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 here's why I keep it on hand in my "hea...

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 been heated (heating = killing the nutriti...

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 about why it's essential for kids to be getting in th...

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! 

Join me for the 9th annual Turkey Trot Bootcamp! "Burn the Bird" before (or after) your Thanksgiving Feast with this 10 minute bodyweight workout!  This year's theme: Mantra, Movement, Meditation.

Mantra: My Digestion Flows with Ease

Movement: 10 Minutes (45 seconds of exercise, 15 seconds rest, x10)

1. Gator Step with a Twist
2. Walking Lunges with Overhead Reach
3. Childs Pose to Pushups
4. Kneeling Lean Backs
5. Lunge Pulse to Knee (or toe, or jump) Right Leg
6. Lunge Pulse to Knee (or toe, or jump) Left Leg
7. Side Plank Hip Dip Right
8. Side Plank Hip Dip Left
9. Side Lunges
10. Goal Post Arm Movement Flow

Meditation: Join me in a comfortable seated or lying down position for a guided visualization that will help prep your body for optimal digestion for your Thanksgiving feast! 

And since digestion is the name of the game this year, make sure you don't miss my top digestive tips from this past Tuesday At Two Facebook Live.   Stop carrying around Tums and learn HOW to help your body digest bett...

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 veggies & sulfur rich foods. Crucife...

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 daily in order to achieve my best self....

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 I used to.  What changed?

Beets. That's what changed.  Here...

This week, I want to share with you what happened to me when I stopped monitoring my coffee shop (budget) behavior!

Here's a little back story: Last month, our TBP wellness practice was to manage what we monitor.  When you know better, you do better. So if there's a behavior you are thinking of  changing, the first step is to monitor it in order to decide if it's worth changing or not.  I chose to monitor the amount of money I spent at the coffee shop.  

At the end of the month, I deemed the amount of money I spent at the coffee shop to be appropriate, and that I did NOT need to make any behavior changes.  Fast forward to this month, and I have already spent double(ish) what I did last month when I was monitoring! And we still have 9 days left in the month!  

DID I SPEND LESS BECAUSE I WAS MONITORING THE BEHAVIOR LAST MONTH? OR DID I START SPENDING MORE BECAUSE I WAS NO LONGER MONITORING AND TRACKING? 

Do you have chronically tight hips like I do? (I swear it's from years of marathon running).  If so, try out this exercise that I call the "Gator Step with a Twist."  

In the video above, I describe how you can do this exercise as both a stretch, or an active warmup/mobility movement.  Give it a try and let me know how it feels!

-Abby