Several years ago I purchased my dream... and infrared sauna blanket. I had wanted so badly to get a sauna for years, but space is limited, and I am not really prepared yet to go all out remodeling the house in order to have the most amazing infrared sauna room.

So why a sauna blanket? The right Infrared Sauna Blankets detoxify the body and boosts your metabolic rate so you burn calories like you’re working out, without working out. This can be so supportive when your body just won't budge, but you perhaps can't workout. Wouldn't you love to get that elated workout feeling, you know that runners endorphins, without the exhaustion?  Infrared sauna therapy has been shown to significantly decrease pain and other symptoms of fibromyalgia syndrome, a chronic disorder that is characterized by widespread pain with localized tenderness. It researchers are just beginning to study these effects of infrared sauna therapy on pain and stiffness caused by different autoimmune diseases, showing in four weeks those with rheumatoid arthritis showed improvements in pain, stiffness, and fatigue.

However if you are an athlete, you get the benefit of that “hyperthermic conditioning”. This is the idea of using your sauna as a biohack to your next performance as when you use the sauna it optimizes blood flow to the heart, skeletal muscles, skin, and other tissues because it increases your plasma volume. This hyperthermic conditioning session then leads to endurance enhancements in your next workout or physical activity, when your core body temperature is once again elevated.

On top of that I find it supports me in getting a great sleep. Many of you know that I have battled with my adrenals for years, and as such my cortisol levels can spike in the evening and keep me wide awake when my body really craves sleep and renewal. Infrared has been show to increase feel good chemicals and lowers cortisol.


So think about the idea of relaxing into the soothing, yet stimulating heat in the evening, as those infrared rays also trigger your brain’s happiness chemicals. That's where the idea of the healthy, rejuvenating experience that leaves you feeling euphoric, Higher Dose, comes into play.

Of course I didn't want just any sauna blanket. This blanket has healing amethyst which deepens benefits of infrared, a tourmaline layer that generates negative ions and a charcoal layer to amplify detoxification process. It also has a medical grade magnetic strip for improved blood circulation and is made from premium non-toxic interior and exterior fabrics. I loved that this was model designed in part by Dr. Raleigh Duncan, Founder of Clearlight Saunas.

So when I asked in my sauna group about it, everyone was like, you need a low EMF heating device. Of course, this is. I even bought an EMF detector to test it out because EMFs are so dangerous that I even mention them in my book, Exploring Aromatherapy.

EMF is the flow of electrons, and low frequency EMFs are those that come from human-made electrical machines. These low frequencies cause an energy disruption in our energy fields because it is the natural order of energy. Aromatherapy, smoke cleansing, sound therapy, energy work and anything that helps to increase your higher vibrations will help with keeping us aligned. However they are not something that will keep the EMFs from doing what they do, and so it’s a constant battle of balance. Over the last 30 years the concern that daily exposure to extremely low-frequency magnetic fields, considered to be 1 to 300 Hz, might be harmful to human health. 

 So I tested it, and my vibration plate since it was nearby... and then in the second video my computer. This was put together for the guy that runs the sauna group, because he will only promote items that are low EMF. Listen, the guy sits naked on his deck daily for the Vitamin D... he's serious about his wellness.

Many celebrities including Selena Gomez swear by these blankets, as she recently told Elle.com, Selena said, “It's changed my skin, it's kind of changed my body as well, so it feels really good." Many sports professionals also travel with it, because it's compact and lightweight enough for taking on the road, but FYI, not probably something you want to check in baggage so better for road trips.

The group I am in highly touts infrared sauna for the deep detox as it is seven times more detoxifying than using a traditional heat for cleansing.

They say that it is anti-aging and can boost collagen and produces a healthy "glow". I get the healthy glow idea, but I find that if you overdo your sauna without replenishing moisture to your skin, the effect is drying. So I always use my mixture of facial oil and moisturizer before bed, especially after a sauna session. When I am looking to detox I follow the niacin protocol several hours before my sauna, and then when it heats my tissues several inches deep, the infrared vibrates those water molecules pulling toxins out that are stored deep within your fat cells. I've talked a lot about the "whoosh factor" and my Fat Activation program, because we have to lose the mindset of "losing fat" and instead engage in activating our fat to be it's healthiest. When we are enveloped in infrared heat, our body will go into full relaxation mode without resistance, which allows toxins to be more easily released. Of course I follow my sauna with a cold shower, and a good binder, or two, to make sure I am grabbing those items I've released to help them along their way.

I have helped a lot of clients transition to veganism using either a cleanse, or a transitional diet to get away from the junk food and the dairy. One of the best tools that you can use as you are cleaning out your system is microgreen salads or added as a topper to your meal.

One of the big benefits when it comes to growing your own greens is that you can pick and eat them right away. This preserves the most nutrients, no matter when you harvest your greens but is particularly beneficial when it comes to microgreens. You’ve probably heard about these power houses of the vegetable family and may even grab them on occasion at your local health food store or grocer.

When you get into growing your own greens in salad bowls, harvesting microgreens is another option. They make a great addition to all your salads. But what exactly are microgreens?

What Are Microgreens

Green leafy plants are considered microgreens in the stage between sprout and seedling. They are usually harvested after they’ve had their first few regular leaves. If you’ve watched a plant grow from seed you notice that a sprout appears first, then the plant develops its first two leaves. Those first leaves look different from the regular leaves of the plan. After that the next three to five leaves pop out that look like those of the grown plant. It is during this stage when the first few leaves appear that microgreens are harvested.

You can use a variety of different plants to grow micro greens including lettuce, kale, arugula, chard, watercress, beet and radish greens, parsley, chives, basil, and cilantro.

How You Can Benefit From Microgreens

Microgreens are nutritional powerhouses that are full of vitamins. The exact nutrition will depend on the types of greens you consume. To get the most out of your microgreens, mix and match the plants you use. Nutrients include beta-carotene, iron, calcium, and lutein.

Since microgreens are grown in soil (or in your urban garden using natural minerals) as opposed to sprouts which are usually grown in water, they are able to absorb a lot more minerals and nutrients from the soil they are grown in. A good, rich potting soil will result in the healthiest greens.

How To Grow Microgreens

Growing your very own microgreens is surprisingly simple. Since the plants are small, they don’t require a lot of light, making it the perfect superfood to grow on your kitchen counter. You’re also harvesting the plants when they are still small and don’t have long roots, so it doesn’t take a lot of soil to grow them either.

Get a shallow container and fill it with quality organic potting soil. Sprinkle in the seeds for your favorite greens and herbs and lightly cover them with soil. Carefully mist or lightly water them, so the seeds don’t get washed away.

Keep them well watered and in a fairly warm place, and after a few days you will start to see little sprouts appear. Keep growing them until they are large enough to harvest. Reseed and repeat.



Another way to Grow Microgreens

I love using my HOME to grow food all year long in my house, and not just my FLEX system that I have had for four years. HOME is this amazing all-in-one system that delivers a year-round supply of health, homegrown herbs and veggies with a fraction of the time and work of a regular garden. Similar to my FLEX (the original unit you may have seen me talk about, and post pictures of) HOME is a vertical, aeroponic growing system that relies solely on water and nutrients to grow its produce (so yes!! it is soil-free). This method of growing plants has been proven to help plants and flowers grow faster and more efficiently than traditional gardens. The unit comes with LED grow lights, built-in wheels, a water level monitor and everything you need to get started with your urban garden in any room of your home, school, or office, and it will be available for you on November 1st and you can have microgreens or baby greens by the holidays. Best part, you can spread the cost over 12 months and you'll still find that you have more money savings from growing your own greens, and no fear of a recall.

Here we go, it's a New Year. as we start the New Year. There are a lot of choices to make. Some of those choices are easier than others. For instance, it is so much easier to choose something that's enjoyable, then something that isn't. Things that you might find enjoyable might be creamier in your coffee or a biscuit in the morning. Things that you might not find enjoyable might be working out or eating more vegetables.

So how do we balance. There's new technology that I love that balances the effects of nature on the effects of the body. I've taken about the New postbiotics that support rebuilding the gut lining in one of my vlogcasts in the past. When you pair it with a herbal non-stimilant (supporting your adrenal system) thermogenesis, this helps the body use energy more efficiently. 

A good way to understand your macros is to focus on fiber and protein. We need about 25 +  grams of fiber a day. My favorite protein has a perfect amount of protein to go with my non-dairy milk. How much protein should you have? Base it on your calories. Thirty percent of your calorie should come from protein so a daily 1500 calories would require 450 calories or 112 grams of Protein. Split up into (if intermittent fasting) that shake with water would be dirty fasting in the morning and help get those proteins. Otherwise,  30 grams per meal (three meals) and one 25 grams snack. You can see why protein powder can help. 

BEAM and so many others have protein powders with added fiber, and you can go that route if you don't think you're getting enough. 

However,  some people aren't even there yet. They need to start with some basics of breaking down their food and detoxification.  One of my favorite supplements (that's affordable as well!!) has great ingredients that have been shown to help support the liver,  and support blood sugar,  and that's a big part of the battle.  

Another affordable digestion support is an enzyme blend that includes a proprietary blend that helps break down carbohydrates (sugar) to help convert it into a more useful fibrous property.  This is so helpful for those that don't have a great track record with weight loss despite the diet they choose. 

I generally take my digestive support a full hour before I eat, and the detoxification support an hour after. 

Once you feel that your body is processing, then you can add in the one-two punch of gut and metabolism healing. 

Until you heal your gut you can't really start to work on stress resilience.  But without the foundation of detox and digest, you'll never break down the nutrients to allow your body to connect the HPA axis. 

Take it in layers. 

Once your stress feels more balanced, you can work on those hormones. 

It's a year or more to heal a body that's been stuff for years. Don't get too down about that, and remember that to love yourself is the greatest gift of all. 

 

Our fat cells have estrogen receptors... no joke!! Estrogen, which we often see as being a negative, but it will atually protect against chronic adipose inflammation. Estrogen gets a bad rap. Chronic adipose tissue inflammation is considered an increased risk factor for insulin resistance. The problem with estrogen is when we get into an inflammatory obesity problem as the estrogen dominance then overtakes and we lose the regulation of this essential hormone. 

It's the goldilocks syndrome of not too much and not too little. Too little estrogen sends the stressed out body into high cortisol responses (aka Triggered & Wired!!) This leads to chronic stress levels. These phytoestrogens and biological estrogen can counteract the effects of cortisol on the body.

Resveratrol, curcumins, also bind to these ERα receptors, which can block these essential hormones when taken in high amounts. 

This may be why a little turmeric tea in the morning when you have a well populated gut microbiota will boost your serotonin and reduce cortisol. A little tofu at lunch, due to the higher levels of the amino acid, l-tyramine, gives you a boost of energy while continuing to lower inflammation. 

Have a little cacao after dinner, which is even better than a glass of wine 🍷with a high level of polyphenols which feed the beautiful microbiota fundamentals that we are working so hard to renew in our toxic world. Cacao also contains tryptophan, which is a precursor to serotonin, it relaxes you for a great nights sleep. Cacao is also a phytoestrogen. 

Three different ways to connect to the estrogen receptors throughout your body, and naturally hack your mood and support you on your holistic journey.

I have a couple options for gut support currently. 

The on-the-go pack to increase gut support and gut-brain connectiom, and address cravings is 30% off with code THANKS30 for Black Friday  You mix the three items into water once a day and drink.

If you just want to feed the microbiome with support for.42 strains of microbiota organisms (powder before breakfast or lunch, capsule before dinner) and the fiber during the to give those strains enough food this line up is amazing.

If you want something that tells you what to eat, what workout to do, with a couple gut supplements for digestion and a few strains for the gut then get the 4 Week Gut Protocol

Any of these would be a good place to start depending on how easy or indepth you want the process. The options above start with the easiest version which is just one glass of supplements daily. That is the option I use.

 

In this community each week we will dive into a month of detoxing your mindset, your environment and your body. In this program I will share my personal experiences, expertise, and some of my favorite products for home and lifestyle to do more than just survive through the Spring, but to spring ahead into a thriving new you!

Barbara runs a wholistically based practice that helps clients elevate their metabolism, mood, manifestations & Micronutrient Happiness with PLANT POWER. An Author, Nutritional Therapist, Integrative Shamanic Practitioners, Certified Aromatherapist, Fitness Instructor and Energy worker, I am here to help you find the truth of what works for you from the inside-out.
Just Reboot: $29.95 + shipping/tax (contains your gut cleanse to start the month out right)

You are what you eat

I shared this in my group, but it was so important I had to share it here as well...

According to an article that I read on the Harvard website, "multivitamin bashing seems to be in season. The March 2008 Harvard Men’s Health Watch gives the impression that few of the ingredients in a multivitamin are worth taking. The June 2008 Nutrition Action Health Letter suggests taking a multivitamin every other day instead of every day. The central concern of both articles is folic acid—specifically,getting too much folic acid." And when we read articles about supplementing what it always comes down to is that you can't replace real nutrition with synthetic nutrients.

Their better advice: "Take a standard multivitamin every day, but stay away from heavily fortified foods that deliver a full day’s dose—or sometimes more—of folic acid ... there is newer evidence that excess folic acid (the synthetic version of folate, a vitamin found abundantly in vegetables, fruits, and grains) may be contributing to an uptick in colorectal cancer. many of those multi vitamins or meal replacement shakes contain your recommended daily amount — 400 micrograms (mcg) — but look at your package foods and you'll see that folic acid is also added to breakfast cereals and enriched grain and cereal products, including breads, rice, and pasta. A person taking a multivitamin can easily exceed the recommended total intake, and maybe even the safe upper limit of 1,000 mcg. This issues of getting too much isn’t a problem with folate found naturally in foods. But most supplemental vitamins are fortified and not the whole foods that your body really needs."

You've heard me talk about Folic vs. Folate before when I have talked about MTHFR, but did you know that most vitamin B1 supplements are made from derivatives of coal tar? Or that ascorbic acid (vitamin C) is often made by reacting high-fructose corn syrup with sulfuric acid? Worse is that they are not feeding corn syrup to algae that they are using to fortify foods (organic milk, etc). It makes me mad that even many iron supplements (for those that have the iron-folic anemia you may want to hear this) ... are often made from the rust off of nails? How gross is that?

Where you get your nutrition matters. How you react to what you are eating matters. If your skin looks like it's being used to detoxify your system, you have a problem with your central detoxification chimney. Many of you know that I use with my family and with my clients a whole foods supplementation program, but not everyone can afford it. I get that. I also love and recommend creating a change with your body. I love whole foods and what they do for your body.

PB2 is all the rage, and really it's so bad for you. I really don't get all of the posts I see about people that appear to be healthy adding it to their shakes every day.

PB2 is Not Whole Real Food. Right? If you are going to have a nut butter, wouldn't you want the real deal? They extract through a pretty bad process {I've read all about it and it made me shudder} almost all of the essential monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats, and then it leaches the vitamin E content out which is fat soluble. Hmmm... see the problem with the nutritional content. And the fat you get in nuts is the good stuff that you want out of them. The company also add a mix of sugar and salt in to make it taste better {everything fatty tastes different without the fats}. With that added sugar, it's for sure NOT appropriate for a Paleo diet of any kind. And on top of that it's not organic. I don't really like peanuts because of the aflatoxins in them - so I really dislike this PB2 product for anyone that is looking for a cleaner way of eating.

What problems can arise from using products like this?

If you suffer from any sort of infertility, then you need your vitamins A, C and E. David Christopher recently talked about the number one reason we are seeing such a rice in  Poly Cystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS), and that is TOXINS!!

There was a huge story a few years ago that said:

"Alarming findings from a study on pregnant women and some potentially dangerous chemicals. A University of California, San Francisco study found that dozens of chemicals showed up in the blood and urine of expecting moms. Some of the chemicals like P-C-B's and ones used in flame retardants were banned before the women were even born. Out of the 163 chemicals studied, 43 of them were found in nearly all of the 268 pregnant women tested. The study is published in the journal of Environmental Health Perspectives. It's the first time researchers analyzed chemicals found in pregnant women."

Wow!! So no matter what your gender, what a great reason for a cleanse. No doubt. Wow. So stop adding the toxic load to your body with craptacular foods, and start using the real deal. Real organic foods = healthy happy life. :) End rant.

Rant/ Trigger Warning... #gaslighting and marketing often go hand in hand.

Eat this... it's a superfood... do this workout, it's the one that everyone can do. Oh, it makes you feel bad? You're just using muscles you haven't used before... You're just feeding your gut what it needs and adjusting... Occasionally that is true... but often times you are HURTING YOURSELF. Just don't do what doesn't feel aligned to you, your body, your mind. It seems simple but gaslighting comes in trying to make you feel good about yourself, and then it turns into a massive

No if f%$king isn't a superfood!!! It is nuts and seeds and a few randomly selected herbs or synthetic vitamins to make it look like a secret pill. You start watching what everyone else is doing, and then you want to do it too... right?

No if f%$king isn't the workout for everyone!!! It is not healthy to make someone with neck injuries do a movement like that! It's not healthy to make someone with chronic metabolic issues workout their adrenaline receptors to the point of dysfunction.

I am sorry but I am so sick of these companies that are marketing everything but actual food and personal love/mindset. Diet culture is a real thing, and it is why I started The Paleo Vegetarian - Paleo Vegeo because what you choose to eat is very individualized in so many ways. I was told you CANNOT be paleo and vegan. Then I was told that paleo ancestors didn't eat any grasses, they didn't eat any oats, or beans, or blah blah blah. Uh guess what... science. They were vegetarians. (https://www.newscientist.com/article/2115127-ancient-leftovers-show-the-real-paleo-diet-was-a-veggie-feast/#:~:text=%E2%80%9CHominins%20were%20probably%20predominantly%20vegetarians,as%20strict%20vegetarians%2C%20says%20Henry.) Doesn't that mean that you thousands of years later should also be?? Not if it doesn't align with your body type and needs. You are the best judge of what works for you. I knew what worked for me.

So what about supplementation? Yes some people need enzymes, yes some people don't eat enough fiber or fruit or vegetables, and yes some of the minerals are not even in our dirt anymore, so definitely not in your food. I supplement, but what I take daily isn't always what you need - and even in my house some of what my husband and my daughter take, I don't. Visa versa, too.

So what about physical movement? Yes, bodies are built to move. But not every body is going to be a ninja warrior, nor should be. Do you have hyper-mobility? Do you have injuries? Do you have to modify? What movement is right for you is going to be different based on a myriad of things.

But with nutritional and fitness gaslighting companies really pushing the limits of visual cues... when they are telling you that you aren't enough without a "flat stomach" ... they pick it all apart. Just address hormones, address bloating, eat less, move more... find that target in that which makes you ashamed of your body and we will fix it. Have you ever seen what happens to someone in an abusive relationship. They find a way to hide themselves. I do not want that to happen to my kid, your kid, you, your neighbor, etc.

Gaslighting will make you start questioning what you know about how certain foods make you feel... "well... it must be the beans making me so sick"... You edit your diet and exercise program to fit in to what everyone else is doing because it must work for them. Skinny does not equate to healthy. Weight does not equate to happiness. Please quit letting these companies and sales artists manipulate you into not knowing how to feel good because the yo-yo or merry go round will be damaging to your body, your mind and your soul.

Guess why those stretchy pants stretch? Because every BODY is different. Love yours!!

Nutritional and fitness gaslighting causes posttraumatic stress and codependency, among other things. Start practicing the spiritual art of "NO". 😁

You do not have to buy products from me or anyone else. When someone comes to you to sell you a product or service with an attached abusive behavior, avoid arguing about what is true with the abusive person. They will just try to showcase how incorrect you are about knowing what is right for you. Often they will out and out lie to manipulate you - and you will feel the negative emotions associated with this, and even some of the negative energy in your body. Get back in touch with your true thoughts, feelings, and instincts again, and tell these nutritional and fitness gaslighters to back off.

"Virgie Tovar, author, activist, and one of the leading experts on weight-based discrimination "the diet industry is gaslighting us by making us believe it's about health and wellness when it's still really about thinness, still really about vanity."

Really great article and podcast.
https://www.wellandgood.com/wellness-diet-culture-podcast/

Stop and inhale your essential oils. Those aroma molecules travel through the nose and affect your brain through a variety of receptor sites, inclusion the limbic system, which is commonly referred to as the "emotional brain." One of the important parts to me is the olfactory bulb then transmits the impulses created through that inhalation to the amygdala - where emotional memories are stored. We've all experienced trauma in our lives. Some when we were three years old, some when we were twenty. Yet our cells keep a cellular memory of every trauma, and our body uses that cellular memory to manipulate our epigenetic nature. Our wonderful and always changing bodies will activate certain genes that can and will activate FAT programming if our cells feel like fat is the way to protect you from the trauma. How many of you have been through therapy and been asked if you were self sabotaging to protect yourself? On a cellular level your body may be doing that for you. If you haven't read Bruce Lipton’s 'The Biology of Beliefs' it's a must have on your book shelf. The truth is that all of these emotions are stored in our fat cells, not just the traumatic ones. As long as these particles containing these are stored there we will continue to be influenced by them at that unconscious level. This cellular level trauma is just waiting for you to process and transform it. Now could be the time. 



The limbic system is directly connected to those parts of the brain that control heart rate, blood pressure, breathing, memory, stress levels, and hormone balance and those deeply stored memories. It impact areas like the adrenals and we don't even realize it. Our underlying unpleasant experiences that have been recorded in our amygdala are triggered and sent to rest of the body which is how an aroma can trigger emotions. But in the same manner we can use essential oils to help release emotional blockades. The combination of oxygenation from your inhalation of essential oils on the brain and the stimulation from those aromatic molecules appears to assist the amygdala in facilitating the release. If we think about this using some simplicity, the limbic system controls our thoughts and emotions. We're being controlled by our thoughts and emotions. So that means we can change it all by changing our emotions, and emotional response.

It starts with your prefrontal cortex. The leader in the front of your brain makes the hard thinking, learning and problem solving decisions. Keep in mind that the olfactory nerve is connected to the medial prefrontal cortex. Prefrontal cortex is also deeply connected to trust. Amygdala is that security warning, and as I said where we've recorded these traumas and associated them with aroma. So when amygdala goes off it's trying to protect us, even if it's harming us. Much of this is because of how olfactory and visual cues work together.  A recent study study showed subtle metabolic changes resulting from exposure to essential oils and provide the basis for pinpointing affected pathways in anxiety-related behavior. Amygdala .... fight or flight... anxiety. All closely related. So if an essential oil can create this calming effect, then the amygdala will tell the leader in our brain to make good decisions. It's hard work to use oils when you notice that reaction, and so you can also use some meditation behaviors to help assist your amygdala along in the journey. And since the smell receptors are directly connected to the hippocampus (memory and navigation) then this is where we're going to rewrite our beliefs. Your brain edits memories all of the time, updating the past with new information. It's what makes all of this important. You can rewrite those memories, and allow the body at a cellular level to release those emotions you've stored away in those fat cells. 

Today I welcome the aromas of joy and balance and create new, healthy memories and a free, healthy body. What about you? I also realized that micronutrients are actual energy and facilitate body processes for these greater vibrations. Another great new book, Vibe, by Robyn Openshaw, will really open your eyes to the greatest way to elevate your consciousness... plants. You know I use encapsulated plants every day as the most intelligent way I can do this. As well I work very hard to balance my chakras, working on the main chakras every day. 

Everyone is looking for that secret sauce to stop the sugar cravings, reduce their thigh gap, and increase their fats by going into ketosis. And so with the rapidly growing keto movement, we are seeing a lot of different products cropping up including BHB to help people get into that immediate ketosis. and help them walk away from the donuts. I always tell people that if you are hungry for snacks it may be that you aren't getting enough fat into your diet. It may not be that you need to be in ketosis, but you do need to make sure you are not relying on just high carbs to fuel your life.



BHB salts, or (Beta-hydroxybutyrate) is a product that has hit the market in the last few years that mimic the nutritional state of ketosis. And keto is everywhere right now. There are so many different versions of it, and BHB is the newest sweetheart of the keto movement. People bragging that they lost 100 pounds in 10 weeks using various BHB products. Of course it has to be tied together with nutrition, and not everyone can lean into ketosis in the same manner because we all metabolize fats differently. In fact those with EPI (Exocrine Pancreatic Insufficiency) and similar illnesses do not have the required enzymes to digest fats and so we see a lot of people that overdo the fats in their keto diet and end up getting wider not thinner. I found this out when I first experimented with higher fats. Higher saturated fats did not work for me, and even monounsaturated fats caused me to have a backed up liver and gallbladder issues.

Also too few carbs for too long can disrupt our HPA Axis. Any increase in cortisol depending on what state your body is in currently can impact our fat stores. In a Boston Children's Hospital study they found that  "The very low-carbohydrate diet produced the greatest improvements in metabolism, but with an important caveat: This diet increased participants' cortisol levels, which can lead to insulin resistance and cardiovascular disease. The very low carbohydrate diet also raised C-reactive protein levels, which may also increase risk of cardiovascular disease." 

So what if we are increasing our cortisol levels day after day? Since it is produced by the cortex which increases blood sugar when it is low or if the body is under stress this can cause glucose production in the liver or it will strip muscle tissue of protein to make glucose. Excess cortisol over long periods of time can increase the risk of diabetes due to prolonged blood sugar elevations.

As well we have to consider our microbiome land. Again if you stick with low carb too long, which is why I know that Bulletproof recommends refeeding days, you will induce a mucus deficiency in your gut, as well as other areas of the body. 

BHB is naturally created in the body when you do intermittent fasting and in foods like eggs and dairy. A lot of athlete using ketosis as part of their program use these sort of products in small amounts for endurance, and we've seen them used in medical clinical studies with hit and miss results. 

So what is it about these wonderful products that is just causing inflammation on my skin? Could it be the latex connection? Both shea butter and cocoa butter contain a latex protein that people with  Latex hypersensitivities might react to. You may also react to avocado oil, mango butter and castor oil. When you have a latex hypersensitivity it can be as serious as a peanut allergy, although it isn't taken nearly as serious by others because they just can't seem to wrap their head around what you are going through. Aloe is a latex plant and the allergy is called an aloin allergy. Many aloe gels have not done enough to keep the latex portion of the plant out of their gels, and as such many people react to aloe vera in their skin care products.

Shea nuts are also related to Brazil nuts, which in some cases can be a cross reactive allergen with other common tree or plant nuts. The fact that it comes from a fruit makes people often feel good about it how it isn't a nut. Although a US research team found some protein content remained in shea nut butter, FARRP’s research indicates that refined shea nut butter does not contain any detectable protein residues and they are saying that the risk is zero. They say, however, that it is unknown if breastfeeding your child after using a nipple cream that contains shea butter could predispose to sensitization toward other tree nuts or peanuts. So even though the industry still says that they haven't been able to find any proteins in shea butter, you can find post after post after post on the internet of personal experiences that would say otherwise.

When you have a topical reaction to anything, including an essential oil, it is important to note that there is a correlation between people with seasonal allergies and those prone to skin allergies that may be due to immune-reacting cells migrating from one part of the body to another. This is no different than someone that reacts to the nickel in their cell phone. There was a case where a child reacted to the nut-derived oil in her dad's shaving cream hours and hours later when he returned from work. We cannot say that there is no risk because the proteins have been removed in the oils, because experience tells us otherwise.

The first big topical reaction I had was when my daughter was about six years old. I had used a skin care product with macadamia nut oil in it, and ended up in the ER. All of this has to do with our mast cells and they way they are reacting, which seems to go against what we would believe would happen. This mast cell dysfunction can even cause exercise-induced anaphylaxis, and they really don't know why. However what we do know is that viral, fungal and bacterial infections can all cause mast cell activation. Perhaps it starts with the bacteria influence as infants.

Most infants and young children infected with EBV have absolutely no symptoms or only very mild ones. If your child had EBV, you probably didn't even know. Almost everyone you meet has Epstein-Barr virus in their system, and it has recently been connected to several autoimmune disorders. Mast cells can detect those viruses, but also fungus and mold. Mold-related chronic inflammatory response syndrome (CIRS) is a mast cell disorder. Mast cells have a leading role in so many diseases including postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS), rheumatoid arthritis and multiple sclerosis. Mast cells are coated with IgE, which is produced by plasma cells and the half-life of IgE may be weeks to months, where the plasma is usually just days unless it is bound to the mast cell receptor. Ig3 is the antibodies produced by the immune system, like when your system overreacts to an allergen.

In Japan in the 2011 - 2012 influenza season there was a high rate of influenza vaccine-associated anaphylaxis in people with no egg allergy. They determined that it wasn't the mercury that was causing this issue, as you may have thought. It was related to the way the body was reacting to the 2-phenoxyethanol (2-PE). This substance is one of the ingredients that has been replacing parabens and formaldehyde-releasing ingredients in skin care products now for years, although Korean companies have been selling 2-PE-free products for some time. This replacement preservative is used in the inactivated polio vaccine. The conclusion of the Japanese study was that "The 2011-2012 IVA spike in Japan was caused by specific IgE antibodies to influenza vaccine components. Excipients could not be implicated, except for a modest effect of 2-PE."

In fact, 2-PE can cause contact dermatitis in some individuals with allergic susceptibility. Your allergist may be able to patch test you for this chemical, and I may have myself and my daughter tested this fall, even though our allergist uses preservative-free flu vaccines. The reason I wanted to discuss this is that if contact dermatitis is a chronic T cell–driven inflammatory skin disease, and that there are increased mast cells in a majority of these dermatitis patients, could so much of this be started as early as those first months of life? Some skin care product producers think so. If the FDA treats cosmetics and foods differently when it comes to allergen labeling requirements, the best thing you can do is to start to educate yourself about what is actually in your products, and what they may do as far as your immune system is considered.

If you put "Phenoxyethanol-free" into your Amazon search, almost all of the products that come up are shea, avocado, aloe and sunflower based products. I found one wash that was coconut based, I also found one newborn Soothing Gel because the CeraVe that my allergist recommended has gum in the ingredients. I have also found an organic, coral reef safe sunscreen butter to try. I may see if I can use that and some minerals and make my own BB cream out of it. I'll keep you updated.

Researchers are finally uncovering more of what mast cells have to do with asthma. Maybe now it is time for us to dig even deeper into this connection.

It was many years ago, I was looking at the new year and wanted to do something to change my life, not quite yet Paleo Vegeo yet. I had already gone almost completely organic, and was getting all of my pastured meats locally, and just wanted to try something more. I happened to watch FOOD Inc, at the same time as picking up Veganist by Kathy Freston and realized what I was looking for. On January 2nd a decade ago I started the 21 Day Vegan Kickstarter program and it was a huge change that impacted my life. Think about what just going meat free once a week could do for your body? The impact on our microbiota is huge. 

So for the first few years I was just vegan, not paleo yet. I think I ate mostly quinoa, if that doesn't sound familiar to other new vegans out there I will be shocked. And I ate a lot of wheat based meat-free products. I thought I was doing the best for myself, but I still didn't really feel great, which is probably why when we moved to Washington I found my body and my adrenals went bonkers. That's when I added back in eggs and wild caught salmon immediately. I can only imagine it was the omegas I was desperate for. It took me a lot of years to realize that healthy fats were really lacking in my diet. I have an allergy to latex so I can't eat avocado as well as kiwi, banana and some other tropical fruits. I am allergic to nuts and some seeds so there is also a huge disconnect for me in that area. So my brain and my body craved fats. I added that and an undenatured whey protein in, but eventually that leads to cheese. Cheese is the nemesis of most of you trying to get away from dairy. And we have to break up. Cheese is not our friend and nut cheese is not mine. I do a lot of algae oil now, and it's been very heart healthy for me to get those extra monounsaturated fats that make the Mediterranean diet so healthy. 

If you take the time to read up on the entire Organic industry you find that they are worried, and with good reason, about what could happen to their industry if they aren't protected from the genetically modified products, but one in particular alfalfa. Monsanto's genetically engineered (GE) Roundup-Ready alfalfa has already cost farmers millions of dollars, and now, a new study by the USDA, the same agency that re-approved it, has found that GE alfalfa has really gone wild, literally. So if alfalfa is in your greens and you think you're doing well by it, you could be wrong. I am careful about any product that I get because of these cross contaminants and I know that if a company is doing a good job at testing their farmers, then you are likely to get some bad mojo. Read the article and think about what your choices are doing to the rest of the world, and how little nutrition we will have left if we don't start supporting GMO-free companies now. I love that there are no genetically modified products being use in the creation of the vegan products I use now, they go out to the farms and test the soil on the bottom of their shoes as well (ssshhhh ... don't tell the farmers) and I am fully engaged in where this next chapter of my health and well being is going to go, because I'm in... all in!

I have been able to give up the quinoa. When I first read up on becoming paleo the wheat was easy to give up but the quinoa was insanely hard to let go of. But I did it. You can too! Now when I have tried to reintroduce quinoa it just makes me bloat immediately. So obviously not for me. I eat lots of vegetables now, some fruit, I sometimes have potatoes or white rice (I don't eat brown rice because the hulls tear up my gut) just to give my gut a little extra resistant starch. I will very rarely when traveling and busy have a pastured egg, but I am over fish. Just have your husband cook up some salmon on the grill a few times and it will GROSS you out from every wanting it again. I keep wanting to share my algae oil with Bob Harper because he has the same genetic sticky blood platelets that I do.




I have found the Follow Your Heart VeganEgg product that has been a lifesaver on occasion. We sometimes do Daiya cheese although it's definitely a processed food. The only time beyond that when I will lean into grains is when we hit Southern California and I get to go to Blaze Pizza. They have a GF pizza that they do with Daiya cheese and it makes me happy. We all have to have a cheat sometime, right?

So what about the protein? We really don't need that much in our diets. Really!! Do your research. I get protein in lots of veggies including my favs which are cauliflower, artichokes, leafy greens. I also love my vegan protein gf meal replacement shake. It isn't grain-free but what I have learned about oats is something we should all research. There is no such thing as gluten-free oats, because they are gluten-free. However there is such a thing as certified oats that have been tested to make sure they do not have any gluten cross contamination.

I offer a lot of amazing tools for free to my Healthy Living Revolution group members when they start our 10 Day Shred Life Challenge group, or you can start on your own with my FREE 5 Day Challenge, which just gives you a basic five day meal plan, recipes and a place to start. 




The movement towards more healthy, sustainable, compassionate food is happening now! But, there’s lots of conflicting information out there about what’s good for us and the planet. That is why I wrote my first nutritional book, "Nourished In 30", and why I am writing the new book, "Ketolicious Reset". You need to learn the truth about how our food is grown and where it comes from, what’s in it, what it does to and for you, and what you can do to make informed and better choices to get your wellness on the right track. You work hard for your money and health so you deserve want to know that you’re supporting systems that are aligned with your values. I know I do.

You can't out exercise a bad diet. And you can't outrun your hormones or check ✔ out when life sends you stress. All of these cause a chronic inflammatory cycle. When we are out of alignment within, we our out of alignment at the atomic level. If you are ready to shift, it starts with the basics. Then you leap into a new you. First you get the foundation, then you get the shift. 

The movement to accumulate less...eat food with less ingredients...take in less toxins.... balance your happiness with less stress....and of course less sugar, less gluten and less dairy are truly growing so rapidly for big reasons and I have to tell you that if you're looking to make some changes it's easier than you think.

Less ingredients is as simple as adding more whole foods into your diet.

Now is the time for you to join us to change your food choices, your movement and your mindfulness. It can be so complicated because wouldn't you agree that our world is more toxic than it was ten years ago (both in environment, nutrition and emotionally/socially)? And wouldn't you agree that our foods are more toxic than they were... heavy on the herbicides? the sugar content? And the foods we just can't digest well.