Natural Outdoor Bug Relief
As the weather is changing and you are spending more time outdoors, you’ll be noticing those pesky critters biting your exposed skin. Especially after a nice rain, mosquitos are everywhere and it’s hard to find a good repellent that keeps them away!
If you are tired of putting chemicals all over day after day, you are in luck! There are some natural remedies out there that actually work!
If you are an essential oil pro, or novice, there are some great ways to use them to avoid bug bites. The first way to keep the mosquitos at bay is to create your own bug spray. Grab or buy any glass spray bottle, add witch hazel, water, and a tbsp of vodka as your base. Then you can add a combination of oils that not only smells great but that bugs hate! A good combination is Rosemary, Peppermint, Citronella, Lemongrass, and Cedarwood.
If you currently use or have thought of using an essential oil diffuser at home, they are fantastic to take outside! You can diffuse the same oils...
Paleo Meatloaf Recipe
For those of you that live near our brick and mortar office, you’re spoiled and you have access to incredible pre-made paleo meals by Real Clean Paleo. This recipe is for the rest of you. Or for those of you that LOVE what RCP does and want a chance to expand the offerings for dinner at home.
What is Paleo? Essentially the “Paleo Diet” is one of the easiest to follow. If you picture what a hunter/gatherer population would eat - those are the foods allowed on a Paleo Diet.
Paleo is what existed before the agricultural way of eating came about. Prior to mass farming and the development of more processed foods, we ate very simply. Think fruits, vegetables, and meats/fish.
I made this recipe this week and everyone LOVED it! #MrParker was a huge fan and felt it paired well with corn on the cob and peas. (his personal favorite). I hope that my take on Paleo Italian Meatloaf is a win at hour house as well.
INGREDIENTS:
- 2 lbs 85% lean...
How to Prevent the Spread of a Virus
Data based on the National Health Interview Survey of the National Center for Health Statistics show that the common cold annually causes 35.6 acute illnesses per 100 people. Many viral infections we fight off everyday without evening knowing it! Very few viral infections cause a significant number of deaths, most commonly in people who have underlying health conditions or are immune-compromised.
There are a few steps you can take to ward off viruses starting today!
- Manage your stress – Get 20-30 minutes of daily exercise. Keep a gratitude journal. Practice abdominal breathing.
- Increase Your Vitamins – D3/K2, Zinc, Vitamin C, Probiotics and Elderberry should be taken prophylactically to help boost your immune system.
- Improve Diet & Reduce Sugar – Eating clean by decreasing sugar, alcohol, gluten and dairy may be one of the easiest things to increase immunity.
- Get a Chiropractic Adjustment – Your nervous system modulates...
Brush Your Skin
Now that summer is wrapping up, lets talk exfoliation. Skin is the largest organ of the human body and plays an important role in elimination. Fall is a great time to set the refresh button and remove that dead skin, unblock pores due to sweating and sunscreen, and get in a little bit of self care.
The best way to start is with a good dry brushing session. The mechanical action of dry brushing is wonderful for exfoliating dry winter skin. It also helps detoxify by increasing blood circulation and promoting lymph flow/drainage. Dry brushing unclogs pores in the exfoliation process. It also stimulates your nervous system, which can make you feel invigorated afterward.
The best way to dry brush is to always move upwards and in towards your heart. This shouldn’t take long, a few minutes max. That’s when we get to move on to the fun part. I love mixing up my own sugar/salt scrubs with some essential oils...
Muscle of the Month: Pec Major & Minor
When people want to start exercising more, one of the first muscles they want to work on is their chest. Most people have heard of large muscle pectoralis major but seem to forget about pectoralis minor. Both need to work together in order to function at their highest capacity.
The pectoralis major muscle is a large muscle in the upper chest, fanning across the chest from the shoulder to the breastbone. The two pectoralis major muscles, commonly referred to as the “pecs,” are the muscles that create the bulk of the chest. The pectorals are predominantly used to control the movement of the arm and also play a part in deep inhalation, pulling the ribcage to create room for the lungs to expand. Six separate sets of muscle fibers are identified within the pectoralis major muscle. This enables each portion of the pectoralis major muscle to be moved separately by the nervous system.
The pectoralis minor is a thin, flat muscle found...
Did You Know...
By: Leah Quinn
Massage therapy is one of the oldest health care practices known. References to massage are found in Chinese medical texts dating back more than 4,000 years. Massage therapy has a number of documented clinical benefits such as reducing symptoms associated with
- allergies
- anxiety, depression and stress
- arthritis
- asthma and bronchitis
- carpal tunnel syndrome and other repetitive motion injuries
- chronic and temporary pain
- circulatory problems
- digestive disorders
- tension headaches
- insomnia
- temporomandibular joint dysfunction (TMJ)
No pain, No gain….a vicious rumor!
While problem areas can be tender during a massage the discomfort should not be unbearable. Using too much pressure may cause the body to tense up, while using too little may not have enough effect. Varying levels of pressure allow the massage therapist to receive useful information via his or her hands, such as locating areas of muscle tension and other soft tissue problems. In practice, many...
Vitamin D: Hormone Extraordinaire
Pop music is aspirin and the blues are vitamins. -Peter Tork
Vitamin D deficiency, hypovitaminosis D, is a very common disorder. Especially here in the Chicagoland area with our long winters spent indoors. We are meant to absorb Vitamin D from the sun but complications arise - either we don’t get to see the sun, we cover up when we’re in the sun or we use sunscreen to block the vitamin D from getting to our skin. 10-15 minutes/day in “bathing suit” attire will provide approximately 10,000IU of Vitamin D. If that’s not part of your regular routine read on to find out how and why to supplement!
Although usually found through a blood test, some symptoms of the deficiency include everything from aches and pains to depression and bone demineralization problems. Vitamin D is fundamentally important for the regulation of how your body functions. Over 200 genes in your body are controlled by Vitamin D. At least 35 different tissues in the body have Vitamin...
4 Functional Medicine Tests You Need
Working with a functional medicine professional can be exciting and rewarding. At the beginning of your journey, your doctor may start with a few simple tests to see what contributing factors are responsible for your current situation. Later on if you find that you have implemented lifestyle changes and you are not seeing the results your doctor expects, testing may be exactly just what the doctor orders!! Below are the four tests most frequently used by Dr. Jordan Leasure at her clinic in Illinois. If you’ve completed any of these please share your experiences below.
1. ORGANIC ACID TEST
This is one of Dr. Jordan’s favorite tests for a variety of reasons. It’s easy to complete - just pee in a cup at home! It gives a TON of information - Dr. Jordan calls it the “poop of the poop”. Essentially it measures metabolites - a fancy word for the end products of your metabolism - when you create energy and eliminate waste. It gives an overall look at your...
5 Ways Walnuts Benefit Your Health
Most of us know that incorporating nuts into our diet is important. If you are like me you don’t necessarily know which nut is going to help with what, so you just eat a mixture and hope for the best. After a lot of reading I’ve found that most researchers are putting walnuts on top!
Walnuts are part of the tree nut family which also includes hazelnuts, macadamia nuts (my favorite!), cashews, pine nuts, pistachios and Brazil nuts. If you find you are having trouble getting your plant based omega-3 fats, grab a quarter cup of walnuts! In that serving alone you will get 100 percent of the daily recommended amount.
HERE ARE A FEW OF THE MANY BENEFITS OF WALNUTS FOR YOU TO SNACK ON:
- Heart Health : Walnuts contain l-arginine (an amino acid) and omega-3’s which both offer numerous vascular benefits. Due to anti-inflammatory properties, walnuts can actually reduce the formation of blood clots. Walnuts will raise ALA (great for your...
10 Ways to Improve Your Financial Health
“Money doesn’t buy happiness, but it buys the kind if misery you may prefer”, is a quote often attributed to comedian Groucho Marx. I would like to say that Groucho is wrong, BUT in my 25 years writing the consumer financial column, $uper $aver and another 23 as a mortgage banker the sad truth is that if you are experiencing money problems and are not “financially healthy” it negatively affects your “health” in other areas. No money for healthy groceries? There goes your physical health. No money for rent, electric bill, school fees? There goes your emotional health. No money for an emergency cushion? There goes your psychological health. The bottom line is that your financial health is directly or indirectly tied to your physical, psychological and emotional health. So where to start?
My own financial health, while probably at any given time is not much different from your own, did not improve until I started to look at it...
