What is magnesium? Magnesium is a mineral that our body desperately needs, and is very hard to take too much of. It helps keep blood pressure normal, regulate heart rhythm, and reduce inflammation in the body.

It also is a natural relaxant. If you have ever been told to soak in epsom salt for an injury or sore muscle, that is just a chemical compound of magnesium! The way that it can externally relax your body is the same as how magnesium supplements can relax us internally.

What other ways is magnesium beneficial for our bodies?

•  Helps convert food into energy
•  Helps create and repair DNA and RNA
• Helps regulate neurotransmitters, which send messages throughout your brain and nervous system
• Is known to help boost mood and lower depression
• Has been proven to reduce migraines and pms symptoms
• It can help you sleep

What is crazy is that almost 50% of people are deficient in magnesium.

Magnesium can be taken so many ways, it is found in foods such as dark chocolate and swiss chard. However, I prefer to take it as a beverage before bed each night! This raspberry lemon magnesium powder can be mixed into hot or cold water and is made to help you relax from the inside out.

There are so many variations of magnesium supplements, gummies, and drink mixes, so it is easy to find the best one for your lifestyle! It is an easy mineral to incorporate into daily routine and comes in great flavors too!

It seems like information about women’s health is all over the internet, but it is much harder to find beneficial information about men’s health. As someone who considers themself very health conscious, I started to wonder how my nutritional needs are different from that of the men in my life, especially the ones who I try to get to go on my health kicks with me – LOL!

For a quick breakdown on how men’s nutritional needs are different from women’s,  I bulleted it out for you!

• Men have higher caloric needs
• However, women have higher vitamin and mineral needs
• Men need at least 400 mg of vitamin B folic acid per day
• Men tend to burn through vitamins more quickly than women

So, how can we help the men in our lives to live long and healthy lives? Encouraging them to take a men’s daily multivitamin is a great start! This daily multivitamin from Progressive Labs contains vitamins A, C, D, B, K, calcium, and more!

If the men in your life are more willing to try a variety of vitamins instead of just a daily capsule, Progressive Labs has all kinds of vitamins and minerals in supplement form to help customize to a daily routine. They even know how to keep up with the newest trends, with options such as their Keto Resilience daily supplement!

Finding out the best ways we can support healthy growth and development in our bodies is so important, and these vitamins and supplements can help you do so!

I am someone who could eat ice cream every single day, even in the middle of an arctic blast! However, trying to maintain a weight or lose weight is hard to do when you are supplementing meals with ice cream! Luckily, Ancient Nutrition is a brand that offers many protein powders, shake mixes, and nutrient based products that help to curb my ice cream cravings!

It is so easy to sub in their products to make healthy, weight loss encouraging shakes! A way that I love to make a nutrient packed “milkshake” is mixing their cocoa protein powder with a frozen banana and some oat milk! Blending all of that together creates a delicious and fluffy chocolate “milkshake” that satisfies my sugar cravings without adding extra calories.

The best part of using Ancient Nutrition products is that I can make weight loss shakes all day! It is so easy to make delicious drinks and smoothie bowls with their powders. Some other ways I like to incorporate Ancient Nutrition into my diet is through these shake recipes. My favorite is the peanut butter and “jelly” shake that uses vanilla protein powder, frozen strawberries, and a scoop of peanut butter. It is the yummiest, most nostalgic drink!

My fellow ice cream addicts, there is even better news about using Ancient Nutrition products in shakes. It tastes just like our favorite high calorie sugary desserts! It is so easy to get creative when the mix in powders and toppings taste this good!

Have you heard of Ayurvedic eating practices? It is a type of food combining that focuses on the wellness of the entire mind, body, and soul. As someone who regularly practices the simple act of food combing, I found this fascinating.

The basics of food combining are to:

1. Eat fruit first, and alone.
2. Never eat a starch with a protein.
3. Fill at least half of your plate with vegetables every meal.

Ayurvedic food combining pushes it a little further and is known to help with seasonal depression and anxiety, as well as helping reduce inflammation.

In this, one is supposed to be able to theoretically go to a farmers market at any time of the year, and what is available is what they should be eating. Eating foods native to your geographical region that are in season is a big component of Ayurvedic practices.

It also works to enhance our natural instincts. Have you ever noticed how you want cold, hydrating foods in the summer but warm, root vegetables in the winter? That 8/ because that is what our bodies are made for! The Ayurvedic process encourages eating warming foods in colder months to help our bodies feel comforted and nourished, while encouraging cold and hydrating dishes in hot months. Eating with the seasons is known to help with digestion processes and reduce reflux.

As someone who practices food combing for at least half of each month, I am very eager to add the Ayurvedic process into my day to day life. It also focuses on the entire body, and it is encouraged to be paired with grounding activities such as yoga, walking, or meditation. This could be a great new technique to try!

If you are someone who always gets hit hard by cold and flu season, this year can feel scary since it is paired with COVID-19. Have no fear, there are natural ways to protect ourselves and strengthen our immune system so cold and flu season is not painfully long!

Two natural ways that I like to fight cold and flu season is by incorporating elderberry and manuka honey into my daily routine! These are easy shifts in my normal schedule that have had great results!

Elderberry

What are the benefits of elderberries? They are kind of a cure-all. This Umcka Cold and Flu Syrup is a life saver. You begin taking it at the first sign of symptoms and it works to reduce the effects of symptoms such as aches, fever, congestion, cough, runny nose and sore throat. It is made by the brand Natures Way and they have tons of other great natural medicines to cover anything you may need, from blood sugar monitoring to sore throats.

Elderberry syrup is, in my opinion, one of the best ways to combat illnesses before taking serious antibiotics or medications. Sometimes, those kind of chemicals make me feel worse before they make me feel better. So, I love trying to combat with Umcka Cold and Flu Syrup first!

Manuka Honey

I like to start my days with a spoonful of manuka honey. It has many health benefits such as clearing infections, boosting immunity, and alleviating stomach aches. It is a great add on to Umcka Cold and Flu Syrup too!

With cold and flu season hitting hard this year, we need all the help we can get! These natural ways to fight it are a great place to start!

What is liposomal encapsulation technology? I asked myself the same thing when I first heard about it. Liposomal encapsulation is a process where fats are utilized to help bring important vitamins or medicines to certain parts of the body in little bubbles without impacting other parts of the body.

How are liposomes made?

Liposomes are made by putting a molecule of phospholipids into water to separate components of the molecule, in order to help target areas in the body.

What is the benefit of liposomal encapsulation?

This way to encapsulate vitamins is very popular to do with vitamins that we are typically deficient in, such as Vitamin C and Vitamin D. These vitamins help to keep our bodies healthy.

Vitamin C helps to:

• Fight cell mutation
• Fight the cold and flu
• Prevent gum disease

Vitamin D helps to:

• Elevate your mood
• Support white blood cells
• Protect genetic material

Deficiency in these vitamins can be incredibly dangerous and pose serious health risks. Utilizing liposomal encapsulation technology is a way to protect the body and ensure that the vitamins are getting to the right places in the body!

Where can you get vitamins that use liposomal encapsulation?

LivOn labs is a great place to find products that use lipsomal encapsulation. They have a wide variety of beneficial items such as magnesium, vitamin C, or the incredibly important B Complex Plus. If you are needing to incorporate more vitamins into your diet, try these!

Finding ways to protect ourselves better while staying healthy and natural is incredibly important to a long lifetime. Harnessing the benefits of liposomal encapsulation is a wonderful way to protect the body and create a healthy lifestyle where we can live to our full potential.

This year, the holiday season does not feel as cheerful or exciting as it has in years past. We have barely gotten any snow! So, if you are struggling to find a holiday gift for your loved ones, here are a few ideas for the perfect gift.

For the readers:

If the person you are getting a gift for loves reading, this is the perfect gift for them. Grab a Book Club candle, and wrap it up with your favorite book to read and a note about why you love the book! Not only is it a great gift, but it is incredibly thoughtful!

For the chefs:

My family all loves cooking. So, this year I used a printing service to type up and bind all of our family recipes into a cook book. I am gifting these with my semi-healthy favorite cookies – chewy ginger molasses cookies and two holiday themed dish towels.

This would also be a great gift to give with homemade (or store bought) biscuits and jam!

For the outdoorsy:

A gift on my Christmas list is a picnic backpack! This would be a perfect present for people who love camping and the outdoors. I picture it making a great gift paired with a local cheese or two, and a bottle of their favorite beverage.

This holiday season is challenging, as we are not allowed to be as close to our loved ones. Thoughtful gifts can make all the difference in the world in making sure someone feels loved and appreciated.

We have ALL heard that something is hypoallergenic. That something could be a pet breed, a makeup brand, or anything else! However, it really just means that something has fewer allergens than other similar products. If you are like me, a lot of products that should not cause allergic reactions do! Just last week I had a pretty bad allergic reaction to eye drops, which lead to my eye hurting more than it did before and my lip swelling up a lot!

While antihistamines can be helpful, I personally do not love having to depend on them. And while we can not get rid of what we are allergic to, we can do things to help reduce the impacts. For example, I always try to take spoonfuls of raw, local honey when allergy season is starting, and top my smoothies with bee pollen!

But, if you want something a little more strong than honey or pollen, Pure Encapsulations has a large variety of hypoallergenic supplements that can also help strengthen your immune system! They have such a wide range of products, so it is easy to find the types of products that will best help you conquer your allergy symptoms.

The best product for immune support is their Immune Support Liquid. For someone who does not love taking pills, like myself, this liquid is a life saver! It has a yummy natural grape flavor, and has healthy immune supporting ingredients like elderberry and lemon balm in it!

Finding healthier ways to support my body is always a positive for me, and I am eager to begin using Immune Support Liquid in my day to day life!

Hello everyone!

With the holidays rapidly approaching, it can be so difficult to find the perfect gift for loved ones. I know that I struggle with not wanting to give a generic gift to someone who is so hard to buy for!

So, here are some great alternatives that are reusable and can make a wonderful gift!

Coconut Bowls & Spoons

What better gift for cold weather than a recipe card with your favorite soup recipe, and a set of coconut bowls and spoons? If they have little ones, there is a kid size option that you could gift with an edible play dough recipe. If not, you could use the bowl to hold a fun homemade “reindeer mix” trail mix! It is a great gift that keeps on giving!

Silicone Straws

If your friend or family member enjoys going out, these silicone straws in a reusable container are a life saver! They are small enough to fit in a small purse or a pocket, so they are easy to keep on you at all times! Give them these with a gift card to their favorite spot for drinks, or a fancy beverage such as rose lemonade!

Even better! They come with a foldable cleaning tool, so you never forget to wash them out.

Reusable Bags

For a busy parent, or just someone who loves their snacks, these Stasher bags are a life saver! They are easy to clean, and will quickly replace single use plastic bags! To gift these, you could fill them with homemade cookies, toffee, or peanut brittle, and leave the recipe with them!

2020 has been such a challenging year, so focusing on giving gifts that keep giving back to our Earth is a great way to finish it up!

Once it drops below 50 degrees, all that I want to do is bundle up and drink some warm soup. Homemade soups are undoubtedly the best, but when you are in a hurry, waiting for them to get finished can feel like forever! So, here are some of my favorite and quick soup recipes that will nourish your whole body.

The Classic Chicken Noodle

This almost-from-scratch chicken noodle soup recipe from All Recipes covers all of the bases in a perfect cold weather dish. To make it even more healthy, I like to add a protein pasta and lots of crushed red pepper flakes to help clear my sinuses.

Hot and Sour Soup

This is my go to recipe. It takes about 20 minutes, and I like throwing in whatever vegetables I have on hand like cabbage, carrots, or even radishes! Adding in extra chili-garlic paste helps with sore throats, and nixing the tofu in place of more vegetables is always an option too!

It transports well, and I love that even the broth has protein from the egg mixture.

Pioneer Woman’s Tomato Basil

This tomato basil soup is game changing. I truly was not a soup person before trying this one. I love topping it with more fresh basil from my garden and serving it alongside an elevated grilled cheese.

It also is perfect with fried zucchini sticks and mozzarella sticks!

With the changing of the seasons and flu season in full swing, being able to nourish yourself on fresh ingredients is so important. These three soup recipes make it easy!