Tag Archives: diet

Healing in the Holidays Series Part 2

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Happy Monday Warriors!

Happy December!!  Only one month left in this year!!!🤯

I hope you enjoyed last month’s topic about healing in the holiday with your nervous system!  We are going to continue on this month talking amount nutritional and emotional tips to help you walk out of the holiday season healthier than when you entered!

The holidays can be a time where you are literally surrounded by temptations!  From work parties, to holiday parties to Christmas cookies, ect.  Everything is always in moderation, but sometimes you can ruin your whole progress in a year with going crazy all month!  So, just like we need to prep our brain and nervous system, we also need to help prep our gut or (second brain).  I don’t even want you to say DIET! That’s assuming food is bad. DIE is not a word we should be discussing when it comes to food. Food should bring life, right?!

It’s ok to eat food, food gives you life. The right food I should say! We just need to change from low frequency food to high frequency living food. I promise when you start viewing food as a frequency giving you life, it’s not hard to say no to bad choices.  But, if you aren’t there yet, here are some tips:

1.  Prep your gut.
With all the bad holiday choices of food, something you can do NOW is prep!
Prepare your digestive system to be more efficient so it can digest quickly all the toxins you will be consuming!

I suggest three different supplements to take to re-acidify the gut so that it can digest things quickly and effectively, and gallbladder support to help break down your food better!  ( If you read on down below about traveling I also recommend this triad as well! )

If we have stagnation within our gut and poor elimination patterns, you will constantly be reabsorbing what you are trying to get out, which includes toxins.

Most individuals with acid reflux and digestion problems don’t have an acidic stomach and intestinal tract that’s WHY they aren’t digesting their food!

2. Food Prep.

One thing you can do is also to prep your own food! There are so many keto and paleo friendly food choices out there that taste the same or better than traditional holiday sweets and carbs.
I recently brought a couple favorite dishes to thanksgiving and they were awesome!

Here is a great resource for many different holiday recipes.

https://www.healthfulpursuit.com/roundup/keto-holiday-recipes/

3.  Portion Control.  Try and keep your portions small.  Believe it or not if you can eat smaller meals more frequently, you will do a lot better than eating ginormous meals all holiday season.
TIP: If you eat a little too much, grab some Doterra Celery Seed Essential Oil to help soothe and break down your food a little easier.

4.  Liver Support.     During the holidays you will probably end up consuming a few beverages as well, which puts a stress on your liver. Thinking ahead and supporting your liver your own unique needs is key.  I do this in my genetic based nutritional protocols, but you can also just add in a little liver detox support if you know you will be consuming more than usual.

Which brings me to my next point.

WHY DIETS DON’T WORK!

Many people experience with diets that they DO end up losing weight for a certain period of time.  But generally what happens is that individual can no longer take such restrictions, falls off and ends up gaining it back quickly.  This is the time of year where new years resolutions will come up as well, so it’s important to prep your mind for what’s ahead.  The point is as I mentioned above.  You have to change your mindset around food.  Does it give you life and raise your energy or not?  WE ALL WANT MORE ENERGY!
I mean, that’s like a GIVEN day to day request of most of my patients.
In order for me to accomplish that, you also need to eat foods that give you life!

A lot of people need to really make a lifestyle change.  It’s not about dieting.  And one HUGE factor many don’t address is toxins.  If you have ANY plans to lose weight, then you need to detoxify your body FIRST.  FAT holds on to toxins so it will make losing weight impossible when you are loaded with them. Again my genetic based nutritional protocols can help get your body detoxing better to set you up for success.

Sometimes a little jump start with a ten day cleanse can be helpful as well, but the goal here is to make a lasting change right?!

5. Probiotics.  Not the pill kind.  Pill probiotics don’t actually re-populate the bacteria.  I will say that again.  In research, it’s shown that probiotics (the pill kind) don’t actually repopulate the gut.  But, they DO create an immune response, which is good.  Taking probiotics in a pill is transitory, meaning they go right through your gut.  A better way to help support those bacteria is to actually feed the good ones you got!  Increase your fiber, eat fermented foods with lactic acid (which they eat)!  This will strengthen the gut, and your immune system!

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Traveling!

If you are one of the lucky ones that get to travel somewhere tropical for the holidays, I also have some tips to help prep you!!  

1. Skin!

In the winter we don’t see as much sun (Well some of us!).  Back in the 1940s there was documentation that calcium is needed by the skin and needs a fatty acid to shuttle it.
When there is sufficient calcium in the skin, the skin can withstand the stress of the sun, and not get damaged i.e. sunburn!!

So if you want that nice tan, and to not burn and damage the skin you need a GOOD source of calcium and a fatty acid to take with you!

The ones I like are whole food sources.  You CANNOT just use any calcium.  Most on the market are INSOLUBLE and are Toxic!

You have use whole food forms which I can offer you.

Calcium lactate is the form of calcium that the body prefers in the bloodstream.  It is extremely bioavailable.  it converts only once in the stomach, and once this happens it’s in a form that the body can pick up and use.  But you always want to take it on an empty stomach!!

You also want to take a fatty acid to shuttle it to the skin!!  Cataplex F or flax seed works really well for this.

Take a dosage in between meals 8-10 calcium lactate and 5 cataplex F, every 4 hours you are in the sun!  

Calcium is water soluble, so you can’t overdo it, you will be using it up while you are in the sun.  So you have to keep replenishing it.  You literally won’t burn!!  

*These are products you can only get through my care.

2.  Digestive Support.  These are ones you should always take with you….

You hear of people always getting sick in Mexico, or some island so always make sure you have Hydrochloric acid, it’s your best protector against food poisoning.  When your gut is acidic, it will kill them quickly.

Digest forte and AF Betafood.  Are two digestive supports I HIGHLY recommend and take every meal I eat while traveling.

3.  Alcohol. When you’re in the sun you aren’t as hungry, but the third thing to bring is liver support.  You might have an alcoholic beverage right?
But your liver will take a hit when you do that!  Take some milk thistle to protect the liver.

SUPER TIP!  If drinking wine gives you pretty bad side effects…. I have a tip for you!  (No I don’t recommend drinking a lot of wine haha, but here is a TIP).  If you can’t break down wine well, that is because of the preservation that happens with wine.  You have a genetic component in the SULFUR pathway that doesn’t allow you to break them down.  Here’s the HACK:
Use one drop of FOOD GRADE hydrogen peroxide in your cup of wine.
It breaks the bond of the sulfites and tannins.
YOU’RE WELCOME!;)

 

 

OIL OF THE WEEK

On the spotlight this week is DoTerra’s Celery Seed oil!  A great one to have for the holidays and digestion support!

Celery was used as early as the 5th century by the Chinese, and is widely used in Indian Ayurvedic practices today. Conventionally grown grocery store celery looks nothing like the celery seen at local farmers’ markets. The celery plant grows up to three feet tall, is bright green, and radiating with life. Celery has a complex, strong, sweet, and spicy aroma. The plant takes two years to fully mature and produce its small fruit, which are tan to brown in color. The seeds are the primary repository for essential oil. Limonene, the dominant constituent, puts Celery Seed oil in the same league as the refreshing citrus peel and fir needle oils. Soothing digestive issues is one of the many benefits of Celery Seed essential oil.* Experimental research suggests that it may soothe muscles and help joint discomfort when taken internally.* The oil creates a calming, relaxing, and positive environment while providing cooling and soothing effects.

Uses

  • Consume one to two drops morning and night to promote healthy digestion.*
  • Soak in a relaxing, sleep-inducing Epsom Salt bath adding three to four drops to warm bath water.
  • Blend with Fractionated Coconut Oil for a soothing massage.
  • Diffuse to promote a positive and uplifting mindset.

Directions for Use

Diffusion: Use three to four drops in the diffuser of your choice.
Internal use: Dilute one drop in 4 fl. oz. of liquid or use in a veggie cap.
Topical use: Dilute one to two drops with a carrier oil, then apply to desired area. See additional precautions below.

 

 

 

That is all for now,

Have a happy and healthy week.

 

DR Hamel

 

 

 

Detoxing & Weight Gain, What’s the Connection?

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Happy Monday everyone!  I hope you’ve enjoyed the topics this month all around detoxing.  We’ve talked about household and beauty products, food, 4 pathways of elimination and detoxing your brain so far.  Today we will continue on with detoxing’s influence of healthy weight management.

First I want to start off with a topic called “Endocrine Fallout”

This term basically means that your endocrine (hormone) system within your body is not working efficiently.  That might manifest for you as fatigue, weight gain, mood disruption, sleep disruption, irregular menses, hot flashes, ect.

If you are like many people with endocrine fallout, it may seem like your body is hanging on to an additional 5, 10 or even 20 pounds for dear life.  No matter how little you eat and how much you move, those excess pounds refuse to budge!  Well, you may be relieved to learn that there’s a physiological reason for this.

The root of the problem lies in your liver…..

As we have talked about previously, the liver is responsible for removing toxins from your body.  The toxins from your home cleaners, beauty products, foods, plastics, ect.  It does so by turning fat soluble toxins into water solubles ones so they can be excreted through your large intestine, kidneys and skin.  When you already have a hormonal problem however, your liver’s function is compromised (clogged). This mean it doesn’t work as efficiently and unable to remove what we are constantly exposed to as rapidly as they build up.

How does your body handle this??

Well.. It basically sends those fat soluble toxins your fat tissue.  For the short term, this protects your liver because it minimizes it’s load.  The problem is, it becomes more difficult to shed weight. Your fat cells don’t want to let go of these toxins, because your body KNOWS that doing so would pollute your bloodstream and create a toxic environment for your organs, including your heart and your brain.

Let’s talk about what kind of hormones get stuck in the fat tissue…

1. Estrogens–  Usually from exogenous exposure.  This means non organic and GMO foods, non organic cleaners, beauty products, plastics, receipt paper, birth control ect..

2.  Stress hormones–  When there is a constant state of stress, cortisol gets stored in the fat cells as well.  I also see many individuals that burn out there adrenal glands not only on emotional stress but physical stress.  People can train way too hard and do too much excercise wise, that the body can’t keep up with.

3.  Insulin- Keeping your blood sugar stable with every meal, every day enables your pancreas to spit out only the amount of insulin required to move the glucose where it needs to go.  This prevents highs and lows.  A big part in this is actually not always high blood sugar but low blood sugar as well.
We are also more inclined to give into temptation when your blood sugar levels are all over the place.

Hypoglycemia happens with two causes:

1. You may be on a ridiculous “diet” of luna bars and coffee and consider that a meal… If you don’t have adequate food intake, your levels will be low.

2.  Overindulging in carbs. This means more than 1/2 cup! Your pancreas pumps out a flood of insulin to bring your blood sugar back down, but it often miscalculates the amount which gobbles up too much glucose, and leaves you with low blood sugar, although you just stuffed your face.  This is where many people get frustrated and think you have no willpower, head to the pantry to refuel on peanut butter M&Ms even though you just ate less than an hour ago.

Fortunately, there is ways to get your body to release it’s grip on the fat tissue.  This is by upping your dietary and supplemental forms of certain nutrients.  Vitamin A, B, C, glutathione and other antioxidants and herbs.  These help your liver do its job.  I recommend a 21 day cleanse with a company I use using whole food nutrition to effectively clean your liver out entirely and gently.  I haven’t found anything else like it out there, and I myself do one every year, sometimes twice a year.  Its preventative and also mandatory I find.

Meal wise:
– Fill your diet with plenty of veggies, cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli, brussel sprouts, kale, beets
-Lemon and oranges (Essential oils are better).  Put a drop in your water every day
-Caraway and dill seeds

……

For those women who are pre-menopausal or menopausal… You know what I’m talking about the dreaded “pooch”.  For this case, it works a little differently, but the same concept.

When you go through menopause, or are prepping for it, the ovaries begin tostop producing estrogen and progesterone.  However, we still need these hormones for many functions.  The natural version of these hormones….  So, our adrenal glands start taking over the job of producing the hormones in small amounts.

The problem is, most women go into menopause with already compromised adrenal glands ( which pump out different hormones, the most important being stress hormone cortisol) because of stress and toxins, so the adrenals can’t cope with the job.  Here comes hot flashes, weight gain, ect.  So, the body starts building fat cells to begin to make and store the hormones.  Because as I mentioned previously fat loves hormones!

That is why during this time it is almost impossible for menopausal women to lose this region.  It is their “source” of hormone production.  I’ve worked with several patients through this time, and you can significantly decrease the symptoms naturally, NOT USING SYNTHETIC or BIOIDENTICAL HORMONES I will say.. Those are a big no no in my book.  Sometimes we do get the weight down, other times because it is the source of production, some women will actually need natural forms of fat elimination like laser or light liposuction or fasciablasting to eliminate them.

Make sense??? The liver is HUGE for weight Loss/Gain.  And since we are bombarded with hormones all the time, and live stressful lives, it’s an ever increasing problem.  Fortunately we have safe and natural options.

Ensuring the Liver is functioning well through nutrition, Stress relief techniques I use in my office, and organ and nervous system relaxation I have great success efficiently detoxing the body and getting you toward your healthy weight.

Interested in the cleanse??  Ask me how you can start your healing journey!

OIL OF THE WEEK

On the Spotlight this week, is DoTerra’s Slim and Sassy Blend.

 

Slim & Sassy, our proprietary metabolic blend, combines powerful essential oils known to promote a healthy metabolism when ingested.* The flavorful blend of Slim & Sassy helps manage hunger throughout the day while supporting healthy metabolism and promoting a positive mood.* Slim & Sassy contains Grapefruit, Lemon, Peppermint, Ginger, and Cinnamon. When taken with a healthy eating and exercise plan, Slim & Sassy Metabolic Blend can help you reach your weight management goals.*

 

Uses

  • Add to water or tea and drink before working out for a revitalizing energy boost.*
  • Consume before meals to help control appetite and overeating.*
  • Take internally as a part of a healthy weight management program.*
  • Add a few drops to Slim & Sassy TrimShake or V Shake.

Directions for Use

Diffusion: Use three to four drops in the diffuser of your choice.
Internal use: Dilute four drops in 4 fl. oz. of liquid.
Topical use: Apply one to two drops to desired area. Dilute with doTERRA Fractionated Coconut Oil to minimize any skin sensitivity.

Cautions

Possible skin sensitivity. Keep out of reach of children. If you are pregnant, nursing, or under a doctor’s care, consult your physician. Avoid contact with eyes, inner ears, and sensitive areas. Avoid sunlight or UV rays for up to 12 hours after applying product.