Many people (like myself...) enjoy a nice cup of coffee. People enjoy it for many reasons such as the pick me up, the taste, the warm feeling (my personal reason), or simply something to drink besides water. There are a couple of reasons people who are battling Candida or on the cleanse should avoid coffee.
First the caffeine spikes your blood sugar levels... and sugar is what feeds candida. Secondly caffeine suppresses your immune system because its effect on the adrenal glands. People who enjoy coffee because that quick pick me up is due to the fact that you are giving your adrenal glands (that sit on top of your kidneys like little top hats) a quick fix. This quick hit makes the adrenal glands produce adrenaline which gives you energy for a period of time. After doing this over and over the adrenal glands become more and more tired and you rely heavily on caffeine to have energy. You will notice that when you support the adrenal glands and get them healthy you won't need or crave coffee like you did before.
I know this from experience... In school I drank coffee a lot to stay awake. My adrenal glands were completely shot because of all of the stress especially towards the end. I couldn't stay awake with out it which was even more noticeable during finals. My adrenal glands needed the fix of caffeine to stay awake but after doing this over and over it started compromising their function... I began to get symptoms of afternoon fatigue, feeling completely drained, feeling overwhelmed at things that truly weren't that big of a deal, emotional, blood sugar issues, lightheaded when standing up, and just plain tired all of the time. Now that I have really focused on supporting my adrenal glands naturally with minerals and other supplements I now no longer need coffee to survive! Yay! If I drink one cup now I get really shaky... however I do love the taste. So I will occasionally mix a 1/4 cup (of organic coffee) with almond milk for the flavor.
Long story above but hopefully you get the point if you are craving coffee for the boost... your adrenals are tired. So with Candida Clear and other natural support they will start to get stronger! I promise! Now for the alternatives for coffee :) (And the point of my whole spiel...)
For you coffee drinkers out there who enjoy it because of...
The Pick Me Up!
-Get your adrenal glands supported with good nutrition, minerals, and supplementation. Also green tea has a little caffeine in it and AMAZING for the body! You can't over do green tea so drink as much as you want.
The Taste and Warm Feeling! (Coffee with Creamer Type of People)
-Brew tea in almond milk! I have been doing this pretty much every day now. This satisfies the warm fuzzy feeling coffee gives me. I like tea in water alright but it just doesn't do it in the morning for me. Add xylitol in it for sweetener... Delicious! And for those not on Candida Clear try honey.
The Taste of a Black Cup of Coffee
-For you brave souls out there who like a black cup of coffee try decaf. Its not the best option on Candida Clear but better to do it a couple times a week instead of regular coffee if you just can't manage without. Its best not to do it at all and switch to tea... Sorry! I know I catch a lot of grief and looks from patients when I say this... but its the truth.
Once you get your body healthy you will start to notice the changes like me where you can only have half a cup of coffee before getting shaky. It is a strange feeling going from multiple cups to 1/2 cup if that! So try the above options and if you have a small cup every week its not the end of the world but when you rely on it... that's another story. Hopefully this will give you some insight on coffee and some other options to try!
Its a long story to basically say I really love brewing tea in almond milk :) Try it!
Sunday, July 28, 2013
Thursday, July 25, 2013
Thyroid and It's 3 Most Important Minerals
The thyroid is one of the most common organ 'weakness' I see in my office... as well as the liver and the adrenal glands. The thyroid sits in the lower front part of your neck. It makes hormones that influence the entire body! It helps to control our metabolism, body temperature, hair/skin/nails, heart rate (people can get heart palpitations simply due to dysfunction in the thyroid), moods, energy levels (especially in the morning), and many other things!
Typically people with thyroid issues will present with one or more of the following things...
Inability to loose or gain weight, weak nails, brittle/dry hair, dry skin, heart palpitations, fatigue especially in the morning, brain fog, anxiety, depression, infertility, constipation or alternating constipation and diarrhea, acne, hot flashes, night sweats, high cholesterol (did you know the thyroid plays a part in managing cholesterol levels!!), menstrual issues and irregularities, as well as many other things!
I am almost always checking the thyroid on each visit... and here are a couple things that can be done at home to help improve its function!
The 3 most important minerals the thyroid needs are:
1) Iodine
2) Selenium
3) Zinc
For each mineral I challenge you do the following things...
Iodine: Get tested in the office to see if you need iodine. This is something that can drastically help the thyroid but adding it when it is NOT needed can do more harm than good. So in order to see how much you need AND IF you need it stop by and get muscle tested! Great foods that contain iodine are seaweed, turkey breast, and eggs. And you may be thinking about regular table salt because it has iodine in it?!? Well yes it does but it is fortified and NOT naturally occurring in it. So instead make the switch to sea salt or even better Himalayan salt and get your iodine from naturally occurring sources. For more info on salt check out http://products.mercola.com/himalayan-salt/.
Selenium: Selenium is the 2nd most important mineral for the thyroid. A way to simply get the needed amount is to eat 2 Brazil nuts a day... only 2! So go buy a bag of Brazil nuts and make this a daily habit.
Zinc: Lastly Zinc is very important for thyroid function and is linked to over 100 different enzymes in the body. Enzymes are what is needed to make the body function properly. When enzyme counts are low people get tired and sick... so why not do a simple check to see if you have enough zinc to make all the cells in your body work better. The test (called the Zinc taste test) can be done in my office for free, takes 10 seconds, and quickly allows us to see if you need to be supplementing with Zinc. The first time I did the Zinc taste test I failed miserably... so that makes me more passionate about it now. I try to make sure each patient does it and if we haven't let me know! If you are deficient like I was there is a supplement to take for only a month or 2 which increases your levels to normal.
I hope this has been somewhat informative and helpful for all you thyroid patients out there! Call the office if you need any help or have any questions! And eat 2 Brazil nuts a day :)
Typically people with thyroid issues will present with one or more of the following things...
Inability to loose or gain weight, weak nails, brittle/dry hair, dry skin, heart palpitations, fatigue especially in the morning, brain fog, anxiety, depression, infertility, constipation or alternating constipation and diarrhea, acne, hot flashes, night sweats, high cholesterol (did you know the thyroid plays a part in managing cholesterol levels!!), menstrual issues and irregularities, as well as many other things!
I am almost always checking the thyroid on each visit... and here are a couple things that can be done at home to help improve its function!
The 3 most important minerals the thyroid needs are:
1) Iodine
2) Selenium
3) Zinc
For each mineral I challenge you do the following things...
Iodine: Get tested in the office to see if you need iodine. This is something that can drastically help the thyroid but adding it when it is NOT needed can do more harm than good. So in order to see how much you need AND IF you need it stop by and get muscle tested! Great foods that contain iodine are seaweed, turkey breast, and eggs. And you may be thinking about regular table salt because it has iodine in it?!? Well yes it does but it is fortified and NOT naturally occurring in it. So instead make the switch to sea salt or even better Himalayan salt and get your iodine from naturally occurring sources. For more info on salt check out http://products.mercola.com/himalayan-salt/.
Selenium: Selenium is the 2nd most important mineral for the thyroid. A way to simply get the needed amount is to eat 2 Brazil nuts a day... only 2! So go buy a bag of Brazil nuts and make this a daily habit.
Zinc: Lastly Zinc is very important for thyroid function and is linked to over 100 different enzymes in the body. Enzymes are what is needed to make the body function properly. When enzyme counts are low people get tired and sick... so why not do a simple check to see if you have enough zinc to make all the cells in your body work better. The test (called the Zinc taste test) can be done in my office for free, takes 10 seconds, and quickly allows us to see if you need to be supplementing with Zinc. The first time I did the Zinc taste test I failed miserably... so that makes me more passionate about it now. I try to make sure each patient does it and if we haven't let me know! If you are deficient like I was there is a supplement to take for only a month or 2 which increases your levels to normal.
I hope this has been somewhat informative and helpful for all you thyroid patients out there! Call the office if you need any help or have any questions! And eat 2 Brazil nuts a day :)
Tuesday, July 16, 2013
Meal with Pot Roast Leftovers!
This idea and pictures were sent to me by someone doing Candida Clear (definitely not my man hands in the pic) back in my home town! Great idea. Just take your leftover pot roast and make it into a nice lettuce wrap. Add mustard (no sugar or high fructose corn syrup) like the picture and enjoy!! Other great toppings would be bean sprouts, goat cheese, green peppers, tomatoes, cucumbers, onions, or other sandwich toppings. Be creative! And... thank you to the family for the great idea and pics!! :)
OH-IO! Go Buckeyes! :)
Monday, July 15, 2013
Greek Yogurt Covered Strawberries
These hot summer days call for a cold treat... especially one that is easy to make. I saw this online somewhere with blueberries and all I had at home was strawberries... clearly it works just as good! All I did was dip my strawberries in plain Greek yogurt and put them on a plate with wax paper (so they didn't stick to the plate). They may not be the most beautifully dipped strawberries you have every seen but the taste is that all the counts... right! I left them in the freezer for about 1 hour and then enjoyed!! (Well... enjoying them now as I type)
They are nice and frozen when they come out which some people may love but for me I can't stand the thought of biting into anything frozen. Some people can chew into a ice cube or popsicle and that gives me chills just thinking of it!! So I just let mine thaw out for a couple of minutes and then the strawberries are not quite as hard and frozen. Either way... its a great simple summertime treat! Next time I will try it with blueberries or almonds or raspberries... maybe sprinkle with xylitol or honey (for those not on candida clear/phase one) or drizzle with homemade chocolate? Sounds delicious!
They are nice and frozen when they come out which some people may love but for me I can't stand the thought of biting into anything frozen. Some people can chew into a ice cube or popsicle and that gives me chills just thinking of it!! So I just let mine thaw out for a couple of minutes and then the strawberries are not quite as hard and frozen. Either way... its a great simple summertime treat! Next time I will try it with blueberries or almonds or raspberries... maybe sprinkle with xylitol or honey (for those not on candida clear/phase one) or drizzle with homemade chocolate? Sounds delicious!
Wednesday, July 3, 2013
July Special at MTCAM!
MTCAM is featuring the Youth Encouragement Services for the month of July. YES works with inner city children and has both summer and after school programs. They are now gearing up to prepare backpacks for children so they will have new school supplies for the school year. Please help us get as many items as possible to give back to the children to make sure they have a good start when they go back to school!
Donate 4 of the following items and receive $10 OFF your visit that day!
--One package of notebook paper (wide ruled)
--One spiral notebook (wide ruled)
--Two folders with pockets
--One package of standard #2 pencils
--One large eraser
--One box of 24 crayons
--One small plastic bottle of white school glue
--One small bottle of hand sanitizer
--One 1 foot ruler
--One three-ring notebook binder (2 inch wide)
All of the items above will be used to pack one backpack for a child! For more information and how to further help this organization please visit http://youthencouragement.org/. Thank you in advance for all your donations!
Deep Moisturizing Treatment with Coconut Oil
Another use for coconut oil is that it can be used as a deep conditioning treatment for your hair! I did this a couple months ago and it made my hair so silky and smooth... it was wonderful! All you need is coconut oil and a shower cap.
When you hair is dry completely cover it from roots to tips with melted coconut oil. Make sure you massage it in the scalp too. Once your hair is all greased up put on a shower cap for an hour.
When you shower make sure to put shampoo in your hair before you get it wet... it is VERY IMPORTANT not to get it wet before you wash it because you will have a heck of a time getting all of the coconut oil out. You will have no problem getting the coconut oil out of your hair if you put shampoo on it before its wet. I washed my hair like that once and followed up by washing it one more time to make sure it wasn't greasy.
After that my hair was soooo smooth and it helped my split ends. Try it and see how it works for you :)
When you hair is dry completely cover it from roots to tips with melted coconut oil. Make sure you massage it in the scalp too. Once your hair is all greased up put on a shower cap for an hour.
When you shower make sure to put shampoo in your hair before you get it wet... it is VERY IMPORTANT not to get it wet before you wash it because you will have a heck of a time getting all of the coconut oil out. You will have no problem getting the coconut oil out of your hair if you put shampoo on it before its wet. I washed my hair like that once and followed up by washing it one more time to make sure it wasn't greasy.
After that my hair was soooo smooth and it helped my split ends. Try it and see how it works for you :)
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