Hello and welcome back to Health with Elle!

Although we are in lockdown, getting some fresh air and vitamin D is increasingly important. How can we get vitamin D? The sun is the best source of vitamin D you can get. Vitamin D is  important for many reasons, including prevention of osteoporosis, cancer, depression, and muscle weakness.

WHAT MAKES VITAMIN D: Vitamin D is made in the skin when it’s exposed to sunlight. Sun exposure is by far the best way to boost vitamin D levels, particularly because very few foods contain significant amounts.

The best time to get vitamin D is midday, when the sun is at the hottest. Vitamin D is known as the “sunshine vitamin“, as it is best received through the sun. Along with preventing disease, it helps with calcium absorption, bone growth, and digestion. According to the U.S. National Academy of Medicine, you should be getting 600–800 IU of daily vitamin D.

If you cannot make time to go in the sun, there are other ways to get your daily vitamin D. Some of these are:

1. Eating fatty fish
2. Drinking fortified milk
3. Taking supplements
4. Using a vitamin D light
5. Eating egg yolks
6. Taking fish oil or cod liver supplements

However you choose to get it, try to take in some extra vitamin D to boost your mood and health in this trying time! Every little enhancement to your daily routine can help with developing a healthier lifestyle! See you next time on Health with Elle!

Being a college student during the COVID-19 lockdown is challenging to say the least. From online classes to trying to stay in touch with my friends that are still in Illinois, the past couple of weeks have felt very wrong. While it first felt like an extended break, the severity of everything is setting in and it feels very much unlike a break at all.

So, here’s how I’ve been spending my time during the COVID-19 lockdown!

• I have been trying to keep a “normal” class schedule to keep my school days feeling real.
• I have spent a lot of time baking and learning new cooking techniques. The other day I made homemade pasta!
• Since all of my friends are still in Illinois, I have been taking the time to write them letters, since those feel more personal than texts.
• Luckily, it’s been warm here, so I have been getting in a lot of walks.
• This lockdown has given me a chance to catch up on reading. Some of my current favorites are “The Moth Collective: All These Wonders” and “Living Danishly”.
• I have also been trying my hand at at home workouts, and all of this free time has given me the opportunity to try a lot of new things! Some that I have really enjoyed have been dance cardio, POP pilates, and yoga flows. This lockdown is the perfect time to develop new workout habits and get into a more regimented routine.

While I don’t think anyone would ever choose to be this restricted, I am really grateful that this break has given me the opportunity to slow down and get very in tune with myself!

Hello and welcome back!

With the shelter in place in order, the days have seemed to blend together, making any kind of change in routine seem new and exciting. Many people have found themselves making ‘quarantinis‘ in an effort to drink away whatever feelings they may be having about the virus. While virtual happy hours may seem like a good idea at the time, what do we do after the quarantini hangover?

While there are many old wives tales with alleged solutions, detoxing through natural ways is most likely the healthiest approach to a hangover.

With April being alcohol awareness month, Himalaya  has some great products for overall wellness, but others specifically to help detox after a hangover.

Drinking responsibly is always the best option, but if your quarantinis get the best of you, try out Himalaya’s ‘Party Smart’. It is a vegetarian supplement that supports the liver and helps speed up the eradication of the acetaldehyde from the liver.

In addition to learning about safe ways to detox, it is known that even acute binge drinking can poorly impact our immune systems, and right now, we need our immune systems in the best shape they can be.

So, drink responsibly and if you find yourself in need of a detox, go the natural route to keep your health in the best shape possible.

Hi friends! In a world with so many diets, eating trends, and health foods, it’s hard to know what’s right for you. When I heard about Kenzie Burke’s 21 day Reset, I had to give it a go. The 21 Day Reset is simple and pretty easy to follow because of the basic rules she implements.

1. Fruit first and alone (and eat only fruit until noon if you can)
2. Eat as many veggies as you want
3. Eat protein OR starch, but never the two together

So, here’s what I loved about KB’s 21 Day Reset:

Food combining made me feel lighter. I was eating more fruits and veggies than I did when I was vegan. Crazy, I know. I loved that her recipes made it easy to keep up meals I already loved with just a few swaps, some of my favorites were pesto pasta, breakfast bowls, and avocado toast.

It didn’t feel like I was missing out, which is something I hate about most health cleanses. I still ate avocado toast, but put it on grain-free bread and removed the normal egg from the top. My burrito bowl obsession was still fulfilled, I just topped it with more roasted veggies, guac, and sliced avocado. I even managed to try eating out at a few different restaurants, and can attest that I could order at all of them, from Taco Bell, to Noodles and Company, to the local Thai restaurant, without having to stray too far from what I would typically order.

I broke my caffeine fine, sugar, and dairy addictions. If you knew pre-reset Elle, you’d know that I couldn’t have a meal without dessert (even breakfast sometimes). Here’s the thing though, during this reset, I really didn’t crave caffeine or dairy at all. I’m not going to lie, I had bad sugar withdrawals, but I can now attest that I don’t feel the need to have dessert after every meal.

During the reset, I cooked a lot more than usual. From meal to meal, I made little swaps so it could still fit the reset, while not straying too far from my normal routine. Everything tasted fresh, and even my carnivore-esque boyfriend was satisfied with a fruit first morning followed by breakfast potatoes and lots of hot sauce.

I learned a lot from this reset. But I’m not the only one who thinks so. According to Healthline, this food combining is something that has ancient roots, and can be something really beneficial for those with digestive issues.

It’s been a few weeks past my reset experiment and while I’ve introduced back in some meat, because I truly believe protein from animals can be beneficial, I’ve taken a lot of food combining tips and tricks with me. Some easy switches were the fruit first approach! I love starting my day off with lots of energy and nutrients, and it makes me feel much more hydrated!

All jokes aside, can laughter really be the best medicine? (sorry for the bad pun there!)

But not really that sorry, because

Bad puns.

That’s how eye roll.

If you ask the Mayo Clinic, the answer is yes! There are overwhelmingly positive outcomes from using laughing as medicine.

Some short term results are:

• Stimulating organs
  • Laughing actually helps you take in oxygen, which stimulates the heart, lungs and other major organs
• Activation and relief of stress response
  • It can heat up and cool down your stress response, which aides in the increase, then decrease of heart and blood pressure – hello relaxation!
• Soothing Tension
  • Laughing can help with stimulating circulation

Here’s a bad pun for our medical humor:

When does a doctor get mad?

When he runs out of patients!

 

Some longer term results are:

• Improve your immune system
  • Did you know that positive thoughts can help release neuropeptides that fight stress and potentially more-serious illnesses?
• Relieve pain
  • Laughter is rumored to help the body produce its own painkillers
• Improve your mood
  • This one is pretty self explanatory, but everyone can use a good laugh!

The Mayo Clinic isn’t the only Health and Wellness source that believes laughing makes good medicine. According to a study done in 2010, laughing can be a sign of good will and true friendship, as it is a much more genuine response than a smile! This study emphasizes that laughter is a great alternative or additive in the routine of a patient suffering from dementia.

Laughter as medicine is so popular it’s even started a trend of “Laughter Yoga” where laughter is stimulated for 45 seconds to a minute, and then followed with deep breathing, over the course of about half an hour.

“Subjects who laughed saw a reduction in their systolic blood pressure of more than 6 mmHg, a significant change from baseline and also significant when compared with a non-laughing control group. Diastolic blood pressure was also significantly reduced. In addition, their levels of cortisol, a stress hormone, were also reduced.”

There you have it folks! There is a lot of great evidence on how even a little laughter a day can be great medicine!

Hello everyone + welcome to Health With Elle!

I’m not a health expert by any means, but I love trying new things in an effort to better my health and wellness journey. Being a freshman in college, I’ve been exposed to a lot of new things. Even though I’ve loved most of those new things, the new germs and new atmosphere of Illinois have taken a toll on my health and sleep patterns. I’ve never been a fan of taking medicine when I feel there’s a natural alternative, because I HATE medicinal side effects. So, when I read that essential oils can help with everything I’ve been struggling with, I had to give it a try. Spoiler: Using essential oils for back to school was the best idea I’ve ever had.

Let’s Talk Oils

Where do you start? Using essential oils for back to school is so much easier than you would think! Honestly, I felt a little overwhelmed with the essential oils until l sat down and thought about what I would use the whole plant or oil for.

Essential oils are truly just

highly concentrated fragrant essences extracted from herbs, flowers, fruits, and other plants that give them their unique aromas.

Easy, right? So, when thinking about my trouble adjusting to a new sleep schedule, I focused on things that emphasized relaxation. Very Well Health created a guide on the best oils for sleep, which makes the perfect setting for a long night’s rest, or the typical college mid-day nap.

If you’re in the market for a new set of oils, Plant Therapy is a great brand of all natural essential oils to enhance your immune system, focus, and sleep.

If you’re a college student, using essential oils is an easy way to boost your day in a small way. Using essential oils for back to school lets you implement health into your day to day routine.

Some of my favorite ways to do this are

1. Putting a drop of peppermint oil in my coffee
2. Diffusing citrus in the morning
3. Diffusing lavender before bed
4. Tea tree oil can help fix breakouts

As always, consult a doctor before using essential oils you may be allergic to, and check for safety before diffusing if you have pets.

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