calories and won’t add unnecessary sugar to your meal.
Prioritize veggies and fruits: Seek out dishes rich in vegetables and fruits. These provide essential nutrients and fiber while often being lower in calories compared to other options.
Be cautious with dressings and sauces: Many salads and dishes can become unhealthy due to high-calorie dressings and sauces. Ask for dressings on the side and use them sparingly or choose lighter options like olive oil and vinegar.
Avoid fried and breaded items: Fried foods are typically high in unhealthy fats and calories. Instead, opt for grilled, baked, or steamed dishes for a healthier alternative.
Limit added sugars and refined carbs: Be mindful of hidden sugars in sauces, desserts, and even some savory dishes. Also, choose whole grains when possible, such as brown rice or whole wheat bread.
Control your appetizers and sides: Select healthier appetizers like salads, soups, or dishes with lean proteins. Steer clear of deep-fried or heavily processed options. For sides, opt for steamed vegetables or salads instead of fries or creamy dishes.
Eat mindfully: Slow down and savor your meal. Listen to your body’s hunger and fullness cues, and stop eating when you’re satisfied. This will prevent overeating and allow you to enjoy your food more fully.
Be cautious with desserts: If you desire dessert, consider sharing it with others at the table. Alternatively, choose a lighter option like fresh fruit or sorbet to satisfy your sweet tooth without overindulging.

Remember that occasional indulgences are okay, but making healthier choices most of the time can help you maintain a balanced diet when dining out. When my husband and I first moved to Charleston, we got caught up in trying everything and developed some unhealthy eating habits, including indulging in heavy appetizers and alcoholic beverages. While there is nothing wrong with this occasionally, making it a weekly habit for us was not advisable. Unfortunately, it reflected on our scales, resulting in some unwanted belly fat.

If you want to discover my top 10 healthiest dining spots in the Charleston area, you can find more information here.

How Adrenal Fatigue Can Develop

May 4, 2020/in Health Issues

My Journey on How Adrenal Fatigue Can Develop

Here’s How Adrenal Fatigue Can Develop. I am sharing my own personal experience with Adrenal Fatigue, not just as a healthcare provider. There are many health conditions that cannot truly be understood until you experience them, and adrenal fatigue is one of those. So, I say God blessed me with Adrenal Fatigue so that I could help others.

Stress was the underlying cause

Stress, whether it be emotional, physical or nutritional is truly at the root of all chronic disease. Regarding adrenal issues, you will hear different labels including adrenal insufficiency, a medical diagnosis, or adrenal fatigue or even burnout. Whatever you call it, it is stress and it impacts the body and mind.

In 2013, a client came to me sharing that she had been diagnosed with adrenal fatigue. I had worked with clients that had various health challenges, but this was a new one. She was already eating clean and working with an Integrative MD, so this was going to be a challenge. The only unique factor was that her stress level was extremely high, as she was experiencing extreme burnout in her career.

To be honest, her symptoms were puzzling. I kept trying to figure out exactly what it was she was feeling and why, but I just couldn’t connect. Usually clean eating, resting and supporting the digestive process was the answer but, in this case, it wasn’t enough and I left it to “I can’t help everyone.”

Approximately one year later, I started to experience signs of extreme fatigue and emotional sensitivity. I remember the thought of performing simple household chores like changing the linens on our bed was equivalent to running a 5K. Some days I couldn’t even perform these simple tasks. When and if I did, I had to lie down and rest even with 7-9 hours of sleep.

Testing for Adrenal Stress

Ironically, at about that same time I decided to add saliva hormone and neurotransmitter testing to my menu of services, and the first thing I do with a new service is put myself through the test. My results revealed that I was in Phase 3 Adrenal Fatigue. I was devastated and scared. It was at that point I started reading and researching everything I could find on the condition. I learned that Adrenal Fatigue is categorized as Phase 1 (Alarm), 2 (Resistance) Phase 3 (Exhaustion).

I connected to a private Facebook group for those with Adrenal Fatigue. I did learn quite a bit from the group, but the negativity was so overwhelming that I decided to stop following. Most of the group seemed to be strong Type A, perfectionists, overachievers and/or controllers, which makes sense why many end up here! I embodied many of these traits which contributed to my outcome.

The adrenal fatigue research scared me. Stats, such as, it takes up to five years to recover or some cases lead to adrenal cancer as well as Addison’s disease. Addison’s is where the adrenals have been damaged and one symptom is a golden bronze skin pigment. Now I understood why people were asking me if I had been to Florida recently or why my skin was so bronze in the middle of winter, in the Midwest! All of the pieces were coming together. It was a wake-up call for me.

What is Adrenal Fatigue

Unfortunately, it is not recognized by conventional medical community. It is not a proven medical condition but a “syndrome” where fatigue and other symptoms are caused by a poorly working adrenal gland in people who are under chronic mental, emotional, or physical stress. They do recognize “adrenal insufficiency” which states that only drugs/steroids can be used to treat it and that supplements could be harmful. So, I asked myself, are my adrenals in need of more toxins to “treat” it or should I use whole clean food and pure sources of supplementation along with retraining my thought processes to balance my body? As a Naturopath, you can guess the answer.

So how did I end up here? Two reasons, one was opening a brick and mortar (physical location) business, which we were renovating. The second was that our adult son was struggling with serious health and financial issues. In my quest to “take care” of him and my business/clients, I failed to take care of myself and ended up in severe adrenal fatigue or Phase 3.

I remember sitting at the table crying and saying, “I don’t think I can do this anymore.” “This” meaning taking care of everything and everyone else. I couldn’t function. My dream of opening a wellness center and serving others started to feel like a nightmare. My temper was short and breakdowns, behind the scenes, were not uncommon. So, instead of taking a “why did this happen to me” approach, I saw it as a way to serve others with the same challenges. God again blessed me with another health challenge, so that I can share and serve others.

The light at the end of the tunnel is that it isn’t going to take me 5 years to recover because I had access to the best holistic health mentors/experts in the world and access to the best whole food products. Read more here on the next steps of my journey.

If you’re struggling to, I would love to help. Book a Wellness Strategy and let’s chat!

How to Soak Nuts

March 1, 2013/1 Comment/in Health Issues

How to Soak Nuts

Before we answer how to soak nuts, we must answer why you should. Nuts and seeds could be wreaking havoc on your digestion as you may not be assimilating them. It is true, nuts and seeds along with grains and legumes contain natural toxic inhibitors to ensure their survival until germination. Nature has made them indigestible in their dry form. Soaking removes the inhibitors and makes them more digestible allowing your body to utilize more vital nutrients contained within.

Benefits of soaking nuts and seeds:

Increases enzyme activity
Better absorption of nutrients by the body
Increased digestibility
Soaked nuts and seeds will begin the sprouting process which increases their nutrient value
Improves flavor, especially with walnuts as the tannins, dust, and residues are rinsed away

Most unsoaked or raw nuts and seeds contain enzyme inhibitors and toxic substances. Nature has intended the dry nut and seed to be protected by enzyme inhibitors and toxic substances until perfect growing conditions are in place. When there is enough rain and sun, this sets the stage for the nut/seed to literally come alive. When soaking nuts and seeds, we mimic nature.

Another important reason to soak nuts is that the soaking process will help remove the dust, residue, and tannins from the skins. You’ll notice that soaked walnuts do not have that astringent taste to them. This is because when soaking walnuts, the tannins are rinsed away, leaving behind a softer, tastier nut.

Nuts should only be soaked after they are removed from their shells. You’ll notice that nuts without skins such as macadamias, cashews or Brazil nuts don’t have as much of the murky water residue, but soaking is still recommended for ease in blending and for nutritional purposes.

Recommended soaking time for nuts and seeds:

Soaking nuts and seeds can take anywhere from 20 minutes, to 2 to 3 hours, even overnight in the refrigerator. Harder nuts will take longer to soften. If your recipe calls for soaked nuts or seeds and you are short on time, you can soak them for 20 minutes or at the very least rinse them. Otherwise, plan ahead and soak or sprout them according to the chart below.

Soaking nuts in plastic is not recommended as plastic can leach into the water and into your food. Some folks keep a variety of nuts and seeds soaking in their refrigerators at all times to have handy. If you do this, be sure to change the soak water every couple of days to prevent spoiling.

Note: the soaked water from nuts and seeds should always be discarded and never used as water in a recipe. Also, be sure the water you are using is purified or distilled.

Here is a helpful soaking and sprouting infographic for nuts and seeds as well as grains and legumes. Click the image to see an enlarged version.

Need a bit more help with your digestion? Consider Digestive Health Testing or schedule a Free Wellness Strategy Session with me to learn more. I am the premium Digestive Health Specialist in the Charleston, SC area but can help clients online via virtual consulting.