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Nutritional strategies to stay healthy this winter amidst RSV, COVID, and cold and flu season.

 

This winter is one for the books. The exposure to RSV, Influenza A and COVID also known as the “triple-demic of 2022” is unparalleled and taking many peoples immune systems to the cleaners. 

Given the serious nature of the sicknesses of the season, I am sharing some strategies to boost your immune system.

It is important to understand that the different flus and upper respiratory illnesses set into the body in different ways. 

While RSV and COVID, symptoms tend to be more gradual and last longer, the flu tends to hit harder quickly yet resolves faster as well.

As a Functional Diagnostic nutrition practitioner and  a student of chinese medicine, I would recommend two steps. First and foremost I would recommend using functional nutrition to support your system to prevent sickness from developing in the first place. This involves putting in place nutritive support to keep your system strong and resilient.

Second, if you have been exposed and are experiencing symptoms, I would recommend altering your supportive treatments specific for your needs. TCM can be an incredible tool to help you with this.

When applying Chinese medicine principles to healing, keep in mind, chinese medicine always advocates for striving for balance in the system. 

This means you may want to attend to a cold or infection in a more specific way based on your constitution. 

 

 

 

  • Treating wind cold symptoms with TCM

  • Medicinal TCM "wind cold" symptoms are more common in someone that runs cold by nature. Symptoms may be exhibited as feeling cold, slight stiffness in neck, and or sneezing. With these symptoms TCM would advocate putting in place warming support such as garlic, ginger and green onion to warm the body and help prevent sickness. A versatile TCM formula used to offset cold and flus is called Gui Shi Tang and uses warming herbs to support wind cold conditions.

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Castor Oil Packs for Spring Cleaning the Liver

 

 

Ahhh spring! The blossoms on the trees remind me of a new cycle of growth that comes with sunshine and rain. That new cycle is also happening in our bodies and spring is an amazing time to support the bodies capacity to detoxify so we can stay healthy. 

Chinese medicine has always proclaimed spring to be an important time for liver and gall bladder support as we are coming out of winter and spring is a natural time for cleaning, hence “spring cleaning”. 

One of the reasons for supporting the liver at this time is that the liver and gall bladder are part of our internal infrastructure that is designed to keep us healthy and help us detoxify our bodies.

The livers role specifically is to process waste of all sorts while also cleaning our blood and managing the storage of sugar and filtering our hormones. With all of its jobs, it can easily get overwhelmed. 

 

Eating processed food, processing chemicals and toxins and incurring stress etc will affect the liver and may result in toxin overload which often shows signs in ways such as:

*constipation

*headaches

*fatigue

*hormone disregulation

*acne

 

One of my favorite tools for self care is called a Castor oil pack. It’s an inexpensive form of support that I recommend to clients when they are going through any hormone detoxification or gut repair program. 

 

A castor oil pack can be done easily and is very inexpensive.

 

 

 

 

Benefits of using Castor Oil Packs:

 

*Improves digestion, assimilation and elimination

*Helps reduce inflammation and pain

*Supports the liver, lymphatic and immune system

*Improves hormonal balance ( PMS)

 

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Exploring Nootropics -Taking Brain Health to the Next Level

 

The day to day grind of modern life is busier than ever and we navigate a world full of distractions that pull our focus in many different directions. The use of Nootropics or “smart drugs”  has exploded in response to this reality. Nootropics are compounds that support the brain and nervous system which results in improvements in cognitive function, focus, mood and motivation. Some nootropics are already firmly embedded in our daily routines ie…caffeine, while others require a lot of research and secret handshakes to obtain. 

What are Nootropics?

Nootropics are classically defined as substances that enhance cognition, memory, learning, concentration, energy and motivation. These compounds are also known as smart drugs and have been used to enhance performance since the dawn of time. There is a wide range of nootropics in circulation today including many herbs, vitamins and prescriptive drugs.

Nootropics have been made mainstream by biohackers such as Dave Asprey who famously hacked his own biology using nootropics as a cognitive catalyst. The awareness that he and many other brilliant biohackers and health care professionals have brought to the field of cognitive research opened the door for many to nootropics. (I honestly don’t think silicon valley would still be standing if it weren’t for many of these compounds)

 

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How to Overcome “Lockdown Fatigue”and Biohack your Emotions, Energy and Sleep for Radiant Health.

 

If it feels like you are still slogging though times of uncertainty, apprehension and exhaustion, you are most certainly not alone. After 10 months of living through social distancing protocols, working from home, and cold winter months inside, most people are quite simply “over it”. I know I am. 

“Lockdown fatigue” is a common term used to describe the sluggish, lack of energy, and low moods that have a grip on many of us during these tedious and uncertain times.

While short periods of lethargy and inactivity are not harmful, long periods will age the body in unfavorable ways.  This may show up in the form of symptoms such as unwanted weight gain, brain fog and depression to name a few. 

 

With spring just a few steps ahead, this is the perfect time to reboot your health to support better moods, energy and sleep. Do this easily by making small changes to your day to day life.

 

1. Hack your Sleep 

Its no secret that sleep or lack there of will make or break your day. Poor sleep habits leave you with lower energy levels and fewer positive emotions. Poor sleep patterns are often due to stress levels both internal and external. Considering the confines of COVID, the amount of time spent under blue lights on your computer or screen is  an internal stressor that will affect how much of the sleep “hormone” melatonin you produce. Below are some bio hacks that can be used to strengthen your sleep cycle.

 

Break from your screen for at least an hour before bed.

Short wave blue light is emitted from electronics. Blue light  adversely affects mitochondria and disrupts melatonin production. If you can't take an hour break before bed, wear blue blocking glasses and use light filtering devices such as flux on your computer to block the light. (I wear caddy's and use flux on my computer but there are many different tools, just make sure they are proven to block the blue light frequency affectively).

 

Use blackout curtains. 

This simple adjustment in the bedroom will help you attain deeper sleep cycles. Studies have shown that people that are exposed to more light when they sleep deal with more depression than people who sleep in pure darkness.

 

https://academic.oup.com/aje/article/187/3/427/4056592?login=true

 

Turn off WIFI at night.

WIFI emits a non ionizing form of radiation when in use. This radiation is also known as a Electromagnetic field or EMF. EMF's exposure creates free radicals in the body that can be reduced if you switch off WIFI while you sleep and the less inflammation in your body, the better you will sleep. 

 

Melatonin 

Melatonin taken half an hour before bed to support deeper and more restful sleep. Our bodies produce the sleep hormone naturally but melatonin can also be used as a supplement to support your sleep cycle. 

 

Magnesium L -threonate 

This unique form of magnesium penetrates the blood brain barrier and is especially helpful for calming the nervous system which helps with anxiety, depression and sleep.

 

CBD 

A safe and non psychoactive cannabinoid used to both calm the nervous system and help to facilitate sleep. Its important to do your research before you buy CBD so you know what you are getting. Some brands will offer a CBD isolate while others use broad- spectrum CBD containing other cannabinoids and terpenes. 

 

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6326553/

 

For more information on CBD: 

https://www.radiantrealitynutrition.com/2019/04/18/5-health-benefits-of-cbd-and-why-our-bodies-are-designed-to-thrive-with-it/

Sleep Tracker

If you benefit from looking at your personal data and your sleep is not where you want it to be, you would likely benefit from using a sleep tracking device  such as a fitbit or an aura ring. Sleep tracking devices will monitor your oxygen levels, heart rate, body temperature to name a few and is able to collect data like your sleeping duration, interruptions, snoring and how much light deep and REM sleep you are getting. 

 

For more information on the benefits of sleep : https://www.radiantrealitynutrition.com/2016/09/25/your-sleep-can-make-or-break-your-health-9-ways-to-elevate-your-sleep/

 

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9 Lifestyle Hacks to Reduce Inflammation, Boost Energy and Enhance your Resilience in 2021

Welcome 2021

I think most will agree 2020 was pretty much a sh** show and the fallout from this past year will take some time to clean up. So in the light of the new year, I  am setting some intention to both refine and bring in new patterns and habits that will support longevity and health. I will admit, for some, goal setting can be a wash, especially at the start of the year. But given all we have moved through in the past year, I am inviting all who read this to create some concrete goals or intentions to commit to. 

 

As we begin this new year, I wanted to write a blog about biohacking inflammation to create more energy to live a resilient existence. Resiliency is key to recovering from challenges. Resiliency makes us stronger and allows us to overcome difficulties. However, in order to build resiliency you must cultivate energy. 

This blog covers some of my favorite anti-inflammatory strategies to help you regain your energy so you can rebuild and bounce back.

It feels appropriate given our current situation. Living through a pandemic is going to create stress which creates inflammation. It is the nature of the beast. On top of this, most people are already inflamed. After all, we are the result of the lifestyles that we live. 

Our levels of inflammation depend on how sedentary we are, the foods we eat, our stress levels, injuries we carry and illness we harbor. Ultimately, Inflammation signals are important red flags that the body produce when it is under any form of stress.  Inflammation usually sets in at the lowest point of resistance in the body in the weakest tissue so it's important to take note of the areas in your body that need more support in times of stress. 

 

Inflammation can be an ally if you learn to listen to it. 

This took me years to learn! When I was younger, it was much easier to overwork, operate on little sleep and eat poorly, but now in my 40’s these actions are super depleting and my body lets me know very quickly when I am off track. 

I see this reflected in my practice as well. People come to my practice who have been inflamed and in pain for years. It is truly the American way to reach first for bandaids instead of looking for the root of the issue. The use of NSAIDS, prescription pain meds and steroids used to numb our way back to normal, simply does not work long term. Pain is a signal and the signals get louder the longer you ignore them!

 

What is inflammation?

 

The inflammatory response is an important part of the immune response and serves as a tool for healing tissue. Inflammation is the net result of a cascade of immune cells that are triggered whenever body tissues are damaged and acts as a defense against pathogens. 

 

Most of the body defense elements involve an interaction of immune cells including lymphocytes, macrophages and neutrophils. When a part of the body is damaged, inflammation is a means that the body uses to trigger defense cells and chemicals to enter the tissue around the injured or infected site. The inflammatory response is usually triggered by physical trauma, heat, chemical exposure and infections by viruses and bacteria. 

 

 

 

 

Common Chronic Inflammation Complaints Include:

Joint pain and loss of mobility

Chronic fatigue 

Insomnia

Depression, anxiety and mood disorders

Memory and cognitive issues

Weight gain

Digestive issues

Hormonal imbalances

Cardiovascular issues

Blood sugar imbalances

Skin issues such as psoriasis and acne

Frequent infections

 

Two types of inflammation: Acute and Chronic

The acute stage

This stage triggers chemicals known as cytokines to act as “emergency signals” to bring in the body’s immune cells, hormones and nutrients to come it the bodies aid. In the process a hormone substance called prostaglandins create blood clots to heal damaged tissue and trigger pain and fever to aid the healing process. As the body comes back to homeostasis, the inflammation gradually subsides. 

The chronic stage 

This stage of inflammation is another beast entirely. This is a low grade inflammatory process that produces a low level of inflammation throughout the body for a long period of time. When inflammation is longstanding and uncorrected, it begins to contribute to the development of different diseases.

 

Factors that contribute to inflammation

Inflammatory diets

Blood sugar imbalances

Leaky gut syndrome

Sleep loss

Chronic stress

Environmental toxins

Chronic infections

 

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