We all have times we feel on edge. Overwhelmed, burned out and run down. Those feelings can manifest in some individuals as depression and others as anxiety. You may notice you’re having trouble concentrating, even impacting your sleep. Do you eat right, workout and meditate, but you’re still not feeling like yourself? We may have the answer.

Inositol. Never heard of it? I’m not surprised. Inositol is a sugar alcohol but contrary to the name it is neither a sugar nor an alcohol! More confused? Let’s start at the beginning.

Inositol is found in many foods - mainly fruits like cantaloupe and oranges[2]. It is found in bran, nuts and seeds in its phaylate form which is unfortunately indigestible by humans so we don’t get much inositol from our diets.

Inositol serves many functions in the human body from helping to give a cell its shape to giving instructions to a nerve and even breaking down fats! As a clinician we use it primarily for clients with...

I don’t know about you but when the alarm goes off at 5am I am only functioning at about 25%. I’m lucky some days that I my hair is clean and my scrubs are on right side out! Let alone planning to be gone from the house for 14 hours with an infant and prepared for anything!

Below you’ll find my organizational tools - easy tips to incorporate into your day to maybe save you a few minutes, maybe lower stress; ideally help you to live a Salutogenic Life!

Ritual One: I start every day with a protein shake - whether I’m heading to work, the gym or to run errands with the husband.  It’s fast, easy, and really good for you. I prefer whey (Dr. Jade likes the vegan).  Whey protein powder is a detoxifier and SL vegan protein powder with monk fruit is great if you’re pre-diabetic or trying to lower A1C.  It will help regulate your blood sugar - just don’t add high glycemic fruit.

I used to be more ritualistic in my ingredient choices...

With the fast paced lifestyle many families are living today, most don’t have the time to put a healthy, delicious meal on the table for dinner. It may be easier and more convenient to go through a drive-thru, order a pizza or some other unhealthy, non-nutritious food from a restaurant. But for many of us who are looking to be healthier, lose a few pounds/inches, and/or teach our children better eating habits, what good does that do for us? I have found that using my crockpot has helped me and my family in more ways than one. It is super easy just throwing a bunch of ingredients in to the crockpot, turning it on low and then letting the crockpot work its magic. When you come home from work later that night, you have dinner ready to go and the family can sit down to a hot, cooked meal and you don’t have to feel the added stress about what to feed your hungry family.  

One of my favorite “go to” crockpot recipes is super delicious, figure friendly, and...

Did you know massage therapists in Illinois need 750 hours of learning and training to qualify for licensing?  A typical curriculum would consist of Anatomy 1 and 2, Pathology, Physiology,  Kinesiology, Palpation, Clinical integration, Ethics, Hydrotherapy, and Alternative complementary therapies.

A skilled massage therapist should know how to assess a range of motion for all joints, assess your gate and posture upon viewing, utilize Orthopedic testing if necessary, assess your information from your intake form, and talk to you about your concerns.

After doing these things, massage therapists should be able to use their knowledge of anatomy and massage therapy to devise a plan for treating you that day. Usually, our goal is to find the source of your pain and eradicate it through various massage techniques and modalities.

Sometimes the therapist may check for pain or abnormalities in areas other than where you are experiencing localized pain because often times the source...

My sister has been a flight attendant for over five years and she already has some good stories from flying. She started working for a major commercial airline and now she works with charter airlines and private companies. She is in the sky all the time and doesn’t have the luxury to call in sick. I asked her what she does to keep healthy and these are some of her tips.

1. She is consistent with her vitamins. Her flights are mostly domestic but there have been some to Asia, Australia, Mexico, Canada and a few others. On a regular basis she takes vitamins from the Salutogenic Life Line. Her go-to products include: Multi For Women, Omega Pearls, Vitamin C, Zinc, Vitamin D3 with K2, Seasonal Life, Probiotics (blister pack) and she just started taking Turmeric. Because of all of her traveling she can not bring all the bottles with her in her carry on bag so she preps them in a container for how many she needs for how many days she will be gone for.

Her Vitamin Choices:

• ...

What is all the “hype” about essential oils?

I think everyone now has either heard of, or used some kind of essential oil. Some think it’s just a gimmick, while others know the simple fact that a good essential oil is all natural, and can help with staying above the wellness line.

What is an essential oil?

An essential oil is the “essence” of a plant, obtained by water or steam distillation, or by cold pressing (for citrus peel oils). Through this process, the oils inside a plant can be extracted into a highly concentrated form.

Most companies are jumping on the essential oil band wagon. Sadly some of those companies still have toxic ingredients in their products so beware…. Just because it contains essential oil, doesn’t mean it’s a healthy product.

When looking for an essential oil you want to be sure it is a pure essential oil with no foreign or synthetic ingredients.  The way the oil is processed is also VERY...

Do you ever feel tired, run-down, or experience low energy and you’re not sure why?? Have you considered what you eat and drink on a daily basis? Because we are so busy, we don’t take the time to think about what goes into our bodies. I am guilty of all of the above. Since I work in the medical profession, I know what I should be doing to take care of my body, but as Salt N Pepa would say, “Girl’s what’s my weakness!! FOOD!” If you ask Dr. Jordan or Dr. Jade they will tell you that there might be some things I can change in my diet. My biggest weakness is drinking pop. I try to not drink it every day, but you can’t have pizza and water!! (I like to tell myself that so I don’t feel guilty.) However, if I’m going to start feeling better, I need to make some changes. Dr. Jade hosted a seminar called: To Detox or Not to Detox, so I decided to stay and learn a few new things, and boy did I ever. After the seminar, I decided...

For the next few blogs, we are going to take some time and let you get to know our staff!  First up is our very own founder, Dr. Jordan Leasure-Reigle.

This weeks blog comes to us from guest contributor, Jan Leasure.  Currently Jan is a Senior Loan Officer in Libertyville, but previously was a teacher and nationally syndicated columnist for over 20 years.

Why was November chosen as “National Gratitude Month”? The obvious reason is because Thanksgiving happens in November and that gives everyone a reason to stop for a moment and visualize the things for which they are grateful.

When I was an English teacher, one of the things that I had my students do was keep a Gratitude Journal. Many students had a lot of ups and downs in their lives so sometimes writing down one thing was a struggle.  What we all learned from this exercise is that there were a lot of intangible things to be grateful for; love, friendship, a sunny day, trading lunches with your bestie, or the fact that Mrs. Leasure did not read your love note over the intercom!  What was the purpose of this exercise? We learned that although there...

We all know as soon as the weather is no longer below freezing you will start to see people running outside all bundled up. As the spring and summer months approach everyone seems to be out versus being in the gym. It’s important to protect yourself all year round if you plan to be getting your sweat on outdoors!

1. Eat Something

No matter if you workout first thing in the morning or after work it should not be on an empty stomach. Food is our fuel and if we do not have anything in our system then we are going to fatigue quickly and not be at our full potential. It can be a simple protein shake, RX bar, banana, or even a healthy nut mix. Something that can be taken easily around wherever you go.  If people push themselves too much they can become dizzy and even faint. It does not matter if the weather is 90 degrees out with sun or 53 degrees and overcast. Food is your friend!!

2. Sunscreen

According to the American Cancer Society, “Melanoma accounts for only about...