Your Body Temple or Garage

May 10, 2023/in Healthy Living

Your Body Temple or Garage

Is your body a temple or garage? Stop what you’re doing and ask yourself, “Am I treating my body like a temple? Or am I treating my body like a garage?” Maybe the answer will make you feel really good. Or maybe you won’t be happy with your answer. Either way, both are important eye-openers. Day-to-day life is busy for most of us. We spend so much time inside our own minds that we can forget, we have an entire body we’re attached to. God gave us one body that we’re tasked to love.

God wants us to be happy and healthy. Are you healthy? “Health” looks different to many people. I say it’s not the absence of disease which is how most people define health. However, health is defined as a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity. Meaning, when you were fearfully and wonderfully made by our Creator, the intention was for you to be in good physical, mental, and spiritual health. I’ll ask again, are you treating your body like a temple or garage?

I was recently asked to speak on a podcast about this topic, which happens to be my favorite topic! You can listen to it here: Your Body Temple or Garage. As a Naturopathic Doctor, I love helping women with their health.

This podcast is a Christian perspective on taking care of the body. Nikki Davis is the host on her own journey to find holistic healing and go back to God and nature. Nikki is a Realtor, Magazine Editor, Wedding Expert, Artist, and Hobby Farmer. Nikki takes you along for the ride as she navigates the ups and downs of being an introverted, networking-centric small business owner in Midwestern Life.

Her podcast is called This UnBee-Lievable Life.

You can find Nikki on FB At Revival Farms River Valley

Black Bean Lentil Tacos

May 7, 2023/in Healthy Recipes

Black bean lentil tacos are a high-fiber meatless alternative to traditional tacos. They are also more economical and quicker to prepare than meat tacos.

I wanted to share my favorite brand of gluten-free wraps. They are Siete brand and found in the refrigerated section of your healthier grocery store. They also have chickpea and almond flour versions.

Or instead of using gluten-free wraps, I love this on a bed of greens, organic of course. It can always be served over organic rice or quinoa as a taco bowl. Speaking of, like always, use organic ingredients to lower your toxic load.

Being primarily dairy-free is important to me as well so I use many of the products from Follow Your Heart. We love their sour cream and cheeses. Pepper Jack is my favorite version but they have a variety of other dairy-free flavors including cheddar, mozzarella and gouda.

Ingredients

1 small onion diced, 1/3 cup

2 cloves garlic, minced

3/4 tsp cumin

1/2 tsp chili powder

1/2 tsp salt

3 cups cooked green lentils (1 cup dry)

1 can (15 oz) black beans, rinsed and drained

1/3 cup salsa

2/3 cup low-sodium vegetable broth

Gluten-free taco shells or wraps.

Optional toppings: tomato, lettuce, avocado, dairy-free sour cream, cilantro, olives

Directions

Heat half the broth over medium-high heat in a large skillet. Add and saute the onions for 6-7 minutes.

Add garlic, cumin, chili powder, and salt. Heat for 2-3 minutes.

Reduce heat to low and add lentils and black beans. Stir all to combine.

Add salsa and vegetable broth. Stir and heat for about 5 minutes. Add remaining broth if necessary to keep it creamy.

Spoon into a taco shell or on a bed of greens. Add toppings of your choice.

Makes 6-8 servings or tacos.

Note: Taco seasoning can be made up in advance. I purchase organic bulk herbs from Mountain Rose Herbs and save so much money.

What is Mental Fitness

February 26, 2023/in Healthy Living, Healthy Products

What is mental fitness?

It’s a new concept in health called mental fitness. It’s the percentage of time your mind is serving you versus sabotaging you.

Independent researchers have validated the PQ (Positive Intelligence Quotient) Score to be the single greatest predictor of how much of your potential for both success and happiness you achieve.

Research has shown that higher PQ results in enhanced immune system functioning, lower levels of stress-related hormones, lower blood pressure, less pain, fewer, colds, better sleep in a smaller likelihood of having hypertension, diabetes, or strokes.

What Is Mental Fitness?

Stanford lecturer and best-selling author Shirzad Chamine has developed a program and book called Positive Intelligence®. Your Positive Intelligence quotient, or ‘PQ’, is a measure of your mental fitness. PQ measures the percentage of time your mind is serving you versus sabotaging you. Independent researchers have validated PQ Score to be the single greatest predictor of how much of your potential for both success and happiness you achieve.

According to Shirzad, 80% of us score below the minimum level of mental fitness required for peak performance and happiness.

But the good news is that mental fitness can be significantly improved with just 6 weeks of daily practice. Shirzad tells us that doing 100 PQ reps a day to build mental muscles (essentially, creating new neural pathways) is the equivalent of taking 10,000 steps a day for physical fitness or weight training by doing reps with a dumbbell.

Helping every human build mental fitness so they can fulfill their true potential for both happiness and contribution.

How is PQ different from other programs including meditation or mindfulness?

PQ Treat Root Cause, not Symptoms

The factor analysis research has revealed the foundational root-level enablers and disablers of optimal performance and well-being. We rewire the brain at the root cause level.

PQ Focuses on Habit Formation

Most training results in short-lived improvements. For sustained results, we focus on building neural pathways that form lasting new habits. That’s why we call this “mental fitness”.

PQ Develops all 3 Core Muscles

Mental fitness requires 3 core muscles. Saboteur Interceptor, Self-Command, and Sage. Meditation only focuses on Self-Command, which is why it is not sustained by most.

An analysis of more than 200 scientific studies, which collectively tested more than 275,000 people, concluded that higher PQ leads to higher salaries and greater success in the areas of work, marriage, health, sociability, friendship, and creativity.

Daily Practice with the App

The PQ app includes a mental fitness gym to offer a variety of PQ exercises using different senses. There are exercises for sitting or walking and they vary in length from 2 to 12 minutes. The app tracks your daily progress so you can check your progress against the targets for creating new neural pathways. It also gives you a daily focus of the day to guide your practice incrementally over 6 weeks.

15 minutes/day of app-guided practice enables you to establish mental muscles (neural pathways). These exercises are bite-sized to fit your busy schedule and customized based on how you self-sabotage.

You may be asking, is this the right program for me?

This is the right program for you if you are:

Committed to improving your performance and effectiveness dramatically while reducing stress
Looking for a science-based and trusted system to make it stick
Willing to put in the initial effort to rewire years of mental habits that don’t serve you

Take the Mental Fitness or PQ Assessment

The PQ program has been transformational for my personal and professional life as well as for my clients. If you’d like to learn more about PQ, or test your levels, you can do so here. If you have questions or want to be added to the waitlist, drop a comment below. I only run the program a few times a year and limit the program to 10 members.

When you take the assessment, I’d love to hear your results. Better yet, schedule a free Wellness Strategy Session to learn more.

Natural Solutions to Adrenal Fatigue

July 24, 2015/5 Comments/in Health Issues

I knew nothing about it much less natural solutions to adrenal fatigue. 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 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 but I just couldn’t connect to her symptoms. Usually, my clean eating, resting, and supporting the digestive process was the answer but in this case, it wasn’t enough. I left it to “I can’t help everyone”.

Then approximately a 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.

Ironically, about that same time, I decided to add saliva hormone and neurotransmitter testing to my menu of services. So the first thing I do with a new service is to put myself through the test and this was no exception. I received the results that I was in Phase 3 Adrenal Fatigue and was devastated. It was at that point I started reading and researching everything I could find on Adrenal Fatigue. I also connected to a private Facebook group of fellow Adrenal Fatiguers. I did learn quite a bit from the group but the negativity was so overwhelming that I decided to stop following. The majority of the group seem to be strong Type A, overachievers, and/or controllers which makes sense why many end up here!

So what is Adrenal Fatigue? 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. The medical community does recognize “adrenal insufficiency” which states that only drugs 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 food and clean sources of supplementation to balance my body? For those who know me, you can guess the answer.

The research scared me. Stats like it takes up to five years to recover or some cases lead to adrenal cancer as well as Addison’s disease. JFK had Addison’s which 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! Again, all the pieces were coming together along with test results which was a wake-up call for me.

So how did I end up here? Two reasons, one was opening a brick and mortar (physical location) business which we were renovating as well. The second was that my 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 (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 everyone else and everything. My dream of opening a wellness center and serving others started to feel like a nightmare. My temper was short and breakdowns were not uncommon but all behind the scenes. 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 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 experts in the world and access to the best supplements and herbs.

So what was my life-changing adrenal fatigue protocol? Only products that were clean, non-GMO, and gluten-free sources of plant-based herbs, enzymes, and food.

My mornings started with Sole water which is a solution of Himalayan salt and water.

I’d start my morning with a green smoothie using a plant-based protein powder with various greens such as kale, spinach, dandelion, etc. plus two tablespoons of flax, hemp, or chia seeds. For extra nutrients, I added plant powders.

The following supplements are from Pure Encapsulations. I use this brand because they are genuinely pure, using non-GMO, no additives or preservatives, and gluten-free ingredients:

B Complex Plus – 2 times/day with food,
ADR Formula- 2 in am 1 hour before food,
Dopa Plus – 1 in a.m. 1 hour before food,
Ashwagandha – 3 times/day with food and
Liquid Vitamin D *4-5000 (4-5 drops) based on my test results

From Loomis Institute, I used:

Loomis Digestive Enzymes, 2 before each meal (VSCLR was specific to my needs, please utilize our Gut health or 24 Hour Urinalysis testing to determine yours)
Loomis Organic Iron blend and Female Herbal blend after each meal
- Loomis products are healthcare professional grade. Please contact us if you’d like to order.
Organic Excellence Progesterone Cream – 1 pump or 20 mg 30 minutes before bedtime.

Again, these are products that worked for me based on the current condition of my body and health. There is not a one size fits all approach to any health challenge. It is recommended that you utilize a Holistic Health Coach and nutritional testing to determine the state of your health. Contact me if I can help as we can ship test kits anywhere and help you across the miles.

If you would like to learn more, request our free guide called Top 3 Tips to Overcome Adrenal Stress to begin your path to balance your body and regain your energy. Or if you are looking for the best diet, foods, and supplements for adrenal fatigue, check out our Best Foods & Supplements for Adrenal Fatigue Guide.

And if you have experienced Adrenal Fatigue, I’d love to hear from you. And if you aren’t sure where to start, schedule a free call with me.