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Five Tips for Mindful Eating and Why it Matters {+ Video}
Mindfulness isn’t just yoga and meditation, burning sage and sitting on a meditation cushion chanting ‘OM’. Mindfulness can extend into all aspects of our lives with just a little conscious awareness and minimal effort. Mindfulness is derivative of a “monastic” practice, meaning it was originally made for monks. It utilizes deliberate focus to increase your consciousness and appreciation of the present moment.
One of my favorite methods for incorporating mindfulness with my clients is to do so at mealtime. When we aren’t totally present at meal time, if we aren’t eating mindfully, it can be a disaster for our digestion, for our stress levels, for our moods and many times we can end up accidentally overeating. Often the opposite of eating mindfully is eating mindlessly, and we all know how that goes for us.
The practice of mindful eating is all about learning to pay attention. It can be a form of meditation, almost. Instead of mindlessly shoveling food into your mouth almost unconsciously, not even tasting the food you’re eating, I want to teach you how to slow down and savor your meals. With mindful eating we take the time to pause, to notice thoughts, feelings, and sensations surrounding our meals and to truly taste each bite. I have found this practice be vital to eating intuitively and finding a lifestyle that is appropriate for the individual.
Not only will this make meals more pleasurable and delightful to ALL our senses, but it’s also better for our digestion and it keeps us from overeating.
When our body is in a chronic state of stress, our nervous system will actually shut down our digestion system, as a protection mechanism. This is why one of my all time favorite tips for folks deal with digestive issues to take a look at the stress in their life and even more specifically the stress around meal times.
As well, when we are stressed or not paying attention it’s hard to truly understand and realize the need to stop when we are satisfied, we cannot do any of this if we are on autopilot, shoveling food into our faces.
As far as I am concerned, if you’re not truly tasting and enjoying your food – that’s a problem. How can you ever expect to be able to listen to your body’s subtle cues, to tap into your intuition and
Mindful eating is not a quick fix, but very often it is a very valuable solution, of course it’s also FREE and like most important things in life, it takes practice.
Before we get into the mindful eating tips, I wanted to very quickly explain some of the important things you NEED to know about digestion and why mindful eating can help.
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The Benefits of Probiotics and How To Choose
The Benefits of Probiotics and How To Choose – When it comes to gut health, probiotics will forever be a hot topic, and with good reason. The right probiotics can help to nourish and support your gut bacteria.* The word probiotic actually means “for life” because these live microbial organisms provide both physical and mental health benefits, and experts have well researched the direct and indirect effects on the physiology of the body.
This post and video are sponsored by MegaFood®
Why a Healthy Gut Matters.
A healthy gut is paramount to a healthy body.* Our health begins in the gut! A large majority of the important cells, responsible for the regulation and efficacy of our immune system can be found in our gut 1https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2515351/ (some research estimates between possibly as much 60 and 80% of our immune cells can be found there)2https://www.physiology.org/doi/full/10.1152/ajpgi.1999.277.5.G922. Additionally, many of the chemicals responsible for regulating moods, neurotransmitters such as serotonin, are actually made in our gut 3https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5772764/. Some estimate that as much as 90% of the body’s serotonin, which influences both mood and GI activity, is produced by the gut bacteria in the digestive tract. From a properly functioning digestive system to maintaining a strong immune system and well functioning brain – our gut is the foundation of our vitality.*
Not only is it important to ensure our digestion is functioning properly so we can feel our very best, but healthy digestive function is also crucial as it allows us to be able to absorb and utilize all the amazing nutrients we consume in our nutrient-dense, whole foods focused diet.
Poor eating habits, stress, and antibiotic use can all throw off the balance of our gut microbiome. When you experience occasional digestive issues like gas, bloating, diarrhea, or constipation, you may need some extra digestive health support. To maintain optimal gut health, we want to strive for a symbiotic GI tract full of beneficial bacteria.
The Benefits of Probiotics // How Probiotics Can Help
When you take probiotics you are re-introducing good bacteria to your gut environment by populating your GI tract with as much of the beneficial stuff as possible. Studies have shown that probiotics may prevent adhesion and interaction of unwanted bacteria with our gut epithelial cells.* 4Gerritsen, J. et al., Intestinal microbiota in human health and disease: the impact of probiotics, Genes Nutr. 2011 August; 6(3): 209–240 Some research has also shown that administration of probiotics can have a direct effect on the tight junctions between enterocytes in the gut—resulting in decreased intestinal permeability 5Corridoni D, et al., Probiotic bacteria regulate intestinal epithelial permeability in experimental ileitis by a TNF-dependent mechanism, PLoS One. 2012;7(7):e42067. These are just some of the ways probiotics may help to restore gut health.*
Probiotics are present in unpasteurized fermented foods but you can also ingest them through supplementation. So how can we be sure which is the right method, how much and how often we should take probiotics and why should we want to?
One very important thing to note here is that for probiotics to do their job effectively, you must have optimal conditions for “good” bacteria to live and flourish. This starts with nourishing your microbiome with nutrient-dense real food and eliminating foods (temporarily or permanently) that can cause inflammation and microbiome imbalance.
References
1. ↑ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2515351/ 2. ↑ https://www.physiology.org/doi/full/10.1152/ajpgi.1999.277.5.G922 3. ↑ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5772764/ 4. ↑ Gerritsen, J. et al., Intestinal microbiota in human health and disease: the impact of probiotics, Genes Nutr. 2011 August; 6(3): 209–240 5. ↑ Corridoni D, et al., Probiotic bacteria regulate intestinal epithelial permeability in experimental ileitis by a TNF-dependent mechanism, PLoS One. 2012;7(7):e42067 -
5 Tips for Your Sugar Detox: How to Fight the Cravings, Stay Sane and Feel Free.
Whether or not you have committed to a structured sugar detox or you are simply looking to cut your intake of sweets and manage the cravings – today, I am sharing my 5 simple tips for your sugar detox. It’s not about dieting or crazy rules or restrictive eating as punishment, it’s just about being smart, prioritizing your health and feeling in control of the cravings!
Hey Sweet Thing! Are you addicted to sugar? Do you feel trapped by your constant cravings for something sweet? If you want to break the addictive cycle to sugar, it’s totally possible, it’s not actually as bad (or as hard) as it seems and feeling like you are in control of your cravings – is truly priceless!! Trust me. Removing the addiction to sugar isn’t about extreme restrictions forever or never ever having a sweet again, rather this is about loving your body and your health enough to want to feel your bet, to get yourself out of the constant blood sugar roller coaster and to break free of the sugar cravings that hold you hostage!
I know pretty much all of us can relate and have been there, but I find it’s especially challenging for folks after the holidays. Whether or not you have committed to a structured sugar detox or you are simply looking to cut your intake of sweets and manage the cravings – today, I am sharing my 5 tips to drop the sugar – cuz friends, you are sweet enough already – haha!
Why Cut Back on Sugar?
Sugar at it’s best lights us up, it gives us pleasure in times of stress, depression and pain, but we all know those feelings are short-lived. At it’s worst, sugar in excess can make you feel sluggish, bloated, anxious and crabby – so why do you still crave it? Because it’s addicting. It triggers the same reward and pleasure centers in the brain, that some narcotics do. It’s addicting. Is sugar as bad for us as cocaine? NO – I am certainly not implying that, but I think it’s important to recognize that sugar definitely has the ability to have a very strong hold on us and it’s not our fault.
Excessive Sugar Can:
- raise our blood sugar (blood glucose), which requires our body to constantly be releasing insulin to manage, then we have the crash – it’s highly taxing to the body to be in this constant blood sugar roller coaster of up and down and it can affect other systems of the body, as a result.
- lead to weight gain from overeating, along with elevated triglycerides, insulin resistance, and other indicators of metabolic syndrome. Refined sugar has also been shown to reduce immune system efficiency.1https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/4748178, https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0271531784800573.
- cause elevated blood glucose levels which has been shown to promote cancer growth 2https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/0006291X85919308.
- feed bad gut bacteria. When we eat a high-sugar diet, the undesirable bacteria thrive and start to grow out of control, causing a waterfall of health issues, while our beneficial bacteria dwindle in number.
- cause inflammation which can affects our entire body, but very specifically our immune system and our digestion.
Does this mean we can’t have ANY sugar ever, nope! I am not insinuating that extreme, unattainable level of perfection with our eating, but of all the foods available to us, I would argue that sugar is the most pleasure-enducing and therefore the hardest to moderate. Limiting yourself around the sweets isn’t a problem with you or your willpower, it’s a problem with the sweets! They are hyper palatable and designed to make you want more. So, what can we do to break the addiction to sugar and begin to feel like we are the ones in control, rather than the sugar?!
References
1. ↑ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/4748178, https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0271531784800573 2. ↑ https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/0006291X85919308 -
11 Natural Ways to Boost Your Immune System
A healthy body is dependent on a strong immune system. Rather than just strengthening our immune system we want to train our immune system to do it’s job correctly. Today I am sharing just some of my favorite natural tips for supporting and building a strong immune system that have worked for me. Here are 11 Natural Ways to Boost Your Immune System…
11 Natural Tips to Boost Your Immune System
Simple, holistic tips to fight illness and strengthen your immunity PLUS what you can do if you do get sick, to fight it quickly.
Go With Your Gut
I can tell you from personal experience that the very best way to ward off chronic illness, colds, flus, infections, allergies, food sensitivities and controlling / avoiding autoimmune disease is to heal and strengthen the gut! With 70-80% of our immune system’s cells occupying our gut, this is home base for our vitality and wellness. Our gut bacteria helps the immune system’s T cells develop—teaching them the difference between a foreign substance and the body’s own tissues. Without these important immune soldiers doing their job to protect us, the nasties get in, they slip by the troops, invade, wage war, take over and it’s not fun!
With years of comprised digestion, intestinal bacterial overgrowth and finally being diagnosed with a parasite, I personally spent a solid decade to 15 years, getting terrible sinus infections, several times a year, every year, most times it then eventually evolved into bronchitis and upper respiratory infections. I got every single strain of every cold, flu and stomach bug that passed through town – I even battled the Swine Flu when that was a thing. On top of all of that, I suffered for many, many years with a variety of environmental allergies – ALL of this stopped when I finally healed my gut and prioritized proper digestion. It’s magical really. But, it’s not. It’s simple.
As you’ll hear echoed many times throughout this article, and if you spend more than about 5 minutes chatting with me at any given time, our gut is vital to our immune health and it’s the control center for our bodies to decide what is friend and what is foe. I highly encourage you to prioritize optimizing your gut, both for the cold and flu season ahead, as well as the future of your overall health and wellness. If you want to learn more about how to heal your gut – GRAB THE FREE GUT HEALTH 101 GUIDE BOOK
Along with tips for strengthening and healing your gut, here are some tips to Naturally Boost Your Immune System:
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Between Meals Podcast // Bites Episode 07: How Do You Get Started?
Between Meals // Bites Episode 07 is the final in the 3-part series all about Motivation, Priorities and Small Steps. Based on your feedback and requests on these topics, we pulled together this series that I am so excited to share with you all.
In the first episode we talked specifically about motivation, what exactly that means and some ideas on how to critically investigate what you are doing that IS working and what you are doing that IS NOT working, so you can have some clarity in the process of getting to whatever it is that you seek for yourself and have an understanding of what exactly is acting as a barrier. In the second episode we talk all about priorities and making time so there is less pressure on seeking external motivation and needing willpower and there is more focus on creating systems and a process. It’s about creating habits that can one day be effortless, no negotiations needed.
After the checks and balances of the first two episodes, in this final episode we are chatting all about small steps and just diving in and getting started! All it takes is one small step. One step is action and action is momentum and this is what creates movement, shifts and change.
We are talking about the small steps, just doing a little something. Not always focusing on results or goals and instead creating habits.
ARE YOU READY TO COMMIT TO A FEW SMALL STEPS?
WHAT IS ONE SMALL STEP YOU CAN TAKE TODAY?
Don’t forget, be sure to listen to the first two part in this series Part One: How Do You Stay Motivated? and Part Two: How Do You Make Time for It? and head back to the archives, for more conversations similar to this, like Episode 02 we talk about finding our WHY, Bites Episode 04 we talk about Shoulding All over Yourself and even within the Bites Business Mastermind Series we have plenty of discussions surrounding perfectionism and comparison that pertains to this conversation, too.
Mark’s Podcast Episode: My Greatest Tip for Productivity
LISTEN NOW ON ITUNES
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THANK YOU FOR LISTENING:
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How-to Stock a Healthy Keto Pantry
Today we are chatting all about how to stock a healthy keto pantry and just a little spoiler alert for you…. these pantry staples are NOT exclusive to those eating low carb or taking a keto-focused approach to their diet, truly this pantry list is all about a focus on real food, healthy fats, smarter snacks and foods that will support your vibrant well being!
If you aren’t stocked with the right foods, if you don’t have the healthful options easily accessible to you, it’s really hard to make the right decisions for your health. I’m sharing some of my favorite keto pantry must-haves along with the best and most affordable ways to stay stocked up! So this way your pantry will be full and your wallet won’t be empty.
Keep this list of healthy keto pantry staples handy, this is the list I share with all my nutrition clients looking to have a well-stocked pantry with the best-of-the-best real food basics!
Most importantly, I want to show you that eating healthy and eating well doesn’t have to bankrupt you. We know the cost of health foods is an investment in our future and our health, but sometimes if feels like we need a second job just to pay for it all. But, by planning ahead and having a system in place to stock your healthy pantry, you can keep these healthy foods on hand, and keep your costs down.
I am partnering with Thrive Market to show you in my latest video, how I stock my healthy keto pantry, sharing my actual most recent order to stock-up, PLUS we have a special deal for the Tasty Yummies community, where you can save an additional 25% off your first order, a FREE 30 day trial membership, plus FREE shipping on orders over $49. This is all on top of their already discounted prices of 25 – 50% off standard retail.
HOW-TO STOCK A HEALTHY KETO PANTRY:
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Cast Iron Skillet Crispy Kale
Cast Iron Skillet Crispy Kale is a favorite easy weeknight side dish for us. Cast Iron Skillet Crispy Kale is ready in under 10 minutes, under 5 if you are in a rush and don’t care about the crispiness factor. Best part, kale is one of the most nutrient-dense foods on the planet, so this Cast Iron Skillet Crispy Kale tastes great and it’s great for you, too! WIN WIN!
I am all about the simple, easy, weeknight dishes but I especially love nutrient-dense, brain-boosting foods that are easy to prepare and include in the weekly repertoire.
One of the world’s most nutrient dense foods, kale is an inexpensive way to load up on important vitamins, minerals and other nutrients. Kale is incredibly rich in Vitamin C (more than 4.5 times what you can find in spinach and 1 cup of raw kale has more vitamins C than a whole orange). Kale is also one of the world’s best sources of Vitamin K, with 1 cup of raw kale containing more than 7 times the recommended daily amount, Vitamin K is an important nutrient involved in blood clotting.
Kale is also a great source of B6 and other B Vitamins. Kale like other leafy greens is a rich source of antioxidants, specifically Beta-Cerotene, an antioxidant the body can turn into Vitamin A, along with various polyphenols and flavonoids, including two flavonoids, quercetin and kaempferol known for being heart protective, anti-inflammatory, anti-viral and so much more. Kale actually contains over 45 different flavonoids! WOAH!
Lutein and zeaxanthin, catenoid antioxidants these are the nutrients that give kale its deep, dark green coloring and they are protective against macular degeneration and cataracts. Kale is also high in many minerals people are often deficient in, some of the minerals found in kale include calcium, magnesium, manganese, potassium, phosphorus, zinc, copper, iron, to name a few.