I am very excited to be adding a new certification to my arsenal - Functional Nutrition! I am currently getting a Certificate of Training through the Integrative and Functional Nutrition Academy (IFNA) and have been loving all of the materials and learning so much. If you’re not familiar with Functional Nutrition, it focuses on getting to the ROOT CAUSE of the issue, rather than just treating the symptoms. A Functional Nutrition practitioner will help to determine the root cause of your problem through research and testing and will treat it with holistic diet and lifestyle adjustments and quality supplements.
Since I have incorporated these types of diet and lifestyle changes in my own life, I’ve noticed MAJOR shifts in my mood, energy levels, skin and hair. If you feel sluggish, anxious, irritable, foggy, dull, etc., here are some easy (and free!) ways to feel better instantly.
Eat a balanced diet (protein + carb + fat) for every meal and snack. This will help keep your blood sugar stable and prevent mood swings and energy crashes. These macronutrients are essential for energy production. If you omit one, you’ll likely notice your energy levels will dip, or you may become irritable or tired. Give your body what it needs to function properly. Some of my favorite balanced snacks are an apple with nut butter and a Chomps beef stick, avocado toast with a hard boiled egg, fruit with nuts and seed crackers, and coconut yogurt with fruit and a scoop of nut butter. For balanced dinners, I follow the simple formula (P + C + F) but I try to switch up my ingredients. For proteins I rotate between grass fed beef (with liver and heart blended in for extra nutrients!), wild caught seafood, chicken thighs, and ground turkey. I stick to complex carbohydrates (avoid refined) like sweet potatoes, veggies, beans, or brown rice. For fats, I use avocado, olive, or coconut oil, grass fed ghee, or a few slices of avocado.
Avoid artificial dyes, sugars, fillers, and gums. These include, but are not limited to, Red Dye 40, Yellow Dye 6, Sucralose, Aspartame, Gellan Gum, Carrageenen, etc. These contain toxic chemicals that disrupt our body’s endocrine, detoxification, and digestive systems. Many of these are carcinogens and are proven to cause cancer and harmful inflammation in the body. Inflammation is a root cause of most diseases! Be sure to read the ingredient labels and do your research to make educated choices. Yes, it can be overwhelming. Yes, it can feel like everything is toxic (ugh!). But knowledge is power. There are many helpful resources out there already - Karalynne Cali of Just Ingredients (@just.ingredients) and Vani Hari of The Food Babe (@thefoodbabe) provide many helpful alternatives, the Environmental Working Group (EWG) has a helpful database and many educational resources, and apps like Yuka allow you to scan a product to see its health rating. I recommend checking them out! And don’t worry if you can’t avoid completely, just try to minimize wherever possible. I also recommend avoiding/minimizing the “Hateful Eight” seed oils. Your body will thank you.
Eat an antioxidant rich diet. Antioxidants help to absorb free radicals (aka cancer causers), heal damage to our DNA, and reduce inflammation in the body. Some antioxidant rich foods include berries, leafy greens, cruciferous vegetables, green tea, herbs, and spices. Be sure to buy organic, otherwise you end up consuming additional toxins from the pesticides. If you can’t eat 100% organic, you can follow the EWG’s Clean Fifteen and Dirty Dozen guide which details the items that you should always buy organic and the ones that aren’t heavily pesticided. Additionally, it’s always good to switch up your antioxidants every week to help foster a diverse microbiome. Each food has a different phytonutrient profile and will help feed different bacteria in your gut, allowing for better digestion. For example, one week you can buy blueberries, broccoli, spinach, and cilantro, and the next week you can buy cherries, cauliflower, kale, and parsley.
Journal one to three pages every day. I cannot tell you how helpful and cathartic this practice has been for me! It’s literally free therapy. If you’re like me and have a million intrusive thoughts running through your head every day, tend to focus on worst case scenarios, and ruminate on situations, then a daily journaling practice will be extremely beneficial for you. Journaling helps you process your thoughts and emotions. By writing everything out, you are clearing all of the swirling noise in your head and organizing it in a clear and coherent way. There are multiple different types of journaling, such as rage journaling or gratitude journaling, and I recommend a healthy blend of them all. If you feel the need to rage journal, be sure to rip out the pages and burn them afterwards. This helps to alchemize and clear any negative energy. If you don’t know what you write about, gratitude journaling is great place to start! Begin by writing out a few things you are grateful for every day. Challenge yourself to come up with new ideas. This helps us to look for the “glimmers” in our life and appreciate the little things. You can also journal about past experiences and help coach yourself through any insecurities, trauma, and challenges you may have faced.
Get fresh air and sunshine daily. Our bodies are meant to be in nature! We are not meant to sit under fluorescent lights, breathe recycled air, stare at screens, and be exposed to EMFs all day. Sunshine helps our body produce Vitamin D which is essential for bone health. It can also boost our mood, improve our sleep, and can even help with a variety of skin conditions like eczema and psoriasis. Even if it’s not sunny outside, your body will reap the benefits. Be sure to wear SPF and/or a hat for especially sunny days. It’s also a great practice to get natural sunlight on your naked eyes (no sun glasses) because it regulates the body’s circadian rhythm and helps produce melatonin (for all the insomniacs out there!).
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