Strengthen your immune system with these simple steps!
1. Get enough sleep: Go to bed before midnight. (Ideally at 10 PM if you wake up at 6 AM) Going to bed early provides the opportunity for melatonin levels to rise (supports immune system) and cortisol levels to decrease (hinders immune system), allowing for a restful, deep sleep and optimal immune function. Tips for improving your sleep: http://jackieamart.blogspot.com/2015/07/not-getting-enough-zzzzs.html
2. Eat fresh, nutrient-dense, whole foods: Vitamins A, C, D3 and zinc are needed for immune function. Eating a wide variety of foods and nutrients is ideal so your body gets all the essentials it needs!
3. Add garlic and ginger to your meals: These are both immune supportive and anti-viral, antibacterial, and antifungal. Do not consume refined sugar because this depresses the immune system and causes inflammation in the body.
4. Stay hydrated: Drink plenty of filtered water, herbal teas, and broths to help your kidneys eliminate waste and keep your bowel movements regular!
5. Move your body: Exercise keeps your blood and lymph moving and increases your ability to respond to stress.
6. Get your vitamin D3 levels checked: Adults should be taking 5,000 IU's daily if you live in the northern states due to decreased sun exposure during the winter months. Importance of Vitamin D3 and your health: http://jackieamart.blogspot.com/2013/09/vitamin-d-sunshine-mega-vitamin.html
7. Probiotics: Gut flora affects the immune system. Take a whole food supplement that contains both prebiotics and probiotics or increase your consumption of fermented foods and beverages (sauerkraut, kimchi. kombucha, kefir, yogurt, etc) Learn more about probiotics: http://jackieamart.blogspot.com/2011/08/probiotics-do-you-need-them-how-is-your.html
CLICK HERE to check out my next 5 Day Self Love Online Boot Camp in December to stay on track with your health and wellness goals this holiday season!
Copyright, 2016, Jackie Mart. For further information about this blog, or Optimum Wellness LLC, contact Jackie Mart at 712.790.5883 or Jackie@OptimumWellnessMN.com. As a holistic nutritionist and lifestyle coach, I will support you in taking steps to a healthier and happier you. My goal is to help you create an art of balance in your life. You will also learn how important balance between primary foods (relationships, physical activity, sleep, career and spirituality) and secondary foods (organic food and whole food) is.
My mom slathered Vick's Vapor Rub on us as kids. I'm sure your mother did too! I've even heard of people using it as a cold remedy by putting it on the bottoms of their feet at night, covering them with socks, and waking up cold-free in the morning?
Here is the short list of toxic ingredients in Vick's Vapor Rub:
Camphor: Contributes to the vapor quality. Toxic levels are anything over 11 percent. Vick’s has 5 percent.
Turpentine Oil: Also aids in the vapor qualities. It is a paint solvent.
Laureth 7: which comes from ethylene oxide and lauryl alcohol, serves an emulsifier. A common, probably too common, component found in detergents, cleaners and paint.
Petrolatum: THIS is what make’s Vick’s, Vick’s. The silky, thick salve substance you scoop out of the container and rub on chest, neck and nose. Derived from petroleum (aka crude oil) it is approved by the USFDA as a glide in ointments and cosmetics. Petrolatum has been found in cancerous tumors (breast, coincidently the same area where we like to RUB Vick’s), causes suffocation of the skin, premature aging and aggravated acne.
Just a few reasons why you should to make your own!
Homemade Vapor Rub
Ingredients:
5 TB coconut oil
2 TB cocoa butter
1 1/2 TB beeswax
30 drops eucalyptus essential oil (for children use Eucaylptus Radiata or Eucaplytus Citriodora)
12 drops each of essential oils: peppermint, lavender, and rosemary
5 drops tea tree essential oil
Instructions:
In a saucepan, over low heat, add the coconut oil and cocoa butter. Melt.
Once melted, add the beeswax. Melt.
Remove the pan from the heat. Allow the mixture to sit in the saucepan for 5 minutes. This will allow the mixture to cool so the oils aren't damaged.
After 5 minutes, add the eucalyptus, peppermint, lavender, rosemary, and tea tree oils to the coconut oil mixture. Combine with a spoon.
Pour the mixture into glass jars. I use these mason jars. This recipe will make one 4 oz. jar of vapor rub. As the mixture cools in the jar the liquid will solidify, making it a creamy, spreadable rub.
**This recipe will keep for a year.
www.ewg.org
Copyright, 2014, Jackie Mart. For further information about this blog, or Optimum Wellness LLC, contact Jackie Mart at 712.790.5883 or Jackie@OptimumWellnessMN.com. As a holistic nutrition and lifestyle coach, I will support you in taking steps to a healthier and happier you. My goal is to help you create an art of balance in your life. You will also learn how important balance between primary foods (relationships, physical activity, sleep, career and spirituality) and secondary foods (organic food and whole food) is.
www.optimumwellnessmn.com
What is Ear Candling?
Ear candling is a holistic procedure used to remove excess wax, draw out toxins and pollutants, cleanse the sinus cavities, improve hearing and other senses and revitalize the nerve endings. It is also thought to have a psychic, emotional and spiritual impact on a person as it draws out negative toxins and revives the energy flows throughout the body.
Because of all the intricate crevices in the ear, unbelievable amounts of debris can accumulate. This buildup creates a breeding ground for problems and can also interfere with correct hearing. Impacted wax can build up against ear ducts and can also block reception of incoming sound waves. This lifetime accumulation may explain some of the hearing problems we develop as we age. Yeasts, allergies or just wax build-up removed from the ear canal regularly will restore hearing, relieve tension or pressure in the ear and sometimes relieve other symptoms not consciously connected with the ear condition before the process. The moist warm dark conditions in the ear cause fast growth of many organisms. If excess ear wax blocks the ear it can cause pressure build-up from various organisms.
Clinical studies show that candida (yeast) often becomes established in the middle ear after one or two episodes of infection where an antibiotic has been used. Candling is believed to remove candida, yeasts, fungus, and remnants of past infections. The types of bacteria we currently fight in our ears include Streptococcus pneumonia, Staphylococcus aureus, Anaerobic bacteria, and Influenza A and B. Ear aches can be caused by mucus blown into the ear from the Eustachian tube. Ear candling will quite often release the pressure and relieve the pain.
Some of the benefits those undergoing ear candling have experienced include:
Removal of excess wax and allows better hearing, usually immediately
Stimulation and detoxification of the lymphatic system
Help in removal of parasites growing in the ear
Help in clearing mold caused by Candida yeast allergy
Sinuses are able to drain and flow freely reducing pressure
Improved balance and rejuvenation of the equilibrium
Beneficial relief may be obtained from ear candling for the following conditions:
Sinus discomfort congestion (reduced)
Head colds, flu and discomforts
Yeast infections
Parasites
Swimmers Ear
Ear Aches
Headache and sore throat
Allergy discomfort
What To Expect During Your Session
You will lie comfortably on your side resting your head on a pillow as the candling is performed. Hollow cones made from spiraled strips of cotton dipped in either beeswax or paraffin are used. The tapered end of the cone is gently placed in the ear. The other end is lit and the heat from the low-burning flame creates a vacuum-pulling effect. For your safety, a plate separates the burning end from your head to prevent any drippage of candle residue.
Periodically, the burned end will be cut back. When the candle burns down to about 2”, the process is then repeated for the opposite ear. Candling will take approximately 15-20 minutes per ear depending on the type of candle being used. During the treatment, you will normally hear some crackling, hissing and the "suction" sounds much like the gentle hum one hears when a seashell is placed against the ear.
Upon completion, an oil is swabbed in the ear with cotton to help protect from further infections from bacteria, yeast. etc. For the first 24 hours after candling, it is best to protect the ears from wind, cold, and excessive amounts of water. Within 24 hours the normal production of wax will again protect the ear. The candles will then be cut open to reveal the toxins deposited at the base.
Who Is Ear Candling Suitable For?
Young and old alike experience this process as a soothing, painless, simple therapy, which invokes deep relaxation and healing. I typically perform these on children over 3 years of age and up as well as adults.
Recent Client Testimonial:
"Amazing how much your sinuses clear up. I've tried it before. It is super....everyone should try it especially if you have any sinus issues at all!!! The virtues of ear candling are outstanding. Give it a try!!"
-Teacher, Estherville, Iowa.
Please contact me to schedule. This services is $30. Thank you! 712.790.5883
http://emmasholistichealing.weebly.com/ear-candling.html
Copyright, 2014, Jackie Mart. For further information about this blog, or Optimum Wellness LLC, contact Jackie Mart at 712.790.5883 or Jackie@OptimumWellnessMN.com. As a holistic nutrition and lifestyle coach, I will support you in taking steps to a healthier and happier you. My goal is to help you create an art of balance in your life. You will also learn how important balance between primary foods (relationships, physical activity, sleep, career and spirituality) and secondary foods (organic food and whole food) is.
www.optimumwellnessmn.com
It's that time of year again- We need extra Vitamin D this time of year due to limited sun especially here in the Midwest. I keep my immune system up to par with clean eating, exercise, chiropractic care (studies show people who get regular chiro care have 200% stronger immune systems) drinking water, supplements, extra sleep, and etc!
Plus the holidays are packed with sugar that weakens immune function, causes inflammation, and feeds cancer cells. And of course stress from family, Christmas, Thanksgiving, shopping, credit card debt, holiday parties, and snowy weather add to it also!!
Here are a few other immune boosters to help keep you healthy this holiday season-
Elderberry-Best taken in a supplement form. Contains Vitamin C.
Garlic-Put garlic in EVERYTHING!
Green Tea- drinking daily can also help lower stress and relax because it contains L-Theanine (amino acid that helps with mood)
Probiotics- best taken in supplement form (ask me)
Vitamins C, D, and E- nuts, seeds, fish, peppers, citrus fruits, eggs (eat the yolk!), spinach, broccoli, kiwi, mangoes, tomatoes.
Zinc- eat more foods such as: lamb, grass-fed beef, scallops, sesame seeds, pumpkin seeds, turkey, peas.
Copyright, 2013, Jackie Mart. For further information about this blog, or Optimum Wellness LLC, contact Jackie Mart at 712.790.5883 or Jackie@OptimumWellnessMN.com. As a holistic nutrition and lifestyle coach, I will support you in taking steps to a healthier and happier you. My goal is to help you create an art of balance in your life. You will also learn how important balance between primary foods (relationships, physical activity, sleep, career and spirituality) and secondary foods (organic food and whole food) is.
www.optimumwellnessmn.com
Commonly known as “friendly or good bacteria,” probiotics have become widely popular!! One of the most frequently asked for supplements of customers that come into our store are probiotics. Everyone has taken antibiotics at any time in their life even when young has experienced disturbed intestinal balance and will benefit from taking probiotics. Antibiotics kill the good bacteria as well as the harmful ones. The longer you use antibiotics, the greater the damage to the intestinal flora. Symptoms include: indigestion, acid reflux, bloating, constipation, and cramps. Skin problems such as acne, eczema, or psoriasis are also a reflection of intestinal health.
Our bodies are made up of around 27 feet of intestines. Seventy percent of our immune cells are located here. Probiotics populate throughout our intestines and help with digestion, manufacture B vitamins that relate directly to our energy levels. They also strengthen our immune systems and make us less susceptible to colds, flu, and super bugs!!
You can increase the beneficial bacteria in your body by limiting your sugar intake because it feeds intestinal yeast, washing your hands, get regular exercise and sleep to strengthen your immune system, and by eating a daily cup of yogurt, drinking Kombucha, or eating any fermented foods such as: kefir, sauerkraut, tempeh, miso, kimchi, natto, and etc.
I take the Raw Probiotics for Women from Garden of Life. They contain 85 billion live cultures and are food based!! If you have any questions about probiotics please don’t hesitate to ask me!!
