The immune system is a complex web, or alliance, of systems and organs in the body, not just one system. It is comprised of many systems that work together to protect the body from invaders (like bacteria, viruses, parasites, and other unwanted substances). 

Because of the complexity of the immune system, and the multitude of organs involved, there is not just one thing, or food, that will help improve immunity. It must be a variety of foods that support all of the organs and systems involved in the immune alliance.

• The thymus gland is needed for lymphocytes (or white blood cells, the body's main immune cells)
• The spleen is needed to help with lymph and blood.
• The long skeletal bones are needed for bone marrow and blood.
• The stomach is needed for digestion and the production of HCL which destroys pathogens that come into the body via food.
• The intestinal flora is needed for digestion to destroy pathogens in the intestines as well as aid in the production of B12.
• The...

Calcium is the most abundant mineral in the body. In fact, there is more calcium in the body, than all of the other minerals combined.  If nothing else, this should reinforce how essential calcium is for us to understand! The good thing is, calcium is found in so many healthy foods, like nuts, seeds, broccoli, yogurt, and more (note: it's a myth that the best calcium comes from cows milk!)  Just do a quick google search to find some other great food based sources of calcium.  

But even if you eat enough calcium, there are several processes that the body needs to go through in order to assimilate that calcium and make it "work."  First, we need to be able to digest the calcium. Then, we need to make sure we have enough Vitamin D to get that calcium from our  guts to our blood. Thirdly, we need to have enough fatty acids (polyunsaturated type) to get that calcium from the blood into the tissues.  So, essentially, it's a complicated mineral.

But...

Looking to "fill in the gaps" of your kids' diet? Want to help feed their body cells with rich sources of vitamins, minerals, and nutrients found in real, organic, food? Check out Catalyn Chewables from Standard Process. 

This multivitamin contains 12 whole foods, including carrot root, organ meats like liver, alfalfa, mushroom, and so much more. Here's a link to the full label so that you can see the full blend of whole foods included.  (clearly it's not a vegetarian or vegan product, but if that is of concern to you, the animals/foods are all raised in a humane, organic, free range farm up in Palmyra, WI). 

Listen in as I share why it's so important to not only eat, but supplement with whole food products, as the "whole is greater than the sum of its parts."  

It's time to counteract the effects of the S.A.D. (the Standard American Diet).  This is a product that I personally use and trust. It is cold processed, meaning the foods haven't...

Let me start by saying, yes. Yes it's most important for kids (and every human for that matter) to continue eating real, whole foods to get their vitamins and minerals.  However, sometimes we need extra help, and that's where vitamin and mineral supplementation comes into play.  

When I talk about supplementation, I am talking about food. I am talking about getting higher doses of a specific nutrient than you could actually eat. (I mean, who is going to eat a bushel of beets in order to get the healing benefit that their body needs? or who's going to eat enough liver, or other organ meat on a daily basis to get those essential vitamins and minerals?)  

So, in every lesson about supplements, I am actually talking about food.  I do not recommend synthetic vitamins (meaning they are man made).  I only recommend vitamins that are sourced from real, whole, organic foods.  

Today, I share with you about Fish Oil.  Listen in as I talk...

Take a listen to my quick message about a favorite snack food, popcorn!  In this video, I'll play a little devil's advocate and teach you not only how to make your popcorn healthier (and easier), but also why you may NOT want to eat popcorn for your health. This way you can make your own decisions about your snack habits! 

Have you ever wondered what the difference is between eating real food, taking real food supplements, and taking herbal supplements? 

Let me discuss with you how each one has it's own super power, and why the symphony of them all working together is so powerful.  

I'm going to let you in on a little secret.  Your body is powerful. It wants to heal itself. It constantly reminds us of this as aches, pains, and illness.  But often we don't listen until it's too late or the illness has become too debilitating. Today, let me share with you a small secret about food, and how important food is to heal us, and how we can use it to our benefit NOW, as preventative medicine, before we have to use it as treatment for disease.  

Every cell in your body, essentially, is made up of the food we eat.  What we eat has a direct impact on our health. So, how can we reduce our risk of certain diseases like cancer? The trick is to grow healthy cells on repeat. So, listen in as I share my top 3 tips to increasing your resistance to cancer. 

Tip #1: Reduce Sugar! Not only does sugar increase inflammation, but cancer cells thrive off of sugar! Listen in to the video for more details on this!

Tip #2: Increase your cruciferous...

I am not a proponent of taking prescription medications. In fact, my entire career, mission, purpose, journey, etc,  is about helping individuals get off their medication by creating health from the inside out through clean nutrition, movement, and through empowering the mind. So why am I asking you to take your MEDS today? 

Last week, I was sitting down to create plan to keep me focused and to make sure I get done what needs to be done during my husband's deployment.  It's way too easy to get wrapped up in reacting to life, instead of being proactive to life. So, I sat down and created a calendar on a piece of paper for the number of days that he will be deployed for.  In each daily box is four letters.  M.E.D.S.  What it boils down to, are the four things that I need to do daily, so that I don't forget to take care of me, during, not only this deployment, but through this holiday season, and new year.  

These are the four things that I need to do...

For as long as I can remember, I would describe nutrition  to my clients  using a continuum.  The  example I would use is: "In the ideal nutrition world, you would choose the organic apple.  If you can't do the organic apple, then choose the conventional apple.  The conventional apple is still better than the candied apple."  Everything worked along that continuum, and you would just aim to get the best you could, at that time, in that place.  Of course the candy apple isn't a health food, and I don't recommend eating them, but you get the idea.  The conventional apple, while not the best, is still better than the candy apple.  The same thing would go for a potato: choose an organic sweet potato first and the  conventional sweet potato as your second choice.  Both would all be better than the french fried potato.

But there is a slight hiccup in my theory, and now, I cannot use that example for all fruits and veggies, like...

If you've ever tried to lose weight (and I assume that almost everyone has), then you've probably experienced a weight loss plateau (or a stall in weight loss) at some point.  Weight loss plateaus can be a seriously frustrating experience, so let me tell you why I think weight loss plateaus are a GOOD thing, and why you need to honor them. 

Every body has a set point weight. The set point is your "happy weight," or the weight that your body fluctuates around give or take 4-5lbs.  Now, when you're trying to lose weight, you need to train your body to reset your set point to a new, lower one, and sometimes that happens during a plateau. 

Let's say you're 200lbs, trying to reach 150.  You get to 175, and all of a sudden, the weight loss stops.  What are you doing wrong? Nothing!  Some folks want to know every tip and trick to bypass a plateau like this and continue pressing on toward the end goal, but I caution you to not blow right past it, and...